29 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a dose of Jesus, a dose of reality, a modicum of circumspection, a sense of balance, accuracy, aspirations, assessment of difficulties, associating with Jesus, balance, be afraid, be anxious for nothing, be gracious to you, be of good cheer, benediction, blueprint, care, changing circumstances, Christ, circumspection, Comforter, compassion, despair, doing my own thing, dreams, drive me crazy, earthly living, encouraging, encumber ourselves, facts of today, favour, fellowship, finite minds, fortunes, Friday chant, function at a high level, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, give you his favour, give you peace, goals, Guide, harmony, hopes of tomorrow, i have overcome the world, in Jesus' name, in me ye might have peace, Jesus, keep your hearts and minds, let not your heart be troubled, lift up his countenance on you, living in the past, LOVE, make his face shine upon thee, maturity, moderation, Moses, my peace I give unto you, navigate, nose to the grindstone, not as the world giveth, passeth all understanding, peace, Peace i leave with you, prayer, reality, reassuring words, refreshed, rejoice, relaxation, renewed, respect for reality, rest, Robert H Davies, semblance of balance, signs of maturity, slave master, soul body and mind, stress, sufficient fun, supplication, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, thanksgiving, the depths of despair, the Holy Spirit, the Lord is at hand, the peace of God, the weekend, tribulation, trying times, vicissitudes of life, virtual reality, wisdom, working people
John 14:27. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
So it’s Friday! And all over God’s great earth, working people are celebrating! They are ecstatic that the weekend is upon them, and are joyfully singing: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! When this working day is done, my time will be my own! No more slave master to drive me crazy, to keep my nose to the grindstone! I’ll be free! Doing my own thing! Glory Be! Thank God for Fridays and the weekends yes!’
Ah friends, we all know how important the weekend is for most of us, trying to get things done that we couldn’t do during the work week. But we can’t afford to encumber ourselves with too much of our own activities either, for we’ll just continue the stress of the workweek. The weekend is a time when we must recapture some semblance of balance in our lives.
So let’s chant our Friday Chant which gives us a better idea of how to achieve that balance. All together now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes my brethren, we must find some way to get rest, relaxation and fellowship into our weekends if we want to be able to function at a high level the following week. And in keeping with that philosophy, here’s an interesting quote from one Robert H Davies. In checking though, there were so many people with that name, I couldn’t figure out which one said it.
Nonetheless here it is. ‘One of the signs of maturity is a healthy respect for reality – a respect that manifests itself in the level of one’s aspirations and in the accuracy of one’s assessment of the difficulties which separate the facts of today from the bright hopes of tomorrow.’
Yes friends, a healthy dose of reality is what a lot of this world needs right now, especially with all the huge emphasis we’re currently placing on what is called virtual reality. Today, if true reality hits some of us in the face we won’t even recognize it! (smile)
But we do need to be more mature and sensible about what has gone before, what’s happening today, and our prospects for the future. We must stop living in the past, learn to accept the present, and refrain from painting too bright a future, which when it doesn’t come to pass will only drag us down into the depths of despair.
Goals and dreams are great to have, but we must temper them with a modicum of circumspection, of reality, otherwise they can mess up our lives. Essentially what we need in our lives, especially in these trying times, these rush and push days, is a proper sense of balance.
And you know what my people, that can only be accomplished with a big, wonderful dose of Jesus: of His LOVE, His peace, His care and compassion! And nowhere is that more readily seen and available than in the words of our Saviour, as highlighted in our Bit.
‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’
Ah friends, what encouraging and reassuring words! Jesus was there telling His disciples of the necessity for Him to go away so that the Holy Spirit, our Guide and Comforter could be sent to us.
Now obviously it takes some maturity in the Christian faith to accept those words of Jesus at face value. But it’s the only way that we can truly handle the vicissitudes of this life, our changing circumstances and fortunes. Only through the peace and harmony gained by associating with Jesus, can we ever successfully navigate the stormy seas and strong winds of this life.
And please note the priestly benediction that the Lord gave Moses for the children of Egypt way back when. ‘The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee (look on you with favour), and give thee peace.’ (Num.6:24-26)
Yeh friends, without the peace and favour of our wonderful God moving in our beings, our lives will never be stable and successful.
Hear how Bruh Paul puts it to the Philippians. ‘Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful (anxious) for nothing: but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil.4:4-7)
Oh precious people of God, what a moving and encouraging set of scriptures! Through constant prayer and thanksgiving we are able to invoke the wonderful peace of God, that’s always close by, through the Holy Spirit! A peace that our finite minds can’t even understand, but we can surely feel it.
And we’ll end with these reassuring and triumphant words of Jesus. ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33)
Friends, as true believers in Christ, let’s therefore go forth today, and everyday, holding those words of enduring truth in our hearts, souls, minds and bodies, so that we can successfully navigate our way through this evil and ungodly world, for that is wisdom to the nth power!
Much LOVE!…Jesus is the blueprint for successful earthly living…so let’s copy as much of His style as possible…
22 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a disciplined life, a rod of correction, a saving grace, a soulful song, a welcome decision, Amen, beat with a rod, build a house for my name, chastening, christ jesus, correction, covenant, dangerous, deceitful, deliver his soul from hell, discipline, disobedience, do a good job, enormous proportions, evil intent, fellowship, for Jesus, freedom, Friday chant, fruit of righteousness, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, George Elliston, God's great earth, God's greatest creation, gospel truth, grievous, growth, How beautiful a day can be, I will be his father, in Jesus' name, iniquity, invade our souls, joyful cry, joyous, kindness, leggo beast, looking over our shoulders, mankind, massa, maturity, mental, mercy, our benefit, our heavenly Father, out of thy bowels, peaceable, personal expereince, perspective, physical slavery, punishing, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rest, righteousness, safely, set up thy seed, sleep with thy fathers, standard, step out of line, sun, tempo, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the children of men, the enemy, the Good Book, the heart of God, the rod of men, the stripes, the working class, they days be fulfilled, to heaven, topsy-turvy, truth, unkindness, up in arms, weekend, when kindness touches it, wisdom, workweek, wreak havoc
Hebrews 12:11. Now no chastening (discipline) for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised (trained) thereby.
