27 Oct 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a day of preparation, a sense of purpose, as the stars of heaven, aura of love, Be not afraid of them, clap your hands, complaining, confidence, depart out of thy mouth, enthusiasm, evil, fake it till you make it, fall on deaf ears, fatherless, fight for your brethren, God executes judgement, God is thy praise, God loves the stranger, God shows no partiality, God takes no bribes, gospel truth, groaning, guiding light, hard ears pickney, have good success, hello there mih lovelies, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, invincible, its worky worky time, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, jobs, lies, lively up ourselves, Lord of Lords, LOVE, loving kindness, make thy way prosperous, meditate therein day and night, moaning, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Nehemiah, Oh Lord God Almighty, omnipotent god, opposition, overdoing it on the weekends, prosperity, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, remember the Lord, rise and shine, run our race, shining beacon, shout unto God, sincere prayer, slowly killing ourselves, spiritual armour, start from a position of strength, steadfast faith, success, the book of the law, the Lord is a great king over all the earth, the Lord most high is awesome, the Lord your God is God of gods, the voice of triumph, tired and miserable, trust, ungodly world, well intentioned pleas, where there is life there is hope, widow
Psalm 47:1-2. O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. For the Lord most high is terrible (awesome); he is a great King over all the earth.
Well hello there mih LOVELIES… its’ worky, worky time! (smile) I’m trying to tell us nicely that it’s Monday morning and we need to rise and shine and get ourselves ready to go back out to labour for massa’s pittance.
And please remember too that the tone we set for today, the attitude we go out with this morning, will most likely dictate our mental, emotional and physical state for the rest of the work week. For as the days increase, so will our enthusiasm and strength decrease. That’s why it’s always best to start out from a position of strength, rather than from one of weakness.
That’s why I also encourage us to use Sundays, the first day of the week, as a day of preparation for Monday, and thus be able to get back into the work flow as easily as possible.
Hn, hn! But all my well intentioned pleas just seem to fall on deaf ears. (smile) We’re still overdoing it on the weekends, and moaning and groaning and complaining come Monday morning.
Ah Friends, when will we learn eh? Soon, I hope, because we’re slowly killing ourselves when we get out there on Mondays, starting the way we should be ending; tired and miserable.
Anyway, let’s see if we can’t lively up ourselves some by singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with a strength and sense of purpose we don’t really feel, hoping that as we fake it, it will eventually become real. Or as they say; fake it, till you make it! (smile)
With one accord now, let’s all loudly and lustily declare: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Oh my people, that rendition wasn’t really so hot nuh; too many hoarse, scratchy and out of tune voices, not enough enthusiasm, etc. etc. It had Jesus shaking His head, sighing and concernedly saying: ‘What’s to become of them eh? They just don’t learn! Is just a setta hard-ears pickney (stubborn, disobedient children)!’ (smile)
But Friends, as we all know, where there is life there certainly is hope, which means we can definitely improve. But until then, we just have to go out and do the work Jesus calls us to do, in whatever state or condition we find ourselves. And though He might not be too thrilled with us, He will surely enable us to do the work if we come to Him in sincere prayer.
That’s just the wonderful kind of Lord and Saviour He is! And that’s why He also deserves many glorious accolades from us, like the one highlighted in our Bit. ‘O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. For the Lord most high is terrible (awesome); he is a great King over all the earth.’
And again my brethren, we can’t help but acknowledge that as gospel truth! No wonder then, when Nehemiah was rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and met fierce opposition from his enemies, he took this unassailable position in his omnipotent God.
‘And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible (awesome), and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.’ (Neh.4:14)
And Friends, they did just that, and rebuilt the wall in record time, something like 52 days! Yes my people, we have to invoke the help of our mighty and magnanimous God in ALL of our problems, if we truly desire to be victorious in them!
And as Moses so eloquently and truthfully exhorted the Israelites as they journeyed through the wilderness to the Promised Land. ‘Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked (stubborn, rebellious). For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward (the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality, nor takes a bribe).
He doth execute the judgement of the fatherless and widow, and LOVETH the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. LOVE ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave (hold fast), and swear by his name.
He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible (awesome) things, which thine eyes have seen. Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the Lord thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.’ (Deut. 10:16-22)
Now Friends, there’s simply no refuting any of that! So I implore us, let’s take it all to heart nuh, and diligently run our race of life with it as a guiding light, a shining beacon in this dark and troubled world. For it is only as we walk and talk sincerely with Almighty God that we will have true success and lasting prosperity! Much LOVE!
…this book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth…but thou shalt meditate therein day and night…that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein…for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous…and then thou shalt have good success… (Josh.1:8)
25 Oct 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a grand Saturday, a voice of triumph, affliction, all is well with the world, All praise honour and glory to Jesus, Artaxerxes, Babylon, belief and trust in Jesus Christ, bring presents unto god, can't have faith without hope, clap your hands, commandments, covenant, covenant relationship, distraught, eternal flame, everlasting fire, faith, fasting, Glory Halleujah, God is king of all the earth, God is on His heavenly throne, Gramps Schuller, hope, hope brings us back to life, hope is a phenomenon, hope leads to faith, hope makes faith in Jesus possible, hope renews our spirit, hoyl, I can do all things through Christ, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, living truth, LOVE, merciful, mercy, Nehemiah, omnipotent, our Lord and Saviour, our mortal beings, prayer, reproach, righteous, shout unto God, sing praises to God, thanksgiving, the birth of hope, the breath of life, the Lord is a benevolent monarch, the Lord is a great king over all the earth, the Lord most high is awesome, the Spirit of God, toral renewal, understanding, what a joy it is to have hope, while there's life there's hope, wisdom, with hope anything is possible
Psalm 47:1-2. O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. For the Lord most high is terrible (awesome); he is a great King over all the earth.
Aye Friends, what a grand old Saturday it is! God’s on His heavenly throne, and all is well with the world! (smile)
But yuh know what mih people, though the world might not be such a great place to be these days, because of the breath of life, the Spirit of our holy and righteous God that’s flowing through our mortal beings, we have that eternal flame, that everlasting fire called HOPE to sustain us!
Yes Friends, as they say, while there is life, there is HOPE; and taken to the limit, while there is HOPE, anything is possible!
And Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) in His Hour of Power Devotional declares that ‘HOPE is a phenomenon! We don’t know what triggers the birth of HOPE, or where it comes from. But when a person finds HOPE, there is total renewal.’
And that’s the living truth, my brethren! For HOPE just brings us back to life, renews our spirit and makes us truly feel that anything is possible! Therefore, what a joy it is to have HOPE in our lives! And HOPE leads to faith.
Remember too, that we can’t have faith without HOPE, for it is that deep down feeling of HOPE that makes faith, or belief in anything at all possible.
