11 Jan 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a chain reaction of problems, a culture of lies, a perfect lazy-day Saturday, agreed to tempt the Spirit of the Lord, Ananias And Sapphira, Ananias hearing these words fell down, better is it that thou shouldest not vow, Bible, breathed his last, bright sunshine reflecting off new snow, broken promises, carried out and buried him, Christian, christianity, communal living, deceitful purposes, deepen my breath, delay not to pay it, dishonesty, downfall of a society, evil behaviour, evil deeds, faith, gave up the ghost, get out of control, God has no pleasure in fools, great fear came on all them that heard these things, great fear came upon all the church, holy spirit, I may know you all the more, I praise you for your unceasing nearness, increase my awareness of you today, Jesus Christ, kept back part of the price, laid it at the apostles' feet, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, Lord I want to be with you now, LOVE, making insincere promises, mercy, negative consequences of lying, pay that which thou hast vowed, poetic justice, quiet my soul, relax my muscles, scheming world, she fell down instantly, sincerity and truth, Sir Walter Scott, slow my thoughts, snow looks beautiful but can be very treacherous, sold a possession, suffer that kind of fate, than thou shouldest vow and not pay, thank you for this tenderness, the gospel truth, the Lord's calming presence, to lie to the Holy Ghost, to manifest the peace He's promised, truth, ungodliness, upon as many as heard these things, wake us up to reality, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive, when thou vowest a vow unto God, why hath Satan filled thine heart, wisdom, yielded up the ghost, you can't be contained, you have not lied unto men but unto the Holy Ghost, your love both surrounds and fills me
Acts 5:11. And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.
And it’s a perfect lazy-day Saturday friends! A dry day, with bright sunshine reflecting off of new snow. What could be more beautiful? Excellent staying home and being lazy weather too. However, if you must go out, please remember that though the snow looks beautiful, it can be very treacherous once you get involved in it. Just like a … I was about to use a comparative example, but took it back, because our women readers would definitely not be pleased with it. (smile)
Anyway, let’s get down to business, and offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer with all sincerity and truth. As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
And as always, if our prayer was sincere and heartfelt, we can soon feel the Lord’s calming presence flowing in and through us to manifest the peace that He’s so faithfully promised. And talking about promises, I want to revisit our Bit from yesterday where Cousin Sol, as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes warned us about making insincere promises both to God and man. ‘When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer (delay) not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.’ (Eccl. 5:4-5)
And that’s the gospel truth friends! It’s so much better if we don’t make promises, than make them and break them. And it’s something that our fraudulent and scheming world ought to pay attention to. However, that would not serve their deceitful and cunning purposes. But for us who believe, there’s a story in the bible that proves just how frightful and deadly broken promises and lies can be. It was in the early days of the church when the believers were living communally, and some were selling their valuables and contributing to the upkeep of the community.
The Bible, the Book of Acts, recounts it thus: ‘But a certain man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to (aware of) it, and brought a certain part of it, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.’ (Acts 5:1-2) They behaved like, or implied that what they’d given was the full price of the land. But little did they know that the Holy Spirit was working.
And the Bible continues: ‘But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power (control)? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto the Holy Ghost.’ (Acts 5:3-4) In other words, Peter was saying, it was your money, and it wasn’t stipulated that you give all of it, you could have given how much ever you wanted. You didn’t have to lie.
Oh friends, yuh see, when we lie unto men, we are also lying unto God, for He sees, knows and controls all from His high heaven. And if you don’t believe me, then listen to the remainder of this story. ‘And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost (breathed his last): and great fear came on all them that heard these things. And the young men arose, wound (wrapped) him up, and carried him out, and buried him.’ (Acts 5:5-6)
Ah mih people, our omnipotent God can certainly move in mysterious and mighty ways! I hope that will be a lesson to many of us who have become caught up in the lying and deceitful ways of this evil and ungodly world. But the best part of the story is yet to come. The Bible says: ‘And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt (test) the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. Then fell she down straightway (instantly) at his feet, and yielded up the ghost (breathed her last): and the young men came in, and found her dead, and carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. And great fear upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.’ (Acts 5:7-11)
Now that’s what we’d call poetic justice! Oh, how I wish many more of us would suffer that kind of fate when we do the evil deeds we do, so that it could be a lesson to others. It brings to mind this quote from Marmion, a play by Sir Walter Scott, written in 1808, which says: “Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive” It’s often used to describe the negative consequences of lying and how it affects people’s lives.
And this commentary further explains: ‘The quote’s meaning is that when someone acts dishonestly, they start a chain reaction of problems that can eventually get out of control. The “tangled web” metaphor compares the act of lying to a spider spinning its web. If the web gets tangled, the points don’t line up properly, and the web becomes a mess.’
And so does our lying and deceitfulness! Remember, our actions don’t only affect us, but also many of the people around us. So please allow the story of Ananias and Sapphira to wake us up to the reality of what our ungodliness and evil behaviour can do to those around us. Much LOVE!
…a culture of lies and broken promises…will eventually cause the downfall of a society…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
04 Jan 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a name above every name, a welcome sight, above all nations of the earth, all these blessings shall come on thee, an obedient heart, at the name of Jesus, attempt to remove God from our society, be obedient to God's commands, became obedient unto death, behaviour that's respectful of rules and laws, Bible, blessings, bright sunshine, burdensome, by the things he suffered, Christ is the best example of obedience, christianity, compliance with an order, deepen my breath, do all God's commandments, eternal death, eternal life, even the death of the cross, every knee should bow, every tongue confess, faith, fear of punishment, formed out of habit, found in fashion as a man, gain greater intimacy with God, God hath highly exalted him, grow in spiritual maturity, his commandments are not grievous, holy spirit, humbled himself, I may know you all the more, I praise you for your unceasing nearness, in sincerity and truth, increase my awareness of you today, it's all for our benefit, Jesus Christ, Jesus christ is Lord, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, learned obedience, let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, living for Christ is about obedience, Lord I want to be with you now, LOVE, made himself of no reputation, man spoils and destroys everything he touches, man's negative touch, mercy, obedience for blessings, obedience is the key to unlocking God's promises, obedience unto righteousness, obey god rather than men, peace of god, quiet my soul, reflecting off beautiful snow, relax my muscles, repented, responsibility of duty, rewards for obedience, sacrifice more, salvation, sinful and prideful nature, slow my thoughts, snow is beautiful untouched by humans, submission to authority, suffered terrible misfortune, take umbrage, thank you for this tenderness, the awesome power of sincere prayer, the Israelites veered from the commandments, the Lord will set thee on high, the Ten Commandments, this is the love of God, though he were a Son, to our own detriment, to the glory of God the Father, transactional obedience, truth, turned back to God, we keep His commandments, wisdom, yet learned he obedience, you can't be contained, your peace and love are present
1 John 5:3. For this is the LOVE of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous (burdensome).
Well friends, it’s a sunshiny, chilly, windy and white lazy-day Saturday! The snow’s not an awful lot, but enough to make life difficult if you choose to venture out. So, it’s as good a time as any to stay home…unless you really have to go out. Stay home, look out your window, and admire the bright sunshine reflecting off of the beautiful snow. And snow is definitely beautiful… that’s before it comes into contact with man. But that’s no surprise, since man spoils and destroys everything he touches.
