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The Necessity for Christians to Know and Understand the Overwhelming Importance of Prayer in Their Lives!

01 Mar 2026 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: all it takes is for you to know, also go to God in peaceful prosperity, as for me I will call upon God, as your problems overflow, ask and it shall be given you, ask anything according to his will, attend unto me and hear me, believe that you receive what you pray for, believe those things which he saith, cast thy burden upon the Lord, Chrisitanity, Christians, Da Flame, don't give up, don't go to God only in times of problems, don't say you're done, evening and morning and at noon, every trial every mountain and sea, experience with God, faith, feel battered, feeling like an outcast, fellowship, forgiveness is key for answered prayer, get together at the Lord's sanctuary, give ear to my prayer, giving thanks for life and love, glad to be above ground, God answers prayer, God is always there ready to listen, God is the answer, have faith in God, he hath delivered my soul in peace, he heareth us, He sees every teardrop, he sees every weakness, he shall hear my voice, he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved, he shall save me, he shall sustain thee, He wipes them for me, hide not thyself from my supplication, holy spirit, I get down on my knees, I mourn in my complaint, I say Saviour help me please, I will hearken unto you, I will listen to you, if you're ever feeling down, in the midst of all your heartache, Jesus Christ, knock and it shall be opened unto you, LOVE, mercy, my God answers prayer, one thing is for certain, persistence, pray regardless of our situations, prayer is communicating with Almighty God, prayer is one of our greatest privileges, prayer must be in God's will, prayer should alwyas be our first response, pride and arrogance don't belong in prayer, remember in the hard times, remember there's someone, salvation, search for me with all your heart, seek and ye shall find, shall not doubt in his heart, singing from our hearts, sweet sacrifices of praise, thanking Him for his goodness and mercy, the BIBLE, the cursed fig tree, the gospel truth, the parable of the repentant tax collector and the self-righteous pharisee, the power of prayer, then shall ye call upon me, this is the confidence that we have in Him, truth, we always have the option to go to God in prayer, we know we have the desired petitions, when the living is good, will come to pass, will I pray and cry aloud, wisdom, ye shall go and pray unto me, ye shall seek me and find me, you have nowhere to go, you may be broken, your battles are already won, your strength will surely come

Jeremiah 29:12. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you (listen to you).

Oh my fellow believers, another Sunday has come around, this first day of March, another bright and sunshiny but chilly day, and are we ever glad to be above ground! So, let’s get together at the Lord’s sanctuary and give thanks and praise for life and LOVE, amongst the many other good things that our wonderful God has so generously provided!

And to get us started today, we have a beautiful and popular modern-day Christian song from the R&B/Hip Hop Artist, Da Flame, titled ‘God Answers Prayer.’ And isn’t that the gospel truth! Once it’s in His will, God will certainly answer our prayers. We may not like His answer, but we won’t be able to say He never answered. (smile) So, let’s get down to business, offering up our sweet sacrifices of praise in a soulful, mid-tempo version of this most encouraging and energizing song.

Singing: ‘If you’re ever feeling down and like you have nowhere to go. If you’re feeling like and outcast as your problems overflow, just remember there is someone, and all it takes is for you to know, is that God is the answer, and God answers prayer. (Chorus: He sees every weakness, every trial, every mountain and sea, and He sees every tear drop, and He wipes them for me. I get down on my knees, and I say Saviour help me please. Because one thing is for certain, is my God answers prayer.)

You may be broken and feel battered, but your strength will sure come, in the midst of all your heartache. Your battles are already won. Just remember in the hard times, don’t give up, don’t say you’re done, because God is the answer, and God answers prayer. (Chorus: He sees every weakness, every trial, every mountain and sea, and He sees every tear drop, and He wipes them for me. I get down on my knees, and I say Saviour help me please. Because one thing is for certain, is my God answers prayer. Oh, He sees every weakness, every trial, every mountain and sea, and He sees every tear drop, and He wipes them for me. So, let’s get down on our knees, and say, Saviour, help us please. Because one thing is for certain… our God answers prayer.’

