01 Dec 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a divine promise from God, a light unto my path, a merciful forgiving and gracious God, a spiritual message, abandon our hopes, all sinned and disobeyed your word, an inner sense of direction, assuring us of His guidance, be ruled by our emotions, be thou strong and very courageous, become better Chrsitian witnesses, behind the wheel, building trust, choose peace, clean up our act, common sense, Consider This, decision, divine help, do all acording to the law, emotional desires, encourages listening to God's will, experience the peace that comes only from God, faith, faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers, falling prey to ungodly decisions, feel lost and uncertain, God is in the driver's seat, God will never lead us astray, God will never let us down, God will provide the right path, God will work all things out for our good, help me, hold my hopes with open hands, holy spirit, humble ourselves, humble servants, ignore our feelings, In Touch Magazine, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, let all thy ways be established, let thine eyelids look straight before thee, let thine eyes look right on, LOVE, mass confusion, mercy, Moses my servant commanded thee, not allowing temptations to derail us, not be governed by my emotions, not easy to navigate on God's behalf, not the advice of others, our Father who art in heaven, place our lives in the hands of God, ponder the path of thy feet, praise Your Holy Name, pray, prosper wherever you go, put our trust in Almighty God, puts space between us and our desires, regardless of the choices, remove thy foot from evil, ruled by our emotions, salvation, sincere repentance, sincerely seek your face, staying focused on a righteous path, strong faith in Christ, thank you for life, the first day of the work week, the God who heals, the gospel truth, the infallible truth, the passenger seat, the throne of grace, the topic of problems, they word is a lamp unto my feet, thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, this is the way walk ye in it, through scripture, trust you for everything, trusting that God will guide us, trusting the Lord feels risky, truth, turn away from our own ways, turn from our evil ways, turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, turn not to the right hand nor to the left, warning words, we want to know how god will fix our problems, welcomes God, when you turn to the left, when you turn to the right hand, wisdom, wise guidance, wishy-washy society
Proverbs 4:26-27. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.’
And wouldn’t you know it, Monday, the first day of the work week, and in this case the first day of December 2025, has rolled around again friends, just like it has done for eons, and yet many of us still find it difficult to handle. (smile) Now, the weather should not be a problem since most of the snow from yesterday’s storm has melted, so that’s one item in our favour. And today we have some important and interesting info to share on the topic of problems from the ‘Consider This’ Section of the November Edition of the In Touch Magazine.
So please read with me: ‘When there’s a problem, we want to know how God will fix it. But we never know exactly what He’ll do. In these moments, trusting the Lord feels risky (when it’s actually anything but). A good way to begin building trust is to choose peace rather than be ruled by our emotions. This doesn’t mean we abandon our hopes or ignore our feelings – but simply that we keep them in the passenger seat rather than behind the wheel.
This decision puts space between us and our desires and welcomes God in them. And by doing so, we’re better able to receive whatever he has planned – whether it’s what we imagined or something altogether different. So how do we begin? With a prayer like this: “Lord, I want to experience the peace that comes only from You and not be governed by my emotions. Help me hold my hopes with open hands and trust you for everything. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Ah mih people, what wise information! Because in this wishy-washy society in which we currently live, with so many distractions and evil schemes, too many of us are ruled by our emotions and not good common sense which advises us to put our trust in Almighty God, who sincerely LOVES and cares for us and will never lead us astray. And there are several scriptures that warn of falling prey to unwise, ungodly distractions, and live by God’s Word and His guidance instead.
Listen as the prophet Isaiah warns us, while telling his people Israel about God’s graciousness and mercy. He writes: ‘And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.’ (Is. 30:21) Yes friends, it’s a divine promise from God to His people, assuring us of His guidance if we will turn away from our own ways and listen to Him.
