05 Jan 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 2014, all ages, as I walk, blossom, burden, but thou art strong, calamity, come to our senses, command, common cold, conspiracy, covenant, cursed, daily walking close to thee, day one, dear Lord, disrupted, emotional, error of our ways, evil, evil heart, faithful Lord and Saviour, falter, feeble life, feel lousy, fellow believers, fighting a cold, fingers, foolish choices, forefathers, fragile world, friends, god, God's universe, gospel truth, guide me, hellish earth, help, hymn, I am weak, I'll be satisfied, idols, inclined their ear, iniquities, Jerusalem, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Judah, Just a closer walk, keep me from all wrong, let it be, lilies of the field, lord of hosts, mechanisms, medicine, mental capacity, my plea, negative consequences, obey, obey God, one and only God, other gods, polluted the atmosphere, positive change, prophet jeremiah, prophetic words, refused to hear, resolution, snares, spelling mistakes, spiritual, strife, stubbornness, stupid, thick heads, time everlasting, too late, troubles, true reflection, turned back, unfaithful, unpredictable, weather patterns, well-being, wisdom, world of toil, worship their own work
Isaiah 2:8. Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made.
Oh Friends, the ole fella’s in a lousy state this first Sunday morning in January of 2014. Steups! I’ve been fighting a rather challenging cold for the last few days. Ah Lord eh! All I’ve been doing is resting and taking stuff to try and minimize its effects, but… Chuh! Every morning I get up and expect it to be better, I find like it’s gone back to an earlier stage.
And you know that there’s no sickness in this whole wide world that makes you feel as miserable as the common cold. You know you’re not dying, but you feel so lousy, that you might as well be. (smile) I don’t even think I’m going to church this morning.
However Fridns… What a beautiful spelling of Friends, Fridns! We’re not going to do this nonsense again today are we? I made more spelling mistakes in writing the Bit yesterday than I’ve ever done before. The spelling check didn’t even have to point them out to me, they were so glaring. Like the cold’s affecting my mental capacity, which already isn’t the greatest. (smile)
Anyway, as I was about to say, though I can’t seem to physically get rid of the cold on my terms, must let it run its course, I do have the medicine for my spiritual and emotional well being. And it’s to be found in this old but very beautiful hymn: Just A Closer Walk With Thee. So please sing it with me my brethren.
‘I am weak, but Thou art strong; Jesus, keep me from all wrong; I’ll be satisfied as long, As I walk, let me walk close to thee.’
Now let’s raise the roof with the chorus Friends: ‘Just a closer walk with Thee, Grant it, Jesus, is my plea, Daily walking close to Thee, Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.’
Wow, mih people! That sure hit the right spots in my soul! Hope it did in yours too! But that’s exactly what we need in this New Year, a single-minded resolution that will take care of everything else.
Yes my fellow believers, we can’t ask for, or have a better resolution than walking closer with our faithful Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! For when we do that, our lives just blossom like the lilies of the field!
As the second verse of the hymn says: ‘Through this world of toil and snares, If I falter, Lord who cares? Who with me my burden shares? None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.’
And that’s the gospel truth my people! Only our wonderful Lord and Saviour truly cares about our troubles, and furthermore, is willing to help us bear our burdens down here on this hellish earth. Our fellow man might say they do, and sometimes they really do, but none of them can’t help us the way that Jesus Christ can.
That’s why it’s ever so important Friends, to not let our Bit be a true reflection of our society. ‘Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made.’
For if that is the true state of our land, then we can’t expect much, if any help from our Lord and Saviour, because that means we’ve broken our covenant with our God; not to worship any gods but Him. And in fact, then we’re not only being unfaithful, but also stupid, because THERE ARE NO OTHER GODS BUT HIM! HE IS THE ONE AND ONLY GOD; ALIVE AND KICKING FROM DAY ONE UNTIL TIME EVERLASTING!
I don’t know what it will take for us to get that through our thick heads nuh Friends. Now hear these prophetic words of the Lord of Hosts, as spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, re the broken covenant.
‘Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; And say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant, Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God….
Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked everyone in the imagination (stubbornness) of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do; but they did not. And the Lord said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers. Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil (calamity) upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto (hear, listen to) them.’ (Jer.11:2-4, 8-11)
Ah mih people, there’s not much to debate there, because all of that also applies to our time. There’s no doubt that we’ve turned our back on God, and that there is a definite conspiracy to take Him out of our lives and societies. So what else do we expect eh?
And the sad and senseless part of it all is that a lot of the calamity that we’re now experiencing, isn’t so much the Lord sending it on us, but it’s more the result of our own foolish choices and stubbornness, e.g. the widespread strife that exists in our rather fragile world, and the scary, unpredictable weather patterns that are now becoming the norm, because we’ve so badly polluted the atmosphere. We’ve recklessly disrupted the finely tuned mechanisms of God’s universe!
Ah mih people, all I can say is, I hope that we soon come to our senses and realize the error of our ways, before it’s too late to make a positive change. So let’s go home, singing the last verse of our hymn.
‘When my feeble life is o’er, Time for me will be no more; Guide me gently, safely o’er, To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore. Just a closer walk with Thee, Grant it, Jesus, is my plea, Daily walking close to Thee, Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.’
Yes my people, please ponder seriously on all that we’ve said, and let’s make 2014 the year that we truly walk closer with Jesus, because it’s the wisdom for all ages! Much LOVE!
…true wisdom declares…obey God…or face the negative consequences…it’s that simple…
26 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: alive and kicking, almighty god, Amen, beatiful soul, believe in God, believers, birth, Boxing Day, business owners, caring, celebrate God's Love, Christmas, Christmas tree, cold, colt, Creator, cross, dark, daughter, depressing news, disatrous situations, earthly pilgrimage, Easter, Emergency, eternal life, evergreen, exalted position, faith, faithfully fulfilled, forgiveness, G.T.A, God will stop at nothing, God-given ability, grace, guide and leader, hands that reach to touch, hanging on a tree, hearts that hurt, help, Holy Name, holy spirit, humble, inspiring and encouraging words, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, judge, just, king, lack of access, lack of power, lawgiver, life-giving, lift us up, Lord, lose one's mind, LOVE, lowly, manger, merchants, mercy, Ms. Wynne, negative, omnipotent force, outstrecthed arms, Palm Sunday, physical damage, pointing, praying, Premier, province wide, pushing on, quiet rest, reaching, rejoice, riding an ass, righteous, road-weary, rough time, sacrificial work, sales, salvation, saviour, Scarborough area, scriptures, setbacks, sharing, shoppers, significant difference, solid, sparkling, strong rooted in god's love, sturdy, suffering, The Christmas season, thoughts of God, three days, to save my soul, travel-worn, treasures, tree branches, trust, twinkling Christmas tree, two thousand years, wayfarers, whole world, young man, Zechariah, Zion
Isaiah 33:22. For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he shall save us.