That was wonderful friends! All who heard us know that we were singing from our hearts, because we do know that God answers sincere and heartfelt prayers that are within His will. And one important thing to note from the words of the song is that whatever our problem, we ALWAYS have an option to go to God in prayer, for He’s ALWAYS there ready to listen.

However, we should also point out that we are not only to go to God in prayer when we have problems. No sir! When our lives are rolling along in peaceful prosperity it’s also necessary to go to God in prayer, but this time thanking Him for His goodness and mercy. Unfortunately though, many of us only remember prayer when we have serious problems, and not when the living is good. The truth is, that prayer should be made to God, regardless of our situations.

Now, let’s talk about a few scriptural references to prayer. And there are so many, that I had a hard time choosing a few to highlight how important prayer is in the life of a believer. But we’ll begin with this scripture from the prophet Jeremiah to the exiled Israelites in Babylon. The Lord Himself, after saying He has good thoughts of hope and peace and not calamity for them, (Jer. 29:11) urges them, and subsequently us to pray. ‘Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you (listen to you). And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.’ (Jer, 29:12-13)

Right there my brethren, we see the importance of seeking God with all our hearts, with the utmost sincerity. It doesn’t matter so much how we couch the prayer, once it’s not filled with pride and arrogance like the example Jesus gave in Luke 18:9-14 of a proud Pharisee and a repentant tax collector praying in the Temple. The Pharisee boasts of his righteousness and fasting, while the tax collector humbly beats his breast, asking for mercy. Jesus declares the tax collector, not the Pharisee, goes home justified, teaching that humility earns God’s grace.

Next, comes this wise and welcome advice from Jesus: ‘Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.’ (Matt. 7:7-8) That means we must be diligent in asking, seeking and knocking.

Then there’s more wise advice from Jesus to the disciples, when they asked about the withered fig tree He had cursed the day before for not bearing fruit in season. (Mark 11:11-14)The Bible says: “Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought (anything) against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.’ (Mark 11:22-26) There friends, we learn the importance of strong faith and also of forgiveness in prayer.

Then we have this awesome scripture from the gospel of John, where he declares: ‘And this is the confidence that we have in him (Jesus), that if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know we have the petitions that we desired (asked) of him.’ (1 John 514-15) Oh my people, even more confirmation of the power of prayer in our lives!

It’s therefore no wonder then that Bruh David prayed thus in Psalm 55: ‘Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication. Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn (wander) in my complaint, and make a noise (moan noisily)… As for me, I will call upon God; and he shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice. He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there were many with (against) me… Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer (permit) the righteous to be moved (shaken).’ (Ps. 55:1-2, 16-18, 22)

Yes my fellow believers, we can see in those words of Bruh David, faith, persistence, assurance and experience with God. So, please let’s follow his example and pray constantly and faithfully to God, for communicating with Almighty God through prayer is one of the greatest privileges we have! Much LOVE!

…whatever the situation…prayer should always be our first response…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

The God of Comfort…of Faith…of Good Times… of Bad Times…In the Valley…And on the Mountaintop!

12 Jan 2025 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a grain of mustard seed, accept calamity, all the days of my life, an encouragement to many people, bankrupt the business, Bible, blessed be God, bnelievers in Christ Jesus, burn out, Christian, christianity, comforts us in all tribulation, curse God and die, don't lose faith, eliminate debts, faith, fellowship, for being god in my valley, God on the Mountain, God will come through for you, have faith in God, He'll make them right, holy spirit, I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever, I will fear no evil, in God's name, in the presence of mine enemies, is still god in the bad times, is still god in the night, is the God in the valley, it's down in the valley, Jesus Christ, life is easy when you're on the mountain, loaded with debt, LOVE, make serious inroads into, mercy, mired in negative situations, my cup runneth over, not receive evil, O ye of little faith, our God is a good God, receive good at God's hand, retain your integrity, retake the world, reverence God, salvation, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me, sweet sacrifices of praise, swimming pools, talk a good talk of faith, talk comes easy, thank you locrd, the evil world system, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the gifts we're given to share with others, the God of Comfort, The God of the day, the God of the good times, the God on the mountain, the grace to comfort others, the valley of the sahdow of death, therapy, things change, thou anointest my head with oil, thou art with me, thou preparest a table before me, though I walk through, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me, Tracy Dartt, trials and temptations, truer words were never spoken, truth, up on the mountain, up our ante, wake up from slumber, we are comforted by God, we can comfort those in trouble, when life's at its best, when things go wrong, when you're down in the valley, where your faith is really tested, why are ye fearful, wisdom, worship, you have peace of mind, you're never alone

