06 Mar 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a crying shame, a true believer, abuse, abusive, before men, born for this time, call it a day, common sense, common task, content to rest on our laurels, daily grind, darkness, do it for Jesus, each step I take, fellowship, Friday chant, fun, further the gospel, furthering your glorious kingdom, glorify your father in heaven, good for nothing, greed, heart and soul truly are, heartless, home, let your light so shine, light, light a candle, lost our passion, LOVE, makes countless thousands mourn, man's inhimanity to man, meet our maker, on a roll, one day one day congotay, oppressive, pitiful platitudes, relaxation, renewed and refreshed, rest, salt of the earth, sense of purpose, sit and mourn, slave labour, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, the best place in the world, the light of the world, the party's over, the poor get poorer, the rich get richer, the weekend, the workingman's song, they may see, tread underfoot, week of work, what a sad world we live in, willing to put in the time and effort, your good works
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.
Well the party’s over my friends. It sure was nice while it lasted. But unfortunately I had to call it a day! Yes I’m back in my ordinary surroundings called HOME! The best place in the world! Wow! Yuh know, whether it’s a palace or a hovel, home is where you feel most comfortable because home is where your heart and soul truly are. Yes, Jamaica was nice, but there’s something about home that get’s the heartstrings playing ever so sweetly. (smile) And now it’s back to the daily grind and common task – or which ever way they say it – back to the cold and snow and bleak vegetation.
And since it’s Friday – didn’t even realize that until just now, people must be clamouring for the workingman’s song. Well never let it be said that I kept you all from hearing what you want to hear. (smile) So here he is, in all his riotous colour and workingman’s common sense. ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday…and time for that much needed break from slave labour, called the weekend! Don’t know what I would do without it nuh. Gosh! It hard enough working five days straight, and I’m really sorry for those who have to work six and seven days straight without a break.
Steups! Mankind really is something else yes. Like greed and abuse of his fellow man seem to be his middle name! No wonder the sad truth found in the saying: ‘Man’s inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn!’ Chuh! What a crying shame! And we now have to change that to countless millions…and soon to countless billions, since mankind is getting ever more greedy and oppressive as the rich get ever richer and the poor get ever poorer. What a sad world we live in eh Dr. Jack!
And the sad part is that there’s enough in the world for everybody to get sufficient to fill their needs, but the few with plenty, more preoccupied with greedily hoarding rather than generously sharing it. That’s why there’s so much poverty and homelessness and all the other ailments that the disenfranchised suffer. But yuh know this saying is also true…One day, one day congotay … Yes the longest rope have an end…And one day all ah we, have to meet we maker and answer for we wrongs. Till then, all I can say is thank God for Fridays and weekends yes!’
Brother, the workingman was sure on a roll today! But what he says makes sense yes! Mankind getting more heartless, oppressive and abusive, even as we seem to be getting more enlightened. But that seems to be only in the mind, not in the heart, where it really matters. Anyway, as true believers in Jesus Christ, we have the responsibility to try and change that disgusting image of mankind. And no, it’s not easy, but with the help of our Leader we can do it, if we are willing to put in the required amount of time, energy, belief and faith it requires.
And that’s the billion dollar question – are we willing to do what it takes to bring Jesus’ dream for the world to fruition? Apparently not, because right now we’re allowing Beelzebub and his evil cohorts to run away with the race while we sit and mourn and murmur pitiful platitudes. Oh friends, the attitude of those involved in Christ’s organization has got to improve tremendously if we expect to see any real change in our world and leave our descendants a safe and reasonable place to live and sincerely worship Jehovah God.
That’s our calling; this is our time to further the gospel and all that it entails. They say we were born for a time such as this, but the reality is that we were born for this particular time. If the Lord wanted us in any other time, He would have put us there. But since He put us in the here and now, that means this is when and where He expects us to make our mark, to obediently and diligently do His will. Jesus said it as clearly and plainly as possible. ‘Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour (flavour), wherewith (by what means) shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.’ (Matt. 5:13)
Oh my people, we all know the great benefits that salt provides to our lives, and without it, everything is bland and tasteless and often rendered useless. And sadly too many of us believers have become that way… good for nothing, because we’ve lost our passion, our sense of purpose and are just content to rest on our laurels. But that’s not what Jesus desires of us. Hear Him again nuh: ‘Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a 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 unto all that are in the house.’ (Matt. 5:14-15)
Oh my fellow believers, that’s what Jesus expects of us; to be bright and shining and good direction lights in this dark and evil world! But we definitely are not being bright and shining and encouraging enough, since the darkness seems to be growing stronger and wider. Oh my people, my people, come on nuh, let’s do as Jesus so greatly desires of us nuh! Remember we are His ears, eyes and hands, His ambassadors on this dark and evil earth. So let’s take His words to heart and sincerely, diligently and excellently do as He asks nuh. ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’
Oh friends, that is definitely not too much for Jesus to ask of us, after all that He’s done for us. So let’s get shipshape and become both the salt and light of the world as He desires nuh, so that we can reclaim the world from it’s dark covering with the wonderful and awesome light of Jesus! And no, I did not forget our Friday Chant, the other stuff just seemed to flow and follow more smoothly. (smile) So let’s chant our chant, in strong voice with sincere hearts, like we’re truly salt and light.
As one now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen!’
Let’s do it nuh friends, let’s do it for Jesus! Much LOVE!
…you can’t be a true believer…unless and until…you do what your Leader asks of you…
22 Feb 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a different drummer, a fleeting illusion, a man should both hope, an organized conspiracy, Anselm, be true to myself, best light source, contentment, corruption, darkest moments, degrade, disappointment, dream of lasting peace, faitfulness, focus, for ever, frightening darkness, frustrate ourselves, God's sure promises, great is thy faithfulness, greed, health the greatest gift, his compassions never fail, I have hope, I recall to mind, I will sing of, ignorance prevails, in a negative manner, inferior, international morality, it is good, justice is denied, keep pace with his companions, loss, Mento, new every morning, on which trust is built, one race suerior, poverty enforced, quietly wait, ridicule of others, rob, society, the foundation, the greatest relation ship, the greatest wealth, the Lord is my portion, the mercies of the Lord, the salvation of the Lord, them that wait for him, thy faithfulness to all generations, to oppress, to see the light, war, will I make known, with my mouth, world citizenship
Psalm 89:1. I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever; with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
And the planes have begun arriving already! Yes, and you must be wondering how the Bit is so early? Well there’s a simple explanation; today is the wedding day, so I have to be up and about and get myself together earlier than normal. And nothing much happened yesterday; the duchess went about her business, I went to the beach, had a short soak, because the water was chilly and I was a tad under the weather, had some jerk pork and chicken washed down with a yellow bird at the beach hut, then came home and rested.