And all over God’s great earth, on this blessed Friday morning in July 2016, the joyful cry of the working class rises like a touching, soulful song to heaven!
‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the workweek is almost over! Thank God that the weekend is upon us, bringing freedom from mental and physical slavery for two big days! We can do whatever we want to do without massa looking over our shoulders! Thank God for Fridays and the weekend!’
Yes friends, it is a viable cry, but we must still be careful about doing what we want over the weekend. We can’t just behave like leggo beast and give the enemy a chance to invade our souls. We need to always be wary of his deceitful tactics to gain entrance to our souls and his evil intent, to wreak havoc there.
Instead, let’s chant our Friday Chant that gives us a better perspective on the use of the weekend. All together now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Ah mih people, the way we handle the weekend sets the tempo and standard for our new workweek. Unless we are fresh and reinvigorated, we won’t be able to do a good job for Jesus when the time comes. So please be careful and handle the next couple of days in appropriate godly fashion. (smile)
Now here’s a beautiful quote attributed to one George Elliston (1883-1946), a female American journalist and editor who bequeathed a large sum of money to the University of Cincinnati to open a chair in poetry. At some stage of her life, she reputedly proclaimed: ‘How beautiful a day can be when kindness touches it.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth my brethren! When kindness touches a day, there’s nothing left but for it to indeed be beautiful, because kindness comes from the heart of God! Oh how our world is dying from unkindness and desperately waiting and desiring to experience much more kindness amongst God’s greatest creation, mankind. And until we achieve that experience, our world will continue to be topsy-turvy, dangerous and deceitful.
But my people, thankfully there’s a saving grace, if you can call it that, displayed in the words of our Bit. ‘Now no chastening (discipline) for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised (trained) thereby.’
Yes friends, we can count on our heavenly Father to chasten, to discipline us when we step out of line and follow our own devious devices and plans. Oh, I know from personal experience that it’s not a welcome decision, but it seems to be necessary for our eventual growth and maturity in Christ Jesus.
Anyway, there’s not much we can do about it, except try to give the Lord as few instances as possible to chasten and discipline us. Now let’s continue looking at some scriptural examples of how important chastening is to God. And nobody spoke on it more often than Cousin Sol.
Listen to him. ‘Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with a rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.’ (Prov.23:13-14)
Now I know some of you will be up in arms over those statements, but I’m only quoting the Good Book. And as much as you might dislike punishing your children, yuh better believe that God will punish us, like children, for disobedience. Not necessarily with a rod of correction, but in some manner that He deems suitable.
Now hear what the Lord said to Bruh David when He made His covenant with him. ‘And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.
I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes (strokes) of the children of men: But my mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I put away before thee.’ (2 Sam.7:12-15)
Yes friends the Lord was speaking there about the rise of Cousin Sol. And please note the serious warning about chastening for disobedience, because it hasn’t changed one iota since then.
So my fellow believers, in closing, I just want to remind us that although we don’t like chastening by God, because in the short term it seems a bit on the rough side, be assured that in the long run it will be to our benefit. Our God does NOTHING in our lives that’s not for our benefit.
Now let’s go out and see if we can do as little as possible to deserve His chastening, for that’s wisdom of enormous proportions! Much LOVE!
…to walk this earth successfully…a disciplined life is essential…
P.S. I think I’ve finally gotten the hang of this new Outlook setup. Glory Hallelujah! Much LOVE!
15 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: A to Zee, all things, balance, begrudge, boomerang, building, comes back to you, common sense, cruel, demanding world, destruction, do unto men what you want them to do to you, do unto others, epitome, evil lifestyles, for dear life, Friday chant, friends, fun, generous help, glorious kingdom, God's plan for man, God's Word, greed, harmony, heartless massa, hell on earth, higher than the animals, holding hands, in a line, in Jesus' name, injunction, Jesus Christ, life experience, lower than the angels, Moses, negative emotions, no more work, P.S. I Love You, perpetrate, pilgrimage, pleasure, power, reaping, relaxation, rest, rocket science, rumours of war, self-aggrandizement, selfishness, single file, slaving, sowing, spiritual matters, standing in a circle, stressful, strife, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the golden rule, the law, the lust of the flesh, the prophets, the Ten Commandments, the weekend, topsy turvy world, under the gun, ungodly, unity, vicious cycle, want, wars, wisdom, you reap what you sow
Matthew 7:12. Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
And then it was Friday…
No wonder the workers united to sing this song of emancipation: ‘TGIF! Thank God it is Friday! No more work, no more slaving for a cruel, heartless massa! The weekend is upon us and we will enjoy all the pleasures it offers – from A to Zee! Thank God for Fridays and the weekends yes!’
Ah friends, you really can’t begrudge people some pleasure when they’ve been under the gun all week, just working and doing little else in this supposedly modern but very stressful and demanding world.
However, we can’t afford to only seek the lust of the flesh in the next two days either; spiritual matters must also be of great concern, otherwise we’ll lose the something in our souls that makes us higher than the animals and just a little lower than the angels.
Now let’s chant our Friday Chant which gives us a better perspective on the matter. As one now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Now that is a much better way to handle the couple days off we have over the weekend; it keeps our soul and spirit in balance, which is something we desperately need to survive and be successful in our current topsy-turvy world.
And here’s an interesting quote from my ‘P.S. I LOVE YOU’ Poster. I don’t know if I’ve shared it before, but if I haven’t, I ought to have, and if I’ve shared it before, then it’s nice enough for us to do it twice. (smile)
And it says: ‘The people on our planet are not standing in a line single file. Look closely. Everyone is really standing in a circle, holding hands. Whatever you give to the person standing next to you, it eventually comes back to you.’
And isn’t that the awesome truth friends? It certainly is! It’s basically God’s plan for man; whatever you sow, you shall reap. Life is like a boomerang; whatever you throw out to it, it will eventually come right back to you.
So if you throw out bad, that’s what you’ll eventually receive, the same thing goes for good. The trouble is that we don’t think sufficiently along those lines, so we sow whatever our flesh wants, then when we get back something negative in return we wonder why.