Psalm 23:4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Now, the year 2025, and the month of January seem to be making a headlong dash for some unknown winner’s wire, because both of them started out so quickly. We just celebrated New Years, and the month is already half done. That means we believers in Christ Jesus have to up our ante right away, if we intend to make any serious inroads into the evil world system. And this Sunday, the second of the year gives us the opportunity to do just that, as we gather in the Lord’s sanctuary to fellowship, worship, give thanks and receive encouragement in our faith.

So let’s get to some worship right away, by singing that soulful, but oh so true song, written by Tracy Dart, in the mid 1970’s, so aptly titled ‘God On the Mountain.’ Yes, let’s offer up sweet sacrifices of praise in a soulful, heartfelt version, sincerely meaning all we say. Singing: ‘Life is easy, when you’re up on the mountain And you’ve got peace of mind, like you’ve never known. But things change, when you’re down in the valley. Don’t lose faith, for you’re never alone. For the God on the mountain, is the God in the valley. When things go wrong, He’ll make them right. And the God of the good times is still God in the bad times. The God of the day is still God in the night.

You talk of faith when you’re up on the mountain. But talk comes so easy when life’s at its best. But it’s down in the valley, of trials and temptations That’s where your faith, is really put to the test. For the God on the mountain is the God in the valley. When things go wrong, He’ll make them right. And the God of the good times is still God in the bad times. The God of the day, is still God in the night. The God of the day, is still God in the night.’

And isn’t that the living truth my fellow believers! Our God is the One and Only True God; meaning He’s there in the day and the night, in the tough times and the good ones, as well as up on the mountain top or down in the valley. He is omnipresent, all-pervasive, as no other supposed God is! That’s why we worship and LOVE and give Him the thanks and praise that we do!

And the story behind the birth of that song is really interesting. Apparently in 1974, Dartt and his wife were building swimming pools in the California desert, in partnership with a friend. Things were going well, and they even founded a country gospel group called the ‘Country Congregation’ that sounded pretty good, with Dart writing most of their music. However, as life unfurled, their business began to fail, and eventually his partner, who had suffered a severe case of burn out while trying to right the business, gave the business to him loaded with debt and no money to build the swimming pools they had on order.

But our God is a good God, and if you believe and have faith, even as much as grain of mustard seed, He will come through for you. Mr. Dart writes: ‘In the midst of the turmoil, I awakened from a troubled sleep one night. It was two o’clock in the morning. A tune was echoing in my troubled brain. I picked up a tablet and a pencil and began to write, “Life is easy when you’re up on the mountain, and you’ve got peace of mind like you’ve never known. But, when things change and you’re down in the valley, don’t lose faith, for you’re never alone.”

“Thank You, Lord,” I prayed, “for being God in my valley.” The chorus came, “The God on the mountain is still God in the valley. When things go wrong, He’ll make them right…” In all, it took about thirty minutes. I again prayed, “Thank You, Lord,” and then settled back down to sleep. Morning came, breakfast and prayer time. “Lord, show us Your will.” I went off to work.

Shortly after arriving at the office, the phone rang, “Mr. Dartt, could you please help us?” I grabbed my brief case and went to see the people who had called. Their son was a gifted athlete, but had been in a motorcycle accident and was paralyzed from the waist down. His doctor had recommended a swimming pool for the therapy the young man needed in order to walk again. I began the process of designing and building a pool for them.

