10 Jul 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: bear good fruit, blessed to the gills, blossom forth, by their fruit ye shall know them, Christ-like, Christian lives, compassionate behaviour, compassions, damnation, diligent, doctors, emotional pain, eternal life, evangelists, everlasting darkness, fainted, filled to the brim, forerunner, friend of Jesus, fully human, gratitude, great is thy faithfulness, grow those seeds, healing, Herod, his compassions fail not, hope, hurry, innate goodness, Jesus Christ, John the Baptist, like seeds in the ground, LOVE, LOVING actions, loving-kindness, mercy of jesus, missionaries, moved with compassion, new every morning, nurses, our Lord and Saviour, philanthropists, planted in us, poverty, pray ye, preaching, prosperous society, responsibility, scattered abroad, send forth labourers, share jesus' love, sheep having no shepherd, sick, sorrow, sorrowful, thankfulness, the Good Book, the gospel of the kingdom, the harvest is plentiful, the labourers are few, the land of the living, the Lord of the harvest, the Lord's mercies, the lost, true disciples, trust, truthful words, Tuesday Mantra, we are not consumed, were weary, worry
Lamentations 3:22-23. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
Well friends, here we are again on another beautiful Tuesday morning in the land of the living, blessed to the gills; filled to the brim with all the innate goodness and mercy of Jesus, just waiting to be brought forth in truthful words and LOVING actions!
Hn, hn! A good mouthful that! But it’s ALL true! Yes my brethren, all the goodness and mercy of Jesus has been planted in us, like seeds in the ground, since the day we accepted Him as our Lord and Saviour! Now it’s our responsibility to let those seeds grow in us and blossom forth with much good fruit.
Remember, Jesus said: ‘Wherefore by their fruit ye shall know them.’ (Matt.7:20) So the world will know whether we are true disciples of Jesus or not, by the fruit we bear. So let’s be diligent to bear good fruit in His name nuh.
And today we’ll continue with our Bit on compassions, because it’s such an important aspect of our God, and consequently our Christian lives. Moreover, compassionate behaviour is one of the ways that we are indeed able to bear good fruit.
‘It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.’
Oh my people, every time I read that passage, thankfulness and gratitude just wells up within me! Let’s hope it does in you too, because it’s only through God’s exceptional LOVING-kindness that we have hope of eternal life and not everlasting darkness and damnation!
And finally I get to do what I wanted to from the beginning; show the compassion of our wonderful Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ as recorded in the Good Book. (smile) Oh friends, if nothing else, Jesus was filled with compassion for the lost, the sick, the sorrowful; anyone who had a need, and to be true disciples of His, we also ought to have that compassionate mentality.
Hear the Good Book tell it: ‘And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted (were weary), and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.’ (Matt.9:35-36)
Ah friends, sadly, that same condition still exists in our time today. There are numerous needy sheep scattered around our world, our individual countries and individual neighbourhoods with no shepherd. What are we doing, or going to do about them eh?
Listen to Jesus when He saw that sad situation. ‘Then saith he (Jesus) unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.’ (Matt.9:37-38)
Oh my people are we so moved when we see the poverty and sickness and great need that exist in this supposed prosperous society? Do we pray to the Lord to send forth more harvesters; missionaries, evangelists, doctors, nurses, philanthropists, etc. etc. to help those in need? And do we ourselves try to up our contributions to the betterment of the situation in some form or the other?
That’s what we as Christians, as true believers and followers of Christ ought to be doing! But obviously we are not doing it as well as we should, else the mass of needy humanity in our society would not be as great as it currently is.
Now here is another instance of Jesus’ compassion from the Good Book. This was after Herod killed John the Baptist and his head given to his (Herod’s wife). ‘And his (John’s) disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus.
When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart (by himself): and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities. And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.’ (Matt.14:12-14)
Ah mih breddren, yuh think Jesus didn’t feel sorrow and emotional pain too? Remember He was fully human, so He certainly did, as indicated by His going away by Himself after hearing about John the Baptist’s death. Remember too that John was His cousin, His forerunner. And though they did not associate much, He was still moved, because He knew that it was basically on His account that John lost his life.
But even then, when He saw the multitudes of poor, needy and sick people, He could not avoid having compassion on them. Oh my fellow believers that’s how we ought to be too! Obviously we’ll not be able to alleviate all the suffering in the world, but come the judgement day it will be very beneficial to us, if the Lord could point out many acts of compassion which we did on His behalf, while here on earth.
Now let’s go home, declaring who and whose we are through our Tuesday Mantra, which has compassion as a central theme. In strong voice, with sincere hearts: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
Yeh friends, sharing Jesus’ LOVE with the world is compassion. So let’s go out and do it nuh! Much LOVE!
…when Christians show true compassion…they are being truly Christ-like…
03 Jul 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: bark, be careful of what you wish for, beyond comprehension, beyond expectation, boggles our imagination, by horsemen, by horses, by my spirit, by osmosis, bypass the Spirit's guiding, Canada Day, celebrations, communicating with the Father, creativity, diligent study, electrify me, escape, friend of Jesus, gently whisper, Glory be, go astray, God's unreal power, Godhead, grow in faith, happen overnight, heat-wave, heavenly Father, hide, holy spirit, Holy Trinity, Hosea, huffing and puffing, hurry, indwells us, invade, know the word, lead and guide, lends a hand, listen carefully, LOVE, loving-kindness, magnificent power, manmade inplements, mature in the faith, mercy, mystique, nor by battle, nor by power, nor by sword, not by bow, not by might, on our lonesome, One Year Book of Bible promises, pay attention to, penetrate every fibre, permeate me, praise, praise the performance, precious people, reality of work, revere, reward me, right from wrong, righteousness, run, Ruth Harms Calkin, searing heat, serve, share jesus' love, shout, sincere determination, startles me, summer weather, the beloved of God, the House of Judah, the intentions of God, the Task, the very thought of it, the Worker Bee, Tuesday Mantra, utterly impossible, will save them, wisdom, wonder of wonders, worry, worship, Zechariah
Zechariah 4:6b. Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.
