01 Feb 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: accidents, assurance, aura of love, blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, blessings, brothers and sisters in christ, confidence, congestion, conquerors, Creator, delight thyself, desire of my heart, do good, encouraging words, enthusiasm, evil, faith, fellowship, foolish pride, friends, further God's glorious kingdom, give while you're alive, glory hallelujah, gospel truth, Harvest Service, holy spirit, homework, humble servants, inroads, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, justice, keeping lives and families together, lies, LOVE, loving kindness, machinations, meet the enemy in battle, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, nor such as turn aside to lies, obey God, on which side his bread was buttered, praise Your Holy Name, promised to guide and protect, Psalm 37, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, respects not the proud, righteousness., road rage, serve a useful purpose, smiling from ear to ear, spiritual armour, St. Patrick's, steadfast faith, step up to the plate, stress levels, surrender our all, taunts, the moral of the story, to meet my Maker, Tobago, traffic jams, trust, trust in the Lord, truth, ungodly world, uplifting, wiles, wisdom, work, workers of iniquity
Psalm 40:4. Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
And then it was Monday! Hn! Work calleth my people! I do hope that you all are ready to leave home at some ungodly hour in the morning to beat the never-ending traffic jams, the numerous accidents, most of them caused by speeding and foolish driving, plus the ever-escalating road rage, a natural consequence of the road congestion and our rather high stress levels.
Mama Yo! Bruh Paul would have been proud of that rather convoluted sentence. (smile). Thankfully I don’t have to be prepared for that sort of stuff right now. The only thing I need to be prepared for is to meet my Maker, and I just hope He’s not too anxious to meet me. (smile)
However, my beautiful brothers and sisters in Christ, fear not, for our Saviour has promised to guide and protect us, and to never leave us, once we don’t leave Him. And we know He is ever-faithful. But on the other hand, if we had done our homework yesterday -going to church, resting and relaxing, we would have been much better prepared for today.
Anyway, we do have a remedy for your unpreparedness, it’s called our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. So let’s belt it out with great verve and vigour now, let’s put a dazzling, brilliant smile on our choirmaster’s face.
As one powerful and harmonious choir now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Now that was indeed a beautiful rendition my people! Jesus was smiling from ear to ear while strenuously working His conductor’s baton, as all of heaven rocked along! Glory to God!
As per yesterday’s activities: We went to the Harvest Service at St, Patrick’s in Mt. Pleasant…and was it ever a beautiful time although it lasted for three hours! It’s the first service of that length I’ve gone to and didn’t even notice the time. Glory Hallelujah!
The church was full; downstairs, upstairs and outside, with lots of inspiring singing and worship. And one thing I liked a lot is the way they involved the children in the celebration, doing readings, making offerings of first fruits etc.
The Dean of the Region preached a powerful message on giving, using several anecdotes to illustrate his point. This one about a pig and a cow touched me. Apparently the cow and pig were out in the fields talking when the pig put down the cow with a remark about how all he does is give milk, while he, the pig, was used for ham, bacon and other products.
The cow looked at the boastful pig and calmly intoned: ‘yes, you give when you’re dead, but I give while I am alive!’ Hn, hn! And the moral of the story there friends is that we ought to give while we’re alive, not wait until we die.
And how do we do that eh? Simply by obeying our Bit! ‘Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.’
Yes my brethren, when we put out complete trust in the Lord, we will automatically be led by His Holy Spirit to do what is right and good! And we will also forsake the proud and deceitful workers of iniquity who devilishly try to lead us astray! That’s the promise of our God and our faith my people!
But we first have to step up to the plate and do our thing; surrendering our lives to our heavenly Father and allowing Him to put His infallible plan for us into action. Remember He is the Creator, and consequently knows what is best for us. And though we will have trials and tribulations, He has promised to see us through them and work everything out for our good.
Oh friends, it couldn’t get any better than that nuh! We have the Lord’s assurance on it! Glory Hallelujah! So why waste time and energy trying to do it on our own eh, when we have the Creator of the universe prepared to do it for us eh? No reason but foolish pride and the machinations of deceitful iniquity workers.
Now let’s go home with some awesome uplifting, encouraging and truthful words of Bruh David from Psalm 37 – The true state of the wicked. ‘Trust in the Lord and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (feed on His faithfulness).
Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgement (justice) as the noonday.’ (Ps.37:3-6)
Words of gospel truth my brethren! And I can personally vouch for some of it, because coming to Tobago was a big desire of my heart and the Lord granted it to me. So as true and faithful believers, I implore us to raise the level of our trust in Almighty God, because it’s only then we will see and experience the full barrage of His LOVING-kindness! Much LOVE!
…Bruh David knew on which side his bread was buttered…do we know on which side ours is…I surely hope so…
30 Jan 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: action, almighty god, application, be of good cheer, black pudding, blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, blessings, christianity, cokked food, colon, constitutional, daily bread, diligence, discipline, evil, faith, flora, friends, God's goodness, gospel truth, holy spirit, i have overcome the world, I will fear no evil, intelligence, Jesus Christ, Job, lives by faith, LOVE, loving kindness, misfortune, mouthwatering aroma, not by sight, respects not the proud, speech, subtle difference, such as turn aside to lies, surroundings, tantalizing, the baddest, The Duchess, the hardest, the Son of God, the valley of the shadow of death, Though he slay me, thy rod and thy staff comfort me, trials, tribulation, trust, trust in the Lord, truth, unquenchable, wisdom, yet will I trust in him
Psalm 40:4. Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
Oh Friends, from my little cottage in Riseland Tobago, I’m coming to you with the LOVING-kindness of the Lord! Please note that it is not merely my LOVING-kindness but the Lord’s, which means it’s the hardest and the baddest! (smile)
And how can it not be eh, since it comes from the very source of that wonderful emotion? So please enjoy it this Saturday morning because that’s why it’s being brought to you. Moreover, it will be downright sinful if you abuse it and not use it to the fullest. Nuff said!
Ah mih people, I don’t want to continually harp on the beauty of my surroundings, because I know it can breed envy and jealousy, but I just can’t help it, especially since I’ve just returned from what I hope will be my everyday constitutional while I’m here.
I’m talking about a walk up and down the grassy edge of the property, watching the beautiful, well-tended flora and seeing the wind-driven waves of the sea crash ‘suicidally’ against the rocks on the shore. The walk is only a few hundred yards long, but that’s enough for now.
