18 Jul 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: appreciate each day, be not afraid, belief, blasphemy, bread, bread of life, disciples, do his bidding, doubters, earthly sojourn, eternal life, faith, feast of the tabernacles, fellowship, Friday chant, furthering God's glorious kingdom, Galilee, generous help, give of our best everyday, god the father, going through the motions, good examples, gospel truth, heavenly wisdom, hunger, in Jesus' name, in the limelight, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, Jesus' help, Jews, Judea, LOVE, miraculous works, no prophet is accepted in his own country, only believe, physical hunger, promise, ramp up our belief in Jesus, salvation, scoffers, show thyself to the world, son of god, souls, spiritual beings, spiritual bread of life, spiritual life, spirituality, testify for Jesus, Thank God is Friday, the Father is in me, the Father's bidding, the weekend, thirst, truth, wisdom, witness for Jesus, works
Mark 5:36b. Be not afraid, only believe.
‘Friday, oh Friday, how I LOVE you Friday! Friday, oh Friday, doh care what nobody says, I will always LOVE you, because you bring the weekend near. That’s why I sing; Friday, oh Friday! Thank God it’s Friday!’
Yes my brethren, it’s that day we all wait and long so badly for, because it signals the end of the workweek. Now there’s nothing wrong with looking forward to the weekend, but technically speaking, we shouldn’t be doing as so many of us are; just going through the motions at work waiting for Friday to come so that we can go home and party the weekend away.
That attitude most certainly detracts from our witness for Jesus, and anything that does that is wrong! We must learn to appreciate each and everyday, and also give of our best each and everyday, for people are watching us; the way we work, the way we behave, and we therefore need to set good examples, if we want to be able to testify for Jesus.
Anyway, let’s chant our Friday Chant, which gives us a little better insight into how we should spend our weekends. As one now; let’s chant! ‘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.’
And Friends, if we’ll take that to heart and follow it, we’ll be much better off when Monday and the new workweek arrives. But as Jesus says in our Bit: ‘Be not afraid, only believe.’
And that’s gospel, my people! For we’re not very good at anything unless we believe in what we’re doing, and also believe that we can do it, with Jesus’ help of course.
Now today we’ll continue looking at scripture passages that call for that act of BELIEF! And we’ll begin with one of the most provocative but important statements Jesus made in His earthly sojourn.
When the people were clamouring for bread to fulfill their physical hunger: ‘Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life, he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.’ (John 6:35)
And the scholars explain that verse this way: ‘6:35. I am the bread of life means the bread that gives life. The life of which He speaks is spiritual and eternal.’
Oh my brethren, it is necessary to have physical bread to quench our physical hunger pangs, but it’s even more important, a vital necessity, to have the spiritual bread of life which only Jesus can give, so that we can attain salvation and eternal life!
We’ll always need worldly bread to quiet our complaining stomachs, but once we have the bread of life that Jesus gives, our souls, our spiritual beings, will never hunger or thirst again!
Now isn’t that a wonderful promise, one that we should all hasten to accept? Indeed it is! So let’s all concentrate on acquiring it today nuh, for it’s certainly heavenly wisdom.
Then Friends, we come to a little noticed passage of scripture, but which I believe hurt Jesus immensely. Now just before the feast of the tabernacles, Jesus’ family urged Him to go up to Jerusalem to celebrate it, but he declined, preferring to stay in Galilee, as the Jews in Judea were out to kill him.
‘His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and (while) he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, show thyself to the world. For neither did his brethren believe in him.’ (John 7:3-5)
Imagine that nuh people, Jesus’ own family didn’t believe in Him! That had to hurt and disappoint Him. This led Him to later say: ‘Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.’ (Luke 4:24) And that’s no lie, for the doubters and scoffers are usually the ones closest to the person in the limelight.
And we’ll close with another interesting episode from Jesus. This time the Jews were wanting to stone Him because they considered His claim to be the Son of God total blasphemy.
But Jesus simply reasoned to them: ‘If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.’ (John 10:37-38)
And the same thing applies to us today Friends. If we believe that Jesus did the miraculous works the Good Book claims He did, then we also have to acknowledge that He could only have done them by working in conjunction with God the Father. For no one could do those kinds of things on or in their own strength.
It therefore behooves us to believe that ALL He said was true; not to doubt, but to BELIEVE!
So this fateful Friday morning my brethren, let’s ramp up our belief in Jesus, and go out and do His bidding, just like He went out and did the Father’s bidding. That’s the best way to show our faith, our true and strong belief in Him. Much LOVE!
…you can’t put forth your best effort…unless your heart believes in what you’re doing…
21 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ability, Abraham, admissible evidence, assurance, Athens, authority, balancing act, being fearful, black and white, blatant, boggles the imagination, boldfaced, Bruh Paul, brutality, calamitous state, called to account, Christian, Christmas, confidence, conscience, consitent, corruption, crime, crimes against humanity, culprits, destruction, disobedient, economics, emotional, evil, followers, God-given responsibility, Godhead, good, greed, help, homelessness, hunger, ignorance, incompetence, Jesus, judged, judgement, judgement day, justice, justice of God, letting voices be heard, life, light of the world, loss of jobs, LOVE, marginalization, Mars Hill, mental, mercy, military presence, needy, newspapers, obedient, offspring of God, ordained, parable, pay heed, petty excuses, physcial tiredness, piddling wages, plead, police, politics, poor getting poorer, poverty, prayer, public protests, raised from the dead, relationships, resistance, retribution, rich getting richer, righteousness., rule the roost, rumours of war, salt of the earth, secret thing, selfishness, serious action, Sodom, sorry picture, standards, standing up to wrongdoers, step up to the plate, strife, talents, technological prowess, throw the book, under a bushel, understanding, ungodly, unhappiness, unknown God, walk earhtly paths, wars, wisdom, wrongdoings
Ecclesiastes 12:14. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Oh Friends, the ole fella’s tired and unhappy this Saturday morning before Christmas. It’s not physical tiredness nuh, but mental and emotional unhappiness. But it’s all my fault, for I fell behind in my newspaper reading this week, then unwisely tried to catch up on several days reading, all at once. From now on though, I’m going to try my best to stay current, because the news from one day is bearable, but for several…no way Jose!
