Believers are Soldiers in Christ’s Army and must therefore behave in an Appropriate Manner!

03 Feb 2025 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

James 4:7.       Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

And the new work week frustrations begin again with another Monday on board. But like all those Mondays in the past that we’ve handled with such aplomb, we will handle this one with the same poise and assurance of God’s awesome grace and mercy flowing through us, giving us the victory! Believing anything less is only putting ourselves at a major disadvantage that will cause the enemy to gain unwanted footholds in our lives. And we all know the havoc that the father of lies and deceit can create once he gets access to our minds, bodies and hearts. 

And since he’s so difficult to dislodge once he begins his evil work, it’s best not to let him get any footholds at all in our spiritual lives. Consequently, James, Jesus’ brother, warns us: ‘Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of (with) the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be (wants to be) a friend of the world is (makes himself) the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth (yearns jealously) to envy? 

But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded…Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:4-8, 10) 

Yes friends, please note that we can resist the devil, but only if we first humble ourselves and draw near to God. For if the power of God’s Holy Spirit isn’t working powerfully in you, then you will not be able to resist the numerous onslaughts of the enemy. And if you did not believe James, then listen to Peter’s wonderful advice along the same lines, from his first epistle. 

‘Humble your selves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 

Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in (experienced by) your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish (confirm), strengthen, settle you. To him be the glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.’ (1 Pet. 5:6-11) 

Yuh see again mih bredrin, that you have to humble yourselves, submit to God, before you can have any chance of turning away the devil. That’s because it’s not our strength, but the grace, the power of God that gives us the ability to do so. And believe me, resisting the enemy is no laughing, but a very serious matter, for once he gets his hooks in you, he’s going to tear you up as Peter says, like a roaring lion hungry for food. 

Remember this is no joke war we’re engaged in, but a spiritual fight to the death, and if we don’t use the spiritual weapons granted to us by Almighty God, (Eph. 6) then we won’t be able to hold on to the victory already won by Christ on our behalf. Yes, the victory is already ours, because Christ has defeated hell, death and the grave, through His own death and awesome resurrection, we only need to keep it won now. 

But the enemy will not give up. Neither should we. That’s why Bruh Paul told Timothy: ‘Thou therefore endure harness (hardship), as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.’ (2 Tim. 2:3) So should we all who call ourselves believers in Christ Jesus, stand up strong and steadfast in His name, and fight the good fight of faith. 

As the old anthem calls us to do: ‘Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus going on before! Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe; Forward into battle, see his banner go! At the sign of triumph Satan’s host doth flee; On, then, Christian soldiers, on to victory! Hell’s foundations quiver at the shout of praise; Brothers, lift your voices, loud your anthems raise!’ 

Oh my people, that is exactly how we have to behave this Monday morning, the first of February 2025; get out onto the battlefield behind the banner of Jesus and give the enemy what for! That’s the only way we will ever win the spiritual battle for our souls. And to help us bravely step up to the plate, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn seeking divine aid in these most crucial and critical times. 

Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. 

So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

Now, let’s remember that divine aid calls for humility, sincere prayer, and turning from our evil ways. Much LOVE!

…a Christian soldier’s last words ought to be…I have fought a good fight…I have finished my course (race)…I have kept the faith… (2 Tim. 4:7)

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

The Amazing Feeling One gets from being in the Awesome Presence of God!

02 Nov 2024 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 16:11b.       in thy presence is fullness of joy;

So we’ve finally come to our lazy-day Saturday, where we can loll around as much as we want with no activities to accomplish within a certain time period. And isn’t that a good feeling? It certainly is. But before we get started, I want to point out a couple of incidents that happened in the recent Halloween celebrations. First of all, two people were killed and six injured in a celebration in Orlando, Florida, while a razor blade was found in a chocolate bar in Cochrane, Ontario. 

And I’m sure those are not all the negative incidents that occurred because of the foolish celebration, but just those that reached the news media. What’s it going to take for us to cut out the pagan nonsense eh? What kind of evil society are we living in, if we can consciously put a razor blade in a chocolate bar that a child is going to eat. And I guess it won’t be banished until someone from the family of a high government official or one of the money men that profit from it suffers some negative repercussions from the unwise celebration. 

