17 Apr 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a house full of sacrifices with strife, a positive difference, a word fitly spoken, a world of iniquity, artificial intelligence, Bible, bitter envying, christianity, death and life are in the power of the tongue, defileth the whole body, demonic, disciples of Christ, don't boast, easy to be intreated, endure to the end, eyes fixed straight ahead, faith, fight the good fight, fraudulent world, gentle, glory not, god, gossip, hands on the plough, hard work, he that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life, he that openeth wide his lips, in peace of them that make peace, in settings of silver, Jesus, Jesus Christ, keep the door of my lips, lawlessness of our tongues, lie not against the truth, lies, like apples of gold, LOVE, my God will supply all your needs, peaceable, scriptural tidbits, sensual, set a watch O Lord before my mouth, set on fire of hell, setteth on fire the course of nature, shall eat the fruit thereof, shall have destruction, sown in peace, strengthening our backbones, strife, thank God, the breath of life, the fruit of righteousness, the tongue is a fire, they that love it, through His riches in glory, to a glorious future with Jesus, truth, Wednesday Wail, wisdom, wisdom is earthly
Psalm 141:3. Set a watch (guard), O Lord, before my mouth; keep (watch over) the door of my lips.
And just like that, the sunshine has disappeared, and a rainy day has foisted itself upon us. But because we have Jesus, we roll right along with whatever punch the world, or the devil chooses to throw at us! And helping us to do so are some more of those scriptural tidbits we call acclamations, like this one: ‘My God will supply all of my needs through His riches in glory through Christ our Lord and Saviour!’ (Phil. 4:19) And indeed He will, if we live the life He desires of us. And this one is oh so necessary for so many of us: ‘Set a watch (guard), O Lord, before my mouth; keep (watch over) the door of my lips.’ (Ps. 141:3)
Yes friends, in this talkative, lying, fraudulent, gossipy world, believers most definitely need to watch what they say, as our words can get us in very serious trouble. Remember what Cousin Sol says in Proverbs: ‘Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that LOVE it shall eat the fruit thereof.’ (Prov. 18:21) Oh my fellow believers that’s the gospel truth, those of us who LOVE to blabber will certainly suffer for it. Remember too that old saying, you shall eat those words? And all of us have seen it come to pass in our lives when we’ve spoken some unkind or unnecessary words.
And again, Cousin Sol reminds us in Proverbs: ‘He that keepeth (guards) his mouth keepeth (preserves) his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.’ (Prov. 13:3) And no, it’s not easy to control our tongue, for as James so wisely discourses: ‘And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members; that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature (our existence); and it is set on fire of hell.’ (James 3:6)
And as the scholars explain: ‘The tongue is a system (world) of iniquity that sets on fire the whole course of life, and is even set on fire by Satan (cf. 3:15) That means the tongue causes a whole lot of problems in our individual, lives as well as our world. What causes wars and rumours of wars, etc. etc. talk and the lawlessness of our tongues. And that reference above there is important enough for us to take it up from verse 13. James writes, concerning earthly and heavenly wisdom: ‘Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge (has understanding) among you? let him shew out of a good conversation (conduct) his works with meekness of wisdom (that his works are done with meekness of wisdom).
But if ye have bitter envying and strife (self-seeking) in your hearts, glory not (don’t boast), and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish (demonic). For where envying and strife is (self-seeking exist), there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated (willing to yield), full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.’ (James 3:13-18)
Yes my fellow saints, our tongues can be used for good or evil, but it all depends on which one we choose to use them for. Yuh see what happens when we allow Beelzebub to use our tongues; strife and envying, bitterness and boasting take place. But when we allow the Lord to set a watch upon our lips, His heavenly wisdom comes down to us and we seek peace, goodness, righteousness without partiality or hypocrisy. Now isn’t that the better way? It certainly is! But unfortunately in this current version of our world, one that’s so evil and ungodly, Satan has the upper hand when coming to the tongue, for so many lies, deceitful practices, strife, hypocrisy and partiality are present that it’s brought our world into a total scene of chaos and disaster.
And social media and the new darling of the public AI (Artificial Intelligence) are just encouraging the lies and misdirection that’s already so widespread on the earth. Then, unfortunately, those of us who know better, Christians, are not pulling our weight, not helping to reduce the garbage that’s circulating in our world, but some of us even add to it by spreading gossip and stories that we know nothing about, instead of trying to limit the foolishness that’s been so easily spread abroad, and also flourishes, or as the word says, goes viral within seconds.
Oh my people, my people, we have a big task ahead of us, trying to sow peace and righteousness on the earth, and we might never accomplish it until Jesus returns, but the important thing is that we try; we try to turn things around as best we can. But therein lies the problem, not enough of us are willing to try. We just want to sit back and enjoy the fruits, the entitlement that we can get from doing nothing. And to a certain point I can understand that reasoning, because trying to make a positive difference means hard work, sacrifices and other stuff our flesh detests.
But what about our spirits eh? What about the power, wisdom and LOVE we have from our great God? What about the sacrifices our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ made for us? Are we just going to allow them to be in vain? I certainly hope not. That’s why I’m pleading with us to begin making a difference, strengthening our backbones so that we can sacrifice some of our pleasure and leisure to fight the good fight of peace and righteousness in Jesus’ name. Now it’s up to us to get out into the world and be shining beacons of light and salty and tasty elements of peace and righteousness, as Jesus desires and expects of us. Remember, that’s our bounden duty as disciples of Christ!
Now, let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our amazing and invincible and position in Christ Jesus. as one strong and sincere voice: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And for good measure, if we endure right down to the very end with Jesus, then that future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine. So let’s be wise and plan to meet at the very end nuh, so that we can enjoy that glorious future together! Much LOVE!