‘Heat wave! It’s a heat wave! Yes a heat wave!’ Ah friends, the summer heat wave continues on this Tuesday morning after our hearty Canada Day celebrations, and the reality of work hits us once again. (smile) And I believe the searing heat might continue all week. As they say, be careful of what you wish for. We wished for summer weather, and we’re getting truly summer weather.
That brings me to a poem I want to share from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s called ‘The Task’, and it resembles our reality so much that I just had to share it. Please read with me: ‘Lord, You give me a task So utterly impossible So totally beyond comprehension – The very thought of it Startles me. I want to run hide escape Anything, Lord.
Then you electrify me You invade and permeate me You penetrate every fibre of me Until the task is accomplished By your own magnificent power. Then you praise the performance Your creativity achieved And you reward me beyond expectation – As though I had done it All by myself My Father.’
Oh precious people of God, isn’t that just how our wonderful heavenly Father behaves! He gives us something to do that seems impossible and we want to run and hide, escape somehow from doing it because it just boggles our imagination. But then, in His LOVING-kindness, our Father steps in and lends a hand, guides us, and sometimes does most of the hard work, until we accomplish the seemingly impossible task He assigned us.
And then, wonder of wonders, He gives us much praise and glory and reward, as though we had done it all on our lonesome! Wow! How wonderful is He eh!
Mankind always want to take the glory for what they do, but our heavenly Father shares it with us, so that we can be encouraged and grow in faith and LOVE, because in the natural, we can’t do very much on our own. That’s why He never gives us more than we can do, and when our tasks seem overwhelming, He steps in and helps us to accomplish them. Now that’s the kind of God I can LOVE and revere, and praise and give thanks to!
And the Bible Promise for that poem is also our Bit for today, the awesome verse from the prophet Zechariah: ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.’
Yes my faithful breddren, our omnipotent God from way back when, does most of His work quietly and efficiently through the third part of the Holy Trinity; the Holy Spirit that now indwells us. You won’t see a lot of huffing and puffing and exaggerated action, just a cool and powerful mystique as it were. That just shows the awesome power that resides in the Godhead that we serve and worship! And so it should be, otherwise there’s no reason to worship it.
Now hear this scripture from Hosea that emphasizes God’s unreal power. Per the unfaithful people of Judah, He promised: ‘But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.’ (Hos.1:7)
Glory be mih people! The Lord doesn’t have to use man, nor animals, nor manmade implements to fight and win battles for us! He simply uses His Holy Spirit; what I term the Worker Bee of the Holy Trinity, because He does ALL the work that’s necessary in the Father’s domain.
But unfortunately too many of us don’t pay sufficient attention to the Holy Spirit, even though He now dwells in us and is there to lead and guide us in righteousness. That’s why we so often go astray. The problem is that the Holy Spirit will not shout and bark at us, but will gently whisper to our spirit, letting us know what’s right from wrong. So if we don’t listen carefully, and don’t know the word, it’s easy to bypass the Spirit’s guiding.
That’s why it’s so essential my brethren to know God’s word and to pay attention to what His Spirit is saying and doing within us, because that’s how He generally communicates with us. It’s all through the Holy Spirit friends! So to grow and mature in the faith, we need to be more circumspect in listening to and learning of and from the hard working Spirit of God that lives in us and is continually sharing the Father’s intentions with us.
And it just doesn’t happen overnight, or by osmosis, (smile) but by diligent study and sincere determination. So true wisdom dictates that we start paying better and more serious attention to what the Holy Spirit is doing within us. End of sermon!
Now for those of us who are serious about communicating with the Father through His Spirit, let’s go home today declaring our Tuesday Mantra, boldly and confidently proclaiming to the world who and whose we are.
In one, strong and enthusiastic voice now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
And as always, the corollary to that mantra is to go out and share the awesome LOVE and friendship of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, as He so greatly desires of us. Much LOVE!
…the Spirit of God works within us…to show us the intentions of God…
08 May 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fearful mess, absolutes, all thy heart, all thy mind, all thy soul, all thy strength, ambassadors of Christ, attainment of wisdom, be elated, beauty, beloved of God, come between you and God, covenant, enjoy this day, essence of truth, every ounce of our being, grace, Hear O Israel, heaven forbid, heavenly Father, honour, hurry, I am a jealous God, involved with Jesus, Jesus answered, Jewish call to worship, joy, keep your promise, kicking God out, limitless God, LOVE, LOVE for God, loving Jehovah God, magnificent God, mercy, more inclusive, my friend Jesus, new green nature, no other gods before me, on the right track, one true God, out of this world, playing with fire, power and glory, put everything we have, redeem us to Himself, Revelation, share His love, spread the good news, successfully live, the Bible is true, the first commandment, the first step, the Lord our God is one God, the Shema, Tuesday Mantra, venerate, worry, Yahweh
Mark 12:29. And Jesus answered him, The first (foremost) of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord.
Good morning Tuesday! Wow! You sure do look beautiful today with all your bright shining light and splash of new green nature! Let’s hope you keep your promise of a wonderful day. (smile)
And I believe that Tuesday will indeed keep it’s promise, granting us so much LOVE, beauty, grace, mercy, and whatever else we need from our heavenly Father to successfully live and enjoy this day. All power and glory to our magnificent God!
Yes friends, our God is truly magnificent! What other word(s) can you use to suitably describe Him eh? None really! For all that He has done for us, is currently doing, and has promised to do in the future, He just has to be out of this world! Hn, hn! And he is indeed out of this world, running it from His heavenly place.
Oh my people, why don’t we LOVE and honour our wonderful God more eh? After all that He’s done on our behalf, you’d think that we’d be elated to be a part of His company and venerate Him like no other. But sadly, that’s not the case. Instead we seem intent on kicking Him out of our society completely.
Oh we know that will NEVER happen, but too many of us are working towards that goal, when we should be working to make Him a more inclusive and bigger part of our lives.
Whatever happened to the first and great commandment eh? ‘And Jesus answered him, The first (foremost) of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord.’ But nowadays we seem to worshipping multiple Gods.