So the long and short of the story is, that because we have life, we therefore have HOPE, and HOPE makes faith in Jesus Christ possible, and with faith in Jesus Christ comes the certainty that with Him involved in our lives, ANY and EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE!
And all God’s children declared in a loud and lusty voice: ‘Glory Hallelujah! All praise, and honour, and glory be to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour!’
And that leads us nicely into our Bit: ‘O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. For the Lord most high is terrible (awesome); he is a great King over all the earth.’
Yes Friends, our God is a great ruler over all the earth; a most LOVING and benevolent monarch to boot! Therefore we should indeed clap our hands and triumphantly shout for joy over His goodness and LOVING-kindness towards us, since not many earthly monarchs are thus disposed to their subjects as God is to true believers!
Now let’s look at some scripture passages which describe our mighty and wonderful God as such. We’ll start with Nehemiah, cup-bearer to the Persian king Artaxerxes, while the Jews were in captivity in Babylon, after he found out the terrible state that Jerusalem was in; ‘in great affliction (distress) and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.’ (Neh.1:3)
That made Nehemiah so distraught that he set about fasting and praying to God for direction. ‘And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible (awesome) God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that LOVE him (you) and observe (keep) his (your) commandments:’ (Neh.1:5)
Yes my people, Nehemiah knew of God’s awesome power, as well as His strong faithfulness to His covenants. And the scholars explain that verse thus: ‘1:5. That keepeth covenant and mercy is a refrain from Deuteronomy 7:9 and is related to Exodus 20:6 and 34:6-7. God keeps His “covenant-LOVE” with those who LOVE Him, those in a covenant relationship with Him.’
Please check out those scripture references Friends, they are certainly interesting, and will also definitely add to your scriptural knowledge. And remember that we too are in a covenant relationship with Almighty God because of our belief and trust in Jesus Christ.
So we too can come to Him in earnest prayer and be assured that He will hear us, and answer in whatever form and fashion He deems necessary and/or adequate. For that reason, we can confidently clap out hands and shout triumphantly about our omnipotent and merciful God!
Meanwhile, in Psalm 76 – Asaph ends his song to the victorious God thus: ‘Vow and pay unto the Lord your God: let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared. He shall cut off the spirit of princes; he is terrible (awesome) to the kings of the earth.’ (Ps.76:11-12)
And we’ll close today with these outstanding and encouraging verses of indisputable truth from Psalm 47, from which our Bit is taken. ‘God is gone up (ascended) with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.’ (Ps.47:5-7)
Oh my people, there is no greater wisdom than that in all the universe, in all of heaven and earth! So please, let’s be wise and put it into practice today nuh, knowing that with HOPE and FAITH in Jesus Christ, through prayer and thanksgiving ALL things are indeed possible! Much LOVE!
…I can do ALL things through Christ…who strengthens me… (Phil.4:13)
P.S. My oh my, what a short Bit this is today! Can’t remember when last I’ve written such a short one. There obviously can be no complaints today about its length! (smile) Much LOVE!
15 Oct 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a man under authority, all things are possible to him that believes, almighty god, as thou hast believed, awesome power, battery operated clocks, because of your unbelief, belief, came to Jesus for help, Capernaum, cast out into outer darkness, comforting, communing with the Father, condemnation, electrical power, electricity, faith, faith can move heaven and earth, flashlight, foolishness of Isreal's rejection, from the east and west, Gentiles, gnashing of teeth, grievously tormented, hope, I am not worthy, I have not found so great faith in Israel, if thou canst believe, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ingathering of the Gentiles, Isaac and Jacob in heaven, Jesus, Jesus had all the power of God behind Him, Jesus' Second Coming, keep on believing, LOVE, loving kindness, magnanimous, magnificent, make a positive difference, Mark 9:23. Jesus, Messiah, my servant should be healed, nothing shall be impossible to you, omni-present, omnipotent, omniscient, outer darkness, paralyzed, prayer and fasting, preaching of the gospel, punishment, put out the garbage, realm of sickness and death, reassuring, remove hence, second death, shall sit down with Abraham, sick of the palsy, simply believe, so be it done to thee, speak the word only, that's my story, the children of the kingdom, the kingdom of heaven, the Roman centurion, to go to bed late is to be up early, unexpectedness of life, warm the cockles of Jesus' heart, weeping, Wiliam Shakespeare, working out things for good, ye shall say to this mountain
Mark 9:23. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
Ah mih people, the unexpectedness of life eh! That’s why we have to live and enjoy it while there’s still time. I went to bed last night, or rather this morning, at minutes to two, after being outside on my porch with Jesus, silently communing with the Father, as a gentle, latter autumn rain fell in my area.
Yes Friends, it was Jesus and I out there, for if we say He lives in us, and He is always with us, walking and talking with us, that means everywhere we go, He is there too. And that’s so comforting and reassuring!
So I get to bed at that early hour (smile) – remember Willie Shakespeare’s adage – to go to bed late is to be up early- and a couple of times I wake up to look at the clock radio on the far night table next to the Duchess’ side of the bed. But neither time could I see anything, which left me wondering why she would turn it off or unplug it.
But lo and behold, one of those times I sat up and looked around me, only to find that there was darkness all around. For a few seconds I was mystified… then it dawned on me that there was no electrical power. So obviously all the clocks that worked with electrical power were dead, and I had to grope around to find a flashlight to look at one of the battery-operated clocks.
Oh I have several clocks in my bathroom and bedroom, and all of them tell a different time. (smile) It was then around 5.30. I looked out the window, and out there everything was dark too. With no other alternative, I simply, and gladly went back to bed. What else could I do without electricity eh? (smile)
However, the ole body didn’t surface again until minutes to eight, and then I had to put out the garbage and stuff, because I heard the trucks rolling around the neighbourhood. So it’s not until minutes after eight that I’m starting to write the Bit. Now that’s my story… and I’m sticking to it! (smile)
I had some other stuff in mind to open with, but it seems the Good Lord wasn’t in favour of that, so we’ll leave it for another day. Anyway, we’ll continue with our Bit on faith and belief. ‘Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.’
Yes my brethren, through faith and belief in Almighty God, ANY and EVERYTHING is possible! Please don’t ever doubt that, because we have a God who created the universe and all therein, a God who is omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present!
That means He’s all-powerful, as well as being here, there and everywhere at the same time, working out good for those He has called and who sincerely believe in Him. Wow! What a magnificent and magnanimous God we serve my fellow believers!
And it’s truly sad that more of us don’t truly believe in His awesome power and LOVING-kindness, for then our lives and world would be so much better!
And we’ll continue to check out a couple of instances where faith and belief made a substantial difference in certain people’s lives, as they came to Jesus for help. The first is about the Roman centurion.