Anyway, enough with man’s negative touch, let’s get positive and offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer with all sincerity and truth. As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
And as always, if we’re sincere in our prayer, then the peace and calmness of God soon begins filling our hearts, minds, bodies and souls. That’s the awesome power of sincere prayer! And hopefully, in this new year of 2025, we will all rise to a new level of sincerity in our prayer, since we’ve made it our New Year’s resolution to grow in spiritual maturity and gain a greater intimacy with our most wonderful God! And it all begins with sincerity of prayer and a faithful, willing and obedient heart.
Yes friends, living for Christ is all about obedience! And what’s obedience eh? It’s basically compliance with an order, request, or law or submission to another’s authority. Or, as another definition puts it: ‘Obedience is behavior that’s respectful and mindful of rules and laws.’ And that’s it; obedience is doing the appropriate thing in the appropriate manner, at the appropriate time. (smile)
And according to one commentary, there are four basic kinds of obedience: ‘Obedience done out of fear of punishment. Learned obedience, formed out of habit taught by parents or society. Transactional obedience for the blessings, benefits, and rewards. Obedience performed as a responsibility of duty, obligation, and faith.’ And I guess our obedience to God can be a combination of the last three, because we are taught it by our parents, we do it to receive rewards and blessings, and it’s a responsibility of our faith.
But enough with definitions, let’s see what the Lord’s Word says about obedience. And brother, there are indeed so many scriptures that speak about the subject, that we can only consider a few. However, let’s first note this important point; obedience is the key to unlocking the promises of God. Let’s never forget that! Unless we are obedient to God’s will, we will never unlock the promises and blessings He has in store for us.
And it all begins very early on, as the children of Israel journeyed through the wilderness to the Promised land, with Moses informing them thus: ‘And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.’ (Deut. 28:1-2)
Oh my people, it could not be any clearer than that! And Moses goes on to list blessings from verse 3 to verse 14. However, he listed curses and misfortunes for disobedience from verse 15 to verse 68. Now that surely tells us how important obedience is in the Lord’s sight. And the basic commandments were given to them at the foot of Mt. Sinai when Moses came down with the two tablets of stone written on by the Lord, containing what we call The Ten Commandments, which we can find in Exodus 20:1-17.
And if you look at them, they are not really hard to obey, as John tells us in his first epistle: ‘For this is the LOVE of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous (burdensome).’ (1 John 5:3) But with our sinful and prideful nature, we take umbrage at obeying some of them. But that’s only to our own detriment. And if our society were to follow those same Ten Commandments today, it would be such a wonderful place.
And please note that every time the Israelites veered from those commandments, they suffered terrible misfortune; wars, captivity, plagues, etc. etc. And when they came to their senses, repented and turned back to God, He blessed them again. This is just to say, that maybe, if we repent and turn back to God, He will bless us, and our world would not be as strife and disaster filled as it is. For there is absolutely no doubt that we have turned away from God, so far away, that we are attempting to totally remove Him for our society. Which anyone of faith knows is impossible!
And Jesus also said it loud and clear to the disciples, and consequently to us: ‘If ye LOVE me, keep my commandments.’ (John 14:15) It’s as simple as that! And it’s obvious by our lack of obedience that we don’t LOVE Him! Meanwhile, Bruh Paul admonishes us in Romans 6, when he writes: ‘Know ye not, that to whom ye yield (present) yourselves servants to obey, his servants (slaves) ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness.’ (Rom. 6:16) Yes, we’re either slaves to Satan which leads to eternal death, or obedient to the Lord, which leads to eternal life.
And remember when Peter and the other apostles were imprisoned and beaten by the Jewish leaders and severely warned to stop preaching Christ crucified, what was their answer? ‘Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.’ (Acts 5:29) Now that would be such a welcome sight in this society, if more of us would begin obeying God more than men.
And there’s no better example of obedience that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Listen to Bruh Paul as he writes to the Philippians. ‘Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made of himself no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men (emptied himself of all his privileges):
And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of (those) things in heaven, and (those) things in earth, and (those) things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil. 2:5-11)
Oh my fellow saints, Christ was the very example of obedience! Do you think He really wanted to go to the cross and experience that terrible ‘sufferation’ for our abominable sins? No! But because the Father desired it, He became obedient and did it. And yuh see the rewards He received for that obedience? A name higher than any other name, at which every knee must someday bow! In light of all that, why can’t we sacrifice a little more and be obedient to God’s commands eh? Remember, it’s all for our benefit, not His! Much LOVE!
…though he were a son…yet learned he obedience…by the things he suffered… (Heb. 5:8)
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
28 Dec 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a double minded man is unstable in all his ways, a future and a hope, a great high priest, a proud heart, according to his riches in glory, acknowledge God's sovereignty, an aura of peace, an high look, as little faith as a mustard seed, ask in faith, ask of God, Bible, calamity, call upon me, chaos, Christ's birth, christianity, Christmas week, come boldly unto the throne of grace, comfort, deepen my breath, double minded, driven with the wind, extricated from, faith, find grace to help, gives to all men liberally, go and pray to me, God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, God will meet all your needs, God will work everything out for our own good, He gives liberally and without reproach, he that wavers, heightened sense of peace, hold fast our profession, holy spirit, humility, I know the thoughts I think toward you, I may know you all the more, I praise you for your unceasing nearness, I will hearken unto you, if any of you lack wisdom, in time of need, increase my awareness of you today, Jesus Christ, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, like a wave of the sea, Lord I want to be with you now, LOVE, man-made strife, mercy, natural disasters, New Year's celebrations, no respite, not doubting, nothing wavering, obtain mercy, on God's great earth, one of the most powerful forces, our godly responsibility, prayer, prayer can move mountains, praying for others, pride is an abomination to God, puts the icing on the cake, quiet my soul, relax, relax my muscles, salvation, sincere and heartfelt prayer, slow my thoughts, sympathize with our weaknesses, take a moment to remember, thank you for this tenderness, the amazing power of prayer, the joyful time, the plowing of the wicked is sin, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end, touched wit the feeling of our infirmities, truth, untenable situations, when ye search for me, wind down, wisdom, wishy-washy, with all your heart, without faith it is impossible to please God, without reproach, ye shall seek me and find me, you can't be contained, your love surrounds and fills me, your peace and love are present
Jeremiah 29:13. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye search for me with all your heart.