And the scholars explain: ‘12:29. See Deuteronomy 6:4. These are the opening words of the Shema, the Jewish call to worship. They establish the basis of LOVE for God in the fact of God’s being the Lord our God, the God who has covenanted to redeem us to Himself. By definition therefore, there can be only ONE, all-powerful, infinite, limitless God.
Illustration: To speak of more than one supreme, absolute, perfect and almighty Being is to say something contradictory. There cannot be two absolutes, for then there would be no absolute. (Simple logic dictates that). Application: By revelation, we know that only Yahweh is that one God. Therefore nothing in your life should come between you and God. (First Ref. Gen.1:1; Primary Ref. Deut.6:4).’
Oh friends, that last sentence is so overwhelmingly true and everlastingly important, that I feel the need to repeat it. ‘Therefore nothing in your life should come between you and God.’
Oh my people, my people, if we hear or learn nothing else today, please, please, I implore us, let’s plant those words deep, deep down in our hearts and souls nuh, for they are the essence of truth in our faith. And until we sincerely acknowledge and practice them, our lives will never be truly fulfilled.
That brings us right back to Jesus, as He continues and explains after our Bit. ‘And thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.’ (Mark 12:30)
Ah friends, what a powerful piece of scripture; the basis of all that we should do. Yuh see how Jesus says we should LOVE the Lord? With every ounce of our being; heart, soul, mind, strength, everything that we have! But how many of us actually put everything we have into LOVING Jehovah God eh? Way too few!
That’s why our lives, our faith and our world are in such a fearful mess! We don’t have our priorities straight. We put everything and everybody else before God, but then we expect have good lives. No way my brethren! Remember what the Lord said way back when He gave Israel the Ten Commandments? ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me.’ (Ex.20:3)
‘Thus the first commandment teaches that no deity, real or imagined is to rival the ONE TRUE GOD, who is the only ONE, who matters. It demands an exclusive covenant relationship with Yahweh (cf. Ps.81:9-10).’ And on top of all that, the Lord reminded His people: ‘for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God…’ (Ex.20:5)
Yuh think He’s changed since then friends? Absolutely not! So we are seriously and truly playing with fire when we fail to acknowledge Almighty God, or heaven forbid, make a mockery of Him and write Him off completely.
Ah mih breddren, I don’t know what else to say nuh, to get people on the right track. For if the Bible is true, and I believe it is, then sadly, the way our world is currently living, doesn’t offer much hope for it.
So friends, as ambassadors of Christ down here on earth, let’s try to do our very best to spread the good news of His story, so that folks can wake up and be saved. In the meantime let’s declare our Tuesday Mantra, to show them who and whose we are.
In strong voice and heart-felt sincerity: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
Oh fellow believers, what joy it is to be involved with Jesus! So now let’s go out and share that joy with others nuh, as He so desperately desires of us. Much LOVE!
…truly LOVING God…is the first step…in the attainment of wisdom…
01 May 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a gentle reminder, a land of uprightness, a truculent fish, all's well with the world, beloeved of god, burden, commitment, confession, fall flat on our faces, feel exhausted, fight the spirit of God, forever faithful, glory to God, go astray, God will never let us go, God's faithfulness, God's matchless love, God's spirit seals us, good to be home, greatest honour, guilt, He chastens, home at last, hurry, lead me, lead me in truth, my salvation, nothing can separate us, on thee do I wait, our relationship with God, reel us back in, repentances, resist, Ruth Harms Calkin, serve Jesus, share His love, Show me thy ways, teach me, teach me thy paths, teach me to do thy will, the Love of Christ, the One Year Book of Bible Promises, thou art my God, Three Discoveries, thy spirit is good, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, whome he loves, worry
Psalm 143:10. Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.
Home, home, home at last! Glory to God! Yeh mih people, the ole fella is back in his yard after a five-day stay in the hospital, although it took me almost two hours to get home in the crazy early afternoon traffic. But I did get home in time to enjoy a few minutes of bright sunshine and brisk spring breeze on my porch on this twenty something degrees spring day. Hope this is just the first of many.
And is it ever good to be home friends! You know they say that home is where the heart is. And I’m certainly where my heart is; down in my confused study, writing the Bit on my ancient and slow but trusted desktop computer. So all’s well with the world!
And today I have something interesting to share from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s titled ‘Three Discoveries.’ Please read with me: ‘I have made three overwhelming discoveries regarding God’s reliable faithfulness: The first: God will never let us go – never! We may fall flat on our faces. We may resist until we feel exhausted, but nothing can separate us from His matchless LOVE.
The second: God will never let us down – never! He is forever faithful, even when we are faithless. He cannot deny Himself. He will never leave us nor forsake us. The third: He will never let us off – never! Whenever we give in to temptation, when we determine to have our own way – He says, with all the LOVE of His Father-heart, “I LOVE you too much to excuse disobedience.”
Whom He LOVES, He chastens. God is determined to bless us. He is eager to show us His kindness. He is glad to teach us the proper paths; but He must have access to our hearts. He will allow our guilt to become a burden until conviction comes, then confession, and finally renewed commitment! May David’s prayer be our prayer.’
And that immortal statement of Bruh David is our Bit today: ‘Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.’
Yes my faithful brethren, we have such a faithful and LOVING God, that He WILL NOT ALLOW us to go astray. When we want to have our own way, He will give us a li’l line and then reel us back in. Just enough line for us to realize that we are heading down the wrong path and need to come back to Him. Like a fisherman allows a truculent fish to carry on with its antics at first, then firmly reels him in.
That’s exactly how our ever-LOVING God deals with us. So it doesn’t make any sense for us to try to seriously stray from Him, for His Spirit seals us to Him from the day we receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. As Bruh Paul says: ‘Who shall separate us from the LOVE of Christ eh…?’ (Rom.8:35) And he goes on to list a whole number of things, powers and people who can’t do it.
