03 Aug 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a Christian's cloak, a new song, allegations, almighty god, Amen, an even place, another day, bless the Lord, browbeat, Bruh David, BruhDavid, call upon the Lord, debts, discontent, enemy, evil felons, evil tentacles, Examine me, faithful, family, family gatherings, fear, fellowship, forgiveness, fractured by work, give thanks, glorify God's holy name, go to church, grace, grievances, guilt, heaven, I shall not slip, I waited patiently for the lord, information, injustice, innocent, innocent cry, integrity, intimidated, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, Jesus is mine, judge, keeps us away from God, labour, lies, life or death, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, loving kindness, Lucifer, magnify, malice, merciful, mercy, minions, nature of the beast, one day of rest, Our Father, pit, power, praise, privileges, proud, push back, railroad, revered, sing, So let it be, special day, stand strong, stand strong and steadfast, steps, Sunday, take it to the limit, the Lord's Day, toil, true, true believers, trust, truth, unforgiving, upon a rock, vengeance, vindicate, worship
Psalm 26:12. My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the Lord.
Oh Friends, it’s Sunday – the Lord’s Day! That means it’s time for all true believers to gather in His sanctuary and fellowship; sing, praise, worship, give thanks, magnify and glorify God’s Holy Name!
And all God’s people said a loud, grateful and sincere. ‘Praise the Lord! Let His light so shine before us that we may walk worthy of Him! Amen.’
Ah mih people, Sunday used to be such a blessed day; a day for family and worship, but as in so many other areas of life, the world has stretched its evil tentacles into Sunday too. Now the family and worship have been seriously fractured by work.
So many more places of business are now open on Sundays, it makes it difficult for many of us to have time for family gatherings, or time to go to church. And the sad part is that it’s getting worse!
Sunday is no longer a revered or special day. It’s now become just another ordinary day, another day for doing business. Steups!
Ah Lord eh! My people, we have to stand strong and push back some. The Lord said there should be at least one day of rest from toil and labour every week, but if we don’t look sharp, we won’t even have the little we now have. Lucifer and his evil felons are just trying to draw us away from Jehovah God in any which way they can.
They don’t care what it is, it could be life or death, once it separates or keeps us away from God, they’re happy. We can’t allow that to happen my brethren.
So please, let’s get up and go out and worship Almighty God in droves, let’s take it to the limit, and let the evil one and his foolish minions know that we will not be intimidated, we will not be railroaded into giving up our Sunday privileges, or stop worshipping our most wonderful God on His special day!
And all the children of God gave a mighty shout of ‘Amen! So let it be!’
Oh my fellow believers, we need to call upon the Lord as Bruh David did in our Bit, when he was falsely accused. ‘But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me. My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the Lord.’ (Ps.26:11-12)
Yes my Friends, a Christian’s cloak is his integrity, and we ought not to fear acknowledging and publicly blessing and praising the Lord for His goodness to us. And I know these days it’s easier than ever to be wrongly accused, with the great amount of false information that’s swirling around in our information age.
And the sad part is that once the allegations are made, they stick in people’s minds, even though we may be eventually found to be innocent of them. Unfortunately, that is just the nature of the beast, of the unforgiving society in which we currently live.
But Friends, regardless of what comes against us, we always need to stand strong and steadfast with the Lord, especially when we are falsely accused. Don’t allow the enemy to browbeat us into wrongly admitting guilt.
Hear how Bruh David opens Psalm 26, from which out Bit is taken. ‘Judge (vindicate) me, O Lord; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the Lord; therefore I shall not slide (slip).
Examine me, O Lord, and prove (try) me; try my reins (test my mind) and my heart. For thy LOVING-kindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.’ (Ps.26:1-3)
Oh my people, if we can truthfully say those words, then there’s no need to worry. Our gracious God will certainly hear our innocent cry and justify us before men.
Listen again to Bruh David as he offers praise for answered prayer in Psalm 40. ‘I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings (steps).
And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.’ (Ps.40:1-4)
Oh my fellow believers, truer words were never spoken! If we make the Lord our faithful strong tower, and walk in integrity according to His dictates, we have nothing to fear. The Lord will address our needs and our grievances in His own time; we just need to wait patiently on Him.
Now that’s not always such an easy thing to do, especially when the waters of discontent, injustice and/or malice are swirling madly around us. But it’s what we need to do as true believers, for remember that the Lord has designated vengeance and justice as His domain. Ours is not to reason why, just to trust in Him; His tender mercy, grace and forgiveness, that He administers with unconditional LOVE.