And now that I’ve had my say, (smile) let’s move on to the more pleasant aspects of the day, like offering up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer. As one sincere voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’ 

And that’s a perfect prayer for a lazy-day Saturday, where we have the time to foment greater intimacy with our wonderful God. To simply bask in His awesome presence and listen to whatever He has to share with us. It’s a time to just run amok, as it were, in the awesome glory and presence of Almighty God! (smile) Yes friends, being in God’s presence is as good as it gets! And we ought to enjoy it while we have the opportunity. 

And I don’t mean we should use it as a time to complain and ask for stuff, but simply to enjoy being in God’s presence, like when you’re with a friend, whose company you enjoy, and you can just sit quietly and be happy, or do simple, joyful things together. The important aspect of it being the togetherness. That’s how we ought to spend this lazy time with our God…just being together with Him, and enjoying the joy that His presence brings. 

And there are numerous scriptures that talk about being in the Lord‘s presence and how good and joyful it can be. Like this verse from Psalm 16 – God Preserves His People. Bruh David ends it thus: ‘Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.’ (Ps. 16:11) 

Meanwhile the Sons of Korah put it like this in Psalm 84 – Rejoicing in God’s Tabernacle: ‘For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.’ (Ps. 84:10-12) 

Then there’s Psalm 139, one of the grandest psalms in the psalter, where Bruh David recounts the omnipresence of our magnificent God. Now listen to these verses that speak of that presence. ‘Whither shall (can) I go from thy spirit? or whither shall (can) I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell. Behold thou art there. 

If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. yea, the darkness hideth not from thee (is not dark to thee); but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.’ (Ps. 139:7-12) 

Wow! Our God is everywhere; be it day or night, be it in heaven or in hell; in the sea or on the earth! We simply cannot hide from His presence, although many of us still foolishly try to do it. And every time I read those verses or hear them read, I always remember the first time I heard them being acted out many years ago by Dr. Robert H Schuller in an ‘Hour of Power Sermon’ in the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California. His actions and the words have stuck with me down through the years.  

And we have this faithful promise from God found in Hebrews: ‘Let your conversation (conduct) be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake tee.’ (Heb. 13:5) Then James exhorts us: ‘Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded… Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:7-8, 10)

Yes my fellow believers, God’s greatest desire is for His human creation to draw near to Him, not be far away, but the truth is that in these trying times we need to avidly seek His presence, not wait for Him to come to us. Anyway, He’s already done that through the earthly work of Jesus; now it’s our turn to sincerely seek Him. And we’ll close with this marvellous promise from Jesus: ‘…and, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.’ (Matt. 28:20b) 

Now we couldn’t want for a more faithful promise than that, especially since it’s been kept by the power of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us, to remind us of all that Jesus is, and to guide us to where He desires us to go. So let’s spend some time today and just consider the awesome presence of God in our lives nuh. We can never go wrong doing that! Much LOVE!

…in God’s presence…there’s always joy…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   13 November 2023 James 4:10.

13 Nov 2023 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

James 4:10.        Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

And we’ve been blessed with a bright sunny Monday to begin our new work week, with double digit temperatures! Please give the Lord some thanks and praise for it, because it could have easily been rain and snow instead! (smile) Ah friends, I do hope that we’re out there blowing away the heathen with our superb salty flavour and blinding them with our heavenly light, so that they can know we’re not just ordinary people, but sincere followers of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the One who sacrificed His sinless life on the cross at Calvary so that our sin debt could be paid in full, and we could thus be reconciled back to our heavenly father. Glory be! 

What a wonderful Lord and Saviour is our Jesus! He is the shepherd of our souls: He said it Himself: ‘I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep….I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.’ (John 10:11, 14) And not only is Jesus our good shepherd, but He’s also the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father but through him! (John 14:6) Wow! Jesus has the best way for us to live this earthly life! In other words, He’s our EVERYTHING! And we are NOTHING without Him! 

Listen as He tells it loud and clear: ‘Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:4-5) 

Mama Mia! What a powerful, all-encompassing statement! Without Jesus we can’t do much of anything. And that’s the gospel truth, for the universe and all there is belongs to Him, He created it, for His pleasure. Bruh David said it thus in Psalm 24: ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods (rivers).’ (Ps. 24:1-2) 

And likewise friends, the Lord created us in His own spiritual image to honour and glorify Him. He breathed the breath of life into each human being He created and can just as summarily take it away. And we had better learn to respect that li’l piece of info, for it’s why, when the Grim Reaper appears to take us home, we are helpless to say no. 