But life is not rocket science my people, it’s a simple do unto others as you’d want them doing unto you. And Jesus’ words on that subject is our Bit for today. ‘Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.’
Yes my people, that’s what we call the ‘Golden Rule!’ And it’s really the only sensible way to live, if what we said above, about sowing and reaping, is true.
And the scholars explain it thus: ‘Hence, rather than judging others, we are to treat them as we would like to be treated. Therefore all things…do ye even so to them, is the biblical injunction often called the “Golden Rule.” This is the law and the prophets indicates that the statement made here by Jesus is not intended to be novel, but rather a summarization of the second table of the law.’
Yes friends, it’s not new, it’s just what has been required of us ever since Moses got those Ten Commandments. (smile) Unfortunately though, not enough of us are following it in these crucial and critical times, thus the ungodly and evil lifestyles we’re seeing so prevalent over God’s great world.
But it shouldn’t be like that. If we’d use our common sense and life experience we’d realize it. However we tend to live by the lusts of the flesh and the emotions of greed, selfishness etc. which only tear us down. There’s no building of harmony and unity in those negative emotions my people, just breaking down and destroying.
And that’s exactly what’s happening in our world. I don’t know if we’ve ever gone through a more destructive period in a supposed time of peace. Steups!
Everyday we’re becoming better at destruction, for a lot of our manufacturing consists of finding and building better ways to destroy. It’s taken us sometimes hundreds of years to build the great monuments of our world, but we destroy them in mere seconds!
Hn! And not only that, no longer do we have to be up close to destroy, we can stay thousands of miles away and perpetrate hell on earth to our enemies. And then we wonder why our world is going to hell in a bucket!
Look at all the wars and rumours of wars that are currently causing such woeful strife in our world. Friends, it doesn’t take a fool to realize that if we keep destroying, instead of building, we’ll soon have nothing left to destroy.
Our leaders seem to be more inept and inefficient than ever, corruption has never been so pervasive, far-reaching and blatant. It just seems that all they are interested in is self-aggrandizement and holding on to immense power for dear life.
But what they don’t seem to understand is that the more you have, the more you control, the more you have to lose and the more carefully you have to guard it all, which only leads to more problems, in all areas of life.
Please friends, let’s not be caught up in that vicious cycle of want, of greed and selfishness that is so easy to climb on to, but ever so difficult to get off. Let’s use common sense and God’s Word to direct our earthly pilgrimage nuh. It’s the epitome of wisdom! Much LOVE!
…the Golden Rule…do unto others…as you want them to do unto you…is still the most sensible and godly way to live in this mish-mash world…
09 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a grain of mustard seed, Anselm, be not afraid, be of good comfort, become more, belief, believe only, believing in God, bless, build our faith, captured by the enemy, Creator, daily challenges, do more, don't stop believing, dream, dwell in heaven, empowerment, encourage each other, epileptic, faith, faithful, fasting, fear not, focus, forgiveness, fuel, fuel that will keep us going, further the gospel of Christ, glory, go in peace, good, good news, grace, grief, Hades, healed, holy spirit, honour, impossible, in Jesus' name, inspire others, issue of blood, Jairus, lack of belief, Leaders, learn more, lost, LOVE, Lucifer, mercy, nothing shall be impossible, obedient, on the spur of the moment, only begotten Son, others, ourselves, praise, prayer, provider, rebuked the devil, relevant elements of our faith, remove, revere, ruler, sacrifice, saved, she shall be made whole, synagogue, thanks, thy faith hath made thee whole, to rest on God, touch His garments, truth, unbelief, worthless sinners
Luke 8:50. But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.
‘Oh Lord we give you praise and thanks, honour and glory, because through your LOVE, your grace and mercy, you sacrificed your only begotten Son, so that we worthless sinners could be saved, every single one. Thank you Lord for your forgiveness.
From the very bottom of our hearts, we sincerely thank you for Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, and we bless and revere your holy name. We promise to be always faithful and obedient to your word, so that one day we can dwell securely and joyfully with you in heaven. In Jesus name we pray. Amen!’
Oh friends that’s just a li’l ditty I concocted on the spur of the moment to begin our daily meditations. It’s not spectacular, but it does contain all the important and relevant elements of our faith and hopefully it will bring our focus to rest on Almighty God, our Creator and Provider as we try to build our faith, encourage each other and further the good news, the wonderful gospel of Christ.
And to help us do that, check out these two quotes from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us. And the first quote provocatively proclaims: ‘DON’T stop believing… Every day we get up, we will have something to deal with. But we must not let these things stop us from believing in God, ourselves and others. Our belief (or faith) in good is the fuel that will keep us going. In spite of the daily challenges, there is still so much good to believe in, to experience and to tell.’
And isn’t that the indisputable truth my people? It certainly is! A couple things we believers cannot stop doing is believing in good, in God, and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for if we do, we’ll be completely lost and most likely captured by the evil enemy Lucifer and end up in Hades with him. And believe me, that won’t be a very pleasant situation.
And the second quote says: ‘If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.’ Those are more words of truth my brethren!
Now technically speaking we all can’t lead, since leading inherently supposes followers, but all Christians ought to have some leadership tendencies in them. As Anselm says, we ought to have actions that inspire others to dream, to learn, to stand strong and faithful, to rise up to the level God has planned for them. That’s what our faith is all about!
And to back up our contentions, let’s turn to our rather appropriate Bit. ‘But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.’
That’s what Jesus said to Jairus, a ruler in the synagogue, whose daughter He was on the way to heal, but then Jairus’ servants brought news of her death and the father slumped in grief. Yes friends, two simple but powerful and overwhelming statements: ‘be not afraid, only believe.’ That’s how Mark records it. (Mark 6:36)
And they are not very easy to do when negative circumstances come against us, like in Jairus’ position, but we need to just keep on believing my people, for its ‘a mark of our Christian maturity when we can do it successfully. Remember the words ‘give up,’ do not exist in our vocabulary.