When the duchess came home, we went down for dinner in the outdoor area, listened to some Mento and a live band, New Image, for a while then came back to our room and did whatever. (smile) So let’s see what quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week nuh, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow.
Hear this first one: ‘I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence.’ Now all of us, especially believers ought to have that written in spades in our souls. If we can’t be true to ourselves, then whom can be true to eh? And sadly, that’s what a lot of us do nowadays, live to please others and thus frustrate ourselves. As the quote indicates, abhorrence with yourself is much worse than being ridiculed by others; you don’t have to live with them, but you have to be in your own company continually.
And this next quote aligns nicely with the first one: ‘If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.’ Oh friends, so often we hear different drums than those of the people we associate with and it ofttimes causes resentment, confusion and other negative vibes.
But everybody can’t march to the beat of the same drum, that’s not how God made us. He designed us to march to our own drumbeat, that’s why a lot of people pass through our lives only for a season and not forever. It means that their drum beat no longer matches ours. And though it may be hard to lose some particular friendships, we must always choose our drumbeat and go the way the Lord directs us. Don’t be afraid, whatever the Lord takes away, He will replace with something better! Glory be!
Therefore when we suffer such loss and disappointment we have to stand strong and refocus. Or as the next quote tells us: ‘It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.’ Now that should be obvious. But unfortunately when the darkness hits, too many of us wallow and squirm and complain instead of trying to find the nearest and/or best light source. Thus we use up whatever energy we have in a negative manner and it takes us even longer to get out of the frightening darkness than it ought to.
And that leads us to this next quote which brings the matter to a wiser and larger scale. ‘Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.’ And that’s the exact kind of society in which we’re currently living. Greed, corruption, racism, poverty, injustice, ignorance; they are all running rampant in our midst right now.
And nowhere has that been more eloquently stated than in Bob Marley’s song ‘War,’ where he recounts the words of the Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I in a speech in California in 1968. ‘…Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior, is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned. That until there are no longer first and second-class citizens of any nation. Until the colour of a man’s skin is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes.
That until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all, without regard to race, That until that day, the dream of lasting peace, world citizenship and the rule of international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion, to be pursued, but never attained… And everywhere will be war…ah say war…’ And that’s exactly what our world is currently involved in; wars and rumours of war!
Strife is our number one marker! But listen to this last quote which reads as a partial antidote to out current situation. ‘Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.’ And if that isn’t gospel truth, then I don’t know what is! Oh yes, we acknowledge that Jesus and all He stands for is the greatest gift to mankind, but on a more basic level, health, contentment and faithfulness give us the practical values we need to survive as a strong and true community.
Yes my people there’s nothing as important as faithfulness in whatever we believe, say or promise to do. And there’s nobody as faithful as our wonderful God! Hear these words that Ethan the Ezrahite wrote nuh, as concerning God’s sure promises to Bruh David. ‘I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever; with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.’ Ethan was sure that the Lord would keep His promises to Bruh David, so he could confidently place his trust in Him.
And yes friends, all the way down through the ages the Lord has been faithful to His promises, from Adam right down to us! When He’s promised good, He’s delivered, and when He’s promised adversity, He’s also delivered. So there’s no questioning His faithfulness whatsoever. His promises might take a while to come true, like Jesus’ first coming took many centuries, and His second is also taking a long while. (smile)
And re the faithfulness of our most wonderful God, Jeremiah says it best: ‘This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.’ (Lam. 3:21-26)
Yuh see mih people, even in Jeremiah’s darkest days, he still knew where the light lay and had the wisdom and positive attitude to seek it. May we be as wise and positive as Jeremiah this Saturday morning and seek Almighty God, above everything else! Much LOVE!
…faithfulness…the foundation on which trust is built…
21 Nov 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a good attitude, another wonderful day, bad-mouthing, be in thee, beautiful princess, brought thee up out of Egypt, come to Jesus, compassionwisdom, creativity, curse, Daily Bread Devotional, death, deceit, destruction, disobedience, do God's will, envy, feast of Tabernacles, find rest and peace, foolish pride, fornication, generously share, go down the drain, God never gives up on us, God's great earth, God's Law, greed, haters of God, hearkened unto me, History, homelessness, I am the Lord thy God, in the midst of plenty, ingathering, joblessness, make a joyful noise, murder, negative word, no strange God, not worship and strange god, open thy mouth wide, overwhelmed by troubles, poverty, Praise the Lord, prosper, push God out, sickness, sing aloud, strife torn world, succeed, sufferation, Ten Commandments, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the God of our strength, the One True God, the ugly duckling, Thursday Blessings, to hell in a handbasket, unrighteousness, unto their own lust, walked in my ways, wickedness
Psalm 81:9. There shall no strange (foreign) god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.
Welcome to another wonderful day on God’s great earth my people! And I won’t be presumptuous and pass judgement on the kind of weather we’re going to have today, although it is dark and cloudy. (smile) Why you ask? Because I did that yesterday and much to my surprise the ugly duckling at the beginning had turned into a beautiful princess by early afternoon, with bright sunshine and temps up to 8 degrees Celsius! (smile)
And if the weather forecasters are right, today is supposed to follow in the same footsteps. So instead of bad-mouthing the day, let’s look forward to another glorious one, with a good attitude, in which we do God’s will and work in an excellent and diligent manner.
And all God’s children said, ‘Praise the Lord!’ And speaking of praise, last night while reading the Daily Bread Devotional, I learned that the Israelites had a psalm appointed to be sung on each day of the week, and Thursday’s was Psalm 81, a psalm of Asaph, so I decided we should check it out and sing it today.
