08 Aug 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a crown of life, a crown of righteousness, a pure heart, abundance, all things work together for good, all to god's glory, be careful to maintian good works, blessed is the man that endureth temptation, called according to His purpose, creativity, curse, faith, faith if it hath no works is dead, favour, finished my course, for our benefit, fought the good fight, God is still controlling things, god is still on his throne, good friends, hang in there for Christ, he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him, He is faithful that promised, he that comes to God, he that cometh to God must believe that He is, hold fast the profession of our faith, I have refused him, Jesus Christ, kept the faith, look not on his countenance, LOVE, man looketh on the outward appearance, negative word, omnipotent god, on the height of his stature, our ever-faithful God, receive the crown of life, right motives, sincere hearts, talent, the Lord hath promised to them that love Him, the Lord looketh on the heart, the Lord seeth not as man seeth, the righteous judge, their wake of dust, them that love God, these things affirm constantly, these things are good and profitable, they which have believed in God, this is a faithful saying, Thursday Blessings, to all them who love his appearing, truth, when he is tried, wisdom, without faith it is impossible to please God, without wavering
2 Timothy 4:7. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course (race), I have kept the faith:
Oh friends, can you believe that we’re already into the eight day of August? The month just began late last week, and it’s almost a third over already. The days are just whizzing by, leaving many of us (including me) in their wake of dust. But not to worry, our omnipotent God is still on His throne, and He’s still controlling things, and if you’re a follower of His magnificent Son, Jesus Christ, then you can be assured that He has you in the palm of His hand, looking after you, and eventually everything will be okay.
As Bruh Paul promised in Romans: ‘And we know that all things work together for good for them that LOVE God, to them who are called according to his purpose.’ (Rom. 8:28) So although things aren’t looking so hot now, if we persevere with Christ, stand strong and steadfast throughout the many trials and tribulations, do our best to witness in His name, and live a life that’s overall pleasing to Him, then, in the end, the Lord will make it work out for our benefit.
And if you don’t believe that, then there’s also this magnificent promise that we read in yesterday’s Bit from James. ‘Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried (has been proved), he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that LOVE him.’ (James 1:12) Oh my people, isn’t that a most reassuring scripture? It certainly is! As it encourages us to hang in there for Christ, because in the long run we will benefit greatly.
That leads us to these two other marvellous and true scriptures from Hebrews. The first one says: ‘Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our faith (hope) without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) (Heb. 10:23) That means we have to hold on steadfastly to our faith, without ever giving up, despite the highs and lows we will go through, because God is ever-faithful. And you definitely cannot be a sincere believer in Christ unless you believe and live by the faithful promises of our ever-faithful God!
Which brings us to this other noteworthy scripture. ‘But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’ (Heb. 11:6) Yes my fellow saints, that scripture expects two things from us; the first being we cannot please God unless we have faith, we must believe that He exists, and is who He says He is. And it’s not only the talking faith, but also the action kind.
Remember what James says: ‘Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.’ (James 2:17) And that’s a major reason why our world is in such a chaotic state; too many of us supposed believers are talking our faith, but not working it, which does absolutely nothing to bring unbelievers to the kingdom.
And the second expectation of that last scripture from Hebrews is that we must believe God rewards those who diligently seek Him. And that’s ever so important in our faith walk, for if don’t believe that, then we will never put our best foot forward. Not that we’re putting our best foot forward only to get rewards, but it gives us something concrete to look forward to, like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Oh, we were indeed made by God to do good works in Christ, meaning that we’re expected to do good works when we become believers, but with those good works, He’s promised numerous rewards. As these words of Bruh Paul in his letter to Titus acknowledge. ‘This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.’ (Titus 3:8)
And remember we’re not doing good works just to get rewards, but our hearts, our motives must be pure, which brings up what the Lord said to Samuel when he sent him to anoint the next king of Israel from one of Jesse’s sons. When Eliab the first son came in, he looked real good, tall, handsome, strong, etc., like he would make an excellent king. ‘But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature, because I have refused (rejected) him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.’ (1 Sam. 16:7)
Now, it’s obvious that we won’t do everything with right motives and a pure heart, and the Lord understands that, because He created us and knows all our faults and foibles, but overall, that ought to be our desire. And to pull it all together, I believe these memorable words of Bruh Paul to Timothy perfectly encapsulate what we’ve been trying to say.
‘For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure (death) is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course (race), I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that LOVE his appearing.’ (2 Tim. 4:6-8)
Wow! What awesome words my brethren! And I know that very few, if any of us can reach the levels of faith and works that Bruh Paul achieved, but we can certainly die trying. (smile) Yes, at the end of our earthly days, it would definitely be nice to say words like those, or words close to them. But we can only do that if we stand strong and steadfast in our heyday and make hay for Christ while the sun shines in our lives! Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings, so we can activate those undeserved blessings the Lord has so generously bestowed on us to do His earthly work.
Altogether: ‘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 passionate declaration (steups!!!) we must now go out and use those blessings on behalf of others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us! Much LOVE!
…whatever we do…let it be with sincere hearts…all to the glory of God…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
13 Jun 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, a great family, a li'l light displaces much darkness, belief, Bible, Christian walk, christianity, conviction, courage, creativity, curse, eil cronies, exercising our faith, faith, faith builders, favour, glorify your father in heaven, god, God always anoints us to do His work, good friends, have the light of life, he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, I am come a light into the world, I am the light of the world, in the face of adversity, Jesus, Jesus Christ, leave a good legacy, Let your light so shine before men, LOVE, negative word, prosper, remember what god has done for us before, scared of failure, seen a great light, shy away from God's work, sin, succeed, supernatural wisdom, the land of the shadow of death, the onus is on us, the people that walked in darkness, they may see your good works, Thursday Blessings, truth, upon them hath the light shined, whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness, wisdom, Ye are the light of the world, ye are the salt of the earth
John 8:12. I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
And then it was Thursday, the penultimate day of our work week. Another week of the month, of the year, of our lives behind us… And did we do anything in it that will leave a good legacy behind us for others to contemplate and possibly follow? For all our sakes, I surely hope so, (smile) otherwise it would have been just another wasted week in our wonderful, God-given lives. Ah friends, too many of us waste our lives either doing nothing or doing stuff that’s not really worthwhile, while God has a plan for us to do good work for His kingdom. And many of us shy away from doing God’s work, from putting His plan for our lives into action because we’re either sacred of failure, or find that God’s plan might be too big for us to handle.