So, at long last, through all the carryings ons of Christmas week, we’ve finally come to our lazy-day Saturday, where we can take a break, relax and catch our breath, wind down, until it’s time to wind back up for the New Year’s celebrations next week. Wow! What a crazy time the Christmas and New Year seasons are, with little or no respite from the joyful celebrations.
But please, let’s take a moment to remember that a great portion of our world is either surrounded by man-made strife and chaos, or they have recently been inflicted by natural disaster, so they are in no position to engage in the celebrations that we take for granted. It’s so sad, when so much of the earth’s population are not able to enjoy the joyful time that Christ’s birth brings.
And it’s unfortunate that most of us cannot do more than pray for them to be soon extricated from their untenable situations. But let’s not forget that prayer is one of the most powerful forces on God’s great earth, and therefore can move mountains if we truly believe, have even as little faith as a mustard seed. That means we cannot stop praying for those who are not as fortunate as us. It’s our godly responsibility.
Now, let’s offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer in all sincerity and truth. As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
And friends, it never ceases to amaze me how quickly after saying that prayer, something like a veil… or aura of peace comes down and settles in my soul. Not that I didn’t have peace before, but now it’s somewhat heightened, and my soul and spirit seem much lighter than before. And if your prayer was sincere, then I know that you also feel that heightened sense of peace and comfort.
Why? Because that’s the amazing power of sincere and heartfelt prayer! It just speaks to the great communication we can have with our wonderful God Jehovah, if we are obedient to His will and regularly seek His face. What did He say to the people of Israel through the prophet Jeremiah, when they were in captivity in Babylon?
After promising to return them to Jerusalem seventy years later, Jeremiah announced: ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope). Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto (listen to) you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye search for me with all your heart.’ (Jer. 29:11-13)
Oh my people, right there is one of the most provocative and thought provoking promises of the Bible! If we seek the Lord with all of our heart, we will certainly find Him! It could not be any simpler than that. So why are so many of us still wishy-washy, uncertain, vague, unsure in seeking God eh? That’s obviously not in our best interest, because God doesn’t like double- minded or doubtful people.
As James tells us in his epistle: ‘If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not (without reproach); and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering (not doubting). For he that wavereth (doubts) is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.’ (James 1:5-8)
Yes my brethren, when we become the sons and daughters of God, we ought not to have too many doubts about Him, or our circumstances, for He’s promised to meet all of our needs to according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:19) And also that He will work everything out for our good eventually. (Rom. 8:28) That means acknowledging and believing His faithfulness in His promises.
What does Hebrews tell us on the subject of faith? ‘But without faith it is impossible to please him (God): for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’ (Heb. 11:6) There again we have the premise of diligently seeking God. And I believe Hebrews also puts the icing on the cake of doubt, wisdom, believe and faith with these marvellous words, regarding our great High Priest, Jesus.
‘Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into (through) the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession (confession). For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched (sympathize) with the feeling of our infirmities (our weaknesses); but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly (confidently) unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in the time of need.’ (Heb. 4:14-16)
Oh my fellow saints, nothing can be better than that! We have an high priest, an advocate, one seeking our best interests before the throne of God, and the best part is that He understands and appreciates our weaknesses and frailties because He too was buffeted by sin while on earth, but He remained sinless. And there’s no one better to go to for help than one who’s already experienced your misfortune and thus can personally understand what you’re going through.
However, before we close, there’s one proviso to all of our conversation, that is, though we can go boldly or confidently to the throne of grace, we cannot go arrogantly or haughtily, for if there’s anything the Lord dislikes it’s pride. As Cousin Sol says so rightly in Proverbs, a proud look is an abomination to Him. (Prov. 6:16-17) And furthermore: ‘An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing (lamp) of the wicked, is sin.’ (Prov. 21:4)
So in all our doings with the Lord, we must ensure that our humility is in place, and we respect His sovereignty. Now that doesn’t mean we have to cower and be afraid. No, it just means that we must know our place. (smile) And we if we do, while seeking Him diligently and confidently, then our lives will be filled with the abundance that Christ died for us to have! Much LOVE!
…if you truly desire to have God in your life…then you need to…diligently search for Him…with all of your heart…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
21 Dec 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a mere mortal, as I am not of the world, baking, Bible, christianity, cooking, deepen my breath, everything that glistens is not gold, excitement, faith, fellowship, free will, given them thy word, going to hell in a bucket., goodness and mercy, goodwill to men, greater intimacy with God, heaven is our real home, here to do Christ's bidding, holy spirit, hoopla, hullabaloo, I may know you all the more, I praise you for your unceasing nearness, increase my awareness of you today, Jesus Christ, join in the merriment, joyful worship, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, Lord I want to be with you now, LOVE, love towards neighbours, make their own decisions, mercy, never finished in time, not getting entangled in the worlds business, on our way to heaven, peace, quiet my soul, relax my muscles, salvation, sanctify them through thy truth, seeking fellowship, shopping, slow my thoughts, spending eternity in heaven, spreading the good news of the gospel, sufferation, thank you for this tenderness, thanksgiving, the benfits of believing in Jesus, the Love for Jesus is imbued in all we do, the presence of the Lord, the world hated them, the world tries to fool us, they are not of the world, this is not our home, thy word is truth, true brotherhood, truth, warms our hearts with joy, we are in the world but not of the world, we are pilgrims passing through, wisdom, with a lot of glistening stuff, wrapping presents, you can't be contained, your love surrounds and fills me
John 17:16. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
And it’s a sunshiny, but cold lazy-day Saturday with clean streets and a modicum of the white snow on the banks and roof tops. What more can we ask for in this winter and Christmas season eh? Only the arrival of Jesus, which is only four days away…and then…Wow! The whole world will go crazy with excitement, celebrations, joyful worship and thanksgiving, peace, LOVE and goodwill to all men! Even the non-believers will join in the merriment and have a modicum of LOVE towards their neighbours.
That’s the beauty and power of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Even the unbeliever is affected by His glorious coming to earth, through our celebrations. Our task is then to take that receptiveness of the unbeliever and show them the benefits of truly believing in Jesus, the One and Only Saviour of the World, and without whom they don’t stand a chance of spending eternity in the wonderful realm of heaven with Him.
Ah my fellow believers, this Christmas season where so much LOVE and true brotherhood abounds, is the time when we need to up our witness for Christ, because our world is fast going to hell in a bucket and that’s not why He underwent so much ‘sufferation,’ to see it lamely fall into the hands of Beelzebub!