And what a sorry picture it all painted. We start of with wars and rumours of war, strife in almost every area. Then we have economic and political incompetence and corruption all over the world. And not only that, but the boldfaced and blatant manner in which these crimes against humanity are being carried out, boggles the imagination, especially when very little, if any retribution is being meted out to the culprits.
At least in earlier times we had the good sense to hide our wrong-doings, but not today. Today the greed and selfishness is all out in the open, nobody seems to have a conscience anymore. And in the balancing act that’s life, it only means that the rich are noticeably getting richer, while the poor are not only getting poorer, but also that their numbers are daily increasing at an alarming rate, what with the great loss of jobs and the piddling wages most of the remaining ones now pay.
And since there’s only one pie to be split up amongst several groups, if one group unilaterally increases their portion, then obviously all the others will have theirs curtailed. And consequently, we end up with astronomical rates of marginalization, abject poverty, homelessness, hunger, escalating crime and public protests, more police and military presence and brutality, etc. etc. And who would ever have expected such a calamitous state in a world that is at the height of its technological prowess eh?
Ah mih people, when and where will it all end eh? I guess the Lord alone knows. But we, His people down here on earth also have a serious, God-given responsibility to help, to do our best not to let matters deteriorate any further. And we can only do this by taking serious action; a combination of prayer, letting our voices be heard publicly, standing up to the wrongdoers, and helping those in need.
That’s what Jesus did, and what He fully expects of anyone who calls him or herself a Christian. But there again my fellow believers, we’re not truly living up to the standards that Jesus desires of His followers, and are allowing the ungodly to rule the roost without much resistance. But Friends, please, let’s listen to, and pay serious heed to the words of our Bit. ‘For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’
Yes my brethren, all our actions will be judged. And when the Lord asks us why we didn’t do better with the talents He gave us like the servants in Jesus’ parable, (Matt.18:23-35) what are we going to tell Him eh? Remember too that ignorance will not be admissible evidence. So it’s full time, or rather overdue time that we get our act together and do something concrete for the world, instead of making petty excuses and being fearful, or being selfish and greedy like the world around us.
Remember we’re supposed to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth, but it seems that in fits of anxiety we’re hiding our lights under a bushel and the salt in us has become seriously diminished and thus useless. But Friends, we need to step up to the plate like so many others have done before us, and we’ll use this example of Bruh Paul in our Bit, as he stood up on Mars hill in Athens, explaining to its citizens about the altar they had erected with the inscription; ‘TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.’ (Acts 17:23)
‘Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead (Divine Nature) is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven (shaped) by art and man’s device (devising). And the times of this ignorance God winked at (overlooked); but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; wherefore he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.’ (Acts 17:29-31)
And we’ll close with some notes from the scholars’ re the Justice of God. ’17:31. The justice of God is the active extension of the holiness of God into matters of decision. It implies that God has the authority and ability to establish the standard for all relationships and that He will be consistent in relating to His obedient and disobedient creatures. The justice of God is both legislative and distributive.
Illustration: When Abraham attempted to prevent the destruction of Sodom, he appealed to God’s justice: he knew that the Judge of all the earth would do right (Gen.18:25). Application: So today, everyone can have confidence that God will deal with him justly, but the believer may additionally plead God’s mercy. (First Ref. Gen.3:14; Primary Ref. Acts 17:31; cf. Mark 10:18)’
There we have it Friends, in black and white! Now we can’t say we didn’t know, and anyway, as we said above, ignorance will not stand as a plausible plea on judgement day. Therefore let’s come together, TODAY, and clean up our acts, so that the just judge, on judgement day, will not have to throw the book at us. Much LOVE my people!
…and may the Lord grant us wisdom and understanding…to walk earthly paths…that will not bring harsh judgement…when He calls us to account…
20 Sep 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: apostle's authority, balanced lives, Beelzebub, body, bright-eyed and bushy tailed, celebrity status, christianity, Corinthians, deaf ears, deception, evil intent, Father of lights, fellowship, first fruits, fresh as a daisy, Friday chant, fruitful, fun, generous help, gifts, glorifying God, glorious kingdom, God is good, God is immutable, God's grace, godly principle, good news, good stewards, grumpy, hardworking friends, hunger, in cahoots with, jesus name, leap of faith, live by the Bible, LOVE, material things, mind, miserable, oracles of god, party time, power, powerful, praise and dominion, proverbial expression, redeemed, redemption, refreshed, relaxation, religion, rest, righteousness., scripture, semblance of balance, shed blood of Jesus, soul, stop following men, temptation, TGIF!, Thank God it's Friday, theology, things of the world, time to party, tired, true perspective, variation, vim and vigour, word of truth, workweek, yearn for
John 3:27. John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
Well hello there all my hardworking Friends! I have some good news to share – it’s Friday! And all my hardworking Friends shouted as one: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! Slavery finish for another week! It’s time to party now!’
No, no, no! Not so fast mih people! The weekend is not just a party time, it’s also, and even more importantly, a time of rest and renewal, so that we can begin the workweek fresh as a daisy, and go about glorifying God with plenty vim and vigour. So let’s chant our Friday Chant, which brings the purpose of the weekend into its true perspective.
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.’
Sweet chanting mih breddren! But that’s how we’re supposed to use the weekend. Remember we’re in the process of changing our weekend perspective, from being grumpy, tired and miserable on Mondays, to becoming eager, bright-eyed and bushy tailed instead, so that we can be more powerful and fruitful during the week.
And the ONLY way to do that is to make it a habit to get sufficient rest, relaxation and fellowship with other believers, during those two days. So let’s forget this total partying weekend nonsense! If we truly want to do God’s work, then we need to have some semblance of balance in our lives.
And I surely hope that every week the message will fall on fewer and fewer deaf ears, until all God’s people joyfully accept that godly principle. Wow! What a leap of faith! But that’s what it is all about my brethren. Anyway, enough of my preaching, for I’m not a preacher, but more of a teacher. (smile)
Time to get to our Bit, which again comes from John’s conversation with his disciples, re Christ’s ministry increasing and his decreasing. ‘John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.’