And then it was Boxing Day! Yes Friends, most of the Christmas hoopla has died down now. Thank the Lord! The Christmas season itself is wonderful, but all the unnecessary fuss can get to be a bit much.
Unfortunately though, some 60-70 thousand people, primarily in the Scarborough area of the G.T.A, are still without power, and many trees and other impediments are still to be removed from the roads to provide access.
It’s certainly been a very rough time for those people, and though some are still complaining about the refusal to declare a state of Emergency, the Premier of the Province, Ms. Wynne, says that isn’t necessary because all the people who would have been called in province wide, are already here helping out.
But that’s cold comfort for those who still don’t have power. I spoke to a friend last night, she and her husband, both in their 70’s were without power for almost 72 hours over the weekend. At one point she thought she was about to lose her mind. Imagine two people in their 70’s in a cold, dark house for almost three days nuh!
Ah mih people, it’s truly been a harrowing Christmas for many people in the province. And sadly, on top of the ice, there’s been some snowfall over the last couple days, not a great deal, but enough to make matters worse. Please continue praying for us and helping in whatever way you can.
And another group that has certainly suffered is the business owners and merchants, since many of them couldn’t open because of lack of power and possibly physical damage to their properties. And even for those who were able to open, the number of shoppers must have been seriously curtailed due to the latter’s disastrous situations.
To spoil their Christmas even further, today, Boxing Day, usually Canada’s biggest sales and shopping day, has seen its importance steadily eroded as we try to compete with the U.S. Thanksgiving Black Friday sales pitch. So the merchants are seriously suffering, any which way you take it.
However my brethren, here’s something to lift us up after all that negative and depressing news. It’s a Christmas Prayer, from the Robert H. Schuller Hour of Power Devotional. I only read it after I wrote the Bit yesterday, otherwise I would have included it. But it’s still the Christmas season, so it’s still very appropriate.
And again I have to wonder how this prayer seems so new and unfamiliar to me, although I’ve been reading this devotional for a number of years.
Anyway, it inspirationally says: ‘You lead me, Jesus Christ, to thoughts of God. I see you in a manger carved from a tree. I see you as a young man with hands that reach to touch hearts that hurt. Your caring reaches out like the strong and kind branches of a gentle tree reach out to invite road-weary and travel-worn wayfarers to quiet rest.
I see you again hanging on a tree with outstretched arms taking in the whole world. From your cross, you show me that God will stop at nothing to save my soul. So, I celebrate God’s LOVE today as I celebrate your birth around a twinkling Christmas tree.
I pray my life, like yours, O Lord, may be tall and upright as a pine tree pointing, reaching, sharing, sparkling, life-giving; solid, sturdy, strong-rooted in God’s LOVE, a beautiful soul, evergreen forever: Amen.’
What inspiring and encouraging words my people! Though I had to chuckle at the end, because a lot of pines and other trees around the Province, certainly aren’t standing tall and sturdy today.
But the significant difference is that we believers, despite any setbacks, still have the God-given ability to stand sturdy, strong and deeply rooted in God’s amazing LOVE, becoming truly beautiful souls.
And we find that possible because of scriptures like our Bit. ‘For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he shall save us.’
Yes my brethren, since Almighty God, the Creator and most omnipotent force in the universe is our guide and leader, we can stand strong in the power of His Holy Name, through the current working of His Holy Spirit, and the sacrificial work His Son, Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, did for us two thousand years ago!
That just goes to show how strong and powerful is our God! Two thousand years later, He’s still alive and kicking, and pushing on as strong as ever. Wow!
In fact He’s becoming stronger every day, as more and more people come to recognize His tremendous power, LOVE, mercy, grace and forgiveness, and thus believe in Him, put their trust and faith in Him, for help in their earthly pilgrimage.
Ah Friends, it’s time to close. I had envisioned getting to the ‘lawgiver’ aspect of our Bit, but that obviously wasn’t meant to be today. However, I’ll leave us with a wonderful scripture on the ‘king and saving’ aspect that I could not include yesterday.
Listen to these beautiful and encouraging words from the prophet Zechariah, as he prophesies about Zion’s future king. ‘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.’ (Zech. 9:9)
And we all know that scripture was faithfully fulfilled on Palm Sunday!
So fellow believers, we’ve celebrated, sorry, we’re still celebrating the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ, but we indeed have the next big occasion to look forward to, Easter, when He truly did His saving work and definitely earned His exalted position as our Lord and King. Much LOVE!
…to whom do we owe the treasures of salvation and eternal life…JESUS CHRIST…what a wonderful SAVIOUR…!
21 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ability, Abraham, admissible evidence, assurance, Athens, authority, balancing act, being fearful, black and white, blatant, boggles the imagination, boldfaced, Bruh Paul, brutality, calamitous state, called to account, Christian, Christmas, confidence, conscience, consitent, corruption, crime, crimes against humanity, culprits, destruction, disobedient, economics, emotional, evil, followers, God-given responsibility, Godhead, good, greed, help, homelessness, hunger, ignorance, incompetence, Jesus, judged, judgement, judgement day, justice, justice of God, letting voices be heard, life, light of the world, loss of jobs, LOVE, marginalization, Mars Hill, mental, mercy, military presence, needy, newspapers, obedient, offspring of God, ordained, parable, pay heed, petty excuses, physcial tiredness, piddling wages, plead, police, politics, poor getting poorer, poverty, prayer, public protests, raised from the dead, relationships, resistance, retribution, rich getting richer, righteousness., rule the roost, rumours of war, salt of the earth, secret thing, selfishness, serious action, Sodom, sorry picture, standards, standing up to wrongdoers, step up to the plate, strife, talents, technological prowess, throw the book, under a bushel, understanding, ungodly, unhappiness, unknown God, walk earhtly paths, wars, wisdom, wrongdoings
Ecclesiastes 12:14. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Oh Friends, the ole fella’s tired and unhappy this Saturday morning before Christmas. It’s not physical tiredness nuh, but mental and emotional unhappiness. But it’s all my fault, for I fell behind in my newspaper reading this week, then unwisely tried to catch up on several days reading, all at once. From now on though, I’m going to try my best to stay current, because the news from one day is bearable, but for several…no way Jose!
And what a sorry picture it all painted. We start of with wars and rumours of war, strife in almost every area. Then we have economic and political incompetence and corruption all over the world. And not only that, but the boldfaced and blatant manner in which these crimes against humanity are being carried out, boggles the imagination, especially when very little, if any retribution is being meted out to the culprits.
At least in earlier times we had the good sense to hide our wrong-doings, but not today. Today the greed and selfishness is all out in the open, nobody seems to have a conscience anymore. And in the balancing act that’s life, it only means that the rich are noticeably getting richer, while the poor are not only getting poorer, but also that their numbers are daily increasing at an alarming rate, what with the great loss of jobs and the piddling wages most of the remaining ones now pay.