…a word fitly spoken (spoken at the right time)…is like apples of gold…in pictures (settings) of silver…(a timely and fitting word is precious and pleasing)…(Prov. 25:11)
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07 Feb 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a family to mind, as a father, basic things, bills to pay, capitalist society, chouncy pay, concrete jungle, destitute, destroy our witness, disobedience, fear him, fellowship, for the present, Friday chant, furthering your glorious kingdom, God's discipline, greedy slave master, happy is the man, hard work, he binds up, he corrects, he maketh sore, his hands make whole, homeless, joyous, keep the commandments, later than you sow, love for Christ, more than you sow, never leave nor forsake us, ordinary workingman, peaceable fruit of righteousness, praise and bless you, raising the prices, reap what you sow, refreshed in body and soul, relaxation, rest, robber barons, slow down, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, Thank You Lord, the son in whom he delights, the white stuff, treating us well, walk in his ways, whom the Lord corrects, whom the loves
Proverbs 3:12. For whom the Lord LOVETH he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
Ah mih people, I know you’ll be proud to hear that the ole fella made that adventurous trip into the concrete jungle yesterday afternoon, although by then the roads were clean, wet but clean. The only place I encountered snow was in my own lane and driveway. (smile) I was a little miffed though, because thinking that the traffic and road conditions would be bad, I took an early bus, but neither was bad. So I got to my appointment half an hour early, then had to wait a further hour before they dealt with me.
I left home around 1 pm, and did not get back until after six! No wonder going into the city is undesirable, because it eats up most of your day, and by the time you get home, you’re tired and miserable and don’t want to do anything constructive. And though we got another bout of the white stuff last night, I really don’t care because I’m not going out there today! (smile)
Ah friends, who says life isn’t nice eh! We might have all sorts of troubles and problems, but let’s consider them surmountable with our Lord’s help nuh, and remember that many others around the world have it much worse than us. And all God’s people said a loud and grateful: ‘Thank You Lord! We praise and bless your holy name for treating us as well as you do! Amen!’
And since it’s Friday, the ordinary workingman is waiting patiently and quietly in the wings to sing his weekend song. So let’s bring him on stage nuh. And as he enters, he enthusiastically belts out: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday yes! I don’t know what I’d do if I had to work another day nuh! Ah really work hard this week, for the same chouncy pay, and it doh look like the ole body could handle that much hard work again nuh.
Hn, hn! Like we getting old…and the body telling us to slow down. But it don’t realize we can’t really slow down when we have a family to mind and bills to pay in this ever increasing expensive society. Now I understand why it could have so many homeless and destitute people in the world. We get paid a pittance of our real worth, and the greedy slave master always trying to cut back or take back something we work so hard for.
And then they keep raising the prices on the basic things like food, clothing and shelter, so people must fall behind even though they working a lot. Steups! This capitalist society eh! Is just a setta robber barons yes! But let them know one thing for me: they never going to take away my weekend, my two days of freedom! I’ll fight to the death to preserve that! Thank God for Fridays and weekends oui!’
Yuh see friends, even the ordinary working man has stuff that he will fight to the death for, much less we blessed believers in Jesus Christ, for whom God provides all our needs! Shouldn’t there be stuff that we are also prepared to die for? Of course! But the problem is that most of us supposed Christians are a wimpy, shallow and frightened lot. We’ve gotten so accustomed to the good life, that we turn the slightest disappointment into a major happening. Anyway, we won’t get into that now nuh, (smile) let’s get to our weekend song, our Friday Chant, which is so different to the workingman’s offering.
All together now, in strong voice with sincere hearts: ‘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!’
Ah friends, believers (steups!) do have to be more cognizant of their circumstances and surroundings so that we don’t allow the evil one unfettered access to our lives and souls, because all he wants to do is destroy our witness and LOVE for Christ! But I’m sure we won’t give him that opportunity! Now today I want to continue with some wise words of Cousin Sol that I never finished yesterday. And they are some hard words, but truly worthwhile to hear and remember. ‘My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, neither be weary of (detest) his correction. For whom the Lord LOVETH he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.’ (Prov.3:11-12)
Yes precious people, those are such great words! We correct our children because we LOVE them, likewise the Lord corrects us because He LOVES us! That’s nothing new, cause it was said way back in Deuteronomy by Moses, on the Lord’s behalf. ‘Thou shalt also consider (know) in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee. Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God. To walk in his ways , and to fear him.’ (Deut. 8:5-6)
Oh it’s so simple friends: we punish our children when they disobey us, the Lord punishes us when we disobey him. But for whatever reason we think that’s wrong, because we have free will and ought to do as we like. But please note friends, that free will doesn’t give us the right to sin without punishment, because sin will ALWAYS be punished by the Lord since it’s diabolical and against His very nature! Hear these wise words of Job on the subject. ‘Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not the chastening of the Almighty: For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.’ (Job 5:17-18)
Yes my people, our God might punish us for disobedience, but He’ll never leave us to suffer unnecessarily, He will heal whatever wounds He causes. That’s the beauty of our God! Although He punishes, He never leaves nor forsakes the punished! How great is the God we worship eh? Mucho great!
That’s why the author of Hebrews could wrap up his dissertation on God’s discipline thus: ‘Now no chastening (discipline) for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised (trained) thereby.’ (Heb.12:11) And that’s a fact my brethren; discipline never seems good to us in the present moment, but afterwards, if we’re wise, we’ll surely see its benefits.
So today, let’s take a moment to contemplate our individual lives nuh, and see where the Lord might have disciplined us for disobedience, and how it affected our lives thereafter. That will help us to understand and appreciate the Lord’s doings. (smile) Much LOVE!
…you’ll reap what you sow…more than you sow…and later than you sow… (Uncle Charles – Charles Stanley)
02 Nov 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a chance to change your life, backbone, be deceived, belly, breathe God's air, burst the bottles, change your whole day, change yourself to be stronger, Christ-like, christianity, disguised as hard work, don't fool yuh fat, don't waste time, ever-LOVING God, every new day, everything will work out for good, excellently, faithfully promised, fast, fermentation, Friend Anselm, guiding light, hard work, Jesus, Judaism, life changes to be harder, life enjoys beating us down, make hay while the sun shines, new brooms swep clean, no guarantee of tomorrow, no man, old brooms know the corners, old ways won't open new doors, on an old garment, one positive thought, opportunies, our Lord and Saviour, Phariesses, practices, put new wine in new bottles, puts new wine into old bottles, sew a new piece of cloth, the bottle is ruined, the new faith, the new wine, the old faith, think about Jesus all day, traditionssold foundations, wineskins, with Jesus running our lives, work diligently, work hard
Mark 2:22. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles (wineskins): else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottle will be marred (ruined): but new wine must be put into new bottles.
Oh brother, I can’t believe how dark it is still is in my area at eight o’clock on this early November morning! Not even a wisp of sunlight is showing on the eastern horizon. But the good thing is that it’s not raining…at least not yet. (smile) Nowadays, who knows what the weather will turn out to be on any given day, so it’s best not to worry about it. Just remember that Jesus is our Lord, Saviour and Guiding Light, and once He is in us, and we are in Him, then everything will work out for good eventually, as He faithfully promised! Glory to our great and ever-LOVING God!
