14 Nov 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a leader, a rewarder, a witness, abominable sins, atoned for, believe, buy wine, call a nation, come, come ye to the waters, commander, covenant, diligently seek him, drink of my wine, dwell in heaven, eat of my bread, every one that thirsteth, eyes fixed straight ahead, faith, find rest, finite souls, foolishness, forsake the foolish, free choice, glad to be alive, Glory be, go in the way, God's Son, hands on the plough, hath no money, hear the call of God, honour, humble, I have mingled, incline your ear, Isaiah, Jesus Christ, knowledge, live, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, lowly, meek, milk, not looking back, omnipotent god, precious blood, promises, raise him up, redeem our souls, redeemed, respond in wisdom, righteousness, run unto thee, sacrifice, seek ye the Lord, selfless sacrifice, show of faith, sins, spiritually hungry, take my yoke, the breath of life, the cross at Calvary, the fold of Almighty God, the Gentiles, the Good Book, the good shepherd, the Great God Jehovah, the great invitation, the Holy One of Israel, the Lord's invitation, understanding, Wednesday Wail, wisdom, without money, wonderful caretaker, work steadfastly, your best interest, your soul shall live
Proverbs 9:5. Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled (mixed).
Welcome, welcome my people, to another bright and glorious day in the fold of Almighty God! Bless His holy name! And please remember that you belong to the BEST fold in all the universe; the one overseen by God’s Son, His first born, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; such a wonderful caretaker that He’s known as the Good Shepherd! Glory be my brethren!
I don’t know what we’d do if we didn’t have Jesus nuh. We’d certainly be in a much bigger mess than we are currently in. But through His selfless sacrifice on the cross at Calvary, His most precious blood redeemed us, our abominable sins were paid for, He took the weight of our sins on His shoulders and gave us His righteousness!
And the great fact of the matter is that He was the Only One who could have atoned for our ghastly sins under the holy and righteous rule of the Father! That’s why we need to constantly remember His great sacrifice and praise His name and exalt Him, like the Father has done. As the Good Book says, the Lord is a rewarder of all those who come to Him in faith, who diligently seek Him and believe. (Heb.11:6)
And the greatest show of faith that ever was, is that of Jesus, who believed that though His Father put the sins of the world on His shoulders and forsook Him for a moment, He would eventually raise Him up again, so that they could once more dwell in heaven…with all of His other children, now deemed righteous by His sacrifice.
Oh friends, can we have such a strong and wonderful faith? It might just be a tad much for our finite souls, (smile) but there’s no reason why we can’t work steadfastly towards as great a faith as possible in this earthly life. And that’s exactly what the Lord desires of us, for it’s only through faith that we can receive all the promises He’s laid out for us.
Now hear this awesome promise as stated by Cousin Sol in our Bit. ‘Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled (mixed).’ Yes friends, that’s the Lord’s invitation for us today…in fact every day He throws out the same invitation… ‘Come!’ And live in wisdom and honour, understanding and knowledge. Like Cousin Sol says in the next verse: ‘Forsake the foolish (foolishness), and live; and go in the way of understanding.’ (Prov.9:6)
How much clearer can it be eh my fellow believers? Not much. But our great and wonderful God always finds a way to do it. Listen to how He says it through His prophet Isaiah: ‘Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money, and without price.’ (Is.55:1) Wow! What an amazing invitation! Only the Great God Jehovah can make such a promise and keep it!
And furthermore He asks? ‘Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satsifieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness (abundance).’ (Is.55:2) Oh my people which other supposed god has ever thrown out such an invitation eh? None other than the omnipotent God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
And He’s still not done: ‘Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.
Behold thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.’ (Is.55: 3-4) Ah my brethren what prophetic words of our great God!
Hear the scholars’ explanation of those verse. ‘55:1-7. God’s free gift of salvation is offered to all who will receive it. Those who are spiritually hungry and thirsty may come and eat and drink without money (or freely). He promises an everlasting covenant to the Gentiles like the one He established with Israel. His invitation to all men is clearly stated by the appeal, Seek ye the Lord and call ye upon him.’
And friends, what the Lord promises, He delivers, in spades too. He sent us Jesus to redeem our souls, and Bruh Paul to lead the Gentiles into His kingdom. And Jesus continued the Great Invitation: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble): and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt.11:28-30)
Oh friends, oh friends, what more must the Lord do for us to realize the wisdom of being one of His flock eh? I don’t know, and I don’t think the Lord knows either nuh, seeing that He has given us free choice to make our own decisions, else He would certainly do it. But be all that as it may, I’m imploring us to please hear the call of God today and respond in wisdom, for it’s in your best interest, not God’s.
Now for those of us wise enough to accept the call, let’s go home telling the world our position in Christ as we declare our Wednesday Wail. All together in harmony 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 every time we declare it, my mind just boggles with how glorious that future will be! Much LOVE!
…blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness…for they shall be filled… (Matt.5:6)
07 Nov 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a spoiled child, abundant life, atonement, be my Helper, blood, burning passion, captivating love, challenging, deprivation, disobedient, eternity, exaltation, eyes fixed straight ahead, foolish fears, for our benefit, forgive, full of adventure, glad to be alive, God's blessings, good things, gospel truth, guide me, halfway home, hand in the pie, hands on the plough, heavenly-minded, hold me, I resisted, I struggled, into a song, joy, just deserts, like the eagle's, Lord, magnanimous god, moth rust destroy, mount up with wings as eagles, my Friend, my light in the darkness, my vain grasping, not be weary, not faint, not looking back, obeying God, on a good foot, One Year Book of Bible promises, our sins, overwhelm me, praise, renew their strength, reverence, rewards, rich, run, Ruth Harms Calkin, satisfies thy mouth, seize me, shattered, shenanigans, spoiled brats, staggered, steady me, thanks, the breath of life, the dungeons of hell, there is your heart, thieves steal, thread my tears, thy youth is renenwed, to a glorious future with Jesus, torn with grief, transitory change, treasures in heaven, treasures on earth, unconditional LOVE, undeserving child, wait upon the Lord, walk, Wednesday Wail, where your treasure is, willful pride, with your wisdom, you love to say yes, your counsel
Psalm 103:5. Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Now please don’t blame me for this early Bit, blame my mechanic. (smile) He gave me an early appointment to come and get my chariot fixed, which means I have to get out there and face the early morning traffic shenanigans. But what to do eh? I’ve been waiting to get this particular repair done since before I went away, so I can’t put it off again.
