07 Jul 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all work and no play, almighty god, authority, blessed morn, death, each step I take, enjoyment, eternal life, fellowship, find a balance, folly, forgotten, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, futility, generous God, generous help, grasping for the wind, Hades, heavenly Father, hell, historical experiment, honour, in God's image, in Jesus' name, Jesus Christ, labour, light excells darkness, like the beasts that perish, Lucifer, madness, makes Jack a dull boy, man that is in honour, material accomplishment, North Americans, our Lord and Saviour, perish, relationship with Jesus, relaxation, remembrance, rest, righteousness, sensible thing, Solomon, storing up, subdued outlook, summer, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, thanks and praise, the fool, the gifts of God, the lowest beast, the weekend, the wise man, things done under heaven, tricky situation, under the sun, understanding, understands not, vanity, vexation of spirit, walks in darkness, wants and needs, wastrel, wisdom, work, workweek, wrongdoing
Psalm 49:20. Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.
Well a bright and blessed morn to all you my fine, upstanding, Scrip-Bit friends, families and neighbours! May Almighty God shine down on all our lives this sunny Friday in July and cause us to walk in His righteousness.
And all God’s children declared a loud and proud: ‘Thanks and praise to our heavenly Father who meets all our earthly wants and needs from His abundant store of grace and mercy through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Yeh friends, we indeed have to be thankful for all that our most generous God has blessed us with, since for whatever reason, He hasn’t done so to lots of others. And this has been a short workweek for North Americans, so they will either go to the cottage to rest, or to rack up the summer partying season that’s just begun.
And the shout all over town will be something like: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday oui! That means the weekend, the long awaited weekend is finally here and we can get into our cups with gay abandon! Wow! What a time we going to have this early summer weekend! Thank God for summer, for Fridays and weekends yes!’
And we’re all truly grateful for the summer weather and weekends, but we just celebrate them differently. The believer has a more subdued outlook, as stated in our Friday Chant, to lessen the possibility of his getting into all sorts of wrongdoing.
Please declare it with me. ‘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.’
That brings us to our Bit: ‘Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.’
Yes my people, the Lord made us in His image and gave us authority over all the other living things on earth. (Gen.1:26) He also gave us the power to get wisdom and understanding. And when we don’t use that power wisely, and don’t appreciate the gifts of God, we become just like the lowest beast of the field.
Hear how Cousin Sol puts it in his experiment in Ecclesiastes to ‘seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven.’ (Eccl.1:13)
Now remember that Cousin Sol was rich and had the time and wherewithal to conduct such an experiment. He says: ‘And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do after the king? even that which hath been already done. Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as the light excelleth darkness.
The wise man’s eyes are in his head: but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event (death) happeneth to them all. Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity (futility).
For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool.’ (Eccl.2:12-16)
Oh friends, as the scholars tell us: ‘2:12-16. Wisdom is better than folly (vs.12-14), but both are useless when one comes to death.’
However friends, I would like to add an addendum to that statement. (smile) In these end times, the wisdom of following Jesus Christ, of having Him as your Lord and Saviour when one comes to death, is clearly superior to the folly of not having a wonderful, life-saving relationship with Him.
For therein lies the path your spirit will take after death; either eternal life with Christ in heaven, or everlasting separation from Almighty God with Lucifer in Hades. And I wouldn’t wish the latter on my worst enemy.
Then Cousin Sol continues: ‘Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity (futility) and vexation of spirit (a grasping for the wind). Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken (toiled) under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me.
And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have showed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity (futility) Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took (toiled) under the sun. (Eccl.2:17-20)
And the scholars explain: ‘2:17-20. Part of the futility of trying to find fulfillment in material accomplishment is the fact that one must leave the fruit of his work to another who may well waste the accrued benefits. I hated life (v.17) is translated correctly and should not be misunderstood as “I hate life.” It is clearly the temporary conclusion about Solomon’s historical experiment.’
Ah friends, it’s a tricky situation: we need to work and store up something for rainy days, but we cannot let that be the end all and be all of our existence, because we won’t have the time to enjoy our own lives, and then might leave our vast wealth to some wastrel who doesn’t appreciate it.
So the sensible thing is to find a balance between work, enjoyment and storing up, and that can only be done properly with the help and guidance of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. End of story! Much LOVE!
…all work and no play…makes Jack a dull boy…but all play and no work…sends the fool to hell…
07 Jun 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a glorious world, a new creature, all things are new, dampens our spirits, died on the cross, eternal life, faithful brethren, glad to be alive, glory to God, gospel truth, grace, Hades, halfway home, hell, hostility, if any man be in Christ, imputing trespasses, inconsistent weather, Jesus redemptive work, joy, justice, life just gives us time and space, LOVE, Lucifer, made him to be sin for us, maturing fellowship, meaning, mired in unhappiness, No one is guaranteed happiness, old things are passed away, P.S. I Love You, possessions, reconciled us to himself, reconciliation, redemption, righteousness, shining brightly, sin, sinless, soul-winning, spiritual vocabulary, sternity, the basis of christ's death, the breath of life, the cross, the LOVE of Jesus christ, the ministry of reconciliation, the righteousness of God, the Sun and the Son, the things of the world, took our sin, wealth, Wednesday Wail, who knew no sin, wisdom
2 Corinthians 5:21. For he 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 a bright, sunshiny Wednesday morning… Glory to God! And though it is still a bit cool, the temperature is expected to rise to at least twenty by mid afternoon. That we can handle.
Unlike yesterday where it was rainy and sunny, rainy and sunny all day long. Chuh! That kind of inconsistent weather only dampens our spirits. But when both the Sun and the Son are shining, it’s a glorious world. (smile)
Now here is a li’l something from my ‘P.S. I LOVE YOU’ Poster, which informs us that:’No one is guaranteed happiness. Life just gives us time and space. It’s up to us to fill it with joy and meaning.’