And since there’s only one pie to be split up amongst several groups, if one group unilaterally increases their portion, then obviously all the others will have theirs curtailed. And consequently, we end up with astronomical rates of marginalization, abject poverty, homelessness, hunger, escalating crime and public protests, more police and military presence and brutality, etc. etc. And who would ever have expected such a calamitous state in a world that is at the height of its technological prowess eh?
Ah mih people, when and where will it all end eh? I guess the Lord alone knows. But we, His people down here on earth also have a serious, God-given responsibility to help, to do our best not to let matters deteriorate any further. And we can only do this by taking serious action; a combination of prayer, letting our voices be heard publicly, standing up to the wrongdoers, and helping those in need.
That’s what Jesus did, and what He fully expects of anyone who calls him or herself a Christian. But there again my fellow believers, we’re not truly living up to the standards that Jesus desires of His followers, and are allowing the ungodly to rule the roost without much resistance. But Friends, please, let’s listen to, and pay serious heed to the words of our Bit. ‘For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’
Yes my brethren, all our actions will be judged. And when the Lord asks us why we didn’t do better with the talents He gave us like the servants in Jesus’ parable, (Matt.18:23-35) what are we going to tell Him eh? Remember too that ignorance will not be admissible evidence. So it’s full time, or rather overdue time that we get our act together and do something concrete for the world, instead of making petty excuses and being fearful, or being selfish and greedy like the world around us.
Remember we’re supposed to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth, but it seems that in fits of anxiety we’re hiding our lights under a bushel and the salt in us has become seriously diminished and thus useless. But Friends, we need to step up to the plate like so many others have done before us, and we’ll use this example of Bruh Paul in our Bit, as he stood up on Mars hill in Athens, explaining to its citizens about the altar they had erected with the inscription; ‘TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.’ (Acts 17:23)
‘Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead (Divine Nature) is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven (shaped) by art and man’s device (devising). And the times of this ignorance God winked at (overlooked); but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; wherefore he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.’ (Acts 17:29-31)
And we’ll close with some notes from the scholars’ re the Justice of God. ’17:31. The justice of God is the active extension of the holiness of God into matters of decision. It implies that God has the authority and ability to establish the standard for all relationships and that He will be consistent in relating to His obedient and disobedient creatures. The justice of God is both legislative and distributive.
Illustration: When Abraham attempted to prevent the destruction of Sodom, he appealed to God’s justice: he knew that the Judge of all the earth would do right (Gen.18:25). Application: So today, everyone can have confidence that God will deal with him justly, but the believer may additionally plead God’s mercy. (First Ref. Gen.3:14; Primary Ref. Acts 17:31; cf. Mark 10:18)’
There we have it Friends, in black and white! Now we can’t say we didn’t know, and anyway, as we said above, ignorance will not stand as a plausible plea on judgement day. Therefore let’s come together, TODAY, and clean up our acts, so that the just judge, on judgement day, will not have to throw the book at us. Much LOVE my people!
…and may the Lord grant us wisdom and understanding…to walk earthly paths…that will not bring harsh judgement…when He calls us to account…
01 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: acknowledged sin, anger, arrows, awesome truth, Black Friday, bones waxed old, brave, Bruh David, caught up, chasten, Christmas, Christmas shopping, chutzpah, cleanse, confess our sins, confession of sins, constancy of effort, Cousin Sol, covers sinss, day and night, death, deceit, deity, disastrous consequences, displeasure, divine instruction, divine wisdom, eternal life, ever-LOVING God, faithful, faithfully, follow Jesus, forgive, forgiven, forsake sins, friends, get lost, gift of God, glory hallelujah, godly promise, godly woman, gracious, groaning, guile, happiness, haunt us, heavenly Father, heavy burden, help, holy, hoopla, idolatry, iniquity, Jesus Christ, Jesus' orbit, just, merciful, mercy, New Hampshire, New Year, New Year's resolution, peace, penitent heart, personal witness, physical, Plymouth, Praise the Lord, prayer, preparations, problems, prosper, psychological, rebuke me not, rest, righteous God, salvation, sanctity of the family, Sears store, shopping, shopping blitz, sorrow, spirit, store owner, stray, thank you, thanksgiving, the world's orbit, time, transgression, truthful, undeserving sinners, unrighteousness, vitality, wages of sin, worship, wrongdoings
1 John 1:9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Oh Friends, can you believe it’s already the first day of December? The days sure are flying fast! Soon it will be Christmas, and then the New Year! And it seems that just recently we were cavorting and carrying on during the lazy, hazy days of summer. (smile)
That brings to mind that New Year’s Resolution we made to follow Jesus more closely in this year 2013. Time to check on it again my brethren, and do whatever is necessary to fulfill it.
Sorry, but you can’t truly fulfill it in just one month, since following Jesus is a process built on time and constancy of effort. That’s why I’ve been encouraging us to check on it at the beginning of each month.
And now that Christmas is upon us, meaning we’ll be busy with all the preparations and shopping, all that stuff is very liable to take us out of Jesus’ orbit and into that of the world. And talking about shopping, let’s chalk up one for Jesus and the sanctity of the family!
It seems that a brave and godly woman in Plymouth, New Hampshire, a Sears Homestore owner, refused the Head Office’s request to open at 7.p.m. on Thanksgiving evening, citing her support for families getting together on such a notable holiday.
And all God’s people declared a loud and heartfelt, ‘Glory Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!’ Yes Friends, our God should indeed be praised for that bit of chutzpah on the store owner’s part.
And the commercial nonsense is getting worse daily, for whereas Black Friday usually meant stores opening at midnight, they’re now opening early on Thanksgiving evening, cutting even deeper into the celebrations. Ah Lord eh!
And even sadder is the fact that there’s no break between the Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping blitz, it’s all one concerted effort now. Steups! But I’ve got to say a big thank you to our God, because personally I don’t get caught up in all the hoopla.
However, the good thing about it all, is if we do stray, get lost and caught up in the idolatry of the worldly events, we have a way out in the godly promise of our Bit. ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’
Now yesterday we were mainly concerned about what John had to say on the matter, today though, we’ll look at what other figures in scripture have to say about the confession of sins.
And we’re going to begin with the wise words of Cousin Sol. ‘He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.’ (Prov.28:13)
Oh my people, that’s such an awesome truth! For when we try to hide our sins, they usually come back to haunt us at the worse time possible. As the old people would say, whatever is done in darkness will eventually come to light, with more disastrous consequences too. That’s another awesome truth, to which most of us can testify from personal experience.
Now let’s turn to a man who knew all about sins, righteousness, confessions and cleansing, Bruh David. Listen to him in Psalm 32; The blessedness of forgiveness. ‘Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not (does not charge his account with) iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile (deceit).
When I kept silence, my bones waxed (grew) old through my roaring (groaning) all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture (vitality) is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.