No! Jesus sacrificed His sinless life so that we could take it back from the devil through our spreading of the good news of His gospel and living the life that it mandates. So, while we are celebrating Christ’s birth, please, let’s throw in some comments, some remarks, some examples of His goodness and mercy, that will hopefully touch someone’s heart and make them give it to Him, as they ought to. (smile)
Now, let’s offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer in all sincerity and truth. As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
Yes friends, I can feel the peace and presence of the Lord increasing, and there’s a big smile on His face as He welcomes our desire for greater intimacy with Him. As I keep telling us, there’s nothing that warms the cockles of God’s heart more than the desire of His people for greater intimacy with Him, because that’s exactly why He created us in the first place! It’s like when our young children come and desire to sit in our laps, to cuddle up there and just fall asleep in our warm, LOVING embrace and presence. It warms our hearts with joy.
Well, it’s the same way the Lord feels when we go to Him seeking fellowship and greater intimacy. And I can’t understand why many more of us don’t do it, because it brings such joy and peace to all parties. But then again, I’m just a mere mortal and my mind is not attuned to the whys and wherefores of other mortals. I can just do what I believe I ought to do, and offer simple advice to others, who will have to make their own decisions, with their own free will.
Ah friends, I’m chuckling here because I don’t know how we got to this point, the words just kept flowing. (smile) The important thing though, is that the sentiments are wise and true, and surely worth following. And with only four more days to go to Christmas Day, I hope we are all ready for it, with all the shopping, the wrapping of presents, the baking, the cooking, and all the other things we seem to do at Christmas time completed and just waiting to explode at the given time.
But that would indeed be a miracle, for many of us are never finished with all the stuff we need to do even on Christmas morning. Anyway, let’s hope that the LOVE for Jesus is imbued in everything we do, and it’s not simply a matter of lust for worldly things. For remember Jesus’ fateful words about our association with this world, in His prayer to the Father.
‘And now I come to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from evil (the evil one). They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.’ (John 17:13-19)
Yes my fellow saints, Jesus went out of His way to ensure the Father would keep us in the world, but not as a part of the world! To sanctify or set us apart to do His mission, like Christ came to do the Father’s mission. We are here to do Christ’s bidding, of spreading the truth of His word, not getting ourselves entangled with the evil and ungodliness of this world. And as this Christmas season progresses, with all the hoopla and hullabaloo it brings, I believe it would do many of us some good to remember those words. We are in the world, but not a part of the world. This is not our home. We are merely pilgrims passing through, on our way to heaven…our real home.
So, on this lazy-day Saturday before Christmas, please, let’s take a moment and ponder, compare our actual lives to those words, and with the Lord’s help, make any necessary adjustments! That’s my prayer for us today! Much LOVE!
…everything that glistens is not gold…but the world tries to fool us…with a lot of glistening stuff…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
14 Dec 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a disciplined mind, a loving and compassionate God, all in Jesus' name, believers can be assured of ultimate triumph, Bible, boost our courage, bring more of the world to Christ, but of power love and a sound mind, by us in every place, calm any storm, christianity, deepen my breath, distress, enlargement and deliverance, even when things seem difficult, faith, For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, for such a time as this, forgiveness, free will, from a different place, get up off of our fat fannies, God will always lead people to victory, holy spirit, I may know you all the more, I praise you for your unceasing nearness, increase my awareness of you today, it all depends on us, Jesus Christ, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, leads us to triumph in christ, like a sweet smelling fragrance, LOVE, maketh manifest, mercy, pick up Christ's mantle, plant the seeds in us, ponder our earthly purpose, relax my muscles, rise up and accomplish it, salvation, seeking succour, slow my thoughts, spread the gospel, Thanks be to God, the power invested in us by Christ, the savour of his knowledge, times of hardhip, truth, turn things around, watch them sprout and bear fruit, water them faithfully, we can move any mountiain, who always causes us to triumph, who knows, will arise to the Jews, wisdom, you are come to the kingdom
Esther 4:14b. and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
Ah, what a lazy-day Saturday, sunshiny and cold, but with a promise of inclement weather sometime later on in the day. Chuh man! But however it comes, we’ll gladly take it because we know that we already have the victory in Jesus, for as Bruh Paul wrote to the church at Corinth in his second missive: ‘Now thanks be to God, which always causeth us to triumph (leads us to triumph) in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour (fragrance) of his knowledge by us in every place.’ (2 Cor. 2:14)
And what does all of that mean eh? One commentary says: ‘This verse doesn’t mean that things will always be easy or perfect, but that God will always lead people to victory. Even when things seem difficult, people can be assured that they will ultimately triumph.’ And, as per Interpretation: ‘Some say that God uses people to spread his knowledge about Christ like a sweet-smelling perfume.’ And wouldn’t that be a wonderful thing if we went around spreading the gospel like a sweet-smelling fragrance that draws people to it!
Then there’s this other commentary that asks, ‘How does God cause us to triumph?’ And answers: ‘Created for good works which God has prepared before hand that we should walk in them; success must be considered through the lens of the works we have been created to achieve. There can be no triumph until we engage in His work and live through His victories. He is the one that causes us to triumph.’ I guess that says it loud and clear; we cannot have victory until we do what the Lord has assigned us to do!
And having ironed out that subject (smile), let’s offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer with all sincerity and truth. As one voce: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
Now what a sweet and touching prayer that is! (smile) Reaching out to our Lord and God for greater awareness and intimacy with Him, the way He designed it when He created us. Oh friends, how many times in His Word does the Lord tell us to come to Him, to seek His face, to look to Him for whatever we desire? Numerous times! But we, through foolish pride and a sinful nature, refuse to do so, until we reach ground zero and things are truly looking hopeless. Only then do some of us condescend to turn to a LOVING and compassionate God for mercy and forgiveness.
But by then we have suffered so unnecessarily that sometimes we are never the same. Although, with God’s help, we can become what He wants us to become, if we decide to do it. But friends, it all depends on us. We have all the tools, the seeds, the whatever it takes to make this a fairly joyful and abundant life, the life that Christ died for us to have! However, it all depends on us taking up those tools, planting those seeds and faithfully watering them until they sprout up and bear fruit.
It’s not an easy life to follow, especially in this current evil and ungodly world, but we have all the parts to do it, we just have to get up off of our fat and lazy fannies and do it! Remember, ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind.’ (2 Tim. 1:7) And with that power, that authority, we can move any mountain, quiet any storm and turn things around, all in Jesus’ name! Jesus has done all He can for us already. There’s no more for Him to do, except accept us with LOVING, open arms when we come to Him seeking succour and assistance in times of hardship and distress.
Please remember too, that we have free will and the Lord will not go against it to force us to do anything He wants. He will encourage and tease us to do His will, but He will not force us. So, it all depends on us now, to use all that He’s given us to rise up and become what He’s designed us to become. And furthermore, if the Lord didn’t think we could handle the problems here on earth, He would not have put us here right now.