And since we said it’s Saturday, I guess it’s time to look at some of the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And the first one says: ‘One small positive thought can change your whole day.’ And that’s the absolute truth my people! And we have the perfect example above, where we just think about Jesus, and our whole day gets brighter! There’s no more positive thought that that! So let’s wake up thinking on Jesus…and during the day think on Him…and go to bed at night…still thinking on Him! Wow! That way our whole day will be positive! (smile)
Now listen to this next quote: ‘Every new day is another chance to change your life.’ I certainly can’t dispute that reasoning, for everyday that we’re given to breathe God’s air, is a new chance to improve our lives. God gives it to us because He knows that we need more time to come to Him, to grow more Christ-like and to complete the work He’s assigned us. So please, let’s not waste every new day that we’ve been so generously given nuh. Instead, as the old people would say, make hay while the sun shines, because you don’t know when the sun will stop shining, neither for how long, and if it isn’t shining, then you certainly can’t make hay. (smile) That means you can’t waste time; you must do whatever you have to do while there’s time – that means today – since there’s no guarantee that we’ll ever see tomorrow. Were the ole people ever so wise my brethren! Wish we were even half as wise.
That brings us to this quote: ‘When life changes to be harder, change yourself to be stronger.’ Ah friends, that’s the only way to survive, for if you don’t get stronger as life gets harder, life will only beat you down. And this life is certainly getting harder, despite all our improvements and amenities. And don’t fool yuh fat either (don’t be deceived), for some reason I can’t fathom, life just enjoys beating us down. I’ve seen it happen often enough in my three score and ten. So you have to possess plenty belly and backbone to live what we call life. You also have to keep improving, keep adding to the strength of your backbone and belly everyday, because life doesn’t ever take a day off, so neither can you. And we all know the best way to do that is by accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour and let him lead and guide our mis-mash lives!
And here’s another area where following Jesus will come in ever so handy. ‘Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don’t recognize them.’ Oh my people, is that ever so true! Very few good opportunities are ever easy. I guess by definition they are innately difficult, and in this lazy, selfish, greedy society of ours, hard work is something we don’t relish. We don’t even want to work, much less work hard. That’s why so many glorious opportunities are passing us by in this prosperous society where good opportunities abound…if we’re only willing to work hard at them. Here again, with Jesus running our lives, we will see the opportunities, and we will work diligently and excellently to bring them to fruition. Glory be!
Now here’s the last quote: ‘Old ways won’t open new doors.’ But we still try anyway. As Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) likes to say; ‘You can’t keep doing the same thing and expect a different result.’ So we’ve got to stop trying to open new doors with old ways. That brings us to some very interesting words of Jesus when asked by John’s disciples, why they and the Pharisees fasted, but His disciples did not? Apparently the Pharisees fasted twice weekly. He basically answered that fasting is done in times of grief, not of joy, and while He was with them, they were joyful, but when He went back to heaven, that would be the time for grief and fasting. (Mark 2:18-20)
And furthermore, Jesus enlightened them: ‘No man also seweth a piece of new (unshrunk) cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh (pulls) away from the old, and the rent (tear) is made worse. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles (wineskins): else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottle will be marred (ruined): but new wine must be put into new bottles.’ (Mark2:21-22) Oh friends, how can you not be impressed by Jesus eh, no one else uses simple words and ideas like He does!
And what does all of that mean? Listen to the scholars: ‘2:22. Bottles are wineskins, the old ones figuratively representing Judaism and the new ones Christianity. Old wineskins lose their elasticity and would be burst open by the fermentation of new wine put into them. The point: the old faith of Judaism and the new faith of Christianity cannot be mixed, nor can the practices or traditions (e.g., the time of fasting) of Judaism be forced on Christianity.’ Now that doesn’t mean we have to throw away all that is old, because it’s the old stuff that gives us the true and solid foundations, but if old ways aren’t working, then we do have to try new, but always godly ones. (smile) Much LOVE!
…new brooms sweep clean…but old brooms know the corners…
08 Jul 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a great hig priest, antidote, ask for help, aura of love, call upon me, come boldly, communication, confidently, conquerors, depressed, encouraging, enlightening, exalt, faith, find me, fruitful life, further your glorious kingdom, good for the spleen, guiding light, hard work, hold fast our profession, humble servants, in time of need, Jesus, jobs, lead by example, LOVE, maintain mine own ways, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, my fortress, my rock, no hypocrite, praise, pray unto me, prayer, rejoice in thy mercy, renewed vitality, search for me, seek me, serve a useful purpose, spiritual armour, the living God, the Lord's Word, the throne of grace, Though he slay me, tired, trust in thee, with all your heart, worship
Hebrews 4:16. Let us therefor come boldly (confidently) unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
And all the early July Independence parties done now! Time to get back to some hard work that’s good for the spleen and the soul. (smile) As they say, a li’l hard work never kill anybody. And that’s the gospel truth! Just wish most of this current society would acknowledge that and put it into practice. Our world would be so much more productive and conducive to better and richer living in Jesus’ name. But as believers, we can only talk and lead by example.
So having said that, let’s get up and get ourselves together this Monday morning nuh, and get out there and do our best for Jesus, because He is our Guiding Light! And because we’re only human, some of us will obviously not be up to scratch, possibly tired, depressed, troubled, or just blooming lazy! (smile) But whatever it is that ails us this morning, we have the right antidote for it; prayer, in the form of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. So let’s come humbly, but confidently to the throne of grace to ask for help in our time of need nuh.
As one strong voice: ‘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!’
Glory to God my people! Feel the Holy Spirit moving in our souls nuh, enlightening and encouraging and strengthening us as we asked! What would we do without prayer eh? Hn! We’d be lost like the Israelites were in the wilderness for forty long, dragged out and troublesome years. But our wise and great God instituted prayer as a means of communication between Him and us. A way that we can both praise, worship and exalt Him, as well as pour out the most personal and troubling details of our souls, hearts, bodies and minds, trusting Him to help us.
And on top of all that, He has sincerely promised to answer our prayer if we live obedient to His will. Listen to His encouraging word. ‘Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.’ (Jer.29:12-13)
Yeh friends, calling on the Living God, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is of the utmost importance, if we want to enjoy a joyful and fruitful life down here on earth amongst all the natural troubles and tribulations that are so rampant in these trying times. And Jeremiah, in his Lamentations, said it this way: ‘The Lord is my portion saith my soul: therefore will I hope in him.
