22 Apr 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a doer of the work, a forgetful hearer, authority, blessed in his work, blessings, burden, Christian, Christians, commandments, contentment, Corville Peters, difficult circumstances, earth, faith, faithfulness, fellowship, fete, Friday chant, friends, fun, generous help, glorious kingdom, hate, hate met love, heaven, heaven met earth, Jesus' work, kingdom of heaven, labour, Law, Live at the Cross, LOVE, moderation, one jot, one tittle, plan of God, practice what you preach, principles of the law, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rest, revitalization, reward, slaving, sweat, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the perfect law of liberty, the souls of men, the weekend, time to party, true believers, truth, verily, vocation, week of work, wisdom, worship
James 1:25. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed (in what he does.
Well mih people, the day that we all seem to crave has finally come around again – it’s Friday!
And you know that means joyful shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday! The weekend’s here! No more labour, no more sweat! Time to party, time to fete! Thank you God for Fridays and the two days off from slaving for massa! Only wish everyday was Friday!’
Yeh friends, don’t we all wish that everyday was Friday. Only thing about that is if we didn’t work, we wouldn’t eat nor have a roof over our heads. So though it sounds real good, it’s not practical in the real world. Neither is too much partying and feting. Moderation and contentment should be our motto, not extremes.
Anyway, since today is Friday, let’s chant our Friday Chant, which gives us a much better perspective on the use of the weekend. As one chanter now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes my brethren, the weekend ought to be one of rest and revitalization and worship, with elements of partying so that we can have the necessary wherewithal to go back out next week, strong and ready to do Jesus’ work.
And here I want to mention a little thing I heard brother Corville (Corville Peters) from the Christian call in t.v. show ‘Live At the Cross,’ say recently. He said: ‘At the cross, where heaven met earth, and hate met LOVE, and LOVE overcame.’
Oh friends, how true that all is! Whenever hate meets LOVE, LOVE will ALWAYS prevail, because LOVE is by far the stronger of the two emotions. To LOVE under difficult and unfair circumstances as we Christians are supposed to do, is not easy.
And that’s why for some of us, LOVING is more difficult to do than hating. But LOVE is what we should be all about, because that’s our vocation as true believers in Jesus Christ.
And with those awesome words of wisdom, (smile) let’s turn to out Bit. ‘But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed (in what he does.’ More words of indisputable truth my friends!
And we’ll continue where we left off yesterday with Christ talking about the law, that He didn’t come to destroy it but to fulfill it. ‘For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot (Gr. iota) or one tittle (smallest stroke in a Hebrew word) shall in no wise (by no means) pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.’ (Matt.5:18)
And the scholars explain that thus: ‘5:18. Verily I say is a unique form used by Jesus throughout His preaching to draw attention to the authority of His message.
Verily (Gr. amen) means “truly” or “certainly.” It is used as a designation of authoritative teaching. One jot or one tittle refers to the most minute letter and marks of the Hebrew alphabet.
He explained that even the smallest statement in the law must be fulfilled. A “jot” (yodh) is the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It functions as a Y in English and looks similar to an apostrophe. A tittle is a small projection on the edge of certain Hebrew letters to distinguish them from one another.’
So we see friends, that the law is still, and will always be of supreme importance in our lives. And Jesus continues: ‘Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.’ (Matt.5:19)
And here’s what the scholars have to say about that. ‘5:19. Because of the seriousness of the law, Jesus emphasizes the importance of keeping even its smallest details. However, in the ultimate plan of God, the law was not to become an extra burden on the souls of men.
Rather than pointing the way to salvation, the law convinced men of the need of the Saviour. Therefore, whoever shall teach men so but shall not live what he teaches, he shall be made least in the kingdom of heaven. But whosoever shall do and teach the principles and precepts of the law shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
This simply means that God will reward the faithfulness and effectiveness of our lives, and there will be varying degrees of blessing and reward in heaven.’
Ah mih breddren, yuh see it all comes right back to the old saying, about practicing what we preach. In our Christian faith, it’s not right or lawful to say one thing and then do another.
And in closing today, I want us to ponder our individual lives and see to what extent that is a factor in them, because we all do some of it, at various times, to a certain degree.
And as always, with God’s help, let’s try and banish that sort of behaviour from our lives, for as we can see from Jesus’ teaching, it is a critical aspect in our heavenly rewards and blessings. Much LOVE!
…a practicing Christian…must always try to practice…whatever he or she preaches…
25 Mar 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abuse, adopted, allegiance, almighty god, anguish, another week of work, Calvary, celebrating, Christian calendar, Christians, confession, cried out for thirst, cross at Calvary, crown of thorns, curcifixion, death, despising the shame, example, faith, fellowship, fellowship with God, followers of Christ, forgiven, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's kingdom, generous help, glory hallelujah, glory to God, Good Friday, grief, heaven, hell, Herod, in behalf of Christ, javelin, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, Jewish people, joy, joy comes in the morning, LOVE, lusts of the flesh, mocking, mourning, my god why hast thou forsaken me, nailed to the cross, naked as a jaybird, pain, pay the price of sin, Pilate, precious blood, redeeming blood, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, repentance, rest, Romans, salvation, separated from the Father, Simon the Cyrene, sins, sorrowful spectacle, sour wine, stood His bounce, suffer for his sake, sufferation, suffering for Jesus' sake, taunting, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the heathen, the life blood, the things of God, There is a green hill far away, to believe on him, unlock the gate, unto you it is given, wisdom, works
Philippians 1:29. For unto you it is given in behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.
BLESSED GOOD FRIDAY!
And then it was Friday – Good Friday. Yes my brethren, it is one of the most historic and commemorative days in the Christian calendar, because this is the day that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ sacrificed His sinless and holy life for us upon that old rugged cross at Calvary…
And all God’s people gave a grateful shout of ‘All praise and glory be to the Lamb who was slain for us! May His name be revered for ever and ever!’
Ah mih people, it’s a sad day, but also a glad day. It’s sad because of the outrageous shame and punishment Jesus went through for our sake. But by the same token, there was gladness because that sacrificial death heralded our cleansing, our reconciliation to Almighty God!
And all God’s people sang ‘Glory Hallelujah!’
Without it we would have been all slated for death and hell, forever separated from the Father. How awful that would have been eh? But with Christ’s sacrifice, a way was prepared for us to come to Him in repentance and confession and be adopted into His household.
Glory to God for LOVING us so much that He would give His only begotten Son to die for our disgusting sins, to bring us once again into fellowship with Him and calling us His children!
Nothing can be sweeter and nicer and better and whatever word(s) you choose, than being a part of the family of Jehovah God, the omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present ONE who created the universe and still rules it from His throne on high!