It’s like that time back when the Jews were living in Babylon, and there was a plot afoot by the Jewish hating administrator, Haman, to kill the Jews. That brought up a thorny problem, for unknowing to the people, the then Queen Esther was Jewish, and her uncle Mordecai wanted her to take the Jewish problem into her husband the Persian king Ahasuerus, but she balked at doing so, knowing that if she entered the kings presence without an invitation, it could mean certain death.
And these were the immortal words Mordecai spoke to Esther on the subject. ‘For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time (remain completely silent), then shall there enlargement (relief) and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?’ (Est, 4:14)
Now that’s a question that all of us believers ought to be asking ourselves: have we been born for such a time as this; to pick up Christ’s mantle and do the things He desires of us? And, like Esther boosted her courage and did what she had to do to save her people, we also ought to be willing to do what we need to do to bring more of the world to Christ! So please, as we enjoy this lazy-day Saturday, let’s also ponder our purpose on this earth, then, with the power invested in us by Christ, rise up and accomplish it! Much LOVE!
…God created each human being for a specific purpose…and with His help…we can discover it…then do it successfully…
02 Nov 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a day in thy courts is better than a thousand, a razor blade in a chocolate, as good as it gets, at thy right hand, be a doorkeeper, Bible, blessed is the man that trusts in God, christianity, cleanse your hands ye sinners, darkness and light are both alike to God, Dr. Robert H Schuller, dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, enjoy being in god's presence, even night shall be light about me, even there shall thy hand lead me, flee from thy presnece, from them that walk uprightly, go from thy spirit, God's awesome presence, Halloween, he shall lift you up, holy spirit, Hour of Power Sermon, humble yourselves in the sight of God, I will never leave nor forsake you, if I take the wings of the morning, in the house of my God, increase my awareness of you today, Jesus Christ, joy, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, let your conduct be without covetousness, lo I am with you always, Lord I praise you, LOVE, negative incidents, negative repercussions, no good thing will he withhold, pagan celebration, pleasures for evermore, purify your hearts ye doubleminded, quiet my soul, relax my muscles, slow my thoughts, submit yourselves to God, that I may know you all the more, the darkness hideth not from thee, the darkness shall cover me, The Lord God is a sun and shield, the Lord will give grace and glory, the night shineth as the day, the wings of the morning, thy right hand shall hold me, to dwell in the tents of wickedness, whither shall I flee from thy presence, whither shall I go from thy spirit, wisdom, you can't be contained, your peace and love are present, your unceasing nearness
Psalm 16:11b. in thy presence is fullness of joy;
So we’ve finally come to our lazy-day Saturday, where we can loll around as much as we want with no activities to accomplish within a certain time period. And isn’t that a good feeling? It certainly is. But before we get started, I want to point out a couple of incidents that happened in the recent Halloween celebrations. First of all, two people were killed and six injured in a celebration in Orlando, Florida, while a razor blade was found in a chocolate bar in Cochrane, Ontario.
And I’m sure those are not all the negative incidents that occurred because of the foolish celebration, but just those that reached the news media. What’s it going to take for us to cut out the pagan nonsense eh? What kind of evil society are we living in, if we can consciously put a razor blade in a chocolate bar that a child is going to eat. And I guess it won’t be banished until someone from the family of a high government official or one of the money men that profit from it suffers some negative repercussions from the unwise celebration.
And now that I’ve had my say, (smile) let’s move on to the more pleasant aspects of the day, like offering up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer. As one sincere voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
And that’s a perfect prayer for a lazy-day Saturday, where we have the time to foment greater intimacy with our wonderful God. To simply bask in His awesome presence and listen to whatever He has to share with us. It’s a time to just run amok, as it were, in the awesome glory and presence of Almighty God! (smile) Yes friends, being in God’s presence is as good as it gets! And we ought to enjoy it while we have the opportunity.
And I don’t mean we should use it as a time to complain and ask for stuff, but simply to enjoy being in God’s presence, like when you’re with a friend, whose company you enjoy, and you can just sit quietly and be happy, or do simple, joyful things together. The important aspect of it being the togetherness. That’s how we ought to spend this lazy time with our God…just being together with Him, and enjoying the joy that His presence brings.
And there are numerous scriptures that talk about being in the Lord‘s presence and how good and joyful it can be. Like this verse from Psalm 16 – God Preserves His People. Bruh David ends it thus: ‘Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.’ (Ps. 16:11)
Meanwhile the Sons of Korah put it like this in Psalm 84 – Rejoicing in God’s Tabernacle: ‘For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.’ (Ps. 84:10-12)
Then there’s Psalm 139, one of the grandest psalms in the psalter, where Bruh David recounts the omnipresence of our magnificent God. Now listen to these verses that speak of that presence. ‘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. 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; 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)
Wow! Our God is everywhere; be it day or night, be it in heaven or in hell; in the sea or on the earth! We simply cannot hide from His presence, although many of us still foolishly try to do it. And every time I read those verses or hear them read, I always remember the first time I heard them being acted out many years ago by Dr. Robert H Schuller in an ‘Hour of Power Sermon’ in the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California. His actions and the words have stuck with me down through the years.
And we have this faithful promise from God found in Hebrews: ‘Let your conversation (conduct) be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake tee.’ (Heb. 13:5) Then James exhorts us: ‘Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded… Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:7-8, 10)
Yes my fellow believers, God’s greatest desire is for His human creation to draw near to Him, not be far away, but the truth is that in these trying times we need to avidly seek His presence, not wait for Him to come to us. Anyway, He’s already done that through the earthly work of Jesus; now it’s our turn to sincerely seek Him. And we’ll close with this marvellous promise from Jesus: ‘…and, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.’ (Matt. 28:20b)
Now we couldn’t want for a more faithful promise than that, especially since it’s been kept by the power of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us, to remind us of all that Jesus is, and to guide us to where He desires us to go. So let’s spend some time today and just consider the awesome presence of God in our lives nuh. We can never go wrong doing that! Much LOVE!
…in God’s presence…there’s always joy…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
19 Oct 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all that call upon him in truth, at thy right hand, be content with what you have, call upon him while he is near, faith, found grace in thy sight, God faithfully keeps all His promises, have mercy upon him, holy spirit, I may know you all the more, I will give thee rest, I will hearken unto you, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee, in thy presence is fullness of joy, increase my awareness of you today, Jesus Christ, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, let the wicked forsake his way, lo I am with you always, LOVE, mercy, my presence shall go with thee, our God will abundantly pardon, pleasures for evermore, pray into me, quiet my soul, relax my musclesslow my thoughts, return unto the Lord, search for me with all your heart, seek me and find me, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, seek ye the Lord while he may be found, seeking God's presence, seeking intimacy with God, show me now thy way, show me the path of life, slow my thoguhts, thank you for this tenderness, that I may know thee, The Lord is nigh unto all that call upon him, the purpose of life, the unrighteous man his thoughts, truth, warms the cockles of God's heart, wisdom, your peace and love are present
Psalm 145:18. The Lord is nigh (near) unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
Oh, how wonderful it is to wake up to a nice sunshiny and warm lazy-day Saturday! Just the thought of not having to get up early and rush off to work is oh so comforting. And being able to simply loll around in bed or on the couch or wherever you choose, just makes it all the nicer. And I did enjoy some of that lazy-day Saturday bliss, but unfortunately, for some of us the bliss cannot last all day, as we have God’s work to do. So here we are writing the Bit. (smile) And our first activity is to offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer with all sincerity and truth. Please pray with me:
‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
And by the time we’ve finished the prayer, we can feel our spirits lightened and calmed through God’s awesome presence, because that is one prayer the Lord always rushes to answer. There is nothing that warms the cockles of His heart more than us sincerely seeking His presence and greater intimacy with Him. And doing that is so important, that the Bible contains many scriptures which encourage us to seek the Lord’s presence.
