10 Oct 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a man after His own heart, a positive outlook on life, Bible, bring it to pass, christianity, commit thy way unto the Lord, curse, deceit, delight thyself also in the Lord, difficult circumstances, divine protection, emotionally, enjoy all the blessings of God, faith, favour, feed thee, fewer your days, give the the desires of thine heart, god, grateful devoted heart, greed, happiness, holy spirit, Jesus Christ, like putty in God's hands, LOVE, lovers of God, makes you stronger, more like Jesus, negative word, not doing thine own ways, obedience, physocally, pliable in God's hands, praise God, promotion, repentant, reverent, ride upon the high places, satisfaction, seek intimacy with God, selfishness, spiritually, supernatural wisdom, teachable, tender, the clock's ticking, the essence of our faith, the heritage of Jacob, the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it, the world's way, to gain great pleasure, trust also in him, trust God wholeheartedly, truth, turn away from your pleasure, value God for who He is not what He can do for us, value people for who they are, value the giver more than the gifts, wisdom
Psalm 37:4-5. Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass.
And believe it or not, it’s Thursday, the second to last day of our work week. I don’t know if I’m happy or sad that the days seem to be passing by so quickly. The problem might just be that the older you get the fewer your days on God’s good earth become, and you get anxious that you’ve not done as much as you wanted to do, or more importantly, the things you’ve desired to do. And right now, that’s somewhat true for me, because there are several things I haven’t yet done that I greatly desire to do.
When you’re twenty odd, you easily envision many more days alive and kicking, but at the ripe ole age of seventy odd, you know that the clock’s ticking and your days are not that many. But then again, when you trust God wholeheartedly, you’re not supposed to be worried or anxious about anything, for the Bible tells us, in the words of Bruh David from Psalm 37 – titled Trust in the Lord: ‘Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass.’ (Ps. 37:4-5)
And what does it mean to delight thyself in the Lord? Here’s a short and simple answer from this commentary. ‘To “delight in the Lord” is to enjoy all the blessings found in Him, because they are from Him, not merely because they are to our benefit. It’s often said that the person who delights in the Lord values the Giver more highly than His gifts.’ Now that’s an attitude we should surely have towards our God; appreciating and valuing Him for what and who He is, than merely for what He can do for us in terms of worldly needs.
It’s also something we should be seriously pursuing in our daily lives with other people; valuing them more as God’s people, our brothers and sisters in Christ, rather than merely thinking of them in terms of what they can do for us. And that brings us right back to what we’re talking about; foregoing all the selfishness, greed and deceit that our world today teaches as a way of life, and committing to God’s way, which is the exact opposite. (smile)
Meanwhile, this other commentary shows delighting in God in a different light. It asks, ‘What is the biblical meaning of delight?’ And answers: ‘The word delight means “to gain great pleasure, satisfaction, and happiness.” Additionally, another meaning of the Hebrew word for delight is “to be soft, tender.” I think LOVERS of God are those who are soft and tender toward Him, always teachable, always pliable in His hands.’
That’s also true. We need to be like putty in God’s hands, obedient, and committing our ways to Him, meaning ‘invite the Lord to examine our desires and intentions—and change whatever does not fit his purpose or advance his plan for our life.’ And we wonder why God delighted in Bruh David with all of his abominable behaviour. Because he had a repentant, reverent, grateful and devoted heart.
And we can see that from the words of this commentary. ‘Because of his knowledge of God, David refrained from killing Saul when he had the opportunity, content to wait for God to act in his perfect timing. David demonstrated delight in God through his obedience and praise to God despite his difficult circumstances.’
Ah friends, if only we could be so trusting and obedient. That doesn’t mean we won’t do wrong, but when we realize, it we turn asap to God and confess and repent of it. That’s what Bruh David did, and the Lord still considered him a friend and a man after His own heart. The whole point of delighting in God, and committing our ways to Him, is encouraging and challenging us to seek intimacy with God every day. And the greater the intimacy, the greater the obedience and the greater the blessing!
It’s all a part of God’s great plan for us to commune continuously and deeply with Him. It’s one of the reasons He created us. So when we don’t seek to get close to God, then we’re losing out, missing a whole set of wonderful blessings and interesting adventures and situations. Now, they won’t always be a Sunday walk in the park, (smile) but they’ll surely brighten up your life and make you stronger; physically, spiritually and emotionally, in other words, more like Jesus.
Now listen to this scripture from Isaiah, where he’s talking to the people about honouring the Sabbath. ‘If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shall honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places (hills) of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.’ (Is. 58:13-14)
Yes my fellow believers, if we choose the Lord’s way, rather than ours, He will rain down blessings on us in such abundance that we won’t be able to handle them. But unfortunately, too many of us are following the foolish dictates of the world, to basically go against everything that God stands for. No wonder our world is filled with man-made chaos and natural disasters. So what are we going to do about this undesirable situation eh? The answer lies in our hands my fellow saints, and the Lord has most generously given us the tools to handle it. We call them our Thursday Blessings. So let’s declare (chuh!!!) them right now, so that they can be activated in our lives.
As one strong and sincere voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
And having made that declaration (yesss!!!) it now behooves us to go out and use those blessings for the benefit of others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us! Much LOVE!
…delighting in our wonderful God…is the essence of our faith…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
11 Sep 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a changing of perception, a flamboyant lifestyle, a good foundation, a good name is to be chosen above riches, a good reputation, a good reputation is more valuable than wealth, be rich in good works, Bible, cahracter, charge them that are rich, christianity, digging dirt on opponents, do good, dreadful consequences, endure to the end, eyes fixed straight ahead, faith, fame, get in step, god, greed, halfway home, hands on the plough, he addeth no sorrow with it, he that steals my good name robs me, he who steals my purse steals trash, immediate satisfaction, integrity, it is the Lord that gives you power to get wealth, jealousy, Jesus Christ, lay hold on eternal life, laying up in store for themselves, lead us down wrong paths, LOVE, loving favour rather than silver or gold, makes me poor indeed, mercy, naked we came, naked we will go back, not looking back, power, ready to distribute, ready to give, social media, thank God, the arena of plotice, the blessing of the Lord it maketh rich, the breath of life, the prevalence of destroying eputations, the reality of the situation, they be not highminded, to a glorious future with Jesus, trust in the living God, trust not in uncertain riches, truth, wealth, Wednesday Wail, willing to share, wisdom
Proverbs 22:1. A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and LOVING favour rather than silver or gold.