And that’s gospel truth! Unfortunately though some of us don’t realize it and expect life to guarantee us happiness. But nothing could be further from the truth friends. If life had its way, we’d all be mired in unhappiness. So it’s left to us to fill our lives with pleasant and joyful stuff.
And where can we best find that joy and happiness? Not in the things of the world; it’s false wealth and possessions. But in the strength and LOVE of Jesus Christ; the One who selflessly died on the cross for our redemption; took our sins upon His broad and able shoulders and gave us His righteousness instead.
Hence our Bit: ‘For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.’
Oh friends, what a wonderful God we serve and worship! No other supposed deity has ever, or can ever do that for us. Take our sins and put them on another, so that they can be forgiven.
Listen to these powerful, exciting and heart-warming verses before our Bit nuh. ‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
To wit (that is), that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.’ (2 Cor.5:17-19)
Oh my brethren, we have to acknowledge it again: what a magnificent and magnanimous God we serve and worship! He has reconciled us to Himself! Glory to the Most High God Jehovah!
And if you don’t understand what reconciliation is all about, listen to the scholars’ explanation. ‘5:19. Reconciliation is the act whereby God on the basis of Christ’s death, has eliminated the cause of hostility between Himself and humanity, making possible a complete and maturing fellowship. (The hostility was caused by sin, and was eliminated by the Cross).
Illustration: When David prepared to fight for the Philistines, they feared he might betray them in battle in order to become reconciled with Saul. They answered that such an act would greatly please King Saul and be sufficient to restore a decayed relationship between Saul and David.
Application: Those who have become reconciled to God have also been given the ministry of reconciliation, which is fulfilled when they engage in soul-winning (v.19). (First Ref. Lev.6:30; Primary ref, 2 cor.5:19; cf. Rom.3:29).’
Ah mih people, yuh see how important that word ‘reconciliation’ is in our spiritual vocabulary. Out of God’s everlasting grace and LOVE, He decided to become reconciled to us, and in the process forgive us, not impute our sins to us.
But just forgiving us out of hand would stain His sense of justice and righteousness, so someone or something had to eventually pay for our sins. The crux of the matter though was that the sacrifice had to be sinless.
Hn! And lo, and behold ONLY His ONLY Son Jesus Christ fit the bill. I’m sure the Lord agonized over it some, but eventually His immense LOVE for us won the day, and He decided to sacrifice His Son, despite the great heartache it would cost Him.
And here we are now friends, with so many of us ignoring and not appreciating the miraculous work that the Lord did on our behalf. How foolish and ungrateful eh!
Without Jesus work on the cross we’d be left high and dry, to spend eternity in Hades with the evil one Lucifer. But with Jesus redemptive work, we have the option to believe in Him, surrender our all to Him and spend eternity with Him in heaven.
Now which option makes more sense eh; Hades with Lucifer, or Heaven with Christ? My people, I humbly submit that the latter choice is the wiser one. So I’m advising us to please, please choose Christ as your Lord and Saviour, otherwise your eternal life will certainly be hell.
Now for those of us who vote for Jesus, let’s go home declaring our Wednesday Wail, which let’s the whole world know in which camp we permanently stand.
All together 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!’
Now that is what’s called wisdom of exceedingly great proportions! (smile) Much, much LOVE, my faithful brethren in Christ!
…as for me and mine…without a doubt…we will follow Jesus…
P.S. Please excuse the lateness of the Bit. It was just one of those nights, and consequently one of those mornings. (smile) Much LOVE!
25 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a dunghill, a golden idol, Abednego, action, assurance, babylonian king, Beelzebub, Calvary, Christians, come to God, defeating Lucifer, Easter Sunday, faithfully serve God, fellowship, glory and honour, Hades, hate evil, he delivers them, he preserves the souls of his saints, hell death and the grave, I am with thee, insincere prayers, invincible power of God, Israel, Jeremiah, Jesus Christ, light, LOVE, merciful God, Meshach, Nebuchadnezzar, nourish our physical bodies, our Lord and Saviour, out of the hand of the wicked, precious, redeem thee, repent, shadrach, share His love, singed, spring rains, stampede, thanks and praise, the beloved of God, the friend of Jesus, the grip of the terrible, the Lord God of Abraham Isaac and jacob, the only true way, the smell of fire, the SON, the Son of God, true faith, truth, Tuesday Mantra, under the weather, vile, ye that love the Lord
Psalm 97:10. Ye that LOVE the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.
Oh friends, welcome to a wet and dreary Tuesday morning in my neck of the woods! But the spring rains are doing their job; rejuvenating the cold, dry, dead, winter earth, getting it ready for the planting of food to nourish our physical bodies. Just another one of God’s marvellous and miraculous ways of looking after us!
And though the sun might not be out, the SON is certainly shining in all His brilliant splendour; guaranteeing us, LIGHT, LIFE, LOVE, and the ONLY TRUE WAY to the Father’s heavenly kingdom!
All Glory and Honour be to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who sacrificed His sinless life for us on Calvary, then rose triumphantly from the dead on Easter Sunday, totally destroying and defeating Lucifer’s kingdoms of hell, death and the grave! Give Him much thanks and praise my people, for He certainly deserves it!
Unfortunately, I’m a bit under the weather myself, though I can’t understand why, since I went to bed at a reasonable hour and got up late. But I know that as I keep on writing, the strong and invincible power of our great and wonderful God will eventually permeate my body and soul and bring me the energy that I need to do His wonderful will.
Wow! What a mighty, generous and merciful God we serve my brethren! That’s why I can’t understand why people, and I mean a lot of supposed Christians are so reluctant to faithfully serve Him!
They will spontaneously serve Beelzebub, who can’t do anything worthwhile for them, only drag them down into Hades, but answering their Creator’s call takes a whole lot of contemplating. Steups!