And note too, that while Jesus was on His way to Jairus’ house, a woman with an issue of blood for twelve years, made her way through the enormous crowd believing that if she could just touch His garments she would be healed. And she was too. So much so that Jesus looked around and declared: ‘Who touched me?’
The disciples were amazed that within the throng of people Jesus would ask such a question. ‘And Jesus said, somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue (power) is gone out of me.’ (Luke 8:46)
Finally the woman came to Jesus and acknowledged that she was the one who had purposely touched Him and was immediately healed. ‘And he said unto her, Daughter be of good comfort (cheer): thy faith hath made the whole (well) go in peace.’ (Luke 8:48)
And the scholars offer this explanation. ‘8:48. The woman likely had superstitious notions about how she had been healed, but Jesus clarifies what took place.’ It was all because of her strong belief, her unshakeable faith! So friends, a lot of what happens to us also depends on our faith and the strength of our belief in Jesus Christ.
Now let’s look at another scenario where Jesus again invokes the power of belief. This time a father brought his epileptic son to the disciples, but they were unable to heal him.
‘Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless (unbelieving) and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer (bear with) you? bring him hither. And Jesus rebuked the devil (demon); and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
Then came the disciples to Jesus apart (privately), and said, Why could we not cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove (move); and nothing shall be impossible to you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.’ (Matt:17:17-21)
So friends, although Jesus rebuked His disciples for their lack of belief, of not strong enough faith, He eventually acknowledges that prayer and fasting are important elements in faith works.
And we’ll end with a quick explanation from the scholars. ‘17:15-23. As a grain of mustard seed: This seemingly impossible obstacle or difficulty stands in the way. Since Christ alone is the glorified Saviour, the disciples’ ability to work depends totally upon His empowerment.’
That means we also need His empowerment my believing brethren; the only difference is that we now have His Holy Spirit dwelling with us and back then they had Jesus in person. Ah mih people, yuh see the power that is possible when we believe. We shouldn’t have to be told to believe, but some of us still need it. So please believe! (smile) Much LOVE!
…only believe…only believe…all things are possible…if you’ll only believe…
08 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a family to feed, adventurous, awe-inspiring, backbone, be of good cheer, believe also in me, belly, bring all things, Christian, come again, economy falters, effort, ever-LOVING God, evil ungodly days, faith, faith in action, faithful believers, fellowship, Friday chant, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, generous help, get by, getting me through another week, hard times, i have overcome the world, I leave with you, if it were not so, in Jesus' name, In my Father's house, in my name, Jesus Christ, lead and guide, let not your heart be troubled, many mansions, merciful, middle ground, moderation, monetary incentive, mortgage to pay, my peace I give unto you, negative emotions, not as the world giveth, Oral Roberts, party, peace, permeate our souls, perspective, preaching, prepare a place for you, promise, prosper, purpose of faith, raise the level of our faith, receive you unto myself, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, resentment, rest, satisfying, sinful world, soul body mind, sow, stand strong against the enemy, staring you in the face, steadfast, stress, stressful, stressful week, take up the slack, teach you all things, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, thanks, the Blessing of the Holy spirit, the bottom line, the christian motto, the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, the pull of partying, the weekend, there ye may be also, think on them, to your remebrance, tribulation, trust, trust in jesus, truth, unchristian behaviour, unemployment, weekend activities, where I am, wicked ways, wisdom, ye believe in God
John 14:1. Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
And then it was Friday! And obviously there is joy in the work place at the upcoming weekend; the couple of days off from work.
And all around the workers are joyfully declaring: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and slave work done! It done like dinner! The weekend party starting from this evening and going straight through! The weekend is the greatest time! Thank You Lord for Fridays and weekends!’
Ah mih people, it’s understandable how the workers long for the weekend after a stressful week of work, but that doesn’t mean we have to go to the other extreme, where we party the whole weekend away. There needs to be some moderation, some middle ground in our weekend activities. So let’s chant our Friday Chant which gives us a much better perspective on the situation.
Chanting: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes friends, that’s a much better, much more reliable and sensible way to use those two precious days off. But I guess I will have to be preaching that until I die, (smile) because the pull of the partying is getting stronger and stronger as the days get more stressful.
And believe me, they are getting more difficult as the economy continues to falter and people lose their jobs, all to the glory of the bottom line, and the remaining ones are expected to take up the slack for no monetary incentive. That type of situation will obviously cause resentment and stress!
But friends, as faithful believers in Jesus Christ, we must not allow those two negative emotions to permeate our souls and drag us down to unchristian behaviour. Now that’s not easy to do when unemployment and other hard times are staring you in the face.
You’ve got a family to feed and clothe, a mortgage to pay, car payments to make, and all the other numerous things we need to do to just get by in this society. Note, we not even talking about prospering, but merely getting by. So you can imagine the effort and faith it takes for one to prosper as a Christian in these evil and ungodly days.
That’s why our Bit today is so important in a believer’s life. ‘Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.’
Oh my people, these days we badly need to raise the level of our faith, our trust in Jesus, so that we can stand strong against the enemy and his wicked ways. But we also need to see that faith in action.
As Oral Roberts is reputed to have said: ‘I don’t care how much faith you have, I care about how much faith you release.’
And friends, that’s the basic purpose of faith: having it doesn’t mean much unless you release it. Faith in action is the Christian motto. So if the world is stressing you out today, please take hope and raise the level of your faith by seriously trusting in the words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Hear how He continues after our Bit. ‘In my Father’s house are many mansions (dwellings): if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.’ (John 14:2-3)
Oh what a wonderful promise my brethren! Our Leader has gone to prepare a place for us in heaven, then come back and take us to live with Him! Hn! It’s promises like these my faithful believers that we need to sow deep down in our souls and think on them when times and things come against us.
Now listen to what Jesus says later on in that same chapter, as He promises the blessing of the Holy Spirit. ‘But the Comforter (Helper), which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye LOVED me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.’ (John 14:26-28)
Oh my brethren, I know all of that is easier said than done, how difficult it is to raise up the necessary faith when the evil world is banging on your door. But that’s what we need to do, and besides, we also have the wherewithal to do it.
Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would remind the apostles of all that He spoke to them about, and it’s also the same way He operates in our lives, leading and guiding us in wisdom and truth. It is therefore very essential that we pay special attention to what the Holy Spirit says to us.
Nothing’s easy in this life friends, but we already have all that we need to conquer it planted deep down in our souls, we just need to ask the Lord to raise up whatever we need to overcome our negative circumstances. And you know our merciful and ever-LOVING God will answer our prayers if we come to Him in humility and sincerity.
Now let’s close with another faithful and awe-inspiring promise of our Lord and Saviour. ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33)
Please believe Jesus’ promises my people, because that’s what gives us the belly and backbone to stand strong and steadfast against the enemy in this wicked and sinful world! Much LOVE!
…living for, and following Jesus is not easy…but it sure is satisfying and adventurous…
01 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 4th July, backbone, Beelzebub, behaviour, beliefs on me, believers in Jesus Christ, belly, best big country, blood, bread, bread of life, came down from heaven, Canada Day, Capernaum, cause havoc, celebrations, drink, drink my blood, Drunk or sober mind yuh business, dwells in me, eternal life, everlasting life, evil cronies, fellowship, figuratively, Friday chant, fun, generous help, glorious kingdom, Granny's advice, hardens, I in him, I live by the Father, in Jesus' name, invitation, Jesus Christ, keep our wits, literally, live for ever, Lucifer, make it anywhere, manna, meat, my flesh, Northamerica, northern climes, partying, perspective, physical, promise, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rest, rough times, safely, spiritual, spiritual armour, suicide, synagogue, template, TGIF!, Thank God for Friday, the enemy has no power, the Eucharist, the Good Book, the life of the world, the living bread, the living Father, the Son of man, the wilderness, the Word of god, toughens, truth, trying times, unprotected spot, week of work, weekend, wine, wisdom, wise
John 6:48. I am that bread of life.
HAPPY CANADA DAY !
Happy 149th Birthday Canada! May the Lord bless and keep you strong and godly that you might see another 149 birthdays! Amen!
And though you may have recently declined in some respects, you are still the best big country in the world! And I believe that with my whole heart. I don’t want to live in any other big country. I have spent more than half of my life here, and obviously there have been some rough times, like there are everywhere, but you’ve never mistreated me.
And the truth is, if you can make it in the northern climes, you can make it anywhere in the world. It hardens and toughens you up, gives you belly and backbone, which so many of us sadly lack in these trying times.
And without a doubt, the populace, at least the working populace is overjoyed that today is Friday and also a holiday, so there’s been much shouting and carrying on re ‘TGIF! Thank God for Friday and this long weekend! The partying will be terrific! Lots of food and drink! Thank God for Fridays and the weekends yes!’
Ah Lord eh! (smile) Now to help us correct the overblown idea of the weekend being the time for excessive partying, let’s chant our Friday Chant, which offers us a much better perspective.
As one now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes friends, our lives would be much richer if we’d use that template for our weekend behaviour. Oh, and by the way, I’d be rather remiss if I didn’t throw in Granny’s wise advice for this long weekend. ‘Sonny boy, ah beg yuh, please, drunk or sober, please mind yuh business!’
And better advice than that could not be given my people, for ole Lucifer is always sneakily trawling around, seeking a soft or unprotected spot in our spiritual armour to jump in and cause havoc. So please let’s not give him any chances during our celebrations this weekend nuh.
And if you think things will be humming up here this weekend, just think about what the U.S. will be like as they celebrate their 4th of July Independence Day on Monday. Mama yo! The whole of North America will be jumping this weekend, and Beelzebub and his evil cronies will certainly be busy too!
But if we just keep our wits about us, we’ll be fine, since the enemy has no power over believers in Jesus Christ unless we allow him to.
Now let’s address our Bit; the same one of the past couple days. ‘I am that bread of life.’
Christ while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum, had been trying to explain to His listeners who He was and His purpose here on earth. But they were most likely more concerned with physical bread to fill their stomachs than the spiritual kind that Jesus was referring to.
Just before our Bit, He declares unto them: ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.’ (John 6:47-51)
What a wonderful invitation and promise my people! Do you want to live forever? Then eat the bread of eternal life that Jesus offers! It’s that simple.
Today it might be for us, because we know the scriptures, but back then it was a tough thing for the people to imagine much less understand. And the Good Book tells us: ‘The Jews therefore strove (disputed) among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ (John 6:52) They didn’t realize that Jesus was speaking figuratively, rather than literally.
‘Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat (food) indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by (because of) me. This is that bread that came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.’ (John 6:53-58)
Now imagine talking about eating your flesh and drinking your blood to any group of people at all, much less one forbidden to drink blood? (Lev.7:26-27) Obviously they were stunned and couldn’t fathom His speech.
But friends, today, we know that Jesus was talking figuratively, meaning the Eucharist that we now celebrate. The bread represents His flesh and the wine His blood. So technically speaking, we have no excuses for not living forever, having eternal life, if we so desire. Unfortunately, many of us refuse it, but the wise choose it, because it is the word of God, the truth.
Friends, I do hope that you are amongst that group of wise people who chose Jesus’ offer of eternal life, for that is the wisdom of all wisdom! Much LOVE!
…to refuse the Son of man’s offer of eternal life…is like committing suicide…
21 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: actions, anger, attitude, backbiting, behaviour, character, Christendom, christianity, cooperation, Corinth, disharmony, disrupt harmony, diversity, division, earthly life, embrace Jesus, encourages, exciting, extraordinary, glory, good cheer, greed, harmonious spirit, harmony, hatred, human nature, hurry, hypocritical, I am the beloved of god, in Jesus' name, individually, inner presence, Jesus, let God be God, lifts us up, Love for Jesus, LOVE Jesus, members, mind-boggling, my friend Jesus, New Testament, peace, philosophy, planet earth, Praise the Lord, privately live, problems, publicly show, pull together, reflect Christ's character, religious teaching, reproach, resentment, running things, Scrip-Bit family, serve, share His love, sincerity, souls, spiritual organism, the body of Christ, the church, the Holy Spirit, the Light, the Lord's on His throne, throne, trust, truth, Tuesday Mantra, unity, warms the cockles of my heart, what people say about me, wisdom, wonder, worry, worship
1 Corinthians 12:27. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular (individually).
Aye mih friends and family – Scrip-Bit family included of course – welcome to another wonderful Tuesday on planet earth! The Lord’s on His heavenly throne running things, and Jesus is with us through the inner presence of the Holy Spirit! So what can be better than that eh? Absolutely nothing!