But remember friends, God NEVER asks us to do anything without giving us the necessary tools, the wherewithal, the anointing to do it. But we have to dredge up the conviction, the faith, the belief that we can do it, otherwise all the anointing will be of no use. We need to remember all the promises He’s made us, and all the times before when He’s helped us through whatever project He had assigned. That’s one of the most important faith builders in our Christian walk; remembering all the previous times when God saw us through whatever problems we encountered, and believing that if He could do it before, He can certainly do it again.
Oh my people, the onus to make something of our lives is not on God, but on us. He gives us whatever we need, shows us the way, then we have to get up and action the situation. And yes, it oftentimes takes a lot of faith to do stuff in the face of adversity, but the Lord has sincerely promised to never leave nor forsake us, and since we full well know that He’s not a God who reneges on any of His promises, then we should have the gumption to get up and do His will. But laziness…and fear…the need for comfort…etc. etc. keep us from exercising our faith.
Unfortunately though, when we fail to react positively to God’s will, it leaves the way completely open for the devil and his evil cronies to pile more evil into our world, enslave more of our brethren into the depths of darkness that the evil doers like to keep their captives in. And that’s against the very reason that Jesus came to earth. As He says in the gospel of John: ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’ (John 8:12) And Jesus’ coming was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy: ‘The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.’ (Is. 9:2)
Then later on in John’s gospel Christ reiterated His purpose of bringing light to a darkened world when He cried out to the unbelieving people, some of whom believed in Him, but were afraid that the Pharisees would put them out of the synagogue if they showed their faith, for they LOVED the praise of men more than the praise of God. ‘Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.’ (John 12:44-46)
Oh friends, Jesus did not come to earth to do His own will, but that of the Father, that means when we refuse to get up and do God’s will we are thwarting the very reason Jesus came into the world; to save it from the evil powers of darkness, and bring it into the bright and shining light of God the Father. Sin has caused our world to become a dark and frightening place with nothing good to ever come out of it. However, Jesus came to change all of that, to bring light to a darkened world, and we are a part of His plan to do so.
Consequently, He’s depending on us to get up and help Him spread the good news of His gospel and bring the many captives and slaves of darkness into the bright light of His kingdom. Remember what He said: ‘As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ (John 9:5) But once He left this world, He expects His followers; apostles, disciples or whatever you choose to call them to continue being the light and continue spreading the truth of His word. That’s why He also said in the Sermon on the Mount: ‘Ye are the salt of the earth…Ye are the light of the world… Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt. 5:13, 14,16.)
Yes my fellow saints, that’s our basic purpose on this earth; to spread the light of Christ through His gospel, His word of truth. And when we refuse to do it, regardless of the reason, we effectively short-circuit the entire operation, for each chain is only as strong as its weakest link. So please, let’s wake up and stand up for Christ, the way He stood up for us! And as I said earlier on, God doesn’t ask us to do anything without giving us the wherewithal to do it, and He’s generously blessed us with the very tools we need to do His earthly work. We call them our Thursday Blessings. So let’s declare them (chuhhh!!!) so they can be activated.
Altogether: ‘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!’
Now, with those amazing blessings under our belts, it’s our duty to go out and share them with others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us, so that they can come out of their darkness into the light of Jesus, and come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…where light shines…darkness is displaced…and it only takes a li’l light to displace much darkness…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
16 May 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a future and a hope, a great family, a positive outlook on life, according to his riches in glory, Bible, but of power love and a sound mind, called according to His purpose, christianity, curse, divine protection, encouraging scriptures, even unto the end of the world, faith, For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, fulfillment, god, God-given plans, good friends, good health, holy spirit, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, I know the thoughts I think toward you, I will hearken unto you, Jesus, Jesus Christ, laziness, lo I am with you always, LOVE, my God will supply all your needs, negative word, prayer, procrastination, read and study the Word, search for me with all your heart, set your heart and soul to seek the Lord, supplication, thanksgiving, thoughts of peace and not of evil, Thursday Blessings, to give you and expected end, to them that love God, we know that all things work together for good, wisdom, ye shall seek me and find me
Jeremiah 29:13. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Well, it’s Thursday, the penultimate day of our workweek, and tomorrow we get to celebrate the big day of Friday! I must say that this week has gone by awfully fast… and I’m yet to do any of the things I planned to do. Ah Lord eh! Between the devil and my own laziness and procrastination we’ve had a lazy and unfulfilling time. (smile) But dem’s the breaks! And I have no one else to blame but myself.
Now, it’s not that I haven’t done anything at all, but not the supposed important things I wanted to do. And that’s just how life and the enemy work together in concert to delay or trip up our best laid plans. That means we have to be strong and steadfast in the Lord and, if necessary, bully our way through the enemy’s lines and get our God-given plans fulfilled. And it’s not like we don’t have the wherewithal to do it. No! We most definitely do!
Starting with the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit, plus all the wonderful and encouraging scriptures found in the God’s Word. Scriptures like: ‘Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt. 28:20b) That’s Jesus’ faithful promise. Then Bruh Paul tells us, ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind.’ (2 Tim. 1:7) Then he 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)
And what about this wonderful promise that Bruh Paul offers in his letter to the Philippians? ‘Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform (complete) it until the day of Jesus Christ.’ (Phil. 1:6) Then you have this awesome scripture of godly strength: ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.’ (Phil 4:13) And what about this marvellous promise of God’s provision? ‘But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:19)
Yes friends, that’s wonderful news! God will not stop working in us until Jesus returns. That means we don’t have to fear anything, but we do need to keep up our personal intimacy with Him, through prayer, supplication and thanksgiving, while fellowshipping with other believers, to encourage and build up each other so that we can do the good works that God desires of us. That’s why Jesus told the parable to the end that men ought always to pray and faint (lose heart). (Luke 18:1)
For prayer is the immediate method of communication between God and man, the method devised by the heavenly Father for us to share our thoughts and desires with Him. Therefore, when we are tempted to lose faith and give up, that’s the very time we have to be strong and steadfast in prayer! No wonder the Lord said through the prophet Jeremiah: ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope). Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you (listen to you) And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.’ (Jer. 29:11-13)
Ah mih people, if there’s one thing Christians ought not to be lacking in is encouragement, for the Lord’s Word, the Bible, is filled with so many encouraging scriptures to keep us alive and kicking in Christ’s employ. The problem though is that we don’t read and study the scriptures enough, consequently we don’t have those warm and faithful words of encouragement stored in our hearts, minds, bodies and souls. Remember, we cannot be encouraged unless encouragement and reassurance lies within us. And the only way to get it there is by putting it there through reading, studying and memorizing the useful scriptures, so when the time comes, they are right at hand to put them into action.