Furthermore, since the earth and everything in it belongs to the Lord, that means it’s also the Lord who allows us to get wealth and live the good and comfortable life. As Moses reminded the Hebrew children so long ago on their way to the Promised Land. ‘But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth.’ (Deut. 8:18) In fact my faithful brethren it’s the Lord who gives us power to get or do anything whatsoever! And physical wealth and abundance is one of God’s great blessings for those who are obedient and follow His divine will. 

And since God did not want us to be merely robots, He gave us what we call free choice; the ability to do as we please. However, that free choice does come with serious repercussions if we don’t do His will. He gave us the free choice expecting that we’d be wise enough to use it follow Him not the evil Satan, like so many of us are doing. And that’s why the sin and evil in this world are eating us up and spitting us out like wood chips from a wood factory. We cannot control the evildoers and their evil deeds by our own efforts. No, we need the health and strength and the complete wherewithal of Christ Jesus to do it. 

And it’s not always easy to fight off the devil, but as James says it begins thus: ‘Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted (lament), and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness (gloom). Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:7-10) Now that right there says it all friends. We need to humble ourselves in God’s sight, not behave proud and arrogant and like we have no need for Him. 

As James says earlier on: ‘Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will (wants) to be a friend of the world, is (makes himself) the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy (yearns jealously)? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.’ (James 4:4-6) 

Oh my people, once upon a time we were complete enemies of God, but when the time was right He sent Jesus to die for us so that we could become His children once again. Now we have the choice, the option of being a child of God or one of Satan. It only makes complete sense to choose the best option, that of being a son of God, for the other option only leads to hellfire and damnation. But that calls for humbling ourselves before Him. So let’s do that right now nuh, approach the throne of grace through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, asking for divine help. 

Altogether now: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. 

So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

And if we’ve truly learned our lesson, then we’ll turn from our evil ways and humble ourselves before Almighty God! Much LOVE!

…the Lord hates the haughty…they are an abomination unto Him… (Prov. 6:17)

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ    

Today’s Scrip-Bit   18 March 2023 James 4:8a.

18 Mar 2023 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

James 4:8a. Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you…

So, after all the problems of the work week, we’ve finally gotten back to our beloved lazy day Saturday! Praise the Lord! Isn’t it wonderful to know that there’s one day you don’t have to listen for the shrill ringing of the alarm clock, or whatever device you use to awaken you. And even if it does come on, you can turn it off with a grateful sigh? Of course! And even if sleep eludes you, you can lie in your warm, comfortable bed and just enjoy the laziness and pleasure of a lazy day. (smile) 

Some of us might even dare to roll out of bed and roll right on to the living room couch in front of the boob tube and watch the days happenings with bleary eyes. And when you see it’s just the same old, negative things that’s been reported as news, you shut down the annoying, intruding thing, then curl up on the couch under a warm blanket and drift off to some faraway place, where, in your dreams, you can see yourself frolicking on a golden brown, sandy beach, with calm blue seas stretching off into eternity, just inviting you to come and have a salacious dip. 

Wow! Now that’s the thing that dreams are made of! And I guess why the Lord, our marvellous and imaginative Creator, gave us the power to dream, the power to use the amazing imagination with which He’s gifted each one of His wonderful creations. But yuh know what, the Lord also desired that we use that power to imagine and dream to come closer to Him, to let our biggest dream be to have an intimate relationship with Him. And why is an intimate relationship with God important eh? 

Because, in the first place, that’s why He created us. He wanted to be in a covenant relationship with living beings who bore the same traits and attributes like Himself. That’s why God made us in His image and likeness, with thoughts, minds and ways, that are lower than His but nonetheless above all other living beings. Man is supposed to be His most masterful creation. And please don’t believe that our God was foolish when He created us and gave us free will to do as we choose. No, not all. 

That’s why there’s a space in every man’s soul that’s specially set aside for the Lord, and until He comes and sets up shop in that space, man is never happy, satisfied or contented. God’s intention from the very beginning was that all of His creation should come to know and LOVE Him the way He knows and LOVES them. However, when our forefathers, Adam and Eve, fell from grace, and sin became our heritage, we automatically withdrew from that closeness with our Maker and our eyes were turned to the lustful, evil and ungodly works of the enemy, Satan. 