And to get us all off on a good foot, this cold but dry Wednesday morning, here is this wonderful poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. This one’s titled, ‘Lord, You LOVE to Say Yes.’ And does He ever!
Please pray with me: ‘Lord, I asked You for abundant life Rich, challenging, full of adventure And You said yes. I asked You for an undisturbable joy Independent of transitory change And You said yes. I asked You to thread my tears into a song When I was shattered and torn with grief And You said yes. I asked You to steady me when I staggered – To hold me when I struggled To seize me when I resisted And You said yes.
I asked You to forgive my vain grasping My foolish fears, my willful pride And You said yes. I asked You to be my Helper, my Friend My light in the darkness And you said yes. I asked You to guide me all my life With Your wisdom, Your counsel Your captivating LOVE And You said yes. Sometimes Lord I feel like a spoiled child who gets whatever he asks for. You overwhelm me with joy For You just LOVE to say Yes!’
And isn’t that the gospel truth my brethren? We have such an awesome generous, and magnanimous God, that we sometimes indeed feel like spoiled brats. And the great thing about it is that He has no real reason to treat us as generously as He does, because we’re such disobedient and undeserving child, but that amazing, unconditional LOVE that fills His heart towards us, just makes it impossible for Him to give us our just deserts.
Please give Him plenty praise and thanks and reverence and exaltation, because He is such a wonderful God! There’s NONE OTHER LIKE HIM! Glory Hallelujah! Now enough with the praise, because if you give me a chance, I can sing His praises all day long! (smile)
And the Bible Promise for that poem is also our Bit; thankful words of Bruh David as he offers thanksgiving for God’s mercy: ‘Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.’ Ah friends, sometimes when I sit down and think about all the goodness that the Lord has bestowed on me, tears come to my eyes.
And we have a perfect example of that in my recent vacation to Jamaica. Wow! Was it ever good…and did people ever LOVE on me…! Chuh! It was just amazing the way everything came together. His hand must have been in the pie; otherwise it could not have been so tasty! (smile)
And I’m sure I’m not the only one who enjoys God’s blessings, so I don’t understand why we’re so reluctant to LOVE and obey Him, giving so much of our time and space instead to the evil ruler of this evil world. My fellow believers, Jehovah God LOVES us with a burning LOVE, a passion that knows no end! That we can never dispute after He so sacrificially gave His sinless Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to be the blood atonement for our sins!
And all He’s asking in return is that we obey His laws and exalt His name…Is that too much to ask? Certainly not! But here is the kicker: All He asks us to do is not for His benefit, but for ours. So if we refuse to live according to His will, we are the ones who will suffer, both here on earth and in the dungeons of hell later on.
Please remember these significant words of Jesus. ‘Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves break in and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ (Matt.6:19-21)
And that’s indisputable truth friends! Wherever our treasure is stored, there will our hearts be. And the sad fact of the matter is that too many of us are concentrating on storing up treasure here in the world, where it begins to decay from the moment you get it, and everybody wants to take it away from you. So please, let’s be more heavenly-minded nuh. Remember it’s up there we will spend eternity, and we can’t carry anything from down here with us.
And to lift us back up again, after all that admonishment, (smile) listen to this well-known and much quoted verse from Isaiah. ‘But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk, and not faint.’ (Is.40:31) More indisputable, gospel truth my brethren! Give God the glory!
Now let’s go home declaring (Steups! Spelled it wrong again!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all the world know our current position in Jesus. As one 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 do I ever look forward to that glorious future! Hope you do too. Much LOVE!
…the rewards of obeying God…both earthly and heavenly…more than outweigh the deprivation we might suffer doing so…
31 Oct 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a dream, a fool's voice, a glorious future with Jesus, a man, a sinner, activity, adulterers, affectionate touch, be nor rash with thy mouth, Christ's Church, Christians, conceit, conceited, Dag Hammarskjold, develop, drivel, Ecclesiastes, effort, exalteth himself, extortioners, fast twice a week, focused on ourselves, focusing on the future, glory hallelujah, God be merciful, God is in heaven, halfway home, hands on the plough, hasty in his words, healthy thinking, hide one's strength, humbleth himself, justified, let not thine heart be hasty, let thy words be few, lift his eyes to heaven, live below one's best, low level society, low standards, maturity, more hope. of a fool, multitude of words, narcissism, not as other men, not looking back, out of fear, petty stuff, Pharisee, phenomenon, publican, rampant technology, selfies, serious matters, shall be abased, shall be exalted, sinner, smart phone, smote his breast, tax collector, the breath of life, the multitude of business, the Preacher, the ultimate word, tithe, to utter anything before God, turning away from God, ungodliness, United Nations, use our many strengths, Wednesday Wail, wise in his own eyes, words of wisdom
Proverbs 26:12. Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit (eyes)? There is more hope of a fool than of him.
Ah mih breddren, unfortunately at 8 o’clock on this Wednesday morning, the last day of October 2018, my neighbourhood is dark, dismal and cold…it’s also raining. To tell the truth, I don’t even remember what rain looks or feels like, for the past two weeks that I spent in Jamaica, I never experienced a drop of heavenly blessing. Yes, a few times the sky darkened, but nary a drop of water fell wherever I happened to be. Hn!
But I’d better get accustomed to this new state of affairs…and quickly too, because that’s going to be the new norm now. Oh to be in Jamdown once again, experiencing sea, sand, surf and salt, with the occasional bit of rum! (smile) Yes friends, that’s what dream are made of! But here is a taste of reality from the Swedish U.N Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold (1905-1961).
He piloted the United Nations from 1953 to 1961, when his plane, under mysterious circumstances, crashed in Africa, on his way to try and quell a dispute over there. These are some of the words he left us: ‘Maturity: among other things – not to hide one’s strength out of fear and consequently live below one’s best.’ Words of great wisdom my people!
And as Christians we have to stop living in fear and proclaim our strengths, strengths which we all have. As they say: ‘healthy thinking requires us to develop and use our many strengths.’
That’s never been truer of Christ’s church than right now, because instead of exhibiting strength, too many of us are embracing weakness and compromising our Christian beliefs and situations. We can’t afford to hide our strengths my people, because that’s when we enjoy our best life.