Then we wonder why He doesn’t answer our hurried, insincere prayers in times of trouble. Chuh friends! The Lord our God is not our servant, just there to lavish us with the sinful desires of our hearts!
We were made to serve and honour, glorify and have good fellowship with Him. That means sticking with Him in both the good and bad times. As our Bit so wisely advises us: ‘Ye that LOVE the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.’
And all of that is indisputable truth! So why the current stampede away from God eh? I really don’t know nuh. Anyway, let’s check out some scripture that corroborates the last part of our Bit: ‘he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.’
Hear the Lord’s assurance to the people of Israel through the prophet Jeremiah if they repent and turn back to Him: ‘Therefore, thus saith the Lord, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me; and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them (the heathen).
And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brazen (fortified bronze) wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the Lord. And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand (grip) of the terrible.’ (Jer.15:19-21)
Oh friends, what more do we need eh, but to turn from our wicked ways and once more magnify and sincerely worship the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? We have His sincere promise, that should be ALL we need!
But if you’re not into promises, then listen to an actual saving grace of our mighty God; that of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from the fiery furnace of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar.
The king had ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than normal, to destroy the three Jewish young men who had refused to bow to a golden idol the king had made. And what happened?
The fire consumed the men who went to throw them into the furnace. But when the king went to check out the Jewish lads, he was most surprised because they spoke to him, and he in astonishment declared: ‘Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no (are not) hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God (a son of the gods).’ (Dan.3:25)
And we all know that when the lads came out, ‘upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was a hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed (garments affected), nor the smell of fire had passed on them.’ (Dan.3:27)
Oh my people, if the Lord did that way back then, why do we think He cannot do it now eh? Because our faith is not strong enough! And this miracle even caused the heathen Babylonian king to later declare:
‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed (frustrated) the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.
Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses made a dunghill (an ash heap): because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort (like this).’ (Dan.3:28-29)
There’s nothing left to say friends, except that we need to seriously check the level of our faith and see how it compares to those Jewish lads. Now let’s go home, enthusiastically declaring and believing our Tuesday Mantra.
‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
And if we believe, then let’s put it into action, as we ought to. Much LOVE!
…without true faith…one cannot come to God…
P.S. Sorry for the lateness of the Bit, but in between I had to go out the street and pick up my tech, for today is music day. Glory be! Much LOVE!
26 Mar 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adore, assured, be glad in the Lord, blessed Trinity, cherubim, cleanse us, compassion, confess our sins, confident, darkness hide thee, deliverance, divine instruction, enthusiasm, evil world, exalt, exaltation, faithful and just, floods, forgive us our sins, forgiveness, glorify, God in three persons, Hades, heavenly Father, holy, human nature, humble ourselves, humility, iniquity, inspiring word, joy, LOVE, merciful, mighty, mind boggling option, my hiding place, perfect in power, personal witness, praise and worship, purity, reform ourselves, refreshed, rejoice, renewed, righteous, saints, Selah, seraphim, shout for joy, sincerity, sins, songs of deliverance, sorrows, Sunday, thanks, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the greatest, the Lord's sanctuary, the wicked, transgressions, truth, unconfessed sin, unrighteousness, upright in heart
1 John 1:9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
And then friends, it was the glorious day of praise and worship; Sunday! The day when we go into the Lord’s sanctuary and exalt and glorify Him as one body, His church, listen to His awesome and inspiring word and leave renewed and refreshed, assured and confident to face another week in this crazy and evil world.
And as always, we’ll begin with a wonderful rendition of one of our wonderful hymns, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy.’ So let’s offer up the sacrifice of our lips to our heavenly Father with enthusiasm, sincerity and truth.
‘Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee; holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty, God in three persons, blessed Trinity! Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee, casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea; cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee, who wert and art and evermore shalt be.
Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee, though the eye made blind by sin thy glory may not see, only thou art holy; there is none beside thee, perfect in power, in LOVE, and purity. Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! All thy works shall praise thy name, in earth and sky and sea; holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty, God in three persons, blessed Trinity!’
Yeh mih people, there’s no other God like ours; merciful and mighty; perfect in power and LOVE, one God in three persons, blessed Trinity! That’s why He is the GREATEST! No wonder we need to offer up our praise and worship, our thanks and exaltation, for He rightly deserves it.
We also need to humble ourselves before Him because He is holy and does not like or overlook sin.
But in His awesome grace has provided us with an option to be cleansed of the natural evil of our human nature, as our Bit so joyfully tells us. ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’
We can’t ask much more than that nuh my fellow believers. He didn’t have to do it, but in His wonderful LOVE and compassion for us, He just couldn’t let us go down to the pit of Hades without giving us a chance to reform ourselves. So here we are with this amazing choice of being able to praise and worship Him and come to Him in humility and ask for forgiveness.
Wow! No other supposed god gives their worshippers such a mind boggling option! That’s why we’re foolish if we don’t accept it and live up to it. Now hear the words of Bruh David as he talks about the blessed of forgiveness from Psalm 32.
‘Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not (does not charge his account with) iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile (deceit). When I kept silence, my bones waxed (grew) old through my roaring (groaning) all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture (my vitality) is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.
I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come unto him. Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about (surround me) with songs of deliverance. Selah.
I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must he held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about (surround him). Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.’ (Ps. 32:1-11)
Oh friends, how wonderful it is to be touched by the power of the Lord’s forgiveness! And here is what the scholars have to say about that psalm.
‘Psalm 32. The psalm describes the blessedness of forgiveness as no other does. This is the theme of especially the first five verses, which include the happiness of the forgiven man (vs.1-2); the physical and psychological effects of unconfessed sin (vs.3-4); and the simple remedy of confession to obtain God’s forgiveness (v.5). On this basis David can experience prayer (vs.6-7); divine instruction (vs.8-9); and personal witness (vs.10-11).’