And this commentary offers this explanation as per the ‘Spiritual interpretation: The phrase is interpreted as a spiritual message that regardless of the choices one faces, God will provide the correct path. It is a call to trust in divine guidance and be attentive to the “voice” of God, whether through scripture, the Holy Spirit, or an inner sense of direction.’ And per the ‘Practical application: For believers, the message encourages listening to God’s will rather than the advice of others and trusting that He will guide them, even when they feel lost or uncertain.’
And is that ever the infallible truth! Of course! For it’s the very same thing the Lord told Joshua when He made him the leader of the Israelites after the death of Moses. ‘Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou may observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.’ (Josh. 1:7) It could not be put any plainer than that my faithful brethren.
Then we also have these warning words from Cousin Sol in Proverbs re swerving from God’s path, where he solemnly advises: ‘Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.’ (Prov. 4:25-27) There again we have a warning about staying focused on a righteous path, not allowing temptations to derail us from it through emotional desires.
Remember, God is in the driver’s seat, not our emotions. That’s why Cousin Sol tells us to specifically watch where we walk. It’s also like the psalmist says: ‘Thy word is a lamp uno my feet, and a light unto my path.’ (Ps. 119:105) And that’s exactly why the Lord gave us His Word, so it can light our path and guide our feet. But none of this will happen if we don’t know the Word and then place our lives in the hands of God, trusting Him to eventually work all things out for our good, because that’s His promise. (Rom. 8:28)
And though all we’re saying is the gospel truth, it’s still not easy to navigate on God’s behalf in this evil world. That’s why we can go confidently to the throne of grace seeking divine help in times of need. So, let’s do that right now nuh, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world.
Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.
Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us 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 it’s all well and good to remind God of His promise to prosper us, but what about the conditions that must first be met eh? That’s our turning from our evil ways. The point is, until we clean up our act and become better Christian witnesses and ambassadors, God will not cause us to prosper. So let’s concentrate on doing that nuh … if we indeed desire divine help. Much LOVE!
…when we sincerely place our lives in God’s hands…He will never let us down…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
15 Oct 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a hair of your head, a well-lived life, Abraham, be hated of all men, be merry and carefree, charter of salvation, Christians, comfort, consolation, consummation of peace, death, don't play together, don't worship well together, endurance, endured, exaltation, fellow believers, fellowship, followers of Christ, for my name's sake, glorify God, grace, heavenly advocate, hell, high priest, holy bride, holy food, hope, how to have fun, In Touch Magazine, in your patience, indispensable, indisputable, Isaac, Jesus, Jesus Christ her Lord, joyful abandon, laugh, like-minded, LOVE, most joyful people, new creation, of the ages, one faith, patience, persevering, possess ye your souls, rainy day, religious form of play, Rest in the Lord, reverence, Sabbath rest, salvation, secular people, Simon Chan, strife-filled world, Suday, sweet communion, the church's one foundation, the end times, the God of patience, the grave, the Lord's sanctuary, the promise, the Three in One, the Word of god, toil, tribulation, tumult of war, union with God, victorious, wait patiently, waiting, water and the word, wisdom, words of wisdom, worship
Psalm 37:7a. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him:
And this God-given Sunday might just be another rainy day in my area, like the past two days were. However friends, that should not stop us from gathering in the Lord’s sanctuary to worship and fellowship in joyful abandon, while His indispensable and indisputable Word strengthens our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, for that’s what the Lord desires of us.
And just tonight I read this interesting quote in an article titled ‘Fun Challenged’ in the September Edition of the In Touch Magazine that immortalizes what I’m talking about. The quote is attributed to the theologian Simon Chan, who says: “Christians who do not play together do not worship well together either, since worship is a ‘religious form of play.’ Both at play and at worship the Christian community enjoys its Sabbath rest.”
Now isn’t that the God-awesome truth friends? Christians should be the happiest and most joyful people on the planet because of what our great God and our wonderful Saviour have done for us! And I believe, both as Christians and as secular people, we have forgotten how to have fun, to laugh and be merry and carefree, which are all healthy aspects of a well-lived life. We’re taking our messed up, strife-filled world too seriously.