I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.’ (Ps.32:1-5)
Oh Friends, I’m sure that many of us can say the same thing, if we’re truthful. (smile) For when our wrongdoings weigh us down, our spirits usually become deflated and we just don’t feel right in the sight of our holy and righteous God.
But please note Bruh David’s solution, the only one that will bring us any peace; confession of our known iniquity to our heavenly Father. For as our Bit so rightly, faithfully and LOVINGLY declares: ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’
Ah mih breddren, I can’t help but note again, what a wonderful Deity we serve and worship!’ And for being so gracious and merciful to us undeserving sinners, let’s give Him a big, loud, grateful and hearty; ‘Thank You Lord! You’re the BEST! And that’s no lie Friends!
And these comments from the scholars just corroborate my feelings. ‘Psalm 32. The psalm describes the blessedness of forgiveness as no other does. This is the theme of especially the first five verses, which include the happiness of the forgiven man (vv.1-2), the physical and psychological effects of unconfessed sin (vv.2-4), and the simple remedy of confession to receive God’s forgiveness (v.5). On this basis David can experience prayer (vv.6-7), divine instruction (vv.8-9), and personal witness (vv.10-11).
And we’ll end with some more prayerful words from Bruh David, these from Psalm 38; The prayer of a penitent heart, which we recently covered, but is certainly worth hearing again. ‘O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. For thine arrows stick fast in me (pierce me deeply), and thy hand presseth me sore (down). There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest (peace) in my bones because of my sin.
For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me… For I am ready to halt (fall), and my sorrow is continually before me. For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin…. Forsake me not, O Lord: O my God, be not far from me. Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.’ (Ps.32:1-4, 17-18, 21-22)
So Friends, we know our problems, and we know how to fix them, so please let’s get on with it nuh. That’s not only divine wisdom, but it also warms and pleases the heart of our wonderful, ever-LOVING God. Much LOVE!
…for the wages of sin is death…but the gift of God… is eternal life…through (in) Jesus Christ… (Rom.6:23)
24 Nov 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: accusations, accusers, actions, adversaries, anger, anguish, arrows, betray, between a rock and a hard place, bones, bowed down, broken, Bruh David, burden, Canada, chasten, chilly Sunday morning, comfort, confess, corrupt, deaf, deception, defend ourselves, depressed state, desertion, destruction, displeasure, dumb, enemies, fallible, feeble, fester, figurative speech, foolishness, friends, god, great man of God, groaned, hate, health, heartfelt, heavy, heavy laden, help, hope, hot and bothered, infallible, iniquity, Israel, labour, lay snares, light of mine eyes, loathsome disease, loins, LOVE, lowly in heart, make haste, meek, mourning, O Lord, over my head, penitent heart, personal problems, petition, physical illness, pierce, plague, ponder the situation, prayer, problems, quandary, ramifications, rebuke, reliable, render evil for good, reproofs, responses, rest, retaliate, sensible, silence is golden, sin, sinful, snow, sorrow, souls, stand aloof, stink, strength fails, succour, tender mercies, threats, troubled, truth, turmoil, turn to God, unburden our hearts, unfaithful, unreliable, warrior king, winter season, wisdom, wise, words, wounds, yoke
Psalm 38:1. O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, it’s a chilly Sunday morning in the last week of November and there’s snow on the ground. Chuh, Steups! (smile) Granted, it’s not much snow, but snow is snow, especially when winter is not officially due for another month. But this is also Canada, and in these times of climate change anything can happen. Let’s hope that this winter season isn’t too bad.
And strangely enough, this morning the Lord led me to Psalm 38, the prayer of a penitent heart, written by Bruh David to remind him of his troubles, how he needs to respond to them, and where he needs to go to get help.
Our Bit opens the psalm with an earnest, heartfelt petition: ‘O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.’
Bruh David must have been in a real quandary, as he penitently continues: ‘For thine arrows stick fast in me (pierce me deeply), and thy hand presseth me sore (down). There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest (health; lit. peace) in my bones because of my sin. For mine iniquities have gone over my head: as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
My wounds stink (are foul and festering) and are corrupt because of my foolishness. I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease (inflammation): and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and sore (severely) broken: I have roared (groaned) by reason of the disquietness of (turmoil in) my heart.’ (Ps.38:2-8)
Mama Mia! Bruh David must have been in a real sad state friends. But before we continue, here are some interesting notes from the scholars.
‘Psalm 38. Some debate as to whether the details of verses 1-8 should be taken literally, and thus as a reference to a physical illness, or figuratively, making them a vivid picture of psychological and moral distress. The detail and length of the description, as well as its personal nature seem to point to some serious disease from which David is suffering as he writes.’
Yeh Friends, whether Bruh David’s words were literal or figurative, there’s no doubt that he’s certainly between a rock and a hard place, as he continues his plaintive cry. ‘Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning (sighing) is not hid from thee. My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it is also gone from me.’ (Ps.38:9-10)
Ah mih people, when the warrior king of Israel, that great man of God is brought to such low levels, then something must be truly wrong in his life. And we get some idea of the other ramifications in the next couple verses.
‘My lovers (loved ones) and my friends stand aloof from my sore (my plague); and my kinsmen (neighbours) stand afar off. They also that seek after my life lay snares for me; and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things (of destruction), and imagine deceits (plan deception) all the day long.’ (Ps.38:11-12)
Yeh mih breddren, desertion by friends and family, and serious threats from one’s enemies can bring us to a rather low and depressed state, especially if we already have other personal problems. However Friends, please note carefully Bruh David’s actions in these next verses.
‘But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth. Thus I was a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs (responses).’ (Ps.38:13-14)
Bruh David didn’t answer his accusers, or plead with his supposed friends and family, but kept his mouth shut, so that there could be no further accusations against him. That’s one of the many times when silence is truly golden. And that’s what many of us have to learn to do when false accusers and unworthy friends and family betray us.
Too often though, we get all hot and bothered and angrily try to defend ourselves or retaliate, through words or actions. But usually the smartest thing is to keep quiet, since making important decisions when we’re angry or upset just make matters worse. First we need to ponder the situation, to see if there’s any truth in it, then follow Bruh David’s action, turn to God for succour.
‘For in thee O Lord, do I hope: thou wilt hear (answer), O Lord my God. For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me. For I am ready to halt (fall), and my sorrow is continually before me.
For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for (in anguish over) my sin. But mine enemies are lively (vigorous), and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied. They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is.’ (Ps.38:15-20)
Ah my fellow believers, that is the only wise and sensible way when we’re dealing with overwhelming problems, in fact with any problems at all. We need to get ourselves quiet, then go to God, FIRST, not last as we tend to do. And then we need to unburden our very hearts and souls to him, truly confessing all that we’re aware of, for In Him, there is sure hope and comfort from all our earthly problems.