Now, if we do as we ought, then we don’t have to fear laziness and procrastination, for as the scriptures expound: ‘And God is able to make all grace abound toward you: that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.’ (2 Cor. 9:8) There you go my fellow saints, if we stand strong and steadfast to do the Lord’s will, we will never want for anything. His bountiful grace will supply all we need. And that’s why Bruh David could make this amazing but oh so true statement: ‘The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.’ (Ps. 23:1) That says it all friends. Now we only have to believe it and put it into action. (smile)
So, let’s get to declaring (yesss!!!) our Thursday Blessings, which have been so generously bestowed on us, by the Father, to do His earthly work. And to activate them let’s declare them loud and strong. ‘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 said that, we are now duty bound to go out and use those blessings in the support of others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us. Much LOVE!
…now set your heart and soul to seek the Lord… (1 Chr. 22:19a)
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
26 Jan 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a positive outlook on life, a prayerful and grateful attitude, and again I say rejoice, be careful for nothing, cast thy burden upon the Lord, curse, good friends, good health, he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved, in everything by prayer and supplication, let your moderation be known unto all men, LOVE, negative word, regardless of our circumstances, Rejoice in the Lord always, ride out the storm of life in peace, seek ye first the kingdom of God, sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof, supernatural strength, take no thought for the morrow, Thanks be to God, the God of peace, the Lord is at hand, the peace of God which passeth all understading, think on these things, Thursday Blessings, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are true, with Jesus as your pilot
Philippians 4:6. Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in EVERY THING by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Well, it’s another cold and cloudy day, but one with a peculiar difference; the earth, the trees and the rooftops are covered in that white fluffy stuff called snow. (smile) Yes, we finally got a fair amount of the beautiful but ever so dangerous stuff yesterday and it just made a mess of the Greater Toronto Area. Accidents galore, and endless time to get around, that is when you could. Saw a picture of a bus having problems moving in the thick snow. And if a bus could have problems, think about how the smaller and less powerful vehicles managed nuh.
Oh, and I just heard the snowplough outside finally cleaning my small and insignificant lane. (smile) But we can’t complain too much because it’s the first real snowstorm we’ve had for the year, and it’s definitely not as bad as what some areas have had to suffer through. Our storm probably deposited a few inches, while other areas have had a foot or more. So, we can still say ‘Thanks be to God!’ And if we’re talking about giving thanks, then this scripture from Bruh Paul’s epistle to the church at Philippi, written while he was imprisoned, is one we should certainly review.
He’s talking about the people who helped him lay and build the church, how their names are being written in the Book of Life. Therefore, he advises the church to: ‘Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation (gentleness, graciousness) be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in EVERY THING by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.’ (Phil. 4:4-6)
Oh my fellow believers, I hope you noticed that most significant admonition: ‘in EVERY THING’ we should prayerfully give thanks as we lift up our desires to Almighty God! Yes, whatever it is, however serious or insignificant the problem, our God wants to hear about it, because He desires to work with and help us through whatever difficulties we encounter in this life. But we must endeavour to have a prayerful and grateful attitude regardless of our circumstances. Why?
Bruh Paul explains: ‘And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:7) And that’s the gospel truth! When we keep our minds stayed and steadfast on God, He grants us divine peace from worry and anxiety through His wonderful Son Jesus Christ. It’s like Bruh David writes in Psalm 22 – The Plea of the Fearful: ‘Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer (permit) the righteous to be moved (shaken).’ (Ps. 55:22)
But it won’t happen unless we believe it and subsequently place all our trust in Almighty God. And that’s also why Jesus taught on the importance of not worrying in His Sermon on the Mount. (Matt: 6:25-32) He explained that we should not worry about food and drink and clothes, how the birds and other animals, plus all the beautiful flowers in nature are looked after by the Father, and since we are more important to Him than them, why wouldn’t He also look after us? No reason whatsoever!
And anyway, we can’t change anything by worrying about it, so worrying is useless. Like Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) likes to say. Worry is like sitting in a rocking chair. You can sit there and rock all day and still get nowhere. You can worry about your problems all day and still don’t have a solution. It’s best to spend your energy on talking to God about your problem, than trying to fix it yourself.
Hence Jesus’ admonition: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow (don’t worry about tomorrow): for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil (trouble) thereof.’ (Matt. 6:33-34) Yes friends, each day has its own problems that we need to handle responsibly, instead of wasting our valuable time looking forward to hypothetical problems that might arise on the morrow.
That takes us back to Bruh Paul’s admonition to the Philippians, where he continues: ‘Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest (noble), whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise (anything praiseworthy), think (meditate) on these things. Those things which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.’ (Phil. 4:8-9)
That’s it in a nutshell my fellow saints: how to get God’s peace and how to keep it. Seek God first, don’t worry about your life, but take everything to God in prayer with thanksgiving, and think on good things, things that encourage, rather than discourage, and the God of peace will provide peace and a good, worthwhile life for us. Obviously it won’t be easy to do, what with the natural ups and downs of life, but with God’s most able assistance, through His Holy Spirit that indwells us, we can have a good and fruitful life, producing even up to a hundred-fold. (smile)
And our God is so wonderful that He never asks us to do anything without giving us the wherewithal, or the tools to do them. Consequently, He has generously bestowed on us what we call our Thursday Blessings, so that we can do His earthly work. But we need to declare them out loud so that they can be activated. So, let’s do that right now nuh. Altogether: ‘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!’