Remember Jesus has already been victorious over hell, death and the grave and we have every reason to rejoice. So, on this the Lord’s Day, let’s lighten up and sing this wonderful old hymn ‘The Church’s One Foundation,’ with lyrics by Samuel John Stone (1839-1900) and music by Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-1876). Let’s raise our voices to heaven in sacrificial praise and sweet harmony, so that there can be absolutely no doubt of our sincere and everlasting allegiance to Jesus.
‘The Church’s one foundation Is Jesus Christ her Lord; She is His new creation By water and the Word: From heav’n He came and sought her To be His holy Bride; With His own blood He bought her, And for her life He died. Elect from every nation, Yet one o’er all the earth, Her charter of salvation, One Lord, one faith, one birth; One holy Name she blesses, Partakes one holy food, And to one hope she presses, With every grace endued.
’Mid toil and tribulation, And tumult of her war, She waits the consummation Of peace for evermore; Till, with the vision glorious, Her longing eyes are blest, And the great Church victorious Shall be the Church at rest. Yet she on earth hath union With God the Three in One, And mystic sweet communion With those whose rest is won: O happy ones and holy! Lord, give us grace that we, Like them, the meek and lowly, In love may dwell with Thee.’
Ah mih people, what a joy it is to sing praises to our High Priest and heavenly Advocate Jesus Christ, for He has been so wonderful to us, when He did not have to! Now let’s hear some choice tidbits from His Word based on our Bit: ‘Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him:’ Yes my fellow believers, those are absolute words of wisdom! And all the great men and women of faith practiced it and some even wrote about it.
Listen first to Jesus when He described the signs of the end times to His disciples. ‘And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake. But not a hair of your head shall perish. In your patience possess ye your souls.’ (Luke 21:19) As followers of Christ we just have to be trusting and patient and persevering, because that’s what His discipleship calls for.
Now hear Bruh Paul in his treatise to the Romans, concerning ‘Life in the Spirit.’ ‘For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for (it)? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience (perseverance) wait (eagerly) for it.’ (Rom.8:24-25) Yeh friends, true faith in Jesus is all about hoping, waiting and persevering to the very end!
And nobody says this better than the author of Hebrews. ‘Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience (endurance), that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.’ (Heb.10:35-36) And there’s no better example of waiting on God than the patriarch Abraham. After the Lord promised to bless and multiply him, he waited for 25 years for Isaac, the promise to show up. The author of Hebrews tells us: ‘And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.’ (Heb.6:15)
And we’ll close with these words of Bruh Paul as he talks to the church at Rome about ‘Unity in Christ.’ ‘For whatsoever things were written aforetime (beforehand) were written for our learning, that we through patience (perseverance) and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Now the God of patience and consolation (comfort) grant you to be like-minded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (Rom.15:4-6)
Oh friends, that is exactly my prayer for us today; that we come together in fellowship and worship, and enthusiastically and sincerely glorify and exalt our heavenly Father, for He richly deserves our reverence and exaltation! Much LOVE!
…waiting patiently…and eagerly on God…is wisdom of…and for the ages…
19 Aug 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adultery, anger, antagonism, ask god for help, be together as one, belief in christ, blame, body of Christ, brothers and sisters, Bruh Paul, Christ is the end of the law, Christian believer, Christian character, Christian friends, Chrsitian life, church leaders, commitment, community, dem's the breaks, die to self, disobedience, divorce, do what's right, empathy, encouragement, family of believers, forgiveness, fostering of true community, friends, God's mercy, God's revelation of himself, gospel truth, grace, hard taskmaster, hatred, heart's desire, heavenly wisdom, ignorant of God's righteousness, In Touch Magazine, inner attitude of the heart, Israel, jealousy, Jesus Christ, Jews, Jim Daly, key element, kingdom of heaven, Know your place, Lord and Saviour, love for your enemy, lust, murder, New Testament, oath taking, outward show of self-righteousness, pay the price, petty things, Pharisees, prayer to God for Israel, purpose of the law, religious achievement, resentment, retaliation, righteousness of God, righteousness., scope of the law, scribes, self-righteousness, selfishness, separate and apart, Spirit of God, spiritual living, spreading the good news of the gospel, the gospel in action, the law, The prodigal God, Timothy Keller, truth, zeal
Matthew 5:20. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case (by no means) enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Ah Friends, the ole fella’s paying the price for disobedience this morning, an aching back. Too much rest it would seem. (smile) Apparently I ignored the wake up bell this morning and slept in. But my body was tired, I pleaded! No excuse, I was summarily informed. When the bell goes, you arise. End of story!