Now to many of the world’s population, this day is no different from any other. They still sing out ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend’s here; a long weekend to boot! No more slaving for a few days, but plenty partying time. Thank God is Friday yes!’
And that’s okay to a certain extent, it’s good to be off for the weekend, but the weekend is not just to party, especially this one. It’s a time to seriously and sincerely ponder the basis of our Christian faith and our individual allegiance to it. But since the heathen has no knowledge or interest in the things of God, they just continue along their merry way rejoicing in the lust of the flesh and human senses.
In time though, we Christians will also be celebrating, but today is a day for mourning, a time for grief and sadness, while remembering that that only lasts for a night, but joy comes in the bright light of the morning.
And does it ever, with Jesus’ resurrection! But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, let’s stay on Good Friday, first by chanting our Friday Chant, which is still appropriate, since we’ve had a hard week of work and now have a few days off which we must use wisely.
So please let’s chant together: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yeh friends, that’s a much better way to use the weekend, rather than just senseless partying and fleshly lusting. And our Bit is also ever so appropriate for today. ‘For unto you it is given in behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.’
Ah mih people, that’s the part we don’t like; the suffering for Jesus’ sake. It was okay for Him to suffer for us, but we should just have life clear and easy now. Unfortunately that’s not how it works precious people. As Christians, followers of Christ, we will also be called on to face physical, mental and emotional pain. It’s all part and parcel of His offer of salvation.
Oh friends, I wonder if we have ever sat down and contemplated exactly the ‘sufferation’ Jesus went through for us? Have you ever considered the flogging, with whips embedded with flesh cutting particles? Or what about the crown of thorns pressed down unto His head? Or the psychological and verbal abuse, the cruel taunting and mocking He endured between Pilate and Herod’s yards?
Remember Jesus was human too and felt all that we feel. Then having been flogged and tormented, He was made to carry His own cross up to Calvary Hill. Thank God for Simon the Cyrene yes! I think the sight of Jesus struggling along with His cross was just too much for the Father and He introduced Simon into the mix of things.
And if all of that wasn’t bad enough, Jesus was then nailed hand and foot to the cross and left in the hot noonday sun, approximately three hours, for the life blood to slowly but ever so painfully ebb out of His abused and banged up body. And don’t forget the javelin in His side. And when He cried out for thirst they ignominiously gave Him sour wine.
Oh my fellow believers, ordinary crucifixion is one of the most cruel and painful ways man has ever invented for human suffering, but Jesus’ crucifixion was extraordinary, so you can imagine the pain and anguish, because both the Romans and Jewish people went to great lengths to make a sorrowful spectacle and example of Him, between two ordinary criminals, naked as a jaybird.
But yuh know what, throughout it all, Jesus stood His bounce, He took it all like a man, ‘despising the shame,’ for the joy that was to come, and He knew that that was the main purpose for which He had come to earth.
The only thing that seemed to truly bother Him was the purposed and painful first and last separation ever from the Father, as all our sins were placed on Him, and He cried out ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani” which is, being interpreted (translated), My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ (Mark 15:34)
So friends, please, let’s not make a big fuss for the comparable little suffering we sometimes have to undergo on Jesus’ behalf. We all know that suffering is painful and we’d like to avoid it, but that’s just not possible in this world. It will be in the next one, when Jesus returns as a mighty conqueror.
So having considered the extent of Jesus’ ‘sufferation’ on our behalf, let’s just hunker down and do what we need to do, without too much complaining nuh. Remember the Lord will enable us to bear whatever He allows to come our way, just like He enabled Jesus to bear His pain on that long ago Good Friday.
And I’d like to end with one of my favourite childhood hymns that tells of Jesus’ demise upon the cross, titled ‘There Is A Green Hill Far Away.’ Please sing it with me, as we consider and ponder this day on Calvary.
‘There is a green hill far away, Without a city wall, Where the dear Lord was crucified, Who died to save us all. (Refrain) (O dearly, dearly, has He LOVED, And we must LOVE Him, too, and trust in His redeeming blood, And try His works to do.)
We may not know, we cannot tell, What pains he had to bear, But we believe it was for us, He hung and suffered there. (Refrain) He died that we might be forgiven, He died to make us good, That we might go at last to Heav’n, Saved by His precious blood. (Refrain)
There was no other good enough To pay the price of sin. He only could unlock the gate Of heav’n and let us in. Oh, dearly, dearly has he loved! And we must love him too, And trust in his redeeming blood, And try his works to do.’
Yes Friends, that’s what we, as followers of Christ need to do! Have a blessed Good Friday! Much LOVE!
…what’s a little Christian suffering…compared to Christ’s ‘sufferation’ eh…
22 Mar 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a believer in Christ, a paying job, a roof over your head, abundant life, adversaries, alive, anxious, assurance, be exceeding glad, behaviour, bounden duty, break the chain, but also to suffer for his sake, Christ is Lord indeed, Christ's gospel, Christian, circumstances, conduct, difficulties, divinely granted, doubtful, every foe is vanquished, fear, fearful, food on your table, free gift, glory hallelujah, glory to God, God's beloved children, gospel truth, heaven, I am the beloved of god, I can trust my friend Jesus, I don't have to hurry, I don't have to worry, I'm not what I do, I'm not what I have, in behalf of Christ, interesting events, intimidation, living for Jesus, living the good life, lost condition, LOVE, majority of the world, not only to believe on him, oneness of mind, persecution, Philippians, privilege, rejoice, revile, revitalize your spirit, reward, rise above, salvation, selfish behaviour, selfishness, Sermon on the Mount, share His love with the world, stand up for Jesus, standing up strong, steadfastness, suffering, take God out of our society, terrified, the great invitation, the Lamb that was slain, the trumpet call obey, token of destruction, troubles, troubles of the world, truly believe, Tuesday Mantra, unity, unto you it is given, walking with Jesus, with Jesus' help, working for Jesus
Philippians 1:29. For unto you it is given in behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.
And then it was Tuesday…wonderful Tuesday!
And amidst all your difficulties and troubles you ask, what’s so wonderful about it eh?
Well for one thing you’re alive. That’s more than can be said for a lot of people. Most likely you also have a roof over your head, food on your table and a paying job. Well that means you’re better off than the majority of the world of some 7 billion souls.
And for another you’re a Christian, a believer in the One and Only Son of God, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Wow! That alone makes it a wonderful day friends, because working for Jesus is always filled with unexpected and interesting events!
And since it’s Tuesday, before I forget, (smile) let’s declare our Tuesday Mantra with true sincerity and much enthusiasm nuh.
As one now: ‘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.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth my brethren? It certainly is! We’re not defined by what the dark and sinful world says about us, because we know that we are the beloved of God, and that no one can deny or take away from us. Oh glory to God my fellow believers!