As Bruh David concludes: ‘Forsake me not, O Lord: O my God, be not far from me. Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.’ (Ps.38:21-22)
And Jesus made that very clear when He invited us to ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek (gentle) and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt.11:28-30)
Oh my people, what a wonderful God we serve! It just boggles my mind to think how much He cares for and looks after us, despite our sinful, unfaithful nature.
So please, let’s be grateful for His tender mercies and give Him much thanks and praise, today and everyday that we’re alive, for that’s wisdom of the highest magnitude. Much LOVE!
…why do we keep turning to fallible, unreliable man for help with our problems…when we have an infallible, exceedingly reliable God to turn to eh…
23 Nov 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: admonition, almighty god, anxious, barren woman, best advice, blessed be the Lord's name, blessings, Daniel, darkness, deep and secret things, dilemma, dreams and visions, faith, fearful, forgiving, friends, God's mercies, going down of the moon, greatly to be praised, greatness of the Lord, help, his glory above the heavens, hope, house of god, humbles himself, in a rut, Israel, Jacob, Jesus, kicking a dead horse, knowledge, lead, light, LOVE, mental juices not flowing, merciful, might, mother of children, mysterious ways, Nebuchadnezzar's dream, needy, omnipotent, poor, portent, praise, praise His name, Praise the Lord, Praise ye the Lord, prayer, princes, promises of Abraham, righteousness., rising of the moon, rough times, seasons, seek something new, Sermon on the Mount, servants of god, servants of the lord, sing Hallelujah, struggles, sufficient, surrender, sustain in times of need, take it to heart, thanks, the kingdom of God, The Lord is good, The Lord's high above all nations, The Lord's name is great, the Lord's never let me down, the rising of the sun, things in heaven and earth, things of God, things of the world, times, to the going down of the sun, trouble, trust, truth, turn to God, understanding, vanity of idols, wisdom, wise, worry
Psalm 113:1. Praise ye the Lord (sing Hallelujah). Praise, O ye servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord.
Oh Friends, the ole fella’s been in a rut for the past forty five minutes or so, looking for a Bit that he could get his mind around. Brother! I sure have been spoiled these last few days dealing with the promises of father Abraham, since I didn’t have to seek out something new to write on everyday.
Oh, I knew what I wanted to write about, but unfortunately the mental juices just weren’t flowing in that direction. And you know how sometimes we refuse to let an idea go, although it’s just not working for us. What is the saying, something like kicking a dead horse? Well that was my dilemma.
Possibly the Lord didn’t want me to write on that topic today. Who knows eh, with Him and His mysterious ways? However, I always had hope. My faith might not be as great as Abraham’s, but it’s strong enough to sustain me in times of need. Furthermore, the Lord’s never let me down before in all my struggles, so why should He now eh? I always knew that He would eventually lead me to something that pleased Him.
And that’s exactly what we have here from Psalm 113; God’s mercies are many. And indeed they are my people! So let’s get into our Bit, and do just as it says: ‘Praise ye the Lord (sing Hallelujah). Praise, O ye servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord.’
Yes my brethren, the Lord’s name is indeed great and greatly to be praised! And as the psalmist continues: ‘Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and for evermore. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised.’ (Ps.113:2-3)
And for those of you who work nights and sleep days and don’t see the sun, we can change that to: ‘from the rising of the moon to the going down of the same.’ (smile) But whatever time you are awake, the Lord’s name ought to be praised my brethren. And why is that you ask? Simple; because He’s great!
‘The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth!’ (Ps.113:4-6)
And Friends, we all know the answer to both those questions is a plain and simple NOBODY!
And we ought also to praise Almighty God because He sincerely cares for the poor and needy. ‘He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill (the ash heap); That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people. He maketh (causes) the barren (childless) woman to keep house (dwell in a home), and to be the mother of children. Praise ye the Lord.’ (Ps.113:7-9)
Ah mih people, those are certainly most excellent reasons to praise our omnipotent, forgiving and merciful God! And if you want some more reasons, then listen to Daniel after the Lord revealed the secret of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream to him.
‘Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings and setteth up (raises up) kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge unto them that know (have) understanding:
He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king’s matter.’ (Dan.2:20-23)
Oh Friends, how many more reasons do we need for praising our great God eh? He’s mighty and wise; controls the times and the seasons; raises up and removes kings; gives wisdom and knowledge to those who seek and deserve them. He also reveals to mankind, like He did with Daniel, the portent of dreams and visions, of secret things, and knows what the darkness contains, like our plentiful, deep, dark deeds. (smile)
So what more can we ask eh? The Lord God Jehovah is Lord and God over all! Therefore He deserves constant and unending praise, but that’s something, we the Lord’s supposed followers are sadly lacking in at this current time. Oh I know that the world’s in a sorry state, and our lives lack the certainty they had just a few years ago, which makes us somewhat fearful and anxious.
But my fellow believers that’s no reason for us to be more taken up with the things of the world – food, clothes, houses, jobs – than with the things of God, and thus cut down on our prayer and praise. Instead, it’s in the rough times that we most need to turn to God, cozy up to Him, not turn away, because He’s the ONE from whom all our help, all our blessings come.
And please remember Jesus’ admonition from the Sermon on the Mount: ‘(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow (do not worry about tomorrow): for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil (trouble) thereof.’ (Matt.6:32-34)
Oh Friends, please, please, let’s take all of that to heart! It’s the best advice we can ever get. And to show our hope, trust, faith and surrender to Almighty God, let’s close with some appropriate praise from Psalm 135; The greatness of the Lord and the vanity of idols.
‘Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the name of the Lord; praise him, O ye servants of the Lord. Ye that stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God, Praise the Lord; for the Lord is good: sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant. For the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his particular (special) treasure. For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.’ (Ps.135:1-5)
And that, my fellow believers, is divine, gospel, undeniable, indisputable and any other truth there is! (smile) Much LOVE!
…Praise Him, praise Him…Glory Hallelujah…He is LOVE…He is LOVE…
21 Nov 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Abraham, altar, aspect of scripture, be blessed, Bible, Bless His Holy Name, breath of God's Spirit, burnt offering, come again to you, command of God, descendants, diligently seek god, dreadful circumstance, earthly paradise, easy life, enlightening, ever-faithful God, exuberance, faith, faithful, fear God, fire and wood, flying colours, forefather Abraham, forgiveness, glory, go yonder, grace, help, hot and bothered, inanimate bodies, increase our faith, Isaac, Jehovah-Jireh, lamb, lay not thine hand, living, LOVE, loving beings, loving kindness, mercy, mirror image, Moriah, nations of the earth, obeyed my voice, omnipotent god, ponder, praise, promises of God, rewarder, seed, slay, Son, stretched forth his hand, supreme faithfulness, survival, sustaining faith, telling moment of faith, test, the breath of life, the Good Book, the Lord in favour, the Lord will provide, troubled and ungodly times, trust, underestimated, uplifting, wilderness, wonderful god, worship
Genesis 22:18. And in thy seed (descendants) shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, it’s another beautiful day in God’s earthly paradise! Wow! What a wonderful God we serve and worship, my people!