Oh Friends, our heavenly Father is the most powerful force in the universe! No other being can thwart His pronouncements unless He allows it. So please let us stand strong, faithful and true in our belief in Him.
And this Sunday morning, I believe it’s ever so appropriate that we end with the memorable words that our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ taught us.
Please pray with me: ‘Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.’ (Matt.6:9-13)
That says it all my brethren! Please have a blessed day as you walk sincerely with our Father in heaven. Much LOVE!
…to know, know, know Him…is to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Him…for ALL the time…Jesus is mine…
15 Jun 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a wrathful man, Abraham, admonition, anger, appropriate behaviour, bane of our society, bear the blame, bear the brunt of damage, Bruh David, chief teacher, child education, children, common sense, contention, do right, don't provoke your children, duties, epitome of a father, Father's Day, fatherly guidance, godly father, gospel truth, Happy Father's day, head of the family, honour thy father and mother, houeholds without fathers, injustice, intruction, irresponsibility, justice, keep God's Word, keep the Lord's way, loss of temper, LOVE the Lord with all our hearts, Moses, necessary tools, patience, respect for parents, responsibilities, responsible father, righteousness., self-control, society is going downhill, strife, teach your children God's Word, the Ten Commandments, training, understanding, undue severity, ungodly households, ungodly world, what goes around comes around, wisdom, wrath
Genesis 18:19. For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgement (righteousness and justice): that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!
Oh my fellow Fathers out there in God’s great world, here’s wishing us a Happy Father’s Day!
And no doubt you’ll be surprised to hear that on such an auspicious day, I don’t know what to say. (smile) Or rather, I have so much to say, that I don’t know where to begin. Hn, Hn! So then, let’s begin at the most appropriate place nuh; the beginning.
The Lord thought that respect for one’s parents was so important that He enshrined it in His basic rules for living; the Ten Commandments. ‘Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.’ (Ex.20:12) And Moses repeats it in Deut.5:16. So one of the rules we must adhere to is honouring our parents, and on this particular day, our blessed fathers.
Now I don’t know how coherent this message will be, (smile) because I’m leaning towards just pulling out bits of scripture dealing with earthly fathers and what’s expected of them. Anyway, let’s see where the Lord leads us.
In the meanwhile, listen to what the Lord had to say in our Bit about Abraham as a father: ‘For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgement (righteousness and justice): that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.’
And that my people, is what our God would like to say, and have said of all earthly fathers! The epitome of a father is one who directs his household to keep God’s Word!
For as Moses reminded the Israelites in the wilderness: ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thine house, and on thy gates.’ (Deut.6:4-9)
That my people is how important the word of the Lord is! Unfortunately though, in this modern day and age, very few families are doing that. And since the father is the acknowledged head of the family, (Eph.5:23) it rebounds badly on him. Consequently, there are way too many ungodly households in our society, and that’s partly why it is going downhill.
A responsible father ought to be saying, in the words of Bruh David: ‘Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear (reverence) of the Lord. (Ps.34:11) That’s because, as the caretaker of the family, a father is expected to have wisdom. No wonder Cousin Sol declares: ‘Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.’ (Prov.4:1)
But then again, in this modern day and age too many fathers are definitely not showing the wisdom that they ought to, and a lot of that stems from their not having fathers who had the necessary tools to teach them properly. This brings up the major problem of too many households without fathers.
Without a strong and godly father at the head of a household, that household will undoubtedly suffer some disadvantages, for a mother can only do so much, although there are many mothers who raise godly children. And even in households with fathers, the behaviour of the father is not always appropriate.
Cousin Sol says: ‘A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife (lessens contention).’ (Prov.15:18) And unfortunately, today a lot of fathers don’t have the patience and self-control and thus stir up a lot of strife in their households.
That brings us to Bruh Paul’s famous warning to the church at Ephesus. ‘And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture (training) and admonition of the Lord.’ (Eph.6:4)
And the scholars tell us: ‘6:4. Fathers can provoke their children to wrath by injustice, loss of temper, undue severity, cruelty, favouritism, suppression, sarcasm, ridicule, and misuse or abuse of authority. Nurture basically means “training,” here denoting spiritual education. Admonition is instruction that points out one’s responsibilities and duties. Of the Lord is in Greek a subjective genitive. This indicates that behind the parents’ rearing and instruction of their children stands the Lord as the chief teacher in child education. Parents do not rear children alone.’