As per yesterday’s activities, I didn’t do much, and you already know I went to the market, to the bank, wrote the Bit, then had my dip in my waterhole, went to get my black pudding, which will be coming up for lunch or whatever after I’m done here.
Oh friends, I can already smell and taste the tantalizing, mouthwatering aroma, although it’s still in the fridge. (smile) Then we just sat out on the porch enjoying the night, listening to some music, chilling, as the young people would say, since the t.v. is still not working.
Imagine that nuh; the duchess going three whole days with no t.v. But give her credit, she’s not complaining, but making do with her other toys.
Oh by the way, there’s one story I want to share from my market experience yesterday. At one stage I was standing on a walkway with a couple of other men when this older chap came up and began talking to them.
All of a sudden though he exclaimed: ‘But how the market so quiet eh? Forty years ago it wasn’t like that at all nuh! Then everybody would come and buy their foodstuff and cook their own food. But now nobody doh cook again, they all buying cooked food. But me, I still cook my own food yes! I have to look after my colon oui!’
But all joking aside friends, the gentleman was quite right. Forty years ago there wasn’t as many restaurants and such that sold cooked West Indian food. However, today they abound on almost every street corner.
I myself was amazed when I first came back four years ago to see so many establishments. In all my years growing up in Tobago, I don’t remember ever once purchasing cooked food, don’t even remember there being a place to purchase it much less. But I guess that’s the new style, progress they call it.
Anyway, moving on, there’s an insight I want to share with you from the Daily Bread Devotional from yesterday’s reading, which was taken from the first Book of Kings 4:29-34, re Cousin Sol’s wisdom. Those of you who read Our Daily Bread would have already seen it, but it’s useful to read it again.
The writer is one J.R. Hudberg, and he declares: ‘There is a subtle but important difference between intelligence and wisdom. Both of them are desirable; both of them important; both require diligence and discipline to acquire and exercise.
However, wisdom is often considered the appropriate application of intelligence. Knowing something is one thing; being able to act well on what you know is another. As Solomon shows, intelligence can be demonstrated by speech, but wisdom is demonstrated by both speech and action.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth my people! That’s what Christianity is all about; good speech and even better action!
But unfortunately, we can’t do either without the help of our great God, as attested to in our Bit. ‘Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.’
Oh friends, what more can I say eh? Unless you truly trust in the Lord you WILL NOT see nor experience the full glory of God’s goodness! We need to be more like Job, who even in his worst days, having lost family, friends and fortune in one fell swoop, was still able to passionately declare: ‘Though he slay me, yet will I trust him: but I will maintain mine own (defend my) ways before him.’ (Job 13:15)
And the scholars offer this explanation: 13:15. Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him expresses the unquenchable faith of one who lives by faith, not by sight. Even when it appears that God Himself has turned against Job, he will still trust in God.’
Oh my fellow believers, how many of us today can really undergo such trials and tribulations and still maintain that do or die faith in Almighty God eh? Sadly, not very many of us. But that’s the kind of faith we need to have; an unquenchable kind.
Way too many of us lose faith as soon as some relatively insignificant stuff crops up in our lives because we expect God to be there at our beck and call, or don’t expect anything wrong or bad to happen in our lives. But that’s not reality friends! Remember Jesus promised: ‘In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33b)
Yes my people, whether we’re rich or poor, powerful or unknown, we WILL all face misfortune at some time in our lives. The solution to misfortune though is to keep the faith, keep trusting in Almighty God though it might be very difficult. Remember that it is in hard and difficult times we need Him most.
And we’ll end with these beautiful, uplifting and encouraging words of faith, LOVE and trust from Bruh David that we all know, but do not practice enough. ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.’ (Ps.23:4)
Please friends, I implore us to walk in that comfort and security of our omnipotent God today! Much LOVE!
...even Jesus…the Son of God… in his earthly sojourn…made sure He stayed close and faithful to His heavenly Father…how much more do we need to do so eh…
27 Jan 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ah feeling hot hot hot, all tribes of the earth shall wail, apreciate the end product, blessings, Carnival, come what may, coming or going, dominion, every eye shall see him, first begotten, for God so loved the world, friends, glory, glory hallelujah, god the father, God's goodness, God's little Acre, good Tobago food, he cometh with clouds, he gave his only begotten son, heaven, holy spirit, I am halfway home, I want to be amongst their number, I'm not looking back, I'm so glad to be alive, jealous, Jesus Christ, John the Revelator, joy, KFC, kings and priests, Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, LOVE, loving kindness, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my hands are on the plough, oh when the saints go marching in, ole, Paradise on Earth, Robinson Crusoe's Isle, saltwater, shall have everlasting life, sunshine, sweating, sweet Tobago, thank God, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, the Almighty, the Alpha and Omega, the Be All, the beginning, the Bit must go out, the blood of Jesus, the breath of life, the end, the End all, the First and the Last, the Rapture, them's the breaks, to a glorious future with Jesus, truth, undeserving sinners, washed us from our sins, Wednesday Wail, wisdom
John 3:16. For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
‘Ole, Ole, Ole! Ah feeling hot, hot, hot! Ah feeling hot, hot, hot!’
Oh friends, the ole fella really feeling hot, hot, hot; hot till ah sweating! (smile) But that’s the way it ought to be if I’m in seventy something degrees temperature.
Yes mih brethren, you must have guessed, the ole fella is in God’s Little Acre, Paradise on earth, Robinson Crusoe’s Isle, the Crown Jewel of the West Indies, and a host of other names I could mention. Hn, hn!
But suffice it to say, I’m in sweet Tobago! Praise the Lord for His LOVING-kindness to the children of men – especially me on this particular occasion!
Yes my people, the ole fella really needed some saltwater and sunshine and good Tobago food to revitalize my body; the aches and pains were getting to be a bit much, and the cold weather wasn’t helping any.
And as I look outside at the bay, with the waves on the choppy side, the wind blowing like crazy, causing the trees to dance to their tune, I do feel like I’m in Paradise. (smile)
Don’t be jealous now, your time will come, just like mine did; just believe, have faith and work on it.
The trip down wasn’t the greatest though. The plane was full, due to the upcoming Carnival celebrations, and though I’ve travelled economy class before, this time it really got to me. I’ve never been so uncomfortable before.