Yeh Friends, that’s a truth we cannot dispute, for the Creator of the universe and all therein, also controls all that happens in His dominion. Anything we receive, He either specifically gives it to us, or allows someone else to do so. For NOTHING happens in this great wide world without His knowledge and approval, or disapproval.
Now let’s take a look at some more scriptures which support these facts. And we’ll start with the words of Bruh Paul to the church at Corinth, re the authority of the apostles.
‘And in these things brethren, I have in a figure (figuratively) transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up (proud) for one against another. For who maketh thee to differ from another (who distinguishes you)? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? (1 Cor.4:6-7)
And here’s a note from the scholars, re verse 6. ‘Not to think…above that which is written is a proverbial expression. Paul is telling the Corinthians not go beyond Scripture. In other words, learn to live by the Book, and stop following men.’
Oh my people, those words are so appropriate today it’s not funny. For the majority of us are unfortunately still too caught up in the things of the world, and following what rebellious, ungodly man, in cahoots with Beelzebub, tells us we ought to do and follow. But it’s all a lie, a gross deception, my brethren!
Our guidelines and principles ought to conform to the Good Book, not Lucifer’s evil deceptions. I’ll leave that topic alone for now though, because I wisely realize that I can talk till I’m exhausted, blue in the face, yet too many of us will still hunger, yearn for, and run after the glitzy, glossy, but useless material things of the world, plus power and celebrity status.
So getting back to our scriptures, let’s check in on James, where on the topics of faith and humility, he writes: ‘Do not err (be deceived), my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness (variation), neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.’ (James 1:16-18)
And some notes from the scholars will help us to better understand those verses. ‘1:17. Three great principles are presented: (1) God is the Father, or Creator, of the heavenly bodies. (2) As their Creator, He is certainly more stable than they. With God there is not even the slightest change; He is immutable. (3) God is only good – and always good.
This third principle relates verse 17 to the preceding context. It answers the implication of verse 13 that God may sometimes tempt man to evil. Though God tries the saints (John 6:6; Heb.11:17), He never tries with evil intent so as to tempt them.
1:18. All the redeemed are God’s firstfruits in that they are the first step in God’s redemption of all creation. (Rom.8:18-23).’
Now Friends, please check out those references, for they are very beneficial in our understanding the Word. And we’ll end with this important and encouraging message on being good stewards of God’s grace, from the Rock – Petros, Peter. (smile)
‘As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles (utterances) of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.’ (1 Pet.4:10-11)
And all God’s people, loudly and gratefully declared: ‘Thank You Lord for all the gifts You’ve so graciously bestowed on us. We LOVE You, and pray that You’ll help us use them to the best of our ability, to enlarge Your righteous kingdom and glorify Your Holy Name. On the shed blood of Jesus we pray. Amen.’
Now my fellow believers, please, let’s go out and sincerely try to do all that we’ve spoken of today, for it will only further endear us to Jesus and the Father. Much LOVE!
…to know, know, know Him…is to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Him…
30 Aug 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: advantages, banner, believers, blazing fire, blessings, brotherly LOVE, christ-like attribute, christianity, commandments, conundrum, Cousin Sol, dangerous times, death, despised, dilly-dallying, dire enemies, disciples, discipleship of Christ, doing a good job, drunk or sober, exciting, extinguished, feelings and actions of LOVE, fellowship, fight a good fight, flames, floods, forgiveness, Friday, Friday chant, Friends in Christ, fun, further God's kingdom, generous help, heavenly Father, humble, hunger, impossible task, increase more and more, indwelling Holy Spirit, jealousy, jesus name, joyful shouts, Labour Day, labour day weekend, let it all hang out, liars, lies, LOVE, Love cannot be bought, love cannot be destroyed, LOVE FOR EACH OTHER, Love makes the world go round, LOVE one another, LOVE Walk, loving, loving kindness, mama yo, material things of the world, mercies, mind yuh business, modicum of circumspection, napping, opportunities, oppression, party down, party-hearty attitude, perennial warning, poverty, pre-eminent position, prevention, prowling, refreshed in body and soul, relaxation, religion, rest, right perspective, rudiments of brotherly love, selfish ways, sickness, special emphasis, spiritual armour, spirituality, strong as death, suffering, summer's day, tests of true knowledge, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the evil one, the grave, the LOVE of God, titivating, trolling, true disciples of Christ, true predator, truth, very vulnerable, walk as Jesus walked, weather forecasters, weather patterns, week of work, wiles, wise words
John 13:35. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one for another.
Oh Friends, through the eternal LOVING-kindness of our heavenly Father, we’ve been granted another day on planet earth, with all its new mercies, blessings, and forgiveness! Wow!
And it plans to be either a bright, scorching hot summer’s day, or a hot rainy one, to kick off the last long summer weekend of this year, which culminates on Labour Day on Monday.
I’ve said that it could either be sunny or rainy because I’ve seen and heard forecasts for both types of weather. We definitely have to say some prayers for the poor weather forecasters yes, for their job was hard and unrewarding enough before, but now with the changing weather patterns that are devastating our world, it becomes an even more impossible task.
But Friends, be the day sunny or grey, it’s still Friday…
And that obviously brings forth joyful shouts from tired workers. ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday again yes! We’ve been working hard all week, and with this long Labour Day weekend on tap… Mama yo! We going to party down the place like we crazy!’
Oh mih breddren, please take care, we can’t let it all hang out like that, for remember the evil one is out there prowling, just trolling for defenceless victims, like the true predator that he is. And it’s in these throw down, anything goes party times that he catches us napping and very vulnerable to his wiles and lies.
So here’s Granny’s perennial warning, that most of us don’t like because we feel it inhibits us, but which we certainly cannot afford to set aside. ‘Son, drunk or sober, please mind yuh business.’ And that’s a most essential warning for this weekend my beautiful friends in Christ!
Now to tone down the party-hearty attitude somewhat, not to kill it completely, and thus get things in their right perspective, let’s chant our Friday Chant, with extra special emphasis for this long and dangerous Labour Day 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 Friends, we definitely need to handle this weekend with a modicum of circumspection and prevention! And please, let’s wear our spiritual armour all the time! Don’t leave home without it! (smile) Because that’s the only way we can fight a good fight when the enemy calls us out to do battle.