The problem though is that we don’t seem to take our designation as God’s beloved children seriously enough, we’re still anxious, doubtful and fearful, and thus continue letting the world’s unwise and often untrue and foolish systems define us. It’s time to break that oh so restrictive chain my people!
And the only way to do that is by sincerely and faithfully taking hold of what our wonderful God has said about us, and the magnificent things He’s done and continues to do for us each and every day.
In other words friends, we need to truly believe! Without true belief and faith, we’re lost, caught up in the worries and troubles of the world and our circumstances. But when we’re truly walking with, and living for Jesus, we don’t let our circumstances overwhelm us; we rise above them, of course with Jesus’ help.
As I keep reminding us, being a true and faithful believer is no easy or simple matter, but it is certainly doable and enjoyable if we rest all our burdens and fears on His strong and healthy shoulders, as He tells us in His Great Invitation, Matthew 11:28-30. Please look it up if you don’t know it…and even if you do know it, please read it again so it can revitalize your spirit.
And yesterday we saw how Bruh Paul exhorted the Philippians to steadfastness in Christ’s gospel, through proper conduct and behaviour in unity and oneness of mind. ‘And in nothing (no way) terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token (proof) of perdition (destruction), but to you of salvation.’ (Phil.1:28)
And I repeated that verse because I want to share an explanation from the scholars. ‘1:28. One of the ways in which the readers’ proper conduct benefits the gospel (v.27) is mentioned here: not being terrified by their adversaries. The lack of intimidation is a twofold sign: (1) to unbelievers it is evidence of their lost condition; (2) to believers it is an assurance of their salvation.’
And that my brethren is one of the problems with present day Christians; we are terrified by our adversaries, plus have adopted the selfish behaviour of the current world; everything being, ‘I, me and mine, first person singular.’ If we weren’t, we’d be standing up strong and facing them and not allowing them to take God out of our society as they are so blatantly doing.
Oh my people, Jesus died that we could have a good and abundant life, and we definitely can’t live that kind of life if we’re afraid and/or selfish. That brings us to the next verse in Bruh Paul’s exhortation, our Bit. ‘For unto you it is given in behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.’
Yes friends, we have the obvious privilege of not only living the good life through Christ, but also suffering with Him. It’s a two-pronged situation, though in our selfishness and fear we expect it to be simply all good times.
When Jesus came to die for us, He didn’t have only good times, but also plenty rough ones, especially His crucifixion, which we’ll celebrate in a few days. So why should we have it all good eh?
And the scholars provide an interesting explanation on that passage. ‘1:29. For reinforces the assertion that the proof of the believers’ salvation, provided through their courage in persecution, comes from God.
This justification lies in the fact of the Philippians being divinely granted the dual privilege of believing in Christ and suffering for Him. Thus the assurance of their salvation is from God, just as is their suffering for Jesus, for the latter was the occasion providing the former.’
Yes my fellow believers, our salvation was provided by Jesus’ suffering, let’s never forget that, and therefore let it help us to stand up strong in His name and do His will, regardless of the tough circumstances we occasionally face, for salvation is greater than anything the world can do to, or offer us!
And all God’s children gratefully and joyfully declared: ‘Glory Hallelujah! All power and glory be to the Lamb that was slain for us!’
And we’ll end with these immortal and most appropriate words of Jesus from the greatest sermon ever preached; the best laid out philosophy of life ever promulgated, the Sermon on the Mount.
‘Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which went before you.’ (Matt.5:11-12)
Yes my brethren, persecution will follow us simply because we believe in Jesus, that’s a fact we cannot ignore or deny since it happened to so many prophets, including Jesus, meaning we’re in excellent company.
But by the same token, when we stand up strong during the persecution we’re blessed and are storing up rewards in heaven. No, it’s definitely not easy, but the only way to overcome it is by keeping our focus on the rewards in heaven, rather than the persecution here on earth.
So friends, though it might be somewhat on the rough and tough side, let’s go out and put that into practice today nuh, so that our lives can be more blessed, and Jesus’ message of, and free gift of salvation can be more widely spread abroad and accepted, for that’s our bounden duty. Much LOVE!
…stand up, stand up for Jesus…the trumpet call obey…till every foe is vanquished…and Christ is Lord indeed…
P.S. Unfortunately, late nights breed late mornings. (smile) Much LOVE!
20 Mar 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a colt, a day of celebration, a delight, a joyride, awesome God, before they spring forth, believers, Blessed is he, Christian society, church, confidence, crucify him, daughter of Zion, day of rest, delight thyself in the Lord, die on the cross, energy, enthusiasm, eternal life, face the upcoming week, feed thee, free gift, freedom, give thanks, glorify God, glory hallelujah, grace, he is just, He is love, heaven, Holy Trinity, honourable, Hosanna in the highest, humble, hypocrites, ingrates, Israel's king, Jerusalem, LOVE, lowly, lust, magnanimous, magnificent, majestic, mighty, my holy day, new things, Palm Sunday, peace, pleasure, pomp and pageantry, power, praise, prince of darkness, refreshed, rejoice, rest, ride upon the high places, riding an ass, right relationship, righteous, Sabbath, sacrifice, salvation, six days, spring, strength, Sunday, the foal of an ass, the former things, the god of Abraham, the Good Book, the heritage of Jacob, the holy of the Lord, the mouth of the Lord, the seventh day, the things of the world, thy king cometh, turn away thy foot, turncoats, washed clean, wisdom, worship
Zechariah 9:9. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just (righteous), and having salvation; lowly (humble), and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
Welcome friends to the first day of spring in the North Country, although it’s still pretty chilly outside. (smile) It’s also Sunday my people, which means it’s time to get thee hither to church, to gather with other believers to praise and worship and give thanks and glorify Almighty God and receive His power, strength, energy, wisdom, confidence and enthusiasm to face the upcoming week.
Now this is not my suggestion, but God’s command: ‘Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day, thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed. (Ex.23:12)
And in modern day Christian society we have chosen Sundays to be our day of rest and worship, and in a convoluting kind of way, also the first day of the week. The important thing though, is that we take off one day a week from our labour and rest and worship the Lord as a group, regardless of which day it might be.
Now listen to this other scripture about the observance of the Sabbath from the prophet Isaiah. ‘If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth (the hills), and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob, thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.’ (Is.58:13-14)
What more can we ask for re the observance, the celebration of the Sabbath eh my brethren? Nothing at all! The Lord has promised us a joyride if we faithfully observe it. (smile)
And fortunately, today also happens to be Palm Sunday; that magnificent day of celebration, when our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was ushered into Jerusalem in kingly fashion, but on a humble donkey, where the people spread their garments and branches they cut down from trees along the roadway for Him to ride over.