The Good Book tells it this way: ‘And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy (paralyzed), grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant should be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.’ (Matt.8:5-13)
Yes Friends, yuh see what faith can do! It can help you move heaven and earth! And per the scholars: ‘8:5-9. The centurion (comparative to a sergeant –major’s rank today) was impressed with Jesus, whom he likened to himself as one under authority. He recognized that in dealing with the realm of sickness and death Jesus had all the power of God behind Him.’
And ‘8:10-13: The words from the east and west, are taken form Psalm 107 (with allusions also to Is.49:12; 59:19; Mal.1:11). Here Christ is referring to the ingathering of the Gentiles through the preaching of the gospel, culminating in their final gathering at the time of His Second coming.
The children of the kingdom refers to those to whom the kingdom really belongs. Outer darkness refers to the condemnation of the second death. There shall be…gnashing of teeth: There (in that place) is used emphatically to draw attention to the fact that such severe punishment is in fact reality.
Even though he was a Gentile, the servant was healed because of the faith of the centurion. The contrast to this incident drawn by Jesus emphasizes the foolishness of Israel’s rejection of Him as Messiah.’
And sadly my people, today we are still perpetuating that foolishness of Israel, by rejecting Jesus as our Lord and Saviour! How foolish eh, after all the examples and pratfalls we’ve experienced over the years?
Anyway, time and space are against us, so we’ll close with these famous remarks of Jesus to His disciples, when they could not heal the sick youth with the dumb spirit that we talked about yesterday.
‘And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say to this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove (move); and nothing shall be impossible to you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.’ (Matt.17:20-21)
There again we have it Friends, Jesus telling us about the importance of prayer and fasting, albeit in a sincere manner. So today, as we tend to Jesus’ business, let’s go forth in faith, hope, LOVE and belief, so that we can make a positive difference in our fallen world, and thus warm the cockles of Jesus’ heart! Much LOVE!
…the first step is to simply believe…then the next one is to still believe…then to the others…just keep on believing…
08 Oct 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a man of God, abusing our physical bodies, alive, best buddies, blessed, bounden duty, breakdown, bring glory to God, burning the candle at both ends, busy world, Christian, constant jammings, conventional human standards, desires of my heart, diligently, don't shoot the messenger, edifice will collapse, Elijah, enjoy, enough is enough, faith, faithfully, flour, foolish, forgave, foundation, free from the bondage of sin, friendship, from the goodness of our hearts, generosity, giving, glory hallelujah, god's great scheme of things, God's work, help, her whole livelihood, hope, Hour of Power, hugs and kisses, I'll try not to do it again, I'm sorry, inequity of resources, Jesus, Jesus smiles down on us, just flesh and bones, LOVE, mea culpa, meaningless, misfortune, misusing, mites, of their abundance, oil, omnipotent and loving god, out of her poverty, please accept my most humble apologies, please forgive me, poor widow, praise God, prosperity, put into practice, raised her son from the dead, rebelled, rebellion, rocket science, sacrificed, selfish society, selfless act, sensible, simply mortal, smile, standing steadfast and strong for Jesus, stress and strain, superficially, the Good Book, the middle of the week, the poor are getting poorer, the rich are getting richer, the word of the Lord is truth, treasury, trite, truth, Wednesday, winning the battle, wisdom, wise, worldly pursuits, worthless
1 Kings 17:24. And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.
Aye Friends, it’s just one of those days when the old body completely rebelled. It finally said: ‘Enough is enough! You can’t have me constantly going to bed late and yet expect me to get up early! I’m not superman, just flesh and bones yuh know; a simple mortal…and a fairly old one at that! I’m not as young as I used to be, so I can’t stand the constant jammings like I used to before!’
And what could I say eh? Nothing but, ‘I’m sorry, and please accept my most humble apologies…and please forgive me, and I’ll try not to do it again. Mea culpa…mea culpa…’
And yuh know what, being the good Christian body that he is, he LOVINGLY forgave me. Glory Hallelujah! Now we’re best buddies again, with hugs and kisses all around! Oh what a wonderful friendship, just like the kind we’ve been speaking about the last few days.’ (smile)
Ah mih people, that might all sound a bit trite and foolish, but it’s loaded with truth and wisdom. We can’t keep on misusing and abusing our physical bodies without suffering its eventual rebellion and breakdown.
Unfortunately though, in this superficially busy world, too many of us are trying to light the proverbial candle at both ends simultaneously and keep it lit there for a long time. But that only brings misfortune in the end, because our bodies, as well as our minds were not made to take that kind of stress and strain on a long term basis.
And I’m sure all of us will agree that the amount of physically and mentally broken people in our society nowadays is way too high, especially amongst our young people, especially with the kind of prosperity we’re experiencing.
Although the facts and figures do show that our supposed prosperity is only superficial, like everything else around us, for actual prosperity is only going to the already rich, who are becoming richer with each passing day, while the poor are in fact becoming poorer.
Our society is suffering from a terrible inequity of resources, and until that is straightened out, things will only get worse, not better. So please, my people, let’s try to be wise and sensible where our minds and bodies are concerned nuh, since they are our basic foundation, and like all foundations, once they get too weak, the whole edifice which they support will eventually collapse.
And I have to laugh here, because that is definitely not the beginning I envisaged for today’s Bit. But I guess the Lord had a different plan in mind.
Here is what I had written while listening to some music from an Hour of Power religious programme: Oh Friends, it’s Wednesday morning, the middle of the workweek, and we’re alive… All praise to God! And even better yet, we’re winning the battle, standing steadfast and strong for Jesus! What else can one ask eh? Nothing really.
However, while listening to the music I was blessed with this great idea… And it’s not rocket science either. The way I see it, the things I want, the desires of my heart that God has put there, are basically to write words and music and to run horses…and TO HELP!
Yes Friends, HELP! That’s the most important of those four things. Why? Because regardless of how successful we are at our worldly pursuits, if we don’t HELP, then they are all worthless and meaningless in God’s great scheme of things.
Remember what Jesus came to earth to do? To HELP us, to save us from our sinful selves. And we term that most wonderful selfless act of Jesus as LOVE!
So therefore, if Jesus LOVED us so much that He wanted to HELP us and willingly sacrificed His life that we could be free from the bondage of sin, then that logically means that HELP is certainly akin to LOVE! And when you add Faith, and Hope, the most important become HELP and LOVE!
The problem though is that in our basically selfish, I, me, and mine society, the words LOVE and HELP don’t resonate with us the way they used to a generation or so ago. And to make matters even worse, there are more people desperately seeking LOVE and HELP than ever before, especially in a time of general peace.