That’s why it doesn’t make sense to fight the Spirit of God, as so many of us try to do. We just can’t win! That’s why Bruh David pleads earlier on in Psalm 25 – A prayer for guidance and protection – ‘Show me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.’ (Ps.25:4-5)
Oh my people, instead of trying to get away from the Lord, we ought to be asking Him to help us find Him and learn His ways more and more. That’s the only thing that makes sense in our relationship with Him. I really don’t need to tell you all that, but I just felt like I should throw in a gentle reminder. (smile)
And since it’s Tuesday, let’s go home telling the entire world, who and whose we are, by declaring our Tuesday Mantra in strong and sincere voice. All together now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
Yeh mih fateful breddren, now let’s seriously go out and share the LOVE of our friend Jesus with the rest of the world, as He desires of us. Much LOVE
…to serve Jesus…is the greatest honour in the world…
27 Mar 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living
Tags: a new twist to the story, afraid of nothing, all things work together for good, angels, any other creature, as it is written, blessed, called according to His purpose, delivered him up, depth, distress, ejection fraction, err, famine, for thy sake, freely, from the love of Christ, give us all things, glory to God, God uses everything for our good, heart assisted implant, height, hospital beds, hurry, I am persuaded, if God be for us, Jesus Christ, life, LOVE, miracles, miraculously, more than conquerors, my friend Jesus, nakedness, neither death, obscure, obtuse, on the side of caution, one of those days, peril, persecution, postpone the procedure, powers, principalities, reassurance, redeem believers, restful night's sleep, review the situation, separate us from the love of God, share His love, sheep for the slaughter, spared not his own son, surprises, sword, the beloved of God, the Lord intervened, things present, things to come, ticker, to these things, to those who love God, Toronto General Hospital, tribulation, Tuesday Mantra, walking with God, we are killed all day long, what then shall we say, who can be against us, who shall separate us, worry
Romans 8:31. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Ah friends, as Prince Buster, the famed Jamaican singer said in his song so long ago; ‘It was a rough night last night…’ but not in the sexual way that he meant it. (smile) I spent the night in the Toronto General Hospital in preparation for doing a heart assisted implant today, that would help the ole ticker operate more functionally than it’s currently doing.
Everything else was okay except the bed. Chuh! These new-fangled hospital beds are so expensive and can do everything except give you a restful night’s sleep. I found it too hard to lie on and very difficult to get up from. And brother…it just kills my back!
But there’s always a good and bad side to every story…Hn! The good side is that the Lord might have intervened miraculously on the ole fella’s behalf. Yeh friends, if the findings are true, then heavenly intervention was indeed involved. And you must be wondering what I’m being so obtuse and obscure about. (smile)
Well there seems to be something called ‘ejection fraction’ that shows how the heart is pumping the blood and my figures were low to begin with and over the past year haven’t improved a whole lot which necessitated implanting the device.
However, yesterday, when they did the usual tests, my figures shot up so remarkably that they had to stop and review the situation. That’s why I’m talking about miracles.
Hold down now people, hold down… there’s a new twist to the story now. I just spoke to the doctor about the surgery and they have decided to postpone it, to err on the side of caution, until they do some other tests that will give them a clearer picture. Only problem is it takes months to get that done.
But per his reasoning, if my heart has really improved, then I should be okay. Seems though that there are two different implants for the situation and until they are sure of what’s happening it doesn’t make sense to do any surgery which could complicate matters later on.
Ah Lord eh! When it’s not one thing, it’s certainly another. Life is always full of surprises, and who knows when they will crop up. But when you’re walking with Almighty God, He gives you the ability to handle all that comes against you.
Hence the awesome and always encouraging words of our Bit. ‘What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?’ Not a single soul, for our God will fight them off on our behalf!
Glory to God my fellow believers! Though He allows us to go through all sorts of stuff, ultimately, He uses everything for our good, as Bruh Paul says a few verses earlier. ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.’ (Rom.8:28) We couldn’t ask for more than that.
And furthermore, Bruh Paul clarifies our Bit by reassuring us. ‘He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?’ (Rom.8:32) Yeh friends, if the Lord went to that length to sacrifice His only Son for us, why wouldn’t He freely give us lesser things eh? None whatsoever!
Thus, Bruh Paul continues later on: ‘Who shall separate us from the LOVE of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.’ (Rom.8:35-37)
Oh my people, we are so blessed to have the Lord God of Hosts as our Guide and Protector, that we need nothing or no one else to advocate for us. No wonder Bruh Paul ends this remarkable chapter with these wise, wonderful and reassuring words. ‘For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, not things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the LOVE of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Rom.8:38-39)
Yes precious people of God, NOTHING in this world can separate us from God’s LOVE! Why? As the scholars explain. ’38-39. We cannot be separated from God’s LOVE, because it is set forth in a person who is God Himself, Jesus Christ, our Saviour. God’s desire to redeem believers cannot be frustrated, because He is infinitely greater than any potential enemy. His plan will be realized because it is His purpose (cf. v.28).’
So friends, with all that reassurance let’s go home with bountiful feelings, on this rainy morning in Toronto, heartily declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting the world know who and whose we are. In full voice now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen.’
Now let’s go out and do just that. Much LOVE!
…with God on our side…we should be afraid of nothing…
P.S. Oh friends, sorry the Bit is so late, I never got to finish it at the hospital and I’m just getting home. It’s just been one of those days. Hope it makes some kind of sense. (smile) Much Love!