‘And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.’ (Matt.20:8-9)
Oh my people what a day of celebration that must have been in ole Jerusalem. Notwithstanding, that a week later the same fickle souls were then fiendishly crying out ‘crucify Him, crucify Him!’ That just shows what a bunch of ingrates and turncoats and hypocrites we are.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. (smile) Today, let’s enjoy the pomp and pageantry that was Palm Sunday, for it will be indeed a fleeting, though rather important moment in time.
And the breathtaking aspect of the day, is as the Good Book says: ‘And all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy king cometh unto thee, meek (lowly), and sitting upon an ass (donkey), and a colt the foal of an ass.’ (Matt.21:5)
Oh my people, how wonderful is our God eh, who can foretell stuff centuries and eons before they come to pass! ‘Behold the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.’ (Is.42:9)
And the Lord did tell us about Palm Sunday long before it happened. The words of our Bit spell it out loud and clear: ‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just (righteous), and having salvation; lowly (humble), and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.’
What an awesome God we serve and worship my people! No other supposed deity has done, or can do those things; only the Almighty and Everlasting God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
‘And all God’s people joyfully sang: ‘Praise Him, praise him, Glory Hallelujah, He is LOVE, He is LOVE!’ That He certainly is my people!
Now here is some info from the scholars. ‘9:9-10. The ass (donkey) was an animal of peace. The kings of the earth come to bring destruction and devastation: Israel’s King comes to bring peace. The prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem.’
Yes my people, our God is so mighty, majestic, magnificent and magnanimous that I can’t understand how so many of us can fail to appreciate, LOVE, serve and worship Him with all our hearts, minds, bodies and souls nuh!
He has never lied to us, never led us astray, has proven His great and unconditional LOVE for us unworthy reprobates by sending His only son Jesus to die on the cross so that we could be free, washed clean of our disgusting sins, thus reconciling us to Him, bringing us back into a right relationship with Him, offering us a free gift of grace that leads to salvation and eternal life with the Holy Trinity in heaven till time immemorial!
What more does He have to do to convince us eh mih breddren? The only thing left is for us to be able to worship the prince of darkness and lust after and enjoy the things of the world and still get to heaven. But I can assure you friends, that’s NEVER going to happen.
The Lord in His righteousness and holiness and justice could not agree to that. Yuh see the great heartbreaking lengths He went to, to secure our freedom; sacrificing His only Son? Now if it were possible to get into heaven another way than through Jesus sacrifice, don’t you think He would have taken it?
Anyway, that is all now hypothetical; Jesus was sacrificed to pay for our sins, and He’s the ONLY way to get to heaven. So let’s go out and celebrate, have a wonderful Palm Sunday, sing and praise and joyfully shout ‘Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord!’ Much LOVE my fellow believers!
…sing and rejoice…O daughter of Zion…for, lo, I come (am coming)…and I will dwell in the midst of thee…saith the Lord… (Zech.2:10)
16 Mar 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a solitary note, Advocate, appreciation, be filled with the Spirit, be not drunk with wine, bicker, breathtaking knowledge, brother, chimes, Christian, complain, declarations, defer not to pay, difference, diligent, dissipation, enthusiasm, eternity, excess, exhort, faithfulness, friend, get on track, give ear, giving thanks always, glory hallelujah, glory to God, God has no pleasure in fools, God's work, grateful, hear, heaven, hymns, I am halfway home, I will sing praise, I'm not looking back, I'm so glad to be alive, in God's sight, in the fear of God, instruct, It's Good, Jesus, life symphony, life-giving love, LOVE, magnify, mercies, Messiah, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my hands are on the plough, o ye kings, o ye princes, One Year Book of Bible promises, praise the name of god, psalms, responsibility, Ruth Harms Calkin, saviour, serve, sing praise to the Lord God of Israel, sing praises to God, spiritual songs, steadfast, thankful, thanksgiving, the breath of life, the obits, to all generations, to be loved by God, tremulous heart, truth, unsettled questions, used for good, vow unto God, walk like the children of God, Wednesday Wail, with my mouth, worship Christ
Judges 5:3. Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes: I, even I, will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.
Oh my people, another beautiful day has dawned on God’s great earth, and along with it our responsibility to walk like the children of God that we are! Glory Hallelujah!
And our God is so great that He gives us all the tools we need to do His work. Glory to God!
So let’s not bicker and complain this glorious Wednesday morn. Instead, let’s raise our voices and wail our Wednesday Wail with joyful enthusiasm and grateful appreciation.
As one now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home.
My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Yes precious people, that’s what we ought to be doing and feeling; be grateful that we’re still alive, for a lot of others names are in the obits today, but not ours. For that we ought to be rather thankful.
Then we have to be serious about doing God’s work; being diligent and steadfast about it, while believing and looking forward to a wonderful future with Jesus, both down here on earth, and then in heaven for all eternity.
And all Jesus’ followers declared loud, proud and grateful: ‘Glory to God! Thank You Lord for giving us Jesus as our Messiah, Advocate, Saviour, Brother and Friend! We faithfully promise to do His work, serve, worship and LOVE Him for evermore! Amen.’
Now please remember what Cousin Sol says about promises in Ecclesiastes. ‘When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer (delay) not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better it is that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.’ (Eccl.5:4-5)
Yes friends, that puts us on the spot, for we have just promised to serve and worship Jesus Christ for ever. So please, let’s not break that vow, let’s keep paying it each and every day, so that we don’t end up as fools in God’s sight.
And today I want to share a poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, simply titled ‘It’s Good.’
Please pray with me. ‘God, it’s good to be LOVED by You! The breathtaking knowledge Of Your life-giving LOVE Rings chimes in my tremulous heart. It fashions eternal declarations Out of unsettled questions. It creates a majestic life symphony from a solitary note. God, it’s good to be LOVED by You!’
And isn’t that the awesome truth my brethren! It’s so wonderful to be LOVED by a God as powerful and merciful and forgiving and understanding as ours! Give Him the thanks and praise He rightfully deserves my people!
And the biblical promise for that prayer comes from Psalm 89 – God’s sure promises to David. Ethan the Ezrahite opens it thus: ‘I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.’ (Ps.89:1)
And does that ever fit right in with our Bit, our continuing desire to sing praises to our great God. ‘Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes: I, even I, will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.’
Oh my fellow believers, I don’t think that we do that as much as we should. We don’t seem to have time, or make time to do as Bruh Paul directed the Ephesians. ‘And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Spirit;
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph.5:18-21)
Yes friends, that’s how we ought to conduct our lives as true believing Christians! Unfortunately though, not enough of us are doing it to the extent that we should, and that’s why we are not making as powerful a difference in this evil world as we should.