And that’s the gospel truth my brethren! So you can see from that how important it is for a father to be a man of understanding and common sense, of justice and righteousness. But sadly, in this ungodly world we’re raising far too many ignorant, unfaithful fathers.
And I won’t even bother to get into the aspect of fathers siring so many children with different women and not even supporting them. Right now that’s the bane of our society. And you mothers have to bear some of the blame for that.
I’ll just end by saying, by pleading to the fathers out there, please, let’s start taking our responsibilities seriously nuh. It’s the children, our children who are going to suffer, who are in fact suffering from either poor fatherly guidance, or no fatherly guidance at all. And that does not bode well for the future of our society at all, for that trait will just keep being handed down from generation to generation, until it just turns into complete irresponsibility, and thus further damage to the children.
Oh fathers, please wake up and realize that when we don’t do right, it’s always the children who bear the brunt of the damage! It’s high time for us to try and replicate the behaviour of our Father in heaven towards us. I’m sure we wouldn’t like it if He ignored and abandoned us. Remember do so ent like so…and what goes around comes around! Much LOVE!
…fathers…provoke not your children to anger…lest they be discouraged… (Col.3:21)
18 May 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a hefty price, Abraham Isaac and Jacob, apostasy, assurances, authoritarian religious regimes, awesome power of the Holy Spirit, be grateful, be of good cheer, be on our p's and qu's, belief, believe, blessings, Christian, Christian faith, conquered sin, darkness, death, don't give up, don't worry about what you'll say, Ethiopian Orthodox Christian, evil, evil powers, faith, fate, flock to god's house, for my name's sake, free society, freedoms, give thanks, Glory be, goodness, gospel truth, heartfelt prayers, hypocrisy, hypocritical, immovable, injustice, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, joyful fruition, justice, keep pressing on, largesse of faith, let down our guard, light of the world, lodge appeal, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, loving kindness, lurking, Muslim society in sudan, oppression, overcome the world, patience, patient, patriarchal societies, peace, penal code, persecute you, persevering, possess your souls, pray, principles of jesus, promises of God's Son, remain faithful, revenge, sexual relations, South Sudan, spiritual armour, spiritual war, stand strong, steadfast, Sudanese woman, suppression, testimony, the evil one, the grave, the Holy Ghost, tribulation, trust, trust in Jesus Christ, unfair fate, ungodly world, wisdom, worship
Luke 21:19. In your patience possess ye your souls.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, on this Sunday morning in the middle of May, in a season we call spring time, when nature is refreshed and rejuvenated with new life and colour, please, oh please, let’s be eternally grateful and give loads of thanks for the fairly free society in which we live!
Once upon a time it was mostly a community based on the Christian faith, but in recent times it has morphed into one of many different, diverse faiths and cultures. However, we are still free to worship and believe in whom or what we choose. Unfortunately though, this is not the case for millions of our Christian brothers and sisters in many places around the world, who live under heinous authoritarian religious regimes.
Today I want to highlight the unfortunate plight of one such sister. The newspapers recently reported the awful situation of a 26 year old, eighth months pregnant Sudanese woman, who married a Christian man, and for that she was sentenced to death. Steups! And as always, it’s the women and children who suffer the most.
As the hypocritical patriarchal Muslim society in Sudan would have it, it’s okay for a Muslim man to marry outside of his faith, and the children must by law adopt the father’s religion. Chuh! However that largesse of faith does not apply to Muslim women. This unfortunate young woman was convicted of ‘apostasy’ because she refused to renounce her Christian faith. Glory Be!
She is paying though a rather hefty price for that refusal since the Sudanese penal code declares that Muslims converting to any other faith is a crime punishable by death. But it doesn’t seem that the young woman was ever Muslim, for although her father, a Muslim, married and Ethiopian Orthodox Christian and the law states that such children must adopt the father’s faith, her mother raised her as a Christian after the father left them.
Now she languishes in some sordid jail with her 18 month old son and her unborn child, awaiting her unfair fate. To make matters even more ridiculous and hypocritical, it seems that the court also ordered the young woman to receive a hundred (100) lashes. Why? For having what they considered sexual relations with her husband, a Christian from the new country of South Sudan, which is mostly Christian.
