11 Feb 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a song of joy, abide with me, all God's works, beautiful, bitterness, bubbling in our hearts, change, cloud, comforts flee, companionship, death, death's sting, decay, dissipation, done in truth, drunk with wine, earth's joys, encourage each other, Ephesians, Eventide, fear no foe, filled with the Spirit, first day of the week, flowing from our lips, foil the tempter's power, for all things, gathering, giving thanks always, gloom, God's presence, gospel truth, grace, grave, hearts, heavenly Father, help of the helpless, helpers fail, Henry Francis Lyte, human craving, hymns, in the name of, invite Jesus, joy, life, listen to God's holy word, looks death in the face, loves righteousness, loving kindness, making melody to the Lord, miss a great time, our Lord Jesus Christ, pilgrimage, praise, praise is comely, Praise the Lord, psalms, rain, Rejoice in the Lord, rejuvenating everyone, sacrifice of praise, shout of joy, sing unto God a new song, snow, speaking to yoursleves, spiritual songs, Sunday gatherings, sunshine, tarry with them, tears, thanksgiving, the darkness deepens, the day is far spent, the fear of God, the house of God, the joy of the Lord is our strength, the Lord is in the house, the Lord's goodness, the Lord's sanctuary, the road to Emmaus, the upright, time everlasting, to offer up thanks and praise, triumph, true believers, unto God, vain shadows flee, victory, William Monk, ye righteous
Psalm 33:1. Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely (beautiful) for the upright.
And as the first day of the week rolls around again, let us gladly make our weekly pilgrimage to the House of God! There to meet in joyful fellowship, with praise and thanksgiving flowing from our lips and hearts, as we listen to His holy word and renew His Spirit within us. As I said the other day, there’s nothing as moving and monumental as a group of true believers gathering to offer up thanks and praise to our heavenly Father.
Now please don’t allow the snow, rain, or other physical circumstances to stop you from going to the Lord’s sanctuary, for you will miss a great time, where believers encourage each other and the Spirit of the Lord is in the house rejuvenating everyone. So let’s get the praise and worship going by singing another old faithful, ‘Abide with Me.’
Apparently it was written by an eccentric curate, Henry Francis Lyte (1793-1847) ‘haunted by the phrase, repeatedly muttered by his close friend, William Le Hunte, as he lay dying.’ Lyte wrote the hymn to its own tune, but it is now sung to the tune of ‘Eventide,’ a composition of the organist William Monk.
It’s supposedly based on the scripture Luke 24:29, where the two disciples met Jesus on the road to Emmaus but did not recognize Him, and as the daylight was drawing to a close, and they came to where they would spend the night, they constrained, petitioned, Jesus: ‘Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.’
Now let us, in our own way, invite Jesus to stay with us until time everlasting. In strong voice and humble hearts let’s offer up the sacrifice of praise that our Lord enjoys hearing so much. ‘Abide with me: fast falls the eventide; the darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide. When other helpers fail and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day; earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away. Change and decay in all around I see. O Lord who changes not, abide with me. I need your presence every passing hour. What but your grace can foil the tempter’s power? Who like yourself my guide and strength can be? Through cloud and sunshine, O abide with me.
I fear no foe with you at hand to bless, though ills have weight, and tears their bitterness. Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, your victory? I triumph still, if you abide with me. Hold now your Word before my closing eyes. Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies. Heaven’s morning breaks and earth’s vain shadows flee; in life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.’
And there is no one better to undertake that task than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Now here are a couple of interesting comments on the hymn. One Erik Routley calls it a hymn that “looks death in the face” and embodies the human craving for companionship in extremis.’ So what of that eh? Though we know that all of us must face death, it’s till the hardest thing for us to come to terms with.
So if we have something that gives us comfort under the circumstances, why not cling to it? And besides, God made man to fellowship with Him and each other, so there is a built in need for companionship. (smile)
It’s also been noted that ‘the change to the singular pronoun is what gives the hymn its comforting emotional intimacy.’ That means the change from the disciples ‘abide with US,’ to the hymn’s ‘abide with ME.’ Whatever makes it more comforting yes!
And all of the above dovetails very nicely with our Bit. ‘Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely (beautiful) for the upright.’ Ah friends, that is exactly what our Sunday gatherings are about: rejoicing in the Lord, giving Him beautiful and comely praise in His house.
Now that doesn’t mean to say that it’s only in a building with several people is rejoicing and praise possible. Shoot no! Praise can be done anywhere, at any time, by at least one person! Our God doesn’t care so much about when, where and by how many He gets His praise, once He gets it on a regular basis from His children.
That’s why Bruh Paul warned the Ephesians, and by extension modern day believers: ‘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)
Yeh mih people, as true believers, we ought always to have a song of joy in our hearts towards our wonderful heavenly Father! And it’s only fitting that we end with some more of the Psalm from which our Bit is taken. ‘Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. Sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise (shout of joy). The word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth. He LOVETH righteousness and judgement (justice): the earth is full of the goodness (LOVING-kindness) of the Lord.’ (Ps.33:2-5)
And isn’t that the gospel truth my brethren! Wow! That’s why we ought to rejoice and give thanks as much as possible! So as we go to the sanctuary today, or worship wherever, let’s try and keep that joy, that rejoicing in the Lord’s goodness actively bubbling in our hearts nuh. For remember, the joy of the Lord is our strength. Much LOVE!