Now, with those blessings activated in our lives, we are expected to go out and generously use them to bring others to Christ. Much LOVE!
…you can ride out any storm of life…in peace…with Jesus as your pilot…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
15 Dec 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, curse, divine protection, fear not, fearmongering, go ye therefore and teach all nations, good friends, he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him, I will not fear, it is better to trust in the Lord, LOVE, Mother Nature, negative word, peace be still, proclaim christ, prosper, put confidence in princes, send faith to answer when fear comes knocking, strife-filled situations, succeed, than to put confidence in man, the devil's stranglehold on the world, the divine storm calmer, the Great Commission, the Lord is on my side, the middle verse of the Bible, Thursday Blessings, thy faith hath made thee whole, what can man do unto me, with God all things are possible, without faith it is impossible to please God
Psalm 118:8. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. (the middle verse of the Bible)
Well friends, today, Thursday, the penultimate day of the workweek is supposed to bring us a big snowstorm. Thankfully though, so far we’ve only seen wind and freezing rain in my area. But if the weather forecast holds true, the evening commute home will be terrible. Let’s hope and pray that they are somewhat wrong about the intensity of the storm. And why would we desire an intense physical storm when we already have so many intense emotional and spiritual ones eh?
No way! However, those latter storms can be lessened and controlled by being in association with Jesus Christ, the divine storm calmer. But the physical ones are a different story. Oh, He can calm those too, if He so desires, like he did back on the sea of Galilee, when ‘He rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. (Mark 4:39) But usually, in those cases, He allows Mother Nature to take her course without interference. (smile)
And I believe the best way to handle that situation is to have Jesus calm our own personal storms, so that we can concentrate on the physical ones around us. But you know another li’l ‘secrat’? Jesus can also help us handle the physical storms around us, help us to stay calm in them and navigate our way safely through them. And all God’s children gave a loud shout of gratitude: ‘All glory and honour be to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who enables us to handle whatever storms come into our lives, be they physical, emotional or whatever!’
Ah friends, Jesus’ reach is infinite, and His awesome power is unimaginable, unstoppable, without end! As Jesus said so clearly when talking about it being easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter heaven. ‘With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.’ (Matt. 19:26) That my people, is one of the first things we need to believe when we come to Jesus. As Jesus said to the disciples after calming the storm we spoke of above. ‘Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? (Mark 4:40) But without that staunch faith, everything else is useless.
As the Big Library (smile) clearly spells it out in the book of Hebrews: ‘But without faith it is impossible to please him (God): for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’ (Heb. 11:6) Yes my faithful brethren, we must believe that God exists and rewards those who diligently seek Him. And Hebrews goes on to give us examples of the patriarchs who exhibited that kind of strong faith in God and saw most of their dreams and His promises come true. People like, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, etc. etc.
And in these difficult, evil and turbulent times, it’s that kind of strong faith we believers need to stop the drain of people from Christ’s church, and instead bring them back to His fold, and also bring new believers to Him. But that can only happen if we the current and supposed faithful believers do our jobs; talk about Jesus to others and live the kind of life that will endear them to us and therefore to Him. We have to stop being lazy and lethargic, and override our fear of man and the world, and trust our heavenly Father to take care of us, as He’s so faithfully promised to do.
At this most important time in the annals of history, we believers need to grab the words of Psalm 118 and eat them, let them fill us up with faith. We must be able to unequivocally declare: (steups!!!) ‘I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large (broad) place. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? The Lord taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.’ (Ps. 118:5-9)
Wow mih bredrin! That says it all right there! If we sincerely put our trust in Almighty God, we won’t fear what finite and frail man can do to us. And that brings us right to the crux of the problem: fear and faith; their interconnectivity. You simply can’t have both at the same time. It’s either one or the other; for fear kills faith and faith drives out fear. As they say, when faith comes a knocking, send faith to answer the door. And some of Jesus most popular words down here on earth were ‘Fear not.’
Yes friends, He was either telling people to not fear, or complimenting them on the strength and power of their faith. And you can find a great example of the latter in Mark 10:46-52, when the blind beggar Bartimaeus kept crying out to Jesus as He was passing through the streets of Jericho: ‘Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.’ (Mark 10:47) Jesus finally had the blind man brought to Him and asked what he wanted. Without hesitation, he replied ‘Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.’ (Mark 10:51-52)
Now that’s the kind of staunch and believing faith we need today. Unfortunately though, today’s church seems mostly filled with fear and very little faith, otherwise we would be more industrious in working and living for Jesus, and the devil would not have such a stranglehold on the world, especially on our children of this generation. Ah mih people, we can’t allow this fearmongering and strife-filled situation to continue in our world. It’s our job to clean it up. When Jesus comes back, He expects to find a strong, unified, and diligent church.
Has it ever occurred to us that the reason, or one of the reasons He has not yet returned, is that His church is weak, fearful, disunited and lazy? But even in our unfaithfulness, He’s seen it fit to shower us with undeserved blessings which enable us to do His earthly work. We call them our Thursday Blessings, and they need to be declared (chuh!!!) out loud to be activated. 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 I’m chuckling here as I think what a nightmare it would be if I had to write ‘declare’ (steups!!!) so often every week. Thanks for the power of copying. But seriously though my fellow saints, we now need to take those blessings and go out into this evil world and sincerely and diligently use them to proclaim Christ’s wonderful name and His magnificent gospel as we have been commissioned to do! Much LOVE!
…go ye therefore…and teach all nations…that’s our Great Commission…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
07 Apr 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a great family, about the time of the evening oblation, all in God's good time, because he hath known my name, because he hath set his love upon me, before they call I will answer, being caused to fly swiftly, confessing my sin, curse, God is never late, good friends, I will be with him in trouble, I will set him on high, it shall come to pass, it takes two to tango, like a spring of water whose waters fail not, like a watered garden, LOVE, make fat thy bones, negative word, one hand washes the other, satisfy thy soul in drought, show him my salvation, speaking in prayereven the man Gabriel, success, supernatural strength, the new Jerusalem, the wolf and the lamb shall feed together, then shall thy light break forth as the morning, therefore will I deliver him, thine health shall spring forth speedily, thou art greatly beloved, Thursday Blessings, understand the matter and consider the vision, when they are yet speaking I will hear, with long life will I satisfy him
Isaiah 65:24. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and when they are yet speaking, I will hear.