So let’s look at a few of them today nuh, starting with this wonderful wake up call from Isaiah, where he advises his people Israel thus: ‘Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.’ (Is. 55:6-7)
Now friends, that’s exactly what so many of us in this ungodly and sinful world need to do; return to God, seek Him sincerely so that He can pardon us, and make our lives so much better than they currently are. Meanwhile in Psalm 16 – God Preserves His People, Bruh David poignantly writes: ‘Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.’ (Ps. 16:11)
And there’s no denying that my fellow believers! In God’s awesome presence there’s abundant joy, and that joy rises up, simply because we know that He will take care of us. As the author of Hebrews so assuredly tells us: ‘Let your conversation (conduct) be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he (God) hath said I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.’ (Heb. 13:5) And we know that our faithful God keeps all His promises. So there’s no need to worry when we’re in His presence.
There’s also this interesting prayer from Moses for God’s presence to go with him and the children of Israel on their journey to the Promised Land. He offered up to God: ‘Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. And he (God) said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he (Moses) said unto Him (God), If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.’ (Ex. 33:13-15)
Oh friends, yuh see how important God’s presence was to Moses, that if He wasn’t going to be with them along the way, he’d prefer to stay right where he was. And that’s exactly how important God’s presence ought to be in each believer’s life! If He’s not with us, then we’re not moving from where ever we are!
Then there are these encouraging words from the sons of Korah in Psalm 46: God is our Refuge and Strength. ‘Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.’ (Ps. 46:10-11) And until we truly believe that my brethren, we will never be able to fully enter into the Lord’s presence, we will always feel as though we’re on the outside looking in at a joyful scene.
And we all know these words of assurance from Jeremiah to the Israelites re their captivity in Babylon. After seventy years the Lord would cause them to return to their homeland ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope). Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto (listen to) you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye search for me with all your heart.’ (Jer. 29:11-13)
That’s it friends, our God only has good thoughts toward us, but we have to seek Him sincerely and be obedient to His will, if we desire to get into the fullness of His presence. And that is totally borne out by these words of Bruh David from Psalm 145 – God’s Unsearchable Greatness. ‘The Lord is nigh (near) unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of them that fear (reverence) him: he will also hear their cry, and will save them.’ (Ps. 145:18-19)
Oh my fellow saints, it could not be more explicit than that…except possibly with these words of Jesus. ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things (that you need) shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33) That’s another faithful promise. But we’ll close with this marvellous and soul strengthening promise from Jesus at the end of the Great Commission. He left the disciples, and consequently all future believers, with these simple but oh so true words: ‘and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt. 28:20b)
Now if that doesn’t hit you right in the heart, then I don’t know what will! But it’s ever so important that we believe that Jesus is always with is, through the Holy Spirit, and is doing His best to lead us along the straight and narrow way that ends in eternal life at His side. Much LOVE!
… if we’re not in God’s presence…then we’re missing the whole purpose of life…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
12 Oct 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a false witness, a heart that devises wicked schemes, a lying tongue, a proud look, a warning from God, abominations in the Lord's sight, Bible, christianity, deepen my breath, disaster-prone earth, dying at the cross of Calvary, eterna separation, eternal death, eternal life, faith, fearful times, forgiveness of sins, getting back into God's good graces, god, godly light, hands that shed innocent blood, hardhearted creatures, haughty eyes, he that sows discord amongst brethren, I am the way the truth and the life, I may know you all the more, increase my awareness of you today, intimacy with god, Jehovah, Jesus Christ, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, LOVE, no man comes to the Father but by me, nothing to lose in turning back to God, obedience, quiet my soul, relax my muscles, salvation, seven are an abomination unto him, share love, sincerely seek Christ, sinful, sinful bondage, sinful darkness, sinners set free, six things the Lord hates, slow my thoughts, struggling, sweet swift to run to mischief, tenderness, Thanksgiving Saturday, the gift of God is eternal life, the One True God, the wages of sin is death, truth, ungodly, waiting with wide open arms, welcome us back to His fold, wisdom, your unceasing nearness
Proverbs 6:16. These six things doth the Lord hate: yea seven are an abomination unto him (his soul).
Oh, it’s a beautiful lazy-day Thanksgiving Saturday in my neighbourhood; bright and sunshiny, though somewhat windy and cool. But it’s the middle of October in the northern climes, so what do we expect eh? We’re blessed that it’s not colder at this time of year, and temps are still getting up into the teens.
But be that as it may, I certainly enjoyed the largesse of our lazy-day Saturday, by lolling around in bed quite late. That was only made possible though by my going to bed at a rather late hour this morning, consequently, the Bit is even later than usual. But it’s a lazy-day Saturday…and what’s a lazy-day Saturday for if not to loll around and do very little …or even nothing? (smile)
Anyhow, enough of my excuses, let’s offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer with all sincerity. As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
And, oh, how our lives and our world would benefit enormously if many more of us would turn to God and sincerely seek greater intimacy with Him! Remember, that’s one of the major reasons for which He created us; to have strong communion with Him, and share LOVE back and forth! But sadly, our world and many in our Christian faith don’t seem to see it that way, thus, comparatively speaking, there’s a big void, very little intimacy between our Creator and the millions of His creation who walk this ungodly and disaster-prone earth.
And that could never be a good or pleasant situation my fellow believers. How could it be when we have little true and sincere communication between ourselves and the One who created us and still controls our lives eh? And it doesn’t make any sense when we’re down here struggling in these fearful times, having tried all of man’s solutions without success, that we simply refuse to turn to God, which is the best option there is.
The one good thing about the Israelites of old is that when they strayed from God and He punished them for it, they had the good sense to run back to Him as quickly as possible in repentance and soul searching. But we, we have grown so big for our britches, so sinful and ungodly, with all our wonderful technology and modern inventions, that we don’t even give turning back to God a thought, a possible solution, when our world is falling apart around us. Hn! What foolish, arrogant, stubborn and hardhearted creatures we’ve become.