…if you’re not giving God regular and sincere praise and thanks…then you’re not a true believer…
01 Feb 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a beautiful place, a brand new day, a compassionate heart, a dime a dozen, a low ebb, advances in technology, amenities, an ugly place, as white as snow, Ash Wednesday, Auld Lang Syne, bask in the sunshine, be as scarlet, began from scratch, blessings, blood guiltiness, bounden duty, building, called according to His purpose, Carnival, children, close harmony, come now, communicate with Him, crying out, curse, destroying, destruction, devoured by the sword, dissension, disunity, everlasting goodness, evil world, evildoers, faith, favour, forgive, future generations, gives the world hope, God's invitation, goodies, hate, health, heavenly Father, hope, in good faith, Isaiah, left overs, let us reason together, LOVE, Love the Lord, made specially for today, magnificent and magnanimous God, negative word, new mercies, New Year's resolution, one thing, personal relations, positive outlook, prosper, ready to cleanse, reasoning together, rebel, red like crimson, refuse, repentance, repenting, see a better world, shall be as wool, share our blessings, sins, standard of life, strife, strong conviction, succeed, talking to each other, the future, the good of the land, the mouth of the Lord, those who love him, Thursday's Blessings, turning to god, turns the world, Valentine's day, walking closer with Christ, war, willy-nilly, wisdom, worm
Isaiah 1:18. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Welcome, welcome, one and all to a brand new day in God’s great universe! And it’s not only a new day, but also one filled with new mercies and blessings from our heavenly Father, stuff he made specially for today.
He threw out all the left overs from yesterday and began from scratch this morning, so those who LOVE Him and are called according to His purpose can bask in the sunshine of His everlasting goodness.
Wow! What a magnificent and magnanimous Deity we serve and worship my brethren! But remember YOU have to communicate with HIM, to get those goodies! He doesn’t just hand them out willy-nilly. (smile)
And would you also believe that today is the 1st of February? Brother! We were just singing Auld Lang Syne a few days ago, welcoming the New Year, now we’re already hot into the bacchanalian bash called Carnival, with Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day falling the same time in two weeks. Is the year flying by or what?
Let’s hope that we all are keeping our New Year’s resolution, that of walking ever closer with Christ this year, strong and in good order, because that’s the only way we will be successful in this crazy, troubled, war-like, evil world.
And you know friends, the ‘One thing that turns the world from an ugly place to a beautiful place is LOVE. LOVE gives the world hope!’ And is that ever so true my people. Without LOVE permeating our hearts and souls, we simply have no hope, since hate is all about destroying, but LOVE is about building; building together in close harmony.
But sadly, if we look around our world right now, there is very little, if any building, everywhere is simply destruction, both manmade and natural. How does that augur for the future of our planet eh? It’s not very encouraging. If we keep on destroying everything in our path, the future generations will be left with nothing.
Is that what we want for our children, and our children’s children? Even the evildoers will answer no to that question, but none of us are doing anything substantial to stop if from coming to pass. That’s why we’re crying out now, in our Bit, like the prophet Isaiah did on the Lord’s behalf, many centuries ago to the Israelites.
‘Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’
Yeh friends, it’s all about mankind sitting down and reasoning together if we want to see a better world. And the two verses after our Bit clearly spell out the consequences of not doing so. ‘If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured by the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.’ (Is.1:19-20)
Oh my people, we don’t have to wait for the Lord to tell us that. It’s written ever so plainly in our behaviour, where there’s so much dissension and disunity, even amongst family, much less between countries. Consequently, strife is all-pervasive, and wars are a dime a dozen. It’s easier to pick out where there is no strife than where there is strife, because there are so much fewer of the former. That’s to tell you how bad it is.
But turning back to our Bit. Let’s get some explanations from the scholars. ‘1:18-20. The prophet’s appeal to come and reason together reveals God’s gracious invitation to all men. It literally means to be “reasonable” by repenting and turning to God. Their sin is described as scarlet and red like crimson, referring to their blood guiltiness before God.
The term ‘crimson’ also means “worm,” referring to the colourfast red dye of the scarlet worm. The eradication of this stain turns it snowy white and is symbolic of the life-changing grace of God, which delivers men from guilt and condemnation of sin. Thus the prophet reminds his readers that God stands ready to cleanse and forgive all who will turn to Him.’
Oh mih breddren, from way back then, our wonderful God was prepared to forgive sins to those who turned in repentance to Him, and today He is still in the forgiving business. All we have to do is turn to Him in true repentance. Are we willing to do that so our world and our children can enjoy a better standard of life in the future?
I do hope so, because with all the amenities and advances in technology we now have, the most important aspect of our society, personal relations between humans is at a low ebb, and until we fix that, nothing else will make life any better.
Now, for those of us who choose to LOVE the Lord and obey Him, let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings. In full voice and strong conviction: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Now let’s go out and do our bounden duty; share those blessings with others, as Jesus desires. Much LOVE!
…only by talking to each other…in good faith…will our world ever improve…
18 Jan 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abundance, all things are possible, baptized, believe, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, believing in God, blessings, Christians, compassionate heart, compelling narative, complex, courage, creativity, curse, faith, family, favour, fear, follower of Christ, friends, God is with us, greetings, guidance, health, heartaches, heavenly Father, hope, insights, jailer, Jehovah, Jesus Christ, key to everything, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, mercies, miracle, Most High God, negative word, pain, privilege of calling on God, promotion, prosper, put your faith in God, ready to receive Christ, reconciled, rejoiced, respond positively, rocket science, run roughshod, sacrifice, salutations, set our sights, simple, sinners, stripes, succeed, success, take the fear out of living, talent, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the Good Book, the living God, the state of our hearts, the word of the Lord, there is hope, Thursday Blessings, too good to be true, walk sincerely, while there is life, wisdom, with God, withstand adversity
Acts 16:31, And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house (household).
Greetings and salutations friends, this Thursday morning from our heavenly father, the Most High God, Jehovah! He sends His great LOVE and new mercies so that we can handle this day successfully, if we walk sincerely with Him. That is the key to everything; walking sincerely in His will.
And I want to let us know that God is with us, the same way He was with Jesus Christ when He was here on earth, so we have the wonderful privilege of calling on Him as Jesus did. Glory be my people! And it doesn’t make sense having the privilege if we don’t use it.
So let’s set our sights to call on God, at anytime, anywhere, and for everything, because that’s what He expects of us. He wants to be involved in each and every aspect of our lives, so please don’t keep Him out of anything, even the simplest aspect of our daily living, otherwise we could be in danger of losing wonderful insights, guidance and blessings.
That’s why the Daily Bread devotional thought tells us: ‘To take the fear out of living, put your faith in the living God.’ Truth of enormous proportions my brethren! For it’s only faith that conquers fear! The world expects us to be fearful, but our God desires us to be faithful! Which are we going to chose eh?