And to make matters even worse, there was a young child in the row behind me, who cried for a fair amount of the night. And as the Lord would have it, the first time I enquired about travelling Business Class, it was full. I guess He wanted me to appreciate the end product more. And believe me, I certainly do!
I left home at about six thirty last night, and did not arrive at my final destination until nine thirty this morning. And I’m so tired I don’t know if I’m coming or going, but I’m so dedicated to writing the Bit that I’m trying to complete it nevertheless. (smile) ‘The Bit must go out, come what may:’ that’s the motto!
Anyhow friends, soon come. A fella just showed up here to talk to me about a rental car. Hang tight!
Aye mih people, I want to apologize for the roughly three hour delay. But after getting the car, the duchess decided we should go to the mall to get some phone connections and something to eat since we had not had breakfast as yet.
Well the long and short of the story is that we had to wait awhile in the phone store and then, after eating the KFC we bought at the mall, I just had to have a nap.
But imagine that nuh; I’ve come to sweet Tobago to eat some good Tobago food, and first thing the Duchess have me eating is fast food! Ah Lord eh!
But I guarantee you that that will not become a habit! And I’m only now getting back to you at three o’clock T &T time. My humble apologies, but them’s the breaks! (smile)
And since it’s Wednesday, let’s wail our Wednesday Wail with great gusto nuh. As one now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home.
My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Oh my fellow believers the ole fella is ever so glad to be alive this Wednesday at the end of January 2016! I’m in Tobago! So what could be better eh? Only heaven! But hold on, I’m not ready for there just yet, and I do hope my Creator isn’t ready for me up there either. (smile)
So without further ado, let’s get to our Bit nuh; that awesome LOVING-kindness of our magnificent and magnanimous God! ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’
And Friends, if you don’t believe in the everlasting Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, then I’m truly sorry for you, because He is indeed the Be All and End All; the Alpha and Omega; the First and the Last; The Beginning and surely the End!
Listen to the words and deeds John the Revelator ascribes to Him. ‘And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten (born) of the dead, and the prince of (ruler over) the kings of the earth. Unto him that LOVED us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds (tribes) of the earth shall wail (mourn) because of him. Even so, Amen. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, The Almighty.’ (Rev.1:5-8)
Oh what wonderful scriptures friends, highlighting God’s goodness to us undeserving sinners!
Now let’s end with some explanations from the scholars. ‘1:7-8. Four aspects of Christ’s return are mentioned, each of which alludes to another passage of Scripture. He will come with the clouds (Dan.7:13) in the sky. Every person will see him (Matt.24:30). Those who pierced him (Zech.12:10), that is, those who rejected Him and wanted Him to die will repent and mourn (wail) over Him (Zech.12:10-11).
This refers to Christ’s return to the earth to establish His kingdom, not to the Rapture. Alpha and Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, refer here to God’s eternality and sovereignty, and possibly to the fullness of God’s self-revelation.’
Ah mih people, that’s the end of our last message on this Bit, but please remember it is a pivotal piece of scripture, one upon which our destiny, our eternal life hangs! So it will be very wise for each one of us to acknowledge, accept, believe and practice His commands, and thus share in His eternal LOVE! Much LOVE!
…oh when the saints…go marching in…I would like to be amongst their number…oh when the saints go marching in…
26 Jan 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Spiritual Living
Tags: another day in the life, atonement, Bad News, be right with God, beat pan, believer, call us home, cancer, caring, character, compassionate, demise, divine guidance, extinguished like a flame, fellow believers, for God so loved the world, friends, glory to God, gospel truth, have everlasting life, he gave his only begotten son, holy spirit, I am not what I do, I am not what I have, I am not what people say about me, I am the beloved of god, I can trust my friend Jesus, I don't have to hurry, I don't have to worry, in the bosom of the Lord, irreverent ways, Jesus Christ, joy, joy comes in the morning, kindness, LOVE, memories, Montego Bay, pranks, propitiation, resting peacefully, share His love with the world, sincerity, sinners, studying, the LOVE of God, Tuesday Mantra, U.W.I, weeping, weeping endures for a night, whoever believes in him should not perish, wisdom
John 3:16. For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Ah Friends, it’s another day in the life! Glory to God! So we had better enjoy it while we have it because it’s very fragile and can be extinguished as quickly as a flame. Apparently this happened to one of my best buddies recently.
Last Sunday evening I opened my e-mail and was greeted by one saying ‘Bad News.’ Obviously, with some anxiety, I wondered what that bad news could be. Unfortunately it informed me of the passing of my friend, and sometimes accomplice, Paul Lawrence at the University of the West Indies Hospital in Mona Jamaica. Ah Lord eh!
I had no idea that he was even sick. Apparently he was recently diagnosed with oral cancer, had surgery last week, and was recuperating nicely, then suddenly and unexpectedly passed away early Sunday morning. That’s why it’s ever so important to have our lives right with our Maker, because we never know when He’ll call us home.
Paul and I spent a lot of good times together when I attended U.W.I in Mona, many years ago. I first saw Montego Bay when he invited me to stay down there with his family. We were in the same classes, beat pan together, and generally had a good time around the campus. Those were the days!
Studying was not even an option. (smile) I remember at the end of our first year, Paul coming to me to teach him statistics! Hn! What a joke! I was certainly no better than him in that subject.
And on the day of the exam, in the big, quiet room, we just looked at each other and laughed, because the questions were way above our heads. Then, long before the official end, we just gave up our papers and walked out.
Obviously we failed that subject, but passed the make up exam a few weeks later. And on reflection, I have to assume that was through divine guidance, since we didn’t know much more than the first time. (smile)
Aye Pablo mih brother, you might be gone but certainly not forgotten. You were much LOVED for your kindness as well as your pranks and sometimes irreverent ways. I know your family is hurting through your unexpected demise, but they are strong and will always have you in their hearts. Hope you are resting peacefully in the bosom of the Lord. Bye!
Yeh Friends, Pablo is gone, and many of you who read the Bit knew him, and though we might miss him, we just have to enjoy the memories and move on with our lives until our day of departure arrives. Remember that weeping and sadness may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning. (Ps.30:5)
And since it’s Tuesday morning, let’s declare our Tuesday Mantra with true feeling and sincerity. As one now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
Yes my fellow believers, above all else we are the beloved children of God, friend and brother of Jesus! That no one can take away from us. So please let’s live like it nuh. Let’s be LOVING and kind, caring and compassionate, like the Father and Jesus have been to us, as so wonderfully declared in our Bit.
‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’
Oh my brethren, every time I read that sentence my heart just lights up as it appreciates the awesome LOVE our Creator had, and still has for us, awful sinners that we are!
Now let’s continue looking at the particular scripture in John’s first gospel, which so eloquently speaks of that undeniable LOVE! Yesterday we ended at verse 8: ‘He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE. (1 John 4:8)
We’ll pick it from there. ‘In this was manifested the LOVE of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.’ (I John 4:9)
And the scholars have this to say about that verse. ‘’4:9. To grasp God’s LOVE aright, one must look to how God has demonstrated it. Here John is in total harmony with Paul (Rom.5:8).’
And for our edification, (smile) Romans 5:8 says: ‘But God commendeth his LOVE (demonstrates His own LOVE) toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ Now there’s no higher way that God could have shown His awesome LOVE for us my people!
And John continues with his declaration that lends authenticity to Bruh Paul’s statement. ‘Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he (first) LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation (atonement) for our sins.’ (1 John 4:10)
That’s the gospel truth friends! And the scholars declare: ‘4:10. No human LOVE is the standard for understanding God’s great compassion, but God’s own action on man’s behalf.’
More gospel truth people! Our finite human minds are too small and our standards too low, to truly comprehend God’s amazing compassion for us!
And John continues: ‘Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we LOVE one another, God dwelleth in us, and his LOVE is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.’ (1 John 4:11-13) More words of truth and wisdom friends!
And we’ll end with this explanation from the scholars. ‘4:11-13. God’s character, through His Spirit, is to shape and progressively dominate the character of the believer. The Spirit of God imparts the will to LOVE.’
Please my fellow believers, let’s allow the Holy Spirit to do it’s job in is today nuh, for that is the wisdom of heaven! Much LOVE!
…when the Holy Spirit truly works in us…it produces the LOVE of God…
P.S. Sorry about the lateness of the Bit friends, but it’s just been one of those nights. (smile) Oh, it might be even later tomorrow, because I’m going out of town tonight, and I don’t know what time I’ll actually return. But hang in there, it will eventually arrive, the Lord in favour. Much LOVE!
25 Jan 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: almighty god, appreciation, attributes of God, aura of love, blizzard, churlishness, compassion, complaints, confidence, conquerors, contention, Creator of the universe, Eastern coast of North America, enthusiasm, eternal life, everlasting life, evil, faith, false teaching, fellowship, foolish pride, for God so loved the world, freezing to death, glorious kingdom, God is LOVE, Gos id light, gusto, have everlasting life, he gave his only begotten son, holy spirit, hope, human response, humble servants, immortal words, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, keeping lives and families together, let us love one another, lies, life-giving words, LOVE, LOVE is of God, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, obedience to god, prayer, prayers, ravages, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, rest, right belief about Christ, running out of gas, snow, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, suspicion, taunts, thankfulness, the BIBLE, the greatest of these, truth, understanding, ungodly world, useful purpose, weary souls, whoever believeth in him should not perish, wiles
John 3:16. For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Ah friends, this Monday morning is one day many of us should be ever so thankful that we’re not living on the Eastern coast of North America, because of the terrible blizzard that passed through that area on the weekend, dropping humongous amounts of snow on the ground. Ah Lord eh!
On the news, I believe it was Saturday, I heard a woman saying that she and her family had been snowbound on the Pennsylvania Turnpike for 12 hours. Another woman and her family, on another highway, had been snowbound for some twenty hours. Can you imagine that – sitting in a car for so long, the windows all frosted and you being anxious about running out of gas and possibly freezing to death?
One of those two women had their diabetic father with her, on his birthday to boot. Not a very pleasant way to spend your birthday at all. I believe though, that one of those families was fairly close to a gas station, so they were able to get some food and refreshment. I don’t how much that helped though, when you couldn’t drive, and you were still a long way from home.
Please let’s remember in our prayers the millions of people along the Eastern seaboard who are still undergoing the ravages of the snowstorm. So let’s have no complaints and churlishness because you have to get up and go to work. Let’s just sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with extra gusto and thankfulness.
All together now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
That was good friends, but I don’t think that our choir director, Jesus, heard enough thankfulness in our voices. (smile) But He does know that we believe His words found in our most encouraging and uplifting Bit. ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’
And how could we not believe those beautiful, eternal life-giving words eh, unless we’re real dense and full of foolish pride? And I know that some of you might be tired with the same Bit for so long, but my people, that is possibly the most important statement in the entire Bible. It was the ONLY reason that Jesus came to earth!
And if you can’t feast on those miraculous and momentous words for a few days, then I’d strongly suggest you question your faith. And I can’t guarantee that it will finish today either, for there’s still a fair amount of scripture to be studied on it. And we’ll begin with the immortal words of John’s first epistle, re God is LOVE!
‘BELOVED, let us LOVE one another: for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God.’ (1 John 4:7)
Now let’s stop right there and get some valuable explanations from the scholars. ‘4:7. John returns to the theme of mutual LOVE. Perhaps the false teaching he felt compelled to combat had contributed to suspicion and contention in the fellowship. In contrast, John is not saying that everyone who LOVES is a Christian, whether they trust in Christ or not.
He makes it clear elsewhere that true knowledge of God entails right belief about Christ, as well as right response to God, including LOVE of others. Mere human LOVE apart from Christ’s redeeming presence and motivation falls short of LOVE in its fullest dimension as a human response to God’s perfect and infinite compassion (cf. 1 Cor.13).’
Oh my brethren, I do hope that that helps us to better understand the precept of God’s LOVE; His LOVE for us, as well as our LOVE for Him and for others. It must be accompanied by true belief in Christ and obedience to God’s Word!
Now let’s continue with the scripture. ‘He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE.’ (1 John 4:8)
We have to stop here again my people to get a little insight on that verse from the scholars. ‘4:8. John has also recorded that “God is light” (1:5) and “Spirit” (John 4:24). LOVE is one of the many attributes of God and is to be understood in relation to the others, such as holiness and justice.’