The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.’ (Lam.3:24-26) And if he could say that after suffering a whole lot of problems bringing the Lord’s Word to his people Israel, then there must be some truth to it.
Meanwhile Bruh David said it thus in Psalm 31. ‘For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me. Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily (secretly) for me: for thou art my strength. Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth. I have hated them that regard lying vanities (vain idols): but I trust in the Lord.
I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities (troubles); and hast not shut me up into the hand of (given me over to) the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a large room (wide space).’ (Ps.31:3-8)
Oh friends, what better witness declaring (yeah!) God’s mercy and LOVING-kindness can we get than from those two men who suffered so much in doing the Lord’s bidding, yet still pledged their undying LOVE and devotion to Him? Job was another righteous man who suffered much unfair and unjustified tribulation, but he also unequivocally pledged his loyalty to the God of his forefathers when he made these bold statements:
‘Though he slay me, yet will I trust him: but I will maintain mine own ways (defend my ways) before him. He also shall be my salvation: for a hypocrite shall not come before him.’ (Job 13:15-16) Fighting words those, my brethren! But that’s what happens when we have supreme faith in our God despite our troubled circumstances here on earth.
And we’ll end with these wonderful, inspiring and reassuring words of the author of Hebrews, re The sympathetic Christ. ‘Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession (faith). For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched (sympathetic) with the feeling of our infirmities (weaknesses); but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.’ (Heb.4:14-5)
Oh my people, Jesus knows all about temptation in this evil world, because He suffered it just like we are doing, but He was without sin. So He understands what we’re going through. That’s why the author ends this passage with these encouraging words. ‘Let us therefor come boldly (confidently) unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.’
And that’s exactly what we did when we prayed our Monday Morning Battle Hymn…And yuh saw the positive results. So please, let’s just keep trusting and stay strong and steadfast in the Lord. It’s the best option available to us! Much LOVE!
…to pray…to pray…and yet to keep on praying…that’s the Christian way…
06 Jun 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a prowler, a robber, a storm of nonsense, admonished, an armed man, be wise, cease to exist, Colorado, consider her ways, creating new worth, crumble, diligence, dire poverty, enriching feeling, feeding on themselves, fell to ruin, fire and brimstone, folding of the hands, foundation of joy, gathers food, get on board, get over the hump, glad to be alive, go to the ant, good fruit, grace, Guatemala, habitually lazy person, halfway home, hands on the plough, hard work, Hawaii, heavenly Father, homelessness, in the hands of a few, in the harvest, joy, joyfully declare, knock us for six, leader, learn from the ant, looking forward to, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, make ends meet, mercy, negative things, New Mexico, no guide, not looking back, overseer, part-time work, poverty, prayers, predictable circumstances, prosperity, relative comfort, right the wrongs, self-starter, sit on our laurels, sleep, sluggard, smell the java, summer time, taskmaster, the breath of life, the fallen lot, the middle of the week, the weekend, this is the day the Lord has made, threat, trash pile, uplifting, volcanic problems, wake up, we will rejoice and be glad in it, wealth, wealthy societies, Wednesday Wail, wildfires, winter season
Proverbs 6:6. Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.
So friends, it’s Wednesday, the middle of the work week. Are you already looking forward to the weekend? I know a lot of us are. Wednesday just seems to be the day we get over the hump. (smile) But there is no need to relegate the other days to the trash pile because every day comes bearing good fruit and plenty of grace, mercy and LOVE from our heavenly Father.
We ought to enjoy each and everyday regardless of what it’s called and what we have to do in it. That’s why I want to begin today by joyfully declaring like the psalmist of old: ‘This is the day the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it!’
Mamacita! What a good, uplifting and enriching feeling that produces! With that foundation of joy, we can now move on and handle whatever negative things that may come against us.
And in our relative comfort, let’s remember in our prayers those unfortunate people in Hawaii and Guatemala who are dealing with volcanic problems, and those in New Mexico and Colorado where wildfires are burning out of hand. Yuh know fire and brimstone are mankind’s biggest threat. (smile)
And I was just led to an interesting and very appropriate Bit for out times. Hear these words of wisdom from Cousin Sol. ‘Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise; Which having no guide (leader), overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat (bread, grain) in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.’ (Prov.6:6-8)
Ah my people, in these unfortunate times of excessive laziness, sloth and entitlement, there is no better example for us to follow than the ordinary ant, who though they have no leader or leaders like us, go about their business with such wisdom, gathering their food for the winter season in the summer time and storing it away for the rough times to come.
And Cousin Sol continues on the subject: ‘How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: so shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth (a prowler), and thy want (need) as an armed man.’ (Prov.6:9-11)
And the scholars offer this explanation. ‘6:6-11. The sluggard is the habitually lazy person. He is admonished to learn two important lessons from the ant: (1) the ant has no guide, overseer, or ruler (v.7), meaning that the ant does not have a taskmaster standing over it to make it work; it is a self-starter. (2) The ant is wise enough to prepare for predictable circumstances (v.8).
Two questions about sleep are posed to the sluggard (v.9). His answer is given in verse 10: “Just a little bit more sleep!” The result of such laziness is dire poverty, which will come as suddenly and decisively as a robber (v.11).’
Oh friends, I don’t know if there has ever been a time when our interest in working, in being productive has been lower than now. But I guess to a certain extent it comes with the territory, meaning that the more a society becomes prosperous, the more we tend to sit on our laurels and forget what and who brought us to that position of prosperity.
It’s only hard work and diligence that enriches a society, and when we forget that, the society will inevitably crumble. That’s why our history is loaded with wealthy societies that soon fell to ruin, because they began feeding on themselves, rather than creating new worth.
And if we look closely and realistically we will see the same thing happening with our current society. In this supposedly wealthy and prosperous society, our young people are more into partying and chatting up a storm of nonsense than doing productive work and so many of us have to work at more than one job just to make ends meet.
Notwithstanding that jobs are becoming fewer and fewer, and when you find one it’s mostly part time. The level of poverty and homelessness is ridiculous for the amount of wealth we have, but so much of that wealth is in the hands of a very few fortunate and greedy ones.