So here we go: ‘Sing aloud unto God our strength; make a joyful noise (shout) unto the God of Jacob. Take a psalm (raise a song), and bring hither (strike) the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery (lyre). Blow up the trumpet in (at the time of) the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. For this was the statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.’ (Ps. 81:1-4)
And according to the scholars: ‘Psalm 81. The background of the psalm appears to be the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev. 23:34-44) which reminded the people of God’s law and also constituted the feast of ingathering (Ex. 23:16).’ So the people had constant reminders of God’s law and His overwhelming goodness to their forefathers!
Ah friends, if we could only begin each day with songs of praise and worship to Almighty God, how wonderful that would be! But most of us just get up and go our way, without even a thought of giving thanks for seeing another day, possibly so overwhelmed by the troubles facing us, that that’s all we can think about. But if we would do like Jesus says and bring all our burdens to Him, we’d find rest and peace for our weary souls. (Matt. 11:28-30)
Now hear this part of the psalm that the Lord kept pounding in the Israelites’ ears, and is still pounding in our own to this day: ‘There shall no strange (foreign) god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god. I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.’ (Ps. 81:9-10) Yes people, that’s the First Commandment of the ten that the Lord gave to Moses for the Israelites to live by, and consequently all later believers. (Ex. 20:3)
I don’t know what’s so hard to understand in that nuh: No other God is supposed to rival the One True God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! But Israel only listened when it was convenient to them, when they found themselves between a rock and a hard place because of their obstinate and willful disobedience. And sadly, we’re doing the same thing today; we’re trying to push God out of our society, a society that became prosperous and powerful because of His goodness and mercy. Steups! How foolish can we get eh?
No wonder the Lord commented: ‘But my people would not hearken (heed, listen to) my voice; and Israel would (have) none of me. So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust (stubbornness), and they walked in their own counsels.’ (Ps. 81:11-12) And yuh see what happened to Israel when they walked in their own counsel…sufferation everlasting! And it’s the same so and so thing that’s happening to us today because we refuse to walk in God’s will! Look at the strife torn world we’re currently living in nuh!
Look at the great amount of poverty, sickness, joblessness and homelessness in the midst of so much plenty! No generation has ever been as prosperous and powerful as ours, but we’re letting it go down the drain because of our greed, foolish pride and refusal to worship the One True God; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the One who gives us power to get wealth! (Deut. 8:18) Yes friends, it’s not our own strength or wisdom that causes us to prosper in this evil world, and until we come to our senses and remember that, our world will continue to fall apart and go right down to hell in a handbasket!
And as Bruh Paul later put it to the church at Rome: ‘And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate (debased) mind, to do those things which are not convenient (fitting); Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate (strife), deceit, malignity (evil-mindedness); whisperers…’ (Rom. 1:28-29)
And that’s not the whole list. But seriously my brethren, if we take a look around us that’s what our world has become; one of pure evil and ungodliness, and if we continue down that path, all we’ll eventually reap is death and destruction, because that is what God has promised to those who don’t follow His will.
But the wonderful thing about our God is that He never gives up on us. Hear how He agonized over the Israelites, and still agonizes over us. ‘Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.’ (Ps. 81:13-14) So let’s remember that while there is life, there’s always hope. Consequently, for those of us who seriously believe and are concerned about the state of our world, let’s use these tools, what we call our Thursday Blessings, that God has so generously granted us, to right our fallen world nuh.
So let’s declare them now with loud voice and strong conviction, for they are only invoked when we speak them aloud. 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 everyday! Amen!’
Yes mih faithful breddren, now it’s time to go out and generously share them with the unfortunate and unwise, as Jesus so dearly desires! Much LOVE!
…history speaks for itself…the haters of God were destroyed…and will continue to be destroyed…
31 Oct 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a celebration, a requirement to enter heaven, an outward show, attuned to, bad for health, candy, candy makers, Christ is the end, Christian character, compassionate heart, costume people, creme de la creme, dentists, disgrace, enter into, evil, except your righteousness, faith, faith without works is dead, forgiveness, ghouls, greed, Halloween, hobgoblins, I say unto you, love your enemy, monied groups, negative word, of the scribes and Pharisees, offer lip service, politically powerful, practical application, prosper, religious achievement, righteousness exalteth a nation, self-control. curse, self-righteousness, shall exceed, shame, sin is a repocah, spiritual living, strenthens the bottom line, substituted works for faith, succeed, the attitude of the heart, the gospel in action, the kingdom of heaven, the law of righteousness, the righteousness, the things of the world, the true tenets of Christianity, Thursday Blessings, ungodly ritual, unrighteous society, withches, works, ye shall in no case, zeal
Matthew 5:20. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case (by any means) enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Oh, how I wish it wouldn’t rain…how I wish it wouldn’t rain…! An unfulfilled wish most likely, since they’ve forecasted lots of rain for this Halloween day. I believe they even considered postponing it until tomorrow due to the deluge expected. But in my opinion, they should just abolish the whole stupid, ungodly ritual because it’s just a celebration of evil and greed! When you have the ugliest, scariest and most inappropriate costumes for children; things like witches, ghouls, hobgoblins and the like being a big deal in the society, what does it teach them eh? And now there are also a whole lot of restrictions on what you can wear, what is culturally or religiously acceptable, that it makes a mockery of the whole thing.
But what amazes me is we teach them that candy is bad for their health and well being, then we have a big celebration where they go out in the dangerous dark night to see who can collect the most candy! Who do you think eats it eh? The very same children who are taught that it’s bad for them. But I doubt it will be abolished anytime soon, even with it’s inherent dangers, since it strengthens the bottom line of the costume people, the candy makers and the dentists, politically powerful and monied groups in our society.
That brings us to our Bit for this Halloween Thursday, very poignant and important words of Jesus to His listeners on the law, from the Sermon on the Mount. ‘For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case (by any means) enter into the kingdom of heaven.’ Now that was a heavy blow to those religious leaders for they were considered the creme de la creme of righteousness in their day. And the scholars obligingly explain.