Yeh friends, what a great way to end this series of messages on confession of sin and the Lord’s faithfulness to forgive and cleanse us! So please, let’s not forget the wonderful avenues that are open to us when we sincerely serve and worship the Lord God Almighty, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
Let’s not be foolish and ignore all that He’s provided for us in His grace and tender mercies. Then we can rejoice and shout with joy! So let’s be wise and acknowledge Him nuh, lean on Him and make our way through Him, for that’s the wisdom of the ages! Much LOVE!
…to forgive is wonderful…but to receive forgiveness is even better…
19 Mar 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a badge of honour, a godly way, a witness against you, accumulate riches, assurance, avenging character of God, before the throne, Christ the solid rock, Christ's Second Coming, comeuupance, compassion, condemned, covenant, day of slaughter, faultless, foundation, garments, God's judgement, gold and silver, grace, Hades, hope and stay, in God's time, injustice, Jesus' blood, Jews, killed the just, lay not up earthly riches, loving kindness, Lucifer, magnificent and magnanimous God, mercy, miseries, misguided universe, mistreated the poor, my anchor holds, oath, omni-present, omnipotent, omniscient, physical body, retirement, returned to dust, rewards, righteousness., rust, sinking sand, spiritual body, stress and strain, the Lord of hosts, thieves break through and steal, truth, weep and howl, where moth and rust doth corrupt
Matthew 6:19. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves break through and steal.
Sunday O Sunday: The day of the Lord, when we gather together to worship and fellowship and praise and give thanks to our magnificent and magnanimous God! One who is omnipotent, all- powerful; omniscient, all-seeing and knowing; and omni-present, everywhere at the same time!
What a thrill it is my people to be gathered in the Lord’s sanctuary, or anywhere at all, to hear His wondrous word and exalt and glorify His holy name! For all that He’s done, is currently doing, and has promised to do for us, let’s now raise our voices in joyful song, extolling not only His might and power, but also His mercy, compassion, grace and LOVING-kindness!
And the song of praise for today is the old hymn of assurance and the joy of salvation, ‘Christ the Solid Rock.’ So as one harmonious choir, let’s raise our voices in the sacrifice of praise in heartfelt sincerity and truth.
‘My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.
When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace; In every high and stormy gale My anchor holds within the veil. On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.
His oath, His covenant, and blood Support me in the whelming flood; When every earthly prop gives way, He then is all my Hope and Stay. On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.
When He shall come with trumpet sound, Oh, may I then in Him be found, Clothed in His righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before the throne! On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.’
And that’s the indisputable, gospel truth my fellow believers! Any other ground beside the foundation of Rock that’s our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is simply sinking sand! On Him and Him ALONE, are we assured of standing strong and walking tall in this misguided universe!
But you know what friends? That last verse of the hymn is also very important: that we should be found clothed in His righteousness on His Second Coming, to stand faultless before Him. If we’re not found in that state then crapaud smoke we pipe! As simple as that.
And the only way we can have some assurance of that situation is by living out His words of warning in our Bit. ‘Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves break through and steal.’
Yes friends, the treasures of the earth are basically worthless when your physical body is returned to the dust from which it was made. Then what is going to happen to your spiritual body that will be left, that will live on eh? You’ll endure ‘sufferation’ and eternal death with that ole fool Lucifer in Hades, or wherever God decides to discard him.
Now to me, that doesn’t look like such a good idea, although a lot of us are unwisely clinging to it. In my humble opinion, Jesus’ suggestion seems much more profitable and amenable. ‘But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.’ (Matt.6:20)
Ah mih people, I don’t understand why we fight so hard to accumulate the world’s riches nuh, when we know that we can’t carry any of it with us, especially when doing so just produces so much stress and strain and we don’t get to enjoy them. And it’s not like you can’t get rich in earthly wealth following Christ. There are numerous rich Christians around the world; it’s just that they don’t display it as a badge of honour and use it in a more godly way.
Hear how James addresses the wealthy, unsaved Jews of his day. ‘Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted (have rotted), and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered (corroded); and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
Behold the hire (wages) of the labourers who have reaped down (mowed) your fields, which is of you kept back (you have kept back) by fraud, crieth (cry out): and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton (indulgence); ye have nourished (fattened) your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just, and he doth not resist you.’ (James 5:1-6)
Now hear some explanations from the scholars. ‘5:1-6. Ye rich men: James’ common address “brethren,” is not found once in this section. By contrast, it occurs four times in verses 7-12. James is now addressing wealthy, unsaved Jews who have poor Jews working for them. They have mistreated the poor, so God’s judgement will fall on them.’
‘5:3. Ironically, they have stored up treasure for their last days (retirement), which God will use against them in the last days.’ ‘5:4. The Lord of Sabaoth, meaning the Lord of Hosts (i.e. of Armies), describes the omnipotent, avenging character of God who sees and hears this injustice.’
Ah mih breddren, the same injustice is being meted out to the poor and needy today by the wealthy, unsaved heathen. But just as those earlier Jews were promised God’s judgement, likewise the current crop of robber barons will receive their comeuppance in God’s time. Please, let’s not be found counted amongst them. Much LOVE!
…heavenly rewards…must be accumulated from earth…
10 Mar 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a sad state, abyss, advantage, another week of work, answer for his own deeds, appetites, at any time, be prepared, begrudgingly, believer, benefits, blame, by the scruff of the neck, cares of this life, carousing, choice, cold white stuff, come to pass, condemnation, deny Christ, disciples, drunkenness, emotionally, employee, employer, enthusiasm, excessively, fellowship, fight, foolish virgins, Friday chant, fun, generous help, glorious kingdom, God's universe, good paying, Hades, hard labour, in Jesus' name, indulge, infighting, Jesus, jobs, judgement day, lies, like a thief in the night, oil in their lamps, permanent jobs, physically, poorly paid, potent, power struggles, powerful force, pray, prayer, punching a clock, rational, readiness, relaxation, rest, rights, sense of purpose, sensible approach, signs, simple, slackness, small pay, snare, stand before, straightforward, surfeiting, take heed, taunts, temporary jobs, temptation, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the day of the Lord, the face of the earth, the second coming, the Son of man, the Thessalonians, the weekend, the working world, the workingman, thief, trials, unawares, under pressure, valour, warns, watch, weighed down, wiles, winter, wisdom, your hearts be overcharged
Luke 21:34. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged (weighed down) with surfeiting (carousing), and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.