And to help us do that, here is a li’l prayer from Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional. Please pray with me: ‘Thank you, Lord, for bringing me to the place where LOVE can knock at the door of my heart. O Father, do not let me be afraid. I shall not resist your affectionate touch. Let me, O Lord, have the spirit of a little child and dare to respond and run with open arms to your call of LOVE. Amen.’
Oh friends, it amazes me that we can even contemplate resisting the Lord’s affectionate touch, much less do it! We must be mad, crazy, or stupid… or all three! But unfortunately a lot of believers do it every day.
No wonder their lives are so confused, strife-filled and unfulfilling. This action reminds me of Cousin Sol’s words in our Bit: ‘Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit (eyes)? There is more hope of a fool than of him.’
Yes friends, when we are so conceited that we turn away from God’s affectionate touch, there is more hope for even a fool, than for us. And in chapter 29, Cousin Sol says the same thing though somewhat differently: ‘Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? There is more hope of a fool than of him.’ (Prov.29:20)
And he reiterates his point in Ecclesiastes as the Preacher: ‘Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon the earth: therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business (effort or activity); and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.’ (Eccl.5:2-3)
Oh friends, I doubt there have been ever been more fools than in this present age! Why? Simply because of the rampant technology that allows us to connect so easily to each other, which unfortunately we are using to talk a whole lot of nonsense, drivel and petty stuff, instead of real and serious matters.
We’ve become a low standards, low level society in all aspects. That new, but oh so foolish phenomenon called ‘Selfies’ are driving us even further into narcissism and ungodliness, because we’re so focused on ourselves, not on God and others.
Everybody’s walking around with their smart phone – except me- thank the Lord – (smile) paying more attention to it than what’s happening around them. Sometimes I just have to shake my head and steups at how technology has invaded and taken over our lives.
But here is the ultimate word on our foolish and selfish, conceited behaviour. This from Jesus two thousand years ago, as he spoke to his disciples about the differences between the praying publican (sinner) and the supposedly devout Pharisee.
‘The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
And the publican (tax collector), standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon (beat) his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.’ (Luke 18:11-14)
Oh my people, in these end times there are too many of us like the Pharisee and not like the publican. Please, let’s try and turn it around nuh, for our sake, as well as our children’s.
Remember the Lord doesn’t need anything from us, but we need a whole lot from Him, and we’ll only get it by being obedient to His word. Now let’s go home declaring our Wednesday Wail, letting the world know our sincere and secure positions in Jesus.
All together now…lets wail! ‘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 more glorious than we can ask or imagine! Much LOVE!
…turning away from God…that’s the most foolish thing man can ever do…
24 Oct 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a grain of faith, a mustard seed, a reprieve, adversity, blessings, Christ-like, Christians, coexist, comfortable position, confirm, confirmed by Christ, covenant partners, diaspora, do our part, establish, eyes fixed straight ahead, faithfulness, fall short, fellowship, flood, from glory to glory, glad to be alive, glory hallelujah, God is faithful, good to me, goodness, grateful, hands on the plough, in everything, infinite wisdom, knowledge, LOVE Revolution, loving kindness, mature us, more than we can handle, not looking back, peace, picked up the baton, praise his holy name, reassuring words, recuperate, settle, sickness, spiritual gift, spread His Word, strengthen, suffered a while, suffering, testify, testimony of Christ, thank my God, the breath of life, the God of all grace.grace, throne on high, through the fire, utterance, Wednesday Wail, ye are enriched
1 Peter 5:10. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish (confirm) strengthen, settle you.
Oh friends, oh friends, a reprieve, a reprieve! Yes the ole fella’s been granted a reprieve! He’s not going home today as originally planned! Glory be! The good Lord looked down from His throne on high and apparently saw that I was not doing, recuperating as well or as fast as expected, and in His infinite wisdom and abundant goodness and LOVING-kindness granted me a few more days in this paradise called Jamdown (Jamaica)!
Wow! Praise His holy name my people because He is such a wonderful deity who comes through for you when you least expect it. Ah friends, it’s like Jesus said, all you need is a grain of faith as small as a mustard seed and you’ll be able to move mighty mountains. (Matt.17:20)
And it was indeed a small seed that was planted. A few days ago the idea of extending our stay suddenly flitted into my thoughts and I shared it with the duchess. Then unbeknownst to me, she picked up the baton and ran with it. Between her and our two daughters they made it a reality.
Oh my people, the Lord’s been so good to me, how can I not LOVE Him with all my heart, mind and body, be eternally grateful, testify to His amazing faithfulness, help spread His Word and seek to maximize His LOVE Revolution? I would be exceedingly ungrateful if I did anything less, and He would be quite right to cut me off.
And if you’re wondering why and how come the Bit is so early today, as always, with the ole fella the answers are invariably simple. (smile) I got up around five to go to the bathroom, then went back to bed. However, after an unsuccessful half an hour of trying to find a comfortable position for back, knees and elbows to coexist so I could fall asleep again, I just decided to get up and begin the day earlier than expected.
Ah Lord eh friends! The things we are asked to go through in our later years! (smile) But I’ll gladly put up with them in return for the many blessings I’m currently enjoying.
And my faithful brethren, I couldn’t think of a more appropriate Bit for today than these most reassuring words of Peter to the scattered diaspora of Christians in the early days of our faith. ‘But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish (confirm) strengthen, settle you.’
What a wonderful God we serve my fellow believers! After allowing us to go through the fire, the flood and whatever adversity He might deem appropriate to move us from glory to glory, to mature us and make us more Christlike, He will eventually settle us down, strengthen and establish us.
Mama Mia! Let’s hope that’s what He is doing with me right now yes, because I really don’t feel up to any more sickness and suffering at the present time. I need a break from it, so I can recuperate properly and thus be able to handle the next round with a good attitude. But I’m not really worried because I know the Lord doesn’t give us more than we can handle, so whatever He allows to come against me, He will help me to overcome.
Remember friends, we are covenant partners with the Lord, and whatever we can’t handle, He’ll step in and control. That’s the awesome benefit of partnering; what one can’t do the other will. But remember too that we first have to do OUR part, or the Lord will not step in to help.