And we’ll close today with some valuable info from the scholars on those verses. ‘5:19-21. There are four results of being Spirit filled (v.18): (1) believers speak to one another with psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs; that is, they exhort and instruct each other;
(2) there is singing and the making of melody, of individual song and praise for the Lord; (3) there is giving thanks always – the Spirit enables the Christian to be grateful for all things divinely allowed to enter his life since they will be used for good;
(4) there is mutual submission, that is, showing deference to the wishes of one another, as long as that to which the believer submits is in the fear of God, which is to say, in accord with what pleases Him.’
And there we have it my brethren; the way we ought to conduct ourselves as true believers in Christ. I therefore implore us, starting today, right now, to get on track and give thanks and sing praises to our wonderful God, the way we ought to, for that is indeed wisdom of the highest order. Much LOVE!
…I will praise the name of God with a song…and will magnify him with thanksgiving… (Ps.69:30)
17 Feb 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a relationship with Jesus, adversity, apostate, assurance, atonement, Babylon, breath of God, calamity, courage, crying, dark night of sin, day of life, doomed to destruction, downfall, enemy, evil, exile, expectations, Ezra, fades, faith, Feast of Trumpets, final destination, for the joy of the Lord is your strenght, friends, glorious sunshine of Jesus, glory hallelujah, God shall wipe away all tears, God's plan for our lives, going to hell in a hand-basket, happiness, happy, heaven, holy spirit, hope, Hours of Power Devotional, I am halfway home, I'm not looking back, I'm not turning back, indisputable fact, inner peace, Israelites, Jesus Christ, Jesus is the Truth, joy, joyful, joyfulness, kind, LOVE, merciful, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my hands are on the plough, my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge, no more death, paganism, pain, peace, planet earth, pleasure, ponder, robert h schuller, self-esteem, sorrow, steadfastly, superstition, thanks and praise, the BIBLE, the breath of life, the clouds will clear, the former things are passed away, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the law of Moses, the Life, the Light, the promise of heaven, the sun will shine again, the Way, they have not known nor understood, to a glorious future with Jesus, truth, understanding, vim and vigour, walking faithfully, Wednesday Wail, wisdom, world of darkness
Nehemiah 8:10c. For the joy of the Lord is your strength.
Oh welcome my brethren to another interesting and satisfying day of life on God’s great planet Earth!
And as we keep saying, there must be a reason for us to have awakened this morning. So, after giving God some thanks and praise for bringing us through the dark night of sin into the glorious sunshine of Jesus, let’s get with His plan for our lives right away nuh.
And since today is Wednesday, it means declaring our Wednesday Wail with much vim and vigour. (smile) As one wailer now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home.
My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Yes friends, life is all about looking forward to a glorious future with Jesus! As they say; our best days are still ahead. And I do believe that. And how can we not be ever-thankful for the beautiful breath of God’s Spirit that’s flowing through us to give us what we call life eh!
Now today I want to share something from Gramps Schuller’s (Robert H. Schuller) Hours of Power Devotional. Don’t know if I’ve shared it before, but if I have, it’s certainly worthy of another go round in this dark and dismal world.
He asks the question ‘Are You Happy?’ But I want to change it to ‘Are you Joyful?’ because happiness conveys a sense of now for now pleasure that soon fades, pleasure as the world sees it, not the long lasting joy that comes from a true relationship with Jesus. So in this passage, wherever we see ‘Happiness,’ let’s read it as ‘Joyfulness.’
So here goes: ‘Happiness – that deep inner strength that is made up of courage, faith, hope, and peace. Mix them together and you have happiness! Happiness – the courage to hang on in the face of severe adversity! Happiness – the faith that God will have the last word, and it will be good! Happiness – the hope that, even though you can only see the shadow, someday the clouds will clear away and the sun will shine again!
Happiness – the quiet sense of self-esteem that comes when you know you have done your best. Happiness – the assurance that you have been merciful and kind to enemy and friend alike. Happiness – the quiet assurance that God will be merciful and kind to you, too. Happiness – the beautiful belief that this life, no matter how difficult it may be, is not your final destination.’
Oh what beautiful, words, thoughts and emotions my people! Especially knowing that our final destination is heaven, to live with Jesus forever! ‘And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.’ (Rev.21:4)
And all God’s people loudly and proudly declared: ‘Glory Hallelujah! Thank the Lord for the promise of heaven!’
And that’s all fine and dandy my friends, but the truth, the reality is that we can’t have all those things, all that happiness, all that joyfulness here on earth, unless we are walking faithfully and steadfastly with Almighty God!
And you ask why? Simply because, as our Bit says: ‘For the joy of the Lord is your strength.’
And that my people is an indisputable fact! We cannot be truly happy or joyful for any length of time, unless the Lord’s joy is running through us. The Lord’s joy comes from a sense of inner peace, of expectations edged with faith in God’s promises, and the practical LOVE He showed to us by sending His Son Jesus Christ to die for the atonement of our sins!
No other faith can boast of those things! That’s why Jesus is the Truth, the Life, the Way and the Light that lights up this world of darkness!
Now some of us might not know where our Bit comes from, or how it is tied in to the scriptures, so let’s go back in time. The Israelites had recently returned from exile in Babylon, and having settled themselves in their homeland again, in the seventh month they came together to celebrate and thank the Lord.
‘And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street (plaza) that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had commanded to Israel. And Ezra the scribe brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding upon the first day of the seventh month.’ (Neh.8:1-2)
Now friends, I think it’s very important that we listen to the scholars’ explanation here. ‘8:2. The time was the Feast of Trumpets (Lev.23:24) and was about September 27, 444 B.C. This was the most sacred of the new moons, and commenced the final month of the religious festivals (Lev.23:23-25; Num.29:1-6). The concept of understanding was important as Proverbs 1:2 indicates (cf. Ex.12:26-27; Deut.4:6; 6:6-9; 31:12-13).
Mindless superstition was the mark of paganism (“They have not known nor understood.” Is.44:18-20), and had been the downfall of apostate Israel (Hos.4:6: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge”). Notice the stress on understanding in verses 2-3, 7-8,13.’
Oh friends, that is exactly what’s happening to our world today! We are suffering from a lack of knowledge and understanding of God, just like Israel was back then. Paganism is rearing its ugly head more and more, no wonder our world is going to hell in a hand-basket like happened to the apostate Israel!
What do you think happens when a society, a nation, a world turns away from Almighty God eh? Obvious calamity!
Oh my people, look at the number of places, cities and societies cited in the Bible who were destroyed because they had turned from worshipping and serving the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, including His chosen Israel several times.