And because of that wealth, they sit in their high towers and comfortable palatial homes and don’t recognize that our society is going to the dogs, is dying a slow and painful death, and unless that wealth is shared, some time, sooner than we expect, the full effects of a very lopsided economy and society will knock us for six!
Consequently friends, I implore us to wake up and smell the java, which incidentally is a huge aspect of our economy, and start trying to right the wrongs that we are able to. Yes, unless and until, each and every one of us begin to start making changes within our spectrum, our society will just keep going downhill, until we’ll be eventually numbered amongst the fallen lot.
It’s not too late friends, so let’s get to it nuh. The LOVE Revolution of Jesus is waiting, praying and hoping that you will get on board. And for those of us who are already on board, let’s go home declaring our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know our position in and with Jesus.
In strong voice and sincere heart, 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 we know that that future with Jesus will indeed be most glorious! Much LOVE!
…anything that feeds on itself…will soon cease to exist…so let’s be wise…and learn from the ant nuh…
21 Apr 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bad day, a better tomorrow, a greater purpose, adversity, an enduring daily trust, Anselm, aspires to inspire, assertive action, at the mercy of others, beautiful blossoms, Bible Study, blocking traffic, Bobby Schuller, boulders of ice, brown grass, build faith, built on taking chances, Christ's promises, Christian faith, come against us, count it all joy, do something for Christ, don't let others decide, enable us to do anything, escape, faith, faith is not a leap, faithful promise, fall into divers temptations, fight for your happiness, fleshly suffering, God can do the impossible, God has bruised, God is good, God uses trouble, gospel truth, grow in faith, hard work, heavenly Father, help, ice storm, in all their glory, inconvenience, joy, joyful terms, lacking nothing, laugh, lean on God, learn to value yourself, leaves, look back, Look to God, LOVE, mature, men of faith, Mother Earth, my brethren, natural response, negative experiences, perfect, poor self-image, positive work, press on, produces patience, raise our self-image, risk the usual, running afoul of, same old, settle for the ordinary, short memories, shy away, specks of green, spiritual growth, spring has sprung, stand fast, strength, take a chance, take advantage of, take control of our lives, testing, the enemy, the trials of life, the trying of faith, tough times, trust in God, various trials, victory, wisdom
James 1:2. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations (various trials).
At last friends, at long last, some of the ice that’s covered the ground from the ice storm a week ago has finally melted…Yay! And we can now see some of Mother Earth’s dirtyish brown grass with specks of green thrown in for good measure. Glory be!
But not all of the ice has melted, there are still several patches of it all around. And from my kitchen window I can see about three or four solid boulders of ice lying at the side of the road, and the big lump of ice that clogged the entrance to my lane when they cleaned the main road last week is still there, blocking traffic and making it difficult to enter the lane.
But God is good! Let’s remember that, and a few weeks from now when spring has finally sprung and the leaves and beautiful blossoms are out in all their glory, we’ll look back and laugh at this inconvenience. Hn, hn! Yeh mih people, it’s a good thing the Lord blessed us with short memories.
However, it’s Saturday, so let’s turn our attention to some of this week’s quotes from our friend Anselm, as he aspires to inspire us to a better tomorrow. Here is the first one: ‘Learn to value yourself, which means fight for your happiness.’
Oh my people, too many of us don’t value ourselves highly enough, we have a poor self-image, thus others take advantage of us. Therefore we need to raise our self- image through Bible study and assertive action if we want to control our lives and thus our happiness. And the next quote is basically about the same thing; taking control of our lives.
‘Don’t let other people decide whether you are going to have a fantabulous or bad day, make that decision yourself.’ Again, too many of us allow others to run our lives and decide what kind of day we’re going to have. That is counter productive friends. We have to learn to stand on our own two feet and make those kinds of decision for ourselves, otherwise we’ll always be at the mercy of others.
And the final quote says: ‘If you are not willing to risk the usual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.’ In other words, take a chance! And that is gospel truth! If you never take chances and just stay with the tried and true, the same old, same old, then the same old, same old is all you’ll ever get.
Our society and our Christian faith was built on our forefathers and the early Christians taking chances, even when it meant running afoul of the authorities and thus possible loss of life. And as we Christians know, whenever we step out to do something for Christ, the enemy will most likely come against us and try to prevent us from doing it.
But because of Christ’s promises and His power to enable us to do anything, we don’t have to shy away, but press on regardless. And we do that through faith. But faith doesn’t just come like by wishing it. On the contrary it’s something we have to build, through constant hard work and adversity.
And Cousin Bobby (Bobby Schuller- Hour of Power) says that ‘Faith is not a leap, but an enduring daily trust that God can do the impossible in your life.’ And that’s no lie! Each and every day we awaken we have to learn to keep the trust in God we earned the day before, and to build on it, so that tomorrow it will be even stronger. That’s how we build faith my brethren – from day to day, through whatever trial comes our way.
That brings us to our Bit, some rather interesting words from James, Jesus’ brother, in his epistle to the Christians dispersed around the world. ‘My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations (various trials).’ Now who wants to find trials joyful eh? Nobody! But friends, that’s the only way we’ll grow in faith.
As James continues: ‘Knowing this, that the trying (testing) of your faith worketh (produces) patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire (complete), wanting (lacking) nothing.’ James 1:3-4) Yeh friends, as long as we are believers, our faith will always be tested, and we need to stand fast so that we can grow.
And the scholars got it right: ‘1:4. The natural response to adversity is to escape it. But God uses trouble to mature His people.’ Oh, we certainly know it’s rough, and do try to escape, but much to our dismay, that’s just part of the life of faith we’re trying live.
The scholars further tell us: ‘1:2-3. In this epistle on Christian living, James opens with a most crucial topic: the trials of life. These verses describe the various testings – whether from the world and Satan, or from God – into which godly Christians fall (Gr. peripipto).
These “negative” experiences are to be accepted with great joy, not for the sake of the trial itself but because of the positive work God can accomplish through the testing….It is not merely one’s presence in such trials but one’s victory over them that brings spiritual growth and maturity. Those Christians whom God can use the most are those whom God has bruised the most.’
Unfortunately mih people growing in spiritual faith is not easy, as can be seen from the lives of all great men of faith, especially Jesus. But they all kept constantly looking to the heavenly Father for the strength to carry on, and He gave it to them. Likewise, if we look to our heavenly Father for strength and wisdom to carry on in tough times, He WILL give it to us.