And then it was Wednesday… and somebody said ‘Already!’ Yes sir, the week is moving along like nobody’s business, and if you don’t get in step with it, then it will simply leave you behind. (smile) Many of us believe that the days, and thus the weeks and months are moving faster than ever, as one person recently told me, before the weeks’ start they are finished, and that certainly seems true. However, the days and other elements of time are still moving ahead at the same pace the Lord assigned them many eons ago, what’s changing is our perception of them.
Our world is now so busy and technologically advanced, with almost everything readily at hand, that we get the impression that things are moving quicker than usual. And believe me, that attribute of perception, the ability to notice and understand things that are not obvious to other people, can and have led us down some wrong paths with dreadful consequences. That’s why we have to be very careful of what we think or believe we perceive. Like thinking that the things of the world, it’s wealth, power and fame and the flamboyant lifestyle that those who have them live are so great that we ought to kill ourselves trying to get them.
But unfortunately that is definitely not the reality of the situation. For those things in and of themselves don’t bring true happiness, which only come from matters like peace, LOVE, joy and rightness with God. Oftentimes, they bring the exact opposite and those who have them then regret they ever acquired them. One of the reasons for that is the greed and jealousy of man. We see what others have and don’t know how they acquired it, but we want it too, so we decide to do whatever it takes to get it.
But here’s the wisdom, obviously from the wisest man ever, Cousin Sol, that should be our guide on this the Lord’s great earth. ‘A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and LOVING favour rather than silver or gold.’ (Prov. 22:1) Oh my fellow believers, a good reputation is much more important than wealth.
And it’s rather interesting that William Shakespeare in his play Othello, puts these words of absolute truth into the mouth of his character Iago, a lying, immoral man. ‘Good name in man and woman, dear my lord, Is the immediate jewel of their souls: Who steals my purse steals trash; ’tis something, nothing; ‘Twas mine, ’tis his, and has been slave to thousands: But he that filches from me my good name Robs me of that which not enriches him And makes me poor indeed.’
It’s no joke friends, the loss of our good name, our reputation, the tarnishing of our character is ever much more important our material wealth and fame, for when you lose that, it’s almost impossible to regain it. As this commentary explains. ‘Iago compares a good reputation to a precious jewel that, unlike money, has true and lasting value for its owner, yet is worthless to anyone who would try to steal it.’ And sadly in this modern age of social media and all the other technological developments, it’s very easy to slander and destroy someone’s reputation by simply posting lies and untruths that are greedily picked up and spread like wildfire by those who read or see them.
And it’s oh so sad that even the big newscasters nowadays no longer seem to check the facts, as they use to, before rushing to publish stuff they see on the social media platforms because the big thing is to be the first to bring it to public attention. But in their haste to be the first they are ofttimes making themselves look real foolish by publishing incorrect news. But that’s our modern world; everything is about speed and immediate satisfaction, the real truth doesn’t matter half as much as it should. And where the killing of someone’s reputation and character is most prevalent is in the arena of politics.
Now, no one campaigns on the strength of their own personality or what they have to bring to the table, but the first thing is always to look for dirt on one’s opponents and base your campaign on those things. And politicians are not above lying and making up untrue situations which the naïve and unschooled sheep known as the voters quickly believe, because our society is now built on defamation of character. And nowhere is that more visible than in the current U.S. Presidential Election campaign.
However, getting back to our topic of putting material wealth and fame and power at the top of our list, before God, there is one scripture we ought to pay particular attention to, that’s this one which Moses speaks to the Israelites, reminding them of where all their prosperity comes from. ‘And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee the power to get wealth, that he may establish (confirm) his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.’ (Deut. 8:17-18)
Yes friends, it’s Almighty God who gives to each of us the power to gain wealth. For as Jesus says, without him we can do nothing. (John 15:5) Let’s remember that God is the Creator and Controller of this world and nothing happens in it unless He originates it or allows it to happen. And again we turn to not only the wisest but also the richest man ever, that’s Cousin Sol for this other gem of wisdom on the subject. ‘The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.’ (Prov. 10:22) And if anybody should know about wealth that’s Cousin Sol because the Lord made him the wealthiest man ever because instead of asking for long life and riches, he asked for wisdom to lead God’s people.
And although there’s no shame in being wealthy in worldly goods, we ought to note this scripture from Bruh Paul to Timothy very closely. ‘Charge (command) them that are rich in this world (present age), that they be not highminded (haughty), nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute (give), willing to communicate (share); Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.’ (1 Tim. 6:17-19)
Oh my fellow believers, when the Lord allows us to gain earthly wealth it’s not for us to hoard and admire, but to share with the less fortunate of our society. Please, let’s remember that and promise ourselves to improve our generosity, because I’m sure all of us can do a li’l better than we’re currently doing in a world that’s desperate for brotherly help and LOVE. Now, let’s go home declaring (chuh!!!) our Wednesday Wail.
As one strong and sincere voice: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And it’s been further promised that if we endure with Jesus right to the very end, then that future will be even more glorious then we can ask or imagine. So, hoping to see you there at the very end! Much LOVE!
…naked we came…and naked we will go…except for what’s inside us…our character and integrity…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
27 Aug 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a learned behaviour, affections and lusts, be desirous of vain glory, Bible, bounden duty, Christ in us, christianity, conceited, crucified the flesh, encying one another, faith, faithfulness, goodness, greed, holy spirit, how to abound, how to be abased, hurry, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, I have learned, in god's eyes, in whatsoever state I am, jealousy, Jesus Christ, joy, kindness, live humbly, live in prosperity, LOVE, not that we are sufficient of ourselves, our sufficiency is of God, pateince, peace, Praise the Lord, prayer, provoking one another, ready for battle, self-control, selfishness, share His love with my neighbour, speak in respect of want, spiritual armour, suffer need, telling it like it is, the beloved of God, the fruit of the spirit, the mature Christian, the same bringeht forth much fruit, therewith to be content, trust my friend Jesuss, truth, Tuesday Mantra, wisdom, without me ye can do nothing, worry
Philippians 4:13. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Ah friends, this Tuesday, the last one in August, is shaping up to be another glorious summer’s day! Praise the Lord! For, come September, who knows what’s going to happen. But the good thing about being a believer in Jesus Christ is that we know we can handle whatever comes against us, especially if we are wearing His spiritual armour and draped up in prayer! Then we’re ready for battle on all and any front!