20 Mar 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a gorgeous day, a point of interest, a solitary note, artificial intelligence, autonomous, beloved of God, blessed, breathtaking knowledge, change our mood, chimes, collisions, congregation of the saints, covenant, declarations, Egypt, eternal benefit, Ethan the Ezrahite, extinct, faithfulness, first day of spring, friend of Jesus, glory to God, God's uncomditional love, heads up, hurry, It's Good, Jesus' gospel, kingdom of Jesus, laziness, life symphony, life-giving love, lift our spirits, LOVE, loving-kindness, make known thy faithfulness, mercy, my chosen, no tails, One Year Book of Bible promises, peace, percolating, praise thy wonders, Rahab, reason, replace ourselves, robots, Ruth Harms Calkin, Selah, self-driving cars, sense of purpose, share His love, sinful law of man, sing of the mercies of the Lord, snwo, spring cleaning, spring has been sprung, strong arm, Thank the Lord, the heavens, the LOVE of God, the raging sea, the Son shining brightly, thy seed, thy throne, to be loved by you, tremulous heart, Tuesday Mantra, unsettled questions, wild animal, winter clothing, with my mouth, worry
Psalm 89:1. I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
Happy First Day of Spring friends! Yes, today is the official first day of spring, and what a gorgeous day it is in my neighbourhood! So it’s somewhat chilly…so what? Once the sun and SON are shining brightly, it doesn’t matter what else is happening. And besides, from now on, the weather picture is all heads up, no tails! (smile)
Spring has finally been sprung from its winter lair! Thank God for His awesome mercy! Soon there will be no more snow and heavy winter clothing to put on and cart around…Thank the Lord again!
And on a point of interest, it seems as though one of these self-driving cars we’re touting so much and are so quickly trying to build, has killed a woman in Arizona trying to cross the road. Ah Lord eh! Why are we in such a hurry to replace ourselves and make us extinct eh?
Everything we’re working on is autonomous; self-driving cars and trucks, self-flying planes, not to talk about robots taking over most of the functions that humans are supposed to do. Can’t we see that God’s greatest creation is foolishly trying to kill itself off either through horrible collisions, or just through laziness and having nothing to do?
I don’t know about you all nuh, but I’m NOT going in any car that doesn’t have a driver at the wheel, or a plane that has no pilot at the controls! I’ll take my chances with people, not with artificial intelligence. End of sermon! (smile)
Now here is a li’l something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin to change our mood and lift our spirits this glorious Tuesday. The title simply says ‘It’s Good.’
Please pray with me. ‘God, it’s good to be LOVED by You! The breathtaking knowledge Of Your life-giving LOVE Rings chimes in my tremulous heart. It fashions eternal declarations Out of unsettled questions. It creates a majestic life symphony From a solitary note. GOD IT’S GOOD TO BE LOVED BY YOU!’
And is it ever? If you don’t know the LOVE of God, then you’re missing the best part of life. For without His awesome and amazing LOVE percolating in our souls, and bodies, we’re nothing but another wild animal without any sense of purpose or reason. And that’s why our world is in such a mess; the LOVE of God is absent from too many of our lives!
That brings us to our Bit, the Bible verse associated with the poem above. It’s taken from Psalm 89 – A Maschil (contemplation) of Ethan the Ezrahite declaring ‘God’s sure promises to David. And it joyfully proclaims: ‘I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
For I have said, Mercy (LOVING-kindness) shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens. I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.’ (Ps.89:1-4)
And that is exactly what the Lord has done! He has established the kingdom of Jesus, Bruh David’s descendant, and by His great mercy and LOVE, we are a part of that awesome gathering. Glory to God my brethren! For without His faithfulness, we’d still be living under the sinful law of man, and not God’s unconditional LOVE. Bless His holy name for all of His goodness to us my people!
No wonder, Ethan, the psalmist continues in such glowing terms: ‘And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O Lord: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints. For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord? O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?
Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them. Thou hast broken Rahab (Egypt) in pieces, as one that is slain; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm. The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fullness thereof, thou hast founded them.’ (Ps.89:5-11)
Yes friends, on this first day of spring, I believe it’s only wise that we begin spring-cleaning in our hearts and souls. Let’s throw out all the old, false winter stuff and renew our minds with the wonderful LOVE of God that He has shed abroad for our eternal benefit. That’s wisdom personified!
Now let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know who and whose we are. In unison and harmony now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
And the next move is for us to actually go out and share that amazing LOVE of our friend Jesus with those who don’t know about it, or Him! Let’s make known His faithfulness to all generations. Happy LOVE sharing! Much LOVE!
…blessed are those…who sincerely share Jesus’ gospel of peace and LOVE…
13 Mar 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a coward, a grain of salt, a loving manner, a snowy morning, all things work together for good, an arduous process, are called to his purpose, backs me in a corner, beautiful faith, become more like Jesus, childlike, Christian living, Christian maturity, christianity, cunning craftiness, curt, disaster, emotional, faithful believer, friend of Jesus, giants, God's promise, grace, grief, grow in grace, growing spiritually, has a purpose, heartaches, hurry, I can see, I want to grow, in Jesus' name, in the image of Jesus, Jesus Christ, long slow process, lonliness, look beyond, Love God, mifget, need help, negative stuff, North Eastern U.S, now and for ever, One Year Book of Bible promises, our Lord and Saviour, pain, physical, pitfalls, positive use, pray, present darkness, put in the effort, reassuring scripture, Ruth Harms Calkin, sarcastic, share jesus' love, sleight of men, sojourners, something positive, sound doctrine, speaking the truth, spring has not sprung, steadfastness, strangers, take heart, takes time, the beloved of God, the knowledge of god, the Lord's second Coming, the present world, thorough instruction, to him be glory, to those who love God, trickery, trust, Tuesday Mantra, unkind, winter, winter storm, worry, worth the waiting
2 Peter 3:18. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever.
And then it was a snowy Tuesday morning…not a whole lot of the white stuff, but certainly sufficient to cover everything and remind us that it’s still winter. Yeh, though we’ve been having some fairly mild temps recently, Ole Man Winter thought it necessary to remind us that spring has not yet sprung. (smile)
And talking about winter; they say things happens in threes, and in the case of the North Eastern U.S. they are probably right, because for the third time in two weeks another winter storm is bludgeoning the area. Ah Lord eh!
Let’s pray for them friends, and do whatever we can to help them otherwise, even if it’s just calling or texting or somehow communicating with those in the affected areas to find out how they are doing. For we never know when we’ll be affected by some disaster and need their help.
And today I want to share something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin that points out some of the trauma and drama in our spiritual growth. It’s titled, ‘Worth the Waiting.’