Fear is easy, you just kowtow, give in to it and let it run roughshod over your life. Faith however calls for us to be strong, to withstand adversity, even when times look extremely bad. It calls for pain and sacrifice, even when we don’t seem to have any more breath left in our bodies. Faith says, while there is hope there is life, and with God ALL things are possible!
And that’s what we are called to as Christians; being strong and steadfast in our belief and living for the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who sacrificed His only Son Jesus Christ, so that we abominable sinners could be reconciled to Him. No other faith has such a simple but moving and compelling narrative. That’s why some people think it is too good to be true. But true it is my brethren! And there’s no rocket science involved.
That’s why when Paul and Silas prayed and the Lord opened the gates of the prison, and the prison keeper went to kill himself, thinking that all the prisoners had escaped, Bruh Paul warned him. ‘Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang (ran) in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas.
And brought them out, and said, sirs. What must I do to be saved? ‘And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house (household).’ (Acts 16:28-31)
Yeh friends, that’s how simple it is. Believe, only believe in Christ and you shall be saved! It couldn’t get any simpler than that. But us complex humans think that anything so simple is of no use. Sometimes that might be right, but in this case it is definitely wrong.
And the Good Book continues after our Bit. ‘And they spoke unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat (food) before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.’ (Acts 16:31:34)
Yuh see how it easy it is to be saved friends. But it all depends on the state of our hearts; whether we’re ready to receive Christ as our Lord and Saviour or not. Obviously the jailer and his family were ready, especially after seeing the miracle that God had wrought; the jail doors being suddenly opened, and yet no one escaping. But in general, we should not look for miracles before we believe.
When the Lord calls us we should respond positively, don’t try to fight it. And I can tell you from personal experience, that when you try to fight God, or ignore Him, your life just gets harder and more miserable. I did that when He first suggested the writing of the Bit. But when He wants you, He doesn’t give up. So it’s to your advantage, when He first calls to answer, ‘Yes Lord. Right away!’ You’ll save your self some heartaches.
And yuh know what? When we truly believe, we are inordinately blessed. Let’s now declare our Thursday Blessings, enthusiastically letting the world know how wonderful it is to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ. As one now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Yeh mih breddren, that’s what you have to look forward to when you put your trust and faith in Jesus Christ! Much LOVE!
…put not your trust in humans…but in the One who first created the world…then saved it…
24 Dec 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a good example, a new and glorious morn, a thrill of hope, according to thy word, assurance, barren, behold your king, bounden duty, chains, Christ's birth, Christ-like, Christmas Carol, christmas eve, confidence, damnation, death, Elisabeth, error pining, exalt His holy name, excited, face adversity, fall on your knees, followers of Jesus, forgiveness, friend, Gabriel, give thanks, gladness, glory to God, gospel is peace, grace, grateful chorus, gratitude, hear the angel voices, heartache, heavenly Father, hell fire, his law is love, hymns of joy, improve our lives, in sin, joy, knowing a man, knows our need, light of a star, long lay the world, LOVE, LOVE one another, Mary, mature, mercy, miracle, Most High, mystery, no stranger, nothing shall be impossible, O Holy Night, o night divine, oppression, our weakness, power, praise, raise our voices, resurrection, sacrifice, save sinful man, singing our hearts out, son of god, strength, stress and strain, tears of joy, the handmaid of the Lord, the Holy Spirit, the slave is our brother, the weary soul rejoices, the wherewithal, the wise men, to high heaven, to stand strong, trials, truths, with God, worship, yonder breaks
Luke 1:37. For with God nothing shall be impossible.
And then it was Christmas Eve! Yeh friends, Christmas Eve, the day before Christ’s birth, aren’t you excited? (smile) We should be my people, because it’s around this time two thousand years ago we received the greatest gift ever. The Son of God was born so that He could save sinful man, whom His heavenly Father LOVED with such a great LOVE that He was willing to sacrifice His only Son, so that His human creation could be saved from hell fire and damnation.
Glory to our Most High God my brethren, for there is no other Deity who would have ever dreamed of doing something like that! So my fellow believers, on this Christmas Eve Sunday, as we gather in God’s sanctuary to praise and worship Him, to give Him thanks and exalt His holy name and receive His mercy, grace, forgiveness, strength and confidence to face the upcoming week, let’s show our sincere gratitude and overwhelming LOVE by singing our hearts out with unspeakable joy and supreme gladness.
And the song we’re going to offer up in our sacrifice of praise is the old but ever true and much liked standard, ‘O Holy Night.’ Apparently it was originally written in French, but was later translated to English, and has the distinction of being the first Christmas Carol to ever be played on the radio in 1906. So with sincere feeling now, as we raise our voices to high heaven.
‘O holy night, the stars are brightly shining; It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth! Long lay the world in sin and error pining, ‘Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices! O night divine, O night when Christ was born! O night, O holy night, O night divine! Led by the light of faith serenely beaming, With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand. So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming, Here came the wise men from Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger, In all our trials born to be our Friend! He knows our need; to our weakness is no stranger. Behold your King; before Him lowly bend! Behold your King; before Him lowly bend! Truly He taught us to LOVE one another; His law is LOVE and His Gospel is peace. Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother And in His Name all oppression shall cease. Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we, Let all within us praise His holy Name! His power and glory evermore proclaim! His power and glory evermore proclaim!’
Oh friends, what beautiful sentiments, filled with eternal truths, while offering loads of assurance for the believer. I sincerely hope that tears of joy were flowing down all our faces as we sang those exquisite words. For how could it be otherwise eh, when we’re celebrating such a joyful occasion? And friends, the whole story of Christ’s birth is so incredible, that only a superior being could have worked it out so efficiently and competently and dramatically.
That takes us to our Bit: ‘For with God nothing shall be impossible.’ Those were the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary, Christ’s mother, after he informed her that she would bare God’s Son through the auspices of the Holy Spirit, and that her hitherto barren cousin Elisabeth, in her old age, was also pregnant. And what I LOVE about Mary is that despite her young age, throughout Gabriel’s information session she never got riled or overly excited. Of course she was somewhat concerned and confused as Gabriel appeared out of the blue and began to lay such weighty matters on her. Her only real question was how was she going to get pregnant without knowing a man?
And once Gabriel explained, she was fine. ‘The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest (Most High) shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing (One) which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.’ (Luke 1:35) I must say that Mary was pretty mature for her age and background. If an angel suddenly appeared now and told that a teenager, she’d either run away screaming in fright, or hurl vicious and angry words at the messenger. But Mary’s response at the end of the conversation was simply: ‘Behold the handmaid (maidservant) of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.’ (Luke 1:38)
Ah friends, I’m not sure that Mary would have been so relaxed if she had known the immense heartache she would have to face by being the mother of the Son of God. But nonetheless she held up under all the stress and strain of her position fairly well. Obviously the Lord gave her the wherewithal to stand strong and face the adversity, as He does with us all, when He gives us a job to do.
So fellow believers, on this Christmas Eve Sunday of 2017, with our world in a complete mess, let’s try and spend some serious time contemplating the mystery and the miracle of Christ’s birth, and how it affects our lives today nuh. And consequently, what we need to do to improve our lives and the lives of those around us, because if we are to be true followers of Jesus, and for His birth, death and resurrection to truly mean something, then we should always be in the process of becoming more Christ-like and setting a good Christian example to others. That’s Christ’s desire and our bounden duty. Much LOVE!
…ALL things are possible with God…you just have to study Christ’s life to see it…
19 Dec 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new day, a new week, a plan, a tight rrelationship, a well, an unborn infant, aroma, cake, cheer, Christians, Christmas, Christmas tree, comes down from heaven, constant communication, dr robert h schuller, drink of this water, embryonic ideas, encourged, enthused, eternal life, everlasting life, evil, face the sunlight, feast, follow Jesus, fountain, fountain of life., friend jesus, gives life, god, good things, goodwill, heart, heavenly Father, holy spirit, hopeful, Hour of Power Devotional, hunger, hurry, in thy light, insights, light, living water, LOVE, manna, Moses, nourishment, out of his belly, peace, prayer, prayerful attitude, pulls everything together successfully, renew your strength, rivers of living water, share, solve my problems, spiritual life, the beloved of God, the bread of God, the fountain of life, the power, the Samaritan woman, the source of all life, the umbilical cord, thirst, Tuesday Mantra, undiscovered possibilities, ungodly world, wait on the Lord, water, we shall see light, worry
Psalm 36:9. For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.
And then it was six… and counting! Yeh friends, six more days to the big one of Christmas! And I do hope that the celebrations are being ramped up, and all the preparations are falling nicely into place at your homes.
It’s not looking too bad at my place. The outside lights are the best in the neighbourhood. (smile) So I’m somewhat biased, but they do look good. And I came home last night to find the Christmas tree being decorated. That looks good too…as always…!
And brother, was I thrilled when I opened the door and was greeted, or rather assaulted, by a wonderful smell of baking Christmas cake in the air. And for a while the aroma just wafted through the house, adding to the air of Christmas cheer and peace and goodwill that existed.
But all of that though friends should be secondary to the overwhelming presence of the Spirit of Jesus in our homes. For He, His miraculous birth, is the entire reason for all this celebration! And we need to keep that uppermost in our minds.
And talking about birth, today I want to share a passage from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional titled ‘Nourishment from Above.’ And he says: ‘Wait on the Lord, and He will renew your strength! Prayer is the umbilical cord that allows you – with your embryonic ideas – to draw nourishment from a source that you, like an unborn infant, can neither see nor fully know or comprehend – God our heavenly Father!
Prayer is the power that pulls everything together successfully. With this prayerful attitude tackle your problem today. Turn it over to God. Take out a sheet of paper. Pick up a pencil. And get ready for the ideas that he will drop into your mind.’
(And as you do that, you can pray something like this:) ‘Father, I have a strong sensation that you brought me to this moment of prayer because you have a plan to share with me insights to solve my problems. So I will go out and face the sunlight of a new day and a new week crammed with undiscovered possibilities. I am encouraged! I am enthused! I am more hopeful than I have been in a long time! Amen.’
Oh friends, do we Christians ever need to be more enthused, encouraged and hopeful than ever before because of the evil and ungodly world in which we’re living. And that uplifting will ONLY come when we establish a tight relationship, keep in constant communication with our heavenly Father through prayer, for He is indeed the source of all life and all good things.
That brings us to our Bit: ‘For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.’ Oh my people, our God is indeed the fountain of life: it’s through Him that we were granted physical life, and it’s ONLY through Him is eternal spiritual life available! Jesus made this fact clear so often that I don’t see how we can ever forget or neglect it.
Listen to Him talking to the Samaritan woman at the well. ‘Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again. But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well (fountain) of water springing up into everlasting life.’ (John 4:13-14) What an inspiring and encouraging scripture friends!
Now hear Jesus after His listeners told Him about the Lord giving their forefathers bread (manna) from heaven in the wilderness. ‘Verily, verily I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.’ (John 6:32-35)
Glory to God my brethren! For how can we ever beat that promise eh? Jesus IS the bread that gives life; all kinds, although there He is referring in particular to spiritual and eternal life.
And if you still have doubts and misgivings about the true source of life, then listen to Jesus one more time. ‘In the last day, that great day of the feast (feast of tabernacles), Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly (heart) shall flow rivers of living water.’ (John 7:37-38)
Oh precious people, Jesus is indeed the fountain of life, the bread of life, the giver of living water (the indwelling Holy Spirit), the giver of physical life, spiritual life, eternal life – whatever kind of good life you’re looking for, the source, the head spring, is to be found in Jesus! Please remember that and act accordingly.
Now let’s go home declaring loudly and proudly to this evil and ungodly world, who and whose we are in our Tuesday Mantra. ‘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 now, in this Christmas season, the time of Christ’s birth, let’s go out and truly share that wonderful LOVE of our awesome friend Jesus! It’s ever so appropriate. Much LOVE!