Ah mih people, Jesus is so beautiful, I don’t see how people can not LOVE Him, and want to serve and worship Him in all sincerity and truth!
Yeh friends, I truly don’t understand how people can dislike Jesus and abuse and blaspheme Him. He has the best religious teaching going, even the best philosophy for living this earthly life; one of peace and LOVE and good cheer! One couldn’t ask for more!
But such is the fallen and dark nature of our human souls that we refuse to see the light even when it’s shining all around us. But thankfully, we smart humans will embrace Jesus in all His glory and wonder and live to serve Him now and forever!
And all God’s children declared a loud and proud ‘Praise the Lord in Jesus’ name! Amen.’
And to support all of what we’ve just said, let’s declare our Tuesday Mantra with a strong sense of purpose and true belief. As one 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.’
Oh friends, oh friends, that li’l mantra so warms the cockles of my heart when I declare it, that…that I don’t know what to say afterwards! Hn!
To know that I am indeed a beloved child of God and a friend of Jesus…and can simply live this life and share His awesome LOVE with the world…well that is just so mind boggling and extraordinary!
I do hope that you, my fellow believers feel the same way, because if you don’t you are missing out on the most exciting and transformational part of your lives, since true LOVE for Jesus just lifts us up and encourages us so much!
And we’ll continue with our theme from yesterday; members of the body of Christ, of His church, because it is very important for each believer to know and understand His place and role in that most august organization.
Our Bit tells us quite plainly: ‘Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular (individually).’
Yes my brethren, we are all a part of Christ’s great organization called the church, with all that’s needed to make it great, but it’s oh so necessary for the members of that organization to pull together to do that. Listen to the scholars’ input on that verse.
’12:27. In one succinct statement, the apostle expresses both the unity and the diversity of the body of Christ. The absence of the definite article in Greek (ho, “the”) before the expression ‘body of Christ’ emphasizes character: since they are Christ’s body, their actions and attitudes toward one another should reflect His character.’
Oh my fellow believers, that last line there says it all; since we belong to Christ’s organization, our attitude and character ought to reflect that of Jesus! But does it? That’s the million-dollar question.
Unfortunately, I don’t believe that it does, or at least not to the extent that it should. If we were truly reflecting the character and attitude of Jesus as an organization, there wouldn’t be so much division and disharmony within it, none of the greed, the backbiting, the resentment, and pure hatred that exists in some parts of it.
As we said earlier, Christ’s character is one of peace, LOVE and good cheer, and that in no way represents the present day church of Christ!
And before we go any further, listen to the scholars’ description re the Body of Christ. ‘12:27. The church in the New Testament is called the “body of Christ,” and reflects the spiritual organism of the whole church on earth. When the local church is called the body of Christ, the spiritual aspect is emphasized.
Illustration: As the church is considered to be the body, so individual members are seen as parts of the body. For any church to function properly, every member must do his or her part in a harmonious spirit of cooperation with the other members. Had the church at Corinth learned this lesson, many of their problems would have been solved.
Application: When Christians disrupt the harmony of a church, they bring reproach on the body of Christ. (First ref. Matt.16:18; Primary Ref. I Cor. 12:27).’
Oh friends, that’s the problem of today’s church right there! The spirit of harmonious cooperation is sadly lacking in many of the local churches and also in the entire body of Christendom!
No wonder we’re bringing such reproach on Christ and His body, and people are leaving His organization as well as crying it down and calling it totally hypocritical!
And there is a lot of truth there, since the heathen doesn’t see or perceive us as good and kindly and LOVING people from the attitude, behaviour and character we publicly display. We behave just as badly, and sometimes even worse than them! That obviously gives Jesus a bad name and turns off the unbelievers, thus making of no effect our trying to bring them to Him.
Ah mih people, there’s a simple solution to all of that yes, all the confusion and disharmony, the resentment, anger and hatred, backbiting and hypocrisy can be avoided if we’d just implement the words of the song: ‘Let God be God! Let God be God in your life!’
Yes friends, if we’d just allow the Lord to work in our lives as He desires, most of our problems would vanish, and we’d become much more like the harmonious body of Christ that we’re meant to be.
So, starting today, right now, let’s let go and allow God to truly work in us nuh, for that is indeed the highest level of wisdom! Much LOVE!
…for Christianity to be successful…Christians must privately live…and publicly show…the true character and attitude of Jesus Christ…
03 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a child of God, a fine time, be sober, beginning work, believers in Christ, blasphemed, calm, Christ's sufferings, circumstances, difference, distraught, dominion, duty, ending work, fellowship, fervent charity, fiery trial, focused, Friday chant, fun, generous help, glad, glorified, glorify your Father, glorious kingdom, glory, glory to God, God's child, God's grace, good cheer, good stewards, good works, grumbling, heavenly Father, hobnobbing, hospitality, in Jesus' name, in the midst of the storm, Jesus Christ, joy, let your light shine, LOVE, magnanimous, magnificent, mature Christians, minister, multitude of sins, oracles of god, overcome, parents, peace, perspective, praise, prayer, refreshed, rejoice, relaxation, renewed, rest, sing psalms, sing unto him, suffer, talents, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the ability, the end of all things, the nature of the beast, the weekend, things of the world, tribulation, understanding, watch unto prayer, week of work, wondrous works, work, worthy to be praised
Matthew 5:16. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Oh friends, oh friends, it’s the big day…Friday!
And everybody burst out into song: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! Thank God for the weekend! We’ve waited all week for this! A fine time will be had by all! Thank God for Fridays and the weekend yes!’
Oh my brethren, it’s certainly interesting how Fridays make such a big difference in our lives. I just wish we could get Monday to make such a difference. (smile) But I guess, because of the nature of the beast, a time for ending work will always be more welcome than one to begin work.