‘5:20. Because of the necessity of righteousness as a requirement to enter heaven, Jesus then declares that except their righteousness should exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees they could not enter heaven. The significance of this is seen in the fact that the Jews of Jesus’ day considered these people to be the most religious in all Israel. However, their religion was largely an outward show of self-righteousness. In communicating the depth of His message, Jesus used a series of contrasts between the outward behaviour demanded by the law and the inner attitude of the heart desired by God. Here we discover the practical application of the Christian character to true spiritual living. Here we see the gospel in action.’
And sadly, nothing much has changed to this day; there are still a lot of religious leaders; modern-day scribes and Pharisees who only offer lip service and outward show to the true tenets of Christianity. Meanwhile, their inner man is more attuned to the things of the law, of the world, than those of God. Here’s a list of the contrasts between living under the Law and living by the Spirit as provided by the scholars. ‘The Law says No murder, the Spirit, No anger. No Adultery…. No Lust. No Divorce… Commitment. No oath-taking… Speak the truth. No retaliation… Forgiveness. Hatred for your enemy (tradition allowed it) … LOVE for your enemy (commanded).’
Yes my faithful brethren, the Law isn’t basically wrong, but the demands of the Spirit carry us to a higher level of spirituality and righteousness. And it’s that high level we need to enter the kingdom of heaven. I didn’t say so, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ said it long ago, and nothing has happened since to change it. And after expounding our Bit to His listeners, Jesus then went on to individualize the stuff that we just wrote. He then taught on Anger, Adultery, Divorce, Oaths and LOVE for enemies. (Matt.5:21-48)
Ah friends, it’s sad and rather unfortunate that we’re living in such a sinful and unrighteous society these days. No wonder we’re at such a low ebb, in ALL aspects of life. There’s absolutely no situation in which we can say we’re winning! Even the fools who are trying to throw God out of our society will eventually lose, though they seem to have the upper hand now. Please pay attention though to these momentous words of Cousin Sol: ‘Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach (shame or disgrace) to any people.’ (Prov.14:34) And the scholars explain: ‘14:34. National righteousness and national sin have opposite effects: exaltation versus reproach.’ No wonder we have national reproach, because our society is as sinful as eternity is long.
And Bruh Paul made it clear to the church at Rome when he talked about zeal but no righteousness. ‘For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law of righteousness to every one that believeth.’ (Rom.10:3-4) And the scholars explain: ‘10:4. Christ is the end of the law: Israel mistook the purpose of the law. The law pointed to the righteousness that is attainable only by belief in Christ. Israel also mistook the scope of the law. The righteousness to which it pointed was universally available to all who responded to God’s revelation of Himself through the law. But by Paul’s time many had substituted works for faith. Rather than seeking redemption in God’s mercy, they pinned their hopes on their own religious achievement.’
And that’s still happening on too large a scale today my people. It’s true that faith without works is dead, (James 2:17) but works alone will get us nowhere either! Let’s remember that nuh and proceed to build up both our faith and works through righteousness in Christ Jesus. Now let’s go home declaring (yeh!) our enabling Thursday Blessings. As one, in strong voice and sincere sense of purpose. ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’ And let’s also remember that they are for generous sharing, not selfish hoarding. (smile) Much LOVE!
…without true righteousness…we shall never see God…
24 Oct 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adversity, as long as he sought the Lord, as unto the Lord, be afflicted, be lost, be ye strong therefore, Christians, Cleanse your hands, compassionate heart, courage, created the sun, creativity, curse, do it heartily, doubleminded, draw night to God, dwelling in us, God made him to prosper, grace, greed, Hades, he is a rewarder, he sought God, hoard selfishly, humble yourselves before the Lord, if ye forsake him, if ye seek him, in the days of Zechariah, joyful, lack of strife, let not your hands be weak, material wealth, mercy, mourn, negative emotions, negative word, peaceful, pouring down sunshine, prosper, purify your hearts, righteous, self-control, selfishness, shall be rewarded, share generously, submit yourselves to God, the bright light of Jesus, the evil one, the Lord is with you, the mire of sinfulness, the Spirit of God, the strait and narrow path, the visions of God, them that diligently seek him, Thursday Blessings, understanding, whatsoever ye do, wisdom, your work
2 Chronicles 26:5. And he (Uzziah) sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions (fear) of God: and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper.
So today looks like another rainy and cloudy day, but I guess that’s what fall weather is all about. But who knows, with the way things are going these days, by lunchtime it could be pouring down sunshine! (smile) Yeh, the weather patterns are so unpredictable these days that I feel sorry for the weather forecasters. But regardless of if the physical sun is shining or not, we need to remember that we have the One who created the sun dwelling inside of us, and therefore there should always be a bright light, the bright light of Jesus, shining in our souls and spirits.
Glory to God for that eternal sunshine! That sunshine that keeps us joyful and fresh, and peaceful and righteous and leads us along the strait and narrow path that Almighty God has ordained for us to follow! Give Him much thanks for His unceasing goodness to us, the disobedient children of men. Without His amazing grace and mercy we’d surely be lost in the mire of sinfulness, headed straight for Hades and its ruler, the evil one. And I’ve just encountered an interesting scripture in the Old Testament that is still oh so relevant to our modern times. It deals with the sixteen year old Uzziah succeeding his father Amaziah as king of Judah. It says: ‘And he (Uzziah) sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions (fear) of God: and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper.’
What a wonderful scripture for us meditate on and consider this wet and cloudy morning my people, because it is still a happening fact in our time. When you seek God sincerely and constantly, He causes you to prosper. And prosper doesn’t necessarily mean material wealth, but also peace and joy in your life and your surroundings, and the lack of strife and other negative emotions and situations. But before we move on, here are a couple of notices from the scholars. The first is that Uzziah is called Azariah in 2 Kings 14:21; 15:1-7. And the second is that the Zechariah named above is not the same prophet who wrote the prophecy of Zechariah.