Please read with me: ‘Growing spiritually is such a long, slow process! It’s painful too. Every day at the turn of the road I become acquainted with new pitfalls and heartaches. Sometimes the pain backs me into a corner. For example: There is a woman I know who is so sarcastic, so curt and unkind. Am I ever excused? Is forgiveness always a part of my growth?
So often I feel like a spiritual midget while my husband and friends appear to be spiritual giants. I seem to shrink in my own home. Another thing: I confess I’m a coward about pain. Emotional pain. Physical pain. The pain of loneliness, the pain of grief. Yet, again and again it is true.
What I must learn in my pain is that it’s leading to something positive, something beyond what I can see in the present darkness. I do want to grow! I want to become more and more like Jesus. Even though it takes so long, surely it is worth the waiting.’
And it is indeed worth the waiting my fellow believers! Oh my brethren, growing in anything at all takes time and can be an arduous process, but like it is with Jesus, the end will all be worth it. And I know many of us want to grow spiritually but are having a hard time wading through all the stuff that it entails.
But take heart, everything we go through in being recreated in the image of Jesus has a purpose. God never throws away anything in our lives, even the negative, painful stuff, He always puts them to good, positive use. That’s why Bruh Paul writes this very reassuring scripture in the word: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to those that LOVE God, to them who are called according to his purpose.’ (Rom.8:28)
Yeh friends, if we LOVE God and are called to do His work, then everything will work out good eventually. It’s God’s promise, and as a faithful believer, you are expected to accept it…without a grain of salt. (smile) And the Bible Promise for the reading above is also our Bit for today. But before we get to it, let’s hear what Peter says to the early believers who were living in the hope of the Lord’s coming.
‘Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before (beforehand)…’ And he’s talking about the Lord’s Second Coming and how we’re looking for a new heaven, and all the stuff that Bruh Paul has written, some of which is hard to do. (2 Pet. 3:1-16)
‘…beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.’ (2 Pet. 3:17-18).
Oh my people, Christianity is indeed a beautiful faith; the most beautiful, but it is also time consuming and calls for a lot of effort and sacrifice! But it’s all worth it! As the scholars explain: ‘Peter urges his readers to look beyond the present world to the new heavens and a new earth characterized by righteousness.’
And so should we be looking forward to coming in glory of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Remember this earth is not our home; we are merely strangers and sojourners here. Heaven is our real home. We should therefore look forward to it.
But to do that we have to be strong and steadfast, like Bruh Paul warned the Ephesians in talking about the new life in Christ. ‘That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight (trickery) of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby thy lie in wait to deceive. But speaking the truth in LOVE, may grow up to him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.’ (Eph.4:14-15)
Oh friends, to grow spiritually means we must stop being childlike and put in the effort to grow in all aspects of Christian living. And if we do so sincerely, God will give us the grace we need to become more like Christ, each and every day.
Now let’s go home telling the world who and whose we are. Let’s shout out our Tuesday Mantra as though we really mean it. ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
Now let’s go out and action those things in Jesus’ name. Much LOVE!
…‘Christian maturity is attained in part…by thorough instruction…in sound doctrine…given in a LOVING manner…’
06 Mar 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a child of the king, a thousand times, aches and pains, adversity, against heaven, be miserable, beloved of God, blessings, clasp me, comes against you, complaining, determines my value, determines your love, dwells in you, eat and be merry, ego, enables, enjoy the day, ever-faithful God, ever-LOVING God, every day is a wonderful day, evil living, faithful believers, Father I have sinned, foolish pride, forgiveness, friend of Jesus, friends, gentle smile, going over to the other side, grace, gross unworthiness, handle anything, holy spirit, hurry, hurts, hushes me, in thy sight, is alive, is found, joy in heaven, LOVE, mercy, my value, negative circumstances, new-world society, ninety and nine, no more worthy, one sinner, option, parables of Jesus, Pharisees, Plain Old Me, put a ring on his hand, reaffirm my position, reject, repentance, repents, Ruth Harms Calkin, scribes, share His love, stammering account, surrender, the best robe, the Father's will, the fatted calf, the forefront of our minds, the living God, the Lost Coin, the lost sheep, the Lost Son, the One Year Book of Bible Promises, the son said, to be called your son, tread this evil earth, Tuesday Mantra, unhesitatingly, uplifting, was dead, was lost, waste it, worry, you open your arms, your Father-heart, your love, your response
Luke 15:21. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
Tuesday…Oh loverly Tuesday…! (smile) Yeh, I guess not as many of you will disagree with me today as did yesterday, when I called Monday wonderful. Hn!
But friends and faithful believers, every day that our great and ever-LOVING God has granted us on His beautiful planet is a loverly and wonderful day! Doesn’t it feel great just to be alive…despite all our aches and pains, hurts and adversity? It surely does.
And I’m sure that very few of us would take the option of going over to the other side right now, if it was offered. And that’s in spite of all our supposedly terrible negative circumstances. So why be miserable and complaining eh? Just enjoy the day, regardless of the circumstances. It’s the day that our ever-faithful God has made, so why waste it.
Remember the Holy Spirit of the Living God dwells in you, and that enables you to handle ANYTHING that comes against you!
Now here is something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin that seems very appropriate for this morning. It’s something that will help boost our faith. And it’s titled ‘Plain Old Me.‘
Please pray with me. ‘Oh Lord Here I am again Just plain old me Coming to You As I’ve come a thousand times – And this is what always happens: Your response is immediate You open Your arms unhesitatingly You draw me to yourself You clasp me to Your Father-heart. Then you reaffirm my position: I’m a child of the King and all that is Yours is mine.
When I begin my stammering account Of gross unworthiness Your gentle smile hushes me. With endless patience You remind me once more That my value never determines Your LOVE. Rather, Your LOVE determines my value.’
Isn’t that ever so beautiful, touching and true? Yes my fellow believers, that’s exactly how our heavenly Father behaves when we go to Him in humble unworthiness! He reminds us that we are children of the King!
Wow! What could ever be more important and uplifting than that eh? Nothing really! And that’s something we always have to keep in the back…no, the forefront of our minds as we tread this evil earth; who and whom we belong to.
