The Importance of a Godly Relationship Existing between Fathers and Children!

21 Jun 2026 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Today’s Scrip-Bit   21 June 2026   Ephesians 6:4.

Ephesians 6:4.        And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture (training) and admonition of the Lord.

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!

It’s another Sunday friends, a mostly sunny one. And yes, Sundays show up like clockwork, right on time, to remind us that we need to make our way to the Lord’s sanctuary for praise and thanksgiving. And this Sunday is a special one in the lives of fathers because we celebrate them today; show them the many ways we cherish, appreciate and admire them.  But before we get into talking about our earthly fathers, let’s remember the best father there is, our heavenly Father.

And today’s song of worship is especially in His honour. It’s appropriately titled, ‘This is my Father’s World.’ It’s a popular Christian hymn penned by Maltbie Davenport Babcock, (1858-1901) a Presbyterian minister from New York. When Babcock resided in Lockport, it’s claimed that he would take strolls along the Niagara Escarpment to savor the overlook’s scenic view of upstate New York surroundings and Lake Ontario, telling his wife he was “going out to see the Father’s world”.  Unfortunately, the poem wasn’t published until after his death in 1901, when his wife released a collection of his poems that contained it. And it wasn’t until 1915 that it appeared in the current hymn form.

So, on this special day for fathers, let’s offer up our sweet sacrifices of praise in a soulful, scintillating, mid-tempo version of the song. Singing: ‘This is my Father’s world, And to my listening ears All nature sings, and round me rings The music of the spheres. This is my Father’s world: I rest me in the thought Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas– His hand the wonders wrought. This is my Father’s world: The birds their carols raise, The morning light, the lily white, Declare their Maker’s praise. This is my Father’s world: He shines in all that’s fair; In the rustling grass, I hear Him pass, He speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father’s world: O let me ne’er forget That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the Ruler yet. This is my Father’s world: Why should my heart be sad? The Lord is King: let the heavens ring! God reigns; let earth be glad! I have a Father, a glorious father, He reigns in power and in LOVE, We have a Father, our glorious Father, creator, King and God. This is my Father’s world: O let me ne’er forget That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the Ruler yet. This is my Father’s world:’

And so it is my people! As Bruh David so rightfully says in psalm 24: ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods (rivers).’ (Ps. 24:1-2) And having noted that the world and all therein belongs to our heavenly Father, let’s take a quick look at the relationship between Him and His Son Jesus. That’s the best father – son relationship there’s ever been, and will ever be.

And though the Father sent Jesus to die on the cross to pay our sin debt, Jesus never held it against Him, but continued LOVING Him because He knew the great thing the Father was trying to do, and that He was the only person capable of doing it. Instead, Jesus praised the Father and the close relationship they enjoyed. As He said: ‘I and my Father are one.’ (John 10:30) And later on, when praying for believers, He again declares: ‘That they may all be one; as thou Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one.’  (John 17:21-22)

Yes friends, though that’s a tough relationship to cultivate between earthly fathers and children, that’s the type of relationship we ought to seek.  And the Lord warned us of the importance of honouring our parents from way back in the Ten Commandments, with the only commandment of promise, when He declared: ‘Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.’ (Ex. 20:12) So, although our relationship with our fathers might not be of the strongest kind, it’s still our duty to respect and honour them.

And there are many good, bad and indifferent fathers in these crucial times. Fathers are supposed to be the head of the household; to take the lead in godly behaviour, to lead the children by their own example. But the fact that there are so many absentee fathers from today’s homes, so many single parent families, that it takes a toll on all relationships. Ofttimes the one parent is out working to make ends meet while the children are left on their own, and with no proper parental guidance get into all kinds of trouble. Lack of proper parental guidance is certainly one of the causes for so much current youth violence and crime.

It’s true that Cousin Sol theorized: ‘Train up a child in the way he should go: and (even) when he is old, he will not depart from it.’ (Prov. 22:6) And that holds true to a certain extent, but as the old people would say, you make the child but not their minds. So regardless of what you teach them in their youth, circumstances, friends, whatever, can always cause them to go astray. But still, we need more fathers in the homes, and fathers that care and are willing to do their God appointed job and guide their children in a God-like manner.

And it’s why Bruh Paul warned in the letter to the Ephesians. ‘And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture (training) and admonition of the Lord.’ (Eph. 6:4) And as the scholars point out, there are several ways in which fathers can provoke their children to wrath; ‘by injustice, loss of temper, undue severity, cruelty, favouritism, suppression, sarcasm, ridicule, and misuse or abuse of authority. Meanwhile, nurture here means spiritual education. Admonition is instruction that points out one’s responsibilities and duties. Of the Lord, indicates that behind the parents’ rearing and instruction of their children stands the Lord as the chief teacher in child education. Parents do not rear children alone.’