And all God’s children gratefully and joyously declared: ‘Yes! Our God is indeed great! He’s full of grace, mercy, forgiveness and LOVING-kindness! There’s no other like Him! Let’s praise and bless His Holy Name! Amen.’
And so we should my fellow believers, for our God is indeed worthy of our praise and glory!
Anyhow, without further ado, let’s get right into our Bit, because there’s lots of scripture to be had on this last message, re the promises of God to our forefather Abraham. ‘And in thy seed (descendants) shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.’
So why did the Lord reinforce this promise to Abraham again eh? We’ll let the Good Book tell the story.
‘And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt (test) Abraham and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou LOVEST, and get thee into the land of Moriah: and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass (donkey), and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave (split) the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass: and I and the lad (Isaac) will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son, and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb (goat) for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.’ (Gen.22:1-8)
Oh Friends, can you imagine what must have been happening with Abraham’s spirit? The Lord had told him on several occasions that Isaac would be the forerunner of his plentiful descendants, but here now, the Lord had commanded him to offer Isaac as a burnt offering. I guess the worldly part of him was all hot and bothered, while the faithful part trusted that God would make a way to avoid that dreadful circumstance.
And there are two things which point to that fact. First, when he told his servants that Isaac and him would go afar off and worship, ‘and come again unto you.’ He obviously figured that they both would return. And secondly that’s exactly what Abraham told Isaac in the last verse there, when the lad enquired about the animal for the sacrifice; ‘the Lord will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering.’
Truthfully, I don’t know if many of us today could have handled that command of God nuh, since we have such an easy life compared to Abraham and his people. In the wilderness of those times, faith was a much more important aspect for one’s mere survival, than it is today. But from whatever aspect we view it, Abraham’s actions were indeed a very telling moment of faith.
And the Good Book continues: ‘And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham, and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh (the Lord will provide): as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen (provided).’ (Gen.22:9-14)
Yes mih people, yes! Our omnipotent and ever-faithful God came through again with flying colours on Abraham’s behalf! And again I need to note what a mighty and faithful God we serve my brethren! And yuh know what too, it’s the same way our God has been coming through with flying colours for everyone who sincerely believes in and worships Him since then, right up to this very day.
Mama Mia! And many of us have indeed experienced His supreme faithfulness in our lives. In fact we do so everyday, by just waking up to a great new day. For without His grace, mercy and LOVING-kindness we won’t be able to do even that. Remember also that He is the very ONE who first breathed the breath of life, the breath of His Spirit into our inanimate bodies, so that we could become living, LOVING, beings, a mirror image of Him.
Anyway Friends, unfortunately we’ll have to stop there for today, since the rest of what I have to say will make the Bit way too long, even for me. (smile) Obviously, in my exuberance, I underestimated the space and time capabilities I had available to me. But don’t worry, the Lord in favour, tomorrow we’ll continue this most uplifting and enlightening aspect of scripture.
Till then, please let’s ponder what we’ve read and heard, and see how our current faith matches up to that of our forefather Abraham, and prayerfully ask the Lord to help us increase our faith in Him, because we all can definitely use some more sustaining faith in these very troubled and ungodly times. Much LOVE!
…but without faith…it is impossible to please him…for he that cometh to God…must believe that he is…and that he is a rewarder…of them that diligently seek him… (Heb.11:6)
12 Nov 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: almighty god, asaph, believing, Bible, Bible Study, breaks the bow, burns the chariot, Come Holy Spirit, contentions, convince, crying, cuts the spear, depths of consciousness, destruction, devastation, disaster stricken, divine truth, encouragement, end of the earth, enjoy, enjoy God's consolations, enthusiasm, ever-faithful, faith, fire of Love, former things are passed away, glorify, glorious kingdom, glory hallelujah, God's Holy word, godly truth, good morning, hearts of the faithful, help, help of others, Holy Name, holy spirit, Isaiah, Israel, Jesus Christ, Judah, judge the nations, keep on keeping on, lead and guide, loss of life, LOVE, man of God, negative things, new earth, new heaven, no more death, no more war, not learn war anymore, pain, pathways of righteousness, peace, Philippines, prayer, proclamation, promise, Psalm 76, readers, readership, rebuild, rebuke, redundant, renew the earth, Revelation, rumours of war, Scrip-Bits, scriptures, Selah, smile, sorrow, spears into pruning hooks, spirit of resilience, staying the course, strife, tabernacle of God, too old, touches your heart, troubled times, trust, trusting, turn swords into plowshares, typhoon Haiyan, unfortunate situation, victorious God, war, wars to end, wipe away all tears, wise, worthwhile reading, Zion
Psalm 46:9. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
Well a good Tuesday morning to all you beautiful and constant readers of Scrip-Bits! It shows that you do have some faith and trust in me to keep reading what I write. Or it might even be that you have sufficient faith and trust in Almighty God to cause me to write something worthwhile reading. (smile)
Whatever your reason though, I sincerely thank you for staying the course with me, since I can’t do it without your readership and encouragement.
Anyway, I thought we’d begin today with this prayer I recently got from a Bible Study Class at my church. Some of you might know it, but as always, good prayer is never redundant or too old to read and pray again.
So together let’s invoke this prayer, titled, ‘Come Holy Spirit.’ And it says: ‘Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful and kindle in us the fire of your LOVE. Send forth your Spirit, and we shall be created. And you shall renew the face of the earth.
O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit, we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.’
Yes Friends, it’s a most worthwhile prayer, since it’s God’s Holy Spirit which works in us, leading and guiding us in the pathways of righteousness!
And right now we truly need to pray that the Lord sends His Holy Spirit amongst the disaster stricken people of the Philippines, where the recent typhoon Haiyan devastated some parts of the country. The loss of life is claimed to be in the thousands, and the destruction is exceedingly great.
Like the prayer above says, the face of the earth there definitely needs renewing. So please, let’s pray that the Lord will inspire them with a spirit of resilience and renewed faith to rebuild and keep on trusting Him, for He is indeed ever-faithful to those who sincerely follow Him.
And let’s help in any other way we can; food, clothing, money etc. because you never know, one day we might also be in an unfortunate situation, needing the help of others.
Now it’s time for our Bit: ‘He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.’
Yes my people, in these troubled times of war, rumours of war and endless strife all over God’s earth, it is a good time to see what the scriptures say about war. Yesterday we were only able to define our Bit as words of divine truth, today however, we’ll look at some scripture that supports the psalmist’s contentions.
And if you didn’t believe that our Bit was, is, and will always be words of divine truth, then listen to these words of Asaph, from Psalm 76, the victorious God.
