The Overwhelming Importance of Christians Living the Way God Desires, if They want to be Truly Blessed!

17 Oct 2026 Leave a comment

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   17 October 2026   Proverbs 3:5.

Proverbs 3:5.        Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

And then it was our lazy-day Saturday; bright and sunshiny though somewhat cool, with even an advisory of frost later in the evening. But we’ll take the sunshine anyway it comes. And after enjoying some lazy day time in bed, I got up a short while ago and looked out my bedroom window only to be greeted by a most wonderful scene; the tall tree in my neighbour’s backyard looks like a flame of fire rising up to the sky, with all its red, gold, green and yellow leaves dancing in the soft breeze, reflecting the essence of our God’s marvellous artistic talent!

It’s the same tree that did not lose all it’s leaves last winter, And strangely enough,  no other tree in the neighbourhood looks as bright and flaming as that one, so it must be blessed with God’s favour more than some of the others. (smile) Anyway, now that I’ve enjoyed my lazy time, let’s get down to the Lord’s business, and we’ll begin by offering up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer in all sincerity and truth.

So, as one strong voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’

And we know that if we sought God with a sincere heart, He was well-pleased at our wanting to have greater intimacy with Him, because there’s nothing He desires and likes more than deep intimacy with His human creation. Like our earthly fathers are thrilled when their children come to them with a sincere heart for some intimate time, likewise our heavenly Father is thrilled when we come to Him, not wanting anything but to spend some quiet and intimate time in His awesome presence.

And once He’s assured that our motives are sincere, He will release that wonderful peace and calm that only He possesses, and only His sincere children can enjoy, although they don’t fully understand it. That’s the beauty of living for God and seeking Him with a true heart! He offers us blessings that we don’t understand but can still enjoy because of our total surrender to Him and our trusting faith in His goodness and mercy.

As Cousin Sol so wisely says in these wonderful verses of Proverbs: ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct (make smooth) thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear (reverence) the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel (body), and marrow (strength) to thy bones.

Honour the Lord with thy substance (possessions), and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses (vats) shall burst out with new wine. My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of (detest) his correction: For whom the Lord LOVETH, he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he deilghteth.’ (Prov. 3:5-12)

Oh my people, if you desire a short and wise way to truly serve God, I believe those verses serve the purpose. Because they encompass all that’s necessary: meaning trusting God and His will for your life; not being proud and arrogant, but living in reverential awe of the Lord, and doing your best to stay away from evil, while honouring God with your possessions by being generous to the church and its outreach, as well as any others you can help. All of that causes the Lord to keep your life blessed and highly favoured.

And there’s one other important thing, don’t get snotty when the Lord corrects or chastens you, because just like our earthly father’s correct and chasten the children they LOVE, so does our heavenly Father correct and chasten those whom He LOVES. Yes my faithful brethren, those are the basic things it takes to live a good Chrisitan life, and if we faithfully follow them then our lives will be blessed and run fairly smooth. Now that doesn’t mean there will be no trials and tribulations, and tests of our faith by the Lord, but we will have the wherewithal to know and at least understand some of what’s happening, and thereby retain a good attitude in those difficult times.

It’s like the scholars explain the first couple of verses: ‘Three commands are given: trust, meaning “rely on, depend on”; lean not, meaning do not depend on your own native instincts; and acknowledge him, meaning have fellowship and intimacy with God in all of life. The result of such devotion is that God will make the paths straight before you.’ And per the last two verses, they simply say; ‘God’s correction shows His LOVE (cf. Heb. 12:5-6).’

And if you don’t know the verses referenced there, then here they are. ‘And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as children (sons), My son, despise not thou the chastening (discipline) of the Lord, nor faint (be discouraged) when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord LOVETH he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. (Heb. 12:5-6) Now that just reinforces what Cousin Sol says about the Lord disciplining those He LOVES.