So friends, whatever is coming against us right now, let’s try and think of it in joyful terms nuh, (smile) believing that God is allowing it for a greater purpose than we can imagine, and lean on Him for the help to come through it successfully. He will not disappoint us. That’s His faithful promise! Much LOVE!
…spiritual growth…is based on fleshly suffering…
01 Mar 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a serious toll, abundance, acknowledge, adamant people, adversity, ashamed, be known, bombarding our world, bounden duty, calamity, can't kill the soul, Christ's body, Christian faith, communicating the gospel, compassionate heart, confess me, confrontation, courage, curse, deny me before men, destroy both soul and body, discipleship, drift away, earthly fortunes, eternal life, fear, fear them not, fight the good fight, first of March, foolish, Gentiles, hard work, hear, hid, I will deny before my Father, in darkness speak in the light, in heaven, in the name of Jesus, individuals, Jews, kill the body, lackadaisical, lifelong resitance, like a whirlwind, magnanimous god, missing out on salvation, necessity, negative word, nothing covered, open confession, persecutors, pilgrim's journey, preach from the housetops, proselytize, prosper, public confession, reap benefits, reap peas, refuse to believe n Jesus, rejection, salvation, scared, shall be revealed, shame, sit on the fence, soldiers in Christ's army, sow rice, stubborn, success, the church, the gospel of christ, the One and Only Living God, the power of God, Thursday's Blessings, tragedy, two edged sword, ungodliness, wisdom, wishy-washy
Matthew 10:33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
And then it was the first of March… Can you believe it? January and February have passed us by like a whirlwind! It’s now an old year! (smile) Unfortunately though, not much has changed over the past two months, there is still an overwhelming amount of adversity, calamity and tragedy bombarding our world.
Ungodliness is also taking a serious toll on our earthly fortunes, as lots of people, for whatever reason, unfortunately drift away from the ONE and ONLY TRUE LIVING GOD. How sad that is friends, knowing that so many of our fellow man stand the very good likelihood of missing out on salvation and eternal life with Christ. And there’s nothing more important that that, in this entire world!
But as individuals, and as Christ’s body, the church, we can only do so much. However, I do believe that we’re not doing as much as we can. It’s doubtful that we’ll ever proselytize EVERYBODY on the planet, because there are just some stubborn, foolish, adamant people who will just flatly refuse to ever believe in Jesus, but we can surely give it a greater effort than we’re currently doing.
Too many of us are too lackadaisical about communicating the gospel to others, and some simply refuse to do it for fear of confrontation, rejection or shame. But please remember the momentous words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in our Bit: ‘But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.’ Ah mih people, it couldn’t get any plainer than that nuh.
And earlier on He said to the disciples: ‘Fear them not therefore (persecutors): for there is nothing covered (veiled), that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what hear ye in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.’ (Matt.10:26-28)
Yes friends, there is no need to fear what man can do to us, because he can only kill the body, but we need to fear God, who can kill both body and soul. Thus, once we embark upon the pilgrim’s journey with Christ, we cannot afford to let fear of man put us off, but we have to keep on fighting the good fight to spread the gospel to ALL the world, because that’s our bounden duty.
And as good soldiers in Christ’s army, we need to do our duty sincerely and proudly and with lots of courage. Please note what Jesus said right before our Bit. ‘Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.10:32)
And the scholars enlighten us as to the meaning of our Bit and that verse. ‘10:32-37. Confess me means “Acknowledge that you belong to Me.” In reality, secret discipleship is a practical impossibility. Jesus constantly called for an open confession of Himself by His followers. That our confession is to be before men clearly indicates that a public confession of true Christian faith is a virtual necessity.
The warning whosoever shall deny me is a comprehensive historical aorist tense, (hn!) referring not to one moment of denial (such as Peter’s), but to an entire lifelong resistance to Christ. Therefore, a single act of denial does not make one unworthy of being a disciple, but a refusal to confess Christ at all eliminates one from being a true follower of Jesus Christ.’
What more can I say eh mih breddren. The scholars hit the nail on the head. We either acknowledge Jesus in public, or we don’t. We can’t sit on the fence, scared and wishy-washy. That doesn’t work in Jesus’ organization. A lot of us want to reap the benefits of knowing Jesus but don’t want to put in the hard work those benefits require before they can become reality.
Remember friends, in God’s economy, whatever you sow, that is what you’re going to reap. So don’t think you can deny Jesus and still get to heaven. As true believers in Jesus, we ought to proudly and courageously say and act like Bruh Paul: ‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek (Gentiles).’ (Rom.1:16)
Yes my people, that’s how we ought to think of the gospel of Christ, because it is indeed powerful, remember, it’s like a two edged sword. That means we have to be very careful with it, not play around with it like some ordinary knife, else we’re liable to get cut very badly with it. (smile) So please, let’s sit and ponder today, how we are treating the gospel of Christ, and if we’re denying or confessing Him, because that’s the key to our eternal salvation.
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings in strong voice and heartfelt sincerity. ‘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!’
Oh what a magnanimous God we serve my people! Now let’s go out and share those blessings with others, as He intends for us to do. Much LOVE!
…you can’t sow rice and expect to reap peas…likewise…you can’t deny Christ…and expect Him to confess you before His Father…
26 Jan 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a servant, Abba, believe, carous, carousing, carry on, catering to carnal will, Christ-like, Christians, depend on the Spirit, do Jesus' will, dogs, employee satisfaction, enjoying the weekend, enslave our mind, escape, Father, fellowship, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's kingdom, generous help, guns, hard work, heirs of God, help me, iron shackles, labouring finish, layabouts, live by the Spirit, long time now, lust, massa, mental chains, modern amenities, more attention, over indulgent society, party, physical shackles, raising a finger, rejuvenate, relaxation, rest, seven days straight, sincerity, sinful nature, slave work, slavery, sons, sons of God, spiritual confrontation, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the Garden of Eden, the lust of the flesh, the wrong road, truth, turn to Jesus, walk in the Spirit, whip, work, working man, wouldn't eat, yield to the Spirit
Galatians 5:16. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Well friends, at last it’s Friday! Glory be! Now what it is about that work that we dislike so much eh, even when we have so many modern amenities that makes it so much easier? (smile) Our forefathers couldn’t even imagine or dream about the stuff we have now, and they willingly went to work.