Please my people, let’s remember these wise words of Cousin Sol in Proverbs. ‘These six things doth the Lord hate: yea seven are an abomination unto him (his soul). A proud look (haughty eyes), a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations (devises wicked plans), feet that are swift in running to mischief (evil), A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among the brethren.’ (Prov. 6:16-19) And unless you’re living on some other planet, you will know that all those things that are abominations in the Lord’s sight are the very things that are currently very prevalent on this planet Earth!
Now, if the Lord so strongly dislikes those practices, it’s obvious that He will also dislike and reject the people who practice them. And right there we have ample reason to contemplate the sad state of our world and all the disasters that are suddenly befalling it with greater frequency than usual. I don’t know why, but with every new disaster, natural or man-made, I keep thinking that this is a warning from God.
And even if I am wrong, what do we have to lose by sincerely turning back to God, giving up our evil ways, renewing our communion with Him, and thus getting back into His good graces. It’s foolish to be wanting to stay in Satan’s good graces when he can do nothing but negative stuff for us, when the One True God, Jehovah who created the word and all therein, is waiting with wide open arms to welcome us back to His magnificent fold.
That’s the wise position we ought to pursue, but unfortunately Satan has so many of us so wrapped up in his evil doings, so caught in sinful bondage, while keeping us in total darkness, that it’s become rather difficult for us to break through the darkness and the bondage of sin.
But friends, if we truly desire to do that, all we have to do is call on the name of Jesus and He will come and save us from both the bondage of sin and the oppressing darkness that Satan has us wrapped up in. He will break those bonds of sin and take us into the bright and powerful light that He represents, while offering forgiveness of sins, salvation and eternal life, instead of the eternal death and separation from God that followers of the enemy will suffer.
As the Bible so wisely and truly tells us: ‘For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (Rom. 6:23) And the very important thing to notice there my brethren is the last phrase; ‘through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ Yes, eternal life or any serious communication with God can only be accomplished through Jesus Christ, for, as the Son of God during His short tenure here on earth He outrightly declared (chuh!!!) ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ (John 14:6)
And that’s the gospel truth friends! If you want to see or associate with the Father, you have to go through the Son Jesus! Why? Because the Father has promoted Him to the highest name ever for His obedience and LOVE in taking the sins of the world on His sinless shoulders and dying on the cross at Calvary so that we sad and sorrowful sinners could be set free.
So please, on this Thanksgiving Saturday, let’s contemplate all that we’ve said, and make a wise decision to sincerely seek Christ with all of our hearts, souls, bodies and minds, for it’s what He truly desires! Much LOVE!
…man was made to live in godly light…not sinful darkness…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
28 Sep 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a double minded man is unstable in all his ways, all is vanity, an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, avenues of growth, cannot serve God and mammon, carnal nature, covenant, draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, driven with the wind and tossed, enamoured with the things of Satan, enquired early after God, eternal separation from Almighty God, for all this they still sinned, futile, go and pray unto me, he that wavereth is like a tossed wave in the sea, honoureth me with their lips, Hurricane Helene, I may know you all the more, I will hearken unto you, in heaven we'll find everything, increase my awareness of you today, indisputable truth, inheritance, Jesus Christ, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, lied unto him with their tongues, LOVE, lustfully wallow in, made available by our heavenly Father, maturity, mercy, neither were they steadfast, no man can serve two masters, our Christian journey, our sinful nature, quiet my soul, reserved in heaven, salvation, sinful pleasures, slew the fattest of them, slow my thoughts, smote down the chosen, terrible consequences, thank you for this tenderness, the high god their redeemer, the ungodly things of the world, the wrath of God, their days did he consume in vanity, their heart is far from me, their heart was not right with him, their years in trouble, they flattered him with their mouth, they remembered that God was their rock, they returned, this people, this people draweth nigh, truth, uncorruptible, undefiled, vanity of vanities, we came with nothing, we will leave with nothing, when he slew them then they sought him, when ye shall search for me with all your heart, wisdom, ye shall call upon me, ye shall seek me and find me
Matthew 15:8. This people draweth nigh (near) unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
Well, it seems like this lazy-day Saturday won’t be sunshiny like the last few days of this past week, for it has opened dark and cloudy after some precipitation precipitated during the early morning hours. (smile) And according to the weather people, we might get some of the remnants of hurricane Helene sometime today. Please don’t forget to pray for those unfortunate souls whom Helene ravished over the last few days, while giving thanks for our own well-being.
And don’t think the hurricane business is over nuh, for there seems to be two more hurricanes brewing; one in the Atlantic ocean and one in the Caribbean. I’ve forgotten their names, though more likely than not, we’ll eventually hear from them. But to turn our eyes from the negativity of all that the hurricanes stand for, let’s get positive and raise our faith by sending up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer to heaven.
As one sincere voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
And is that ever so reassuring, since the Lord likes nothing better than His people seeking His presence in their lives. Remember His words through the prophet Jeremiah? ‘Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto (listen to) you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.’ (Jer. 29:12-13)
Yes friends, our God desires that we devotedly and sincerely seek Him with all of our heart, meaning in total truth, not like what Jesus says of the people of His day. ‘This people draweth nigh (near) unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.’ (Matt. 15:8)
It’s like the psalmist Asaph declares in Psalm 78, in the section titled ‘A Plea for God’s Mercy.’ He writes: ‘The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest (stoutest) of them, and smote down the chosen (choice) men of Israel. For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works. Therefore their days did he consume in vanity (futility), and their years in trouble (sudden terror).
When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and enquired early (sought diligently) after God. And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer. Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues. For their heart was not right (steadfast) with him, neither were they steadfast (faithful) in his covenant.’ (Ps. 78:31-37)
Unfortunately friends, many of us supposed believers are still engaging in those same rebellious, and unfaithful acts today! We say we LOVE God and use all the right words and terminology, but our hearts are far from Him, as we lustfully wallow in the ungodly things of the world. And that’s sad, because if seek after God and His righteousness first, as Jesus says, in Matt. 6:33, then most of the very same things we’re running down on our own, will be made available to us by our heavenly Father.
The problem though is that because of our sinful and carnal nature, we are more enamoured with the things of Satan rather than those of God, and if we sincerely follow God, we won’t get those ungodly and lustful things that we truly desire. But please remember my brethren there are consequences to every action, and if we disobey God and follow after the enemy, then we will receive the same terrible consequences like he will receive; that’s eternal separation from Almighty God.