And yuh know what mih bredrin; today, this sunshiny, lazy-day autumn Saturday in the middle of October, is an excellent day to spend some time pondering those wise and valuable words of Cousin Sol and seeing just how we match up to them in our own lives, then asking the Lord for His wonderful help to do better, because we can always do better! And in these very trying and troubled times, we all definitely need to do better! Much LOVE!

…living sincerely for God…is the only wise way…to handle the stress and strain of today’s world…

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

The Overwhelming Importance of Christians Giving Much Deserved Thanks and Praise to Almighty God Each and Every Day!

10 Oct 2026 Leave a comment

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   10 October 2026   Psalm 96:1.

Psalm 96:1.        ‘O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth.

And then it was our lazy-day Saturday! Awright! Another bright and sunshiny autumn day, though a little cooler than the previous ones and with less wind. And I certainly enjoyed some lazy time in my bed, that’s why we’re only getting a midday start. Now, since everyone will be busy preparing for the Thanksgiving celebrations, let’s offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer right away.

So in all sincerity and truth: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’ 

And as happens every time, when the Lord checks our hearts and finds them sincere and true, He soon directs the Holy Spirit to fill us with His awesome peace and calm; a state of mind and being that our finite minds cannot comprehend. That’s because the Lord takes pleasure in our coming to Him for greater intimacy. It just warms the cockles of His heart when we come reaching out to Him to offer our LOVE and appreciation for His grace, His mercy and undeserved goodness.

It restores His faith that creating mankind was a worthy venture, unlike in Noah’s time when things were so evil, that ‘it repented the Lord (or He was sorry) that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.’ (Gen. 6:6) So He destroyed the earth only leaving Noah and his family. Unfortunately though the earth is again approaching that stage of uncontrolled and appalling evil, where the Lord might just have to consider wiping the slate clean again. Please note though, the next time it won’t be with water, but something much more destructive and painful like fire.

But let’s not think on such a dire subject today, because hopefully we’ll be able to turn things around, and besides this is our Thanksgiving weekend when we ought to be offering up thanks and praise to our wonderful God for all His wonderful blessings to us in this amazing land of Canada. So, in accordance with that oh so true sentiment, let’s acknowledge the Greatness of the Lord, as Psalm 96 encourages us to do.

Please pray with me: ‘O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth. Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; shew forth his salvation (proclaim the good news of his salvation) from day to day. Declare his glory among the heathen (Gentile nations), his wonders among all people. For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens. Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. Give (ascribe) unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength.

Give (ascribe) unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear (tremble) before him, all the earth. Say among the heathen (gentiles) that the Lord reigneth: the world also shall be (is firmly) established that it shall not be moved (shaken): he shall judge the people righteously. Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof (all that is in it). Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall the trees of the world rejoice before the Lord: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.’ (Ps. 96:1-13)

Yes, my fellow believers, that’s the kind of honour, glory, praise and worship we ought to give to our great God who created the universe and all therein and still reigns supreme over it. Especially on this Thanksgiving weekend, our praises and thanks ought to be rising continually to high heaven; so much so that the Lord doesn’t have a chance to hear them all, much less digest them all. (smile) Now that would certainly be plenty praise and thanks if the Lord in His infinite wisdom and understanding couldn’t hear and digest it all. But that’s exactly the way we ought to be praising Him and giving Him thanks each and every day, not only at times like an official Thanksgiving day.

Each day we open our eyes from sleep, a great shower of praise and thanks ought to be raised to high heaven, because many around the world did not have the blessing of opening their eyes. And all during the day we ought to be thanking God and praising him for the little miracles and wonders He continually does in our lives, although we hardly notice some of them. But if we’ll keep track of all that happens as our day progresses, we will certainly see several times where the hand of the Lord has intervened on our behalf, and for those times we ought to be eternally grateful and tell Him so.