It’s a beautiful Thursday morning out there my people! Only wish there could be a li’l more heat in the sun though. (smile) But that will come eventually; all in God’s good time. That’s one thing about our great God, He might not come exactly when we want Him to, but He is aware of all our situations, and rest assured, He’s NEVER late! Glory be my faithful brethren!
The promises of our God are ever so important because oftentimes that’s all we have to base our faith and trust on, remembering that He’s never broken one in the past and has both the desire and power to never break any at all. So today, let’s look at one interesting promise made by the prophet Isaiah on the Lord’s behalf, when he spoke to his people about new heavens and a new earth. ‘And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and when they are yet speaking, I will hear.’ (Is. 65:24)
Yes friends, that’s how quick the communication will be! The Lord promises to answer before we even call, and to answer while we are still speaking! Wow! That’s how it will be in the New Jerusalem! Can you imagine that beautiful and serene scene, where ‘The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock (ox): and dust shall be the serpent’s meat (food). They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.’ (Is. 65:25) Oh, I know some of us won’t believe it until we see it, but that’s what it takes to live in God’s kingdom; you believe it before you see it!
Now, let’s look at some other promises that branch off from that one nuh, where the Lord assures and reassures of His faithfulness. And Isaiah in his true description of religion, reiterates God’s promise. If his people will give up their wicked and idolatrous ways and do what God desires of them: ‘Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health (healing) shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward (rear guard).
Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth (pointing) of the finger, and speaking vanity (wickedness). And if thou draw out (extend) thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity (darkness), and thy darkness (gloom) be as the noonday. And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought (famine), and make fat (strengthen) thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.’ (Is. 58: 8-11)
Oh my people, who wouldn’t want to enjoy such a beautiful life eh? But it requires keeping our promise to live for the Lord. He will do almost anything for us if we live the way He desires, with Him being FIRST in all we do. Yes, we all LOVE the good life, but we don’t want to work for it. Unfortunately though, the good life only comes through obedience, hard work and sacrifice!
Now listen to these wonderful words of promise from Psalm 91 – God is a refuge and a fortress. The psalmist confidently declares of the Lord: ‘Because he hath set his LOVE upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life (length of days) will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.’ (Ps. 91:14-16) You couldn’t get a better promise than that my people! But then again, it requires some serious and sincere effort on our part towards our heavenly Father.
And what about this miraculous happening in the answer of prayer from the words of Daniel? He says: ‘And while I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin, and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God; Yea, while I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly (being weary with weariness), touched (reached) me about the time of the evening oblation (offering).
And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and (in) understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment (word, order) came forth, and I am come to show (tell) thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand (give heed to) the matter, and consider (understand) the vision.’ (Dan. 9:20-23)
Now doesn’t that just warm the cockles of your hearts my fellow saints? It ought to, for before Daniel was even finished praying the angel Gabriel came to talk with him; exactly what the Lord promised in those other scriptures we’ve read this morning. He even showed him a vision of Israel’s future. But that was because Daniel was an obedient servant of the Lord. And He would do the very same with us, if we truly became His obedient servants.
And the scholars offer this interesting explanation on those verses. ‘9:20-23. The answer of God to Daniel’s prayer came immediately through the angel Gabriel. Although Daniel’s prayer was primarily for God’s forgiveness and restoration of the Jews to their land, his initial concern for God’s programme for Israel (vs.2) caused the Lord to reveal to him an outline of Israel’s future from that point on.’ And that vision of Israel has held true right down through the ages.
But friends, receiving the goodness of God, almost always depends on us doing what He requires. It’s as simple as that. As the ole people would say, ‘it takes two to tango, and one hand washes the other.’ One person can’t tango by themself, neither can one hand wash itself, and we need to remember that we are in a partnership with God, which means both sides have their parts to do. Our part is to serve and worship the Lord fervently and obediently. His is to look after us when we do that.
And yuh know what, He’s so good, that He even gives us stuff that we don’t deserve, like what we call our Thursday Blessings, but they enable us to do His work. So, we don’t even have cause to complain that we don’t have the tools to do His work. (smile) Now let’s declare those blessings in loud and proud voice, so that they can take effect in our souls, and thus in our everyday lives.
‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection!
I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
And if we want to see real benefits in our earthly walk, then we need to go and put those blessings to work in the lives of others, just as generously and unselfishly as the Lord did in ours. Much LOVE!
…what’s in a promise…one’s heart and soul…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
24 Feb 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a name which is above every other name, a positive outlook on life, became obedient unto death, being in the form of God, bounden duty, curse, divine protection, every knee should bow, every tongue confess, exiled to eternal death, good friends, harmonious living, Jesus christ is Lord, Jesus keeps us well-balanced, Jesus put the Father's will first, Jesus turned the world upside down, Jesus' triumphant resurrection, let this mind be in you, LOVE, made himself of no reputation, negative word, pen-ultimate day of the workweek, reconciled back to the Father, selflessly sacrificed himself, the gospel truth, the only god that's alive and kicking, the Only real God, There's no God like Jehovah, Thursday Blessings, to the glory of God the Father, took upon him the form of a servant, whcih also was in Christ Jesus
Philippians 2:5. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: (harmonious living):
And then it was the pen-ultimate day of the work week, Thursday…sunshiny and cold, like winter is supposed to be! (smile) Ah friends, the weather has been playing such tricks and games on us recently, moving from one extreme to the next with such ease, that we are glad to finally see a dry, but cold sunshiny day, with no precipitation whatsoever. And it’s oh so good that we have Jesus to keep us well-balanced in our emotions and feelings, otherwise the recent see-sawing weather would certainly drive us crazy.
And as the song’s saying, ‘There’s no God like Jehovah!’ And that’s the gospel truth, for He is the ONLY real God, the ONLY One that’s alive and kicking! All other supposed gods are dead and immobile without any power to move themselves much less to move and impact a world of several billion lost souls. And that, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ has done! Done it in spades too!