A few days later, another call came, “Mr. Dartt could you come talk to me about a pool?” So, through the off-season, we ended up selling and building 12 pools in all, at a time when no one else was building pools. The building season came, and all of a sudden, we were able to finish all of our construction and eliminate our debts. We were free and clear, without having to bankrupt the business. God had taken us through the valley.’

What more can you say eh? And that’s precisely why we praise and worship and glorify the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! Now,the song has been recorded by numerous artists and translated into several languages. And as Dartt says: ‘This simple little song, comprised of 72 words and 4 chords, has been an encouragement to thousands of people. “Thank you, Lord, for the mountains and the valleys, and the gifts we are given to share with others.” And that’s exactly how our great God works; giving us gifts in times of need to share with others.

And what better scripture to reflect that, than these famous words of Bruh David from Psalm 23: ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil: my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.’ (Ps. 23:4-6) Truer words were never spoken my people!

And another famous scripture on faith during adversity is this one from Job, when the Lord allowed Satan to bring him low. While Job was scraping the boils from his body in the ashes, his wife said to him: ‘Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive (accept) good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil (accept calamity)? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.’ (Job 2:9-10) I wonder how many of us could have lost all of our many material possessions and children through no fault of our own, and still retain our integrity like Job did? Not many.

And we’ll close with this all embracing and true scripture passage, titled the Comfort of God. Bruh Paul writes to the Corinthians: ‘Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble (tribulation), by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.’ (2 Cor. 1:3-4)

Yes friends, our God can comfort us in any situation, and that also gives us the grace to comfort others who are mired in negative situations. What a great and merciful God we serve! And if we truly reverence Him, then, please, let’s wake up from our slumber and retake the world in His awesome name nuh! Much LOVE!

…why are ye fearful…oh ye of little faith… (Matt. 8:26)

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit 11 September 2021 Mark 11:22.

11 Sep 2021 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a camel can't go through the eye of the needle, a rich man to enter heaven, according to His abundant mercy, acts of service, an inheritance incorruptible, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, But God commendeth his love toward us, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, change begins and ends in the mind, don't ever change your mind about believing in Jesus, faith in the One and Only God Jehovah, faith is believing in God and trusting His plan, great expectations of good things to come, hath begotten us again, have faith in God, it takes great faith to live for Jesus, kept by the power of God, lay your burdens down, let go of all worries and anxieties, life keeps moving on, live life to the full, LOVE, obedience to god, our friend Anselm, progress is impossible without change, rally to the cross of Jesus, receive christ as Lord and Saviour, reserved in heaven, shortchanging ourselves, sometimes it pays to have a little faith, stand strong and steadfast in your belief, that fadeth not away, the beautiful sunsets, the Lord was with Joseph, the unexpected storms, through faith unto salvation, time to curtail life, unto a lively hope, while we were yet sinners christ died for us, with God all things are possible, with men this is impossible, without any explicit reason, without Christ we're nothing, your life's a total waste

Mark 11:22. Have faith in God.

Then it was Saturday…and life keeps moving on regardless! Yes friends, despite what we say, do or think, life is moving on, and it will move on, because that’s what it was programmed to do by its omnipotent Creator. And until He decides that it’s time to curtail life, there’s nothing the creation can do to thwart it. So, having made that indisputable fact clear, (smile) let’s go out then and enjoy life nuh, live life to the full, live it abundantly, as Christ Jesus died to have us do. For there’s no sense in trying to change or disrupt stuff over which we have no power.

That means letting go of all our worries, anxieties and negative circumstances. We claim to have faith in the One and Only God Jehovah, and in His Son Jesus Christ, who can enable us to do anything, so please, let’s show more of that faith in our everyday lives nuh. Otherwise, we are making ourselves liars, for in these greatly troubled times, great faith in Almighty God is an absolute necessity. So, as life moves on, let’s move on too, and see what quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week. Help me to wrap my head around them and make some sense of them. (smile)

And the first one says: ‘Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.’ I guess that’s basically true. You can’t make progress unless you change up stuff in your life, and it sounds logical that if you can’t change your mind you will never change anything, since change begins and ends in the mind. It’s the control centre of our life. But friends, a serious word of caution here, do all the changing you want, but please don’t ever change your mind about believing in Christ Jesus! For without Him, we are nothing!