In any case, let’s chant our Friday Chant so than we can get a better perspective on the situation. Chanting: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes my fellow believers in Christ, furthering God’s kingdom is our duty, and we can’t perform that duty properly unless we’re well rested and properly focused. And that we definitely can’t get from hobnobbing a whole lot with the things and people of the world.
Now here’s an interesting little poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin that shows the amazing difference between man and God. This one is titled ‘You’re in My Way.’
And it reads thus: ‘This morning, Lord I heard a distraught mother Say to her lively son “You’re in my way – move.” This very same morning You said to me “You’re in my way – stay.” How good it is to be your child.’
And that’s no lie my people! It is truly awesome to be a child of God! Whereas earthly parents want us to get out of their way, our heavenly Father wants us to be in His way! Glory to God!
And the Bible verse associated with that poem is: ‘Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of his wondrous works.’ (1 Chr.16:9) And is that ever what we should be about my people!
Now let’s get to our Bit, which should be finished today…no promises though, because one never knows what can crop up at the last minute. (smile)
Here is Jesus’ positive directive. ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’
And this morning we’re going to look at some scripture from 1 Peter where he talks about being good stewards of God’s grace. ‘But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. And above all things have fervent charity (LOVE) among yourselves: for charity (LOVE) shall cover the multitude of sins.
Use hospitality one to another without grudging (grumbling). As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles (utterances) of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in ALL THINGS may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Pet.4:7-11)
Yes friends, that is how we ought to behave as mature and true Christians; in LOVE, in prayer and hospitality, sincerely using the talents granted unto us, so that whatever we do, our heavenly Father will be glorified. Remember, it’s ALL about Him, not about us!
And Peter continues: ‘Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as (to the extent that) ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
If ye be reproached (insulted) for the name of Christ, happy (blessed) are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of (blasphemed), but on your part, he is glorified.’ (1 Pet.4:12-14)
Oh my people, I know those are some hard scriptures to accept, but accept them we must if we want to be true believers and truly glorify God! It’s a simple philosophy; if you suffer for and with Christ, then when His kingdom comes you will rejoice with Him.
And remember Christ didn’t say that bad or wrong things wouldn’t happen to us down here on earth, but rather He warns of tribulation. ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33)
However my brethren, if we stay in Christ, we can have peace despite our tribulations, despite the fiery trails that try us, because He has already overcome the world. So although times will occasionally be rough, let’s not focus on our circumstance, but on our magnanimous and magnificent God, who is able to give us peace and calm, even in the midst of the storm.
And all God’s people declared, loud and proud! ‘Praise His Holy Name, for He indeed worthy to be praised!’
Yes friends, our God is indeed worthy to be praised, so let’s go out today and do whatever He’s called us to do nuh, with a song of praise in our hearts and mouths and His wonderful peace in our souls. Much LOVE!
…our God offers such a high level of peace…that it verily surpasses our finite and limited understanding…
13 May 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a horse is a vain thing, a production line, a true believer, ascend up into heaven, bad luck, blessings, chastisement, darkness, deliver their soul from death, Elihu, ever-Loving, false hope, famine, fellowship, Friday chant, Friday the 13th, fun, generous help, glorious kingdom, gospel truth, great in counsel, he considereth all their works, He fashioneth their hearts alike, hope, hung over, in Jesus' name, Jehovah, Job, keep them alive in famine, licentious behaviour, LOVE, loving kindness, lustful, make my bed in hell, man's strength, massa, mercies, mighty in work, miserable, omni-present, omnipotent god, omniscient, on our p's and q's, particular interest, party time, psalm 139, refreshed, renewed, shadow of death, sin, slave labour, sorrow, sowing of good seed, steadfast, strong, superstition, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the early rain, the eye of the Lord, the fruit of his doings, the multitude of a host, the night shineth as day, the rains came, the uttermost parts of the sea, the weekend, the wings of the morning, the workers of iniquity, Thor, thou art there, thunder, thunderous sound, thunderstorm, thy hand lead me, thy right hand hold me, tired, truth, upon them that fear him, whither shall I flee, wisdom
Psalm 33:15. He fashioneth their hearts alike (individually); he considereth (understands) all their works.
And it was Friday friends… and the rains came during the night…the early rain to water the dry and thirsty land, to irrigate the soil and make it more amenable to the sowing of good seed.
And during that time lightning flashed sporadically, while Thor also beat his drums furiously, having the thunderous sound roll across the heavens in a mighty show of his awesome power! (smile)
In other words friends, we had a big thunderstorm last night that provided much needed heavenly blessings for the earth, thus giving us a wet and cloudy Friday the 13th morning.
Yes it is one of those superstitious Friday the 13th days that happen every so often during the year, and many of us will be on our p’s and q’s desperately trying to do, or not to do certain things that cause bad luck on such days.
But precious people such belief is unworthy of a true believer in Jesus, because it’s just what it says it is – superstition – and can’t harm us in any way.
And you’d note that a majority of the working populace are still shouting out loud and clear; ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend is here! Forget about massa and his slave labour! It’s party time; we time to do what we want. Thank God ever so much for Friday’s oui!’
And again I have to warn us that lustful and licentious behaviour should not be the main aspects of our weekend, because that just digs us into a deeper hole of sin and sorrow. What we need are activities that are more in tune with our Friday Chant, which we’ll now proclaim with the appropriate sincerity and truth.
‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes friends, the basic reason for the weekend is for us to rest and rejuvenate ourselves through godly fellowship, so that we can be strong and steadfast when the new workweek rolls along, not a tired, miserable, hung-over mess like so many of us end up being on a Monday morning.
But enough of my haranguing, you’ll still do whatever you like. (smile) So let’s turn to our Bit, which gives us some insight into the wonderful workings of our ever-LOVING and omnipotent God. ‘He fashioneth their hearts alike (individually); he considereth (understands) all their works.’
Yes my brethren, our God has fashioned each of our hearts individually, we haven’t come off of a production line, where everything is the same. And on top of that, He takes a special and particular interest in every soul that He’s made.