Yes friends, our God is what in sports parlance we’d call an all-rounder – has many parts to His nature! However, He is not just a jack of all trades, but indeed a MASTER of them all! (smile)
And you know what? I think we’ll stop there for today, since I don’t want the Bit to get too involved and difficult to understand. So, the Lord willing, we’ll just have to continue it tomorrow. (smile)
Bear with me friends, it’s all for a good purpose, to our benefit. And I do hope that our understanding and appreciation of God’s LOVE has improved, has grown today, because that’s what it’s all about. Much LOVE!
…And now abideth…faith…hope…LOVE…these three…but the greatest of these is…LOVE… (1Cor.13:13)
23 Jan 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a relationship with God, advice, any man should boast, beloved followers, better understanding of God, blessings, by grace you are saved through faith, care, Christ's atonement, compassion, created in Christ, divine grace, easy yoke, Ephesians, faith, foolish pride, for God so loved the world, for good works, forgiveness, free choice, glory hallelujah, God's goodness, God's purpose, going his own way, grace, grow in Christ, have everlasting life, he gave his only begotten son, holy spirit, Jesus, lead and guide, leftovers, life-changing words, light burden, logic, loving kindness, maturity, meat and potatoes, menu, mercies, not of works, read and spell, recreated by Christ Jesus, rocket science, running back for more, salvation, sample God's wares, sinful nature, spiritual birth, surrender your life to God, the cross at Calvary, the gift of God, the greatest gift ever given to man, the kindness of God, the long and short of the story, understanding God's Word, unmerited favour, whoever believeth in him should not perish, workmanship
John 3:16. For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
And the people sang: ‘Saturday, oh Saturday, what do you have in store for us today?’
And the Lord replied likewise in song: ‘For my beloved followers, today I have brand new blessings, brand new mercies, etched with forgiveness, grace, care, compassion and LOVING-kindness. That’s my constant menu, except they are freshly prepared each and every day. I don’t do leftovers for those I sincerely care about.
And I have the best server in the world, My Holy Spirit. He will lead and guide you through the entire day, giving you good advice as to what to do and say.
So if you like what I’m offering, come on down and sample my wares. I guarantee that once you’ve sampled them, you’ll never go away; you’ll just keep running back for more. So see you soon. All my LOVE! Your heavenly Father.’
And that’s exactly how it is friends! Our magnificent God prepares His menu of delights afresh for us every day. As he says, He doesn’t do leftovers. But the only way you can truly sample His wares is by surrendering your life and soul to Him, so that He can set up His Holy Spirit in your soul.
The Holy Spirit is the server, so if you don’t surrender and allow Him in, then you won’t be able to sample the menu. No rocket science my brethren, just simple logic!
And all of that is borne out in the marvelous words of our Bit. ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’
Oh precious people, how can we doubt or disbelieve those life-changing words eh? It’s been historically proven that Jesus did die on the cross at Calvary, and if He was indeed whom He claimed to be, and there’s no reason to doubt it, then that’s the greatest gift that has ever been given to mankind! Glory Hallelujah!
We should all be shouting and praising and thanking God for His wonderful gift of salvation through Christ, and be ever so willing to live under His easy yoke and light burden.
But mankind is a different animal, possessing free choice, foolish pride and a sinful nature, so he doesn’t always make the wisest decisions. And even when you read and spell for him, like I’m trying to do here, he still insists on going his own way.
However, let’s turn to the scriptures for more facts on the subject. Yesterday we were looking at Bruh Paul’s message to the Ephesians, concerning faith and grace and how they work in a believer’s life. We ended up where he declared that God’s purpose was to demonstrate His goodness to them through Jesus Christ so they could have a better understanding of Him. (2:7)
Today, we’ll continue from there. ‘For by grace are ye (you have been) saved through faith; and not that of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship (creation), created in Christ Jesus unto (for) good works, which God hath before ordained (prepared) that we should walk in them.’ (Eph.2:8-10)
Now friends, those are three of the most important verses concerning our faith! The first thing we need to realize is that we are saved by God’s grace, His unmerited favour, and nothing that we have done ourselves.
The scholars explain that verse thus. ‘2:8. For gives the reason for this future demonstration of divine grace. It is because man owes his salvation to this grace or undeserved divine favour.’ Then they go into all sorts of explanations about the different tenses and genders of the Greek words which I will leave out.
The long and short of the story though is: ‘This means that no part of salvation is “of yourselves” or due to what we do – the whole of salvation is the gift of God. Man is saved “by grace” that is, by the kindness of God in having Jesus die for our sins. But this grace is appropriated through faith, that is, man believes what God has done for him and relies upon Christ’s atonement to blot out his sins and bring him into a proper relationship with God.’
In other words, NONE of our good works can get us into heaven. We can ONLY get there by accepting God’s LOVING-kindness and having faith, believing In Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. Unfortunately though, a lot of people still misguidedly believe that good works will get them into heaven. I sincerely hope that they smarten up before it’s too late.
As for ‘2:9. The reason in part, that salvation is not achieved by good works is to prevent men from bragging of having earned a place in heaven by themselves.’
Yuh think the Lord stupid? He made man, and He knows what we are capable of. Can you imagine the bragging and boasting that would have gone on if we could get to heaven through good works!
‘2:10. For verifies the assertion of man’s good works having no part in obtaining salvation. Workmanship refers not to our original or physical birth, but to our spiritual birth: what we are spiritually in the good sense is due to God, not ourselves. Created in Christ Jesus unto good works means “having been (morally) recreated by Christ Jesus for good works;” that is, Jesus remade our spiritual lives so that we could then do good works.
The apostle’s thinking is this: since the Christian has been given spiritual life for the purpose of doing good works, there could have been no good works by him prior to conversion that would merit salvation. Good works follow – do not precede – salvation.’
There you have it friends, Bruh Paul’s treatise on grace and faith. I know I’ve shared most of this stuff before, but it’s such an important part of our belief system that we can never hear it enough.
So today let’s spend some time pondering on the meat and potatoes set before us nuh. It’s time we stop drinking milk and eating baby food and gain some maturity, moving on to a higher understanding of God’s Word (smile). Much LOVE!