Now listen to these majestic and most reassuring words of Bruh Paul to the Corinthians on the subject of grace and being called and confirmed by Christ. ‘Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always on your behalf (concerning you), for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; That in everything ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: So that ye come behind (short) in no (spiritual) gift; waiting for the coming (revelation) of our Lord Jesus Christ; Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (1 Cor.13-9)
Oh my people, we are like those Corinthians; granted grace and peace through Christ, brought into and everlasting union with Him and strong communion with each other. So let us enjoy it all and work diligently and excellently to preserve and spread it nuh, so that at Jesus’ return we might be found blameless. For whatever God has promised to those who believe in His Son, He will fulfill.
Now let’s go home declaring (Steups! Spelt it wrong again!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the world know our exact position in Christ Jesus. In true sincerity and strong sense of purpose: ‘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 that’s a future we can’t even begin to imagine! Much LOVE!
…and am I ever glad…in fact ecstatic…to be alive…on this bright and sunny day…hope you are too…
10 Oct 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future, a God of confusion, a summer's day, anticipate as you wait, calamity, cast thy burden upon the Lord, Christ-like, chutzpah, discern, encourages us, eternity, evil world, eyes fixed straight ahead, face conflicts, finite, full age, get stronger, Gideon, God is never late, God never breaks His promise, God sends only silence, God will never disappoint, good and evil, gospel truth, great joy, grow in knowledge, gumption, hands on the plough, he shall never suffer, he shall sustain thee, Hebrews, hemmed and hawed, hope, I asked for a sign, incurably hopeful, kept the Lord first place, make a positive difference, milk, more mature, no sudden hailstorm, no writing in the sky, not looking back, omnipotent god, One Year Book of Bible promises, ought to be teachers, presumptuous, relctant to act on His word, sincere trust and faith, solid food, spoon feeding, stand steadfast in hope, strong meat, the breath of life, the crisis is real, the hope He implants, the Lord never changes, the oracles of God, the righteous to be moved, the wet fleece, the word of righteousness, to do His will, to hope in a promise, trust His Word, unskillful, urgent decisions, walk in lockstep with Christ, walk with god, Wednesday Wail, you can't see ahead, you don't stand alone
Psalm 55:22. Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer (permit) the righteous to be moved (shaken).
Another, warm, bright and sunshiny day! Glory to God! Yes friends, yesterday was a beautiful summer’s day, with temps in the twenties, and today promises to be another of the same. How wonderful it is to have two such days in mid October eh!
And yuh know the trees have hardly shed any leaves as yet, many of them are still even as green as the months of spring. But we know that won’t last for much longer, so we’ll enjoy it as much as possible.
And saying that, I couldn’t pass up sharing this wonderful bit of encouragement with you. It’s called ‘I Asked for a Sign,’ and comes from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin.
Please pray with me. ‘Even as I answer your letter, you are perhaps still waiting while God sends only silence. There is no sudden hailstorm, no writing in the sky. The crisis is real, and you don’t want to be presumptuous.
Like Gideon in Judges 6, you want to feel the wet fleece. Or the dry fleece – you don’t care which one. You just want to know! You don’t stand alone! All of us who walk with God face conflicts that involve urgent decisions.
God is not a God of confusion. We can know His will. When our faith is very new, He may send a sign to fortify us. However, I am convinced that God’s highest intention is to free us from unnecessary “props.”
He wants to buttress us, not baby us. Above all, He wants us to trust His Word, not the wool! When He encourages us to hope in a promise, that hope may be our only evidence. At this moment you can’t see ahead.
However, you can still be incorrigibly (incurably) hopeful! You can anticipate as you wait, knowing that God will never disappoint the hope He Himself implants. He is never late. Remember. Not the wool but His Word!’
Ah mih people, yuh see why I had to share it. Too many of us believers need a sign to do God’s will. When God called Gideon to lead his people out to battle, he hemmed and hawed and desired a sign about the wet fleece. And even when he got it, he asked for the fleece to come up dry. And only after the Lord granted him the sign did he get the chutzpah to get up and go.
But the Lord doesn’t want to be continually spoon-feeding us with signs and wonders before we have the necessary gumption to do His will. He’s given us his Word, in which lies all the hope we need. I’m sure that if asked, we’d all say that God never breaks His promise, so why are we so reluctant to act on His Word eh, when it is filled with so many promises that will never be broken?
My brethren, we have to get stronger and more mature if we ever hope to make a positive difference in this evil world. Let’s stop looking for signs, instead, let’s be buttressed by the omnipotent Word of our omnipotent God!
The problem here though is that we don’t read, understand and accept His Word as much as we ought to. So obviously if you don’t have the Word as a strong foundation in your soul, you won’t be able to stand strong and steadfast on the wonderful hope that it contains.
You’ll always be like a baby, needing to be spoon fed, needing milk, not able to eat solid food. Like the author of Hebrews wrote to his audience. ‘For when the time (by this time) ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles (sayings) of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat (solid food).
For every one that useth (partakes of) milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat (solid food) belongeth to them that are of full age (mature), even those who by reason of use (practice) have their sense exercised (trained) to discern both good and evil.’ (Heb.5:12-14)
Yes my people, only as we grow in knowledge of God’s Word and put it into practice, stand steadfast in hope in His promises, will we ever mature and become as Christ-like as possible. And remember that’s God’s overall purpose and desire for us all: to become like His Son!
And the Bible Promise for the poem above, which is also our Bit, says it in spades: ‘Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer (permit) the righteous to be moved (shaken).’
Oh friends, that’s the gospel truth! Bruh David said it in his cry against deceitful friends, and it’s only because he kept the Lord first place in his heart that he was able to successfully undergo all the calamity that came against him in his lifetime.
And since the Lord never changes, and His promises are always faithful, He will do the same for us, but we have to put our sincere trust and faith in Him. Now let’s go home declaring (spelled it right) our Wednesday Wail, letting the world know of our great faith and trust in Almighty God!
In strong voice, with sincere hearts: ‘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!’
Oh my brethren, what a great joy it is to walk in lockstep with Christ! There’s nothing else that can compare to it! So please be wise and take His safe and LOVING hand…NOW! Much LOVE!