He opens the psalm with this powerful proclamation: ‘In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel. In Salem (Jerusalem) also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion. There brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle. Selah. (Ps.76:1-3)
Ah Friends, more words of glorious godly truth! But just in case you still don’t believe, then hear these words of that great man of God, Isaiah, re the day of the Lord.
‘And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks (pruning knives): nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.’ (Is.2:4)
And all God’s people declared a loud and thankful: ‘GLORY HALLELUJAH! NO MORE WAR!
Oh mih breddren, mih breddren, that must get to the very depths of your consciousness and convince you! But just in case it didn’t, please listen to John from Revelation, re the new earth and the new heaven.
‘And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 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. 21:3-4)
Oh Friends, what a mighty promise from our Mighty God! Just imagine that nuh; no more negative things in all the earth, which means no more war, just peace and LOVE! Mama Mia! I can’t wait for that day people!
Hopefully my enthusiasm is catching, (smile) but just in case you’re still not convinced of the truth of all you’ve read and heard, then Friends, all I can say is that I’m truly sorry for you, and sincerely hope that the Lord touches your heart at some stage before you go to meet Him.
And for all you who truly believe, please, let’s keep on believing and trusting in our great God, and move from strength to strength, as we keep on keeping on, building and furthering His glorious kingdom, and glorifying His Most Holy Name! Much LOVE!
…if we don’t believe the Bible…God’s Holy Word…what’s the point in believing in God at all eh…
P.S. It’s nice and short today, so smile and enjoy it. Selah.
06 Nov 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adversaries, adversity, afraid of life, allergies, antagonistic behaviour, apparition, ashamed, be not afraid, be of good cheer, Bethsaida, buffoons, bully-boys, changed his tune, Christian ways, comforting words, confess, confounded, crack cocaine, deceit, disgrace, do not be dismayed, encouraging words, ever-faithful promises, evil, evil world, fight the good fight, fighting tooth and nail, five loaves, five thousand, followers of Christ, forgiven, ghost, glorify God, gospel truth, help, in vain, inappropriate behaviour, incensed, Jesus Christ, Jesus' miracles, Jesus' sacrifices, laughingstock, live by faith not by sight, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, LOVE of God, mark of true believers, misdemeanours, more than conquerors, overcome the world, palsy, peace, perish, personal fiefdom, positive, pray, prayer, public drunkenness, real leader, resign, restoration of Israel, right hand of righteousness, rights, scaredy cats, separate us, sins, stand strong, steadfast faith, strength, strenthening one's spirit, strive, suffer persecution, take comfort, Toronto mayor, treachery, tribulation, two fishes, under the weather, undesirables, uplifting, victory, walk on water, we get the government we deserve, won the battle
Mark 6:50. For they all saw him, and were troubled. and immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.
Oh Friends, the ole fella’s a bit under the weather this Wednesday fall morning. I got up from a good sleep with my nasal allergies acting up some, which caused my spirit to fall a tad, but the Bit has to go out under any circumstance… except death obviously. (smile)
And I have no doubt that the Lord will enable me to write something sensible that will encourage His followers and glorify Him.
And we’ll begin with the latest story that’s making world headline from Toronto; that’s the inappropriate, ‘unmayoral’ behaviour of Toronto’s Mayor, Rob Ford.
I have to shake my head and sigh, ‘Ah Lord eh.’ That’s because for several months now there’s been talk et al about a video showing him smoking crack cocaine with some youngsters from the Somali community, his hanging out with other undesirables, drunkenness in public and a host of other misdemeanours.
Obviously he claimed that none of them were true. But apparently yesterday he changed his tune and confessed to the crack cocaine smoking.
This deserves another heartfelt sigh and ‘Ah Lord eh,’ for all that the two Ford boys, the mayor and his brother Doug, a councilman, have done since they were elected two years ago, is cause untold and unnecessary controversy and make the city a laughingstock around the world with their antagonistic behaviour.
I stopped paying much attention to them long ago because they behave like a pair of arrogant, bully-boy buffoons, and then they get on their radio talk show and make matters even worse. It even seems that brother Doug is the de facto mayor, because in all the nonsense, you’ve heard more from him than the supposed mayor.
They both should resign, but neither of them seems to have even considered that action. And sadly, it’s been said that Rob Ford has a good chance of again winning the mayor’s position in an election scheduled for the not too distant future.
The good Lord forbid! Then they’ll truly feel that the city is their personal fiefdom and commit even worse actions. But just remember Friends, that we always get the government we deserve. And that’s enough of the foolish Fords. I’ve spent more time on them than I’d planned.
Let’s get to something more important, positive and uplifting like our Bit. ‘For they all saw him, and were troubled. and immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.’
Yes mih Friends, powerful and encouraging words from a real leader, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
He spoke those words to His disciples when He came walking over the water towards them, as they were fighting to stay afloat and alive in their little boat amidst a terrible storm.
All of this happened after He’d fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fishes. He then compelled the disciples to get into the boat and cross over to Bethsaida, while He sent away the multitudes, then went up into a mountain to pray.
Please note my people, that everyday Jesus got up early and prayed, strengthening His Spirit, before intermingling with the crowds. He also took time to refresh His Spirit in prayer after engaging the multitudes. We would be wise to do likewise; pray before and after our engaging the world and all its evil, deceit and treachery.
It’s amazing and also interesting that after seeing Jesus do the feeding miracle earlier on, the disciples were still terribly afraid when they saw Him walking on the water towards them. In their abject fear, they believed it was an apparition, a ghost. That’s until Jesus spoke those gentle, encouraging and comforting words: ‘Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.’
Oh Friends, it wasn’t the first or last time that Jesus said those comforting words, ‘Be of good cheer.’ He first said it to a man sick of the palsy (paralyzed), lying on his bed, before He healed him. ‘Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.’ (Matt.9.2b)
And He repeated it again in His famous words to the disciples, and by extension us: ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33)
Oh my people, we couldn’t ask for more encouraging and comforting words than those! But yet we’re still afraid of life and what the world brings against us. If we weren’t, we’d be fighting tooth and nail to change our disgusting, deteriorating, evil world. But unfortunately Lucifer and his wicked bully-boys have us scared of what they’ll do to us if we stand up and seriously fight for our Christian ways and rights.
Oh my brethren, as true followers of Christ, we cannot go around living a scared and half-hearted life! Jesus has already given us the victory, we now have to accept it, and behave as though we’ve won the battle, remember we live by faith and not by sight. Otherwise all Jesus’ sacrifices on our behalf would be in vain. And we certainly don’t want that to happen.
The fact of the matter is that long before Jesus even came to earth, many times the Lord instructed His people not to be afraid. Listen to these powerful, encouraging and comforting words from Isaiah, talking of the final restoration of Israel.