…as for me and mine…we will follow Jesus…the fountain of ALL life…
05 Dec 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a prisoner, affliction, beloved, calamity, call upon the Lord, change, Christmas, cleanness of my hands, climb, come unto me, coming to earth, commercialism, compete, confusion, cringe, crucified, defenceless, delighted, depressed, despair, disgust, distress, faithful, fatherly embrace, fearful, feeling, friend jesus, fulfilling, guilt, Happy Christmas, Happy Holiday, healing, heartwarming, heavenly Father, hope, human form, human souls, humble heart, hurting, I called upon the Lord, in a large place, Jesus, joyful proclamation, life upside down, locked in, lonely, lost, LOVE, magnanimous and magnificent God, merit, mocked, morph into, of God, One Year Book of Bible promises, onus, promise, recompensed, renege, Reversal, rewarded, right side up, Ruth Harms Calkin, save humans, see without eyes, serving the Lord, set me, smeared with fear, stewing, succour, tangled emotions, the end of my rope, the enemy's ranks, the Lord answered me, the pace picks up, the pot of affliction, the season's purpose, the world system, things of the world, tied up in knots, tokens, topsy-turvy, tried desperately, trust, Tuesday Mantra, walk without feet
Psalm 118:5. I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large (broad) place.
And the pace picks up, as the days dwindle down to the all-important Christmas Day! Please remember though friends, that it’s not about the world’s confusion and commercialism, but strictly about Jesus; His coming to earth in human form so that He could save said humans who mocked and crucified Him!
And the sad part is that too many of us supposed believers tend to forget that scenario and just morph into the world system. And we do need to be reminded of the season’s purpose as it get’s easier to join the enemy’s ranks with the constant hoopla of ‘Happy Holidays,’ and not ‘Happy Christmas! So consider yourselves reminded. (smile)
Now today I want to share a poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin which so vividly shows what happens to us when we get caught up in the world system. It’s titled ‘Reversal.’
Please pray with me: ‘I said, Lord, look at me Just look at me All of life upside down – Tangled emotions smeared with fear Guilt Despair Disgust A prisoner of myself. The hopeless thing is that It’s all decided. I’m defenceless At the end of my rope Locked in And I’ve tried, Lord Tried desperately.
But how does one see without eyes Or walk without feet? How, Lord? You said, Come unto me. You need not cringe Nor climb Nor compete Nor change Come even without feeling Without tokens Without merit or hope But come. Come now. I came And all of life Turned right side up.’
Wow friends! What a magnanimous and magnificent God we serve and worship! Yuh see, even when we allow the things of the world to get us tied up in knots; alone, depressed and fearful, we can go to our heavenly Father for succour…and just as we are too, hurting and lonely and lost.
We don’t have to change before going to Him. He wants us to come just as we are, right then and there, and He will effect whatever changes are necessary, since we can’t do them for ourselves.
So, this Christmas season, when so many of us get caught up in the topsy-turvy of the world system, let’s remember those very meaningful words nuh…’Come unto me…Come now…’ And with heavenly wisdom, let’s run into His fatherly embrace and receive the LOVE and the healing we need.
And the Bible Promise for that poem is our Bit, taken from Psalm 118 – Thanksgiving for the Lord’s salvation. It boldly declares the joyful proclamation of the psalmist: ‘I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large (broad) place.’
Yes my people, that is indeed the way it is! In times of distress and calamity, when we call upon the Lord with a sincere and humble heart, He will hear us and relieve the pressure upon our human souls. That’s His promise! And we know that He’s NEVER, and WILL NEVER, renege on any of His promises, because He is faithful that promised.
But WE HAVE to first go to Him with our problems in all sincerity and truth. Note, He said, ‘Come. Come just as you are…’ So the onus is on us to make the first move, otherwise we’ll just stay there stewing in the pot of affliction that we created for ourselves.
Now listen as Bruh David celebrates the Lord’s goodness from Psalm 18 – Thanksgiving for deliverance – after he had been delivered from the hands of his enemies, especially Saul. ‘The sorrows (pangs) of death compassed (encompassed) me, and the floods of ungodly men (ungodliness) made me afraid.
The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented (confronted) me. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of (from) his temple, and my cry came before him, even unto his ears.’ (Ps.18:4-6)
Yeh friends, our God is the best help in time of trouble! And if you’re wondering what happened after Bruh David cried out to the Lord, the Lord was angry and stirred up the world in Bruh David’s favour (vs.7-17)
Then finally: ‘They prevented (confronted) me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay (support). He brought me forth also into a large (broad) place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me. The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.’ (Ps.18:18-21)
And therein lies the secret my brethren; not following the world system and departing from serving the Lord God Jehovah! If we stay faithful to Him, He will be faithful to us and lift us up in time of calamity. Please remember that.
Now let’s go home proudly declaring to the world who and whose we are, through our Tuesday Mantra. All together 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!’
Glory be, mih people! Now let’s go out and share that wonderful LOVE of Jesus that we just finished talking about, and try to make the world a better place. Much LOVE!
…there’s nothing more fulfilling and heartwarming…than sharing the LOVE of Jesus…
24 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ., 24-7, attention, believers, Black Friday, blessings, boundaries attuned to Christ, bounden duty, celebrations, Christians, conform to, creed, cued to God's work, destiny, drunk or sober, emporium, enthusiasm, ever-faithful, exaltation, excellent, fatness, fellowship, flowing like water, fortress, fountian of life, Friday chant, fun, generous help, give thanks, glorious kingdom, glory, glory to God, go overboard, gospel truth, Granny's warning, gravitate to excess, heavenly Father, holy spirit, honour, in Jesus' name, indisputable truth, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, latter times, libations, light, LOVE, loverly, loving-kindness, mercies, mind yuh business, minefields, modicum of circumspection, mortal danger, navigate, obedience, of thy wings, ole, open every day, party time, partying, pitfalls, precious, put their trust, rejoicing, relaxation, rest, river of pleasures, sales, satisfied, some form and fashion, steadfast love of God, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, thanksgiving weekend, the best deal, the children of men, the church, the weekend, the workingman, time for food, tower of strength, trust, under the shadow, week of work, wisdom, wonderful god
Psalm 36:7. How excellent (precious) is thy LOVING-kindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.