But the Lord has never given up on us, He’s lays there ready to hear and help us if we come to Him. That’s why James tells us to ‘Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you… Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:8,10) Yes friends, we need to draw near to God if we want to have the successful life He’s planned for us to have, but we can’t do that with all the sin and evil deeds and thoughts that saturate our souls, bodies and minds. 

Oh, we do need to be humble, penitent and sincere, but the beauty of our God is that He will accept us anyway and anytime we come to Him. As Hebrews tells us: ‘Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.’ (Heb. 10:22) And I know some of us have questions on the whole subject of why draw close to God, and even more importantly, how do we do that? I guess I put the cart before the horse, jumping into what we need to do, rather than first explaining the why’s and wherefores. (smile) 

So, let’s see if we can answer them to your satisfaction. As per why we need to draw close to God, why is it good to do so? One commentary gives us this answer. ‘Drawing near to God gives peace to our souls; peace from the burden of our sins and peace in the midst of the burdens that come to us through others’ sin as well. The nearness of God is our answer. His nearness is our need’ Remember I said that we each have an empty space set aside for God? Well, until He occupies that space, we will never have true peace or contentment. 

And that’s not the peace that the world gives us, but the peace that comes from God, the peace that passes all understanding. In other words, the divine peace of God, who’s thoughts, mind and ways are so much higher than ours. And peace is something the whole world is desperately searching for right now. But real peace can only be attained when one draws close to God. And how do we do that? Here’s a list of the basic things we need to do. 

The first and most important thing is to receive Jesus. Yes friends, receiving Jesus into your life is the first step to getting closer to the Lord. For as Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.’ (John 14:6) That sets the stage right there. If you don’t receive Jesus, then you’ll never get close to the Father. That’s all there is to it. Then we need to Study the Bible. Studying the Bible is essential if you want to grow closer to God, because that’s His word, His will for those who wish to follow Him. 

Next, we must pray, because prayer is how we communicate with God. That brings up the subject of praise and worship. We need to do those things since He expects them of us. Praise and worship show that we LOVE and glorify the Lord. Then there’s the dire need to trust Him. Yes friends, that’s a must. For without true trust in the Lord, you will be lost, like a rudderless ship floundering in the raging sea. Which brings us to this other very important factor, faith. 

Oh my people, without true faith in God, where will we be? Mired in the devil’s world of sin and darkness, sinking ever so slowly to hellfire and eternal damnation! But with trust and faith in Almighty God, our lives take on an entirely different colour, one of light, of salvation and eternal life. That’s why the Bible tells us: ‘But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’ (Heb. 11:6) 

And once we’ve done all of that, we then need to get involved. That’s go to church, gather and worship with other believers, encourage each other, and help to spread the Word to all the world as Jesus desired in the Great Commission. ‘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 always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt. 28:19-20) 

And that’s it in a nutshell friends! We draw near to God through Jesus Christ, for our good, not God’s. Please, let’s remember that everything God says or does, is essentially for our benefit, not His! Much LOVE!

…in this turbulent world…close to God is the place to be… 

 Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ           

Today’s Scrip-Bit 5 September 2020 Psalm 51:10.

05 Sep 2020 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 51:10.     ​Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right (steadfast) spirit within me.

Ah friends, it’s so true that if it isn’t one thing, then it’s another, and when one thing happens, another soon follows it. Steups! I already got up late then I had some computer problems…possibly because I didn’t know what I was doing. (smile) But the enemy never makes it easy, he’s always trying to get in a word edgewise or a toehold somewhere. But don’t worry, we going to drive the ole fool right outa town because after all these years of going to and fro about the earth, he still hasn’t learned the gospel truth that faith conquers fear and anxiety each and every time! 

And though the sunny Saturday has opened somewhat on the rough side, we going to bring it right into line with God’s Word and get the victory He has so faithfully promised. Glory Hallelujah! So let’s see what quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week as he aspires to inspire us for tomorrow. Hear this first one: ‘The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement.’ Now if that isn’t the awesome truth, I don’t know what is nuh! 

Oh my people, our world is in such a mess, such a state of uproar and dissension, of strife, resentment, anger and hatred, like we’ve never seen it before that there is a whole lotta room for improvement. And the sad part is that what we’re seeing is only the half of it, because a whole lot more negative emotions are quietly seething below the surface and could break out any day, any time now in full blown violence and war. 

And that helps us segue right into the next quote. ‘Measurement is the first step that leads to control and eventually to improvement. If you can’t measure something, you can’t understand it. If you can’t understand it, you can’t control it. If you can’t control it, you can’t improve it.’ Now that applies so perfectly to our world that it’s not funny. We can’t measure the amount of unrest, dissension, distrust and division that’s currently running riot in our world, so how can we control it eh? 

In fact, it seems that things are daily getting more out of control. The worldwide unhappiness that’s been seething like the magma (molten rock and gas) of a boiling volcano for so long, is now rising in a groundswell of public outcry and indignation! The volcano that’s our world is bubbling and boiling, with pre-eruption lava already flowing down the sides, and who knows when the whole thing is going to erupt eh? That brings us to this next quote: ‘Don’t say it cannot be done, rather say, you don’t know how to do it yet.’ 

Ah friends, a lot of us are saying that our world cannot be saved, because we don’t how to fix it. But we believers ought never to say that because we know that with Christ ALL THINGS are possible, and we can do ALL THINGS through Him, who strengthens us! Mamacita! What a blessing and Saviour He is to us! The logic here now is simply this: if all things are possible with Christ, and He gives us strength to do all things, then the solution to our worldwide problem is to turn en masse, like one big, full body to Christ, with repentance and thanksgiving! 

But the enemy doesn’t want that, that’s why he’s fighting tooth and nail to keep the volcano bubbling and boiling hoping that it would erupt and turn things in his negative, warlike favour. That’s not going to happen though, because Christ’s army of saints are going to stand strong in Christ and fight tooth and nail to defeat the divisive enemy! Glory be! 

Now listen to this next quote: ‘If you can’t reward then you should thank.’ And that makes sense. If you can’t reward someone for what they’ve done, then the next best thing is to thank them. Hopefully they’ll understand. Although the way our society is greedy and selfish nowadays, many won’t. Instead they’ll clamour for a tangible reward. But there’s one person who will never do that, who will be ever grateful for just our thanks. That’s our Lord God Jehovah! 

Yes, He doesn’t want, or rather we can’t give him a reward, since everything in the world belongs to Him, but He does want to hear our thanks for all He’s done, is doing and has promised to do for us. That’s all He really desires from us. That’s why Bruh Paul repeatedly told us about the giving of thanks. ‘In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.’ (1 Thess. 5:18) ‘Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;’ (Eph. 5:20) 

But yuh know my people, giving thanks is only possible when one thing is present. Our last quote tells it: ‘Thou who hast given so much to me, give me one more thing… a grateful heart.’ Yes mih bredrin, only when we have a grateful heart is the giving of thanks truly possible! And that’s’ why our world is in such turmoil; there aren’t enough grateful hearts in it. That brings us to this most important point; a truly grateful heart can only be obtained through sincere communication and reverence with the Lord. That’s why there are so many scriptures about the heart in His Word. 

Why yuh think Bruh David desired the Lord after he repented of his sin with Bathsheba – ‘Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right (steadfast) spirit within me.’ (Ps. 51:10) Because when our hearts are of full of unrepentant sin, we can’t be truly grateful. And remember too what the Lord told Samuel when he sent him to anoint Bruh David as the next king of Israel and Samuel was looking at the outward appearances of Jesse’s sons. ‘For the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.’ (1 Sam. 16:7b) 

And that’s why James, Christ’s brother warns us so passionately: ‘Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded… Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:8, 10) Oh my people, I don’t think we can have a better scripture to ponder on this Saturday morning. So let’s do that nuh. Much LOVE!

…see that ye LOVE one another…with a pure heart…fervently… (1 Pet. 1:22) 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 28 May 2015 James 4:8

28 May 2015 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

James 4:8.    Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye dobleminded. 
 
Aye Friends, welcome to another terrific Thursday! Glory to God! We are alive and kicking strongly and diligently in God’s name, so let’s maintain that positive aspect by saying, ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’
 
What a wonderful God we serve and worship my people! All thanks be to Him and His grace, mercy, forgiveness and unconditional LOVE!
 
And you know that somewhere in Willie Shakespeare’s vast repertoire of works, he says something to the effect that to go to bed late is to be up early…. Well my people, you can say that the ole fella was up rather early this morning, after three, so if I’m not all that coherent you will understand why. (smile)
 
And believe me, the early morning commune outside with nature was beautiful. Some of you might laugh, but when I sit out on my porch in the late hours of the night or early morning, just enjoying the peace and quiet of the time, whatever stress and tension I’ve built up during the day seems to evaporate as I feel the cool breezes wash over me, while they sigh in the rustling of the leaves, and the night insects sing their songs of thanksgiving to their Creator.
 
After a short while, I am relaxed and at peace with the world and all therein, and can go to bed calm and contented, regardless of whatever problems might exist. It certainly works therapeutic miracles for me. (smile)
 
And it’s sad that so many of us can’t, or don’t want to embrace the healing aspects of nature. Friends, God made it so beautiful so that we can appreciate, enjoy and use it to our benefit.
 
Anyway, I won’t try to convince you of the beauty and usefulness of nature, for like the same way you came to Jesus, you will have to come to that conclusion…on your own. (smile)
 
Now hear is a little prayer from The One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, that I believe we all can, or need to say. It’s titled ‘Intimate Closeness.’
 
Please pray with me: ‘You promise, dear God That when I draw close to You You will draw close to me. Lord, I give myself to You unreservedly. Teach me more and more Of intimate closeness And fill my heart with You alone. To walk arm-in-arm with You Down every winding path. Seems to me The dearest of all delights.’
 
And isn’t that the gospel truth my brethren? Walking arm-in arm with Jesus, any and everywhere is certainly the greatest delight we can enjoy on this earth!
 
And if you don’t believe that, I’m sorry for you, because you don’t know what you’re missing. That’s because with Him beside, inside and around you, there’s no power on earth, in hell or in heaven can touch you! Glory Hallelujah!
 
And the scripture verse for that prayer was the first part of James 4:8; ‘Draw nigh (near) to God, and He will draw near to you.’ However we will use the entire verse as our Bit for today. ‘Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded.’
 
Ah Friends, so many of us in this ungodly world desperately need to do those acts of contrition, that it borders on a worldwide tragedy. No, it doesn’t border nuh, it is a worldwide tragedy! That’s why there’s so much hate and evil in our world. But when we turn to Jesus we preach peace and LOVE, which is the right foundation for us to build our lives upon.
 
And I like how James continues after our Bit, in the same cleansing and reaching out to God manner. ‘Be afflicted (lament), and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness (gloom). Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:9-10)
 
Oh my people that’s shades of our last Bit. One of the things this generation certainly needs to do is to give up their foolish pride and arrogance, and humble themselves before Almighty God, if they want to ever receive a positive association with Him. That’s an ultimate necessity before we can even consider coming into the Lord’s presence, before His throne.
 
And one of the scriptures associated with our Bit, is one we just recently looked at, but it’s worthwhile looking at again. It’s the warning of the prophet Azariah.
 
‘And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: And he went out to meet (before) Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.’ (2 Chr,15:1-2)
 
Yes Friends, that’s no lie! If you sincerely seek the Lord, then you will find Him. But if you forsake Him, then He will do the same to you. Please remember that the Lord doesn’t really need anything from us, but we do need His saving grace and mercy, so the onus is on us to seek His face, not the other way around.
 
And with that thought foremost in our minds, I think we’ll end for today, because the rest of stuff I have to add will make it much too long for our short attention spans. (smile)
 
So please, as we go about today, let’s seriously ponder the state of our relationship with Christ, and let wisdom enter our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, and thus enable us to make the wonderful decision to seek God and revere and worship Him for the rest of our lives, and down through all eternity. Now that is certainly the wisdom of heaven! Much LOVE!
 
…God desires to have a positive relationship with each and every human being…but He’s not going to force His will on us…we must wisely seek Him and His blessings to forge that relationship…

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 20 May 2015 2 Chronicles 7:14‏‏

20 May 2015 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

2 Chronicles 7:14.  If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn away from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Well a wonderful Wednesday morning to you readers out there in Scrip-Bit Land! It’s a tad on the chilly side today, as it was yesterday. Ah Lord eh! What is the weather coming to eh? We had a beautiful Victoria Day weekend, then yesterday it suddenly turned cold and windy.

As one Friend told me yesterday evening, ‘you were boasting in the Bit about sitting on your porch last night communing with nature. Let me see if you will do it tonight too.’ (smile)

And Friends, sad to say I didn’t. It was just too so and so cold. But them’s the breaks! And furthermore, the sun is shining, we are alive and kicking and all is right in God’s world! Bless His Holy Name. That’s why we can say, as the psalmist did eons ago: ‘This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Ps.118:24)

We might as well my brethren, because the only other alternative is to be sad and miserable, and God gave us the day to be fruitful and multiply, both in terms of children and in His work here on earth. Anyway, we’ve reached the halfway point of the workweek – rather quickly and easily I must say –  (smile) so there’s no turning or looking back now, just straight ahead to the finish line.

And to help us do that, here’s something from Gramps Schuller (Robert H. Schuller) from his Hour of Power Devotional, on the subject of courage, which we can never get enough of. He claims that courage isn’t a gift, but a decision. And ‘Courage is not the absence of fear, it is the presence of a calling – a dream that pulls you beyond yourself. Hence it is something you can never lose. It is always something that you can choose. So, choose it today!’

And then, in a little poem, he declares: ‘I have it! My fears are going, going, gone! I feel a mysterious, calm, quiet, tranquil assurance rising deep within my being. This remarkable spirit of courage is overpowering me. It is the very presence of God working peace at the core of my invisible soul. Thank You Lord. All my fears are gone. What a relief! Amen.’

Yes my people, courage, like all other good things, comes from Almighty God! It is He who gives us the wherewithal to bear our burdens with chutzpah, and not give up to the fear the enemy tries to instill in us. So please, today, let’s be filled with courage, as we endeavour to do God’s work and be fruitful.

And we will need plenty of courage if we are to fulfill the words of our Bit, especially with the power of the unbeliever in today’s world, and his determined purpose to remove all aspects of God from our society. ‘If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn away from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.’

Ah mih breddren, what a most worthy promise! One that should allay all our fears. But even if we’re still fearful, we can do like Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) likes to say: ‘Do it afraid.’  We just can’t afford to let fear hold us back in these very difficult and trying times.

And we can punctuate that with these encouraging and uplifting words of Bruh Paul to Timothy. ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound mind.’ (2 Tim.1:7) And that’s the absolute truth Friends, so please let’s not give into the fear mongering of this evil world, for the power that’s within us, the Holy Spirit, is greater than that which is in the world.

And all of God’s people gave out a loud shout of, ‘Praise the Lord! Amen.’

Now let’s turn to some scripture that pertains to the first of the four things in our Bit, that we need to do to turn back to God, so that He can heal us and our land. That’s ‘humble themselves.’

Oh Friends, one of the things our God thoroughly dislikes is pride. As Cousin Sol says in Proverbs 8: ‘The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the forward (perverse) mouth do I hate.’ (Prov.8:13)  And in Proverbs 1.17, he mentions ‘a proud look (haughty eyes)’ as one of the seven things that are an abomination to our God.

So Friends, it’s obvious that we can’t come before our heavenly father in pride and arrogance, for He will just ignore us, possibly just have us thrown out from His presence. (smile) Now hear how He rewards humility.

Way back when, in the days of the apostasy of Rehoboam, king of Judah, Shishak, the king of Egypt, came to fight against Jerusalem with a mighty army. And he captured several cities of Judah before he came to Jerusalem.

‘Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith the Lord, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore I also left you in the hand of Shishak. Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The Lord is righteous.

And when the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. Nevertheless, they shall be his servants; that they may know my service (distinguish my service from) the service of the kingdoms of the countries.’ (2 Chr.12:5-8)

Yuh see Friends, even though God provided them with some relief for their humility, they still had to pay a price for their earlier pride and arrogance. And I wonder why our world is in so much turmoil eh? Could it be partly because of our pride and arrogance and turning away from the ways of God?

You can bet your bottom dollar that our intransigence plays a big part in the disastrous state of our world my people!

And we shall close with one of the most notable scriptures on the subject. This from James: ‘Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:10)

Oh my people, my people, there is no better advice to be had than that! So please, let’s just grab it and run with it nuh, so that our world, our children, will stand a much better chance of life and prosperity than we now do. That’s wisdom and common sense at the zenith! Much LOVE!

…humility…it is the first…and most important requirement…for gaining entrance to the Lord’s presence…