Ah Friends, I don’t even want to consider the hypocrisy, because it just makes me so angry that I tend to forget the LOVING-kindness principles of Jesus and desire revenge, or I should say justice (smile) in my heart. Oh I know that we Christians can be very hypocritical too, but hopefully not to that extent.
Let’s hope that an appeal is successfully lodged on the young woman’s behalf in the not too distant future. And to help right that wrongful situation, let’s all offer up some heartfelt prayers for her and the millions of other Christians around the world, who are suffering oppression, suppression and loads of injustice, simply because of their sensible and right thinking belief, faith, and trust in Jesus Christ, and the One and Only True and Living Deity, Jehovah God, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
My fellow believers, please believe that there is indeed a very real, a very serious and a very deadly spiritual war that’s currently taking place, and we are at the forefront of it. Thus we need to be on our p’s and q’s; ever-ready to resist and fight back against the evil powers that now control this ungodly world.
What Jesus prophesied so long ago, as we saw in yesterday’s scriptures, is now coming to pass. ‘But before all these (signs), they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake. And it shall turn to you (be an occasion) for a testimony.’ (Luke 21:12-13)
Furthermore ‘And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers (authorities), take ye no thought (do not worry about) how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say. For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.’ (Luke 12:11-12)
It’s not going to be easy my people, but if we stand strong, steadfast and immovable on the promises of our wonderful Saviour, then we will eventually be victorious. Listen to this awesome promise of God’s Son. ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33)
And that’s the gospel truth Friends! Jesus has indeed overcome the world. He’s conquered sin, death and the grave with His Easter Resurrection. So let’s take comfort, derive lasting peace from it, and show the world that we are stronger than anything they can throw at us, because we have the awesome power of the Holy Spirit of Jesus working in, for, and through us!
Note though, that despite all our assurances, we can’t afford to let down our guard for even one moment, because the evil one is lurking around, looking for even a toehold in our spiritual armour. But we do need to be patient and persevering as Jesus advises in our Bit. ‘In your patience possess ye your souls.’
Yes Friends, if we remain faithful, don’t give up, and keep pressing on, regardless of our adversity, then we shall indeed see ALL the promises of Jesus come to joyful fruition, and His church will be victorious!
So today, my fellow believers, let’s all flock to God’s house with joyful souls nuh, to pray, worship and give thanks for our many blessings and freedoms. For that is indeed the wisdom of heaven! Much LOVE!
…the powers of evil and darkness…are no match whatsoever…for those of LOVE and goodness…found in the brilliant light of the world…our Lord and Saviour…Jesus Christ…
15 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: amassing materail wealth, arms of the wicked shall be broken, better is a little with righteousness, blessed, Bruh Paul, Christ has no hands feet or tongues but ours, Christ is depending on us, clothing, contentment, destruction, dr robert h schuller, erred from the faith, faithful servants, fired employees, food, friends, God-given talents, godliness, godliness with contentment, gospel truth, great gain, great revenues without justice, greediness, harmful lusts, have-nots, heavenly bank account, Holy Tuesday, images, indisputable truth, injustice, LOVE, material riches, negative side, poor and suffering, positive side, positive working, power of the holy spirit, reconciliation, reflections of Almighty God, repentance, reverence of God, riches of the wicked, righteous man, righteousness., root of all evil, ruin, saints, share with others, shareholders, snare, snowflakes falling from heaven, social justice, sorrows, spiritual riches, stand strong, tell the world the good news, temptation, the Lord upholds the righteous, the LOVE of money, unfair practices, We can do all things through Christ, we can do nothing without christ, wisdom of the ages
Proverbs 16:8. Better is a little with righteousness, than great revenues without right (justice).
Well hello there mih people! A good Holy Tuesday morning to all you blessed saints out there in Christendom; true images and reflections of Almighty God!
Yes Friends, we are indeed all of that! So please let’s make full use of it and not waste the talents and whatever else the Lord has given us to share with others.
And to help guide us in that respect, here are some true and most useful words from the Hour of Power Devotional by Dr. Robert H. Schuller. I’m not sure if I’ve shared them before, but even so, they are still very relevant to these times.
Listen up as Dr. Schuller reminds us that: ‘Christ has no hands but our hands to do His work today. He has no feet but our feet to lead us on the way. He has no tongues but our tongues to tell us how He died. He has no help but our help to bring us to His side.’