We also need to remember that our value doesn’t lie in how the world sees us, but in the awesome unconditional LOVE that our Creator and heavenly Father lavishes on us.
And that’s fully borne out by our Bit, the words of the parable of the Lost Son that Jesus recounted to the crowd of Pharisees and scribes who gathered around Him doubting His Deity. ‘And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
But the Father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes (sandals) on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat, and be merry: for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.’ (Luke 15:21-24)
Oh friends, oh friends, that’s exactly how our heavenly Father feels when we come running back to Him! Once we’ve become His child, we can NEVER do anything to give up that status, even when we blow all His blessings on evil living.
And Jesus reinforces all of that earlier on in two other parables; the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin. ‘I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just (upright) persons, which need no repentance.’ (Luke 15:7)
And then: ‘Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.’ (Luke 15:10) Yes my people, there is total joy in heaven when we surrender to the Father in total humility and submission to His will.
So I don’t know why we continue to foolishly reject His LOVE, grace, mercy and forgiveness, since we don’t deserve them and can’t ever earn them. But with the li’l bit of brain that God gave us, in our foolish pride and unfounded ego, we’ve suddenly become more knowledgeable than Him and don’t need nor have time for Him in our bustling new-world society.
Hn! What a crock my people! But I guess that’s why He gave us free will; so that we could make fools out of ourselves, if we so desire. However, for those of us who know who and whose we are, let’s go home joyfully declaring our Tuesday Mantra, shouting it out to all the world.
In perfect harmony now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
Now it’s time to go out and share that LOVE! Much LOVE!
…once a child of God…ALWAYS a child of God…
27 Feb 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: assurance, Behold, beloved, beloved of God, bestowed on us, blasphemous, born again, breath of life, by God's hand, came unto his own, children of God, Christian faith, come running back, disobedient, enduring effect, fellow believers, finite, friend of Jesus, glory to God, grasp the concept, grow, hurry, I love you, in God's image, indisputable truth, Jesus, laugh too loud, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, LOVE one another, love personified, loving, mature, mortal man, my own way, never be in doubt, not of blood, One Year Book of Bible promises, our hearts and minds, penetrate, power to become, propitiation, put you first, quiet, reminder, reservation, right, Ruth Harms Calkin, serene, share His love, sinful, sinful nature, sob too long, spring break, steady, strong, talk too much, tenets of our faith, the Father, the sons of God, the will of man, the will of the flesh, to the very core, troubled society, true light, Tuesday Mantra, uncertain, undeserving, unsure, weak, what manner of love, willingly obey, winter season, without love, worry, wretched, wrong, You love me
1 John 3:1a. Behold, what manner of LOVE the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons (children) of God.
And then it was Tuesday…and the much appreciated spring break amidst the winter season continues seemingly unabated. Oh Glory to God! And on top of that, both the sun and the SON are shining forth brilliantly today. Mama Yo! What more can a mortal man ask for eh? Not much really.
But yuh know what, in our undeserving, sinful nature, our wonderful God gives us even more. Read with me, as I share this poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s simply titled ‘You LOVE Me!’
‘God When I am wretched and weak You LOVE me. When I am steady and strong You LOVE me. When I am very right Or terribly wrong You LOVE me. When I talk too much Or laugh too loud Or sob too long You LOVE me. When I am quiet and serene You LOVE me.
When I willingly obey You LOVE me. When I insist on my own way You LOVE me. When I fail to put you first You LOVE me. When I come running back to You You LOVE me. I need not beg You to LOVE me For You who are LOVE Cannot exist without LOVING.
And yet this very day, dear God I have no real assurance Of Your LOVE at all. I wonder why? (And the Lord answered) BELOVED child The fact remains I LOVE you.’
Isn’t that something now mih people! Regardless of who we are, or how we behave, our amazing God LOVES US! Even when we don’t feel His LOVE, the indisputable truth still stands; He LOVES us! He just cannot help LOVING, because He is LOVE personified!
And He caused me to share this particular poem today because He wants to remind us of that fact. He apparently sees that we don’t appreciate the true nature of His LOVE enough, that’s why we are so unsure and uncertain of ourselves in this crazy, troubled society.
Please accept this reminder my fellow believers, and let it penetrate our hearts and minds right to the very core, so that we’ll never be in doubt, in any situation whatsoever, of our great God’s true and unconditional LOVE for us. It’s one of the elementary tenets of our faith, and if we can’t accept it without reservation, then our faith will be lacking, and won’t be able to grow and mature, as it ought to.
That’s why John, in his first epistle thought it so necessary to remind us of God’s great LOVE for us, as stated in our Bit. ‘Behold, what manner of LOVE the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons (children) of God.’
Ah mih breddren how can we not appreciate such an awesome bestowal eh? God didn’t have to, but He wanted to. Why? Because we are His; created by His hand, in His image, and we breathe His breath of life. And even though we have become sinful and disobedient, the facts of the matter cannot be changed.
Now listen to the scholars on our Bit. ‘3:1. Bestowed is in the perfect tense, suggesting the enduring effect of the LOVE God has given. Believers are children of God by virtue of being born of Him (2:29). Jesus stressed a connection between how the world related to God and how it would in turn relate to Christ’s true followers (John 15:18). After ‘sons of God’ the phrase “And we are” should be added, according to many ancient manuscripts.’
Yeh friends, for some reason or the other that definitive statement got left out of our version of the Good Book, but there is no doubt that we are indeed children of God, once we are born again and believe in His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
I think though that a part of the problem is that our minds are so small and finite, that we cannot truly grasp the concept of a mighty and holy God LOVING us, despite our sinful and blasphemous nature. But don’t we still LOVE our children though they are disobedient and go astray? So why should it be any different with God eh? Children are children, and fathers are fathers in whatever situation you place them.
Now let’s look at a couple of scriptures that corroborate our Bit. John says in his gospel: ‘He (the true Light) was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
But as many as received him, to them gave he power (the right) to become the sons (children) of God, even to them that believe on his name. Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.’ (John 1:10-13)
We couldn’t get more authority than that to become children of God. Now hear this most momentous and eye opening scripture, re the LOVE of God from John’s first epistle. ‘Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. BELOVED, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4:10-11)
That’s our Christian faith in a nutshell right there my brethren. Please let’s practice it in all sincerity and truth nuh. Now let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting the world know who and whose we are in strong voice.
‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
And since we’ve declared it, let’s go out now and action it nuh! Much LOVE!
…regardless of what we have…if we don’t have LOVE…we are nothing…
13 Feb 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ., a fresh glimpse, a joy, a pleasure, alive to see another day, an action word, an easy thing to do, anger, another great day, Ash Wednesday, bacchanal, blatant, bless, blinded, born again, breath, careless driver, Carnival, children of your Father, comfortable, commercialism, complex self, consciously work at, continue to love me, curse, emotion of LOVE, evil ungodly world, faltering, fete, finagled, finally learn, friend of Jesus, friends, fuelled by, gazing eyes, God's response, gratitude, haunting parade, he makes his sun to rise, hurry, immeasurable love, in deed, in tongue, in truth, injustices, its reflection, lacking, listening to a sermon, LOVE, Love your enemies, mere talk, misdeeds, misjudged me, my little children, necessary, never have enough of, not love in word, off the snow, on God's great earth, on the evil and the good, on the just, our wonderful God, partying, pleasant, practice loving, praise and thanks, pray for, resentment, ringing challenge, Rio, Ruth Harms Calkin, sends rain, shameful, share His love, shining brightly, sit in church, speculating, spouting love, strife, T&T, the beloved of God, the church pew, the darkness, the One Year Book of Bible Promises, the SON, the Sun, the unjust, totalled, true believers, Tuesday Mantra, turbulent times, uncomfortable, unloving attitudes, unscrupulous associate, Valentine's day, vicious remarks, walk the walk, war, welcome, what the world needs, worry
1 John 3:18. My little children, let us not LOVE in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
Welcome friends, welcome to another great day on God’s great earth! Wow! Both the SON and the Sun are shining brightly; the latter so bright that if you’re not careful you can be blinded by its reflection off the white snow. (smile) Is it ever a joy and a pleasure to be alive to see another day!
Please give our wonderful God much praise and thanks for the breath we’re still drawing in these turbulent times, for without Him we’d surely be faltering in the darkness of an evil and ungodly world.
And can you imagine the bacchanal that ‘s taking place in places like T&T and Rio right now, at the height of the carnival season? Mama Yo! Fete fuh so! Everybody’s trying to get in as much partying as possible because tomorrow is Ash Wednesday…and then all the party done! (smile)
Enough about partying though, let’s turn our attention to something that’s much more important and oh so lacking, but ever so necessary in our world, if it’s ever to run right; we’re talking about how to ‘Practice LOVING.’ That’s the name of the poem I want to share with us today from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin.
Please pray sincerely with me. ‘It is so simple, dear Lord So pleasant and comfortable To sit in church on a Sunday morning Listening to a sermon about LOVE – Perhaps even speculating a bit On whether my LOVE surpasses the LOVE Of the person to my right Or the Person to my left.
But to LOVE with Your LOVE To practice LOVING, dear God How uncomfortable the church pew becomes When I hear this ringing challenge When I see Your gazing eyes. Suddenly I remember the vicious remarks Of the woman who misjudged me. I remember the unscrupulous associate Who finagled my husband’s job. I remember the careless driver Who totaled our shining new car.
So quickly, Lord, I am faced With a haunting parade Of shameful, UNLOVING attitudes. God, You know me so much better Than I know my own complex self And still You continue to LOVE me. Give me, I pray, a fresh glimpse Of Your vast, immeasurable LOVE For it is only out of gratitude for Your LOVE That I shall finally learn What it means to practice LOVING.’
And isn’t that the everlasting truth my brethren! Only with God’s help can we truly practice LOVE! It’s something our world desperately lacks, but so badly needs! Just look at all the strife and war, the anger, hate and resentment that’s so blatant in our current societies. How could that ever be good for us eh?
We need to come together rather then be split apart, and ONLY LOVE, or rather the PRACTICE OF LOVE, brings people together. And yes, I know that tomorrow is Valentine’s Day and everybody will be spouting LOVE, but LOVE is not, cannot be a one Day Special, if it is to have any real and lasting effect, especially if fuelled by commercialism as Valentine’s Day is in our current society.
Hence the command from the first epistle of John in our Bit: ‘My little children, let us not LOVE in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.’ And as the scholars tell us: ‘3:18. In tongue refers to mere talk.’ And over the years I’ve tried to beat it into my children’s heads that you can’t talk LOVE, because LOVE is an action word! I hope you finally got the message mih LOVELIES! (smile)
Unfortunately though, when coming to LOVE, that’s all our world is about; TALK! We talk a very good talk about LOVE, but not enough of us walk the walk of true and sincere LOVE. And it’s not an easy thing to do, when we are surrounded and bombarded by all sorts of injustices and other things which don’t normally bring out the emotion of LOVE.
Our poem above points out some of those difficult times; vicious remarks from being misjudged, unscrupulous associates, and careless drivers. Those things certainly don’t bring out LOVE in a natural manner, but our God wants us to have that sort of response, because that’s His response to our own misdeeds.
So LOVE is something we have to actively and consciously work at, especially since our Lord and Saviour, our Leader, Jesus Christ so plainly and purposefully commanded.
‘But I say unto you, LOVE your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully (spitefully) use you, and persecute you. That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.’ (Matt.5:44-45)
Ah friends, obviously that doesn’t sit well with our normal sinful nature, but if we’re born again and are true believers, we need to adhere to the words of our Leader. And we know that anytime we flounder, all we have to do is to cry out to Him for help, and He will help us. So nothing He asks us to do is impossible. That’s why we can go home now sincerely declaring who and who’s we are in our Tuesday Mantra.
All together now, in strong voice: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
All glory to God my people! Now let’s go out and do exactly as we just said; share Jesus’ LOVE with the world. Much LOVE!
…what the world needs now…is LOVE…sweet LOVE…something we can never have enough of…
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