And I keep repeating that’s the worst thing that can ever happen to a human soul! Please believe me, and do your best to renounce the things of the enemy, and accept those of God. For, all of us know that the things of the enemy, the sinful pleasures that he encourages only last for short while then they vanish into thin air. As Cousin Sol would say of them: ‘Vanity of vanities (futility of futilities), all is vanity (futile).’ (Eccl. 1:2)
And that’s the indisputable truth! For nothing of the enemy is really worth anything, because we leave it all here when we die. But when we live for God, we amass rewards in heaven. As Peter puts it: ‘An inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.’ (1 Pet. 1:4)
Oh friends, let’s also remember Jesus’ warning that the earthly treasures we accumulate down here are susceptible to ruin and loss through moth and rust and thieves, but the heavenly treasures we accumulate don’t have any of those shortcomings, but are securely stored, waiting for you to come and receive them. (Matt. 6:19-20)
Thus as Jesus so rightly says: ‘No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and LOVE the other; or else he will hold to (be loyal to) the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (earthly riches).’ (Matt. 6:20) And that’s the gospel truth my people! We cannot serve God and the earthly wealth advertised by Satan.
There are only two roads in this world; the straight and narrow path that leads to Jesus and everlasting life, and the wide and winding one that leads to destruction, hellfire, damnation and eternal separation from Almighty God. And we cannot ride the fence; that’s one moment with God, the other with Satan. For as James so correctly advises; ‘For he that wavereth (doubts) is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he will receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.’ (James 1:6-8)
More indisputable truth friends. Truth that we should seriously ponder on this dark and cloudy lazy-day Saturday, and see how, or if any of it applies to our personal circumstances. And it’s a known fact that all of us have room for improvement, so, today, let’s sincerely consider avenues of growth and maturity in our Christian journey and worship God with both our mouths and our hearts. That can only stand us in good stead! Much LOVE!
…we came with nothing…and will leave with nothing…but in heaven…we’ll find everything…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
21 Sep 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a celebration of life, a spirit of power love and a sound mind, and now abideth faith hope love, anger, carefree boys, deepen my breath, faith, fight the good fight of faith, For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, for the purpose of sharing love, God creates people out of love, hate, I may know you all the more, increase my awareness of you today, intimacy, Jesus Christ, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, LOVE, love the Lord with all thy heart soul and mind, Love thy neighbour as thyself, of love, power, quiet my soul, relax my muscles, resentment, slow my thoughts, St. Francis 50th Anniversary, strife, the great commandment, the greatest of these three is love, the joyful presence of the Lord, the light of the world, the salt of the earth, truth, warms the cockles of God's heart, wisdom, your unceasing nearness
1 Corinthians 13:13. And now abideth faith, hope, charity (LOVE), these three; but the greatest of these is charity (LOVE).
And it’s a somewhat cool and cloudy lazy-day Saturday morning. But I’m probably noticing it because I’m up and about my Father’s business much earlier than usual. (smile)Yes friends, after a wonderful dinner and dance celebration of our Parish’s 50th Anniversary, where everyone had a wonderful time – and that’s one thing about St. Francis, whenever we gather together, we always have a good time, because that’s just the kind of believers we are, famously led by our august priest and party leader, Fr. Jeff Brown. (smile)
But on a more serious note, I’m up this early because we now have to gather in church for a celebration of life (funeral) for one of our parishioners, Bob Wilson, who recently passed away from that evil scourge of our time, cancer. Our condolences go out to his wife, Angela, their paraplegic son, Luke and the rest of his family. I can’t sing the praises of those parents enough for the way I saw them take care of Luke over the years with such devotion and LOVE, bringing him to church continually when he was able to come.
Now, Luke is not always easy to take care of with his mischievous and joyful self, despite his physical limitations. And whenever I do see him, whether it’s at church or some other function, we joyfully disrupt the proceedings, like two, young, carefree boys. I’m looking forward to seeing him this morning, because I haven’t seen him for a while, although, under the prevailing circumstances, we might just be on our best behaviour today. (smile)
So, with that grieving family in mind, and the comfort that we hope the Lord provides them, let’s offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer with all sincerity and truth. As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
Just wait for it friends, it’ll be there in a moment; that increased joyful presence of the Lord that we just prayed for, because the Lord always answers prayers for an increase of His presence in our souls, minds, spirits and bodies. He just cannot refuse such a request because it so warms the cockles of His heart when His most wonderful creation, mankind, seeks more of Him. It’s His greatest joy, because great intimacy is what He created us for.
And I like how this commentary succinctly but very nicely explains why God made us. ‘He created people out of LOVE for the purpose of sharing LOVE. People were created to LOVE God and each other. Additionally, when God created people, He gave them good work to do so that they might experience God’s goodness and reflect his image in the way they care for the world and for each other.’
And that’s it in a nutshell my fellow believers; God made us out of the deep LOVE of His magnificent and awesome Being, to share LOVE with Him and with others! Yes, LOVE is our number ONE purpose on this earth. That’s why the Greatest Commandment is as Jesus says: Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ (Matt. 22:37-40)
Yes friends, everything in this world is supposed to hang on God’s greatest attribute – LOVE! That’s why Bruh Paul could so assuredly write thus to the church at Corinth: ‘And now abideth faith, hope, charity (LOVE), these three; but the greatest of these is charity (LOVE).’ (1 Cor. 13:13) And there’s no doubting that statement my brethren, LOVE is indeed the greatest of all emotions.
However, that then brings this rather disturbing question to the forefront. Why is our world so filled with hate, anger and self-loathing instead of the LOVE that God made us to enjoy and share with Him and with our fellow man? If you were a new visitor to our planet, you would certainly believe that things like hate and anger, resentment and strife are the most important things. LOVE would never cross your mind as being important, since it’s not very significant in our current society.
No wonder our society is quickly falling apart, because those negative emotions and sentiments are rampant all over our world, and they tear things apart, while LOVE draws us together. God made us to live together through LOVE, but Satan’s ensuring that we fall apart through his hate, deceit, lies and ungodly attitudes.
But yuh know what my fellow saints, we have the antidote for all that Satan’s choses or desires to bring against us; the LOVE and wonderful promises of Almighty God. However, like all antidotes, they won’t work unless we apply them to the negative situations. That means gaining more LOVE for God, ourselves and our fellow man, through prayer, and meditation on God’s Word, then spreading it far and wide, putting it into practice just like Satan put’s his evil works into practice.
And we can certainly do it, because Christ has given us the necessary tools to do so. But first, we have to let go of our fear of what man can do to us, and instead pump up our courage that comes from God. Remember these reassuring words from Bruh Paul to Timothy: ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind.’ (2 Tim. 1:7)
That means by being the salt of the earth and the light of the world like Jesus desires of us, we can turn this world around. It might take some time because it’s so far gone, but remember too, that nothing’s impossible to God and those who sincerely believe in Him! So let’s go home now with those powerful thoughts in mind, and let’s ponder them long and hard, and hopefully come to the conclusion that we will get up and fight the good fight of faith and turn things around, all in Jesus’ strong and mighty name! Much LOVE!
…only as there is an excess of godly LOVE over hate…will our world ever prosper and succeed…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
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