Vengeance is the Lord’s Portfolio, not His Followers!

26 Nov 2024 Leave a comment

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

Roman 12:19b.       Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

Ah friends, you wouldn’t know how good it feels to finally get to writing the Bit. I woke up late, because I went to bed in the early hours of the morning, (smile) then I had to deal with a couple of unforeseen issues around the house. Those of you who own houses know the frustrating way things can happen around it that need your immediate attention. So it’s now midday that I’m finally sitting down to the computer to see what the Lord wants us to talk about this cold, drizzly Tuesday afternoon in the season of autumn 2024, when our world is going crazy all around us.  

The first thing He suggests is that we offer up this month’s prayer from the In Touch Devotional. So please pray with me. ‘Father, when I’ve been hurt, help me breathe and trust You. When I get defensive and try to protect myself, help me breathe and trust You. when retaliation is the only thing on my mind, help me to breathe and trust You. When I fear everything might go wrong again, help me breathe and trust You. When forgiveness seems impossible, help me breathe and trust You. When I offer grace (even when it makes no sense), help me breathe and trust You, In Jesus’ name, amen.’ 

Oh my fellow believers that prayer certainly makes a lot of sense, because it’s exactly how most of us behave, or feel like behaving when we’ve been hurt. All at once the fighting spirit rises up in us, and declares we must have vindication, revenge, or whatever we think is necessary to ease our pain. But ofttimes, that’s the wrong reaction, for it can blow up the situation to unnecessary proportions, and cause even worse problems. The right way to handle it, is as the prayer says; take a deep breath, and turn it over to God.

 Remember Bruh Paul’s words to the church at Rome? ‘Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.’ (Rom. 12:19-21) 

Yes friends, from way back when, for example in Leviticus 19:18 and Deuteronomy 32:35, the Lord warned the Israelites about taking revenge, and clearly stated that that was His prerogative. And Bruh Paul is here advocating, treating our enemies or tormentors with a good heart. Piling coals of fire on their heads, as the scholars say, might ‘refer to a sense of shame or remorse engendered when we treat an evildoer kindly. Paul is discussing personal not national enemies. He is not teaching pacifism.’ 

And I like this commentary which answers the question ‘Why did God say Vengeance is mine? When God says that vengeance is His, it means that He will handle it. He will handle ensuring that justice is served to the individual or individuals who are persecuting you. It means that He will repay the individual or individuals for the wrongs that have been done or are being done to you.’ Simple and straightforward! 

But in these days where hate, anger, revenge and all the other negative emotions predominate, few of us are willing to leave the vengeance to God, but instead want to take it into our own hands, because we feel it’s our right to do so, and it will give us the satisfaction we so rightly deserve. However, if you consider yourself a true believer in and follower of Christ, you might be getting your priorities somewhat mixed up, for Jesus taught the exact opposite of what we so often want to do. 

In the Sermon on the Mount, He said it thus: ‘Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 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 the unjust. 

For if ye LOVE them which LOVE you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans (tax collectors) the same? And if ye salute (greet) your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans (tax collectors) so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’ (Matt. 5:43-48) 

There you have it my fellow saints, plain and straightforward, in black and white or red, according to which Bible you’re reading. (smile) And we obviously cannot be as perfect or complete as our heavenly Father but we can try to get as close as possible to perfection, by showing LOVE to our enemies, which means doing good toward them so that we can win them over to Christ. And when we do show true brotherly LOVE to our enemies, we prove that we’re truly the children of God, as LOVE is a necessary proof of salvation. 

And the good thing about Bruh Paul and Jesus is that they didn’t just talk the talk, NO, they also walked the walk. As this scripture from Hebrews so vividly shows of Jesus’ behaviour. ‘Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher (originator and perfector) of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction (hostility) of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint not (become discouraged).’ (Heb. 12:2-3) 

Yes friends, Jesus is the greatest example of humility, perseverance and long-suffering! Please note that in all the ‘sufferation’ He endured, He did not even once retaliate or say an abusive word to His detractors and abusers. And yes, that’s difficult to do in this aggressive, abusive and vengeful world. But we have the example of Jesus, and the tools He gave us to do it, so let’s start using them and being better witnesses for His holy cause nuh. It’s what He desires and expects of us. 

Now, let’s go home declaring (yesss!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘In God’s eyes, 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 my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’ 

And having spouted all of that goodness and holiness, (smile) it’s now our bounden duty to go out and share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Jesus with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

…salvation is all about LOVE…LOVE from God for us…and from us to God… and LOVE for ourselves and our neighbours…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 3 April 2021 Habakkuk 2:3b.

03 Apr 2021 Leave a comment

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

Habakkuk 2:3b.     ​though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

And then it was Holy Saturday; that suspenseful day of waiting between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, the day after the tragedy, but the day before the great awakening of joy and celebration! And yes, it’s always difficult for us human beings to wait for something, even though we know it will be better than what we currently have, especially in these times of immediate gratification. 

But please wait patiently on the promise my people. For as the Good Book says: ‘For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.’ (Hab. 2:3) Yes friends, Easter Sunday will surely come, so let’s just mourn quietly, but expectantly today, show our tremendous faith, for we are assured of the triumphant rising of the Holy One of Israel tomorrow! 

Now let’s see what interesting quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week as he aspires to inspire us for a brighter tomorrow. Here’s the first one: ‘We can’t retract the decisions we’ve made. We can only affect the decisions we’re going to make from here.’ I don’t know if that is totally true nuh, because sometimes we can take back the decisions we’ve made, especially if they have not been yet implemented. But in the logical process of the situation, I guess you can look at the retracting as a new decision and not merely a taking back of the old one. So, in that sense, the quote is right. (smile) 

Then there’s this: ‘I cannot say whether things will get better if we change; what I can say is they must change if they are to get better.’ Now that seems to be rather truthful. If the current situation is bad, then things will only get better if wise change occurs. Merely leaving it the same will not cause any improvement. However, I totally disagree with this next quote: ‘When in doubt, choose change.’ That means you’ll be choosing change just for the sake of change, since there might be no good or logical reason to change. 

But change, especially significant change, should not be made without some good grounds, some useful purpose or enhancement such change will provide. And just because you have doubts, doesn’t mean you should just jump into the unknown. Although that’s what a lot of us are doing in these times of great change. Oftentimes, we don’t know what we’re doing or where we’re going, but because others are changing, are doing something new or different, we think we ought to do the same, we can’t let them get ahead of us, because we absolutely need to be a part of the in-crowd. But that is pure foolishness my brethren. 

Not all change is good for us, and the follow the Jones’ lifestyle only gets us into more problems than we already have. Just take the example of the new cell phones that come out almost every year. Some of us just feel we need to have them because they are new, and have new toys in them. But they are usually more expensive too, and don’t always work as good as the older ones. And in fact, most of us won’t ever use the new toys in them. 

We don’t even use our current phone to its best level. But there’s a new one out, and we must have it, we must keep up with the throng and make the phone makers even richer! And in such situations, re our first quote, we definitely may not be able to retract our hasty and thoughtless decisions. (smile) But as they say, to each his own. 

That brings us to the next quote: ‘When a defining moment comes along, you can do one of two things. Define the moment, or let the moment define you.’ Now that’s gospel truth friends! When defining moments crop up, you only have two options; to let the moment define you, or you define it. And the sensible option is usually the latter. You define the moment, you come up over the problem, don’t allow it to take you where it wants to go. 

And I guess we should define what we mean by defining moments. (smile) Those are basically important times in your life, when what is in front of you has the ability to change the trajectory of your life, like a new job offer, or meeting a new lady friend, or the most important defining moment in all of our lives, finding Jesus and cheerfully latching on to Him! When those opportunities appear in our lives, we have to face them mano -a- mano, rise up above them, take the bull by the horns sort of thing, evaluate the situations, and hopefully make wise decisions, because it’s not always in our best interest to let nature take its course. 

And that segues real nicely into our last quote. ‘A wise man can learn more from his enemies than a fool from his friends.’ Now that’s certainly an interesting statement. I guess it goes back to a couple of other sayings: ‘Keep your friends close, and your enemies even closer.’ And also, ‘Show me your friends, and I’ll tell you who you are.’ The last one insinuates that if you are foolish, then most likely your friends are also foolish, so there’s not a whole lot you can learn from them. 

Meanwhile, the first saying is telling us to keep a close eye on our enemies because we can learn their secrets and tactics, which will help us in our fight against them. But the whole thing boils down to having wise friends and no enemies. But if you do have enemies, as Cousin Sol says in Proverbs: ‘If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink. For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee.’ (Prov. 25:21-22) And the scholars tell us that ‘Coals of fire does not refer to revenge or punishment but to pangs of shame that will lead to reconciliation.’ 

But Jesus goes one better than that. He says: ‘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.’ (Matt. 5:44) Now that’s not an easy row to hoe in this strife filled world of ours, but that’s what Jesus expects of His followers, and what we should all endeavour to do, if we bear His name, consider Him our Lord and Saviour. 