…if walking with Christ on earth is so great…can you imagine what it will be like in eternity…NO…our minds are too finite and puny…(smile)
19 Sep 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a crown of righteousness, a good confession, a good future, a hope, assurance, before many witnesses, believes on the Son, breath of life, Christians, confessed, defend our faith, diagnostic testing, don't give up, encouragement, engaged in warfare, eternal life, exertion, faith, faithful intentions, fasting, fight one more round, fight the good fight, finished my course, fought a good fight, Gentleman Jim, glorious future with Jesus, godliness, good advice, grin and bear it, halfway home, hands on the plough, heavyweight fighter, James J Corbett, Jesus Christ, Jesus' vocabulary, joyful day, lay hold on, LOVE, Love his appearing, LOVE of Money, lusts, man of God, material wealth, medical appointment, meekness, Messiah, New Covenant, not looking back, one more time, patience, personal experience, personal problems, relief, resources, rewards in heaven, right around the corner, righteousness., salvation, shuffle back, spiritual life, stand strong, struggle with sin, suck it up, the centre of the ring, the darkest hour, the mind, the most powerful tool, the one before the dawn, the righteous judge, the wrath of God, thou art called, Timothy, true believers, unto the breach, washed white as snow, Wednesday Wail
1 Timothy 6:12. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed (confessed) a good profession (confession) before many witnesses.
One more time unto the breach, dear friends, one more time! Yeh, I’ve got another medical appointment this morning, that’s why the Bit is so early again. The good thing though is that I don’t have to go into Toronto, it’s just some diagnostic testing not too far down the street from me.
But I do have to fast for it, and fasting, or rather forced fasting and I are not the best of friends. The ole stomach is here growling away on me, calling for food, but I still have a few hours to go until I can grant it its request. (smile) But as they say, it’s all for my benefit. So just suck it up, grin and bear it!
That brings us to this bit of good advice attributed to James J Corbett (1866-1933), the American Heavyweight fighter, better known as ‘Gentleman Jim.’ He advises: ‘Fight one more round. When your feet are so tired you have to shuffle back to the centre of the ring, fight one more round.’ And that from someone who knows what He’s talking about through personal experience!
Yes my brethren, that’s what we Christians are called to do; fight one more round, even though we feel at the point of exertion, be it physical, mental or emotional. Oh, I know many of us are tired, what with all our personal problems, including health, wealth and friendship matters, but as believers, we’re not supposed to give up. Giving up doesn’t exist in Jesus’ vocabulary.
And further still, they say that the darkest hour is the one just before the dawn, so if you’re seeing what you consider a very dark hour, please believe that relief is right around the corner. Remember the mind is the most powerful tool in the world, and what we believe we can achieve. We have to use what resources we possess to our best advantage and keep on keeping on.
As Bruh Paul cautioned Timothy in his first missive: ‘But thou, O man of God, flee these things (LOVE of money, hurtful lusts, material wealth.); and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, LOVE, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed (confessed) a good profession (confession) before many witnesses.’
And as the scholars say of our Bit: ‘6:12. The good fight concerns the daily struggle with sin in the Christian life, and the hardships and adversities in the ministry. A genuine believer demonstrates the reality of his faith by being engaged in this warfare. Lay hold on eternal life does not negate the fact that a believer now possess spiritual life (John 3:36); rather, it speaks of fully realizing or appropriating salvation as the believer matures.’
Ah mih breddren being a true believer in Jesus Christ is not easy, but since we have declared ourselves to be true believers, we have to just keep on keeping on. And it’s not like we don’t have ample resources and encouragement, assurance and help to fight our earthly battle. We do! Namely all the resources granted to us as believers in Jesus Christ; the biggest and most important ones being salvation and eternal life.
As the Good Book declares: ‘He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth (remains) on him.’ (John 3:36) Oh friends, that provision alone ought to be enough to encourage us to stand strong and live and defend our faith. Which other faith has that sure promise eh…with the sacrifice, and resurrection of Christ to back it up eh? NONE!
And then we have so many other promises of God, who has a good plan for every life, with a hope and good future. He’s also promised never to leave nor forsake us; to hear our prayers and pleas when we diligently and sincerely seek Him; to bring us out of the fire unscorched; to take us safely through the flood, and most of all grant us a Deliverer, a Messiah, one to sacrifice and atone for our sins, which He did through His only Son Jesus Christ becoming flesh and offering His sinless life upon the cross at Calvary so that our sins could be washed white as snow.
Glory to God my people! For He has done all that He’s promised, and if we do what we’re supposed to do, then He will do the rest. The Lord will not do it all for us. He requires us to put in an effort on His behalf, since we’re partners in this New Covenant. So though life might be dark, dreary and difficult, we do have all the tools necessary to fight the good fight.
And hopefully, at the end of our days, we’ll all be able to proudly say like Bruh Paul did to Timothy: ‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course (race), I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that LOVE his appearing.’ (2 Tim.4:7-8)
Yes mih breddren, what a joyful day that will be! But until then, let’s keep fighting the good fight nuh, and as a promise of our faithful intentions, go home declaring our Wednesday Wail, letting the world know our current position in Christ. All together now, let’s wail: ‘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 the future will be even more glorious than our puny minds can imagine. So think on that nuh! Much LOVE!
…when life gets difficult…consider our rewards in heaven…and the glorious future promised us there…
29 Aug 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a peculiar treasure, above all people, all the earth is mine, awesome truth, blessed is the nation, bondage, can't make ends meet, capitalism, charitable organizations, circumstances, comfortable, complaining, confines, confusing, cozy, deeply ingrained, depression, don't put off for tomorrow, drive Him out, egalitarian, enjoy the day, evil, eyes fixed straight ahead, food banks, forget the Lord thy God, forsaken the Lord, generous, glad to be alive, glorious future, godly, going downhill, gospel truth, hands on the plough, hardship, hate based, his own inheritance, John Maxwell, keep my covenant, Labour Day, lifestyle, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, Lucifer, miry clay, Moses, no longer needed God, no meaningful life, not looking back, obey my voice, people friendly, personal property, petty thing goes wrong, power to get wealth, prosperity, prosperous times, remember the Lord thy god, reveal who you are, Revelation, scorching, selfishness, sharing, soup kitchens, stop procrastinating, strife filled, stubborn heads, the cold front, the cold weather, the horrible pit, the people he hat chosen, the world's population, too big for their britches, topsy-turvy, unequal society, walk after other gods, war, Wednesday Wail, well-fed, Western society, what you can do today, whose God is the Lord, working families, ye shall perish
Psalm 33:12. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.