…we can only grow in Christ…by gaining a deeper understanding of His Word…
21 Jan 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: A journey of love, a righteous man, a secular, atonement, Beelzebub, bleak, bleary, bounden duty, care, Christ died for us, compassion, conviction, darkness, disobedience, dispel the darkness, egocentric world, fellow believers, for God so loved the world, forgiveness, glory hallelujah, God's chosen people, godless society, grace, have everlasting life, he gave his only begotten son, holy spirit, Israel, justification, justified, live in the light of God's presence, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, New Testament, Old Testament, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, reconciled, reconciliation, repentance, sacrifice, Saint of the Little Flower, salvation, saved, saved from wrath, should not perish, sin, sinners, soldiers of Christ, St. Therese, substitutionary death, the Word of god, this is the day the Lord has made, turn a blind eye, ungodly world, vicarious deathm, we will rejoice and be glad in it, whosoever believeth on Jesus, wisdom
John 3:16. For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
And then it was Thursday! Glory Hallelujah! Yes friends, one more day of being alive and kicking on this glorious planet under the auspices of Almighty God, it’s Creator and Sustainer!
What blessed folks we are, so blessed that we can say with sincerity, truth and great enthusiasm; ‘this is the day the Lord has made, we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’
Yes my people, we will be glad and rejoice although outside looks bleak and bleary, another uninspiring winter morning. (smile)
And we can do that because our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, through His Holy Spirit, lives and reigns in our hearts, bodies, minds and souls. Oh glory to God my fellow believers in Jesus Christ!
Now here is a prayer that I thought we could all use. It’s taken from a devotional booklet titled ‘A Journey of LOVE. Walking with St. Therese of Lisieux,’ the saint of the Little Flower.
Please pray with me: ‘Lord, help me to live always in the light of your presence. Should any darkness challenge my belief and LOVE for you, dispel that darkness so that I might witness to your merciful and gracious LOVE. Grant me the wisdom to confront a secular and egocentric world with your message of care and compassion for all people. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.’
Oh friends, do we ever need God’s grace and wisdom to confront the dark, evil and ungodly world that now surrounds us! It’s definitely not easy living a life for Christ in an increasingly secular world, but we have to do it as good soldiers of Christ and His LOVE Revolution, because that is the only thing that will turn our godless society back to out wonderful, generous and forgiving Maker.
And believe me, we do need to turn back in conviction and repentance if we want our world to not only survive, but also to thrive. Friends, we can’t continue the woeful state of sin in which we’re living and expect God to turn a blind eye.
As I’ve asked before, why do we think that He would punish His Chosen People, Israel for their disobedience and not us eh? Go ponder that.
Anyway, let’s get to out Bit. ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’
Oh my precious people, what wonderfully uplifting words; words of encouragement, of unending LOVE and a promise of a wonderful life in the hereafter! How could we ever not believe and accept them as gospel truth eh, especially since Jesus sacrificed His sinless self to fulfill them?
I’m sorry for those who refuse to believe them, but it’s also our bounden duty to live lives and talk a talk that encourages them to change their beliefs and ways, for that’s what Jesus desires of us. Remember the Father doesn’t want to lose even ONE of His precious creation to that evil fool Beelzebub.
Now let’s turn to some scripture that emphasizes the importance and truth of our Bit. Listen to Bruh Paul writing to the church at Rome. ‘For when we were yet without strength, in due time (at the right time) Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure (perhaps) for a good man some would even dare to die.
But God commendeth his (demonstrates His own) LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now (having been) justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being (having been) reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement (reconciliation).’ (Rom.5:6-11)
Oh Friends, how could we ever doubt God’s great LOVE for us eh, when while we were yet sinners, His enemies, He sent His Son, Jesus to die for us? We shouldn’t, but unfortunately many of us do.
Now I know some of that scripture might be somewhat confusing, so here are some explanations from the scholars. ‘5:8. Christ died for us: His death was vicarious. That is, He did not die merely for our benefit but in our place. His was a substitutionary sacrifice.’
‘5:9-10. By his blood…by his life: The death of Christ and His shed blood effect (created, enables) salvation (Eph.1:7, 2:13; Col.1:14, Heb.9:12-15), but the life of Christ sustains it. The reference is to the abiding results of Jesus’ death and resurrection (cf.4:25).’
And Rom.4:25 says: ‘Who was delivered for (because of) our offenses, and was raised again for (because of) our justification.’
And we’ll end with a primer on Substitutionary Death from the scholars. ‘5:8. One of the historic fundamentals of the faith is the vicarious Atonement, in which Christ died as a substitute for sin. Illustration: In the Old Testament, this was taught typologically by the offering of an animal sacrificed for sin, looking forward to that ultimate sacrifice for sin, Christ (cf. Gen.22:8). In the New testament, Christ is described as having died in the place of the Christian (v.8), of the church (Eph.5:25), and of the world (Heb.2:9).
The concept of Substitutionary death is illustrated by the offering of a ram in the place of Isaac (Gen.22:13). Though Abraham was willing to offer his son as requested, God was prepared to accept a substitute that He had provided.
Application: Because Jesus died for everyone, Christians should take the message of the gospel to “every creature” (Mark 16:15). (First Ref. Gen.3:21; Primary Ref. Rom.5:8; cf. Eph.1;5).’
There you have it friends, in black and white! Please let’s study and ponder all that we’ve said today, so that the Word of God and His great LOVE for us will sink deep into our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, and give us the encouragement and strength we so badly need to enlighten this darkened world. Much LOVE!
…Adam’s disobedience caused sin… Jesus sacrificial death brought…reconciliation, forgiveness, salvation and eternal life…
19 Jan 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a day in the life, a second chance, a son is given, action, Adam and Eve, alive and kicking, anxious, beauty, belief, blessings, children, Christ, dire circumstances, Dr. Robert H. Schuler, Everlasting Father, faith, fate, flavour of life, for God so loved the world, For unto us a child is born, generosity, glad, glory hallelujah, glory to God, grateful, guiding light, he gave his only begotten son, he that doeth the will of my Father, holy spirit, Hours of Power Devotional, I am the beloved of god, I can trust my friend Jesus, I don't have to hurry, I don't have to worry, I'm not what I do, I'm not what I have, I'm not what people say about me, life, life after death, lost, LOVE, loving kindness, Lucifer, make a way, mercies, mighty god, miserable, misguided, natural beauty, not everyone shall enter the kingdom of heaven, obedience, Praise the Lord, prince of peace, prophecy, repentance, separation from Christ, shall not perish, share His love with the world, sin, take for granted, the children of men, the dayspring, the raison d'etre, Tuesday Mantra, unhappy, whosoever believeth on Jesus, wisdom, Wonderful Counselor, work it out for our good
John 3:16. For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Well friends, it’s another day in the life! Glory to God! And are we ever glad and grateful that on this cold, snowy, Tuesday winter’s morn that we’re alive and kicking, filled with the bright guiding light of the Holy Spirit.