What makes us thing that our turning away from Him now will end any differently eh? And I’ll leave us to ponder that question today. Much LOVE!
…apart from Almighty God…mankind is doomed to destruction…
28 Jan 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: according to your faith, acknowledge God, bane, believer, black pudding, blessed is the man that trusts God, blessings, blue sky, climate change, courabe fails, cross-lile, daily devotions, darkest night, deepest waters, dissolve, dry season, faith, faith is feeble, fellowship, floating, giving thanks, glory hallelujah, God's word remains secure, gospel truth, he shall direct your paths, heaven, home, Hotel Magdalena, I Trust, in all thy ways, intimacy with god, Jesus Christ, joy, lean not to thine own understanding, LOVE, One Year Book of Bible promises, promises, realtionship, renew, respects not the proud, revitalize, Ruth Harms Calkin, salty air, souse, surrender, those who turn aside to lies, Tobago, topsy-turvy, trust, trust in the Lord, truth, warm weather, white clouds, wisdom, with all thine heart, working of God
Psalm 40:4. Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
Ahoy there friends and fellow believers! From my little cottage by the sea in Tobago, I write these words of LOVE to you!
Yes mih people, it is wonderful being in Tobago. I haven’t done much as yet, but just the warm weather and salty air has me feeling less pained up and tired, plus I finally got a good night’s sleep last night.
Now what did I do after we last spoke yesterday? Well after sending out the Bit, while the duchess was sleeping, I went down to a li’l waterhole close to my cottage and soaked in the salt water for about half an hour. Well it’s not really a water hole, but just a man-made inlet on this side of the bay.
Thankfully this space has sand and not rocks or coral like a couple of other places along the shoreline. Oh friends, being in the sea felt so wonderful, I…I can’t find words to describe it.
For a few minutes I just lay floating on my back, arms outstretched, legs together, cross-like, looking up at the blue sky with white clouds drifting gently by and the bright sun going down in the east, giving thanks to my creator for bringing me home to Tobago to renew, refresh and revitalize my tired soul, body, spirit and mind.
Then later in the evening, when the duchess got up, we went down to the grocery, Penny Saver, and stocked up on food. Then we came home, had a quiet evening, with no t.v. because apparently when the rain falls, the cables which are foolishly run underground get wet and malfunction. Ah Lord eh!
Strangely enough, both yesterday and today have been cloudy with intermittent short bursts of rain. This is usually the dry season, with not much rain, and even the forest on the other side of the lagoon seems brown and dry. Hopefully my arrival brought the blessings, (smile) and not climate change.
And this morning it was nice to sit outside and do my daily devotions, looking at the tumbling sea and the beautiful scenery, while feeling the cool wind as it blew along, instead of being cloistered up in a cold house. One could hardly ever refuse to pray and give thanks under such excellent conditions.
The only thing that has surprised me so far, is that the wind has kept up a brisk pace all yesterday and today. The poor trees have had to dance along with little respite.
Now let’s get to what I had originally planned to write. It’s a poem from the One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. This one is simply titled: ‘I TRUST.’
And it says: ‘O God, thank You That Your promises are valid As long as the world lasts. They do not suddenly dissolve When my faith is feeble And my courage fails. When You have given a promise You will perform it – Sight or no sight Feeling or no feeling.
You may take me Through the darkest night The deepest waters. The very worst may happen But out of it You will bring the very best For Your word remains secure. Lord, keep me faithful in my trust. When I can articulate no other prayer May my waiting heart Continually avow: I trust! I trust!’
Oh Friends, not enough trust is the bane, the downfall of every believer! When times are good, there’s no problem in trusting our heavenly Father, but when times are rough, that is the time we need to trust the most and when we seem to trust the least.
And what we need to remember is that total surrender means total trust. So if we are prone to doubt, that means we have not completely surrendered. And as such, we will not see the full working of God in our lives. As Jesus said to the blind men: ‘According to your faith be it unto you.’ (Matt.9:29)
Yes my people, according to our faith, so will it be unto us too, because faith implies surrender and trust. So how much you surrender and trust, that’s how much you will receive. And from personal experience, I can tell you that’s gospel truth, since over the years as I surrendered more fully and my faith and trust grew, so did the quality of my life!
And the verses pertaining to that poem are ones we all ought to know and follow, but we obviously don’t, that’s why our lives can be so topsy-turvy.
Hear these wonderful words of wisdom from Cousin Sol. ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct (make straight or smooth) thy paths.’ (Prov.3:5-6)
Ah mih breddren, there’s no disputing those words! If only we would follow them in our everyday lives eh! And the scholars have some interesting and wise thoughts which I’m sure I’ve shared before, but they are indeed important enough to share again.
‘3:5-6. Three commands are given: trust, meaning “rely on, depend on;” lean not, meaning do not depend on your own native instincts; and acknowledge him, meaning have fellowship and intimacy with God in all of life. The result of such devotion is that God will make the paths straight before you.’
Oh friends, the important word in all of that is ‘DEVOTION!’ It’s no different to our normal behaviour; we treat those who are devoted to us better than those who are not. It’s just a natural facet of our nature. Likewise, God will treat those who are devoted to Him better than those who are not.
And we’ll close with our Bit for today, which also greatly stresses the importance of trust in our heavenly Father. ‘Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.’ Much LOVE!
…whatever you put into an earthly relationship…is what you will usually get back…the same applies to God…
P.S. The duchess went out the street for a walk some time ago. Next thing, I got a phone call saying she’s up the road at the Hotel Magdalena having coffee on the balcony. Well that’s fine by me, the walk will do her good. Don’t think I could have walked so far – well not as yet.
However, I’m going to have some ‘souse’ now on my not as spiffy balcony! Glory to God! Unexpectedly I found the souse person outside Penny saver last night, and tonight I’m going back to get some black pudding…Oh, am I in heaven or what! Much LOVE!
27 Jan 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ah feeling hot hot hot, all tribes of the earth shall wail, apreciate the end product, blessings, Carnival, come what may, coming or going, dominion, every eye shall see him, first begotten, for God so loved the world, friends, glory, glory hallelujah, god the father, God's goodness, God's little Acre, good Tobago food, he cometh with clouds, he gave his only begotten son, heaven, holy spirit, I am halfway home, I want to be amongst their number, I'm not looking back, I'm so glad to be alive, jealous, Jesus Christ, John the Revelator, joy, KFC, kings and priests, Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, LOVE, loving kindness, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my hands are on the plough, oh when the saints go marching in, ole, Paradise on Earth, Robinson Crusoe's Isle, saltwater, shall have everlasting life, sunshine, sweating, sweet Tobago, thank God, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, the Almighty, the Alpha and Omega, the Be All, the beginning, the Bit must go out, the blood of Jesus, the breath of life, the end, the End all, the First and the Last, the Rapture, them's the breaks, to a glorious future with Jesus, truth, undeserving sinners, washed us from our sins, Wednesday Wail, wisdom
John 3:16. For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
‘Ole, Ole, Ole! Ah feeling hot, hot, hot! Ah feeling hot, hot, hot!’