This brings us to another instance where the same basic ideas were floated to a Judean king. Listen to this warning from the prophet Azariah. ‘And the spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: And he went out to meet (before) Asa, (the king), and said unto him, hear ye me Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; the Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.’ (2 Chr.15:2) Yeh friends, that warning still applies to us today. And I like what Azariah said after reminding them that Israel had been in a rough state for a long time, without a prophet, disobedient to God, and thus suffering much adversity. However he advised: ‘Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.’ (2 Chr.15:7)
Yeh friends, it still works even to this day! Remember Bruh Paul’s words to the Colossians: ‘And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance (salvation): for ye serve the Lord Christ.’ (Col.3:23-24) It’s like the author of Hebrews said: ‘But without faith it is impossible to please him (God); for he that cometh to God must believe that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’ (Heb.11:6) That’s sort of the reverse side of the coin; you can’t come to God sincerely unless you believe that He will reward your diligent seeking of Him. Oh I just went outside to check on a problem and it’s already sunny out there. Yuh see, just like we said earlier on! (smile) Glory to God!
Now here are James’ words on the subject. ‘Submit yourselves therefore to God: Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded. Be afflicted (lament), and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness (gloom). Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:7-10) Oh my people, in these evil times, times of so much selfishness and greed, many of us, even Christians, need to humble ourselves before Almighty God, so that He can lift us up.
Yes, it’s a fact; if we don’t humble ourselves before Him, there will be no lifting up! And once we do that, He will bless us so abundantly, that we won’t know what to do with the blessings. Listen to some of them. We call them our Thursday Blessings. They need to be spoken out loud for them to take effect, so please declare them with me in loud and sincere voices. ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And that’s gospel truth friends! But one important reminder: those blessings are for us to generously share with others, as the Lord has generously shared them with us, not for us to selfishly hoard. Much LOVE!
…you can only find God…if you diligently look for Him…
14 Aug 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, afraid, after he hath killed, awesome Helper, complacent, corruption, dictators, evil rulers, eyes fixed straight ahead, fear him, for Jesus, grace, greed, halfway home, hands on the plough, hath power, heavenly proportions, hell, holy spirit, hot air, I will forewarn you, in doing god's will, lazy, loving-kindness, make disciples, not looking back, of all the world, oust God from society, restore God, rumours of war, setting my sights on heaven, strife, the breath of life, the Father's help, the gilded positions, the Great Commission, the righteous stood up, to cast into hell, to preeminent place in society, took a serious stand, undeserving children of men, uninterested, wanna be dictators, war, Wednesday Wail, whom ye shall fear, winning the world, wisdom
Luke 12:5. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
Welcome to Wednesday, friends and neighbours! Oh me oh my, another wonderful day is in the offing for us in God’s great universe, His marvellous creation called Planet Earth! Let’s give Him some thanks and praise for that awesome privilege nuh, and show sincere gratitude by going out today, with godly excitement and passion, and doing a good job in Christ’s name, because nothing pleases our heavenly Father like us being good Christ-like examples!
And all God’s children responded with a mighty shout of ‘Praise the Lord for His extreme grace and LOVING-kindness to the undeserving children of men!’ And is He ever gracious and merciful! And are we ever undeserving of those precious gifts! But such is His amazing and never-ending LOVE towards us, His most wonderful creation, that He just can’t help Himself! And thus His goodness and grace just flows unrestricted down from heaven to us here on earth!
But are we truly appreciative of those blessings, especially the breath of life that flows through us that emanates solely from Him? I don’t think so, else so many of us would not be involved in trying to oust Him from our society, especially at this crucial and critical time, when we really need Him more than ever!
Oh friends, don’t we see the disgraceful and disgusting state of our world? How it’s filled with greed, corruption, strife, war, rumours of war and so many other negative things? The evil and negative things certainly outweigh the good and positive ones. And with each passing day it seems to get worse.
Leaders cannot agree on anything that will benefit their people and are constantly fighting to accrue more and more power.I don’t remember a time in my life when there have been more dictators in the world, with all of them trying to run roughshod over their people in a vain and futile effort for more wealth and power! And the people themselves have become so timid and acquiescent that those wanna be dictators are finding it very easy to do as their evil hearts desire.
Ah mih people, it’s time the supposedly righteous stood up and took a serious stand in the affairs of our world, our nations, our cities, our neighbourhoods and our families! Let me ask you this nuh? Do like the way our world and lives are going? Most of you will say definitely not! But then, here’s the clincher: If the righteous don’t get up and do something positive and godly, how will it ever get fixed eh, or even improve some?
Let me tell you friends, it WON’T! That’s because the evil rulers now in power won’t give up their power voluntarily. We have to take it from them; remove them from the gilded positions they have built for themselves, and above all, restore God to the first and preeminent place in our society! But for that to happen, we the righteous have to get up and get a serious move on! We can’t be just talk, a set of hot air, like we currently are; afraid to challenge the powers that be.
Please remember that our God, Jehovah, is the de-facto ruler of the universe, and yes, He’s still on His throne, ruling from heaven on high. But we are the ones to whom He’s contracted the business of setting this world right. But we have to get a move on, RIGHT NOW, for time is quickly running out! And for everyday that the evil are in ascendance, it gets more difficult to remove them. And we certainly can’t do it in our own strength; we definitely need the Father’s help.
And it’s not like He hasn’t given us the most awesome Helper in the universe, His Holy Spirit that dwells within us to lead and guide and empower us in conquering the evil that’s in the world! But unfortunately, like we seem to be afraid, lazy, complacent and just downright uninterested in doing His will.
But friends, we need to remember two things here: the first being the Great Commission that Jesus gave us; to go out and make disciples of all the world, and He will be with us, ALL the time, as He is through the Holy Spirit. (Matt.28:19-20). And secondly the fact that we should not be afraid of what man can do to us. We should preach the word everywhere fearlessly, for everything will be brought to light eventually.
Matthew puts it thus: ‘And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.’ (Matt.10:28) Meanwhile, this is Luke’s version: ‘And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.’ (Luke 12:4-5)
That my brethren is wisdom of heavenly proportions, for the death of the body is not the end of our lives, because our spirit lives on. And even more importantly, Almighty God, is the ONLY One who can both kill the body and soul and cast into to hell, so it’s wise to fear Him above men, who can only kill the body. Let’s hope the words the Holy Spirit has guided me to share today makes a big impression on us and inspires us to get up and get a serious move on in winning the world for Jesus!
Time to go home now, declaring (yeah!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our sincere and secure position in Christ. As one strong voice now: ‘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 will that future ever be glorious if we keep our hands on the plough and our eyes fixed steadfastly on Jesus! Much LOVE!