And I guess our friend Anselm was on a faith kick this week, because all the other quotes deal with some aspect of faith. So hear this one: ‘Make a space in your life for the glorious things you deserve. Have faith.’ Now I don’t know how much we deserve, if anything, but the Good Lord does shower us with glorious stuff, and we do need faith to believe that He will continue doing so. Remember that several times Jesus chided those around Him for having little or no faith, and after cursing the fig tree that had leaves but no fruit, He told the disciples: ‘Have faith in God.’ (Mark 11:22)

But what exactly is faith eh? I found this simple but interesting definition on the pushpay.com/blog website by commentator Allison Sakounthong. She says that ‘Put simply, faith is believing in God and trusting in His plan, even when you don’t understand it and can’t see it. As it applies to our life, however, faith is about more than just a feeling, it’s about living it. We live our faith through obedience to God and acts of service.’ And I think that’s as simple as you can put it. It’s all about believing in God and living for Him, with great expectations of good things in our future.

That’s segues very nicely into this next quote. ‘Patience is not the ability to wait. Patience is to be calm no matter what happens, constantly take action to turn it to positive growth opportunities, and have faith to believe that it will all work out in the end while you are waiting.’ Now that’s all true, but again we have to transfer it to faith and belief in God, since there are a lot of things we cannot make happen on our own, but remember what Jesus said about the camel going through the eye of a needle, as opposed to a rich man entering the kingdom of God? ‘With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.’ (Matt. 19:26)

That’s what we need to believe, with absolutely no doubt whatsoever in our souls, and spirit! Otherwise we will always be lacking something, or even shortchanging ourselves, for it takes great faith to live sincerely for Jesus. Just check out the lives of the great saints before us, like Noah, Abraham, Moses, Job, and our three Bruhs, Joseph, David and Pablo. (smile) And I guess most of you didn’t know that Joseph was a Bruh eh, because I don’t talk about him much. But to be truthful, I believe he was an even bigger example of patience and perseverance than Job. Just look at all he went through as a teenager; from slavery, to prison, in complete innocence.

But you’ll notice that he never whined or complained about his unfair treatment, and that wherever he was, be it in Potiphar’s house, or in prison, the Good Book tells us that ‘the Lord was with Joseph…’ (Gen. 39:2, 22) Yes my people, Bruh Joseph had a dream of great things from God, but the way it actually played out in his life seemed very contrary to the promise. But he never gave up, he stuck it out without complaints, possibly sensing deep down that there was a good and godly reason for all his unwarranted hardship.

And that’s what faith in God means: to stand strong and steadfast in your belief, and keep being godly, although the reality of the situation doesn’t match up with your dream. For God doesn’t move us to high positions unless we go through the low ones faithfully. That brings us to this next quote. ‘Sometimes beautiful things come into our lives out of nowhere. We can’t always understand them, but we must trust in them. I know you want to question everything, but sometimes it pays to just have a little faith.’

Ah mih people, that’s the contrariness of our great God! Sorry, ‘contrariness’ is not the best word nuh, but I just couldn’t think of it at the time of writing. (smile) I basically mean that sometimes God allows us to go through hardship without any explicit reason, but then He also blesses us with beautiful things, also without any explicit reason. But if we truly know who He is, and how He operates, then those unexpected storms or beautiful sunsets won’t bother us, we’ll take them in stride, knowing that He has a good reason and purpose behind all He does, and as He has faithfully promised, eventually He will work it all out for our good.