That unfortunately makes it even more difficult since there’s less LOVE and HELP to spread round now to more people. Ah Lord eh! What a mess we’ve made of our world my fellow believers! And I know a lot of us who are expected to help, also need help in a bad way.
But yuh know what: when we give of the little we have, like Jesus noted of the poor widow who threw her last two mites into the collection plate, then our lives become even more blessed.
Here is how the Good Book recounts it: ‘And Jesus sat over against (opposite) the treasury, and beheld how people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites (small copper coins worth something like one-eight of a cent), which makes a farthing (a Roman coin).
And he (Jesus) called unto his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury. For all they did cast in of their abundance (surplus); but she of her want (out of her poverty) did cast in all that she had, even all her living (her whole livelihood).’ (Mark 12:41-44)
Oh my people, as the scholars explain: ‘12:43-44. God does not measure giving by conventional human standards.’
Yes my brethren, when we give of the little we have, our wonderful God sees the generosity of our hearts and expands our source so that we can give even more.
It’s like how He sent Elijah to the poor widow of Zarephath for food, who herself only had a little flour and little oil to make the last cake for her son and herself, then she was expecting to die after that. But she listened to Elijah’s plea instead and fixed her last bit of food for him.
And yuh see what happened? She and her household miraculously had food for many days after that. Elijah even raised her son from a death-like state. (1 Kin.17:8-23)
That finally brings us to our Bit: ‘And the woman said unto Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.’
Yes my people, that is what is expected of us, every time we open our mouths – truth! And even more so if we are expounding on the Word of our omnipotent and LOVING God!
So please, as we diligently and faithfully go about doing God’s work today, let’s make sure that we try to HELP and LOVE others, and that every word we speak is truth, so that we can bring glory to Him, like Elijah did with the poor widow. That’s our bounden duty! Much LOVE!
…oh when we…HELP and GIVE and LOVE…from the goodness of our hearts…Jesus smiles down on us with even more blessings… Glory Hallelujah!
P.S. Sorry about the lateness and length of the Bit Friends, but all I can say is that the Lord had His special purpose for it, allowing me to write the things I’ve done. So don’t shoot the messenger, (smile) just enjoy it and put it into practice in your lives. Much LOVE!
28 Sep 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 24/7 society, almighty god, be wise, bindage, blessings, derision, destruction unto them, devise evil, disasters, disobedience, do the right thing, Egypt, encourage ourselves, eternal life, faith, favour, favouritism, fellowship, focus on God, foreordained, forsaken the Lord, friends, give thanks and praise, glory hallelujah, God made man in His image, God's people, God's Word, he who has ears to hear, hope, I have redeemed them, Israel, it takes two to tango, Jesus Christ, Judah, justice, laws, LOVE, mercy, ONE body in Christ, Praise the Lord, raised him up from the dead, rebelled, rebellion, redeemed, redemption, relationship, relationships, relax from labour, responsibilities, reverence, rules, sacrifice, salvation, setbacks, strengthen our faith, sufferation, Sunday, the cross at Cakvary, the foundation of the world, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the one who made you for Himself, the precious blood of Christ, the Promised Land, the Sabbath Day, they have fled from me, they have spoken lies against me, they have transgressed against me, Tobago day, true image of God, unconditional LOVE, woe unto them, wonder, worship, your faith and hope might be in god
Hosea 7:13. Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me.
Well Friends, Sunday, the Sabbath day has rolled around again, and it’s promising to be another Tobago day! (smile) Praise the Lord! Glory Hallelujah! All of that means it’s time for us to relax from our labour, take it easy, and concentrate our focus, even more than normal, on Almighty God, our Creator and Provider, for that is what He did after creating the universe.
Sadly though, with our busy, 24/7 scheduled society, some things just cannot be shut down in midstream, and thus life is not as simple and easy as it used to be. However, it is important that each and every one of us put aside at least one day in each week to stop labouring and totally give ourselves over to God and family.
We should also make time to join together in worship and fellowship with other believers, so that we can give thanks and praise together as one body in the risen Christ, as well as encourage ourselves and strengthen our faith. That is done much easier through a gathering of like believers.
Now here is a very interesting paragraph I just read in the Introduction to a booklet by Jack Kuhatschek, titled: ‘A Message for All Time – Understanding and Applying the Bible.’
It states: ‘When you realize that the Bible isn’t primarily about rules but relationships, your Scripture reading will be transformed. And when you discover that God’s Word isn’t mainly about laws but LOVE, you’ll feel the heartbeat of the One who made you for Himself.’
Oh Friends, I was definitely intrigued by those statements, because if you really look at the Bible in those terms, it does become much easier to understand. We’re not dealing with rules and regulations per se, but with personal relationships between a God who made man in His image, to have a LOVING relationship with Him.
But to have a LOVING relationship with a just and holy God necessitates our behaving in certain ways, ways that reflect the right and true image of our Creator.
That brings us to our Bit: ‘Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me.’
It’s oh so simple my brethren: God’s people, Israel, rebelled against Him in spite of His overwhelming, unconditional LOVE for them, and the special acts of wonder, mercy and justice He performed on their behalf.
As the Good Book continues: ‘And they have not cried unto me with their heart, when they howled (wailed) upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corn (grain) and (new) wine, and they rebel against me. Though I have bound (trained) and strengthened their arms, yet do they imagine mischief (devise evil) against me.
They return, but not (upward) to the most High: they are like a deceitful bow: their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue: this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.’ (Hos.7:14-16)
Yes my people, both the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern one of Judah rebelled against God, and both suffered serious setbacks, terrible disasters because of it. And I like the info the scholars provide on the last verse.
‘7:16. A deceitful bow has every appearance of being good, but the arrows that it propels miss the intended target. God has wonderful things for Israel, but they have continuously mistaken His favour for favouritism and have misused His blessings for their own ends.’
And isn’t that ever so true! The Israelites abused God’s favour, foolishly thinking that because they were God’s chosen people, they could get away with rebellion. But unfortunately my dear Friends, our great and wonderful God doesn’t operate that way. Remember a good relationship appoints responsibilities on both sides. As they say, it takes two to tango, and two hands to wash.
Now God did His part by liberating the Israelites from bondage in Egypt and moving them to the Promised Land. Thereafter, He simply expected them to do their part of the covenant; be obedient to His dictates and serve and worship Him with due reverence and appreciation. But they didn’t, and eventually paid a stiff price for their disobedience.
Likewise my brethren, we in this current age have also forsaken the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who after all our forefathers’ disobedience, still had that fervent LOVE for us, and still desired a close relationship with us.
That burned in His heart so much, He made the ultimate sacrifice, paid the ultimate price for our disobedience by crucifying His sinless Son, Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary, to redeem us once and for all time from our abominable sins.
Oh Friends, that redemption was the beginning of God’s greatest gift to us, for it led to salvation and eternal life!