Oh friends, the ole fella really feeling hot, hot, hot; hot till ah sweating! (smile) But that’s the way it ought to be if I’m in seventy something degrees temperature.
Yes mih brethren, you must have guessed, the ole fella is in God’s Little Acre, Paradise on earth, Robinson Crusoe’s Isle, the Crown Jewel of the West Indies, and a host of other names I could mention. Hn, hn!
But suffice it to say, I’m in sweet Tobago! Praise the Lord for His LOVING-kindness to the children of men – especially me on this particular occasion!
Yes my people, the ole fella really needed some saltwater and sunshine and good Tobago food to revitalize my body; the aches and pains were getting to be a bit much, and the cold weather wasn’t helping any.
And as I look outside at the bay, with the waves on the choppy side, the wind blowing like crazy, causing the trees to dance to their tune, I do feel like I’m in Paradise. (smile)
Don’t be jealous now, your time will come, just like mine did; just believe, have faith and work on it.
The trip down wasn’t the greatest though. The plane was full, due to the upcoming Carnival celebrations, and though I’ve travelled economy class before, this time it really got to me. I’ve never been so uncomfortable before.
And to make matters even worse, there was a young child in the row behind me, who cried for a fair amount of the night. And as the Lord would have it, the first time I enquired about travelling Business Class, it was full. I guess He wanted me to appreciate the end product more. And believe me, I certainly do!
I left home at about six thirty last night, and did not arrive at my final destination until nine thirty this morning. And I’m so tired I don’t know if I’m coming or going, but I’m so dedicated to writing the Bit that I’m trying to complete it nevertheless. (smile) ‘The Bit must go out, come what may:’ that’s the motto!
Anyhow friends, soon come. A fella just showed up here to talk to me about a rental car. Hang tight!
Aye mih people, I want to apologize for the roughly three hour delay. But after getting the car, the duchess decided we should go to the mall to get some phone connections and something to eat since we had not had breakfast as yet.
Well the long and short of the story is that we had to wait awhile in the phone store and then, after eating the KFC we bought at the mall, I just had to have a nap.
But imagine that nuh; I’ve come to sweet Tobago to eat some good Tobago food, and first thing the Duchess have me eating is fast food! Ah Lord eh!
But I guarantee you that that will not become a habit! And I’m only now getting back to you at three o’clock T &T time. My humble apologies, but them’s the breaks! (smile)
And since it’s Wednesday, let’s wail our Wednesday Wail with great gusto nuh. As one now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home.
My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Oh my fellow believers the ole fella is ever so glad to be alive this Wednesday at the end of January 2016! I’m in Tobago! So what could be better eh? Only heaven! But hold on, I’m not ready for there just yet, and I do hope my Creator isn’t ready for me up there either. (smile)
So without further ado, let’s get to our Bit nuh; that awesome LOVING-kindness of our magnificent and magnanimous God! ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’
And Friends, if you don’t believe in the everlasting Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, then I’m truly sorry for you, because He is indeed the Be All and End All; the Alpha and Omega; the First and the Last; The Beginning and surely the End!
Listen to the words and deeds John the Revelator ascribes to Him. ‘And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten (born) of the dead, and the prince of (ruler over) the kings of the earth. Unto him that LOVED us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds (tribes) of the earth shall wail (mourn) because of him. Even so, Amen. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, The Almighty.’ (Rev.1:5-8)
Oh what wonderful scriptures friends, highlighting God’s goodness to us undeserving sinners!
Now let’s end with some explanations from the scholars. ‘1:7-8. Four aspects of Christ’s return are mentioned, each of which alludes to another passage of Scripture. He will come with the clouds (Dan.7:13) in the sky. Every person will see him (Matt.24:30). Those who pierced him (Zech.12:10), that is, those who rejected Him and wanted Him to die will repent and mourn (wail) over Him (Zech.12:10-11).
This refers to Christ’s return to the earth to establish His kingdom, not to the Rapture. Alpha and Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, refer here to God’s eternality and sovereignty, and possibly to the fullness of God’s self-revelation.’
Ah mih people, that’s the end of our last message on this Bit, but please remember it is a pivotal piece of scripture, one upon which our destiny, our eternal life hangs! So it will be very wise for each one of us to acknowledge, accept, believe and practice His commands, and thus share in His eternal LOVE! Much LOVE!
…oh when the saints…go marching in…I would like to be amongst their number…oh when the saints go marching in…
28 Sep 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a heart attack, alive and kicking, all flesh is grass, aura of love, but my words shall not pass away, come as a thief in the night, complaining, confidence, crapaud smoke yuh pipe, Creator of the universe, do the best we can, enthusiasm, evil, friends, friends and neighbours, glorious kingdom, glory to God, gospel truth, greetings friends and neighbours, Hades, heaven, heaven and earth, heaven and earth shall pass away, holy spirit, humble servants, in Jesus' name, invincible, Jesus Christ, Jesus' Second Coming, joy, keeping lives and families together, laze around, lies, lord god almighty, LOVE, meet the enemy in battle, Monday Morning, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, our God is long-suffering, pussyfoot, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, repentance, rest, salvation, serve a useful purpose, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, that all should come to repentance, that any should perish, the breath of life, the day of the Lord, the flower fades, the grass withers, the spirit of the Lord, the voice of wisdom, the word of the Lord will stand for ever, thou hast laid the foundation of the earth, trust, truth, ungodly world, wicked taunts, wiles, wisdom
Matthew 24:35. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Greetings my wonderful Friends and neighbours on this most auspicious Monday morning! (smile) And I guess you’re wondering why it’s so auspicious eh? Well first of all we’re alive and kicking…sorry, not all of us are kicking, (smile) but God’s breath of life is certainly flowing through our mortal bodies.
And you better believe that’s a rather important and auspicious occasion. And I say that because just last Sunday at the early morning service in church, one fellow who usually comes with his wife, was there alone, and when I inquired of her, he said that she recently had knee surgery and was still recuperating.
Imagine my consternation when at the early morning service yesterday, the pastor announced that the fellow, Don, had unexpectedly and suddenly died of a massive heart attack this week. Ah Lord eh! Now the poor wife not only has to put up with her medical problems, but the sudden and unexpected departure of her spouse too. And we complain because we have to get up and go to work. Steups!