He’s turned the world upside down, so much so that His name is now the most LOVED and adored, as well as the most controversial on planet earth. That’s because He makes a substantial and wonderful difference through His Holy Spirit, in the lives He enters. You either LOVE Him completely, with all your heart, mind, body and soul, or dislike Him the same way, like the evildoers do. There’s no in-between where our Jesus is concerned; it’s either one or the other!
And why has this magnificent transformation taken place in our evil world down through the ages? Because Jesus came to earth two thousand years ago and selflessly sacrificed himself on the cross at Calvary so that man’s sins could be forgiven, and that we could be reconciled back to the Father, our Creator and Controller, from whom we had been long separated by our abominable sinful behaviour. And in return for that, for that selfless obedience, the Father honoured Him like never before.
Listen as the Good Book tells the story through the words of Bruh Paul to the Philippians: ‘Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: (harmonious living): Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’ (Phil. 2:5-8)
Oh friends, what a marvellous example Jesus is to us all with our sinful disobedience! And what all that means is Jesus believed in and preached and practised harmonious living while here on earth. And though He possessed a divine nature, was God in man form, He did not boast about it, ‘made himself of no reputation,’ but in all things put the Father’s will first, even being obedient to dying a horrible, unfair, sacrificial death on the cross for a bunch of ungrateful sinners.
But the Father asked Him to, because there was no other just and righteous way to absolve mankind of sin without blood being shed to pay the price for our heinous iniquities. And Jesus LOVED the Father so much that He acquiesced to His request despite the terrible ‘sufferation’ He knew He would have to undergo, even to being forsaken and cast aside by the Father as the bearer of the world’s sin, for a couple of days until His triumphant resurrection on that first Easter morn.
Wow! What a giant is our Jesus! And the Father appreciated Jesus’ great sacrifice so much, that He rewarded Him for His unswerving obedience and selflessness. Hear Bruh tell it nuh. ‘Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of (those) things in heaven, and (those) things in earth, and (those) things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil. 4:9-11)
And that my people is why Jesus’ name is so great, so controversial and so compelling – it’s the highest name there is besides the Father’s! And one day, hopefully very soon, every being on planet earth will bow their knees to Him, acknowledge and submit to His sovereignty as Lord, as God, to the honour of the Father!
Now that’s the good side of the equation, but those unwise people who refuse to bow down and worship Him will be banished, exiled to eternal death and damnation because of their unbelief! It’s as simple as that my people. Either accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour, or suffer eternal separation from the wonders of His amazing LOVE and marvellous kingdom.
And I don’t know about you, but I’m not willing to take that chance. I’m going to do my best to stay close to Jesus, as close as white on rice (smile) so that when He comes again, I’m going home with Him and remain with Him forever, for wherever He is, I know that’s the best place to be!
And now, for all of us who think that way, let’s go home declaring (chuh man!!!) our Thursday Blessings granted to us to do His awesome work down here on earth. Altogether 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 every day! Amen!’
Now, it’s our bounden duty to go out and share those gifts, or the fruit from them, as selflessly and generously with others, as Jesus shared them with us. It’s the only way to glorify His name. Much LOVE!
…there’s no other name that moves and fascinates mankind…like that of…JESUS…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
17 Feb 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a figment of our imagination, a small fish in a big pond, an abundance of bad weather, Christ's triumphant resurrection, climate change, courage, crapaud smoke we pipe, curse, easter morning, eaten up by the big fish, faith, fast pace of life, favour, free from the bondage of sin, God sent not his son into the world, God so loved the world, good friends, have everlasting life, he gave his only begotten son, I am the way the truth and the life, Jesus is real, LOVE, negative word, no man cometh unto the Father but by me, our reason for living, self-disicpline, supernatural wisdom, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, the author and finisher of our faith, the wrath of God abideth on him, through Jesus Christ the Son, Thursday Blessings, to condemn the world but to save it, to the Lord God Jehovah be all the glory, we don't need to understand just believe
John 14:6. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Oh friends, I can’t handle this fast pace of life nuh, for already it’s Thursday. (smile) And to make matters worse, in the next few days, we are supposed to be getting an abundance of bad weather, ranging from rain to snow and all the other stuff in between. We’ve had the rain overnight, with the current temps around 6 degrees Celsius, but they are calling for freezing rain later in the afternoon. That means the temperature drops, heralding an icy situation.
Whatever happened to the days when winter was winter eh…and not a combination of all the other seasons? (smile) And yet they claim that climate change is not real. Well, it certainly is! I’ve seen it with my own two eyes since I’ve been in this country. The weather patterns have become less reliable and more unpredictable. But what does the ole fella know eh? He’s just a small fish in a big pond, trying not to get eaten up by the big fish. (smile)
Oh, I just thought of one thing I know for sure, that Jesus is real! He’s alive and well and walking with me and those who believe in Him every step of the way! Wow! What an honour to have the Creator and Saviour of the universe walking hand in hand with us along our earthly journey, then standing ready to welcome us home to be with Him all through eternity! It’s almost too much to comprehend my fellow believers! But He never said we had to understand, just believe!
As He so faithfully proclaimed in these scriptures that we all know by heart, but don’t always take to heart. ‘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. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.’ (John 3:16-17) Now there’s our reason for living right there in those few words! It’s all about Jesus, the Saviour of the world!
But ignorant men continually refuse to believe His truthful words. And this next verse is for them: ‘He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.’ (John 3:18) Now friends, that verse ought to give all of us pause, cause us to stop right in our tracks and consider if we truly believe, because if we don’t, crapaud smoke we pipe, we are already condemned to hell fire and eternal damnation.
Yes my brethren, we end up in Hades with the wicked and evil Lucifer simply because we do not believe in Jesus, the One who came to earth specifically to save us from the frightening clutches of the evil imposter. And check out this other verse where He reinforces those statements nuh. ‘He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth (remains) on him.’ (John 3:36)
Now why would anyone in their right minds want to experience the wrath of God eh, when the only thing more powerful and less menacing than that is His awesome LOVE! I certainly don’t, especially after reading about some of the instances in His Word. But for some unfathomable reason, many of us seem to take the Lord and His Word for a joke, for something that’s not real, a mere figment of our imagination, a way of life to keep us in bondage to religion.