The long and short of the story friends is that the family as the basic foundation of our society is falling apart, as marriage and childbearing fall by the wayside, and the number of godly men who are willing to participate in rearing godly children also dwindle. But fathers, this is a wakeup call for us all to do better. Just look at how our children are running around aimlessly and irresponsibly, getting into oodles of trouble. That is not a good sign for the generation to come, so let’s rise up and do something about it nuh, for it’s our bounden duty. Much LOVE!

…if we don’t turn things around now…the next generation will be a total disaster…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

The Overwhelming Importance of UNITY in Christ’s Church to Successfully Fight against Satan! Part 1!

22 Aug 2025 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

John 17:22.        And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one.

And that much desired day, Friday, has finally arrived, with all the accompanying shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! The weekend is here at long last!’ Ah Lord eh! We make such a big to do over Friday and the weekend, that one would think it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. (smile) But with the constant busyness of today’s world, that’s the only time many of us have to catch our breath and rest properly. And even then, some of us still have things like young children to look after, grocery shopping and other household chores to perform on the weekend, because we cannot fit them into our busy schedules during the work week. 

Now, that eventually leads to burnouts and breakdowns, and we have to every so often take a look at our busy schedules and ask ourselves if it’s worth it? Is what we’re doing really improving our lives, moving us up the so-called ladder of success? Or are we simply wasting time, trying to accomplish things that are not helping us to truly enjoy our lives and the lives of those close to us. because what’s the purpose of life if we can’t enjoy a fair amount of it. And with all the social media stuff and the great influx of information that’s constantly bombarding us, it’s much more difficult to live a peaceful, quiet and joy-filled life today. 

And when you add the scam callers on the telephone, sometimes you just want to run away and hide from it all. Like a call that just came through from a number that I don’t know, but everyday they keep calling. And my answer is, if it’s so bloody important then leave a message. Because, even in the way you answer the phone or answer their questions, with the aid of technology, they are able to build fraudulent schemes around those small bits of information. And I ask myself, if you can put all that time, energy and brain power into a fraudulent scheme, why not put into a legal one and thus avoid problems with the law, which you will encounter if you run the fraud long enough. 

But no. It seems that we’re all out for quick money, and the fastest way to make it is through illegal means. And the sad part is that so many of us are falling for these fraudulent schemes. It’s also sickening to see that many of them are directly targeted towards older folks to defraud them of their life’s savings. And what happens to these criminals if and when they’re caught eh? Nothing much. More often than not they receive a slap on the wrist and told not to do it again. And do they listen, do they change their evil ways? Of course not! They jump right back into the fraudulent scheme of things. 

Ah Lord eh! Our society has become so irresponsible, lawless, and doh-care, with standards dropping lower every day, and no proper consequences to make us change our evil ways. In fact in some cases, by watching the horrible and disgusting ways of our leaders, we are encouraged to persist in evil doing. And there’s not much that we as individuals can do about it, but the church, Christ’s church could stand up and do something about it! Yes, if it was in sync and not in such a terrible dysfunctional state; divided into so many religions, denominations, cliques, whatever, with most of the divisions refusing to communicate with the others. 

That’s why Satan is currently having such a heyday in the world…Christ’s church, which was meant to keep Satan at bay, is so ineffective, it might as well not exist. And it can never become effective until it drops all the foolish things, and petty reasons that keeps it divided. Enough of my rant though! (smile) But there are several scriptures that talk about the oneness of the church, its spiritual unity, in particular this one where Jesus prays for the disciples and church unity. 

‘Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. That they all may be one; as thou, Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou has sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one. I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast LOVED them, as thou hast LOVED me.’ (John 17:20-23) 

Oh my fellow believers, do you see the number of times in those few verses that Jesus specifies the purpose and overwhelming importance of being one. For if we’re not one, we cannot do anything worthwhile, we’ll all be working in different ways towards different goals. It’s as simple as that. Now there are more scriptures on the subject of church unity, but it will make the Bit too long, so we’ll leave that for tomorrow, if God spares life. (smile) So, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking divine help in these times of desperate need. 

Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough…  because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. 

We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

And it’s good and wise to pray, to ask for divine help, but what about the other half of the equation; doing our part, living in harmony and unity, and being better Christian witnesses for Christ? Unfortunately, until we improve our act, the Lord will not offer much divine aid. Let’s remember that and do something to turn it around! Much LOVE!

…until Christ’s church comes together as ONE…Satan will continue to hold sway…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien