The Best Life Possible – Living and Working for Jesus!

25 Aug 2024 Leave a comment

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

1 Corinthians 1:26.       For ye see (consider) your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

And it’s another Sunday! A glorious looking one indeed! Made just for visiting the Lord’s house on His day, to fellowship with other believers and bring joy to both the Lord’s heart and ours. Nothing could be better than that my people, except entering the pearly gates of heaven. But we’re not quite ready for that. (smile) 

In the meanwhile, let’s get to our song of worship for today, a Christian Contemporary tune titled, ‘I’m just a Nobody.’ I don’t know the author(s) of the song, but the lyrics describe how God uses ordinary people to spread the Gospel of Jesus! We are all flawed, yet the Lord has a purpose for us. In our joy of having been forgiven, we excitedly point to the forgiver, Jesus Christ!   

And we’re going to do a raunchy, rocking, scintillating version, as that done by the Casting Crowns, featuring Matthew West. There will be lots of clapping, dancing, and of course singing! (smile) So, let’s begin with some handclapping, in three fourths time, sing the first line of the chorus three times acapella, then get into the full chorus as the music comes up. So here goes: clap, clap: ‘I’m just a nobody…clap, clap: I’m just a nobody…clap, clap: I’m just a nobody…’ Now the music, and everybody goes crazy: 

(Chorus: ‘I’m just a nobody, trying to tell everybody, all about Somebody, who saved my soul. Ever since You rescued me, You gave my heart a song to sing. I’m living for the world to see…Nobody but Jesus! I’m living for the world to see…Nobody but Jesus!) Why you ever chose me, has always been a mystery. All my life, I’ve been told I belong, at the end of the line. With all the other “Not Quites” with all the “Never-Get-it Rights” But it turns out, they’re the ones you’ve been looking for all this time, 

(Chorus: I’m just a nobody…) Moses had stage fright, and David brought a rock to a sword fight, You picked twelve outsiders, nobody would have ever chosen, and you changed the world. Well the moral of the story is, Everybody’s got a purpose. So when I hear that devil start talking to me saying, “Who do you think you are?” I say, (Chorus: I’m just a nobody…)  So let me go down, down, down in history, as another blood-bought faithful member of the family. And if they all forget my name, well, that’s fine with me. I’m living for the world to see…Nobody but Jesus… 

So let me go down, down, down in history, as another blood-bought faithful member of the family…That’s all I ever want to be… And if they all forget my name, well, that’s fine with me. I’m living for the world to see…Nobody but Jesus… Cause I’m just a nobody, trying to tell everybody, all about Somebody, who saved my soul. Ever since You rescued me, You gave my heart a song to sing. I’m living for the world to see…Nobody but Jesus! I’m living for the world to see…Nobody but Jesus! I’m living for the world to see…Nobody but Jesus!’ 

Oh what sweet sacrifices of praise friends! And Jesus blushed all the way through, while the Father and the rest of heaven sang along with us, giving our wonderful, selfless Lord and Saviour the hearty praise He so rightfully deserves! And strangely enough it’s the ones that world casts aside and looks at in scorn, the “Not Quites”, and the “Never-Get-it Rights” that Jesus seems to pick to do His selfless, sacrificial work. 

As Bruh Paul writes: ‘For ye see (consider) your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound (put to shame) the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound (put to shame) the things which are mighty.’ (1 Cor. 1:26-27) 

That’s exactly like the twelve outsiders, or disciples whom Jesus chose, that no one else would have chosen to do such important, painstaking work. But Jesus knew that although they were nobodies in the eyes of the world, they had the qualities of strength and tenacity that He needed in His followers. ‘If any man will (desires to) come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’ (Luke 9:23) How many rich, comfortable and well-educated people are willing to live such a sacrificial and self-denied life eh? 

Not many, as can be seen in the example of the rich young ruler who came to Jesus seeking what he must do to have eternal life. Jesus told him about keeping the commandments, but he said that he’d done all that from his youth and enquired what else he lacked. ‘Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt (want to) be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.’ (Matt. 19:21) But the young man went away sad, because he had lots of possessions. 

And in any case, when Jesus calls you into His employ, He moulds and shapes you into the vessel that He desires, like a potter does to clay.  And once you get in with Jesus, you only have eyes and ears for Him. Your divine destiny is to tell the world about Him and His good news gospel. As He said to the disciples in what we call the Great Commission: 

‘All power (authority) is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 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. 28:18-20) 

Oh my fellow believers, as the song says, ‘Everybody’s got a purpose.’ And that’s our purpose! To help Jesus and those twelve outsiders, twelve disciples change the world. And the good thing about working for Jesus is that He’s always with you through the indwelling of His awesome Holy Spirit, and He always gives you the wherewithal to do whatever He asks you to do. You cannot find a better Boss than Him! 

That’s why all who come to Him don’t seek their own advancement and don’t boast about their doings, but in the work of Jesus. That’s why Bruh Paul writes: ‘But he that glorieth (boasts), let him glory (boast) in the Lord. For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth.’ (2 Cor. 10:17-18) 

And in closing, let’s remember that whatever our original background, we are now, all ONE in Christ, for by His work on the cross, He has broken down the wall between us, bringing both Jews and Gentiles into ONE body, His church. And our job is simply to do His work to the best of our ability! Much LOVE!

…living and working for Christ…is the best life possible…

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

God doesn’t use whom Man expects Him to use!

11 Aug 2024 Leave a comment

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

Genesis 32:28a.        Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel (Prince with God):

It’s Sunday again friends; gathering time in the Lord’s sanctuary to give Him thanks and praise, fellowship with other believers, and receive the renewal of our faith and the overwhelming confidence He instills in us, so that we can go out and successfully do His work in the upcoming week! So without further ado, let’s turn to our song of worship for today, a hymn we know very well, and one that’s rather appropriate for these disastrous times in which we currently live. It’s titled “Nearer, My God, to Thee.”  

A 19th-century Christian hymn written by Sarah Flowers Adams in 1845. This hymn was written to follow the pastor’s sermon on Genesis 28:11-22, known as the story of Jacob’s ladder, or Jacob’s dream. It’s a hymn about the joy and comfort found in being close to God. So let’s offer up sacrifices of praise in a soulful, mid-tempo version, sincerely exuding, radiating the joy and comfort that we find in being close to God. 

Singing: ‘Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee! E’en though it be a cross that raiseth me; Still all my song shall be nearer, my God, to Thee, (Chorus: Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!) Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down, Darkness be over me, my rest a stone; Yet in my dreams I’d be nearer, my God, to Thee, (Chorus:) There let the way appear steps unto heav’n; All that Thou sendest me in mercy giv’n; Angels to beckon me nearer, my God, to Thee, (Chorus:) 

Then with my waking thoughts bright with Thy praise, Out of my stony griefs Bethel I’ll raise; So by my woes to be nearer, my God, to Thee, (Chorus:) Or if on joyful wing, cleaving the sky, Sun, moon, and stars forgot, upwards I fly, Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee, (Chorus:) There in my Father’s home, safe and at rest, There in my Saviour’s LOVE, perfectly blest; Age after age to be, nearer my God to Thee, Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee! Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!’ 

Wow! What a powerful song! And we did it full justice! (smile) There’s no doubting that the lives of believers are enhanced to a greater extent, the closer to God they find themselves. In fact it’s the greatest and most desirous place to be…as close as you can possibly get to God! 

And the Hymnary.Org website breaks down the hymn thus: ‘The first stanza introduces the theme of the hymn, with the repeated phrase “Nearer, my God, to thee.” The second through fourth stanzas are based on the story of Jacob and the ladder to heaven, found in Genesis 28:10-22. God’s close connection to Jacob in this story is seen as a way of relief from the darkness (st. 2) and “stony griefs” (st. 4) of his human journey. The last stanza looks forward to the time when we will come to stand before God in eternal song.’ 

And if the song is about Jacob’s dream, then it’s only fitting that we read it here today. It begins when Jacob leaves home to go and take a wife from the family of his mother’s brother, Laban. ‘And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon (came to) a certain place, and tarried (stayed there) all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 

And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed (descendants); and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and thy seed shall all the families of the world be blessed.  And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.’ (Gen. 28:10-15) 

Can you imagine it people? The Lord promising to bless one of the biggest schemers and crooks of the day. Look at all the things he did, like unfairly getting Esau’s’ birthright, buying it for a bowl of lentil stew. (Gen. 25:29-34) Then in league with his mother Rebekah, deceiving his blind Father into giving Esau’s blessing as the oldest son. (Gen. 27) And it’s interesting to note Esau’s words to his father Isaac, when he begs for a blessing, and Isaac tells him that Jacob’s taken it away. 

‘And he (Esau) said, Is he not rightly named Jacob (supplanter)? For he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?’ (Gen. 27:36) Unfortunately Isaac could not change what he had already done, making Jacob lord or master over all his brethren. 

And we also see Jacob’s hijinks with his uncle Laban, although Laban outsmarted him in the first go round by having him marry his oldest and less beautiful daughter Leah, when he had agreed to give him the second one, Rachel, whom he LOVED. And you can read about the schemes between the family of Laban and Jacob in Genesis in Genesis 29 & 30. Now that’s the kind of man with little or no integrity that the Lord made the Father of His people, Israel, when He changed his name after he wrestled all night with and angel. 

And when the angel saw he couldn’t prevail against Jacob, he touched him in the socket of his thigh and Jacob became lame. But Jacob, with his predatory nature refused to let go of the angel unless he blessed him. Then the angel asked his name, and he said Jacob. Then the angel replied: ‘Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel (Prince with God): for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men (for you have struggled with God), and hast prevailed.’ (Gen. 32:25-28) 

Yes friends, that’s just how the Lord operates; using the most unlikely people to do His work. It’s like Bruh Paul writes to the church at Corinth. ‘For ye see (consider) your calling, brethren, how not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound (put to shame) the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound (put to shame) the things which are mighty; 

And base (insignificant) things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought (nothing) things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto (became for) us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.’ (1 Cor. 1:26-31) 

Ah my people, if the Lord could use broken people to do great work for Him, then that means all of us have a chance to serve the Lord with honour and gladness. So please, regardless of our circumstances, let’s remember that while there is life, there is always hope, and steadfastly concentrate on drawing closer to Almighty God! For that’s the wisdom of the ages! Much LOVE!

…in God’s kingdom…the biggest sinners…can become the biggest saints…

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