Another new day…more new mercies, blessings etc. flowing generously from the open hand of our wonderful God! But this day is special to most of us because it’s Friday, which announces the start of the weekend, our short break from work.
And as the workingman sings his song: ‘Ole, Ole, TGIF! Thank God is Friday! Ole, Ole, Thank God for the weekend…Thanksgiving weekend to boot! No more chupid labour. Is party time! Time for food and family and friends and endless libations flowing like water. Yuh can’t give thanks just so. It have to be accompanied by rejoicing and partying! Thank the Lord for this big Thanksgiving weekend party!’
And no doubt many of us will conform to that creed and live it out this weekend. But we have to remember there is mortal danger where and whenever we gravitate to excess, especially as Christians. Our Leader, Jesus Christ has provided us with boundaries that we should not exceed, if we wish to stay attuned to Him and His organization, the church.
That’s why we don’t go overboard in our celebrations, but retain a modicum of circumspection, like our Friday Chant attests to. Let’s chant it now like we truly mean it nuh. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Ah friends, it’s not as excessive as the workingman’s anthem, and most importantly, it is cued to God’s work, furthering His kingdom in some form and fashion in all that we do. As believers, that’s our bounden duty, our destiny. So we always have to have our wits about us.
As Granny would warn: ‘Sonny boy, drunk or sober, please mind yuh business!’ (smile) And though it sounds funny, it’s gospel truth. We all need to be careful how we go about in these latter times, as the world abounds with numerous pitfalls in every direction we look or take. And it’s only with the help of Jehovah God and His Spirit which dwells within us, that we are able to successfully navigate the many minefields that surround our daily lives.
And all God’s children gave a loud and grateful shout of ‘Glory to God! Give Him the praise! Exalt His Holy Name! For His LOVING-kindness endures forever!’ That’s why Bruh David could declare with overwhelming confidence and assurance the immortal words of our Bit from Psalm 36 – The steadfast LOVE of God.
‘How excellent (precious) is thy LOVING-kindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.’
Now that is indisputable truth and true wisdom to the max! Our God’s goodness is indeed outstanding, and wise children of men choose to adore and obey Him, to live under the shadow of His mighty and everlasting wings! Glory to God mih people! I just had to say it again, so great was the enthusiasm those words and thoughts produced in my spirit that my mouth needed to declare His honour and glory. (smile)
And if you don’t believe our Bit, listen to how Bruh David continues, how he states his case, like any good lawyer. ‘They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness (fullness) of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.’ (Ps.36:8-9)
Oh friends, oh friends, that is the best deal going on this Thanksgiving Black Friday where all those businesses are touting their sales! Steups! But NONE of them can match God’s promotion! Life and light and fatness and pleasurable drink! And the great thing about God’s offer is that it’s open and available every day that you are alive, 24-7!
Mama Mia! Which child of men’s offer can match that eh? Absolutely NONE! Consequently, my brethren, I would strongly advise us that the first place to visit on this Black Friday Sale morning is that of Almighty God. Right in that one place you will find everything you want, lack, need and can ever desire! Wow! What a mighty fortress and tower of strength is our God!
And believe me friends, I’m chuckling here, because this is all the work of the Holy Spirit, of our great and ever-faithful heavenly Father, because I had no clue what I was going to write about when I first began, except our Friday Chant. I didn’t even know how today’s version of the workingman’s song would pan out. But as always…my God came through for me. Glory Hallelujah!
And He will come through for you too, if you give Him the attention and obedience and exaltation He requires. Much LOVE!
…Jehovah God’s Emporium…the BEST place to do business…in all the world…
P.S. Oh, it’s a li’l bit late, but I think it’s ‘loverly!’ and worth the wait.(smile) Much LOVE!
09 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a comapssionate heart, a pillar of fire, a sun, abundance, bad, courage, creativity, curse, divine protection, everlasting light, foolish drivers, give grace, give light, glory, glory of Zion, glory to God, glows in the darkness, godly light, good, goodwill to men, halls of heaven, heavenly Father, holy presence, ice, indisputable words, Isaiah, Job, John, led by your dreams, light by day, LOVE, magnanimous god, manifestations, monologue, Moses, negative word, no good thing will he withhold, no temple, no way Jose, out of the mouth of babes, peace on earth, perfected praise, prosper, pushed by your problems, reassurance, revelations, rush hour, saints in Christ, self-control, self-discipline, shekinah glory, shield, sleet, slush, snow, Spirit of the Lord, spiritual sun, spoken word, succeed, supernatural wisdom, talent, Ten Commandments, the Lamb, the light thereof, the Lord God, the moon, the Sun, thy god thy glory, troubled souls, unscathed, veil his face, walk uprightly, weather forecasters
Psalm 84:11. 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.
Ah friends, can you believe that this early in the game, the weather forecasters are calling for that beautiful, innocent-looking but oh so dangerous thing called snow? Steups!
Ah Lord eh! But that’s what you get for all the good weather we’ve enjoyed so far this late in the year. As Job, says, you can’t expect to always receive good and no bad.
Can you imagine the mess the place will be in this evening, especially if it begins during the rush hour? And the sad part is that you not only have to look out for yourself, but even more for the many foolish drivers on the road!
But yuh know what, I’ve promised myself that from hereon in, I’m not going out in no setta snow to go anywhere. If somebody wants to drive me, then I’ll consider it. But once I’ve got to drive myself, ‘NO WAY JOSE!’
I can handle the cold, but driving through the slush and sleet and snow and ice and otherwise… too much unnecessary pressure. I think I’ve had enough of that. I’ve come through the last forty something years of it fairly unscathed, no need to go and get my ole bod damaged at this stage of life. End of monologue! (smile)
That’s why I’m going to do as Pastor Bobby (Bobby Schuller – Hour of Power) says: ‘Do not be pushed by your problems, but be led by your dreams.’ Words of wisdom, even from one so young.
For as Jesus rebuked the Israelite leaders when the children praised Him in the temple, using some of Bruh David’s words from Ps.8:2. ‘Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings (nursing infants) thou hast perfected praise?’ (Matt.21:16) Yeh friends, age doesn’t matter all that much if the Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
And our Bit explains why: ‘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.’