Ah what a hard taskmaster. But I guess dem’s the breaks! (smile) I know the rules, so if I don’t abide by them, I’ll just have to pay the price. And that’s the way it is with most things in life my people. If we don’t do right, especially if we know what’s right, then we pay.
Anyway, today I want to share with you a couple of passages from an article in the July issue of In Touch Magazine, titled ‘Know Your Place,’ by Jim Daly. Some of you might have read it already, but didn’t even pay it any real serious attention, but Friends these words and actions are of vital importance in the life of each and every Christian believer.
Mr. Daly quotes Timothy Keller, from his book, ‘The Prodigal God.’ “You can’t live the Christian life without a band of Christian friends, without a family of believers in which you find a place.”
And that’s the gospel truth my brethren! We can’t live a truly Christian life alone, it’s too difficult to do, especially with all the inviting and exciting wrongs the world has to offer nowadays. We need the empathy, encouragement and bolstering that a tightly knit group offers.
And in any case, Jesus didn’t desire and plan for His people to be separate and apart, but be together as one, as one body in His name. It’s all well and good to go to church and participate in the ceremonies and rituals on an individual basis.
But as Mr. Daly later adds: ‘But if we’re not making an effort to connect and engage with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we’re missing out on a key element of the church as described in the New Testament.’ And that’s the fostering of true community amongst the Christian brethren.
Oh Friends, that’s why there is so much resentment, jealousy and antagonism in the church today. We don’t individually nor collectively foster a sense of true community in the body of Christ. We talk it, but don’t actually walk it. Consequently, we’re not able to be as productive in spreading the good news of the gospel, as we ought to be.
We need to put away the selfishness and petty things that keep us apart, die to our own selves, and encourage the things that truly bring us together. And though the leaders in the church might be to blame for some of that, every single believer also has to shoulder some blame too, because it all begins with us as individuals.
And that brings us to this passage from Bruh Paul’s epistle to the Romans, where he talks of the people having zeal but no righteousness. ‘Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel, is that they might be saved. For I bear them record (witness), that they have a zeal of (for) God, but not according to knowledge.
For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law, for righteousness to every one that believeth.’ (Rom.10:1-4)
And the scholars have a good explanation of that scripture. ‘10:4. Christ is the end of the law. Israel mistook the purpose of the law. The law pointed to the righteousness that is attainable only by belief in Christ. Israel also mistook the scope of the law.
The righteousness to which it pointed was universally available to all who responded to God’s revelation of Himself through the law. But by Paul’s time many had substituted works for faith. Rather than seeking redemption in God’s mercy, they pinned their hopes on their own religious achievement.’
And sadly my people, today too many of us are still doing the same thing; depending on our own religiosity rather than God’s available mercy and grace.
But please note what our Bit says about that behaviour. ‘For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case (by no means) enter into the kingdom of heaven.’
Those are the words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, so obviously there’s no doubting them!
And the scholars provide a wonderful explanation of all that. ‘5:20. Because of the necessity of righteousness as a requirement to enter heaven, Jesus then declares that except their righteousness should exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees they could not enter heaven.
The significance of this is seen in the fact that the Jews of Jesus’ day considered these people to be the most religious in all Israel. However, their religion was largely an outward show of self-righteousness.