And remember, He’s promised never to leave nor forsake us, as He told the disciples: ‘and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt. 28:20b) So there’s no need to fear, for Jesus is always with us, leading, guiding and helping us through His indwelling Holy Spirit and allowing us to do great things in His name, through His divine strength. Much LOVE!

…one more day…just one more day…before the triumphant resurrection…please wait faithfully for it… because it WILL come…

 Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8               

Today’s Scrip-Bit 5 October 2020 Romans 12:21.

05 Oct 2020 Leave a comment

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

Romans 12:21.     ​Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

So what shall we say this Monday Morning in the early autumn days of this unprecedented year of 2020 eh? One thing comes to mind – that the Lord does indeed move in mysterious ways His miracles to perform. Yuh realize how many of the world leaders who never believe in the Covid virus and made fun of it, eventually got it? The leaders of the U.K., Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras, Belarus, and some others whom I don’t remember all contracted the Covid-19 disease because they took it for a joke. 

Hn! How can you ever take something the Lord allows, and as widespread and dangerous as it is, especially with its unknown qualities and behaviour, as a joke eh? And friends, I just realized that I left out the most famous (in his own mind) and powerful leader and mocker of them all…the one and only President of the U.S. of A! How could I have done that eh when all yuh hearing on the news these days are uncertainties, lies, innuendoes, and half-truths concerning his supposed illness. 

He’s acquired such an aura of disbelief that many people don’t believe that he’s sick, it’s just another ploy in his vast arsenal of tricks and dirty deeds to win the upcoming election. His presidency has been fraught with so much distaste that many normally good-natured folks are praying for him to die from the Covid-19. And it would be a fitting death too, as he has so badly mismanaged the crisis. But all in all, I don’t think that is the Christian thing to do. The Lord will repay him in His own time and way for his wrongdoing. 

So let us remember the words of the Good Book and heed its warning. ‘To me belongeth vengeance and recompense; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them with haste.’ (Deut. 32:35) Those were Moses words to the Israelites in the early days. And the psalmist, in his writings – How long shall the wicked triumph – cried out in the same manner that many of us are crying out today as the wicked seem to be prospering ever so much, while the righteous are suffering. 

‘O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, show thyself ( shine forth). Lift up thyself (rise up), thou judge of the earth: render a reward ( repay with punishment) to the proud. Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph?’ (Ps. 94:1-3) Notice, in his anguish, how he repeats himself for emphasis. And that’s a very relevant question in these difficult and dangerous times friends, for the wicked and the wealthy are prospering even in these lean days. 

It’s a proven fact that during this Covid-19 season the rich has gotten immensely richer, while the poor has gotten immensely poorer! No wonder a lot of people are crying out for justice, for vengeance! But then we are led by Bruh Paul to keep our faith, to trust our God, who never fails to keep His promises, just in His own time and manner. Hear him in his missive to the church at Rome. 

‘Recompense (repay) to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men (Have regard for good things). If it be possible, as much as lieth in (depends on) you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath (don’t take angry action): for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire (shame and remorse) on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.’ (Rom. 12:17-21) 

What more can I say eh friends? That’s Bruh Paul’s teaching; his revelation from God, so we need to acknowledge and live by it. Let’s wait for our God to take His vengeance upon our enemies nuh, that’s His portfolio. Ours is to live good. And yes, I know that’s difficult to do when we’re surrounded by so much evil and wickedness, but with God’s grace and mercy uplifting us, we can certainly overcome evil with good. Now, let’s go to God in prayer, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn and release all our anger, frustration, anxieties, fear, needs, wants, desires, and whatever’s troubling us to His listening ear, because that’s His will. 

All together now, humbly, but confidently: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You that this Monday morning we’re alive and standing in faith despite the mass confusion that’s currently prevailing in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems; the pandemic of Covid -19, the racial, political, and religious strife that’s ignited worldwide, plus the natural disasters like storms, famine, drought, plagues, climate change, wildfires, earthquakes and erupting volcanoes that suddenly seem to be blossoming more and more as time goes by. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously come short in obedience and compliance to Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, and You have faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us, ordinary folks, as well as our leaders, employers and medical personnel, wise guidance and direction to bring our problems under control. 

And for those who are currently suffering from the many negative situations, we pray that You will ease their suffering and heal them. Father, please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again we say: Amen!’  

And since we’ve just vowed repentance and pleaded for forgiveness, mercy and grace, let’s keep our vow and receive the Lord’s blessings nuh, for that’s what He requires of us. Much LOVE!

…good will always overcome evil…for Christ will always defeat Satan…