So friends, like we gone back to winter now, with highs in the minus bracket and promises of that fluffy, but everlastingly cold white stuff! (smile) But that doesn’t matter as much to the workingman as the fact that it’s Friday, glorious Friday!
And he just goes about his merry way rejoicing, while loudly mouthing: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday! Thank God is Friday and the weekend here at last! No more hard labour for small pay! No more punching a stupid clock! The next whole two days is mine, to do as I please! Oh, thank God for Fridays and the weekend yes!’
And who can really blame him eh, since the working world out there is such a sad state; transitioning from good paying permanent jobs with benefits, to poorly paid temporary jobs with no benefits.
The modern day employer has the employee by the scruff of his neck as it were, with little choice but to accept whatever he begrudgingly hands out. Like we’re going back to the bad old days of employer advantage, where workers had to fight, both physically and emotionally for their rights.
But be that as it may, that excessive, overly emotional reaction is not the best, especially in these lean, rough and tough times. Our Friday Chant provides a much more rational and sensible approach. So let’s chant it out now nuh, with just as much enthusiasm and sense of purpose, as the workingman did his song.
Altogether 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.’
Yes my fellow believers, that is the kind of response we need to have towards our two days off on the weekend, otherwise we’d just keep digging ourselves further down into the abyss of Hades every week.
And my people, our God is wonderful in His awesome and mysterious ways, that He pointed out a most fitting Bit for us today.
‘And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged (weighed down) with surfeiting (carousing), and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.’
I just had to chuckle when I was led to it, because it defines our weekends so well. Jesus was here talking to His disciples about some of the signs of His Second Coming, warning them to be prepared, to not be deceived by the wiles and taunts and lies of the world.
The scholars add this explanation about our Bit. ‘21:34. Surfeiting means “to indulge one’s appetites excessively.” No believer is beyond the temptation to fall into sin. Jesus warns against slackness and lack of daily readiness in the Christian walk.’
In other words my brethren, we have to be always ready, daily prepared to walk the good daily walk, as well as be prepared for Jesus’ Second Coming, which can happen at anytime.
And Jesus continues His warning after our Bit. ‘For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.’ (Luke 21:35-36)
Ah friends, I couldn’t put it any simpler or more straightforward than that! That’s one thing about Jesus; His words are always simple and straightforward. And here He purposely warned us: WATCH and PRAY!
Consequently, I can’t understand how there’s not much more watching and praying amongst the brethren, instead of the infighting and power struggles, which currently manifest themselves to a large degree in the Lord’s church.
But yuh know what? Each man will have to answer for his own deeds come the judgement day, and then we won’t be able to say we didn’t know, or point the blame at someone else. It will all fall squarely on our shoulders. So the wisest move for all of us right now, is to get prepared, and stay prepared!
And we’ll close with this explanation re verse 36, by the scholars. ’21:36. Prayer is the better part of valour when persevering for Christ under pressure. Prayer alone will enable one to stand before the returning Son of Man, when those all around are falling, whether in condemnation before Christ or to temptation to deny Christ under the trials of the hour.’
There’s no more left to be said my friends! So please let’s begin seriously watching and praying nuh, for remember what Bruh Paul said to the Thessalonians: ‘For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.’ (1 Thess.5:2)
So let’s be prepared for when Jesus comes. Let’s not be like the five foolish virgins who ran out of oil when the bridegroom came, because they were not prepared. (Matt.25:1-13). Let godly wisdom reign amongst us my breddren! Much LOVE!
…PRAYER…the most potent and powerful force in God’s universe…
23 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a good man, a righteous man, abhor sin, angry, battle the enemy, Beelzebub, believers, brotherly, Christ died for us, Christians, clear consciences, complacent, corrupt, crime riddled, cutthroat, discouraging things, egotistic, enamoured, encourage, erotic, eternal life, evil world, expectant faith, faithful, false emotion, fighting, fighting the good fight, for God so loved the world, friendship, galvanize, gladness, God's Word, Hades, haranguing, hate-filled, have everlasting life, he gave his only begotten son, heaven, horrendous death, hungry hope, in due time, ingrates, just, justification, justified by hs blood, kindness, LOVE, loyalty, mano a mano, messenger, negative connotations, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, perish, plausible solution, positive things, power in the Word, problems, reality, resentful, reverential fear, revolutionary, righteous, Romans, sacrifice, salvation, saved, selfish, serious action, shallow, sin, stand up strong, substitutionary, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, the bondage of sin, the drop of a hat, the heathen, the Holy Trinity, the LOVE of Jesus christ, the most lethal weapon, the things of God, the things of the world, the ungodly, the wisest thing, Thursday Blessings, trust, ungrateful sinners, warmongering, warnings, withouth strength, wrath, yet sinners
John 3:16. For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Well a bright and blessed Thursday morning to you my Scrip-Bit friends, family and neighbours!
And I do hope that the day finds you filled with ‘expectant faith and hungry hope’ in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for that is the wisest thing any of us can do in this crazy and evil world.
Every day we hear and see more discouraging things and events in our hate-filled, angry, resentful, corrupt and crime riddled societies. Steups! Almost everything these days has negative connotations!
Whatever happened to the positive things like LOVE, friendship, kindness, loyalty and trust eh? We spout a whole lot about LOVE, but it’s not the real thing, just a selfish, egotistic, shallow and oftimes false emotion.