And all that we do this day my people, please, pretty please, let’s do it with feelings and actions of LOVE nuh. For as Jesus tells us in our Bit: ‘By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one for another.’
And I know that we all desperately want to be true disciples of Christ… but we aren’t ever going to be, if we’re not dealing in that wonderful emotion termed LOVE, the exciting, titivating and Christ-like attribute that makes the world go round.
Awright Friends, so I’m laying it on a bit thick, (smile) but isn’t that what LOVE is supposed be all about? But anyway, enough with the dilly-dallying, let’s get to the rest of the scriptures I promised yesterday.
And we’re going to begin with John, from his first epistle, re tests of true knowledge and LOVE, where he wisely declares: ‘And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the LOVE of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk, even as he walked.’ (1 John 2:3-6)
Yes Friends, that’s the conundrum many of us face. We claim to know Jesus, but we don’t keep His commandments, or walk as He walked here on earth, humble and LOVING, so therefore we’re liars and only fooling ourselves and each other.
And Bruh Paul had this to say to the Thessalonians: ‘But as touching brotherly LOVE ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to LOVE one another. And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;’ (1 Thess.4:9-10)
He didn’t need to teach them the rudiments of brotherly LOVE, because Christ Himself, through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit plus hearing of the Word had taught them that. And furthermore they were doing a good job of showing it towards the believers throughout all Macedonia.
What Bruh Paul expected of them was that they continually increased in the showing of that brotherly LOVE!
AND MY PEOPLE, THE VERY SAME THING IS EXPECTED OF US TODAY!
Please note I put it in capitals and also highlighted it, because it’s very important that we understand the pre-eminent position that walking in LOVE plays in our discipleship of Christ, especially in these very trying and dangerous times.
And since we have many more advantages and opportunities than the Thessalonians had, why can’t we, or aren’t we doing a better job than them of showing brotherly LOVE eh? Why are so many millions of people still suffering sickness, poverty, hunger and oppression all over God’s great earth eh? Possibly because we’re still too caught up in the selfish ways and material things of the world.
But if that’s so, then Friends, we’re not doing what Jesus expects of us, we’re not showing that we’re His true disciples. In fact we’re being more His dire enemies, because we’re turning others away from Him by our selfish, worldly ways.
And we’ll end with some of Cousin Sol’s wise words from his Song. And though in this particular instance, it pertains more to romantic than brotherly LOVE, it truly shows the power of ALL and ANY kind of real LOVE. Listen up now my brethren.
‘Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for LOVE is strong as death; jealousy is cruel (hard, severe) as the grave: the coals (flames) thereof are coals (flames) of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.
Many waters cannot quench LOVE, neither can the floods drown it: if a man should give all the substance (wealth) of his house for LOVE, it would be utterly contemned (despised).’ (Song 8:6-7)
Now this is what the scholars have to say about those two verses: ‘These verses are clearly the climax of the story. The maiden describes in the most vivid terms the unquenchable nature of true LOVE: it cannot be destroyed by death or the grave; it burns like a blazing fire that cannot be extinguished; and it cannot be bought.’
And that my fellow believers in Christ is everlasting truth! True LOVE cannot be bought or extinguished!
Let’s ponder on that today nuh, and see if we can’t improve on our own LOVE-walk, because then, and only then, will we be true disciples of Jesus Christ. Much LOVE!
…and his banner over me was…LOVE… (Song 2:4b)
25 Jul 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: bless the Lord, blessed, bring the wicked to Jesus, cutting corners, cutting costs, disastrous times, do not be discouraged, fat of rams, giving, God doesn't forake His own, God LOVES justice, homelessness, human error, hunger, inherit the earth, la guardia airport, Leaders, man's nature, mechanical problems, mercy, oppression, overwhelming concern, plane crash, politicians, poverty, powers of evil, Praise the Lord, pridefeul ways, psalm 104, safety reduction, sharing, sickness, sinful ways, sinners, straddle the fence, testimony, the bottom line, the evil time, the righteous shall be upheld, the wicked, the wicked shall be destroyed, time of famine, train derailment, unnecessary suffering, wisdom
Psalm 104:34. Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the Lord, O my soul. Praise ye the Lord.
Oh Friends, more tragedy again! This time a Spanish train derailment yesterday evening, that has taken seventy something lives so far. Ah Lord eh!
Now that disaster, plus the plane crash at La Guardia Airport in New York City, earlier on in the week, they’re certainly spreading more doubt in my mind about planes and trains. They’ve been touted as being safer than cars, with fewer accidents per capita, (smile) but when they do happen, the life toll is much heavier. And they’re happening a little too often for my liking.
And for the umpteenth time, I ask, how come in this age of such high technology and computer designed and built stuff, so many accidents are happening eh? Is it mechanical problems or human error, or a combination of both? Is the overwhelming concern with the bottom line, and thus cutting costs and corners playing a greater part than we know?
I believe so. Just look at how the airlines are ramping up the price of a flight to anywhere. You have to pay for everything, even a blanket on a cold plane. Very little, if any food is provided, and that simple-minded snacks or other tasteless stuff.
Then one Canadian airline has gotten the foolish government to lower the help on planes from one (1) stewardess to every 40 passengers, to one (1) for every 50. Now tell me, how does that help with my safety or convenience on the plane eh? It simply doesn’t! For there are ten more people for the one stewardess to look after in flight, as well as in times of disaster.
But it all boils down to costs and the bottom line. Just like the recent train derailment in Quebec, where you had one engineer for a train with over seventy cars. There too, the foolish business oriented government allowed the train company to operate with only one engineer for so many rail cars. Steups!
Have you ever heard any of them talking about increased productivity or safety? Not on your life! But every day they find some new way to increase the cost of travel, while giving even less for the traveller’s money. It’s a good thing I’m not big on travelling, and all of those new fees, plus the nonsense you have to go through in the airports now, are turning me off even more.
Anyway Friends, please remember to offer prayers for those unfortunates involved in the recent disasters. Oftimes, that’s the best we can do for them.
That brings us to our Bit: ‘Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the Lord, O my soul. Praise ye the Lord.’
Yes Friends, sometimes it would be so much better if the Lord would just remove the sinners – well the terrible ones – from the world, because they are just spoiling things down here in their wickedness. All like some of those selfish, greedy, couldn’t care less people running the companies that are gouging and deceiving the ordinary man.