It’s a sad commentary on our current society that we only tend to acknowledge the big happenings and fail to, or refuse to acknowledge the small ones, where oftentimes the small ones are so much more fulfilling. And today, let’s pledge to begin looking for all the little things that the Lord does in our daily lives, and appreciate them more than we ever did before. So please have a happy lazy-day Thanksgiving Saturday, and remember to give our great God oodles of thanks and praise during the celebrations, for that’s our bounden duty! Much LOVE!

…God delights in His people’s sacrifices of praise…the fruit of their lips giving thanks to his name… (Heb. 13:15)

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

The Greatest Wisdom in this Life is for Christians to Seek God Sincerely and Serve him Faithfully

03 Oct 2026 Leave a comment

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   3 October 2026   Jeremiah 29:13.

Jeremiah 29:13.        And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall  search for me with all your heart.

Oh friends, our first lazy-day Saturday in October has opened somewhat cool but sunshiny and bright! And I’ve enjoyed some of it lazing in bed, that’s why I’m only now doing the Lord’s business, so I can’t complain. (smile) And with the Lord first and foremost in our minds, let’s offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer in all sincerity and truth.

As one strong and heartfelt voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’ 

And we all know that if our prayer was sincere and heartfelt, that the Lord will soon open up His amazing box of blessings and bestow the peace and calm that we asked of Him, a peace and calm that our finite minds cannot comprehend, but can surely appreciate. For the Lord is always ecstatic when His children come to Him seeking greater intimacy. Remember what He said through the prophet Jeremiah: ‘Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto (listen to) you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall  search for me with all your heart.’ (Jer. 29:12-13)

Yes my brethren, that’s what it takes to find the Lord and have Him hear you, then answer your prayer with awesome blessings. You must seek Him with all your heart! That’s the number one requirement! It’s like when the prideful Pharisee lawyer tried to get Jesus into an argument by asking which was the greatest commandment in all the law. Jesus simply answered: ‘Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ (Matt. 22:37-40)

Jesus hit the nail right on the head there, for our number one duty is to LOVE and serve Almighty God with all that we have and are. It’s like Jesus also pointed out in the Sermon on the Mount, when teaching about worrying over all the things we need in this life, like food, clothing and shelter: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33)

Oh my people, I don’t know how to make that point any clearer or drive it home any further, but keeping Almighty God first place in our lives is of the utmost importance. And we see the truth of that principle above there being played out in a big way in Cousin Sol’s life, when he became king of Israel after his father Bruh David died, and the Lord asked him what He desired. And what was his reply?

‘And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or to come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people.’ (1 Kin. 3:7-9)

Yes mih bredrin, Cousin Sol humbled himself and asked for wisdom and understanding to judge God’s people. And what was the Lord’s response? The Bible says: ‘And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.’ (1 Kin. 3:10) Obviously He had first checked out the motives of Cousin Sol’s heart, and finding them to be right, ‘God said unto Him, Because thou asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast thou asked for riches for thyself, nor hast asked for the life of thine enemies, but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgement (justice);

Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any (anyone) among the kings like unto thee all thy days. And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen (prolong) thy days.’ (1 Kin. 3:11-14)

Ah friends that’s the kind of largesse the Lord can and will provide if we sincerely seek Him, keep Him first place, and walk diligently in His ways. He made Cousin Sol both the wisest and richest man ever, because he had a humble heart and did not come seeking the material things of the world, but wisdom and understanding. No wonder Cousin Sol could later write in Proverbs: ‘Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.’ (Prov. 4:7)

Truer words were never spoken my people. Notwithstanding that in Cousin Sol’s later years, he apparently forgot all of that and turned to pagan wives and their gods. Hopefully though, we won’t do like him, but to be on the safe side, let’s use this autumn lazy-day Saturday to consider our personal situations and make the irrevocable decision to stick to Jehovah God, like white on rice, faithfully worshipping Him, and obeying His commandments as best we can, for that’s the wisdom of the ages! Much LOVE!

…the greatest wisdom is…to seek God sincerely…and serve Him faithfully…

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