…you can have hell…if you so desire…but I’m setting my sights on heaven…
02 Aug 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a calm spirit, a good attitude, a loving persona, a mighty stream of power, a morass, a pleasant smile, a strong foundation, ambassadors, anger, awesome tools, be ye reconciled to God, bringing shame, Christ's Church, courage, creativity, curse, dignity, disgrace, divine protection, dwelling in us, extraordinary stuff, faith, favour, First lady of american Theatre, forgiveness, formative years, fruit of the Spirit, good health, greed, handle life, heaven, Helen Hayes, helpfulness, high self-esteem, in Christ's stead, Jesus' mandate, Jesus' Spirit, joyousness, kindness, long-suffering, LOVE, make a difference, meekness, mercy, most important basis, murder, negative consequences, negative doings, negative word, opportunity, optimism, outgoing nature, positive attitudes, poverty, prinicples, privilege, prosper, Redwood trees, regulations, representatives, rules, same old, save the lost, self-discipline, show the same example, sickness, sincere hearts, something bright, spoken out loud, strife, strong roots, succeed, success, temperance, the ability, the affairs of men, the downtrodden, the end of time, the less fortunate, the right tools, the Word of god, Thursday Blessings, to cope with stress, to look forward to, to obey, what's new
2 Corinthians 5:20. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray (implore) you in Christ’s stead (behalf), be ye reconciled to God.
So it’s Thursday…what’s new eh friends? I guess most of us will say the same old, same old. And we may be right, because that’s what life mainly consists of. However, with Jesus ‘ Spirit dwelling within us, we have the opportunity, the privilege to take that same old and turn it into something bright and beautiful!
Yeh friends, if we have heaven and all that extraordinary stuff to look forward to, from now till the end of time, then we should at least be able to put a pleasant smile on our faces and have a good attitude in our hearts, because that’s how our Lord and Saviour, our Leader Jesus Christ walked while He was here on earth, and followers are supposed to show the same example as their leaders.
And in keeping with that philosophy, here is some wise advice from the ‘First Lady of American Theater,’ Helen Hayes (1900-1993). She dispenses that ‘Positive attitudes – optimism, high self-esteem, and outgoing nature, joyousness, and the ability to cope with stress – when established early in life, may be the most important basis for continued good health.’
And that’s no lie friends, for whatever you’re building needs a strong foundation. And in the affairs of men, the earlier you build that strong foundation the better off you will be, the better able you will be to handle life.
Like the Redwood trees in California that grow to enormous heights and live for a long time because they have put down long, strong roots in the earth in their formative years, so too we need to have a solid root system if we intend to live long and make a difference in this life.
And each believer in Christ is expected to make a difference in this life, be it big or small. Why? Because as Bruh Paul tells the Corinthians in our Bit: ‘Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray (implore) you in Christ’s stead (behalf), be ye reconciled to God.’
Yes my fellow believers, we are ALL ambassadors for Christ! And ambassadors have certain rules and regulations to obey, and a certain type of behaviour to exhibit because they are representatives of a higher authority and ought to do so in a proper manner. That means behaving with dignity and a calm spirit and not bringing shame and disgrace on their higher ups.
Likewise, as ambassadors of Christ, we have the responsibility to behave in a manner consistent with Jesus’ mandate and not bring negative consequences to His organization. And in Christ’s organization, His church, we do that by being faithful to His principles.
First and foremost is the principle of LOVE; God’s defining attribute from which flow a whole lot of other things, like kindness, helpfulness, mercy, forgiveness, grace, joy, peace, long- suffering, faith, meekness, temperance (self-control). Those are things that Bruh Paul define as the fruit of the Spirit, and are expected to be a major part of a believer’s life.
And you’ll notice my believing brethren that none of those attributes or behaviour is a mainstay of today’s world. Instead, the world glorifies all the opposites of those spiritual fruit, with the resultant consequence that it is a morass of greed, poverty, sickness, murder, strife, warfare, anger and all sorts of evil doings.
Now that’s not what our Jesus wants to see in His world. Remember He came to save the lost and downtrodden, and there are way too many of those in our current world. Thus, as His representatives, we are called to show a different attitude, a better example to this sinful world, a more graceful and LOVING persona.
We also need to spread His faithful Word to all and sundry, so that the lost and suffering will see what they are missing by not being a part of His kingdom and will reach out, cry out to Him for help. That’s our mandate, our bounden duty my brethren.
And Jesus has given us some awesome tools to work with, namely our Thursday Blessings. So let’s proclaim them now nuh, to remind us of them, and to claim their awesome power, because the Word of God unleashes a mighty stream of power when spoken out loud.
All together now in strong voice with sincere hearts: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Yes friends, what awesome tools and blessings! Now let’s go out and put them to full use, sharing them with the less fortunate, as Jesus so greatly desires of us. Much LOVE!
…Jesus never sends His workers out…without the right tools to do His work…
19 Jul 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a guidebook, anger, commandments, courage, creativity, curse, discern justice, fools, fresh through all the ages, generous, God's wisdom, God's Word, greed, honour, important announcement, indisputable truth, inherit glory, inspiring the prophets, legacy, lengthen thy days, long life, lustful, magnanimous, mighty in strength, negative word, none like thee, penultimate day, positive changes, poverty, promotion, putting it into practice, riches, self-control, self-discipline, selfishness, shame, share with others, sickness, statutes, strife, studying God's Word, success, successful living, summer frolic, the BIBLE, the Good Book, the principal thing, Thursday Blessings, truth, understanding, walk in my ways, ways of the world, wicked, wisdom, wise, wise in heart, workweek
Proverbs 3:35. The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion (the legacy) of fools.
And then it was Thursday, the penultimate day of the workweek, and consequently all thoughts are turning to the weekend; considering the summer frolic it will bring. And nothing’s wrong with that, it’s all a basic part of life, but friends, I have an even more important announcement to share this morning; one that will bring enormous positive changes to your life if you embrace it in the spirit it was meant to be taken.