And don’t forget too, plenty, if not most of our leaders and politicians who are in league with the powers of evil and are causing such catastrophe and unnecessary suffering in the world.
No matter how you shake it my brethren, there ought not to be so much suffering in our world. The poverty, hunger, sickness, both physical and mental, the homelessness, the oppression and such should never be as bad as they are because there’s more than enough to go around.
But unfortunately, those who have the most, are the least inclined to share, while those who are inclined to share, don’t have that much to do it with. But isn’t that the way it always is, you ask? True, because sadly, that’s the nature of man.
Anyway, let’s hear some reassuring scripture on the subject. And from Psalm 37, ‘The true state of the wicked,’ come these words of wisdom from Bruh David. ‘For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the Lord upholdeth the righteous. The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of rams (splendour of the meadows): they shall consume (vanish); into smoke shall they consume (vanish) away.
The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again (does not repay): but the righteous showeth mercy, and giveth. For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth (land); and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off (destroyed).’ (Ps.37:17-22)
Yes Friends, that’s how the wicked operate, but the Lord will deal with them in His own way and time. So please don’t get discouraged when you see the wicked prospering and carrying on in their sinful and prideful ways. Their end will soon come.
And instead, let’s do what Bruh David says later in Psalm 37: ‘Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore. For the Lord LOVETH judgement (justice), and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off (destroyed). The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.’ (Ps.37:27-29)
Yes my people, the Lord’s justice will eventually befall the wicked. But yuh know there’s an even better way to get rid of the wicked… And what’s that you ask, wrinkling your forehead in thought? ‘Elementary my dear Watson!’ as Sherlock would say.
The best way to deal with the wicked of this world is to bring them to Jesus. Have them get down on their knees and beg for forgiveness and then change their evil ways. Oh, I know that’s easier said than done, and it will also mean upgrading our Christian talk and walk, which so many of us are not prepared to do.
We still prefer to straddle the fence, with one foot in the world and one on the path to heaven. But Friends, that’s a fool’s wisdom! This is one instance where we can’t play both ends against the middle, because our God is omniscient, He sees all, and knows all, and He definitely won’t stand for it. Remember James’ talk about the double-minded, wavering man. (James 1:5-8)
To end though, I’m going to implore us to improve our Christian efforts, so that instead of imploring God to remove the wicked, we can instead bring them to Jesus through the testimony of our lives. And you know the Lord would much prefer that, since it would mean losing fewer souls to Lucifer.
So please think on that today, talk it over with the Lord, then let’s make the necessary improvements to put it into action. That’s truly wisdom in the making! Much LOVE!
…the best way to handle the wicked…is to bring them into the fold of Jesus…Long live His LOVE Revolution!
11 Dec 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: anger, avenge, Christian faith, coals of fire, enemy, fabulous earth, faith, feed thine enemy, give thanks and praise always, glorious day, God is sovereign, holy spirit, honesty, hunger, morning star, overcome, overcome evil with good, patience, perseverance, recompense, remorse, repay, sense of shame, shame, thirst, vengeance, victory, winning the battle
Romans 12:21: Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
Ah mih people, welcome to another glorious day on God’s fabulous earth! And all true believers responded with a heartfelt, ‘Praise the Lord!’ Yes Friends, that’s what our Leader and Saviour wants us to do, under any and all circumstances. Regardless of how rough life might be, we are called upon to always give thanks and praise to the Father. As Bruh Paul says so poignantly in the verses before our Bit: ‘Recompense (repay) to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest (have regard for good things) in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in (depends on) you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: For in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.’ (Rom.12:17-20) Those are definitely tough rules to live by my people! But before going any further, let’s hear from the scholars; ‘Give place unto wrath: Paul quotes Deuteronomy 32:35 to show that only God has the right to avenge, and He certainly will avenge. Heap coals of fire on his head (cf. Prov.25:22): This may refer to a sense of shame or remorse engendered when we treat an evildoer kindly. Paul is discussing personal, not national enemies. He is not teaching pacifism.’ No Friends, Bruh Paul is certainly not teaching pacifism, which makes these rules even tougher to live by, because we then have to find a fine and healthy balance between completely giving in (pacifism), and taking matters into our own hands (vengeance). But to be true to our Christian faith, we must endeavour to live that way. And how do we do it? By focusing on our Bit: ‘Be not overcome of (by) evil, but overcome evil with good.’ By having that advice as our constant mantra, by writing it indelibly in our hearts and minds, we’ll be reminded that whenever evil shows its ugly face, we have to show a good one in response. Oh fellow believers, that’s not an easy task, especially in these cruel, greedy and evil times. But with all that Jesus asks us to do, so many of which are contrary to the mores of the world, He’s also given us all the tools necessary to accomplish them. Yes, in His LOVING-kindness, mercy and grace, He’s provided His Holy Spirit to guide and protect us, to help us live the kind of life He desires us to live. And with that wonderful Spirit indwelling us, plus things like our prayers, faith, patience, perseverance and fortitude, we can accomplish His will, overcoming the foolishness and folly of Lucifer’s wicked world. It’s up to us now Friends, to use those tools wisely, to be strong and sensible, using them to propagate good and not evil. Now the word I want to focus on today is ‘overcome.’ It’s one that conjures up thoughts of difficulties and hard times, but in the end winning the battle. Let’s listen to some scripture that encourages us to overcome, starting with John’s first epistle. ‘For this is the LOVE of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous (burdensome). For whatsoever (every believer who) is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?’ (1 John 5:3-5) The scholars explain that last verse thus: ‘There is conquering power through this confession because God is sovereign over the world, and only through the Son does man have access to and find favour with God.’ And all God’s people joyfully declared: ‘Thank You Jesus!’ Yes my brethren, we do indeed have a lot to be thankful for to Jesus; His selfless sacrifice on the cross to pay for our sins, and then His advocacy in heaven on our behalf. We can never repay those things. But the good part is that Jesus doesn’t want repayment, He just wants us to live a certain way, to overcome the evil of this world. Now let’s hear what He has to say about overcoming. Remember yesterday we saw where He spoke about Him already overcoming the world. (John 16:33) Today we’ll listen to Him from the Revelations of John. In His message to the church at Ephesus, He warns. ‘He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.’ (Rev.2:7) The scholars say: ‘The promise to him that overcometh probably applies to all Christians with genuine faith (cf. 1 John 5:4-5) (above) and will be fulfilled as believers enjoy the blessings of New Jerusalem (22:2,14), the paradise of God.’ And in the message to the church at Pergamos, Jesus declares: ‘But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of the potter shall they be broken to shivers (pieces): even as I received of my Father. And I will give him the morning star.’ (Rev.2:25-28) Oh Friends, according to the scholars; ‘The obedient believer will be given a reward of power or authority in the millennial kingdom as he reigns with Christ (12:5; 19:15; 20:4). The morning star is probably a reference to the eternal presence of Christ Himself.’ In Rev.22:16, Jesus does refer to Himself as ‘the bright and morning star.’ And we’ll end with some uplifting words from Bruh Paul to the Corinthians. ‘But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (1 Cor.15:57) Oh my people, it’s all over but the shouting! So let’s get on our horses and ride nuh; ride to victory with Christ! Much LOVE!…he that hath an ear…let him hear…what the Spirit saith unto the churches…(Rev.2:29)…wise words indeed…
10 Oct 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: anger, born again, carnal minds, crucified the flesh, dark night, exploitation, fruit of the Spirit, hate, hunger, innocent lambs, ministering, negative emotions, temptation, thanks and praise, the things of God, the things of man
Matthew 17:23. But he turned and said to Peter, Get thee behind me Satan: thou art an offense unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
Oh Friends, we have successfully racked up another night in our earthly lives, and are beginning another day time journey, one that will hopefully end with another night of peaceful rest. Let’s hope all of us make it through with God’s LOVING-kindness and grace. Remember though, we must first start out with thanks and praise to Almighty God for bringing us safely through the dark night and ask Him to lead us aright this eventful day, for without His powerful protection, we’re like innocent lambs to the slaughter before Beelzebub’s evil machinations. And ‘From Off My Wall,’ which I just passed by, stood up for a moment and looked at what I had up there, comes this breakdown of one of Beelzebub’s most useful and powerful weapons; the emotion of HATE. And the little note on my wall breaks it down thus: HATE: Hunger, Anger, Tension, Exploitation. And isn’t that the living truth my people? Hate is made up of all those negative emotions and tendencies, and unfortunately too many of us get caught up in the individual items, as well as the overall emotion, because we either refuse to keep our eyes of faith focused on Christ, or we simply don’t believe in Him as our Lord, Saviour, Director and Guide of our earthly journey. That’s how it was with the disciples when Jesus told them of His impending death. Big Simon Peter rebuked Jesus, telling Him that would never happen, if he had any say in the matter. But Jesus in turn rebuked Peter with the memorable words of our Bit: ‘Get thee behind me Satan: thou art an offense unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.’ Peter’s quick reaction shows that Jesus’ teaching was foreign to the disciples. They didn’t expect Him to suffer and die such a cruel, inhumane death, and Peter, especially, believed that he would stand up and physically fight for Jesus. But the Master’s plan was different and He rebuked Peter just like He did when Lucifer tried to tempt Him in the wilderness after His forty days of fasting. And Jesus’ rough response to Peter, means He probably considered Peter’s words as more temptation to avoid His destiny with the cross. Oh Friends, please realize that Lucifer is not totally foolish, for it’s when we are at our weakest, at the ebb of our emotions, that he usually comes a-calling. But we all know that after fasting, Jesus still had enough strength to turn Lucifer away, telling him in no uncertain terms after the third attempt: ‘Get thee hence (away with you) Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.’ (Matt.4:10) And we have a touching, heart-warming, reaffirming of God’s grace after that. ‘Then the devil leaveth him alone, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.’ (Matt.4:11) Isn’t that wonderful, my brethren? It’s the same way the Holy Spirit and angels help us to overcome Lucifer and his evil taunts, then heal any wounds inflicted during the process. Now why did Jesus tell Peter that he was an ‘offense,’ a snare or a trap to Him? ‘…For thou savourest not (are not mindful of) the things that be of God, but those that be of men.’ Oh my people, if ever there was an indictment that could cover us all, that would surely be it. We don’t think of, meditate on, consider or accept the things of God nearly as much as we do the things of man. We mostly look at things from man’s point of view and not enough from God’s. And that’s why Lucifer is able to have so much sway in our earthly affairs. Bruh Paul clearly states it in Romans 8, when talking about life in the Spirit. ‘For they that are after the flesh do mind (set their minds on) the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that be in the flesh cannot please God.’ (Rom.8:5-8) That’s eternal truth my people! True believers deal more with the Spirit than with the flesh. Jesus said it thus to Nicodemus: ‘That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.’ (John 3:6) And in 1 Corinthians, Bruh Paul explains to them the spiritual body: ‘And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last man Adam was made a quickening (life-giving) spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural: and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy (made of dust): the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.’ (1 Cor.15:45-49) Yes Friends, when we’re born again in Jesus, we need to give up the things of the flesh and live for those of the Spirit. And we’ll end with Bruh Paul’s famous words on the fruit of the Spirit, just to remind us of some of the things we’re supposed to be involved in. ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness (kindness), goodness (faithfulness), faith, Meekness, temperance (self-control): against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections (its passions) and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory (conceited), provoking one another, envying one another.’ (Gal.5:22-26) Oh my people, we couldn’t get any wiser words this morning! So please, let’s check out our personal situations as they pertain to truly walking in the Spirit, and where necessary, raise our levels of producing spiritual fruit, for it’s the wisdom of the ages. Much LOVE!…when the fruit of the Spirit is in full bloom…then Lucifer’s sugar-coated entreaties fall on deaf ears…
28 Jul 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: charitable giving, crooked charities, do like Jesus did, food banks, good works, hunger, LOVE of Money, poverty, rich fool, rich toward God, soup kitchens
Luke 12:19. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry.