But the awesome truth is that Jesus came to set us free from the bondage of sin, from the evil clutches of his satanic majesty. That’s the one who has us in bondage, not Jesus who came to set us free. As He said to a group who claimed to believe in Him. ‘If ye continue (abide) in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’ (John 8:31-32) Oh my people, only the truth can ever set us free from anything at all! Lies will keep us forever in bondage.
And where do we find the truth? In Jesus. Please note His response to Thomas’ query: ‘Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ (John 14:5-6) And therein lies the solution to ALL our problems my fellow saints. Jesus is the living example for all of us to follow, as the Good Book says, ‘the author (originator) and finisher (perfector) of our faith…’ (Heb. 12:2a) So where He leads, we ought to follow.
And He’s also the truth, the genuine God, the real Mccoy. So, we ought also to believe Him. And per the life, Jesus is the One who enables us to have eternal life, through His atoning death on the cross at Calvary, then His triumphant resurrection on that first Easter morning, two thousand years ago. And John puts it very plainly and simply in his first epistle. ‘And this is the record (testimony), that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life (eternal).’ (1 John 5:11-12) Now that is the everlasting truth!
And since it’s Thursday, it’s time to go home declaring (steups!!!) our Thursday Blessings, so that they can be truly manifested in our lives. As one strong, believing and faithful 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!’
Now friends, we don’t truly deserve any of those blessings, but our God is so wonderful that He gave them to us so we can do His earthly work. So please, let’s go out and share them just as generously with others as He so generously shared them with us nuh! Much LOVE!
…to the Lord God Jehovah be all the glory…through Jesus Christ the Son…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
30 Dec 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a constant state of readiness, a Sunday evening walk in the park, according to his riches in glory, and lo I am with you always, as for me and my house, be ye also ready, courage, creativity, curse, even unto the end of the world, feel it in every fibre of our being, for in such an hour as ye think not, gain the whole world and lose his soul, good friends, good health, He shall give you another Comforter, I will come to you, I will not leave you comfortless, if any man will come after me, if god be for us who can be against us, let him deny himself, LOVE, my God will supply all your needs, negative word, Omicron variant, one days is with the Lord as a thousand years, prosper, Seasonal Affective disorder, self-control, succeed, take up his cross and follow me, the Only Begotten Son, the Son of man will come, this is the day the Lord has made, through Christ Jesus, Thursday Blessings, to them who are called according to his purpose, to those who love God, watch therefore, we know that all things work together for good, we will rejoice and be glad in it, we will serve the Lord, what is a man profited, whosoever shall lose his life for my sake
John 14:18. I will not leave you comfortless (as orphans): I will come to you.
And it’s another one of those SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) inducing days, with a ballooning Omicron virus adding the finishing touches, as if we need any more problems in this already problem filled world! That’s why we need Jesus so badly in these turbulent times! Yes friends, the Only Begotten Son is the ONLY One who can promise us sustenance and succour in these ungodly times, and faithfully keep that promise.
And we need to use His Word, His promises to boost our self-confidence and help us retain our sanity. Words like: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it! My God will supply all of my needs according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus! If God be for us who can be against us eh? NOBODY! Yes mih bredrin, if the One and Only True Living God is for us, not a single soul can be against us! Consequently, we can then declare: ‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!’
But we need to believe it all, to feel it in every fibre of our being! Especially this all-encompassing verse: ‘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) Oh, it does sound like a tough verse to believe, but it’s the basis of everything in our faith, knowing that despite the trials and tribulation we will endure in this evil world, that eventually the Lord will work it all out for our good!
Wow! What other deity can make that faithful promise eh? NONE! None whatsoever! Only the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! I know that some of us unwittingly come to Christianity as an easy go, as a Sunday evening walk in the park, but that’s the furthest thing from the truth my people. Did Jesus have an easy walk in the park when He came to earth to save us from our sins and reconcile us to the Father?
Absolutely not! They gave Him a terrible time, ranging from disbelief, to slander, to physical punishment, and finally crucifixion, and anyone, who decides to take up their cross and follow Him will inevitably find struggles and possibly persecution, just like He did. Please remember these fateful words of Jesus, for they are the foundational authority to discipleship.
‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.’ (Matt. 16:24-27)
Yes my fellow believers, that’s what we have to look forward to if we sincerely follow Jesus. And it’s a promise that seems will be soon fulfilled the way our world is showing many of the signs Jesus gave for His second coming. But soon with us and soon with God, are too entirely different things. Peter tells us that ‘one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.’ (2 Pet. 3:8) Now the early church thought that Jesus would soon return, but in our view, two thousand years have passed and He’s still not come back. However, that could simply be because to the Lord that’s only two days. (smile)
But please don’t be fooled, Christ’s return could happen at any time, that’s why He warned: ‘But of that day an hour knoweth no man, no not the angels of heaven, But my Father only… Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come…Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.’ (Matt. 24:36, 42, 44)
Oh my brethren, regardless of what signs we see or think we see, only the Father knows when the Son is going to return, that means we must be prepared, be ready for His Second Coming at any moment. That’s what those verses above are saying: ‘Be prepared!’ Are we prepared? Now that’s the big question. How many of us have set our house in order and are ready for if Jesus comes back today?
Remember they also say He can come as a thief in the night, (1 Thess. 5:2) that’s unexpectedly, at any time, day or night, today tomorrow or even another two thousand years from now. But the important thing is for believers to be in a constant state of readiness for whenever that marvellous occasion happens, because we know, are very sure, that it will happen eventually, just not exactly when.
And the wonderful thing about Jesus is that just like He promised before He went back to heaven, He has faithfully done: ‘And I shall pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever… I will not leave you comfortless (as orphans): I will come to you.’ (John 14:16,18) And at that first Pentecost after His ascension, (Acts 2:1-4) He did indeed send the Holy Ghost to indwell all believers, to keep us safe, to lead and guide us in the direction He desires, that is, provided we are willing to listen and abide by the guiding of the Holy Spirit.