Remember these fighting words of Bruh Paul to the Philippians: ‘Not that I speak in respect of want (in regard of need): for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased (live humbly), and I know how to abound (live in prosperity): every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.’ (Phil. 4:11-13)
Yes friends, through Christ’s strength flowing in us we can learn how to live both in want and in prosperity. But please note it’s a learned behaviour, it doesn’t just happen automatically or overnight, you have to work at it, and with the strength of Jesus buoying you up. Ah mih bredrin, it’s so wonderful to know that with Christ’s strength behind us we can do any and everything!
But we also need to notice the opposite end of the spectrum as Christ so wisely pointed out to the disciples: ‘I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:5) And that’s telling it like it is my people! With Christ we can do anything, but by the same token, without Him, we cannot do anything!
That means Christ is essential, a real necessity in our lives, we’re absolutely nothing without Him. As Bruh Paul adds in 2 Corinthians: ‘Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;’ (2 Cor. 3:5) And that you cannot deny!
That brings us to this interesting remark in that scripture from John where Christ talks about those who believe in Him bearing much fruit. There He’s talking about the fruit of the Spirit which flourishes, or is supposed to flourish in true believers in Christ. And Bruh Paul explains the Fruit of the Spirit thus to the Galatians: ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE (the willing sacrificial giving of oneself to another without thought of return), joy (gladness of heart), peace (tranquility of mind), longsuffering (patience), gentleness (kindness), goodness (generosity), faith (faithfulness), Meekness (courtesy and consideration), temperance (self-control): against such there is no law.’ (Gal. 5:22-23)
Yes friends, there are nine things that are considered the Fruit (not fruits) of the Spirit. And as we’re on the subject, we might as well get some explanations from scholars. (smile) They say: ‘The word fruit is significant for three reasons. (1) It means the result, product, outcome, or effect produced by the Spirit in the believer’s life. (2) Unlike the “gifts of the Spirit” (plural), only some of which are given to a Christian, each believer is to have all nine virtues composing “the fruit of the Spirit” (singular) (3) As fruit on a tree takes time to grow and mature, so the Spirit does not cultivate these virtues in the believer overnight.’
Oh yes my fellow believers, unlike the gifts of the Spirit, like prophecy, the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, the gifts of healing, the interpretations of tongues etc. (1 Cor. 12) of which we might get a few, if we’re truly blessed, (smile) with the fruit of the Spirit it’s expected that all of those nine virtues will eventually blossom in the mature Christian!
And believe me, that’s no easy task, especially when you’re continually hounded by the devil and his evil cohorts to do wrong. But as we said before, with Christ on our side, and our willingness to learn and sacrifice on His behalf, then we can certainly attain that goal of having all nine fruit of the Spirit flourish in us.
Then, Bruh Paul follows up the definition of the Fruit of the Spirit with these poignant and most pertinent words. ‘And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections (its passions) and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory (conceited), provoking one another, envying one another.’ (Gal. 5: 24-26)
Yes my fellow saints, once we’re born again believers in Christ, it is then expected that we’re to throw away all our old satanic vices and adopt the fruit of the Spirit. That means both living and walking in the Spirit, or as the scholars explain: ‘since the Spirit gave us new life at conversion, we then should stay in step with His leading and promptings throughout life.’ And paying sincere and close attention to the guidance of the Holy Spirit is the only way to have that fruit flourish in us, to stop us from being greedy, selfish, materialistic and all the other wrong things that the world considers right.
Now, having refreshed our minds and spirits on those important topics, let’s go home declaring our Tuesday mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’
And having made that declaration, it then becomes our bounden duty to go out and share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…only when we’re in Christ…and Christ is in us…are we truly powerful…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
20 May 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a atrife-filled country, a merciful forgiving and gracious God, Bible, cast over the precipice, chaos, Christ in you, christianity, deviate from God's law, divine guidance, do their own thing instead of God's, faith, forecasters of God's coming glory, god, greed, holy spirit, hunger for power, Jared C. Wilson, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus, Jesus Christ, leggo-beast lifestyle, LOVE, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, no open vision, our Father who art in heaven, our unfortunate lot, perfect in Jesus, prophetic vision, prosper us, Revelation, run wild like savages, selfishness, serious problems, seriously disobeyed your word, sin, sincere repentance, sincerity, strife, strong faith in Christ, the God who heals, the good foundation, the mystery hid from ages, the people perish, the revelation of God, the riches of glory, the vision is Jesus, the word of the Lord was precious (rare), truth, turmoil, turn from our evil ways, ungodliness, Victoria Day, where there is no visioin, wisdom, with God all things are possible
Proverbs 29:18. Where there is no vision (prophetic vision or revelation), the people perish (cast off restraint): but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
Oh friends, what a blessed country is this land of Canada! And on this Victoria Monday holiday, I hope we realize and appreciate our blessedness, especially when compared to so many other countries that are right now only filled with strife and turmoil. Unfortunately though, we are beginning to see some of that strife and turmoil entering our otherwise fairly peaceful land. And if we ignore the good foundation we have and follow the rest of the world where nothing but complaints, dissatisfaction and discontent are ever heard, we too will also end up a strife-filled country.
If we stop talking to each other in all sincerity and truth, stop trying to build on what we already have, and instead allow the world’s greed, hunger for power and selfishness to rise to the top, then our days will soon be doomed like so many other nations who have allowed that to happen to them. Let’s hope and pray that won’t become our unfortunate lot. And yes, we do have serious problems, but they can all be worked out if we would just take the time to do so.
But in this modern society everybody wants everything like yesterday, and furthermore, without doing what it takes to get everything. That however is totally impossible. And even more so if we are not a God-fearing society. For with God ALL things are possible, but without Him, we cannot do a whole lot. Remember Cousin Sol words, that ‘Where there is no vision (prophetic vision or revelation), the people perish (cast off restraint): but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.’ (Prov. 29:18)
And that’s not the leader’s good ideas and programs for his church but as this excerpt from the commentary by Jared C. Wilson on the subject states: ‘The vision is prophetic vision; what is in mind here is the revelation of God to his biblical spokesmen. Where there is no vision shared with us by the prophets, to whom God revealed the mysteries of the ages, we like savages run wild. In other words, we may have a vision, but if it is not the one given to the biblical representatives of God’s revelation and the forecasters of God’s coming glory, it is not to be conformed to.
“But blessed is he who keeps the law.” The latter part of the verse implies that when the vision of the prophets is held by the people, the blessing of living God’s way ensues. What is the vision of the prophets? It is “the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints” (Col. 1:26; see also Rom.16:25 and Eph. 3:9). The vision is Jesus.’