In communicating the depth of His message, Jesus used a series of contrasts between the outward behaviour demanded by the law and the inner attitude of the heart desired by God. Here we discover the practical application of genuine Christian character to true spiritual living. Here we see the gospel in action:’
Sadly Friends, it’s the same thing a lot of us are still doing today, depending on self, rather than God. And the scholars add a very useful list of what the Law required and what the Spirit of God desired.
LAW SPIRIT
No murder No anger
No adultery No lust
No divorce Commitment
No oath-taking Speak the truth
No retaliation Forgiveness
Hatred for your enemy LOVE for your enemy
(tradition allowed it) (commanded)
And there we have it my people, a simple breakdown of the things the religious Law called for and/or allowed, as well as the things that Jesus desired, and still desires, of His true and faithful followers.
So let’s sit down today and consider our own reaction and behaviour to all those things nuh, and then, as always, sincerely ask God to help us improve in whatever way we need to. That’s heavenly wisdom my brethren, for we know He will NEVER refuse any requests to draw closer to Him! Much LOVE!
…to be a true believer…one must lose the self in self-righteousness…
P.S. That makes up for the short Bit yesterday. (smile) Much LOVE!
12 Aug 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a disaster just waiting to happen, Adam and Eve, anawer our beck and call, Andrew Wilson, another day of joy, blessings, busyness of life, Christians, complaining, count our blessings, Cousin Sol, dance, deliriously joyful, depressed, depression, disciplined attitude, downhearted, eat and drink, Ecclesiastes, enjoy good in his labour, enjoy life, ever-LOVING God, fellowship with God, get joyful in god on purpose, give yourself away, glory, God's gift, hardships, I am called by god's name, In Touch Magazine, Israel, Jeremiah, Jesus, joy, joy in God, joy in god's word, life's not easy, Lord God of hosts, make the time, miserable, misfortune, nothing better for a man, number one life priority, pray, problems, read the Bible, Robin Williams, rough and tumble life, scent of god's love, shout for joy, sing, sorrows, soul is full of joy, speak positively, spend time with joyful people, stop focusing on our troubles, take the good with the bad, the Christian life, the coming of Jesus Christ, the evil one, the Garden of Eden, the joy and rejoicing of my heart, the joy of the Lord is our strength, the Lord had done so much for man, the things God didn't do, Tuesday, unhappy, walk and talk with God, walked obediently with God, wealth, wisdom, wise way to live, you can't give what you don't have
Jeremiah 15:16. Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.
And then it was Tuesday… another day of joy!
Oh Friends, I recently heard a rather beautiful and meaningful song, not sure what is its correct title, or who sings it, but I know that I’ve shared it with you before. However it was so appropriate to the Christian life that I want to share the gist of it once again.
The young lady who sings it declares that her soul is so full of joy that she just wants to shout it out to the world! The Lord has done so much for her that she just wants to let the entire world know about it!
Wow, my people! That should be the state of each and every believer because our generous and ever-LOVING God has done so much for each of us!
But how many of us really portray that supposed joy in real life eh? Not too many, because we’re more taken up by, more concerned with the things that God didn’t do.
Oh my brethren, please remember that God is not there just to answer at our every beck and call. He is the Master and we are the servants, the ones supposed to answer His beck and call.
So I plead with us again today, as I did recently, let’s stop focusing on our troubles or what we don’t have, and instead focus on the things that we do have; in other words let’s count our blessings and not our sorrows. And yuh know what, surprisingly, if we do that, we’ll find that we have many more blessings than sorrows!
And I just finished reading an article by Andrew Wilson on the subject of joy, in the July issue of the In touch Magazine, some of you might have read it, where he advises us to set joy in God as our number one life priority; to make it the first thing we do everyday, so that later on we can spread it around in whatever manner we so desire.
Remember, you can’t give what you don’t have.
And Wilson’s second bit of advice was, in order to get that joy in God on a regular basis, you have to discipline yourself to do so. We have to get happy or joyful in God on purpose with a disciplined attitude.