Hear how Peter puts it: ‘Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible (perishable) things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation (aimless conduct) received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot (sinless):
Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest (revealed) in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.’ (1 Pet.1:18-21)
Now, our more immediate fathers to some extent did that, had faith and hope in God. But recently my people, in the last couple generations, we have totally strayed from their walk with God, and instead are desperately trying to rid our society of Him, by removing Him from all the special places where he was originally placed and revered; like schools, work, public places, and even homes.
Now put yourselves in God’s place Friends. How would you react to such treacherous behaviour eh? Yuh see how He reacted to Israel’s disobedience? Do you think He’ll react any differently to ours? Off course not! And then we naively wonder why our world has suddenly become such a hellish place.
Oh my fellow believers, I don’t know to what extent, but I do know that the current tragedy that’s our world, has some correlation to our removing Jehovah God from our society, and if we don’t turn our woeful and wicked ways around soon, even more destruction will come upon us.
So if we want to see our children and grandchildren endure real ‘sufferation’ then we can continue the way we’re going. If not, then we have to change course, and change quickly too, get Jesus’ LOVE Revolution into top gear and beat the iniquity workers at their own game.
My fellow believers, it’s all up to us now, because the evil doers like the status quo. So please, let’s be wise and do the right thing nuh. Much LOVE!
…he who has ears to ear…let him hear…else he’s going to feel…
24 Sep 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abundance, abundant life, adventurous, all should come to salvation, all thanks and praise to god, amazement, and have it more abundantly, as I have loved you, Bless His Holy Name, blessings, bondage of sin, Bruh Paul, busy society, came together to break bread, celebrate the life death and resurrection of Jesus, collective family, cut-throat, do whatsoever I command you, enjoy each other's company, eternal optimist, everybody's doing their own thing, exciting life, faith, family life, family togetherness, favour, fellow believers, For where two or three are gathered together in my name, forgiveness, friends, get together, God's greatest desire, God's promised to work things out for our good, grace, greater love hath no man, greedy, hope, hurts my heart, I am come that they might have life, in exile, influence of Jesus, interesting, Jeus reigns supreme, joy, laughter, lay down his life for his friends, LOVE, love and togetherness, LOVE one another, mercy, merriment, obedient to God's will, opportunity, our Creator and sure Provider, overflowing grace, personal experience, physical treasure and pleasures, pick sense from nonsense, sacrificed Jesus, selfish, sins, some of the best days of my life, Son Jesus, soulful, spiritual enlightenment, such a blast, sufferation, tenderness, the first day of the week, the Good Lord, the greatest of these is love, the thief comes to steal, there am I in the midst of them, to go to be late is to be up early, undying LOVE, unending wisdom, ungrateful, unworthy, wisdom, wonder
John 10:10. The thief cometh not, but for (except) to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Oh Friends, it’s been a Willie Shakespeare kind of night, in the sense of when he says in one of his plays – don’t remember which one – to go to bed late is to be up early. Hn, Hn! Well I was up very early because I went to bed very late, around 3:30 a.m. (smile)
Anyway mih people, what I want to say is that the last couple of days can be numbered amongst some of the best of my life. That’s because it’s the first time my brother and I have spent so much time continually together.
We were always Friends, but never hung out much together, and the thirty years I spent away from Tobago, in exile in the North Country, obviously reduced those opportunities.
However mih breddren, the Good Lord, our Creator and sure Provider, in His usual mysterious way, in His unending wisdom and overflowing grace, thirty odd years later has provided a surprise get together. Mama Mia! All thanks and praise to Him!
One day, a couple weeks ago, right out of the blue, I received an e-mail from my niece saying that her parents were coming to Canada. And they’ve been here with us the last two days, and oh my people, it’s been such a blast!
There hasn’t been that much laughter, merriment and family togetherness in the house for a while, because in this busy society everybody is usually off doing their own thing. But yuh know what Friends?
These last couple of days have shown me what Jesus truly means when He says in our Bit: ‘The thief cometh not, but for (except) to steal, and to kill, and to destroy; I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’
It’s family life Friends, family togetherness He was talking about. That’s basically it. When family and friends and fellow believers get together and enjoy each other’s company under the overwhelming influence of Jesus, then life truly is graced and gifted with abundance.
I don’t believe Jesus was referring so much to the abundance of physical treasure and pleasures, but more to the abundance of soulful and spiritual enlightenment. And again we see Jesus emphasizing togetherness, when He says: ‘For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.’ (Matt.18:20)
And what we often forget, especially in this current selfish, cut-throat, greedy society, is that God’s greatest desire is that ALL should come to salvation; that we should live as ONE, in LOVE, joy and tenderness towards each other, as a part of His one, big, collective family. Otherwise He wouldn’t have sacrificed His One Son Jesus, to pay the price for our abominable sins.
And believe me people, Jesus did pay and enormous, a terribly high price to free us from the bondage of sin. Every time I consider what He went through to save us unworthy, ungrateful wretches, the very thought of His immense ‘sufferation’ hurts my heart.
But then, on the other side of the equation, I’m oh so thankful and grateful that He paid that exacting price, because it shows that the Father and Him truly LOVED, and still LOVES me!
This brings to mind Jesus’ directive: ‘This is my commandment, That ye LOVE one another, as I have LOVED you. Greater LOVE hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.’ (John 12-14)
Then He went out and did exactly that – sacrificed Himself on the cross for us. Bless His Holy Name!
But please remember that one proviso: “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.’ So if we’re not obedient to the will of Jesus, then we’re not His friends.
And sadly, that means a great proportion of mankind are not friends of Jesus, since we have so rudely and foolishly removed Him from all areas of our lives; at home, at work, at school and at play.
But Friends, Jesus is the eternal optimist. He believed in the saying that if you build it, they will come. So He died to give us the wonderful opportunity to come to Him in LOVE and togetherness.
And staying with that theme of togetherness and abundant life, let’s look at a scripture that appropriately describes it. It deals with Bruh Paul at Troas. ‘And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached (spoke) unto them, ready to depart on the morrow (the next day); and continued his speech (message) until midnight.’ (Acts 20:7)
Again, it was a coming together of the disciples to celebrate the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ!
Oh my fellow believers, there can be no greater joy than when Jesus is amongst, reigns supreme in the lives of a group of people! That’s when the abundant life truly kicks in, and why we need to take togetherness more seriously than we currently do, both as family and fellow believers.
Oh my people, being obedient to Jesus so that you can be numbered amongst His friends, is not always easy. In fact it can be very rough at times, when the Lord chooses to test us. But remember that He’s promised to ALWAYS work things out for our good.