And these are the complete verses of Bruh Paul’s message to the Colossians: ‘Even the mystery (hidden truth, secret) which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest (has been revealed) to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Jesus.’ (Col. 1:26-28)
Yes, my fellow believers, if a society doesn’t know Jesus and live by His basic rules and guidelines, His standard of morality, then chaos, disaster and strife will be their eventual outcome. In simple language, when societies do not accept divine guidance, the people are unrestrained, they run wild. Or as one commentator puts it: ‘where there is no revelation from God, people do their own thing instead of what God wants them to do.’ But whoever obeys the law is joyful.
And that’s being totally proven by the rash of unrestrained and running wild societies, with the current style being for people to do their own thing instead of God’s. Consequently, there aren’t many joyful societies, if any, but the chaotic ones are indeed plentiful. And I believe this scripture from the days of Israels’ lawlessness are being replicated today. ‘And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious (rare) in those days; there was no open vision.’ (1 Sam. 3:1)
This verse from the Book of Judges also gives us an idea of what was happening with God’s people back then, and what’s also taking place with us right now. ‘In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.’ (Judg. 21:25) And unfortunately that is exactly what we are reverting to, a do as you like society. But friends we have prophetic vision; the mystery of Jesus has been revealed to us, so why are we living this chaotic, undisciplined, leggo-beast lifestyle eh?
Because with our short-sighted minds, only thinking of today’s pleasures and not tomorrow’s pain, totally influenced by Satan wiles and lies, we choose not to live for Jesus. And that is exactly why our society is going down the drain, almost ready to be cast over the precipice of sin and ungodliness. But all is not lost my people, for as we say, once there’s life, there’s always hope, and with the miracle working God that we serve, if we are willing to turn back to Him, He will surely help and retrofit us, and bring us back to His fold. So please, let’s go to Him now through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn seeking divine aid.
As one strong and sincere voice: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face.
So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
And please remember that divine aid comes only when there is sincere repentance and a turning from our evil ways. Much LOVE!
…chaos always ensues…when we deviate from God’s law…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
18 May 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: an empire on which the sun never sets, As God for christ's sake forgave you, be in the world but not of the world, be kind one to another, be renewed in the spirit of your mind, Bible, christianity, communication, corrupt communication, deceitful lusts, deepen my breath, Ephesians, faith, forgiving one another, good to the use of edifying, greed, grieve not the holy Spirit of God, holy spirit, increase my awareness of you today, intimacy, jealousy, Jesus Christ, know you all the more, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, let him that stole steal no more, LOVE, lying, peace, practical advice for living the Christian life, put off the old man, put on the new man, quiet my soul, resentment, sealed unto the day of redemption, selfishness, slow my thoughts, smell the sweet perfume, spiritual improvement, stray from God's will, tenderhearted, the roses in Christ's garden, truth telling, Victoria Day holiday, wake up and see the light, wisdom, wrath, your peace and love are present, your unceasing nearness
Ephesians 4:30. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Well, it’s a somewhat cloudy but warm lazy-day Saturday, on this first long weekend of the summer. And it’s a holiday in honour of the powerful Queen Victoria, who in her long reign (1837-1901) saw Britain through its ‘great age of industrial expansion, economic progress and, especially, empire building. At her death, it was said, Britain had a worldwide empire on which the sun never set.’ And although comparatively few people know of her, or why there’s a holiday named in her honour, I can guarantee that many of us will be aggressively celebrating her holiday this weekend. (smile)
But before we get to the celebrations, let’s show a li’l wisdom, a modicum of circumspection if you will,, and offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer to help quiet and refresh our tired souls. As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
And as always, if our prayer was sincere, we know that we will receive our requests, because our wonderful God never turns down those kinds of requests. Yes friends, whenever we ask God for more of Himself, for greater intimacy with Him, He’s only too glad to give it to us, because it’s what He created us for; constant communication and intimacy. And it saddens His heart, grieves the Holy Spirit when we turn away from that communication and intimacy. Remember Bruh Paul’s words on the subject to the Ephesians? ‘And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.’ ((Eph. 4:30)
Now we do that quite easily when we allow the devil to get into our hearts and minds and cause us to do things we know are wrong. That’s why Bruh Paul, in speaking about putting on the new man, was giving the Ephesians practical steps to avoid that kind of behaviour. And I like how this commentary explains it in simple, practical everyday terms. ‘When we, deliberately or inadvertently, behave in a way that is inimical to our spiritual improvement it grieves the Holy Spirit; in the same way that a LOVING parent is grieved when his or her child behaves in a self-destructive manner.’
Yes, it’s the same way our heavenly Father is saddened when we stray from His will and word. And I guess while we’re here, we might as well check out those practical applications that Bruh Paul talks about in the putting on of that new man. Just to remind us of some inappropriate behaviour on this long weekend. (smile) So He writes: ‘That ye put off concerning the former conversation (conduct) the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be ye renewed in the spirit of your mind. And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members of one another.
Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place (an opportunity) to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice. And be ye kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph. 4:22-32)
Now there’s very good practical advice for living the Christian life, and thus not grieving the Holy Spirit. But it’s not always easy to do, especially when faced with all the temptations and trials of this evil and ungodly world. That’s why we need to remind ourselves of them every so often. And if you find it all a bit much to comprehend, (smile) then the scholars have broken it down very nicely for us. They say: ‘This section gives practical guidelines as to how “the old man” (vs. 22) can be laid aside and how the “new man” (vs. 24) can be assumed in daily living.
The passage specifies five sins to be discarded, the virtues that are to replace them, and the motive for such exchange: (1) Lying is to be replaced by truth-telling, since Christians are fellow members (vs.25). (2)Sinful anger is to be replaced by (briefly held) righteous indignation, that the Devil may not be given an opportunity (vs. 26-27). (3) Theft is to be replaced by honest work, in order that one may have the means to meet the needs of others (vs.28). (4) Foul language is to be replaced by gracious speech, that it may edify others and not grieve the Spirit (vs. 29-30). (5) Resentment and wrath are to give way to kindness and forgiveness, since God has forgiven us (vs. 31-32).
So there we have it friends, both in the very words of Bruh Paul, and in the simplified explanations of the scholars. (smile) That means we have no excuses for not putting those practical suggestions into action in our own lives. And why won’t we do it eh? We all know that it most definitely makes for a better life, but because the greed and envy, the jealousy and selfishness innate in our spirits, with the encouragement of the world system, too many of us still insist on living like the “old man”, refusing to put on the new one that characterizes Christ and His true followers.
Ah friends, we’re only hurting ourselves and those we LOVE, for our beliefs and actions don’t only reverberate or boomerang back on us, but also on those around us. So please, let’s wake up and see the light nuh, smell the sweet perfume of the roses that exists in the beautiful garden of Christ! Much LOVE!