Please remember this: ‘The Bible is God’s Word to us, still fresh through ALL the ages! And if we read it, we WILL find God’s wisdom on its pages!’ That’s indisputable truth my brethren! So please let’s do the sensible thing and read God’s word so that we can find His wisdom and apply it to our lives nuh. That’s why He spent so much time inspiring the prophets and them to write it; so that we could have a Guidebook for successful earthly living.
And if you don’t believe me, just look at the messy, disgusting, evil and foolish lives we are currently living nuh. If we were truly reading and studying God’s word and putting it into practice our world would never be in such a state of anger, hatred, strife, power hunger, greed, poverty, economic deprivation and sickness.
But unfortunately, too many of us, including supposed believers are heeding the wicked and lustful ways of the world and not seeking God and His righteousness first in our lives. Remember Jesus said that if we sought God and His righteousness FIRST, all the things of the world that we NEED would be given to us. (Matt.6:33)
But our actions prove that we don’t believe it. We still attempt to work for them in our own strength and that’s never going to work properly my people! That brings us to our Bit, immortal words of wisdom from Cousin Sol. ‘The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion (the legacy) of fools.’
And that’s gospel truth my fellow believers! The problem though is that once you go down that foolish road and discover what will be your end, it will be too late to turn back then. That’s why you need to embrace the wisdom of the Good Book and the wonderful things it offers NOW!
Let’s take a look at a few scriptures to prove our point. We’ll begin with Job’s question as he acknowledges God’s justice. I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God (can a man be righteous before God)? If he will contend (if one wished to argue) with him, he cannot answer him one (one time out) of a thousand. He (God) is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?’ (Job 9:2-4)
And the sure answer to that is ‘NOBODY has done it, and NOBODY ever will!’ Glory be my brethren! For an infinite God, our Maker and Controller, who’s ways and thoughts are so much higher than ours, is the epitome of wisdom and justice! And there’s no better passage in the Bible that speaks to the importance of the acquisition of wisdom than the situation between God and Cousin Sol in his early days as Israel’s king.
One day Cousin Sol went to Gibeon to sacrifice to the Lord, and the Lord appeared to him in a dream by night: ‘and God said. Ask what I shall give thee.’ (1Kin.3:5) And we all know Sol’s response. ‘Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?’ (1 Kin.3:9)
Oh my people, my people, is that the kind of thing we ask for when God asks what we desire of Him? Very seldom! Most of the time we ask for things of the world.
And I like how the Good Book puts it: ‘And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon has asked this thing. And God said unto him. Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgement (justice);
Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and honour: so that there shall not be any (anyone) among the kings like unto thee all thy days.’ (1 Kin.3:10-13)
Yes friends, that’s how magnanimous and generous our God can be when we ask for the right things; not stuff in pursuit of greed or selfishness. And let’s note the corollary to God’s goodness to Cousin Sol. ‘And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.’ (1 Kin.3:14)
What more can I say eh friends? Nothing but to implore us to seek the face of God and His wisdom; to read His word and apply it to our lives, so that we may dwell in the peace and joy that accompany His promises. Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings which the Lord has generously bestowed on us.
In strong voice with sincere hearts: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And the next step is to go out and share it all with the less fortunate. God blessed us so that we could bless others. Much LOVE!
…wisdom is the principal thing…therefore get wisdom…and with all thy getting…get understanding… (Prov.4:7)
11 Jul 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate fire, angry, anointed, begged for mercy, blessings, bonafide believer, bounden duty, calamitous days, Christian trait, christianity, compassion, consumed, debtor's prison, delivered him, disastrous, do like christ did, doing good, dwelleth the love of God, eyes fixed straight ahead, finite minds, followers of Christ, for our benefit, forgave him, forgive not, fresh bread, from your hearts, generous to a fault, giving, glad to be alive, God was with him, God's manna, great is thy faithfulness, greed, had compassion, had pity on thee, halfway home, hands on the plough, have need, heart, his compassions fail not, hoarding, Holy Ghost, in deed, in time of need, Jeremiah, jesus of nazareth, Lamentations, lights a fire, looking to a glorious future, loving, loving-kindness, magnanimous god, mercies, new every morning, not love in word, not turning back, oppressed of the devil, owed money, power, sacrificing, sadly lacking, Scrip-Bit, sees his brother, selfishness, sharing, shutteth up his bowels, talk, talk your talk, thankful, the breath of life, the forgiven one, the land of the living, the Lord's mercies, thou wicked servant, to the tormentors, tongue, Top o' the morn, torturers, trespasses, truth, unchristian behaviour, walk your walk, Wednesday Wail, wroth
Lamentations 3:22-23. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
Well top o’ the morn to all you Scrip-Bit friends and family…and top of the afternoon to those of you faithful readers on the other side of the world! (smile) It’s just another brilliant, sunshiny day in the land of the living, with all of God’s manna, mercies and whatever brand new!
Wow! It’s like waking up to fresh bread every day! And we should be much more thankful than we are for those blessings. But our God is what we call magnanimous, generous to a fault, so He gives us stuff that we don’t truly deserve.
And yes, we’ll continue with the same Bit, because there are so many scriptures on compassion, a most important Christian trait in which we current believers are sadly lacking.
Jeremiah knew exactly what he was talking about when he declared in His Lamentations: ‘It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.’
If you are a bonafide (true, sincere) believer, then you certainly cannot argue with that statement or the sentiments contained therein since it’s only through God’s LOVING-kindness that life is not more disastrous than it is. Now let’s check out some scriptures on compassion.
The first one we’ll look at today is Jesus’ telling of the parable about the two servants who owed money they could not repay. The first owed his master thousands of dollars, and when the master threatened to cast him into debtors’ prison, he begged for mercy, and the master forgave him the entire debt.
However that same forgiven one, found someone who owed him a measly few dollars, but when he couldn’t pay, he had him and his family cast into prison. Obviously that disgusting news got back to the master, who called the first servant and castigated him.
‘O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst (begged) me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth (angry), and delivered him to the tormentors (torturers) till he should pay all that due unto him.’ (Matt.18:32-34)
And it’s sad to say friends, that that kind of behaviour is still rampant in this world, amongst Christians too, believe it or not. But listen to the moral of the story as told by Jesus: ‘So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.’ (Matt.18:35) It couldn’t be any clearer than that!