Yes my brethren, it’s ever so wonderful that the Dayspring, the bright morning star that’s Jesus is operating within us, bringing us all the blessings and mercies that the Father has appointed for this particular day.
And all God’s children sang out loud and proud: ‘Praise the Lord for His everlasting goodness, His LOVING-kindness to the children of men!’
Now that’s something we should never forget or take for granted my people, because without the Lord’s goodness we’d be lost, misguided and headed straight for the fiery furnace that’s Lucifer’s domain.
Anyway, on a more uplifting note, check out this poem from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hours of Power Devotional. I must have shared it with you before, since it’s too beautiful for me to have passed up. (smile)
And rather appropriately, it’s simply titled ‘BEAUTY.’ And it says: ‘Thank you, Father, for filling the world with beauty. I thank you for the beauty of life, the beauty of LOVE, the beauty of children, and the beauty of old people. I thank you for the beauty of Christ and for the beauty of any life when Christ is invited through the Holy Spirit. Thank you, Father, that you have made my life beautiful too. Amen.’
Oh Friends, when last have we given thanks for the beautiful world and people that God in His wisdom and generosity has surrounded us with eh? Long time nuh! I know that many of us don’t appreciate the natural beauty that surrounds us, but it’s truly our loss, because it takes away from, depreciates the true flavour of life.
And now, since it’s Tuesday, let’s declare our Tuesday Mantra, or the Prayer of the Beloved. 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!’
Oh what a blessed day when Jesus came into our lives, my fellow believers! So much so, that now we don’t have to hurry or worry, or concern ourselves with what people say about us, because we know that we are the beloved children of God and the friend of Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!
So why are some of us so miserable, anxious and unhappy eh? With Jesus in our hearts, that’s not necessary my brethren, even in the most dire circumstances, since if you truly believe, then you will know that He will ALWAYS make a way, even where there seems to be no way, and will ALWAYS work everything out for our good.
Ah mih precious people, we have to start believing all the stuff that we talk about and claim as ours through Jesus, otherwise we’re just wasting our time, mouthing inane nothings. (smile)
That brings us to our Bit, possibly one of the most, if not the best known passages of Scripture. ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’
Oh my people, my fellow believers, that is probably the whole basis for the scriptures, the raison d’etre behind it all! For God’s intent from the very beginning was to give us a second chance to come into His holy fold after our forefathers Adam and Eve messed up and brought sin into the world.
The sad part though is that too many of us don’t believe, and even of those who believe, many don’t take this passage and the entire scriptures seriously enough. They seem to think they can just float through and all will be okay.
But that’s not entirely true, for remember Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount. ‘Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.7:21)
Yeh friends, mouthing the words doesn’t mean anything unless there is action and true belief to back it up. And we’ll turn to the scholars here for some info on the subject.
‘7:21-23. Not everyone professing Christ is genuinely saved. Even the outward verbal acknowledgement of His lordship is in itself not enough to save the unbeliever apart from true repentance and faith. A genuinely saved person is one that doeth the will of my Father, the Greek present tense suggesting that he is continually living in obedience to the will of God as the normal course of his life.’
That’s what it’s all about my brethren! And some of you might remember we shared this info from the scholars recently, but it is of such importance to our understanding and our life after death, that it can never be shared too much.
And I think we’ll end, most fittingly with a passage of scripture which presaged, gave promise of our Bit. It’s also a scripture we know very well and have been hearing it a lot during the recent Christmas season.
It’s Isaiah’s great prophecy. ‘For unto us a child is born, a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.’ (Is.9:6)
And that prophecy turned out to be none other than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Glory to God!
So please, let’s get truly serious about Jesus nuh my people, otherwise our eternal life with Him might be in serious jeopardy, and that’s the worst thing that can ever happen to us. Much LOVE!
…man’s worst fate…eternal separation from Christ…
18 Jan 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a standing O, asaph, at the front lines, aura of love, calamitous, Caleb, compassion, confidence, conquerors, covenant, Creator of the universe, disobedience, enthusiasm, evil, evil minions, facade, faith, flatter with their mouth, forgat his works, forgiveness, from whence comes our help, glamorous, glitzy, glorious kingdom, God was their rock, God's children, God's goodness, good life, grace, his wonders that he had showed them, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, iniquity, into the breach, invincible, Israelites, Jesus Christ, jobs, Joshua, joy, lip service, LOVE, Lucifer, lusting, manna, meat, meet the enemy in battle, mercies, miracles, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Moses, on which side his bread was buttered, pageantry, pomp, Praise the Lord, prosperity, Psalm 78, Redeemer, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, rest, salvation, soldiers, sought God, spiritual armour, spreading God's Word, steadfast faith, surrender, taunts, the early bird catches the worm, the high god their redeemer, the Love Revolution, the Promised Land, the things of the world, the wilderness, turned away his anger, ungodly world, victorious army of Christ, we can't fool God, wiles, wrath, you will reap what you sow
Psalm 78:11. And forgat his works, and his wonders that he had showed them.
Once more friends, once more into the breach on this cold, frosty Monday morning in mid-January! As good soldiers in the victorious army of Christ let’s get a move on! Remember the early bird catches the worm. (smile) The LOVE Revolution calls! And like any good leader, our Field Marshall, Jesus Christ is already at the front lines reconnoitring the enemy’s positions.
So let’s not be found wanting in these crucial times nuh, let’s get on with the task bequeathed to us; that of spreading God’s Word, His faithful, unconditional LOVE, His tender mercies, His everlasting grace and His endless forgiveness!
And all of God’s children declared a loud and proud: ‘Praise the Lord!’
And with that bit of energizing, let’s take it one step further by singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with even greater pomp and pageantry. (smile)
As one now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Beautiful friends! That was beautiful! Jesus was in His essence as He conducted us. Heaven even gave us a standing O and called for an encore! Mama Mia! What a morning it’s turning out to be!
Ah mih breddren, we serve such a wonderful God that I don’t know how people can turn away from Him. But sadly they are doing it, and recently in droves too, lured by the glitzy and glamorous come on by Lucifer and his evil minions.