…as Christians…we should be IN the world…but not OF the world…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
27 Mar 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adding fuel to the enemy's fire, As God for christ's sake forgave you, be ye kind one to another, Christ died to pay for our sins, Christian actions, Christian talk, draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, Easter Sunday, endure to the end, enquired early after God, eternal life, eyes fixed straight ahead, faith, for all this they still sinned, forgiving one another, gave them their own desire, glad to be alive, God was their rock, greed, grieve not the holy Spirit of God, halfway home, hands on the plough, holy spirit, Holy Week, honoureth me with their lips, Jesus Christ, LOVE, make the Spirit sad, not looking back, quench not the Spirit, resurrection, sacrifice, sealed until the day of redemption, selfishness, talk is cheap, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men, tenderhearted, thank God, the breath of life, the high god their redeemer, the wrath of God came upon them, their days did he consume in vanity, their heart is far from me, their years in trouble, to a glorious future with Jesus, Wednesday Wail, while their meat was yet in their mouth, wisdom, ye hypocrites
Matthew 15:8. This people draweth nigh (near) unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
And Holy Week keeps rolling along. It’s Wednesday; only two more days before the sadness and pain. But as we all know the good goes with the bad, and if we don’t have the negative, we won’t appreciate the positive; in other words, if we didn’t have the Good Friday ‘sufferation’ we would be able to have the triumphant Easter Sunday resurrection! And believe me, in most cases, especially this one, the good far outweighs the bad. For Jesus’ death and resurrection are the very foundation of our Christian faith! He died to pay for our sins, then rose from the dead so that we could have eternal life! And all God’s people said a loud and grateful ‘Thank You Jesus!’
The problem though is that we mostly talk the gratitude but don’t walk it as we ought. And that’s why our world is in such a dreadful state of strife, hatred and all the negative attributes; there’s not enough true Christian ministry to repel the evil. As Jesus said to the Pharisees: ‘Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias (Isaiah) prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh (near) unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.’ (Matt. 15:7-10)
Yes friends, Isaiah prophesied about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees in Is. 29:13, where the religious leaders only worshipped with their mouths but not their actions, and merely taught the rules and traditions of men and not of God. Unfortunately, life hasn’t changed that much and today we’re doing the very same thing; we talk a good Christian talk, but our hearts and our walk are far from God, more set on the cares and material things of the world. There is still so much poverty and insincerity in our world, with more than enough to satisfy everybody’s needs, but the greed and selfishness, jealousy and envy of our current society, prevent the haves from sharing God’s provision with the have nots.
The result being all sorts of strife, sickness, despair, economic uncertainty and poverty. And in Asaph’s great Maschil or Contemplation, Psalm 78, titled, ‘Teach the Children God’s Law,’ he recounts the words of Isaiah, and Jesus. The Jews were ungrateful for God’s provisions of water and food in the wilderness and turned away from God. And speaking of the quail avalanche they received for their desire for meat, (Num. 11), Asaph writes: ‘So they did eat, and were well filled: for he gave them their own desire; They were not estranged from their lust (deprived of their craving). But while their meat was yet in their mouths, The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest (stoutest) of them, and smote down the chosen (choice) men of Israel.
For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works. Therefore their days did he consume in vanity (futility), and their years in trouble (sudden terror). When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and enquired early (sought diligently) after God. And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer. Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues. For their heart was not right (steadfast) with him, neither were they steadfast (faithful) in his covenant.’ (Ps. 78:29-37)
Ah friends, as supposed believers in Christ Jesus we are doing the same thing right now, we’re guilty of supreme hypocrisy in our Christian walk, merely talking the Christian talk, but not walking the Christian walk. And we all know what we’re guilty of, but we harden our hearts and move on in our unchristian way, despite the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit that indwells us, and desires to lead us to do the good works of the Lord. As Bruh Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus: ‘And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed -unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph. 4:30-32)
And what do we mean by grieving the Holy Spirit? Basically it means making the Holy Spirit feel grief and sorrow by doing what He tells us not to do. As this commentary explains: ‘In short, believers can make the Spirit sad by our sinful actions. This ties together several critical ideas. First, it means saved Christians are still capable of sin. Second, it means that God does, in fact, care about how we live our lives once we are saved.’ This brings up another question concerning the Holy Spirit; quenching it, which Bruh Paul talks about in 1 Thess. 5:19: ‘Quench not the Sprit.’
And what does that mean? This commentary gives us an example of quenching the Holy Spirit. ‘One way to quench the Spirit is to treat with contempt the message that the Spirit delivers to us, either through people or the Scripture. Treating that message with contempt would essentially be to reject it. To say that it was not from the Spirit. Or by choosing to ignore it.’ And what’s the difference between grieving and quenching the Holy Spirit? ‘We grieve the Spirit by what we do to Him. We quench the Holy Spirit by what we refuse to let Him do through us.’
Oh my fellow believers, sadly, in this evil age, we are both grieving and quenching the Holy Spirit by our ungodly talk and behaviour, and that’s just adding fuel to the enemy’s fire. So please let’s stop it nuh. Let’s return to a true covenant relationship with our heavenly Father, for that’s the only way for us to see good days and long life. Now, let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus!
As one voice! ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And if we desire to see an even more glorious future than we can ever think or imagine, then we need to endure right down to the end with Christ. It’s truly going to be marvellously splendiferous (smile) when Jesus comes in all His glory and splendour! Let’s hope we’ll be there to see it together. Much LOVE!
…talk is cheap…but Christian actions require sacrifice…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
09 Oct 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: crying out, faith, for a fair share of the earth's wealth, glorify your father in heaven, go brightly into the dark world, greed, inequality, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, Let your light so shine before men, light our candles, LOVE, makes countless thousands mourn, man's inhumanity to man, material wealth, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, rocket science, Satan's fold, selfishness, sincere repentance, sit on our laurels, strong faith in Christ, the downtrodden, the God who heals, the have nots, the haves, the marginalized, the poor getting poorer, the rich getting richer, the salt of the earth, the worst Christian is a comfortable Christian, they may see your good works, trodden underfoot of men, wisdom
Matthew 5:16. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
And on this Thanksgiving Monday morning, all over this beautiful and blessed land of Canada thanks and praises are being offered up to heaven! And do we ever have a whole lot to be thankful for. The problem though is that those many blessings are not equally distributed throughout our land and our populace. And that sad state of inequality is unfortunately lowering the quality and level of our standard of living, and consequently causing much dissension, disunity and discontent in our society.