Ah precious people of God, what indisputable words of reassurance from our great God! He has not only set the sun in its physical place, but He also wants to be our spiritual SUN; the bright light that glows in the darkness of our troubled souls.
Hear how Isaiah puts it when he talks about the future glory of Zion. ‘The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.’ (Is.60:9)
Just imagine it nuh friends, at some stage of life, we won’t need the sun nor that moon to provide light for us, because we’ll be dwelling in the holy presence of our awesome God, who Himself will be our light, provide all the light we need.
‘And all God’s people declared a mighty shout: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace and goodwill to men!’ Oh my fellow saints in Christ, what a glorious day that will be, when we reside in the halls of heaven in the presence of our heavenly Father, who will be just exuding godly light!
Listen to how John describes it in his Revelations. ‘And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten (illuminate) it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.’ (Rev. 21:22-23)
Wow! I can’t get my head around not needing a sun or moon to see around me. But the Lord has promised it, therefore it will be so.
And the scholars offer these explanations on those verses. ’21:22-23. There is no temple in the city, since both the Father and the Son will be present in their fullest manifestations. Its light will be provided by the Shekinah glory of God and of Christ (cf. Ex.3:3-4; 24:15-17; 33:14-16; Luke 2:9; 9:29; Heb.1:3).’
The Shekinah glory of God is basically where He reveals the full majesty of His light and power. Like when He went before the Israelites in the wilderness in a cloud and a pillar of fire, when He passed before Moses, but only allowed him to see His backside, otherwise Moses would have been annihilated, even the radiant look on Moses face when He came down from the Mount after receiving the Ten Commandments and had to veil his face.
So just imagine the treat we’re in for my fellow believers, when we see God face to face, shining in all His might and glory! Now we haven’t come to that point as yet, but in the meanwhile our most magnanimous God has given us enough blessings here on earth to make our mark in His name. So let’s declare them nuh, since the power of our God lies in His spoken word.
Altogether now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And having declared that with sincerity of heart and strength of purpose, let’s now go out and share those blessings with others, as Jesus requires of us. Much LOVE!
…a blessing isn’t really a true blessing…until it’s been shared…
08 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a heavy old door, adopted children, ancient seals, apostate church, Behold, being born again, being saved, Christ's blessings, Christ-like image, church at Laodicea, come into him, constant repetition, dr robert h schuller, embrace Jesus, evil times, fallen world, fellowship, footsteps of Jesus, glad to be alive, glory hallelujah, God is good, he that hath an ear, hear my voice, hear something new, heavenly advocate, heavenly Father, Hour of Power Devotional, human animal, I stand at the door, improve our knowledge of Jesus, interact with Jesus, knock, learn to know God, let him hear, life's not fair, light at the end of the tunnel, listen, look forward to, LOVE, mid-point, money, my heart opening, not looking back, old chains break, on my throne, open the door, positive effect, pride in wealth, Redeemer, reigning with Christ, reject the advances, rejection of Jesus, relationship with Jesus, set down with my Father, sit with me, smart money on Jesus, spiritual conditions, spiritual. emotional walls, sup with him, support our families, talk, the breath of life, the Great tribulation, the joy of a soul, the Rapture, the weekend, to him who overcomes, transitional times, walking into my life, Wednesday, Wednesday Wail, wisdom, workweek
Revelation 3:20. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup (dine) with him, and he with me.
And then it was Wednesday, the mid-point of our workweek! Yeh friends, some light is showing up at the end of the tunnel. It’s interesting though, how we all look forward to the weekend so that we can get some time off work, but very few of us look forward to the workweek so that we can make some money to support our families and ourselves.
One would think that working would be the more important part of the equation, but apparently it’s not. I guess that’s just the nature of the human animal, especially in these turbulent and transitional times. (smile)
But here is something to help us from Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) from his Hour of Power Devotional. I’ve shared it before, but it’s one of those things that seem to need repeated sharing for us to get it indelibly written in our hearts, souls and minds. It’s called ‘Learn to Know God.’
Please pray with me. ‘Dear Jesus, I’ve got to know You better. Please help me! I can feel my spiritual and emotional walls crack. I can hear old chains break. I can feel my heart opening like a heavy old door whose ancient seals have just begun to break. I can sense the footsteps of Jesus walking into my life. I am beginning to experience the joy of a soul that is being saved, a life that is being born again. Thank You, Lord! Life’s not fair, but God is good. Amen!’
Ah mih people, I do hope that those words, especially the fact that life’s not fair, but God IS good, are having some positive effects on us this day, because we ALL need to improve our knowledge and experiences with Jesus, our Redeemer and heavenly Advocate. And we can only do some of that by constant repetition.
Oh, I know some of us want to hear something new everyday, but what’s the point when we haven’t learned what we heard the day before eh? Like everything else in this fallen world, we only learn stuff when we encounter it regularly, and that’s never more true that with our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
The more we interact with him, the more we come to learn about and LOVE Him. And that’s the only way we can ever be changed into His Christ-like image, which is the heartfelt desire and purpose of our heavenly Father for each of us, His adopted children.
Consequently the message of Jesus to the church at Laodicea through John’s revelation is extremely important for believers right down through the ages, especially for us in these grossly evil times. ‘Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup (dine) with him, and he with me.’
Yes friends, when Jesus knocks at the door of our hearts let’s be quick to answer, throw it wide open and embrace Him without any hesitation, for that’s wisdom of unmatched magnitude!
And please note I said, when He knocks, not if He knocks, for Jesus is continually knocking at the portals of our hearts, just dying to come in and have an intense and ever so satisfying relationship with us. We don’t know what we’re missing out on, when we reject the advances of Jesus.
Listen to what He says after our Bit. ‘To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in (on) my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in (on) his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.’ (Rev. 3:21-22)
Yuh hear that awesome promise my people? If we stand up strong with and for Jesus, we’ll have the everlasting privilege of sitting with Him on His heavenly throne, just like He sits with the Father now, after He overcame His earthly trials and tribulations.