Listen, as the psalmist continues after our Bit. ‘There is no king saved by the multitude of a host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength. A horse is a vain thing (false hope) for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.’ (Ps.33:16-19)
Yeh mih people, it’s all about the strength and LOVING-kindness of our magnificent God Jehovah, not about man’s strength which is sorely limited!
And as Job’s friend, Elihu says so eloquently in his chastisement of Job: ‘For his (the Lord’s) eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings. There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.’ (Job 34:21-22)
And as true believers, we all know that as gospel truth! The Lord looks down from His high heaven on all of us, and there’s no place that any of us can run or hide from His all-seeing, omniscient power. As Bruh David so wisely and wonderfully declares in Psalm 139 – The everlasting presence and power of God.
‘Whither shall (can) I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall (can) I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell (Sheol), behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me (fall on, hide me); even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee (is not dark to thee); but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.’ (Ps.139:7-12)
Oh what beautiful words of scripture, my people! Gospel truth in black and white! There’s nowhere we can run or hide from our Creator, as so many of us futilely try to do.
And we’ll end with these most appropriate words from Jeremiah’s prayer. ‘Great in counsel, and mighty in work (deed): for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.’ (Jer.32:19)
That says it all friends! Our God is continually looking down on us, checking our ways, so that He can meet out to us whatever we deserve. That means we just have to buckle down and live according to His will, if we want to receive His wondrous blessings and mercies. Much LOVE!
…why try to fight or hide from a God…who is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent… that’s a fool’s wisdom…
29 Apr 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: assurance, confusion, defeat sin, descendants, died on the cross, difficult times, dissipation, evil cohorts, faith, fear not, fellowship, Friday chant, fun, generous help, glorious kingdom, God champions, he shall stand at the last day, hear the birds singing, hell, hold thy right hand, holy spirit, I know that my Redeemer lives, I will help thee, in Jesus' name, Isaiah, Jesus Chirst, licentiousness, live and reign forever, live victoriously with Jesus, Lucifer, Old Testament, omnipotent god, orphans, our redeemer, out of the mouth of, promises of God, refreshed in soul body and mind, relaxation, renewed, rest, restoration of Israel, set the tone, strangers, stress, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the cross at Calvary, the demands of our body, the end of the work week, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the Holy One of Israel, the lake of fire, the Lamb that was slain, the mansions of heaven, the only true God, the weekend, the word of the Lord, week of work, widows, wisdom
Job 19:25. For I know that my Redeemer (lit. Kinsman) liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter (last) day upon the earth.
Ah friends, yesterday was another busy and frustrating day, which eventually led to a rather late night, or should I say early morning to bed. I had to laugh when I heard the birds already singing their morning praises to our wonderful God as I got into bed.
Consequently, the tired old body refused to get up this morning until it was good and ready. Sometimes we just have to be wise and simply adhere to the demands of our body, because it knows best, what is good for it.
And as I got up, the raucous, joyful shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend is here!’ reminded me that it was the day that so many of us look forward to, because it heralds the end of our work week and brings on the much needed weekend.
But don’t forget my brethren, that how we use our weekend is very important, since it sets the tone for the way our next week of work will unfurl. If we use it wisely, then our week will go much more smoothly than if we use it in total dissipation and licentiousness. Hn!
And by using it wisely, I mean along the lines of our Friday Chant, which we shall now declare. As one chanter: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes friends, that is definitely the wisest way to use our weekend, especially in these trying and difficult times, times of great stress and confusion. We don’t need Lucifer and his evil cohorts to drag us further down into the mire of sin than we already are.
So when they approach us with sinful actions that seem so innocent and pleasant, but are in fact devious and dangerous, just tell them to go back to hell where they belong! (smile)
Because, as Job so boldly proclaims in our Bit: ‘For I know that my Redeemer (lit. Kinsman) liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter (last) day upon the earth.’
Ah mih breddren, that is such a powerful statement of faith, especially under the disastrous circumstances that Job declared it.
And today we know for a fact that our Redeemer Jesus Christ lives, since He died on the cross and rose again to defeat sin, death and the grave, so that we could all live victoriously ever after with Him in the mansions of heaven!
And all God’s people declared a loud and grateful: ‘All praise, power and glory to the Lamb that was slain for us on the cross at Calvary! May he live and reign forever!’
And believe me friends, He WILL indeed live and reign forever!
And with that sure assurance (smile), let’s continue looking at some scriptures from the Old Testament that testified to the truth of our having a redeemer, beginning with these welcome and encouraging words from Isaiah as he prophesies about the final restoration of Israel.
‘For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.’ (Is.41:13-14)
Yes friends, how could they ever beat the strong and ever faithful promises of our magnificent, majestic and omnipotent God eh? NEVER!
And Isaiah seems to have been well attuned to his Redeemer as he mentions it several times in his writings. Listen to him once more, re the folly of idolatry. ‘Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it (can proclaim it), and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them show unto them.’ (Is.44:6-7)
Ah mih people, there’s no one who can do and say the things our God can, because He is indeed the first and last, and the ONLY true God that exists!
Now hear what Cousin Sol has to say about the Redeemer. ‘Remove not the old landmark (boundary); and enter not into the fields of the fatherless: For their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with (against) thee.’ (Prov.23:11)
And that’s for certain sure my fellow believers! We all know how our God champions the widows and orphans and strangers, so we had better make sure we don’t run afoul of them, because the mighty God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will fight tooth and nail on their behalf.
And we’ll end with some more Isaiah, as he declares that deliverance will be from the Lord. ‘And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord. As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put into thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.’ (Is.59:20-21)
Oh friends, there’s no better way to end than with that reminder about the Lord’s Spirit which indwells us and the necessity for us to keep the Word of the Lord constantly in our hearts, minds, souls, bodies and proceeding from our mouths, and those of our descendants.
So today, let’s ponder both our individual and family situation on that matter nuh, then ask the Lord to bring us and our family up to scratch on it. For that is indeed wisdom at its fullest! Much LOVE!
…without Jesus…our wonderful Redeemer…we’d all be heading for hell and the lake of fire with Lucifer…
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