Then there’s this last quote. ‘Believe in a LOVE that is being stored up for you like an inheritance, and have faith that in this LOVE there is a strength and a blessing so large that you can travel as far as you wish without having to step outside it.’ Oh my fellow saints, we know about that LOVE! We’re talking there about the greatest LOVE EVER! That of our wonderful God for us: The Good Book tells it plainly: ‘But God commendeth (showed) his (own) LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:8)

Now how can ever be a LOVE greater than a Father sending a Son to die for ungrateful, disloyal and disobedient people eh? No way! And though that LOVE is visible right now in our earthly lives, it’s also stored up in heaven for us, as Peter tells us. ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively (living) hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.’ (1 Pet. 1:3-5)

Oh friends, there’s nothing else I can say nuh, except to rally us to the cross of Jesus, for that is where it all begins and ends! And if you don’t come to foot of that wooden cross at some stage of your earthly life, to lay your burdens down and receive Christ, as Lord and Saviour, then your life would have been a total waste! Much LOVE!

…if God could display so much LOVE…mankind ought to display much more faith…

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8

Today’s Scrip-Bit 15 December 2020 Acts 12:5.

15 Dec 2020 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: be thou removed, believe that ye receive them, believe those things which he saith, but have everlasting life, Christian, el numero uno, enthusiasm, faith is not easily built, God so loved the world, gospel truth, have difficulty believing, have faith in God, he gave his only begotten son, he shall have whatsoever he saith, hope, I am the beloved of god, I can trust my friend Jesus, I don't have to hurry, I don't have to worry, in god's eyes, Jehovah Rapha, love to burn, no one can take that from me, not what I do, not what I have, not what people say about me, of the church unto God for him, opened not the gate for gladness, Peter was kept in prison, positivity, prayer was made without ceasing, salt and light, shall not doubt in his heart, share His love with the world, so deeply ingrained in us, stand strong and steadfast, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, the body of Christ, the church, the crown of righteousness, the God who heals, the way of the world, Tuesday Mantra, walk their talk, we are feeble without God's help, we refuse to believe, what a faithful God we serve, what a good God we serve, what a great God we serve, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, whosoever shall say unto this mountain

Acts 12:5. Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.

Aye mih people, sing it with me nuh this winter Tuesday morn with a dusting of snow on the ground: ‘What a good God we serve, what a great God we serve, what a faithful God we serve!’ One more time: ‘What a good God we serve, what a great God we serve, what a faithful God we serve!’ And isn’t that the God-awesome and gospel truth! Jehovah God: He of many parts and names, is indisputably El Numero Uno, Number One! No doubt about it, for there’s none else like Him! Bless His most holy name!

And you all must be wondering why the ole fella so enthusiastic and praiseful eh? Well it’s quite simple. Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals, acted faithfully on two people very near and dear to my heart who had surgery yesterday. Yes, they both seem to have come out of it successfully… Give God all the praise and glory, because He’s promised to look after His people, and that’s what he does as faithfully as ever!

And that’s also why we say and know that prayer is the most powerful and potent tool and force in God’s universe! Yes, prayers were made for them, just like the Good Book talks about how prayers were made on Peter’s behalf when he was in jail facing certain death. ‘Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.’ (Acts 12:5)

Well just like the Lord divinely released Peter, (Acts 12:6-11) the same way He divinely brought my people through surgery. Praise His holy name! The big difference there though is that when my people knocked on our door after they were relieved and released, we didn’t think that the messenger who brought the news was crazy, as the early church did when Peter showed up at the door of John Mark’s mother’s house where they were praying for him.

The Good Book tells it thus: ‘And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken (answer), named Rhoda. And when she knew Peter’s voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in and told how Peter stood before the gate. And they said unto her, Thou art mad (out of your mind). But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel. But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.’ (Acts 12:13-16)

Now what does that say of their faith eh? Not a whole lot. But we can’t be too hard on them because unfortunately we still do that same thing fairly often. I don’t know why, but we ofttimes pray for things and people, and when they happen, we refuse to believe, or have difficulty believing it. What’s the point of praying for it then eh? I think it shows a lack of true faith and trust in God. We talk much about His wonderfulness, but when it comes to accepting it by faith, we fall woefully short. Just look at the people who prayed for Peter.