And I can tell you from personal experience, that if you sincerely try to live obedient to God, then you WILL certainly lead an interesting, adventurous and exciting life, filled with wonder and amazement!
And how can we not eh, when our lives are constantly connected to: God’s Faith, God’s Grace, God’s Favour, God’s Blessings, God’s Mercy, God’s Forgiveness, and God’s undying LOVE!
So please my brethren, let’s get our acts together, and COME TOGETHER IN LOVE AND OBEDIENCE TO JESUS! That’s the wisdom of all the ages! Much LOVE!
…and now abideth…faith…hope…LOVE…these three…but the greatest of these is…LOVE…
P.S. Oh Friends, I surely hope that this Bit makes sense yes, stands together as a structural whole. But even if it doesn’t, I know that you all are smart enough to pick sense from nonsense. (smile) Much LOVE!
12 Sep 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's wisdom, a future and a hope, accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour, advice, all the right places, anxiety, ask and it shall be given to you, ask for help, ask god for help, believers, blessings, bread, calamity, come up over our problems, confidence, deflate like a balloon, evil, faith, faithfully, fellowship, fervent prayer, fish, frenzy, frequent prayer, fret, Friday chant, friends, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, Glory Halleujah, God's plan for our lives, hello there mih lovelies, hope, hot air, if any of you lack wisdom, in Jesus' name, indisputable truth, Jesus, knock and it shall be opened, LOVE, nature of the human animal, no excuse for failure, not an easy task, peace, perseverance, political outlook, poor economic situation, prayer, pressure, problems, promise of Almighty God, refreshed in soul body and mind, rejuvenate ourselves, relaxation, renewed, sanctified, search for me with all your heart, seek and you shall find, serpent, serve and worship God sincerely, spiritual success, standing steadfast and strong for Jesus, stone, strain, stress, stressful and anxious society, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, Thank God the weekend is here, thanks for getting me through another week of work, the Lord of the universe, the weekend, things of the world, thoughts of peace, troubled times, trust, truth, wisdom, without reproach, worry, zenith
James 1:5. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not (without reproach); and it shall be given him.
Well hello there mih lovelies! The day we’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived… it’s Friday!
And I hear all sorts of ‘Glory Hallelujahs; TGIF! Thank God is Friday! Don’t know what I’d do if I had to work another day nuh! Thank God the weekend is finally here and I can get some rest!’
Ah Friends, it’s certainly amusing, and somewhat instructive, how we suddenly deflate like a balloon come Friday. All the hot air, stress, strain and anxiety seem to just suddenly dwindle at the thought of a couple days off.
But I guess that’s the nature of the human animal in conjunction with the stressful and anxious society in which we now live. Confidence also seems to be at an all time low, with people worried about jobs, families and their livelihoods in general, due to the poor economic and political outlook today.
But my people please remember that as believers, we’ve been sanctified, made a people apart, where we don’t have to fret and worry because Jesus, the Lord of the universe is looking out for us. So let’s show our great faith and trust in Him by standing steadfast and strong nuh, despite the frenzy that’s surrounding us.
And to help us do that, let’s chant our Friday Chant with feeling, so that we’ll be enabled to come up over our problems this weekend. All together now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yeh mih breddren, in these crazy and troubled times we need to rejuvenate ourselves frequently so that we can handle the enormous pressure that is coming at us each and every day.
It’s definitely not an easy task, but as I said above, as believers, we have Jesus, the Lord of the universe leading and guiding our every step, and when problems arise we ought to have the confidence to go to him in prayer and ask for help.
As our Bit rightly and wisely tells us: ‘If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not (without reproach); and it shall be given him.’
That’s indisputable truth, my Friends! That’s the beauty of being seriously involved with Jesus, making Him your Lord and Saviour, of surrendering your very life to Him and letting Him put in place the wonderful plan He has for your life.
Remember what He says, the promise He makes in Jeremiah: ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope). (Jer.29:11)
Yes my people, our wonderful God only has wonderful thoughts and plans towards us! Why else would He shower us with new mercies and blessings everyday eh? But having said that, it is now our responsibility to live up to our promise, to serve and worship Him faithfully, so that we can acquire all that He has in store for us.
Our Bit instructs us to ask of God, who gives generously to all without reproach. And that’s wonderful advice my Friends. Jesus also instructed us to do the same thing when He lived here on earth with us.
‘Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?’ (Matt.7:7-11)
Oh mih people, mih people, how can we refute or ignore such wisdom eh? We’d be very foolish to do so! Unfortunately however, a lot of us still do that foolishness, lured by the glimmer and glamour of the things of the world. But as we keep saying my brethren, that’s a fool’s wisdom!
Now check out this info from the scholars: ‘7:7-10. The three imperatives ask, seek, and knock are in the present tense of the original language, suggesting both perseverance and frequent prayer.
Fervent and continual prayer is to be made on behalf of those for whom we are concerned. God promises to answer all genuine prayer (v.8). Everything we need for spiritual success has been promised to us. God leaves us no excuse for failure.’
What more can I say eh Friends? Not a whole lot, because we have already been given everything we need to succeed in this world, we just have reach out with faith and prayer and take hold of it.
And we’ll close with this poignant promise of Almighty God, through Jeremiah, on the topic of coming to Him in sincere prayer. ‘Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.’ (Jer.29:12-13)
Oh Friends, it doesn’t get any better than that! So today, let’s take that promise of our most faithful God to heart and diligently seek Him, truly search for Him with all our hearts, so that we may be comforted, consoled, lead and guided successfully in all our endeavours. Now that’s indeed wisdom at its zenith! Much LOVE!
…the only way to truly find God…is to keep looking for Him…in all the right places…
07 Sep 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Adam's fall from grace, all the days of my appointed time, almighty god, an appointed time, an emergency to meet God, art of waiting, baptized with the Holy ghost, beehive-like activity, Bruh Paul, Day of Pentecost, Emergency, expectant faith, faith, family, father of patience, fellowship, first day of the week, first fruits of the Spirit, focus on God, get our priorities in order, give thanks, go go mentality, God's omnipotence, God's promises will be faithfully fulfilled, habakkuk, Holy Ghost, holy spirit, hope, hungry hope, if a man die, jehovah god, Jesus, Job, keep the Sabbath holy, light, LOVE Revolution, my refuge is in God, patience, patience is a virtue, persevarance, refresh our attitudes, regain physical and spiritual strength, rest, righteousness., salt, salvation, Selah, shall he live again, sing praises, suffers birth pangs, Sunday, the Good Book, the Sabbath Day, the vision, to everything there is a season, trust, truth, waiting, waiting on god, will I wait till my change has come, wisdom, worship
Job 14:14. If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time (hard service) will I wait, till my change come.
Okay mih people, we’ve come full circle, it’s Sunday, the first day of the new week! Time to fellowship, worship, sing praises and give plenty thanks to our wonderful God!