And John says it thus in his epistle: ‘But whoso hath this world’s good (goods), and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels (heart) of compassion from him, how dwelleth the LOVE of God in him?’ (1 John 3:17) Good question friends? And the answer is that the LOVE of God does not dwell in such a person.
And to provide a solution to that unchristian behaviour, John therefore recommends: ‘My little children, let us not LOVE in word, neither in tongue (talk); but in deed and in truth.’ (1 John 3:18)
Oh my people, that is oh so necessary in the calamitous days our world is currently experiencing! We just need to have more LOVING action than just mere talk, as we all are so good at doing. I don’t know if there’s ever been a time that the saying; walk your walk and talk your talk, has been more important.
And this verse from Acts shows that is exactly what our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ did. ‘How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.’(Acts 10:38)
Oh my fellow believers, we have also been anointed with the same Holy Ghost and power that Jesus had, so it’s also our bounden duty to go around doing good and helping the less fortunate as much as we can, not keeping, hoarding and/or storing our power and anointing merely for our benefit. That’s what being a Christian means.
If we are followers of Christ, then we’re supposed to do like Christ did! And unfortunately we’re not doing it as much as we ought. Our compassion level is woefully low, while our greed and selfishness meter is way too high. So let’s hope today’s writing lights a fire, a compassionate fire under us. (smile)
But it’s time to go home now. And we’ll do so by declaring our Wednesday Wail, letting the entire world know our situation in Christ Jesus. As one voice now: ‘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 yuh know what friends? Our finite minds can’t even truly imagine how glorious that future will be! Much LOVE!
…true Christianity is sharing…and giving…and LOVING…and sacrificing…and being there in time of need…
P.S. It’s a tad late because I got held up talking to a friend about the World Cup Soccer Tournament. Some things just can’t wait. (smile) Much LOVE!
11 Jun 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a wise man, adrenaline, antidote, antipathy, aura of love, beauty, Behold, Big Island, blameless, brethren to dwell in unity, brotherly LOVE, changing our thoughts, Christ's Church, Christians, civil court, Colorado, come to Christ, confidence, disputing, disunity, entertain stranger, entertained angels, enthusiasm, feuds, figment of our imagination, friends, goes to the law, Great War, greed, grumbling, Hawaii, holy spirit, hostility, how good and pleasant, humble servants, innocent, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, joy, lies, life in london, litigation, living the good life, LOVE, mitigate, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, murmurings, natural disasters, peace, perverse nation, power hungry, prayer, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, running rampant, salvation, selfish desire, shame, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, strife, taunts, the life of the idle rich, truth, ungodly world, unity, volcano, West Indian colloquialism, wildfires, wiles, wisdom, wiser heads prevail
Psalm 133:1. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
Oh my, my, it’s Monday! And though I went to bed pretty late, around 3, I still can’t believe that I’m only now getting up, after nine. Brother, some of us are surely living a life in London yes! (smile) For those of you who don’t know that term, it’s a West Indian colloquialism for living the good life, the life of the idle rich.
But on a more serious note, let’s hope that the beauty of this June Monday caused many of you who were up early to go to work, to mitigate your hostility towards the day. Ahhh friends! Beauty has such a way of changing our thoughts and feelings towards things we otherwise don’t truly appreciate. (smile) In any case, let’s belt out our antidote for our antipathy towards Monday, our Monday Morning Battle Hymn.
Altogether now, in strong voice and sincere enthusiasm: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Yeh friends, hope the adrenaline has taken over and all our antipathy towards Monday has disappeared, evaporated like vapour. Miracles do happen. (smile) But yuh know what, our world still remains the same place it was yesterday, with senseless feuds between countries and leaders, cowardly terrorism killing innocent people for their own selfish motives, disunity between Christ’s church and natural disasters creating havoc in our daily lives.
It seems that the volcano on Big Island, Hawaii had a small explosion and rained ash all over the surrounding area, and the wildfire in Colorado is continuing its unruly, uncontrollable ways. Oh friends, I don’t think there has ever been a time when prayer and unity were ever more important in our world than today.
All the supposed Great Wars will seem rather insignificant to the next Great One, if and when it ever breaks out. Let’s hope and pray for our sakes, as well as those of our children and their children that cooler and wiser heads prevail, and the next Great War remains nothing but a figment of our imagination.
And though we’ve recently used this passage of scripture as our Bit, I believe our situation is so serious that we need to be reminded of it again. ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!’
Yes my people, Bruh David hit the nail on the head when he wrote those immortal words. But that doesn’t seem to be the way it is today, in our individual families, our churches, our nations and the world as a whole. Strife, greed, power hunger and selfish desire are instead running rampant all over.
Remember how Bruh Paul admonished the Corinthians. ‘I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren? Now brother goeth to the law with brother, and that before unbelievers.
Now therefore there is utterly a fault (an utter failure) among you, because ye go to the law one with another. Why do ye not rather take (accept) wrong? Why do ye not suffer yourselves to be defrauded? Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that (to) your brethren.’ (1 Cor.6:5-8)
Oh I know the church no longer holds such sway in justice matters, but nonetheless too many of us, Christian family members are ending up in litigation, in civil court over matters that could be worked out if we would only resurrect the true Christian Spirit and take the time to pray sincerely over them.
Remember too Bruh Paul’s words to the church at Philippi as he talks about them being shining as lights in the world: ‘For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of (according to ) his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings (grumbling) and disputings:
That ye may be blameless and harmless (innocent), the sons (children) of God, without rebuke (fault), in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation (generation), among whom ye shine as lights in the world.’ (Phil.2:13-15)
Oh my people, all of that basically means, if God is indeed guiding and leading us, then there should be no need for the strife and confusion amongst His people that exists today. And we have been placed IN the world, but not OF the world so that we can be bright and shining examples to the unbelievers.
We can only help the lost if we have some form of contact with them, letting our godly example override their ungodly one, so that they will eventually understand where their salvation truly lies and come to Christ. Otherwise, we are of no godly use in the world. Much LOVE!
…let brotherly LOVE continue…be nor forgetful to entertain strangers…for thereby some have entertained angels unawares… (Heb.13:1-2)
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