And the supposed LOVE that exits today can change at the drop of a hat, if the person who claims to be expressing it doesn’t get their way, whether it be the erotic or brotherly kind. And the sad part of that situation is that it’s getting worse and not better.
What’s it going to take to change it eh friends, so that our children’s children don’t have to live in this warmongering, cutthroat society?
Only one thing; the LOVE of Jesus Christ as exhibited by us Christians!
If we don’t stand up strong and faithful and battle the enemy with the most lethal weapon in the universe – LOVE- then we’ll be wasting the tremendous sacrifice that our heavenly father and His sinless Son made on our behalf.
Yuh think the Lord really wanted to send His Son to die for a bunch of ungrateful sinners? Or that Jesus wanted to give up His life by going through such a horrendous death?
No way Jose! But they LOVED us so much and that was the only plausible solution, if the Father was to remain righteous and just and abhor sin!
Just listen to our Bit nuh: ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’
Now that might not strike the heathen as being revolutionary, but it ought to strike reverential fear and gladness into EVERY ONE who claims to be a Christian, right down in their very hearts and souls!
Why? Because that’s the only reason we have the option to bypass Hades and Beelzebub and look forward to salvation, heaven and eternal life with the Holy Trinity!
Now how could that not move us eh, if we are true believers? That ought to galvanize us into serious action; into standing strong and fighting mano-a- mano against the enemies of LOVE!
But sadly, too many of us so-called believers have become complacent and enamoured of the things of the world, to the detriment of the things of God.
Ah friends, I’m just the messenger, and all I can do is to point out what I see as the problems and try and encourage us to do better. Every one of us will have to answer to the Lord at some stage of the game, so please take these warnings seriously and let’s put aside whatever is keeping us back from fighting the good fight for Jesus.
Now enough of my haranguing, (smile) let me tell you what God’s Word says. Hear Bruh Paul to the Romans, as he talks about the results of justification.
‘For when we were yet without strength, in due time (at the right time) Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure (perhaps) for a good man some would even dare to die.
But God commendeth (demonstrates) his (own) LOVE toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now (having being) justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.’ (Rom.5:6-9)
What more can I say to get us sincerely stirred up eh mih breddren? I really don’t know. If that doesn’t stir us up, then we’re just a bunch of ungodly ingrates.
Anyway, listen to what the scholars have to say about this verse. ‘5:8. Christ died for us: His death was vicarious. That is, He did not die merely for our benefit but in our place. His was a substitutionary sacrifice.’
Yes friends, Jesus died so that we didn’t have to die, so that we could be set free from the bondage of sin through His death!
Hope that makes a big enough impact on us, disturbs our consciences sufficiently to wake us up to reality. And if it does, then we can go home with clear consciences declaring our Thursday Blessings. And remember, a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone.
There is power in the Word my brethren, so let’s declare it now in perfect harmony: ‘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 my beautiful and precious people of God, let’s take all those blessings now and go out and share them with others, as our Lord and Saviour Christ desires. Much LOVE!
…only real LOVE…will ever stop the world from going in its current zig-zag direction…
11 Dec 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fighting chance, a righteous man, a small gesture, actions, an act of kindness, away in a manger, be thankful for small mercies, been justified, blaspheming, bless all the dear children, by Christ's blood, care, caught napping, celebrate Christ's birth, character, Christ died for the ungodly, Christmas, comfort your hearts, compassion, condemn, condemn the world, Eat little and live long, eternity, everlasting consolation, everlasting life, evil, fellowship, fit us for heaven, get one's house in order, god demonstrates his own love, God of chances, God so loved the world, good, good hope, grace, habits, Hades, His only begotten Son, in my name, joy in God, LOVE, Lucifer, making a mockery, no crib for a bed, on the outside looking in, reconciled, reconciliation, rested, reverberate, sacrifice of praise, saved, should not perish, sinners, thanksgiving, that whosoever believes in him, the angels of heaven, the atonement, the Lord's Day, the LOVE of God, the stars in the bright sky, there am I in the midst of them, truth, under a mango tree, watch your thoughts, where tow or three are gathered, while we were yet sinners, words
John 3:16. For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
And once more friends, it’s the best day of the week; the Lord’s Day, wherein He rested after His labours, and now desires of us to do the same, while getting in some serious fellowship with other believers in His sanctuary, be that in a fabulous cathedral or under a mango tree. (smile)
Yes my brethren, our fellowship can be held any place, per Jesus’ words. ‘For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.’ (Matt.18:20) Jesus is always with us, wherever we are gathered. And isn’t that a most wonderful assurance? It surely is!
And since it’s the Christmas Season, when we celebrate Christ’s birth, it’s only appropriate that we begin our praise and worship with a joyful Christmas hymn; ‘Away in a manger.’ Now in full voice, with sincere belief and true thanksgiving, let’s offer up the sacrifice of praise with our song.
‘Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head, The stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay, The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay. The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes, But little Lord Jesus no crying he makes.
I LOVE you, Lord Jesus; look down from the sky, And stay by my side until morning is nigh. Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask you to stay Close by me for ever, and LOVE me, I pray. Bless all the dear children in your tender care, And fit us for heaven, to live with you there.’
Oh my faithful believers, what a simple but profound hymn! And something about the statement that Jesus awakes at the lowing of the cattle, but doesn’t cry, just touches me. He was a sweetheart from the day of His birth! (smile)
Now here is an interesting Trini Quote from my Trini friend. It advises us to: ‘Eat little an live long.’ Hn, hn! Only in T&T yuh say! And what does it mean. Well according to my Trini friend: ‘This has many meanings, but is generally said to someone to accept a little (food, a small gesture, an act of kindness, faith, love etc.), and more will be sure to follow.’ In other words, be thankful for small mercies.