Look Friends, instead of being miserable and complaining, let’s just get up thankfully and get ourselves off to our jobs and do the best we can in Jesus’ name eh! For that’s what He has called us to do, not to laze around, pussyfoot and complain. And to help us get ourselves together this last Monday in September, which looks like it’s going to be another nice day in my area – oh glory to God – let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with much joy, enthusiasm and appreciation.
As one trilling and harmonious choir now: ‘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!’
Now that wasn’t bad at all my people. I guess the news of my fellow parishioners’ sudden passing woke some of you up to the reality that one moment we could be here on earth, and the next floating away to heaven or Hades. I don’t know if Don had any prevailing heart problems but it just highlights the predicament we’re all in, of being ready to meet the Lord anytime He chooses to call.
That brings us to our Bit, where Jesus, having explained some of the signs that would indicate His Second Coming in glory to the disciples, He declares: ‘Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall never pass away.’ And isn’t that the gospel truth my fellow believers! It certainly is!
And there’s a whole lot of scripture to prove it. Let’s look at some, beginning with the words of the psalmist from Psalm 102 –A cry in distress. ‘I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations. Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
They shall perish, but thou shalt endure (continue): yea, all of them shall wax (grow) old like a garment; as a vesture (cloak) shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed. But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.’ (Ps.102:24-27) More truth of an indisputable nature my brethren!
Now listen to Isaiah as he solemnly declares: ‘The voice said, Cry (out), And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness (loveliness) thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit (breath) of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.’ (Is.40:6-8)
Now listen as Peter adds his two cents worth. ‘’The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief (robber) in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.’ (2 Pet.3:9-10)
Yes Friends, our God is long-suffering and desires that all who trust Him will receive salvation. But He’s not going to wait forever, and the day of judgement is already set. So if you’re not amongst those who sincerely believe and trust in Jesus at the time of the Rapture, then crapaud smoke yuh pipe when the day of judgement comes.
That’s it in a nutshell my people. So please listen to the voice of wisdom that’s crying out to us get ourselves together, NOW, while we still have a chance, for that day could come like a thief in the night and take us unawares. Much LOVE!
…wisdom dictates that we should be ever ready…either for when the Lord returns…or if He calls us home first…
10 Aug 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abundant life, actions speak louder than words, aura of love, be exceeding glad, blessedness, blessings, cast not away your confidence, confidence, contagious passion, disposses the child of God, endurance, enthusiasm, enthusiasm for Jesus, eternal destiny, eternal life, everything is right with our world, evil, examples speak more forcibly than precepts, exult, faith, friends, glorious kingdom, glory hallelujah, glory to God, great is your reward in heaven, great recompense of reward, heaven, heaven's on our side, Hebrews, hold fast the profession of our faith, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, invincible, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus Love Revolution, Jesus sacrificed His life for us, joyful spirit, lies, lord god almighty, LOVE, magnificent and magnanimous God, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, passion, patience, peace, persecution, perseverance, pilgrim's journey, rejoice, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, rise and shine, stay confident in the faith, steadfast faith, tears of joy, truth, ungodly world, wisdom
Hebrews 10:35. Cast not therefore away your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, it’s Monday! Yes, Monday, the first day of this new workweek! Glory Hallelujah! So let’s rise and shine and greet it with a grateful and joyful spirit nuh! It’s our Christian heritage you know. Remember Jesus sacrificed His sinless life in part so that we could have a vibrant and abundant one ourselves. And there’s no knowing what wonderful things and situations our magnificent and magnanimous God has in store for us today.
Wow! Let’s get excited nuh my people! Oh I know that Job wisely said that we can’t have good without bad, (Job 2:10) but today, and everyday hence, we must be positive and believe that the good, whatever it may be, will certainly outweigh the bad. Glory to God!
And with all that passion and enthusiasm for Jesus bubbling up in us, let’s give the earth…and the heavens too, a rousing and most awesome rendition of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn.
All together now: ‘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!’
Oh mih breddren, mih breddren, that was beautiful; magnifico, tres magnifique! – couldn’t get in the accents (smile). We were so into it, so sincere and true that tears of joy were flowing down Jesus, our choir director’s cheeks, as our passion was contagious, and He in turn wielded a tantalizing baton to direct us.
Oh Friends, the angels… in fact all of heaven was eventually singing along with us, including the Father. And they all stood up afterwards and clapped for an encore! What a wonderful way to begin our day my brethren! Heaven’s on our side, and thus everything is right with our world!
Now if we could only package that enthusiasm and emotion for Jesus and distribute it all over the earth, then there would certainly be great improvement all around. Jesus’ LOVE Revolution then would be in full swing. But unfortunately, the reality is that we cannot simply package it and send it off. Somewhere along the line we also have to live it, and let others see the passion in our souls.
For remember that actions usually speak louder than words, and people are most likely to do as we do, rather than as we say. If I remember correctly, ‘examples speak more forcibly than precepts (words),’ is how the author of the novel Joseph Andrews puts it. That brings us to the intriguing and encouraging words of our Bit. ‘Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.’
Yes Friends, in this earthly life, this pilgrim’s journey, one of the most important things we have to do is to stay confident in the faith, the belief and promises of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It’s not always easy, especially with the enemy and his evil minions constantly breathing down our necks and whispering foolish lies and deceits in our ears.
But as the author of Hebrews continues after our Bit: ‘For ye have need of patience (perseverance, endurance), that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.’ (Heb. 10:36) Yes my people, our faithful God will not fail to reward us for the sincere work we’ve done in His name.
The author of Hebrews also addressed that problem earlier on in the chapter. ‘Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our faith (hope) without wavering: (for he is faithful that promised :)’ (Heb.10:23) Those are certainly words to live by my fellow believers. It’s even better than money in the bank! (smile)
Jesus even spelled it out for us in the Sermon on the Mount. ‘Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.’ (Matt.5:11-12)
And the scholars have a great explanation of that verse. ‘5:12. Rejoice is the command that grows out of the blessedness of the believer. The phrase, ‘Rejoice, and be exceeding glad means even more, exult! Great is your reward in heaven focuses attention on the eternal destiny of all things. If God is as real as He claims, if the Bible is true, if heaven is to be gained, then no temporary earthly trouble or persecution can dispossess the child of God of joy in the prospect of the eternal glory that lies ahead.’
Wow! What powerful words! And we all know that there are no ifs and buts, doubts and questions about Jesus, heaven, salvation and eternal life. They are for real. So people, let’s do the wise thing nuh and Rejoice… be exceedingly glad, exult, for that is the wisdom of heaven! Much LOVE!
…true believers in Jesus…should be the most exultant lot on God’s planet earth…because of the reality and blessedness…of salvation and eternal life…
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