Wednesday, glorious Wednesday! Let’s hope it’s not as hot as yesterday though. Brother! That was really a scorching one in my area! And I had to go out in it twice and do stuff that I had been putting off, but could not afford to put off any longer. That just teaches you to stop procrastinating and adhere to the saying, ‘Don’t put off for tomorrow, what you can do today.’
But yuh know what? Let’s enjoy the day yes, even if it’s another scorcher, because come next week, after Labour Day and the cold front comes in, we’re going to be complaining about the cold weather. Hn, hn! But I guess that’s the nature of the human animal, especially when it’s comfortable in its surroundings. And as John Maxwell tell us: ‘Circumstances don’t make you what you are, they reveal who you are.’ And isn’t that the awesome truth.
Just imagine if we were living through the enormous hardship of most of the world’s population, and not in the cozy, comfortable and well-fed confines of Western Society? Can you imagine how we’d cry out and complain? Hn! Just look at how we behave now when some li’l, petty thing goes wrong, and how we behave towards those who don’t have very much in our prosperous, but ever so unequal society. Steups!
The top 1% owns 90 something percent of the wealth and power, while the remaining 99% have to get by on the measly portion that’s left. But that’s our lifestyle, and we nicely term it capitalism. But it’s simply pure selfishness. And selfishness seems to be so deeply ingrained in our lifestyle, that we can’t even recognize it for what it truly is.
Ah friends, I don’t know how to do it nuh, but we definitely need to find a more egalitarian, more people friendly and sharing kind of society if we want to keep it buoyant and prosperous. Just look at the sudden rise of charitable organizations, food banks and soup kitchens in these prosperous times nuh, of working families that can’t make ends meet!
Those were things you only heard about during the tough times of depression and war. But unfortunately, today they are a major part of our society. Ah Lord eh! As the man says, our circumstances certainly reveal who we are. And the revelation is that our society is not a very nice, sharing, generous or godly one. End of Sermon!
And would you believe, when I began, I didn’t know what I was going to write about! (smile) Thank You Lord! And you know why our society is so topsy turvy, confusing and strife-filled? Because we have forsaken the Lord God of hosts! We are trying to drive Him out of our boundaries and out of our lives. But is that ever so foolish my brethren! Just listen to what the Lord Himself had to say on that matter.
First of all, through Moses, He said to the Israelites when He so miraculously brought them out of bondage in Egypt. ‘Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure (personal property) unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine.’ (Ex.19:5) Please note that last phrase friends, for all the earth and everything therein is indeed the Lord’s because He made it and keeps it going.
And note this even more important passage that Moses tried to drum into the stubborn heads of the Israelites. ‘But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the Lord thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.’ (Deut.8:18-19)
Yes my brethren, it was the Lord God Himself that gave Israel the ability to get wealth. And you’ll notice that each time they turned away from Him their society suffered serious mishap. But when they turned back again, He forgave them and renewed their prosperity.
Friends, the same thing is happening in our society today. When we were mostly a God-fearing people, He enabled us to become overwhelmingly prosperous. But now that we’ve gotten too big for our breeches and think we no longer need Him, our society is quickly and sadly going downhill, falling into a horrible pit, into the miry clay and the only way for us to rescue it is to repent and once again become a God-fearing nation.
As our Bit so wisely states: ‘Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.’ Yes friends, that’s gospel truth! We’ve seen that not only with Israel, but all down through history, where great nations crumbled when they felt they no longer needed God to survive and be prosperous. And unfortunately the same thing is happening to us today.
Please, I implore us to not allow history to repeat itself where we are concerned. Let’s not forget the Lord our God! But for that to happen, we believers have to get up NOW, and do whatever it takes to cause Jesus’ LOVE Revolution to once more proliferate in our society, instead of Lucifer’s evil and hate based organization! That’s the only way we will be saved from God’s upcoming destruction! Nuff said!
Now for those of us who are actively working on the LOVE Revolution, let’s go home letting the world know our position in Christ, by enthusiastically declaring our Wednesday Wail. In strong voice: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And is that future ever going to be glorious! More than we can ever ask or imagine! Much LOVE!
…without Almighty God in our lives…we have no meaningful life…
22 Aug 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a conscious decision, a glorious future, a valued commodity, accept peace, accept what cannot be changed, anger, appreciate what we have, at ease with ourselves, breath of life, bumps, Canadian National Exhibition, clamouring for what we don't have, come to grips, Daily Meditations, depart from evil, desperate times, do good, exhale a grateful sigh, Freddie McGregor, glad to be alive, guard your hearts and minds, hands on the plough, harmony, human understanding, indisputable truth, Jay Douglas, Jesus, let not your heart be troubled, life's like a mountain road, live in peace, local boy, look to Jesus, LOVE, mid-point of the workweek, moderation, my peace I give unto you, neither leit be afraid, not as the world giveth, not looking back, One More Day Devotional, only you can bring you peace, open-air venue, passes all understanding, peace, peace begins with me, Peace i leave with you, People with Chronic Illness, power of the holy spirit, prayer, pursue it, pursue peace, put it into action, Ralph Waldo Emerson, reggae artists, rejoice, resentment, seek peace, strife, swirling dark clouds, take it to heart, take up challenges, thanksgiving, the issues that concern us, the Lord is at hand, the peace of God, the Prince of Peace, the ultimate peace, through Christ Jesus, time of fear, turns, twists, war, Wednesday Wail, wise advice
John 14:27. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
And then it was Wednesday; the mid-point of the workweek, and a lot of people exhale a grateful sigh that the week’s nearly over. Now yesterday was a rainy day in my area, and I slept a lot of it away, (smile) but I can’t afford to do that today, because I have things to go out the street and do, so I hope the sun that’s valiantly trying to push its way through some swirling dark clouds out there is successful.
And later in the evening, I also want to go down to the C.N.E, the Canadian National Exhibition grounds, to our annual country fair and see international Reggae Artist Freddie McGregor and our local boy Jay Douglas at the Band Shell. It’s a long walk from the train station to the Band Shell and it’s also an open-air venue, so the rain definitely will not be welcomed.
But then I just thought, who controls the rain eh? The Lord God Almighty! And if He wants to send it pouring down, who is to say Him nay eh? Nobody! Let’s just hope and pray He doesn’t make that unfortunate decision today eh. (smile) And even if He does, we just have to live with it.
That makes this quote of the famous American essayist, lecturer and poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) come in very handy. ‘Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.’ Yes friends, that’s ever so true, because if you don’t accept peace, even that of Jesus, you won’t ever have it. One must make a conscious decision to accept peace, to live in peace and fervently pursue peace.