And then he reminds us to: ‘Have a GREAT day, every DAY!!!! Watch your thoughts: They become words Watch your words: They become actions Watch your actions: They become habits Watch your habits: They become character.’
And that’s the awesome truth my people! We must be ever conscious and cautious about our thoughts, for they gravitate into words, then actions, and soon are habits, which then dictate our character for either good or evil.
Now here is our Bit; one of the most famous passages in the Bible. ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’
Yeh friends, our Creator had so much care and compassion for us that He just could not stand idly by and see us go down to Hades with Lucifer for eternity, without giving us a fighting chance. As Jesus explains after our Bit: ‘For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.’ (John 3:17)
Oh my people, what a most awesome and LOVING God we serve! In spite of our disgusting sins and our undeserved saving, the Lord moved heaven and earth for us to be reconciled to Him and thus spend eternity under His magnificent umbrella!
And how do so many of us repay His LOVING-kindness eh? By turning away from Him and embracing evil, by blaspheming His Holy Name and making a mockery of all He stands for. Now that certainly doesn’t endear us to Him, but He’s also known as the God of the second and third and fourth chance…however many you need before Jesus returns.
‘But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.’ (Matt.24:36) That means it could happen anytime; Jesus could come like a thief in the night and surprise us all. Consequently it is wise to get one’s house in order RIGHT NOW, so that whenever He returns, we will not be caught napping and end up on the outside looking in.
Now let’s check out some scripture that corroborates our Bit. Hear Bruh Paul’s words to the Roman church, re the results of justification. ‘For when we were yet without strength, in due time (at the right time) Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure (perhaps) for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth (demonstrates) his (own) LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more then, being now (having been) justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more being (having been) reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement (reconciliation).’ (Rom.5:6-11)
Ah mih people, how can we not greatly appreciate the Lord’s sacrifice on our behalf eh? And we’ll end with more words of Bruh Paul on the subject, this time to the Thessalonians.
‘Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath LOVED us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and establish you in every good word and work.’ (2 Thess.2:16-17)
What a beautiful prayer my people! And it’s also my prayer for all of us believers this glorious Sunday morning in the Christmas season of 2016. Please let it reverberate deep down in our hearts, minds, bodies and souls and keep us close to our heavenly Father! Much LOVE!
…only the LOVE of God…is powerful enough…to straighten out this evil world…
24 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: atonement, aura of love, blessed, born again, born of God, care, compassion, complaining, confidence, death, energy, enthusiasm, everlasting life, faith, faithful, frailties, friends, fun, get with the programme, glorious kingdom, glory hallelujah, God's LOVE, grateful, Hades, hell, His only begotten Son, holy spirit, humble servants, in all things, invincible, Jesus Christ, Jesus' business, jobs, joy, lies, LOVE, Love makes the world go round, Lucifer, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, muttering, nay, negative actions, our Lord and Saviour, perish, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, sacrificing, salvation, sense of purpose, serve a useful purpose, shield, son of god, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, surrender, the cross at Calvary, the fray, the grave, the propitiation for our sins, the shed blood of Jesus, the trumpet is calling, through him that loved us, time to be up and about, trust, truth, ungodly world, we are more than conquerors, wisdom
Romans 8:37. Nay, in all things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.
Awright friends, it’s Monday, so let’s get up and get a move on nuh. There’s no time for pushing the snooze button and rolling over. The trumpet is calling out yonder: It’s time to go to work! Time to be up and about Jesus’ business!
Yes my people, there’s no time for muttering and complaining. You weren’t muttering or complaining last night when you were up till all hours of the night having fun. So let’s cut out the negative actions now and get with the programme.
And to help us do that, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with plenty enthusiasm, energy and sense of purpose. As they say, fake it until you make it.
So let’s sing: ‘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!’
Oh friends, that rendition of our Battle Hymn was barely passable! How can such a lacklustre vocalization ever inspire anybody to go out and fight bravely eh? It’s obvious that our choirmaster, Jesus, wasn’t pleased. But as always, knowing our frailties, and having that great LOVE for us, He forgives us.
Nonetheless, now that our motors are running, let’s pick up the tempo and get ourselves into the fray of this new workweek, with Jesus, beside, behind and before us; in other words, all around us as a protective shield. That’s why we can so audaciously declare in our Bit: ‘Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.’
Yes precious people of God, once you are spiritually born again through the shed blood of Jesus on the cross at Calvary, then you have indeed become a conqueror through His having conquered hell, death and the grave. The same options are open to all who sincerely believe in Him and truly surrender their souls to His leading and guidance.
Now the last couple of days we have been talking about the conquering aspect of our Bit, today however, I want to talk about the LOVE portion. And isn’t that word LOVE, the greatest word in any language on planet earth? It certainly is! Why eh?
Listen to the most important verse in the God’s word. ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ (John 3:16)
That’s the major purpose behind it all my faithful brethren. God’s LOVE was so great for us, His sinful creation, that He just could not live with Himself to see us all go down to Hades with Lucifer without some option for deliverance. ‘For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.’ (John 3:17)
And all those words were spoken by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the SON of God! So they just had to be true, since God cannot lie. That’s how blessed we are my people! Our Creator’s care and compassion for us was so strong, that He broke His own heart, by sacrificing His only Son, that we could be set free from the ravages of sin and death.
Now doesn’t that touch a soft spot in your heart, make you everlastingly grateful? It ought to. And it also ought to raise up your own LOVE for God, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit in thankful appreciation for all that they’ve done for you. But such is the ungratefulness and foolish pride of man that many of us just couldn’t care less about what the Holy Trinity has done, is doing, and will do for us.
Now let’s further develop this theory of LOVE. We have a saying that ‘LOVE makes the world go round,’ and if we follow and believe what John says in his later writings, then it might just be true.