That’s possibly because they knew for sure that if they didn’t work, they wouldn’t eat. But nowadays we have so many layabouts who eat and live well without even raising a finger. Could it be that’s the fault of our over indulgent society? Well that’s something to ponder on later. (smile)
But right now the ordinary but ever so proud workingman is singing his Friday song. ‘TGIF! Thank God it is Friday and labouring finish for another week. And yuh know, I thought hard work was done with long time now. But apparently I was wrong, for all that missing from slavery time is the whip and the dogs, they still have the guns and them!
Everything else is still the same. Deh trying to enslave we mind now though, rather than we body with iron shackles. But tell them for me, that that won’t work either. The same way we escape from the physical shackles, we going to escape from the mental chains. And we going to start doing that right now, by enjoying the weekend as if there was no tomorrow!
Brother, come what may, we going to party and carouse, and carry on fuh so. And if we too sick and tired to go to work on Monday, then let massa fire we nuh. He still ain’t going to get he slave work done! Thank God for Fridays and weekends yes! Because if the massa had he way, we’d work seven days straight every week without a break!’
Ah mih people, it’s always sad to realize that a lot of what the ordinary workingman says is so true. Our modern day economies are going backwards rather than forwards in terms of employee satisfaction, employees are not being treated as well as they should be.
The problem though is that the ordinary workingman is taking the wrong road in trying to solve the problem. Instead of carousing and catering to his carnal will, he ought to turn to Jesus and do His will, like we try to do. It’s all about purpose and the right way my brethren.
So let’s chant our Friday Chant, which shows a marked difference from the workingman’s song. In sincerity and truth 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!’
Yeh friends, the big difference is that we don’t go overboard in our carnality, and thus lose control of our senses. Instead, we turn to Jesus to rejuvenate us, so we can continue doing good work in His name, for that’s what this life is all about.
Ah mih people, it’s good to enjoy some aspects of fleshly living, that’s why God gave them to us, but we have to know where and when to draw the line, so that we don’t allow the enemy to encroach on Jesus’ territory in our hearts and souls. That’s why Bruh Paul admonished the Galatians so strongly, when he said in our Bit. ‘This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.’
And what does that mean? Hear the scholars: ‘5:16. Walk in the Spirit (i.e.; “live by the Spirit”): Christians are to live with the Spirit’s help. How does one “live by the Spirit”? (1) The Christian must believe that the Spirit is with him, having been sent by God into his heart (4:6). (2) In every spiritual confrontation the believer must yield to the Spirit, that is, submit his own desires to those of the Spirit.
(3) One must depend on the Spirit for help, enabling him to live a God-pleasing life (v.5). (4) The believer should anticipate the effects of the Spirit’s help in his daily life. The believer who “lives by the Spirit” will not fulfill (accomplish, carry out) the lust (strong desires) of the flesh (sinful nature).’
There you have it friends, a general explanation of how to walk in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit that dwells within us is supposed to lead and guide us in ALL of our activities. That’s why the Lord gave Him to us. As Bruh Paul says earlier on: ‘And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.’ (Gal. 4:6-7)
Yeh mih people, as soon as God adopts us, He sends the Holy Spirit into our hearts, to give us an awareness of Himself. And having been granted such a wonderful station in life, sons of God, heir of God, through Christ, it now behooves us to behave in a son-like and heir-like manner.
So please let’s take a minute today and ponder if we are indeed behaving son-like, heir-like and Christ-like, as we should, then ask the Lord to help us improve in whatever area(s) we need improvement. He will NEVER turn down such a request. Much LOVE!
…walking in the Spirit…is like walking in the Garden of Eden…just demanding more attention…
25 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a Saviour, afraid to take the first step, Anselm's quotes, but have everlasting life, comfort your heats, consolation, cures, dead in sins, deal the right cards, dreams, education, faith, fate, get down and dirty, give up, God so loved the world, God's promises, grace, grounded, hard work, he gave his only begotten son, hopes, inspire, inventions, kindness, LOVE, made a way, maximum potential, merciful manner, mysterious, no giving up, our hands to the plough, patience, perfected in us, perseverance, propitiation for our sins, put our noses to the grindstone, rich in mercy, should not perish, songs, spring-like Saturday, talent, that whosoever believes in him, the gift og God, the graveyard, the greatest of these id love, the richest place on earth, the topic of love, unfulfilled, wealth, while there is life there is hope, winter weather, with Christ anything is possible, ye have been saved
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 then it was a spring- like Saturday: with even more spring like temps forecasted into the upcoming week, except for a few short-lived pockets of winter weather in between. Ah friends, I’ll take that weather any time yes, especially since in my less than perfect state, I’ve been grounded, can’t go anywhere to get away from the winter season.
By rights, I should now be in warm, sunny Tobago, but the good Lord in His mysterious and merciful manner, after causing me to be grounded, as promised, has made a way for me to handle the situation by making the place not as cold and snowy as it usually is. All thanks and praise to Him! I have to believe that otherwise I would just go crazy. (smile)
Anyway, let’s check out a couple of our friend Anselm’s quotes for this past week, as he endeavours to inspire us. The first one states: ‘Just because Fate doesn’t deal you the right cards, it doesn’t mean you should give up. It just means you have to play the cards you get to their maximum potential.’
And we all know about that my believing brethren; it simply means no giving up, because while there is life there is hope, and with Christ, anything is possible. So we just have to play with the hands that we’re dealt. The Lord has a reason for dealing them to us. We just have to go to Him and find out how to play them.
And the second quote is even more interesting. It tells us: ‘The graveyard is the richest place on earth, because it is here that you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled, the books that were never written, the songs that were never sung, the inventions that were never shared, the cures that were never discovered, all because someone was too afraid to take that first step, keep with the problem, or determined to carry out their dream.’
Some of you might have heard that quote before, but it is gospel truth! And why is that? Because a lot of those people gave up, they refused to plod on with the talent that God gave them, and therefore so many unfilled dreams and actions died with them. What a waste! As they say: Talent will not, education will not, wealth will not; only patience, perseverance and hard work will.
Yeh mih people, we need to get down and dirty, put our noses to the grind stone and our hands securely to the plough, without looking back, if we want to be successful in this world.
Now it’s time to bring in our Bit; that awesome fulfillment of one of Almighty God’s promises in Isaiah 9:6 – a Saviour for the world! ‘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 it was all based on the magnificent and magnanimous emotion termed ‘LOVE! Wow! How wonderful is that eh friends? There are no words to suitably describe the emotion or God’s action. And today I won’t get into any ‘sermonizing,’ (smile) I’m just going to share some scripture passages that highlight the word LOVE and it’s association with Jehovah God.