Remember Friends, that the way we treat today, the way we prepare, will have an immense impact on the other six days of the week. If we prepare well, then the rest of the week will flow smoothly. So let’s be sensible and get our priorities in order today nuh.
As the Good Book proudly proclaims: ‘Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.’ (Ex.20:8) That means focusing on God, family, worship and rest, as much as possible today, given the 24/7 beehive-like activity of our current society.
Much as we would like to, we simply can’t shut down everything like the old days, but that doesn’t mean we can’t lay aside many of our supposedly oh so important activities. We like to claim that everything needs doing today, right now, but in reality that isn’t true. It’s just the natural go, go, go mentality of modern society that has us trained that way.
Just look at how we react when an emergency crops up; we immediately drop everything else and concentrate on that, leaving the supposedly so very important activities untended for hours, sometimes even days. Then when the emergency is over, we come back and pick up those activities where we left them off.
I guess then the best way to handle the Sabbath in the right way, is to consider it an emergency; an emergency to meet and greet our great Creator, so that we can refresh our attitudes, regain both our physical and spiritual strength to face the world without fear and trepidation for the following six days.
If God, in His omnipotence, could rest from His labour for one day after creating the universe, why can’t we feeble, finite humans do the same eh? And that’s all I have to say on the subject! (smile)
So let’s now turn to our Bit: ‘If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time (hard service) will I wait, till my change come.’
Waiting, my Friends, waiting on Jehovah God is everything! As Bruh Paul said to the Galatians: ‘For we through the Spirit wait (eagerly wait) for the hope of righteousness by faith.’ (Gal.5:5)
And the scholars’ explain that verse thus: ‘5:5. Through the Spirit means that by the Holy Spirit’s help, which is obtained by faith, believers wait for the hope of righteousness, that is, live the Christian life awaiting the consummation of their salvation.’
No doubt about it my brethren; if we believe in God, then we will wait on Him and His perfect timing. And as Bruh Paul also informed the church at Rome: ‘For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain (suffers birth pangs) together until now.
And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for (eagerly awaiting) the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience (perseverance) wait for (eagerly await) it.’ (Rom.8:22-25)
What Bruh Paul is basically talking about here is the senseless pain we’ve been made to suffer through Adam’s fall from grace, and the waiting we’re doing for us to be redeemed in body.
And not only on heavenly things must we learn to wait, but also on earthly things. It takes time to build, to grow, to put together anything at all, and in the process there’s always a period of waiting, which this current society doesn’t do well at all, with its gung ho, always on the go, now for now approach. But that’s why patience, the art of waiting, is called a virtue, and why Job is called the Father of patience.
Now hear these wise and wonderful words of Bruh David from Psalm 62: God only is my rock and my salvation. ‘My soul (silently) wait thou only upon God; for my expectation (hope) is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defense; I shall not be moved (shaken).
In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.’ (Ps.62:5-8)
Words of absolute truth and wisdom my people! Now listen to how the Lord instructed the prophet Habakkuk, when He told him to write the vision of his prophecy on stone tablets. ‘For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie; though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.’ (Hab.2:3)
Yes my fellow believers, all things promised by Almighty God WILL come, when He considers the time to be right! Our part is to do our best and hang in with hungry hope and expectant faith till the God appointed time.
And we’ll close with one of the most direct and important instructions of waiting in the Good Book; that from Jesus to the apostles before He ascended into heaven.
‘And being assembled with them (the apostles), commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.’ (Acts 1:4-5)
And we all know that some forty days later, at the feast of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended ‘from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven (divided) tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:2-4)
And from that time on Friends, the Holy Ghost has indwelt EVERYONE who believes, who puts their trust and faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. What more can I say eh my people?
It’s now up to us to follow through with a strong passion and focus on the things of God, led by the Holy Spirit, be the figurative salt and light of this ungodly and evil world, so that Jesus’ LOVE Revolution will prevail, and God’s great wish will come true – that ALL will come to salvation. Much LOVE!
…to every thing…there is a season…and a time…to every purpose under heaven… (Eccl.3:1)
04 Sep 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a child of God, a follower of Jesus, a fool's wisdom, add insult to injury, all the days of my appointed time, almighty god, be of good courage, belief, blessed are all who wait on God, Bruh David, confident and dependent trust in God, curl up in a ball and die, curl up in bed, early morning waking up, endure our afflictions with patience, exalted, expectant faith, faith, frustrations, God is gracious, God's grace, God's promises are forever faithful, He will perfect establish and strengthen us, hope, I will wait till my change come, if a man die, in a nutshell, in god's own time, iniquity, Job, judgement, justice, late night going to bed, longed for death, LOVE, mercy, misfortunes, not allowed to give up, patience, perseverance, secret of waiting on the Lord, sense of balance, shall a man live again, stand strong, take hold of God's grace, taking a toll, terrible Thursday, the Father of all creation, the Lord is my light and salvation, the Lord shall be my salvation, Though he slay me, transgression, trials and tribulations, trust, vengeance, vocabulary of Jesus Christ, wait I say on the Lord, wait on the Lord, wait patiently, waiting with hungry hope, without growing weary, yet will I trust him
Job 14:14. If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time (hard service) will I wait, till my change come.
And then it was terrible Thursday, where all the frustrations of the week gang up on you, and makes you just want to curl up in a big ole ball in some small corner and die.
And I’m saying this from personal experience, because there are some things I wanted to do this week but just never got around to doing them, and I’m not thrilled with myself.
However, I don’t want to curl up and die, I just want to curl up in bed and get a few more hours sleep. (smile) This late night going to bed and early morning waking up to write the Bit is taking its toll on the ole fella.
Then to add insult to injury, yesterday evening, I guess I was feeling strong, and went for a longer than normal walk. Now this morning the ole knees are creaking and complaining. Got to restore some sense of balance to my life yes!
Anyway Friends, despite all the frustrations we encounter in this earthly life, one thing is certain; we are not allowed to give up! Those words do not exist in the vocabulary of Jesus Christ and His followers!
Our task is to continually take hold of God’s grace, to endure our afflictions with patience, without growing weary, knowing that in God’s own good time, He will ‘perfect,’ establish and strengthen us. We must wait on the Lord and be of good courage.
That’s the whole situation right there in a nutshell my people; waiting with hungry hope, as well as with eager and expectant faith! Nothing else will serve us in good stead.
That’s why Job, in our Bit today, boldly declares: ‘If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time (hard service) will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.
For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin? My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up, (plaster over, cover over) mine iniquity.’ (Job 14:14-17)
Oh Friends, we all know about Job’s serious misfortunes for no apparent reason. He was seriously troubled and disappointed by them, and longed for death as a release from the trials and tribulations of this earth, but deep down he knew the valuable secret of waiting on the Lord despite the troubles that surround us.