As our One More Day Devotional – Daily Meditations for People with Chronic Illness tells us: ‘True peace comes from the harmony we feel within ourselves. We don’t go out and get peace of mind; it’s the result of what we do. Harmony is being at ease with ourselves, our surroundings, and with our lives. This is no easy task, as we must come to grips with the issues that cause us concern.
This doesn’t mean that all our problems must be solved before we can have inner peace, for life will be much like a mountain road, with twists and turns and many unexpected bumps. Peace is a reality for those who accept what cannot be changed and take up the challenges that can and must be dealt with. Peace is easier to attain when we cherish the gifts of the present moment.’
And isn’t that the indisputable truth my brethren! When we appreciate what we have, and are not complaining or loudly clamouring for what we don’t have, it’s much easier for our souls to find peace. And the thought for that day’s devotional declares: ‘In my life, peace begins with me. I will remember that peace is a prize of the spirit and is available to everyone.’
Now that’s basically true, but in this current world, peace is not a valued commodity. Things like strife and anger and war and resentment seem to be more prized. So if you’re trying to find peace in worldly terms, you have an almost impossible task to fulfill. But friends, if you really want peace, the ultimate peace, then you have to look to Jesus for it.
Listen to what He told His disciples as He warned them of His impending return to heaven. ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’
Wow mih people! What mighty words from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Only He could have made such a pronouncement to the disciples in their time of fear. That’s because He knew the power of the Holy Spirit that was to come upon them after He left.
And it’s that same Holy Spirit that comforts us in our dark and desperate times. But as with everything else, we have to accept it, and work with it. It just doesn’t happen on its own or overnight. We have to actively go after it. As Bruh David says in Psalm 34 – The Lord hears the righteous: ‘Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.’ (Ps.34:14) Yeh friends, peace in our lives, all depends on us actively seeking it.
And here is Bruh Paul’s sage advice on finding it. ‘Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil.4:4-7)
Ah my fellow believers, that’s such wise and wonderful advice! Please, let’s promise ourselves today to take it to heart and put it into action nuh! For that’s the only way we will achieve the wonderful peace of God that passes all human understanding.
And for those of us who have already made that wise and momentous decision, we can now go home in peace, safety and comfort, declaring our Wednesday Wail, letting the world know our sure position in Christ Jesus. So with a strong sense of purpose and loud voice, let’s wail nuh: ‘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 I can’t help but say it, because it’s oh so true: That future with Christ will be even more glorious than we can ask or imagine! Much LOVE!
…there’s no other way to gain true peace…than through Jesus…the Prince of Peace…
15 Aug 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a spirit being, almighty god, Alpha, big bang, chaos, communicate with God, confusion, Controller, darkness, determines the outcome, divine person, encased in a fleshly body, feast my eyes, Franklin D Roosevelt, glory hallelujah, God created the heaven, God is a Spirit, God is light, God is LOVE, green thumb, halfway home, hands on the plough, Higher Power, immense power, immutable, in the beginning, lives forever, looking forward, not looking back, Omega, perfect intellect, permanently withstand, physical strength, spiritual being, spiritual nature, the body shrivels and dies, the breath of life, the dark times, the earth was without form, the first, the Good Book, the immensity of space, the impact of spiritual force, the last, the Lord's grace, the Samaritan woman, the spirit gets stronger, there is a God, they that worship Him, to admire, unchangeable, Wednesday Wail, worship in spirit and in truth
John 4:24. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth.
Aye mih breddren, this morning the Lord inspired me to share some of His beautiful creation with you. The attachments above contain some of the contents of my backyard garden, lovely stuff I get to look out at every time I look through my bedroom window.
And it’s one of the first things I do every morning I get up. I just look out and drink up the beauty created through the Duchess’ green thumb and the Lord’s grace. Mine is just to admire, to feast my eyes on the wonder of nature! Glory be! You surely won’t hear me complain. (smile)
But on a more serious note, I want us to consider this quote from Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945) the 32nd President of the United States. He tells us that ‘Physical strength can never permanently withstand the impact of spiritual force.’
And isn’t that the God-awesome truth! Man’s physicality can never withstand the immense power contained in his spiritual being for any length of time. Just look at how the body shrivels up and dies over time, while the Spirit keeps getting stronger and lives forever. That means we should not always bow to our physical nature but pay more attention to our spiritual side.
Remember we’re basically a Spirit being encased in a fleshly body, and the first ought to control the second. Just look at when we’re hurting physically, how our spirit can lift us up, bring us to our Higher Power, and even make us forget about those physical hurts.
The spiritual side of our lives can always be relied on to enhance the physical, because that’s the way the Lord made it to be. So please, let’s not forget the importance of our spiritual nature as we journey through the dark times of our lives, for God created it to alleviate our ills, be they physical, emotional or whatever kind they might be.
And the most important aspect of our Spirit is to be able to communicate with our omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God. Remember what Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well in our Bit? ‘God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth.’
Yeh friends, our God is a Spirit Being and operates in the spiritual realm. So if we want to communicate with Him, we have to do so through the spirit that He has placed in us for that very purpose. Listen to this definition of God as proffered by the scholars.
‘4:24. John gives three descriptions of God. He is a Spirit (John 4:24), LOVE (1 John 4:8), and Light (1 John 1:5). God is a spiritual being who is invisible and without a body; He is a divine person who reveals Himself in perfect intellect, emotion, and will: He is eternal in relationship to time.
He is unlimited in relationship to the immensity of space; He is immutable (unchanging) in His nature; He is the unity of all existence; and He is consistent in His being – that is, He corresponds in actual fact to His nature and attributes as they are revealed to us. (First Ref. Gen.1:1; Primary Ref. John 4:24).’
Ah friends, that might be a bit much for some of us to understand and digest, but all it’s basically saying is that our God is great; in fact the Greatest! He is a perfect, divine, spiritual Being. As the Good Book says, the First and the Last, the Alpha and Omega, the Be All and End All!