And he suggests stuff to help in that respect. Stuff like reading the Bible – a no-brainer, he contends. Spending time with those who increase your joy in God. Giving yourself away; that is concentrating on the plight of others rather than our own.
Do as Bruh Paul advises; sing, dance, pray, shout for joy, all the time! Find quiet places and quiet times to just walk and talk to, or rather with God, and speak positively, both to yourself and to others.
Ah mih people, I know we’ll say that all of that is not easy to do, especially with the busyness of life nowadays. But if you want to have a consistently cheerful and joyful attitude and life, then you’ll MAKE the time to do them.
Oh Friends, life isn’t easy, never was, except when Adam and Eve first walked obediently with God in the Garden of Eden. But that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy what we now have, have joy in this rough and tumble earthly life.
It does have to be in conjunction with God though. For remember that the joy of the Lord is our strength, therefore if we don’t have that joy, then we won’t have any strength. That’s why the evil one always tries to take away our joy, keep us miserable and depressed, because he knows that when we’re like that, we can’t or won’t do much for Jesus.
That brings us to our Bit; wise words of Jeremiah in the time of his personal lament. ‘Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.’
Yes Friends and fellow believers, Jeremiah had a pretty rough time doing God’s bidding among his ungodly people, Israel. But please note what he says, despite all of his problems and misfortune, he found joy in God’s Word, and also in being called by His name.
Oh my people, nothing much has changed since Jerry’s time, except we now have a better understanding of God and His Word through the coming of Jesus Christ. So why are Christians still so miserable, downhearted and complaining eh?
Please, let’s wake up and smell the titillating scent of God’s LOVE and goodness nuh! It’s high time we learn to take the good with bad, for as Job says, you can’t have one without the other in this world. (Job 2:10)
My brethren it’s time for us concentrate on, and to live out the wisdom of Cousin Sol’s research in Ecclesiastes. ‘There is nothing better for a man, than he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good (his soul should enjoy good) in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.’ (Eccl.2:24)
Yes Friends, there is, or can be joy in life and labour, once we see them as God’s gift to us!
So let’s go forth today and live and labour in the joy of God nuh, appreciating His many gifts and blessings, even amidst the many hardships that life brings. Now that is the ONLY wise way to live and enjoy life here on this seriously troubled earth.
And we have a great though sad example of this in the recent death, apparent suicide of actor and comedian Robin Williams. Despite all his wealth and fame, he apparently suffered from serious depression issues. So what’s the point of having all the wealth and glory but we’re still unhappy eh? None whatsoever my people!
It just goes to show that possession of plenty earthly stuff without God leading the way for us, is truly disaster just waiting to happen. So let’s wise up and truly smell God’s goodness! Much LOVE!
…why be foolishly miserable and depressed…when we can be deliriously joyful…by having sincere fellowship with God…
17 Sep 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: always in thy mouth, anguish, apex, as long as I live, asaph, backward glance, be glad in the Lord, beautiful day, blessings, book of God's law, Christ-like behaviour, Christian, christianity, coched, day and night, deep down inside, do a better job, downtrodden, drive it home, earthly journey, encouraging words, ever-faithful promises, feel a feeling, fellow believers, forgiveness, God's people, God-inspired, good success, Hallelujah, hearts, helping the unfortunate, homeless, homeless person, hungry, In Touch Magazine, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, joyful, leading and guiding, life changing, loving character, manna, meditate, meditation on God's Word, minds, Most High, mouths of babes, needy, new mercies, no fixed place of abode, nobody, oppressed, orphans, physical appearance, poor, potent, powerful, Praise the Lord, precepts, proclaims, prosperous, psalms, reflection of Jesus, religion, righteous, scripture, selfless, sick, sing praise, sing unto the Lord, sinners, so great a God, souls, spirituality, steadfast faith, success, talk of God's works., testimonies, the Lord's judgements, truth, wealthy, wicked, widows, wisdom, words of wisdom
Joshua 1:8. This book of the law shall not depart out of (shall constantly be in) thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Oh Friends, it’s going to be a beautiful day, regardless of what the physical appearance might be! I just feel it in my spirit! (smile) Yuh know sometimes when you just feel something, you feel a feeling, you don’t understand why, but you feel it deep down inside?