That’s why earlier on, in defending his integrity before his friends, he could also boldly proclaim: ‘Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in my hand? Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways (defend my ways) before him.
He also shall be my salvation: for a hypocrite shall not come before him. Hear diligently my speech and my declaration with your ears.’ (Job 13:14-17)
Now that, my people, is what true trust and faith in Almighty God is all about! That’s the way we need to react when trials and tribulations befall us. No, it certainly isn’t easy, but as a child of God, and a follower of Jesus Christ, that’s what is required of us.
And remember too, that our wonderful God NEVER asks us to do anything without giving us the wherewithal to do it and bear the fall out from our actions. So His grace will ALWAYS be with us, when we stand strong in His name and wait patiently for His next move.
And to bring this matter to the forefront, today we will look at some scriptures that deal with waiting on God. And we’ll begin with one of the more famous verses on the subject; that from Bruh David in Psalm 27 – the Lord is my light and my salvation.
He ends the psalm with these marvellous words of trust and encouragement. ‘Wait (in faith) on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.’ (Ps.27:14)
And we know that Bruh David tried his best to practice what he preached, and the Lord greatly rewarded him for it!
Meanwhile, Cousin Sol in Proverbs 20, advises us thus: ‘Say not thou, I will recompense (repay) evil; but wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee.’ (Prov.20:22)
Yes my people, in everything, especially in something like vengeance, we MUST wait on God, for He specifically says that that’s His department, not ours. (Deut.32:35)
And Isaiah in his appeal to the Jewish people to turn to the Lord for help, wisely says: ‘And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgement (justice): blessed are all they that wait for him.’ (Is.30:18)
Yuh see my brethren, even God is patiently waiting; waiting on us to wisely turn all out seriously misplaced attention back to Him!
And the scholars have an interesting footnote on that verse: ’30:18-33. Because God is gracious and has been willing to wait for His people to return to Him, He will certainly bless those who wait for him. “Waiting” is a confident and dependent trust in God.’
That, my fellow believers, hits the nail right on the head! (smile) We only wait long for things and people that we confidently trust. The same goes for Jehovah God. If we don’t trust Him, then we can’t and/or won’t wait for Him.
But Friends, that’s a fool’s wisdom. So let’s get ourselves together today and do our best to wait on Almighty God for whatever time it takes, because He is all-wise and knows our needs and wants and the good plans He has for our lives better than us.
So let’s try and shape up today in the waiting department nuh, asking God to give us His endless grace to do so where necessary. You know He will NEVER turn us down. Much LOVE!
…to wait on God takes…trust, faith, hope, belief, patience, perseverance and acknowledgement…that He is indeed the Father of all creation…and His promises are forever faithful…
25 Aug 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: A for effort, aura of love, bah humbug, blessings, confidence, disgruntled tone, enthusiasm, eternal life, evil, faith, falsehood, fellowship, friends, give ear to my words, God's day, heavenly wisdom, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, invincible, Jesus Christ, LOVE, LOVE to hate, Lucifer's world, mercy, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Oh Lord God Almighty, opportunities, our heart overflows with love for Jesus, peace, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, rest, reverential awe, righteousness., spiritual armour, steadfast faith, TGIM! Thank God it's Monday!, thankful mentality, true believers in Jesus, unfaithful, ungodly world, ungrateful flunkies, wisdom, workers of iniquity
Psalm 119:147. I prevented (rose before the dawning) of the morning, and cried (cried out for help): I hoped in thy word.
Oh Friends, it’s that wonderful day, Monday…the day so many of us LOVE to hate!
But yuh know what, instead of moaning and groaning and treating Monday like an irritation to our souls, a drawback to our sedentary aspirations, (smile) like a bah humbug day, we ought to rejoice and be glad in it. Yes my people, we should be shouting, ‘TGIM! Thank God it’s Monday!’
No, I haven’t gone crazy, at least not yet. (smile). And why should we do such an unheard of thing, you ask?
First of all, because it means we have been granted the wonderful blessing of seeing another day on God’s great earth. Secondly, and even more importantly, we would be acting like true believers in Jesus Christ; being grateful for our many blessings and opportunities, standing strong despite our many problems, and not behaving like the unfaithful, ungrateful flunkies of Lucifer’s world.
And I’m having the faith for all of us, that one day, in the not too distant future, we’ll all begin preparing for Monday on God’s Day, Sunday, getting peaceful in our souls from then, and also acquiring the thankful mentality we spoke of above.
And all the workers of iniquity gave out a loud unappreciative sigh and declared in a disgruntled tone: ‘Chuh… stupidness!’
Anyway Friends, till that time comes, let’s continue singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with as much moxie as we can muster.
As one magnificent choir now, let’s sing: ‘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 singing Friends! Heaven was clapping and singing along with us. And what we just sang there reminded me of our Bit… or is it the other way around?
This morning in church, while thumbing through the Psalms, waiting for the service to begin, my eye fell on that verse, and I had a small Eureka moment, saying to myself, that sounds like a good Bit for our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. And please note that wasn’t simply my doing, but was a gentle nudge, a bit of guidance from the Holy Spirit.
The psalmist unashamedly declares: ‘I prevented (rose before) the dawning of the morning, and cried (cried out for help): I hoped in thy word.’
Yes Friends, that’s something like what we’ve just done. We’ve gotten up early, possibly not as early as the psalmist, and we’ve cried out for help to the Lord, to lead and guide and strengthen us so that we can handle this day in a manner worthy of His Holy Name.
And since we are true and faithful believers, we are indeed hoping and believing that He will do as He’s promised in His Word, and lead us safely through this thoroughly bizarre and crazy world. And that’s as it ought to be my people. Every day that we open our eyes to greet a new day, we ought to send much thanks and praise up to heaven.
Now hear how Bruh David appeals with heartfelt emotion in Psalm 5, a prayer for protection. ‘Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my meditation (groaning). Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell (sojourn) with thee. The foolish (boastful) shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing (falsehood): the Lord will abhor the bloody (bloodthirsty) and deceitful man. But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear (reverential awe) will I worship toward thy holy temple.’ (Ps.5:1-7)
Yes Friends, thankful, grateful, faithful and reverential words like those ought to escape from our lips each and every morning when we awake. That’s heavenly wisdom!
Now my brethren, in light of all that’s gone before, let’s go out and walk worthy of Jesus today in the evil and ungodly world that surrounds us. Let’s go out and at least earn an ‘A’ for effort. That’s all He asks of us. Much LOVE!
…when we truly know Jesus…our heart just overflows with LOVE for Him…and we try very hard not to let Him down…
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