Now that’s not rocket science, because wherever there is blatant and widespread inequality, there will eventually be serious ramifications and consequences. And right now we’re seeing those unwanted divisions and disruptions occurring more frequently and more violently, not only in our country, but unfortunately all over the world, for the inequality is prevalent all over the earth, and the downtrodden and marginalized are crying out loudly for a fair share of the earth’s wealth, so that they can experience a reasonable standard of living.
However, the powers that be; the rich and ruling classes are foolishly clamping down, trying to further devalue and bring even more devastation to the have nots. The rich are indeed getting richer, while the poor, if possible, are getting poorer. No wonder our world is currently buffeted by numerous wars, rumors of wars and overwhelming instability, and everyday a new theatre of dissatisfaction opens up with loud cries of injustice and degradation. And what’s the answer to our problem of inequality you ask?
Obviously a more egalitarian society, where people are seen as, or considered equal and consequently deserve equal rights and opportunities. And until our world seriously and sincerely moves toward a much more equal situation, where the ten% of haves don’t possess 90% of the pie, while the 90% of have nots only possess 10%, that sort of ridiculous inequity will always be cause for rampant dissatisfaction, and eventually chaos. It’s so sad when our world contains truths like, man’s inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn. And by the way, it’s no longer thousands, but millions that are mourning because of mankind’s greed, selfishness and inhumanity.
And what’s so sad about the whole situation is that there’s more than enough to go around for all the have nots to be satisfied and the haves to still maintain a big portion of the pie, but certainly not 90%. And that’s where we believers in Christ come in. For if we don’t stand up for the poor, the downtrodden, the sick and the lame like our Lord and Leader did when He was here on earth, who else is going to stand up for them eh? Definitely not the evildoers of Satan’s fold. And until we Christians start to make some kind of serious efforts to right the wrongs of the world, things will only go from bad to worse.
And contrary to our excuses, the job is not impossible, or as big as we claim. It’s just that it will take more effort than we are willing to expend. For if the majority of Christians were to behave like true Christians, our world will be a helluva lot better place than it currently is. Just a li’l kindness and help on our part, a li’l standing up for some injustice or evil deed would bring surprising change. But sadly, too many of us supposed believers don’t want to be bothered with the problems of those less fortunate than us, we just want to relax and be comfortable in our li’l cocoon, insulated from the dire state of our world. And the truth is that a comfortable Christian is indeed the worst kind of Christian there is!
Jesus didn’t come and die so that we could be comfortable and don’t care about our fellow man. He was always concerned about the sick and suffering, those considered worthless by society, and so should we, His followers, be similarly concerned. But the material wealth of the world and the many amenities now available have killed our pioneering spirit and made us lazy and uninterested in improving things. We just want to sit on our laurels and enjoy the good life. But be it known, that any society which sits on its laurels and does not keep its standards high, will eventually finds itself in ruins, for it’s the standards of a society that make them prosper and keep them in a healthy situation.
It’s obvious that these words of Jesus have fallen by the wayside in our modern times: ‘Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour (flavour), wherewith (by what) shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden underfoot of men.’ (Matt. 5:13) And if we’re truthful, we’ll admit that we have lost our salty flavour, and that’s why so many are being trodden underfoot.
The same goes for these words of our Lord and Saviour: ‘Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle (lamp), and put it under a bushel (basket), but on a candlestick (lampstand); and it giveth light to all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt. 5:14-16)
Oh my people, there again we have sadly not shone as a bright light in this world. Whatever light we have is hidden under a basket, or we’ve never lit the candle in the first place. But whichever it is, it is not good enough. Jesus desires us to follow in His footsteps and bring some peace and LOVE to our inflamed and hateful world, and we can only do that if we get up off of our fat fannies, and renew or recapture our salty flavour, as well as light our candles and go brightly in this dark and evil world! Let’s promise ourselves to do just that nuh, for our children’s sake! And we can begin by most appropriately asking for heavenly help this Thanksgiving Day, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn.
As one voice: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face.
So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
Now, let’s get up and get a sincere move on nuh, so that we can be assured of divine help! Much LOVE!
…without the salt and light of Christians…the world is dark and flavourless…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
08 Aug 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a true rewarder of them that diligently seek him, anger, brotherly LOVE, Caribana, chief identifying characteristic, Christianity 101, draw near with a true heart, God's clarion call, going right down to the wire with Jesus, great commission, greed, hate, he that cometh to God must believe that He is, hold fast the profession of our faith, in full assurance of faith, in god's eyes, it's Jesus all the way, Jesus now and forever, light of the world, living a diligent and responsible life, LOVE, make disciples of all nations, make hay when the sun shines, mark of the beast, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves, our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, our level of trust faith and surrender, salt of the earth, sealfishness, self-aggrandizement, share His love with my neighbour, take hard times in stride, the mark of love for Jesus, the name that's higher than any other, to provoke unto love and good works, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, uncertain and trying times, without faith it is impossible to please God
Hebrews 11:6a. But without faith it is impossible to please him:
So friends, Caribana done now! And a good thing too, because Tuesday has opened somewhat sunny, but cool and very windy; on the verge of what can be called a windstorm. But life goes on, we’ll still make hay when the sun shines, and when it doesn’t, we’ll do whatever the Lord asks us to do. (smile) Yes friends, we going right down to the wire with Jesus! Let’s never allow that to be a questionable situation! It’s Jesus ALL THE WAY! And all God’s people gave a loud and sincere shout of ‘Jesus! Jesus NOW and FOREVER!’
And it’s ever so easy to talk it mih people, but in these rather uncertain and trying times we cannot afford to just talk Jesus, we have to LIVE Him! Sincerely do the things He commanded us to do: Be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. (Matt. 5:13-16) Accept His Great Commission and go forth into all the world and make disciples of all nations, so that the world can know Him and come to Him for help and refuge that we all so badly need. (Matt. 28:19-20)
And then there’s LOVE! Yes mih brethren, the Agape or Brotherly LOVE of Christ, that needs to pour out of us in all our dealings with our fellow man. Remember, unless that LOVE is forthcoming, we’re not His true disciples, because He purposely stated that it’s only through the great and sincere LOVE we show to each other, that will mark us as His true disciples. (John 13:35) In truth my fellow believers, the mark of LOVE for Jesus is our chief identifying characteristic. Like the Bible talks about taking the mark of the beast, the Evil One, so we Jesus believers are supposed to take His mark, that of LOVE for each other!