And the scholars offer these explanations to those verses. ‘3:20-22. In light of the spiritual conditions of the Laodiceans described in verses 17-18, (pride in their wealth and rejection of Jesus) the invitation of verse 20 seems to be evangelistically addressed to individual members of an apostate church (religious abandonment), so they might receive Christ genuinely as Saviour and Lord (cf. John 1:12; 10:27).
To sup (dine) means to have fellowship (cf. Luke 22:30; John 14:23) and to enjoy Christ’s blessings. The promise to sit with Christ in His throne refers to reigning with Christ in His kingdom (cf. Matt.19:28; Rev. 20:4; 22:1). Verse 22 contains the last reference to the church before chapter 22, implying that the Rapture will occur before the events of chapters 4-19 and thus that the church will not be present on earth during the Great Tribulation.’
And all God’s people declared a loud and grateful shout of ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ And so we should, if we know we’re not going to be here on earth when the great upheaval comes.
Oh friends, I don’t know how else to put it so that we can be convinced of Jesus’ eventual victory nuh, but as they say, the smart money IS on Jesus!
And for those of us who sincerely believe, let’s go home declaring our Wednesday Wail with much gusto and enthusiasm. ‘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!’
Now let’s go out and share the good news with others. Much LOVE!
…two ears…and only one mouth…means we need to listen more than we talk…
07 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a spoiled child, abundant life, adore, adventure, Amen, appreciate the upside, arise, attributes, beloved of God, benefits, bland, bless the Lord, boosting, captivating love, children of God, chuckle, comforts us, counsel, Creator, crowns you, destruction, diseases, do god's work, doting, dries our tears, everlasting God, exalt, exciting, faints not, fly, followers of Jesus, foolish fears, forget not, forgive, forgives, friend, friend of Jesus, gives power to the faint, gladness, glorify, glory to God, God's mercy, good things, gospel truth, guide me, heals, heard, heavenly Father, Helper, hold me, hurry, immortal words, increases strength, iniquities, into a song, is not weary, Isaiah, Jesus' love, joy, known, lifted my spirits, light in the darkness, like eagles, like the eagle's, Lord, LOVE, loving-kindness, makes straight our paths, mount up with wings, my vain grasping, new, One Year Book of Bible promises, overwhem me, peace, promise God, prophetic words, redeems, renew their strength, resisted, run, Ruth Harms Calkin, same ole, satisfies thy mouth, searching of his understanding, see the downside, seize me, serve, share His love, shattered, soar, staggered, steady me, struggled, tender mercies, thanksgiving, thread my tears, thy youth is renewed, torn with grief, transitory change, Tuesday Mantra, unexciting, ungrateful brats, wait upon the Lord, walk, weak, wisdom, work and more work, workweek, worry, worship, you love to say yes, you said yes, young men, youths
Psalm 103:5. Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
So we’re into the second day of our workweek friends…what’s new and exciting eh? And most of us simply shake our heads and mutter: ‘Nothing nuh. Just the same ole, same ole, work and more work.’
And yes, unfortunately, that’s the way most of life is; bland and unexciting. But if we are followers of Jesus, we ought to at least have some of His LOVE, joy and peace in our supposedly bland lives, because those are three attributes He endeavours to give to all who sincerely believe in Him.
Now here is this poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, which demonstrates Jesus’ LOVE and doting on us. It’s titled, ‘Lord, You LOVE to Say Yes.’
Please pray with me: ‘Lord, I asked you for abundant life Rich, challenging, full of adventure And You said Yes. I asked you for an undisturbable joy Independent of transitory change And You said Yes.
I asked You to thread my tears into a song When I was shattered and torn with grief And You said Yes. I asked You to steady me when I staggered – To hold me when I struggled To seize me when I resisted And You said Yes.
I asked You to forgive my vain grasping My foolish fears, my willful pride And You said Yes. I asked You to be my Helper, my friend My Light in the darkness And You said Yes.
I asked You to guide me all my life With Your wisdom, Your counsel Your captivating LOVE And You said Yes. Sometimes Lord I feel like a spoiled child Who gets whatever he asks for. You overwhelm me with joy For You LOVE to say Yes!’
Oh friends, I don’t know about you all nuh, but typing out that poem just made me chuckle and lifted my spirits, because that’s exactly how our heavenly Father treats us when we come to Him in sincerity and truth – like a spoiled child.
And oh, isn’t it wonderful to have a doting and concerned Father like that? A Father who looks after ALL our needs, brings joy and gladness to out hearts, makes straight our paths with His eternal wisdom, dries our tears and comforts us when we hurt? Ohhhh, it surely is!
The problem though is that most of us don’t see and appreciate the upside of our wonderful God, when He uplifts us. We just see the downside, when he doesn’t do, or give us what we want. Then we really behave like spoiled, ungrateful brats!
That brings us to these wonderful and immortal words of Bruh David from Psalm 103 –Thanksgiving for God’s mercy. ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with LOVING-kindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.’ (Ps.103:2-5)
Oh my people, what a wonderful God we serve and worship! And the Bible Promise for the poem above is also our Bit! Glory to God! He satisfies us with good things and renews us like an eagle, so that we can soar and fly in His universe and do all the things He requires of us!
So why won’t we LOVE, adore, exalt, glorify, worship and obediently serve Him eh? Why are we allowing the evil fool Lucifer to get the better of our world and us eh? Please listen to these prophetic and true words of Isaiah on the subject.
‘Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint (weak); and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.’ (Is.40:28-31)
What a glorious bit of scripture my people! We all know it, and oftimes spout it too, so why don’t we live it eh? Only God really knows.
However, from this day henceforth, I’m asking us to promise God, and us, to live with that awesome promise boosting our hearts and spirits, so that we can diligently do His work with joy and peace, knowing that He will always be with us.
And all God’s people said a loud and heartfelt ‘Amen!’
Now let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra, proudly letting the world know who and whose we are! In strong voice and sincere sense of purpose:
‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am thebeloved 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!’
Mama Mia! What gospel truth! Now let’s go out and prove it to the unbelieving world as Jesus desires of us. Much LOVE!
…children of God…be not faint…arise and retake his kingdom…
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