Unfortunately though, it’s only after they are caught in that evil web that they realize it’s all a façade, a trap from which it is very difficult to break free. They can’t do so without the help of Jesus, and it’s our job to win them back, as well as those who never believed, by the way we walk and talk and glorify His holy name.
That means we obviously can’t be like the Israelites of old, who turned away from God ‘And forgat his works, and his wonders that he had showed them.’
Now that is so mind boggling, I can’t even imagine it! Hn! In spite of all the miracles he did on their behalf, from down in Egypt to the provision of manna and meat in the wilderness, they still turned away from him. They must have been a really hard-headed and stubborn people – just like so many of us nowadays. So God, in His anger, slew some of them and made the lives of the remainder futile and calamitous. (Ps.78:33)
Now let’s listen in as Asaph continues his story in Psalm 78. ‘When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and inquired early (sought diligently) after God. And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer.’ (Ps.78:34-35)
Ah friends, at last they smartened up and learned on which side their bread was buttered. I ‘ve been hoping and praying that the same thing can happen in our society today; that we can wake up and realize from whence comes our help, our prosperity and good life. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be happening.
However, we cannot give up hope, for there’s no giving up in Jesus, we just have to continue talking our talk and walking our walk as we have been instructed to do, and the Lord will do the rest.
And Asaph writes on: ‘Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues. For their heart was not right (steadfast) with him, neither were they steadfast (faithful) in his covenant.’ (Ps.78:36-37)
Yes friends, the repentance wasn’t really true, it was just lip service. And I suspect that a lot of that is happening today. Many of us are merely paying lip service to God, while our hearts are truly lusting after the things of the world. Oh precious people, we can’t fool God, because He looks at the state of our hearts, rather than just listen to the words of our lying lips.
However, He’s such a wonderful Deity that Asaph tells us: ‘But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath. For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again. How oft did they provoke (rebel against) him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert! Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.’ (Ps.78:28-41)
What a slap in the face eh! In spite of all God’s goodness, His chosen people rebelled against Him several times on the journey through the wilderness. But in His compassion and wisdom, He did not fully destroy them, just made them wander in the wilderness for forty years until all those who had come out of Egypt died. Not even Moses entered into the Promised Land. Joshua and Caleb were the only two of the original lot who did so.
So my fellow believers in Christ, let’s remember that though the Lord might not destroy us for our constant disobedience, He will find other ways to make us pay. Much LOVE!
…whatever you sow…is exactly what you will reap…so you can’t sow disobedience and expect to reap salvation…
11 Jan 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a crying shame, a voice crying in the wilderness, all fired-up, around the mulberry bush, aura of love, boring, common task, confidence, covenant, Creator of the universe, darkness, elbow grease, enlightened, enthusiasm, evil, facade-filled lives, faithful believers in Jesus, fictitious, glamour, glory to God, graven images, gusto, hanker after, his inheritance in the saints, holy spirit, humble servants, hunger, I am the light of the world, invincible, Isaiah, Jesus Christ, jet-set life, jobs, John the Baptist, let your light so shine, lies, LOVE, loving kindness, mercy, Messiah, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, open the blind eyes, praise, prison, prisoners, quit complaining, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, righteousness., rise and shine, salvation, sit in darkness, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, surrender, taunts, the children of men, the daily grind, the dayspring, the eyes of your understanding, the Gentiles, the hope of his calling, the light of life, the rich and famous, the riches of his glory, the shadow of death, truth, ungodly world, walk in darkness, wiles, worked their butts off, Zechariah
Ephesians 1:18. The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.
Well friends, here we go again; one more time around the mulberry bush. (smile) It’s Monday, that means getting into the daily grind and common task of work for another week. Obviously it’s no fun, but it needs to be done.
Too many of us look for and covet the exciting life we seem to think that others have, but believe me, most of what passes for glamour today is boring and fictitious. So please let’s not hunger and hanker after the façade-filled lives of the supposed beautiful people, the rich and famous who tool around in fancy cars and live the jet-set life, for many of them are not what they seem to be.
Oh I know we tend to say it’s better to be rich and unfulfilled, than to be poor and fulfilled. And besides, many of the rich actually worked their butts off to get to that position, so it’s not like you can just daydream and get rich and powerful, you do have to put in some elbow grease, whatever kind it may be, to reach those heights.
So quit the complaining, let’s rise and shine and get ourselves together like the faithful believers in Jesus Christ that we are! And as always, we do have our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to get us all fired-up. So let’s sing it with plenty gusto and enthusiasm.
‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Good job mih people, good job! It wasn’t spectacular, but it was certainly good enough to please our choirmaster, Jesus, to bring a smile to His handsome face.
Now let’s turn to our Bit, the same as yesterday. ‘The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.’
And I do hope we pondered what we spoke about yesterday and the eyes of our understanding were enlightened, (smile) because today I want to look at some scriptures where the Lord promised to open our eyes to what He was about.
And we’ll begin with this promise from Isaiah, when the servant (Christ) comes to glorify the Lord. ‘I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of (to) the people, for a light of (to) the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring them out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.’ (Is.42:6-7)
Yes my fellow believers, from way back then, the good Lord promised to open our eyes and show us the light, which He did through the incarnation of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Now listen to the prophecy of John the Baptist’s father Zechariah when he regained his speech, re John’s mission. ‘And thou, child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission (forgiveness) of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring (dawn, Messiah) from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.’ (Luke 2:76-79)
And that’s exactly what John the Baptist did! He was a voice crying in the wilderness, preparing the path for Christ. Oh friends, our God is and has been so wonderful to us, that it’s a crying shame the way we respond to His LOVING-kindness!
Those prophecies take us back to Isaiah, where He declares: ‘I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. Behold the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.’ (Is.42:8-9)
Now that we cannot dispute, because all the Lord’s prophetic dispensations have come to pass!
And we’ll end with the words of Jesus on the subject. ‘Then spake Jesus again unto them (the scribes and Pharisees) saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’ (John 8:12)
Oh my brethren, Jesus was indeed the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy! And did He ever open our eyes and lead us out of the dark prison that we were languishing in! All praise and glory to the Most High God for His goodness to the children of men!
Now let’s go forth in that light this Monday morning in this leap year of 2016, and light up the world through the strength and wherewithal of Jesus, for that’s what we are called to do! Much LOVE!
…ye are the light of the world…let your light so shine…
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