And it’s so sad, that that LOVE which our world so badly needs right now is in such an abysmal shortage, while the things of the Evil One are flourishing like never before. I don’t know if our world has ever seen a time like this; one of immense greed, selfishness, hate, anger and resentment. A time of widespread self-aggrandizement and power-hunger, where numerous dictatorships are being birthed through evil ramifications and a foolish, doh-care, not interested, led astray populace. A time when there’s war and rumours of war all over the globe, and in almost every nation, a state of dissatisfaction and disenchantment runs high.
And there’s so much variation in our thinking that it boggles the imagination. There’s thinking running from the extreme left to the extreme right and all the way in between, making the voices so raucous and disunited that only chaos can be the eventual result. That is unless we Jesus’ people step up to the plate and make a significant difference. Do the job that Jesus purchased us with His sinless blood to do; that’s live right and show others the way to Him and eternal life.
That means living a responsible and diligent life; one of excellence and sincerity; following His example the best way we can, taking suffering and hard times in stride, like He did, learning obedience through the hard knocks like He did, fully knowing that our Lord God Jehovah will never leave nor forsake us, (Heb. 13:5) will be with us through whatever tough times we go through, will make a way for us where there seems to be no way, and eventually will work everything out for our good! (Rom. 8:28)
Now those are the things, the scriptures we need to take to heart and inculcate in our daily lives, because we know that our God is faithful, and never reneges on a promise. And I guess that’s where it all starts my fellow saints, with our level of trust, of faith and of surrender to God’s clarion call! And I believe these scriptures from Hebrews, clarifies it all. This first one in the chapter on the heroes of faith like Enoch and Noah, Abraham and Moses, specifies the necessity for strong faith to walk sincerely with God.
‘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) That’s the first aspect of the situation friends, true belief in Almighty God. Then this second scripture from Hebrews enlarges and enlightens on the first.
‘And having an high priest over the house of God (Jesus): Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our faith (hope) without wavering: (for he is faithful that promised,) And let us consider one another to provoke (stir up) unto LOVE and to good works. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more as ye see the day approaching.’ (Heb. 10: 21-25)
Oh my people, those scriptures just put it in a nutshell for us: the importance of true belief in God and His everlasting faithfulness, especially right now, when the last days seem to be upon us. Then having Jesus as our high priest, our advocate and intercessor in heaven, we stand strong, never wavering, behind Him and all that He desires of us, through gathering together and encouraging each other to live in LOVE and do good works in His majestic name. The name that’s higher than every other name! That’s the ONLY WAY to truly live the Christian life my brethren!
And now that we’ve retaken Christianity 101 (smile) and our spirits have been lifted and refreshed, let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’
Now, let’s get out into the evil and ungodly world and share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…without true belief and strong unwavering faith…one cannot live sincerely for Jesus…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
01 Jan 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a banner year for peace and love, bare our sins in his own body, be made the righteousness of God in Him, being dead to sins, blessed assurance, by whose stripes we were healed, Christian walk, Fanny Crosby, greed, Happy New Year, hunger for power, joyful in the Lord's strength, live unto righteousness, LOVE, made him to be sin for us, praising my saviour all the day long, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, selfishness, strife, the hand of God, this is my song, this is my story, what a foretaste of glory divine, who knew no sin
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
2 Corinthians 5:21. For he (God) hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
And then it was New Year’s Day! Wow! Christmas of 2022 is in the books and the new year of 2023 has begun with the same rush as the old one went out in! (smile) Anyway, we’re wishing a Happy New Year of 2023 to all our Scrip-Bit friends and families all over God’s great earth! And we hope and pray that this year will be better than the last, but let’s remember that any improvement must begin with each of us first improving our individual selves, then getting together in sincere fellowship and building Christ’s body, His church!
Now let’s also hope that we did not party too much in the New Year’s Eve celebrations last night, to remember that today is Sunday, the Lord’s Day, and we needs must get up and go to His sanctuary and praise and worship Him with other believers for His wonderful deeds to the children of men. And as always, we’ll begin with a song of praise, but for this New Year’s Day I wanted something special, a song that would give us some encouragement and hope for this upcoming year, which won’t be an easy one.
Let’s not fool ourselves into thinking that 2023 will be a banner year for peace and LOVE. Much as I desire it to be so, the current worldwide situation doesn’t promise it. Yes friends, with all the anger, strife, greed, selfishness, hunger for power and jealousy currently permeating our world, it only portends, is a sign of tougher times. But then again, we have Jesus, so there’s no need to be overly concerned. If we do our best, He’s promised to do the rest. And He is a faithful keeper of His promises.
Anyhow, getting back to today’s song, I believe it’s a perfect fit for all that we’re going through on this first day of 2023. It’s one of our favourites, aptly titled Blessed Assurance; one of the many beautiful hymns written by blind American hymn-writer Fanny Crosby. The story goes that ‘One evening in 1873, Fanny’s friend and composer Phoebe Palmer Knapp was visiting and played a tune on the piano, asking Fanny what it sounded like. Fanny responded, “Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine!” Phoebe and Fanny then continued to sing the melody and write the lyrics together.’
Isn’t ‘it awesome how songs of worship come together so quickly and unexpectedly. The hand of God is definitely involved in the writing of each one. But enough talk, (smile) it’s time to offer up our sacrificial praises to God and heaven, this New year’s day of 2023. So, in loud, but sweet harmony, in an up tempo beat, because we’re joyful in the Lord’s strength and promises, let’s offer up a rousing, heartfelt rendition of Blessed Assurance.
Singing: ‘Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood (Chorus: This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Saviour all the day long; This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Saviour all the day long.) Perfect submission, perfect delight, Visions of rapture now burst on my sight; Angels, descending, bring from above Echoes of mercy, whispers of LOVE.
(Chorus…) Perfect submission, all is at rest, I in my Saviour am happy and blest, Watching and waiting, looking above, Filled with His goodness, lost in His LOVE. (Chorus: This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long; This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long…. Yes, This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long )’
Oh friends, that was a marvellous rendition! And heaven just LOVED it! (smile) And does the song ever ring out with truth, for every day we sing praises to Jesus, thankful for all the undeserved blessings He so generously and mercifully bestows on us. And all we can say is ’Thank You Jesus! Thank You for coming to earth to save us as the baby born in the manger, then dying for us on that old wooden cross of Calvary on Good Friday, taking all of our sins upon you and giving us your righteousness!’
Like Bruh Paul says: ‘For he (God) hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.’ (2 Cor. 5:21) And Peter reiterated it thus: ‘(Jesus) Who in his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes (wounds) ye were healed.’ (1 Pet. 2:24)
Oh my fellow believers, that is the ultimate in selflessness! Christ died so that our sins could be forgiven! What more can we ask eh? NOTHING! What greater gift could He have bestowed eh? NONE! And all He asks of us is to be appropriately grateful and live in the righteousness that He died for us to have!