‘Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded (disgraced): they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.’ (Is.41:10-11)
Ah mih breddren, what else do we expect our God to do eh – come and hold our hands and lead us like little children? Chuh! We’re big children, full of talk in good times, but we behave like ‘scaredy’ cats when adversity arises.
Oh Friends, I’m imploring us today to get rid of that fearful attitude and scared mentality. Instead let’s staunchly accept and believe the ever-faithful promises of our Lord and Saviour like true believers should.
As Bruh Paul tells Timothy: ‘Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.’ (2 Tim.3:12)
But then he encourages the Roman church with these words. ‘Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.’ (Rom.8:37) And that’s the gospel truth people!
Oh my fellow believers, we shall suffer adversity here on earth, but through the steadfast faith and strength in the promises of Jesus, who’s already conquered the world, we too shall conquer our adversity and adversaries. Please take comfort in that and let’s stand strong and fight the good fight in His Name. That’s the mark of true believers! Much LOVE!
…nothing can separate us from the LOVE OF GOD…which is in Christ Jesus our Lord… (Rom.8:39b)
22 Oct 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: America, American culture, anti-social, as America goes, atrocities, backbone, be of good cheer, Beatitudes, blessed, bright light, bullied, children, Christian families, compassion, confession, darkest hours, death, demeaning others, depth of promise, dire situations, disaster, dislikes, dope, dreadful happening, earthly lives, easier said than done, economics, exact revenge, faithful promise, Father of mercies, fellow believers, fiction copying life, former things, former things a, go viral, God directs, god of all comfort, god the father, god's compassion, going to the dogs, guns, handle the pressure, help, human anguish, human heart, hurting, inexhaustible, Internet freak, Jesus Christ, life copying fiction, likes, man plans, model of godliness, money, new heaven and earth, overcome the world, pain, passed away, pay serious attention, peace, pin-up girl for Lucifer, rampage, Reno - Nevada, school shooting, scripture, serious measures, Sermon on the Mount, sin, social media, sorrow, sorry state of our world, spine, succour, suicide, tears, teased, they shall be comforted, they that mourn, tragedy, trials, tribulation, trouble, undeniable truth, ungodly world, wicked, yokes and burdens
Matthew 5:4. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Oh Friends, this was definitely not how I had planned to begin today’s message, but having heard of this dreadful happening, I had to change my plans. As Cousin Sol so wisely says: ‘A man’s heart deviseth (plans) his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.’ (Prov.16:9)
Now I’m talking about the tragedy of a 12 year old boy in a small town near Reno, Nevada, going to school early yesterday morning and shooting a Math teacher, wounding two other boys, then killing himself.
Ah Lord eh! How many times Friends, am I going to bewail the sorry state of our world before we see some improvement eh? In particular, what is America coming to eh? Once upon a time she was the model of godliness… Steups! But now she is the pin up girl for Lucifer.
This shooting up of schools, either by pupils or outside interests, seems to be turning into a habit now. And yet guns are still much easier to get than dope, on which they’ve wasted billions of dollars trying to curb it.
They’re not seeing the forest for the trees. Guns are killing many more people everyday than drugs. And you only hear about the gun deaths when it’s a rampage or some other high profile shooting. When is America going to wake up and realize that the old saying is very true: ‘If you live by the gun, you’ll die by the gun!’
And sadly, as in so many other things, their culture is being transferred all over the globe. It’s in more than money and economics that as America goes, so does the rest of the world.
And why that tragedy struck me more forcefully than normal, is because I’m currently reading a novel, ‘Nineteen Minutes,’ in which a 17 year old boy in small town America goes into his High School one inauspicious autumn morning and rampages through it, killing ten people both students and adults, and wounding many others.
This lad had been teased and bullied from the first day he got on the bus to attend kindergarten, even by his own star pupil brother. Apparently this 12 year old in real life was also being bullied. Now the question is, is life copying fiction, or fiction copying life? But whatever is following what, this bullying thing is really getting out of hand.
What is it, are we raising children without any spine, any backbone, so that they have to resort to such serious measures; shoot up the place or commit suicide?
I remember growing up that there were bullies around, and that some got bullied more than others, but it wasn’t the incessant type of thing that’s happening now, and I never heard of anyone picking up a gun or other weapon to exact revenge, or kill themselves because they couldn’t handle the pressure.
And apparently the supposed social media nonsense, more like the anti-social media, just seems to make matters worse, for some of the atrocities committed by our young people are brazenly posted there and go viral, oftimes with more likes than dislikes.
Doesn’t that tell us that our society is truly going to the dogs, when we’re raising children who take such pleasure in demeaning others? What kind of animals are they going to turn out to be as adults eh?
And sadly, we the parents don’t seem to have a clue about what’s happening with our children; we simply don’t care, or are too busy trying to make a living to pay serious attention to what’s happening to them.
The parents of this boy in the novel didn’t even know that he had guns in his room, or he was a big Internet freak on evil sites. And no doubt a lot of that is happening in real life today.
Ah Friends, I don’t have the answers, but somehow or the other we’ve got to stop the nonsense. And unfortunately all of that just links up so smoothly with our Bit. ‘Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.’
Ah mih breddren, so far from that disaster, two families are mourning and badly in need of serious comfort. Who will provide it to them eh? I just hope, for their sakes, that they are Christian families. Our Bit is another of the Beatitudes that Jesus delivered in His Sermon on the Mount.
And according to the scholars: ‘5:4. Those that mourn…shall be comforted. The depth of the promise of these statements is almost inexhaustible. Those who mourn for sin shall be comforted in confession. Those who mourn for the human anguish of the lost shall be comforted by the compassion of God.’
Let’s sincerely hope and pray that those families mourning right now are somehow comforted by God’s compassion, because ONLY Jesus can successfully minimize the yokes and burdens that have just been laid on them. (Matt.11:28-30)
Yes my people, for all the unfortunate things that happen to us in this oftimes wretched life, Jesus stands out as the bright light shining in our darkest hours. He is the ONE we can and should always turn to in dire situations.
For as Bruh Paul said to the church at Corinth: ‘Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble (tribulation), by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted by God.’ (2 Cor.1:3-4)
And that’s the undeniable truth Friends! God comforts us so that we can comfort others in their time of need. And we WILL ALL endure trials and tribulations and be in need of comfort at some time(s) in our earthly lives.
But please remember Jesus’ faithful promise: ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33)
Oh my fellow believers, I know that’s easier said than done, but with strong faith and trust in the Almighty, we can get through it. And we’ll close with a scripture that we’re all looking forward to; the arrival of the new heaven and the new earth.
‘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)
Yes mih people, then, and only then, will the cause for mourning and comfort cease. Till then, please wisely take hold of ALL God’s promises of help and succour, for they are the only sure means of comfort we have in this wicked, ungodly world. Much LOVE!
…when a human heart is hurting…only Almighty God can truly comfort it…
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