Listen closely my fellow believers to the words of Bruh Paul to the Ephesians. ‘But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great LOVE wherewith he LOVED us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us (made us alive) together with Christ, (by grace ye are (have been) saved. And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness (LOVE) toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye (you have been) saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.’ (Eph.2: 4-8)
That ought to be self-explanatory to believers. Now hear John from his first epistle. ‘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 the LOVE of God toward 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 for our sins. Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we LOVE one another, God dwelleth in us, and his LOVE is perfected in us.’ (1 John 4:7-12)
I don’t think there is a better treatise on the topic of LOVE, my brethren. And we’ll close with these words from Bruh Paul to the Thessalonians. ‘Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle. 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 stablish (establish) you in every good word and work.’ (2 Thess.2:15-17)
And that’s my sincere hope and wish and desire for all of us today my brethren. Much LOVE!
…and now abideth faith…hope…LOVE…these three…but the greatest of these is…LOVE…
19 Mar 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a day in the life, actions speak louder than words, all things work together for good, almighty god, baptizing them, blessed, called according to God's purpose, caring, Christians, come to save that which was lost, common to man, compassion, corruption, Creator, deprivation, depths of our hearts and souls, do good, downtrodden, forget not, give ear, glory hallelujah, God is faithful, God's justice, God's people, greed, hard work, hear, homeless, hope thou in God, hungry, I am with you always, in the name of the Father, live for Jesus, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, make disciples of all nations, my salvation, o ye kings, o ye princes, observe all things I commanded you, provider, revere, sacrifice of praise, selfishness, share, sick and suffering, sing praise to the Lord, sing praise to thy name, stand up and be counted, strangers, suffering, temptation, the church, the fruit of our lips, the god of Abraham, the health of my countenance, the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit, the SON, the things of the world, thou Most High, to them that love God, unbelievers, ungodliness, unto the end of the world, widows and orphans, wine and roses, worship
Judges 5:3. Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes: I, even I, will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.
One more day in the life friends, one more day in the life! And what a blessed day it always is when you are being led by the Holy Spirit of Almighty God, as we Christians are supposed to be!
Our Divine Creator and Provider always has His eyes on us; on each and every one of those who sincerely worship and revere Him. Not one single hair from our head falls out without His knowledge. That’s how closely He monitors our well-being.
And the joyful shout of ‘Glory Hallelujah! Blessed is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who sincerely cares for us and faithfully fills all of our needs!’ echoes across the land from the mouths of God’s people.
Oh friends, how wonderful that sentiment would be if it came from the mouths of many of the current unbelievers. And that’s our job; to show the unbeliever how wonderful it is to work and live for Jesus; not only by our words, but even more importantly by our actions. Remember actions speak louder than words.
Unfortunately though, the actions of too many supposed Christians don’t jive with their words, or the lifestyle espoused by Jesus in His earthly sojourn, and expected of His disciples down through the ages.
Where is the unconditional LOVE, the compassion, the caring for those less fortunate, for the homeless and hungry, the widows and orphans, the strangers, the downtrodden, the sick and suffering, the lost that Jesus came to save. As He said: ‘For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.’ (Matt.18:11)
So my people, why are so many of our brothers and sisters suffering such want and deprivation when there is such abundance eh? It obviously means that we, first as individual believers, and the church, as the earthly body or organization of Christ are not fulfilling our Christian mandate. That doesn’t speak very highly of us my fellow believers.
Oh my brethren, it’s in these times of full-scale greed, selfishness, corruption, ungodliness, widespread poverty and suffering that Christ’s church and the people involved need to stand up and be counted. Jesus is depending on us to successfully carry out His LOVE Revolution, and we obviously can’t do that from the comfort and ease of our living rooms.
Friends, we need to get up and get going; place Jesus sincerely in the depths of our hearts and souls, so that we go can out and proselytize, evangelize, and do whatever it takes to bring Christ to those who don’t know Him.
Remember His last instructions to the disciples. ‘Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway(s), even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20)
Friends, those disciples did their thing and brought a whole lot of believers to Jesus. It’s now our turn, but we’re not doing so well because we’re afraid of what the world will say, and also too taken up with the things of the world. Remember friends, following Jesus is not all wine and roses, in fact it entails plenty hard work and a fair amount of suffering, but it is all worth it in the end.
As Bruh Paul says: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are called according to His purpose.’ (Rom.8:28) Yes my people, there’s nothing to fear, the Lord will work everything out for our good eventually. And remember too that Jesus said He would always be with us, right to the very end, so we’ll never be alone. Jesus will always be alongside us.
And then we have this wonderful scripture: ‘There hath no temptation taken (overtaken, befallen) you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that yea are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.’ (1 Cor.10:13)
So my people, we have all the tools and the protection to go out and do the work that Jesus has called us to do. Let’s develop some belly and backbone and go and do it nuh; stop being fearful, stop making excuses and stop allowing the lusts of the flesh to hold us back from performing our bounden duty; the Great Commission. And that’s my spiel for the day. (smile)
Now let’s turn to our Bit about giving our great God the praise and glory He so rightfully deserves. ‘Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes: I, even I, will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.’ Yes my people, that is what we were created to do!
But sadly in this modern age and supposedly progressive times, we have forgotten about God and are foolishly putting our trust in man and the destructible things of the world. And we’ll continue looking at some scriptures of praise, hoping they will make a serious impact on us.
Let’s begin with the confession of the priests and Levites after Ezra read the law to the Israelites and they repented and fasted. ‘Stand up and bless the Lord your God for ever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.’ (Neh.9:5b) That’s the awesome truth friends! Now listen to Bruh David from Psalm 9 –Praise for God’s justice. ‘I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth (tell of) all thy marvellous works. I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou Most High.’ (Ps.9:1-2)
Yes my brethren, that how we’re supposed to operate as true believers. And even when times are rough, we can say: ‘Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance (my salvation) and my God.’ (Ps.42:11)
And we’ll close with these well-known verses from Hebrews. ‘By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate (share) forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.’ (Heb.13:15-16)
Ah friends, I can only encourage us to do better and pray that the Holy Spirit will work in all our hearts, minds, souls and bodies to the bettering of Christ’s kingdom here on earth. Much LOVE!
…when thanks and praise flow from our hearts…God opens the windows of heaven and pours down His wonderful blessings on us…
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