Hear John theorize. ‘Beloved, let us LOVE one another: for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE. In this was manifested (shown) the LOVE of God towards us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation (atonement) for our sins. Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4:7-11)
And that’s the crux of the disastrous situation right now in our world; we don’t LOVE one another!
And we not talking about no big setta LOVE nuh, with plenty hugging and kissing etc; (smile) but just simple brotherly kindness, goodwill, care and compassion for each other. Now that’s what will make our world go round!
Ah friends, if we want to see our world become a better place, both for ourselves and our descendants, then I implore us to start showing that goodwill, that brotherly LOVE to each other. It’s not too late, and with God’s help we can certainly do it. So let’s begin today nuh; there’s no better time than right now! Much LOVE!
…without more basic LOVE…our world WILL NOT survive for much longer…
29 Sep 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a glorious deliverer, a marathon race, a positive outlook on life, a strong will, abide by Jesus' word, abundance, agonizing, blessings, broken in the name of Jesus, come to pass, courage, creativity, crucified, curse, dangers, dead in our sins, despising the shame, direction, disbelief, divine necessity, divine protection, endured the cross, eternity, family, favour, finisher, fools, foretold, forgiven, friends, fulfillment, future, glory, glory hallelujah, God's LOVE, good and faithful servant, Hades, health, heaven, History, identity, impediments, in innocence, iniquity, Jesus, joy, leader, look to Jesus, looking unto Jesus, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, Lucifer, Messiah, mindbending, Moses, negative word, New Testament, obedience, of our faith, Old Testament, open the eyes, originator, our heavenly Father, passe, perfector, promotion, prophets, prosper, radiance, reconciled to the Father, Resurrection day, scriptures, self-control, self-discipline, selfless sacrifice, set down at God's right hand, shame, significance of Jesus, sins of the world, slow of heart, succeed, success, successful living, suffering, supernatural strength, talent, thanks and praise, the author, the Father's will, the road to Emmaus, the SON, the true path, Thursday Blessings, trailblazer, transgressions, ungrateful people, welcome
Hebrews 12:2. Looking unto Jesus the author (originator) and finisher (perfector) of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of God.
Well friends, it’s a cloudy morning in my area. The sun is not shining, but thankfully the Son is holding forth as usual in all His wonderful radiance and brilliant glory!
All thanks and praise be to our heavenly Father for giving us Jesus as our Messiah, Leader, Lord and Saviour! Without Him, we’d be certainly dead in our sins, heading for a rough and troubled eternity with Lucifer in Hades.
But thanks to God’s great LOVE and Jesus’ selfless sacrifice, we have been reconciled to the Father and as His beloved children, can now look forward to spending eternity with Him in heaven. Glory Hallelujah!
And on that glorious note, let’s declare out Thursday Blessings, as we remember that a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone. With true belief, sincerity and enthusiasm now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life!
I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection!
I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Glory to God my people! We shall be blessed when we go out and come in, when we sit or lie down… in fact in all aspects of our lives our God will cause us to prosper. Wow! Isn’t that something else? It surely is!
That’s why we have to pay serious attention to our Bit. ‘Looking unto Jesus the author (originator) and finisher (perfector) of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.’
Yes friends, Jesus was the original trailblazer of our faith. He first ran the race and set all the standards for it. Now we need to adhere to those standards so that we can run the race successfully too. It’s not an easy race to run, for it’s a marathon across hill and dale, rivers and streams, one fraught with all sorts of dangers and impediments.
But thankfully Jesus has blazed the trail, shown us the way, lit the path, and if we sincerely abide by His word, then we too will have success, and one day hear the Father declare: ‘Welcome, thou good and faithful servant!’
Oh what a joyful day that will be my people! But first we have to get serious about looking to Jesus and following in His famous footsteps, otherwise we’re just wasting our time and His.
Now let’s look at a couple of interesting parts of our Bit, the first being, ‘who for the joy that was set before him…’
Now I really don’t see the joy in what Jesus was asked to do by the Father nuh – take the sins of the world on His shoulders, be crucified in innocence to pay for the iniquity and transgressions of ungrateful people.
It was joyful for us, because through His actions our sins were forgiven, but it must surely have been mind-bending and agonizing for Him. However, despite the affliction, His obedience to the Father’s will was perfect.
That brings us to Jesus’ words to the two disciples He met on Resurrection Day along the road to Emmaus. He chided them for their disbelief.
‘Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.’ (Luke 24:25-27)
Oh friends, the Lord didn’t send the prophets because He had nothing better to do, but to open the eyes of the people unto the coming of Jesus and what His purpose was going to be.
Hear the scholars. ’24:26. Ought (Gr. dei) bespeaks a divine necessity; what the prophets had foretold (see Is.53; Ps.16; 22) must and did come to pass. The disciples had been ready to see in Jesus a glorious deliverer, but Jesus’ rebuke (v.25) relates to their unwillingness to take seriously the many Old Testament texts that speak not only of the Messiah’s glory, but also of His suffering.’
And unfortunately, today a lot of us are also refusing to understand the importance of the Old Testament in the formation of the New Testament. But the scholars kindly inform us: ‘24:27. The entire Old Testament is indispensable for a grounded grasp of the identity and significance of Jesus.’
That is friends, if we don’t understand Jesus’ role and significance in the Old Testament; His appearances, His status, His doings and the prophesies about Him, we won’t be fully able to comprehend His form and function in the New Testament.
Therefore, please, let’s stop considering the Old Testament as passé, because it isn’t. It’s just as important as the New Testament in that it expounds the nature of our faith; it’s beginnings, its ups and downs, its promises, and above all the great message about our Messiah.
So today, as Almighty God blesses us, and as we bless others, let’s remember where we came from – the Old Testament – because if we don’t know our history and recognize it as being important, we surely won’t know our future; where we’re going, the direction in which we’re headed and how to handle it. Much LOVE!
…only as we look to Jesus…will we see the true path to successful living…
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