Well that’s the way I feel this morning, as all the new mercies, manna, forgiveness and blessings begin to pour down on me! In fact, that’s how believers in Jesus Christ ought to feel EVERY DAY, since we have His ever-faithful promises to be with us always, leading and guiding us every step of our earthly journey.
Now here’s something I planned to write on a Monday morning, because it’s sort of more appropriate for that day. But all the Mondays seem so chocked full of other stuff, I decided to do it today, since it’s a rather important and useful observation, and I didn’t want to wait too long to bring it to our notice.
It’s taken from an article in the August issue of In Touch Magazine. A homeless, black, older man asks a wealthy, white, Christian man to explain how and why Christians could and do pray to and worship a homeless man on Sundays, then pass the first homeless person they meet on Mondays without even a backward glance, no acknowledgement whatsoever?
Wow! From the mouths of babes and the downtrodden often come undeniable words of wisdom!
Yuh see what I’m talking about mih breddren? When I read that, it just struck me as being so appropriate that I just had to share it. Remember Jesus had no fixed place of abode, just ‘coched’ (smile) by His friends, family and followers, or wherever the night found Him. So in essence, He was indeed a homeless person.
Now my fellow believers I wanted to draw that non Christ-like behaviour to our attention, because I know that TOO many of us do it, though we really shouldn’t. Anyway, now that it’s been pointed out to us, please let’s pay more attention to the homeless nuh, for in truth, they are a reflection of Jesus.
What did He say about that? ‘Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.’ (Matt.25:40b) That’s the poor, the sick, the hungry, the needy, the oppressed, the widow, the orphan, and the homeless to whom Jesus is referring!
So Friends, let’s try, no, let’s DO a better job of helping the unfortunate amongst us, because then we’re in effect helping Jesus and being a true reflection of His wonderful, selfless, LOVING character!
And at long last, we come to our Bit: ‘This book of the law shall not depart out of (shall constantly be in) thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.’
And don’t blame me for it being the same over the last few days, but it’s such a powerful and potent bit of scripture, so life changing, that we need to drive it home deep in our hearts, minds and souls! For if we were truly observing it, our world would not be in half the mess that it’s currently in. There’s also plenty scripture, especially in the Psalms, dealing with Meditation on God’s Word, so let’s get to some.
And we’ll begin with the words of Asaph from Psalm 77, superscripted, ‘Who is a great God as our God?’ ‘And I said, This is my infirmity (anguish): but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High. I will remember the works of the Lord: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary (holiness): who is so great a God as our God?’ (Ps.77:10-13)
And all God’s people immediately shouted the answer to that question: ‘NOBODY!’
Yes Friends, there’s NO Being, dead or alive, as great as Jehovah God! Now let’s delve into the longest chapter in the Good Book, that wonderful Bit of God-inspired writing, Psalm 119, ‘The Lord’s judgements are righteous.’ As indeed they are my brethren!
The psalmist unequivocally proclaims: ‘I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto (contemplate) thy ways. I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.’ (Ps.119:14-16)
Oh my people, those are statements that ALL BELIEVERS ought also to unequivocally proclaim!
And we’ll end with some more joyful and encouraging words from Psalm 104, ‘God’s preservation of nature.’ Here, the psalmist delightfully declares: ‘I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord. Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord. (Shout Hallelujah!)’ (Ps.104:33-35).
Oh my fellow believers in Jesus Christ, let’s make that declaration loudly and seriously this fateful morning, then diligently put it into practice nuh! For that attitude in a believer’s life is the apex of steadfast faith, everlasting wisdom and gospel truth! Much LOVE!
…to faithfully contemplate God’s Word…oh what strength and energy it brings…
P.S. Told you all I was feeling the Spirit this morning! (smile)
SCRIP-BITS 