But that’s exactly where we are falling down in our Christian walk; we’re not living in sufficient righteousness. We still have too much of the old sinful, worldly man in us. We’re still too intimidated and persuaded by the secular and unrighteous ways of the world. And understandably, since we’re only humans, it’s not easy to overlook the beautiful baubles and bangles that the world dangles in front of us, but with Christ living within us through His Holy Spirit, ostensibly to lead and guide us in righteous ways, we should be doing much better than we are.
And any true believer who is worth his salt, on self-examination, will tell you that! The negativity that’s currently flooding our world is largely because we supposed Christians have not done the job we were given; we have not fulfilled the Great Commission enough, so that Christ’s church could have the upper hand. We have sat on our laurels way too much, enjoying the good and easy material life the world promotes, foolishly and fearfully forsaking the righteousness of Christ’s kingdom.
Oh friends, in this year of 2023, let’s promise ourselves to do much better nuh. For our children’s sake, so much better that we will reverse some of the negativity in our world by promoting the righteousness of Christ. This year, please let our motto be truthfully the words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;’ so that all the things we truly need will be added to us by our heavenly Father. That’s the ONLY way to turn things around! Much LOVE!
…if you can’t accept and believe Jesus’ words and promises…then whose can you accept eh…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
06 Sep 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: autumn season, choose none of his ways, envy not the oppressor, Fret not thyself over evildoers, greed, hurry, I am the beloeved of Gpd, in god's eyes, jealousy, lips talk of mischief, love is patient kind and does not envy, newborn babes, nor sitteth in the seat if the scornful, share His love with the world, the pure milk of the word, the Ten Commandments, the workers of iniquity, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, worry
Proverbs 3:31. Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.
Well, it’s a beautiful sunshiny Tuesday morning in early September, and the last long weekend of the summer season of 2022 is now history, lost in the annals of time. (smile) Yes, all the Labour Day celebrations are over and done with! That means it’s time to look forward to and prepare for the cool weather and beautiful colours of the upcoming autumn season. And though we might not like the cool, ofttimes damp and foggy weather that comes with the fall season, we must admit that colour-wise, it is probably the most beautiful of the four seasons, with its great variety of colours, ranging from brown, through red, yellow and gold.
Obviously the least noticeable colour is green because that pertains to life, while the others are associated with lack of life. In human situations though, the colour green is associated with something entirely different, that’s envy and jealousy, activities and attributes that are now being indiscriminately flaunted throughout our society. And the sad part is that in the Good Book we have so many references, commands and wise advice to shun that kind of ungodly behaviour. But the devil and his evil minions and doings are rampant in our current world, and I believe we need some reminding re the necessity of shunning envy, jealousy and greed.
So let’s get right to it nuh, with these ever so wise words of Cousin Sol from Proverbs chapter 3, as he speaks on the treatment of neighbours. He ends that section by saying: ‘Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. For the froward (perverse person) is abomination to the Lord: but his secret (council) is with the righteous.’ (Prov. 3:31-32) And as true believers in Almighty God, we desperately need to believe that, if we’re not to fall under that dark cloud of envy, jealousy, selfishness and greed that is quickly taking over our society.
And Cousin Sol amplifies his distaste for those values by sharing this most important information. ‘The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation (dwelling) of the just. Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly (humble). The wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the promotion (legacy) of fools.’ (Prov. 3:33-35)
Oh my people, do we want to endure the curse, the scorn and shame bequeathed to the wicked and unwise? Or do we greatly desire the secret council, the blessing and glory of God that’s granted to the wise and righteous? I’m sure that all of us will obviously choose the latter. However, to attain those goodies, we must stop doing wrong, stop associating with the wicked, stop doing the things the envious, jealous and greedy do.
And apparently Cousin Sol was big on this topic because he addresses it several times in Proverbs. Listen to this one: ‘Be not thou envious against (of) evil men, neither desire to be with them: For their heart studieth destruction (devises violence), and their lips talk of mischief (trouble).’ (Prov. 24:1) The unfortunate part of it all is that from the very beginning of time we’ve been hearing about the ills of jealousy, envy and covetousness. To show how important it was to keep those things out of our lives, the Lord even made it one of the Ten Commandments.
And for those of us who don’t know it, (smile) here it is, the tenth one, in black and white. ‘Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour’s.’ (Ex. 20:17) That’s it in spades my brethren! It’s not wrong to want some of the things our neighbours might have, but when it gets to the point where it affects our godliness, then that’s where the problems begin.
And Bruh David also made it very clear that those unwise, ungodly emotions will be the death of us, in Psalm 37 – The true state of the wicked – when he declares (steups!!!): ‘Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.’ (Ps. 37:1-2) We couldn’t desire a stronger warning from a man who knew about all those things personally, like his coveting of Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife, and the murderous actions it led him to.
Meanwhile, the apostle James, Jesus’ brother, had this to say when commenting on true and false wisdom. ‘But if ye have bitter envying and strife (selfishness) in your hearts, glory not (do not boast), and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish (demonic). For where envying and strife is (self-seeking exists), there is confusion and every evil work.’ (James 3:14-16) And there is no disputing that my friends! Wherever you have negative things like, envy, selfishness, jealousy and pride, there is always confusion, with anger, hatred and violence a natural consequence.
Then Peter offered these words of wisdom on the matter. ‘Wherefore laying aside all malice, and guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere (pure) milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.’ (1 Pet. 2:1-2) Now doesn’t that just warm the cockles of our hearts? It certainly does! The best way to avoid the workers of iniquity and their evil doings is by having the pure word of God richly and steadfastly entrenched in our hearts, souls, bodies and minds.
And these words of Psalm 1 – Blessed are the righteous -I believe are most fitting to end this discourse. (smile) ‘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) 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) And all of God’s people declared (chuh!!!) a loud and grateful ‘Amen!’
Yes friends, that’s what we can look forward to when we stay away from the evil and wicked, the envious and jealous ways of the ungodly. Now for those of us who are attempting to live in a godly manner, let’s go home declaring (yeahhhhh!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know to whom we belong lock, stock and barrel. As one strong and confident voice: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
Now let’s go out and do just that, share Christ’s amazing LOVE and friendship with those we meet, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do. Much LOVE!
…LOVE is patient…LOVE is kind…it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud… (1 Cor. 13:4)
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
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