But please remember these immortal words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ: ‘Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire. When ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.’ (Mark 11:22-24)

So yuh see friends, the whole of our faith hinges on the word ‘belief!’ Even Jesus’ most prominent pronouncement requires the ability to believe: ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever BELIEVETH in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ (John 3:16) We need to believe before we see my brethren. But I guess with our human nature and the way of the world so greatly ingrained in us, sometimes that’s difficult to do. Even when we see it first, we often refuse to believe it.

But we better believe that’s how it is in God’s kingdom. In His economy, you won’t see much of anything until you believe. And that’s just a way to build our faith and trust in Him. If we could do it all in our own strength, then we wouldn’t have any need for God. But the sad truth of the matter is that we are rather feeble without God’s help, that’s why we struggle so much when we stray away from Him. No wonder Jesus castigated those around Him so often with words like ‘O ye of little faith!’ (Matt. 8:26)

Yes my people, it takes great faith to sincerely follow Christ, and that faith is not easily built either, or in a short time. Just look at the ‘sufferation’ Bruh Paul endured nuh. Most of us would have given up long before we even begun. (smile) But he persevered, and eventually won his race, won the crown of righteousness that the Lord had set aside for him, and for all who LOVE and stand steadfast and strong in His awesome name. (2 Tim. 4:6-8) Now likewise, we modern day believers need to come up over our problems, rather than have them come up over us, especially in these tough and uncertain times.

We Christians ought to be the salt and light to the unbelievers; truly let the Lord’s word be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path; to lead and guide us in this dark and evil world, shining ever so brightly like a city set on a hill, like a lighthouse on a rocky promontory and giving light and flavour to the whole world! Wow! That’s when the world will know what a real Christian, and the Church, the Body of Christ, truly are. We need to have faith, enthusiasm, positivity, hope, and LOVE to burn! That means improvements and increase all around!

And because we are so blessed by Christ’s selfless sacrifice on the cross for us, we definitely need to come up higher. And now that Christmas is coming too, when we celebrate Christ’s birth… Brother! We believers ought to be the happiest, the ‘joyfullest,’ the most easy going, cheerful and generous people on God’s great earth, because Christ has overcome the world! And only when we truly and sincerely show those Christian traits and values, only then will the unbelievers take us seriously and want to come to Jesus to get the awesome joy and faith that we possess.

Now let’s go home declaring (yeahhh!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting this evil world know who and whose we are. In strong voice, with sincere hearts: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’

So what we waiting for then eh? Let’s go out and share Christ’s LOVE and friendship! (smile) Much LOVE!

…it’s high time for Christians…to seriously walk their talk…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 24 June 2019 Mark 11:22.

24 Jun 2019 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a grain of mustard seed, according to your faith, ask in my name, aura of love, be it unto you, by fasting and prayer, Christians, confidence, enthusiasm, evil, faith, fellowship, friends, have faith in God, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, impossible to please God, Jesus answering, Jesus Christ, Jesus is waiting, joy, lies, LOVE, mercy, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, nothing shall be impossible, o ye of little fiath, on the front lines, peace, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, rise and shine, rise to the occasion, said unto them, salvation, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, the Son glorify the Father, thy faith hath made thee whole, to join the battle, truth, ungodly world, useful purpose, warm the cockles of Jesus' heart, warriors in Christ's army, wisdom, withouth faith

Mark 11:22. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

Rise and shine fellow warriors in Christ’s army! The trump has sounded! It’s time to gird ourselves in our protective armour and head for the frontlines, where our General, Jesus, the most highly named and exalted Commander in the universe is already there waiting for us. And like His snow-white steed that’s pawing the ground in great anticipation, He’s also eager to join the battle this good-looking summer morn, which just happens to be Monday, the first day of the new workweek (smile).

And yes, sometimes it’s hard to get back on the merry go round of work after a couple days off, especially with summer in the air and weekend trips to the cottage up north getting into full gear. But work we must if we want to survive, so we have this fail-safe pick-me-up we call our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. Let’s declare (yeh!) it all together now nuh, so that we can rise to the occasion.