And the first words of that wonderful, exciting life giving and guiding tome tells it like it certainly is: ‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was moved upon (hovered over) the face of the waters’ (Gen.1:1-2)
Yeh friends, God made our world and us from scratch; one piece at a time, in perfect harmony, no chaos or confusion. Oh, the Story of Creation is such a mighty and wonderful one! No big bang and utter chaos and confusion thereafter. And in any case, what caused the big bang eh? Something must have caused it…It couldn’t have just happened out of nowhere and nothing… Could it be our God eh? (smile)
Ah friends, enough with the theories, suffice it to say that there IS a God, One who looks down on, and controls the affairs of men, and if we’re wise we’ll get into concert with Him for He determines the outcome of ALL things and people. Our world doesn’t just run vikey vie by itself, there is a heavenly Controller whose name is Almighty God and it would be to our immense benefit to stay in His good graces.
What more can I say eh? I’ve presented the facts, now it’s up to each individual to make their decision. Let’s hope we all make the right one. And for those of us who have already done so, let’s go home declaring our Wednesday Wail, letting the world know our position as it relates to Almighty God.
In strong voice with sincere hearts: ‘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 that future will be even more glorious that we can ever imagine. Much LOVE!
…the wisest decision man can make…is to hang out with Jesus…
P.S. Sorry friends, but I could not put the pictures of the flowers in my backyard in the post, so you’ll just have take my word for it that they are beautiful. (smile) Much LOVE!
08 Aug 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future, a good impression, a possibility in disguise, adoration, blessed be God, character of mercy, compassion, deliverance, divine favour, dr robert h schuller, dying, forgiveness, God exists, god of all comfort, hands on the plough, healing, heaven is for real, Hour of Power Devotional, immeasurable mercy of God, inferior stuff, just deserts, life, life beyond death, light, LOVE, loving-kindness, mercy, negative occurrences, not looking back, opportunity, our rescue, pardoneth iniquity, personal abuse, plenteous in mercy, positive potential, Possibility Thinkers, Praise the Lord, rising again, sacrificed, saints, Satan, sicness, sin, sinless life, sinners, siren call, sonship, soothing rain, sorrow, spiritual possibilities, the breath of life, the Father of mercies, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live for Jesus, transgression, Undetected Possibilities, Wednesday Wail
2 Corinthians 1:3. Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.
Ah friends, some more gentle soothing rain fell in my area this morning. Praise the Lord! And this time it was no big shower, but just a light, continuous drizzle. I was already up, but it’s soothing properties drove me back to bed, I just could not resist its siren call. (smile) That’s why the Bit might be a bit late.
And we are going to begin with some inspirational and wise words from Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) from his Hour of Power Devotional, where he talks about ‘Undetected Possibilities.’
And he reminds us that ‘To Jesus every problem was a possibility in disguise. Sickness was an opportunity for healing. Sin was an opportunity for forgiveness. Sorrow was an opportunity for compassion. Personal abuse was an opportunity to leave a good impression and show the world how Possibility Thinkers react. To Jesus every person was a gold mine of undiscovered, hidden possibilities…!
To Jesus the important fact about you and me is not that we are sinners, but that we can be saints. So Jesus proclaimed the greatest possibility: the immeasurable mercy of God.’
Yes my people, in most negative occurrences or circumstances there is a seed of positive undertaking, if we will only look for it, and not concentrate solely, or so much on the negative aspect of the problem.
And there is no better example than the one quoted above, where Jesus didn’t concentrate on the fact that we were sinners, for if He had done so, if He had thought that we couldn’t change, wasn’t worth saving, He might never have sacrificed His sinless life for us.
But thank the Lord He saw possibilities in us! And likewise, He is calling on us to see the enormous possibilities in others and ourselves. As they say, God doesn’t make inferior stuff, so whatever He has made has positive potential.
And Gramps Schuller continues: ‘To Jesus the whole world was jammed, pregnant, loaded, bulging with untapped, undiscovered, undetected possibilities! Jesus really believed in the supreme spiritual possibilities! Man can be born again! Character can be changed! You can become a new person! Life can be beautiful! There is a solution to every problem! There is a light behind every shadow!’
And so should we as His followers. ‘Yes! Jesus had an unshakable faith in these ultimate spiritual possibilities: God exists! Life goes on beyond death! Heaven is for real! Jesus was prepared to prove it. By dying – and rising again! Jesus was impressed by what the world could become – never depressed by what the world does.’
And friends, if we as Jesus’ followers adopt His positive attitude, we will be able to change the world, just like He did! Glory be my people! Jesus was the greatest Possibility thinker ever! And a good thing too, else we’d be Hades bound with nary a hope of redemption.
But for that to happen Jesus had to proclaim, like Gramps Schuller says above: ‘the immeasurable mercy of God.’ Yeh friends, it’s only through God’s mercy, not giving us what we deserve, His divine favour, His wonderful compassion, that drove Him to send Jesus to our rescue, so we can now stand up proud and strong.
As Bruh Paul puts it so appropriately in our Bit: ‘Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.’ What an awesome God we serve and worship my people!
And the scholars offer this explanation: ‘1:3-4. Blessed (Gr. eulogetos, “well spoken of”) is used in the New Testament of God (e.g. Eph.1:3). It is a term of adoration and praise. The Father of mercies: The mercies in view here include everything from deliverance from the world, sin, and Satan, to participation in sonship, light, and life. But the force is even more than this. The stress is that the Father is characterized by mercy (cf. Ps. 86:5: Dan. 9:9; Mic.7:18).’
And are we ever grateful for that merciful character of our wonderful God! Now let me spoon feed you with those scriptures mentioned above. (smile) Bruh David proclaims in Psalm 86: ‘For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.’ (Ps.86:5) What truth!
Meanwhile, in Daniel’s prayer for his people, he solemnly declares: ‘To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him.’ (Dan.9:9) How magnanimous is the God we serve, not giving us our just deserts!
And Micah says with strong authority and experience, as he talks about God’s concern for His people. ‘Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by (over) the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy (LOVING-kindness).
He will turn again, he will have compassion on us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their (our) sins into the depths of the sea. Thou wilt perform (give) the truth to Jacob, and the mercy (LOVING-kindness) to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.’ (Mic.7:18-20)
Oh friends, our God isn’t only merciful, but faithful to His promise! Praise His Holy Name! And because of all that, we the faithful believers in His Son Jesus Christ, can boldly declare our Wednesday Wail, which shows our position in the ongoing universal catharsis. (smile)
Altogether 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 if we’re wise, we’ll continue on that path of eternal wisdom. Much LOVE!
…to live for Jesus…is the only thing worth living for…
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