Oh Friends, the amount of mail I get from people, Charities in particular, asking for money is overwhelming. Even those I already give to keep asking for more, as though there’s an unlimited supply just waiting to be doled out. Some of them really do good work, while a fair amount are just out and out crooks, just using the charitable moniker as a front, to indulge their own criminal actions. Charitable giving has become a real big business now. And when you see the immense salaries been paid to the heads of these charities, it just sickens you. The long and short of the story though is be very careful of whom you give to. But then too, when I see the emaciated bodies of children al over the world starving for a little nourishment, that also sickens me, knowing that there is so much in our world, that NOT ONE SINGLE child really needs to go hungry; definitely not for the length of time it takes them to die of starvation or some other preventable disease. Oh Friends, it certainly doesn’t say much for our humanity nuh! And don’t for one moment believe that this unfortunate situation is only taking place in poor, undeveloped countries! Not by a long shot mih people! It’s also happening very much in the supposed rich, developed countries too. Things like Food Banks and Soup Kitchens that first arose because of the Great War, are now a constant in developed societies. Sadly too, in many of these countries, poor as well as rich, the upper crust are greedily feeding their faces as hogs at a trough, and wasting even more, while the poor grovel, and search for food in garbage pails and dumps. Hn! What a wonderful picture we portray! Is that what Jesus asked or wants us to do? Certainly not! He wants us to look after the poor, the sick, the needy, the hurting, the widows and orphans. But unfortunately we’re doing a very poor job of it. We’re falling into the world’s theory of survival of the fittest, and all I care about is me. Sorry if you don’t have. That’s your rotten luck, but you won’t be getting any of mine! Oh my people, that goes against every thing that Jesus stands for! The Good Book says: ‘How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.’ (Acts 10:38) Oh my brethren, we believers have the same things that Jesus had; the Holy Ghost power and the Father. So why aren’t we doing more of the good works that Jesus did eh? The rich and famous meanwhile have nothing like that in their arsenal. Instead theirs is the selfish, greedy, I, me, mine behaviour which our Bit, taken from Jesus’ parable of the rich fool, so wisely puts into proper perspective. This parasite had more than he could shake a stick at, but instead of sharing, he decided to build bigger barns to store his goods, while patting himself on the back for his wisdom. ‘And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry.’ Yeh Friends, that’s how many of us behave. ‘But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.’ (Luke 12:20-21) We see and hear about the infighting between wealthy families everyday. And a good example of that are the shenanigans that took place this past week in Michael Jackson’s family. And it all boils down to one thing; MONEY! Remember Bruh Paul’s warning to Timothy: ‘For the LOVE OF MONEY is the root of all (kinds of) evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith (for which some in their greediness have strayed from the faith), and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.’ (1 Tim.6:10) And that’s ever so true my people! We just have to look at how our world is falling apart, primarily because of money. One way or another, money and the amassing of earthly possessions are responsible for our downfall. Remember too what Jesus told the disciples just before the parable of the rich fool: ‘Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.’ (Luke 12:15) But not too many of us fine Christian souls pay serious heed to that warning, because we’re just like the rich fool, just going on insatiably after the things of the world, and only paying lip service to God’s Word. And Cousin Sol hit the nail on the head when he declares: ‘When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes.’ (Eccl.5:11) Oh Friends, it’s not necessarily the wealth that sends us on the wrong path, but more the drive for the wealth, like the LOVE of money! But we can only use so much ourselves. The remainder, if we choose to save it all, then we can only look at it. However, please remember that we’re only stewards of God’s goodness, and whatever He gives us over and above our needs, is meant to be shared with the less fortunate. Please my people, from today, let’s concentrate some more on helping others nuh, like Jesus did. Let’s try and share a little more of our resources with the needy, and thus alleviate some of the dreadful spectres of suffering that sadly pervade our world of plenty. That would make Jesus so proud of us. Much LOVE!…when so few have so much…the great numbers with little…must suffer great deprivation and want… P.S. I did not forget about our ongoing Bit, but some info from a charity just raised my ire, and the Spirit guided me to this. Much LOVE!
14 Apr 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: authority, doctrines, doers of the Word, drought, heavenly blessings, human opinion, hunger, parched land, pearls before swine, responsibility, Sermon on the Mount, solid foundation, spiritual hunger, tradition
Matthew 7:24. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock.
Ah Friends, the parched land in my area is desperately calling out for drink from the heavens! I believe the weather forecasters are forecasting rain sometime this weekend. Let’s hope they are right, unlike this past week when they forecasted it several times, but nary a drop of heavenly blessings fell from the few dark clouds that accumulated over the land. And sadly my brethren, a whole lot of people in our world are starved for nourishment, both physically and spiritually. The physically hungry are indeed plentiful, but I believe the spiritually malnourished are even more numerous. What does that say about our world eh? Not a very good recommendation is it? Sometimes we might not have the wherewithal to satisfy their bodily hunger for more than just a short period of time, but as true believers in Jesus, we ALWAYS have what it takes to fulfill their spiritual yearning. As they say, to give a person a fish when they’re hungry is all well and good, but what happens when their hunger reoccurs? However, if you teach them to fish, then they’ll have the ability to eventually feed themselves. The same goes for the Good News of Jesus my people! We can always throw out choice bits of scripture, to the spiritually hungry from our enormous storehouses; like scraps to the hungry, or pearls before swine, then beat our chests in personal pride because we believe we’ve done such a wonderful job. But Friends, how does that help them in times of true spiritual poverty eh? Not in any real sense, for they can’t find true spiritual satisfaction from a mere handful of scriptures thrown at them without any substantive reasoning. Fellow believers, we first have to teach the spiritually impoverished about Jesus; who He is, what He’s done, and how it affects us all, up to this very day and forever more. Unless they have a strong foundation to build on they will not last long in the Word. As we saw yesterday, that’s part of the reason Luke claims he wrote his gospel and Acts; so that Theophilus could have good groundings, a solid foundation on the stuff that he’d heard. So it’s our responsibility to first teach others about Jesus, then encourage them to also put those teachings into practice. Our Bit emphasizes this: ‘Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, (the Sermon on the Mount) and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a (the) rock.’ Jesus reminds us that the lives of anyone simply hearing His Word, won’t be changed. Not until they begin doing them, living them in their day to day lives will any serious change occur. Then, as always, using simple contrasts, Jesus unequivocally states: ‘And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a (the) rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, (the Sermon on the Mount) and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.’ (Matt.7:25-27) And unfortunately my people, so it is with everything that does not have a solid foundation on which to sit. It will be easily destroyed. Thus our duty to teach the spiritually hungry properly; with the full teaching of Jesus, not a few choice morsels that only enhance our images in ourselves, and does nothing for the poor listeners. Note what happened after Jesus spoke those words: ‘And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine (teaching): For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.’ (Matt.7:28-29) Yes Friends, Jesus taught with authority because it was based on His own life, He was His own authority, while the scribes depended on tradition for theirs. We should also teach with authority Friends; the authority of Jesus. If we truly believe, then there should be conviction and confidence in our teaching to others. Here’s an interesting aside from the scholars: ‘The elements of the closing illustration are drawn from the simplicity of nature itself, the rock, the rain, and the winds. The man whose house collapsed was at fault, not because he failed to labour, but because he did not lay the proper foundation. The shifting sand represents human opinion and the doctrines of men as opposed to ‘these sayings’ (v.28)’ And that is the gospel truth my brethren! All you have to do is look around our society, our world, and see the things places, people and traditions that are crumbling, both literally and figuratively, because they have been built on weak foundations. Even our church is falling apart in some places and some respects, because the body, its members are not doing what Jesus said. Instead we’re more concerned with furious infighting over petty things that are consequently driving us apart. Oh Friends, that’s no way to keep Christ’s church going, and ultimately building it until it’s spread over the whole wide world, as He desires. Therefore, from today, from RIGHT NOW, let’s seriously promise ourselves to put aside all the petty grievances that are driving us apart, and not only be hearers of Jesus’ Word, but even more importantly doers, and also teach those to whom we minister, the great importance of that principle. It’s the only way Christ’s church will be stabilized and have a chance of lasting till eternity. Much LOVE!…the only true and strong foundations in this world…the Good Book…and Jesus…
10 Apr 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: circles, deprivation, diligence, holding hands, hunger, laziness, olive branch, poisoned dart, poverty, reality, sharing, slotfulness, want, work
Proverbs 19:15. Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.
Oh Friends, we’re going to begin this Easter Tuesday with a situation that ought to be a reality, but unfortunately is not. However, that’s what dreams, hope, faith and Jesus are there for; to convert unreal situations, bring them to light, life and reality. I’m referring to a very poignant quote from my ‘P.S. I LOVE YOU’ Poster, which declares in all sincerity: ‘The people on our planet are not standing in a line in single file. Look closely. Everyone is really standing in a circle holding hands. Whatever you give to the person standing next to you, it eventually comes back to you.’ Ah mih people, that’s the way it ought to be, but right now we’re surely not standing in a circle, and definitely not holding hands. How sad! This selfish generation is all about gathering for itself, forgetting others. In fact the very thought of sharing is absent from too many minds in our world. And all some of us are interested in holding out is a poisoned dart rather than an olive branch. Consequently, we have a rather messed up and troubled planet which is divided into roughly three work groups: those who work all the time – the supposed ‘A’ nature; those who seek a balance between work and play; and those who do very little or nothing. And with the poor economic times we’re currently experiencing, the last group is just getting bigger, not always through their own fault, but often through their inability to find work. Even the most diligent human, after a long, unsuccessful search for work loses that diligence and is primed for laziness and indifference. Our Bit today addresses those of the latter group. ‘Slothfulness (Laziness) casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.’ And isn’t that the awful truth! Laziness leads to all kinds of bad situations. Listen to Cousin Sol expound on that, in his warning against idleness and falsehood. ‘Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide (leader), overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat (food) in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep (lie down), O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that traveleth (a prowler), and thy want (need) as an armed man.’ (Prov.6:6-11) Now here’s the scholars’ explanation of that: ‘The sluggard is the habitually lazy person. He is admonished to learn two important lessons from the ant: (1) the ant has no guide, overseer, or ruler (v.7) meaning that the ant does not need a taskmaster standing over it to make it work; it is a self-starter. (2) The ant is wise enough to prepare for predictable circumstances (v.8). Two questions about sleep are posed to the sluggard (v.9). His answer is given in verse 10: ‘Just a little bit more sleep!’ The result of such laziness is dire poverty, which will come as suddenly and decisively as a robber (v.11).’ Cousin Sol hit the nail right on the head there Friends, for slothfulness, laziness and their derivatives are definitely too prevalent in our society, especially amongst the younger generation, whom we spoiled by raising them in a pampered environment. Now they believe the world owes them a living, and a very good one at that. Poor children, suffering for their parents misguided thinking; that they shouldn’t have to work hard or suffer much want and need. But Friends, it’s those very things; hard work, want and need, that drive the human animal to get up and do productive stuff. When you lack or need nothing, there’s no incentive or need for you to do anything. And as our Bit says: ‘an idle soul shall suffer hunger.’ Now therein lies an absolute truth! Hear Cousin Sol on the contrast between the wise and the foolish: ‘He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack (negligent) hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.’ (Prov.10:4) A lazy person will never rise to great heights in any profession, even that of laziness, because to be really lazy takes hard work. (smile) But it’s true. Try it, and you’ll see. Some days I just want to laze around, and because I’m somewhat diligent, I have to force myself, work seriously at being lazy. Listen to another of Cousin Sol’s sayings on the topic: ‘The soul of the sluggard (lazy) desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat (rich).’ (Prov.13:4) And here’s the same thing put a different way: ‘The thoughts (plans) of the diligent tend (lead) only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want (surely to poverty).’ (Prov.21:5) Oh my brethren, the prevalence of laziness, sloppiness and overall deteriorating standards are helping to downgrade our society. I know that plenty can’t find work, but there’s also a core group that delights in doing nothing, just living off whatever and whomever is available. That’s the group we need to target if we hope to turn things around. And we’ll end with some wise advice from Bruh Paul to the Thessalonians: ‘For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.’ (2 Thess.3:10-12) Though it might be a bit harsh for those who truly seek but can’t find work, for the constant slacker it should be a rule of law, it’s the only way to get them up and doing something constructive. Much LOVE!…let’s make the dream a reality…everybody standing in a circle…holding hands…sharing peace, LOVE, harmony…and Jesus…
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