‘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!’

And brother, yuh see how quickly we start feeling better; our eyes light up with a new gleam, our souls suddenly feel refreshed and we feel like we could fight an army or move a mountain single handedly! Wow! That’s because the Holy Spirit is working in us to give the Lord’s answer to our humble, sincere, but ever-confident prayer! And why yuh think that is eh?

That’s because Jesus says that whenever we pray, whatever we pray for, if we believe, we will get it. ‘Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.’ (Mark 11:24) And He also says that if we ask for anything in His name, He will do it. ‘And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it.’ (John 14:13-14)

What great promises friends! But we also know that there are certain provisos to those promises, they all depend on them being in the Father’s will, timing and purpose for our lives and coming from sincere motives of the heart; they just can’t be wishy-washy, selfish, self-aggrandizing prayers.

And the scholars offer this explanation: ‘14:13-14. In my name means “as My agent.” The promise of answered prayer is based on the disciple acting as the agent of Jesus’ will (cf.16:23-26). It is also linked here especially in the accomplishment of the “greater works.” (vs.12) The promise is for unlimited resources to do the works of God.’

But what is Jesus really talking about here eh? It’s basically about faith; the level of our faith in Him and the Father. In the passage in Mark above, He had just cursed the fruitless fig tree and caused it to suddenly wither up. That gave Him ‘the occasion to expound concerning faith, prayer and forgiveness.’ And He began thus: ‘Have faith in God.’ And that’s the whole sermon right there in a nutshell my people!

Remember He also said these things on the subject: ‘According to your faith be it unto you,’ when He touched the two blind men’s eyes. (Matt.9:29) And when the disciples couldn’t heal an epileptic child, and wanted to know why, He admonished them: ‘Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove (move); and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.’ (Matt.17:20-21)

Some important points to notice there; even a li’l faith is a powerful thing, and some jobs call for not faith alone, but also for fasting and intense prayer. And please note that in almost every occasion on which He healed someone, Jesus made it a point to invoke his or her faith into the healing.

Note the occasion when the Roman centurion approached Him for his servant’s healing, then said that Jesus did not need to come to his house to do it, He had the power to do it right there. Jesus replied in astonishment: ‘Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.’ Matt.8:10) Yes friends, a heathen Roman centurion showed more faith in Jesus’ awesome power than any of His own people!

And what a wonderful example of great faith is the woman with the twelve year issue of blood who fought through the throng believing if she only touched the hem of Jesus’ garment she would be healed. And when she did, she was healed instantly. But Jesus also noticed that something was wrong, because He felt some of His power go out of Him, and asked: ‘Who touched my clothes? And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?’ (Mark 5:25-33).

But Jesus persisted in looking around to find the culprit, (smile) and eventually the woman fell down before Him and admitted the truth. ‘And he (Jesus) said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague (affliction).’ (Mark 5:34) And there are many more instances of Jesus calling on people to show faith, which we have no time or space to get into today. But I’ll leave us with one of Jesus favourite jibes to those who reused to belief Him. ‘O ye of li’l faith.’

And sadly, in these ungodly and evil times, He’s saying that about a lot of us supposed Christians. Please friends and fellow believers, let’s rise up today and begin giving Him serious occasion to change it nuh to ‘How great is thy faith!’ That would surely warm the cockles of His holy and oh so LOVING heart! It’s about time we did something to cause that, don’t you think? Much LOVE!

…without faith…it is impossible to please God… (Heb.11:6)

P.S. Sorry that the Bit’s somewhat late…and somewhat long, but good, (smile) but I had some pressing problems that I had to deal with first. Much LOVE!

SCRIP-BITS

The Necessity for Christians to Know and Understand the Overwhelming Importance of Prayer in Their Lives!

Today’s Scrip-Bit 11 September 2021 Mark 11:22.

Today’s Scrip-Bit 24 June 2019 Mark 11:22.

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