Thus my fellow saints, the ball is now in our court! And our Jesus is ever so wonderful that He’s bestowed all kinds of blessing on those who believe that they can do His earthly work. And what a potent and plentiful set of blessings they are! We call them our Thursday Blessings, and since a blessing is not a blessing until it is declared out loud, let’s declare them right now nuh.
Altogether, in 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!’
MamaYo! What a magnificent set of blessings my faithful brethren! It now behooves us to put them to work in our lives and share them with others just as generously as Jesus shared them with us! Much LOVE!
…and, lo…I am with you always…even unto the end of the world… (Matt. 28:20b)
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
09 Dec 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a form of godliness, a positive outlook on life, a tome of enduring wisdom and vision, Advent, blasphemers, blind leaders of the blind, boasters, bring forth trouble, Christmas, conceive mischief, corruption and suffering, courage, Covid and its variants, creativity, curse, from such turn away, going to hell in a hand-basket, good friends, he will not hear, in all the wrong places, in desolate places like dead men, in the name of Jesus, joyful time of celebration, kicking up a mighty storm, Love thy neighbour as thyself, make haste to shed innocent blood, men shall be lovers of their own selves, negative word, neither his ear heavy that it cannot hear, none calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth, proud, speak lies, success, suffer for disobedience, the antidote to evil -the church, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save, the time of waiting and watching for Christ, the way of peace they know not, they trust in vanity, Thursday Blessings, turning away from God, we wait for light but behold obscurity, your fingers with iniquity, your hands are defiled with blood, your iniquities have separated you from God, your lips have spoken lies, your sins have hid his face from you, your tongue hath muttered perverseness
Isaiah 59:2. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
Well, onward and upward my fellow saints, on this cold, damp and snowy Thursday in the early days of Advent, that time of waiting and watching for our Lord and Saviour Jesus to appear at that joyful time of celebration – Christmas! And we might have a somewhat better time this year than we did last year when the Covid 19 virus obliterated much of everything and every pleasure, but it’s still far from what we used to consider normal.
Yes, there are decorations, lights, food shopping, gift buying and such, but underneath it all Covid and its variants are still kicking up a mighty storm, and we still need to be very concerned about what’s happening in our backyard as well as our world, since there’s really no good news to report. Numbers are up all over, and the dissension re the vaccine and if the virus is real and the numerous other problems seems to be increasing rather than decreasing.
So friends, this morning I have a li’l bit of info to share with us from a wonderful source, a magnificent tome of enduring wisdom and vision, re national corruption and consequent suffering. And I know we all agree that there’s way too much corruption and suffering in our world. But why is that eh?
The Word says: ‘Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood (bloodshed), and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity (empty words), and speak lies; they conceive mischief (trouble, evil), and bring forth iniquity.’ (Is. 59:1-4)
And just like it was back in Israel in those corrupt, sinful and disobedient days, the same it is today in our supposed more enlightened time! There’s not one act named above there of which our world is not also guilty of, just like Israel was back in olden times. And did they suffer for their disobedience and turning away from the God of their forefathers? Yes they did! So why do we think that we are different eh? It’s the same crimes we have committed and are still committing, so why shouldn’t we suffer like judgement?
Oh friends, our sins, our iniquity, our disobedience have separated us from God’s presence, especially since we are so intent on removing Him from our society. He’s leaving us alone to fix our business, which anyone with a modicum of wisdom knows that we cannot do.
Listen further to the Good Book as it describes our pagan society in lurid and vivid detail. ‘Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgement (justice) in their goings (tracks): they have made them crooked paths, whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.’ (Is. 59:7-8)
Yes my fellow believers, we could not write a more accurate description of our ineffective, immoral and ungodly society right now! It’s a total mess! No peace, no justice, only crookedness and corruption, violence and evildoing! And I don’t know of another time in history when innocent blood has been shed so easily and in such alarming amounts as we are currently doing, in what is essentially a time of peace.
It’s no coincidence that the Good Book continues: ‘Therefore is judgement (justice) far from us, neither doth justice (righteousness) overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity (darkness); for brightness, but we walk in darkness (gloom, blackness). We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night (at twilight); we are in desolate places as dead men. We roar all (growl) like bears, and mourn sore (moan sadly) like doves: we look for judgement (justice), but there is none: for salvation, but it is far off from us.’ (Is. 59:9-11)
Oh my brethren, that’s such indisputable truth re our current society that it’s not funny! We are looking for salvation, wisdom and peace, but in all the wrong places. Our leaders have become hopeless tyrants and oppressors! Reminding us of the very applicable words of Jesus, re the leaders in His day: ‘Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.’ (Matt. 15:14) No wonder our world is quickly going to hell in a handbasket with the poor quality of leadership we currently have.
And please don’t go blaming the secular world for all of our problems, the body of Christ, His church is also guilty of a lot of those sins and transgressions. We are supposed to be ONE body sharing the LOVE and salvation of Christ. Hn! But instead, we are an ever growing, separatist body of denominations, cliques and cults, all spewing our own divergent and disparate versions of God’s word and His salvation.
As Bruh Paul wrote to Timothy re the end times: ‘For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous (money lovers), boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers (irreconcilable), false accusers (slanderers), incontinent (without self-control), fierce (brutal), despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady (reckless) high-minded (haughty), lovers of pleasures, more (rather) than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.’ (2 Tim. 3:2-5)
Ah mih people, all those ungodly and sinful traits are very prevalent in our current society, even many of the supposed religious have mere religion and no real spiritual life, so why are we surprised at the sad and sorry state we are in eh? And if Christ’s church does not stand up strong and courageous and try to counteract them, then our world will just naturally fall to pieces, more likely than not implode from the hatred and evil currently existing deep within its soul and heart.
Anyway friends, it’s not too late, all is not yet lost! There is a relatively small group of us who are sincerely trying to turn things around by putting forth the true Word of God and the real Gospel or good news of Christ. And the Lord has bestowed on us numerous blessings to help us in our work, but they need to be spoken our loud before they can take effect. So, let’s declare what we call our Thursday Blessings in loud and confident 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!’
Now let’s get out into the evil and ungodly world and do our God-given tasks, sharing the Word of God and those many blessings, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us. Much LOVE!
…the antidote to evil in the world…the church…Christ’s body of faithful believers…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
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