And that’s the indisputable truth my brethren! Christ is depending on us, His faithful saints and servants, to tell the world the good news of His story and bring it to repentance and reconciliation with Him.
What a blessed assignment, though not an easy one, for there will be lots of obstacles placed in our way. But if we’re serious about doing the job, then Christ will enable us through the power of His Holy Spirit to stand strong and do it.
Just remember that we cannot do it without Him, as He so shrewdly reminds us when talking to the disciples about the vine and the branches: ‘for without me ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:5b)
But by the same token, as Bruh Paul reminds un in Philippians 4: ‘I can do ALL THINGS through Christ which strengtheneth me.’ (Phil.4:13)
And with all that solid stuff now under our belts, let’s turn to our Bit, another morsel of everlasting truth. ‘Better is a little with righteousness, than great revenues without right (justice).’
And there can be no doubting of that fact my Friends! Why? Because it percolates in every area and aspect of our lives and that of our society. We see it in homes where there’s great wealth but little true godliness. We also see it in businesses, where injustice is booming and very flagrant these days.
We lay of hundreds of ordinary workers to save some money, while flagrantly increasing the stipends of those at the top of the food chain by humongous amounts, without any thought for the welfare of those being put out of work.
The social justice that cries out for those fired employees is certainly not being taken into account. Instead it is all centred on the supposed bottom line, shareholders interest and the rest of the garbage and distorted truth that the captains of industry spout to support their unfair practices.
Oh Friends, I just went upstairs to see the duchess off to work and my heart almost stopped on me because I was greeted by snowflakes falling gently from heaven. And not simply wet snow but the kind that seems to last. Oh Lord eh!
Earlier on when I came down the streets were simply wet with rain. And we’ve been having such nice warm temps for the last little while! It’s supposed to have a high of just one degree today. Mama Mia!
But as we’ve said above, though it might be a tad inconvenient, we can handle it all with Christ’s help. So let’s not look at it from the negative but the positive side.
Now let’s check out some scripture which corroborate our Bit. Cousin Sol himself also stated it thus: ‘Better is little with the fear (reverence) of the Lord, than great treasure and trouble therewith.’ (Prov.15:16)
And the scholars explain that as: ’15:16. Spiritual riches are better than material riches.’
Gospel truth Friends! But try telling that to the legions of poor and suffering around the world nuh!
Meanwhile Bruh David puts it this way in Psalm 37; the true state of the wicked. ‘A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the Lord upholdeth the righteous.’ (Ps.37:16-17)
More gospel truth my people! But tell that to the wicked rich nuh, whose only aim seems to be amassing more and more wealth at the expense of the have-nots.
And we’ll end with a passage from 1 Timothy, where Bruh Paul warns: ‘But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment (clothing) let us therewith be content.
But they that will be (desire to be) rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful (harmful) lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition (ruin and destruction).
For the LOVE of money is the root of all (all kinds of) evil: which while some coveted after have erred from the faith (for which some in their greediness have erred from the faith), and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.’ (1 Tim.6:6-11)
Oh Friends, I can’t say it any better than that! I can just try and encourage us to take those words to heart and put them to positive working in our lives, for they indeed convey the wisdom of the ages. Much LOVE!
…why do we foolishly insist on amassing material wealth…when it causes all sorts of evil problems…and does nothing for our heavenly bank account…
04 Mar 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: after one time is two, apostasy, archives of our memory, awesome truth, bacchanalian festival, bear fruit for Jesus, blasphemers, blazing sunshine, blessings, boasters, Bruh Paul, cares and riches, Carnival, Christ's return, cold weather, conclusion, corrupt minds, Cousin Sol, covetous, crescendo, deathly cold morning, disobedient, divers lusts, down south, faith, false teachers, fleeting pleasures of the world, folly, foolishness, fruit, futile, God's Word, godliness, good memories, gospel true, haughty, he who loves pleasure, he who loves wine and oil, I AM, in the hot sun, injustice, Jesus Christ, knowledge of the truth, life experiment, LOVE, lovers of God, lovers of pleasure, LOVETH, mas, maturity, meaningless, memories of carnival, merriment, Moses, neck of the woods, New Orleans, no self-control, northern climes, parable of the sower, perilous times, physcial warmth, playing mas, profound, proud, quest for truth, reckless, religion without power, reprobate, resist the truth, rewards in heaven, Rio, ruin, shall be a poor man, shall not be rich, silly women, sinful minions, slanderers, spiritual life, splendour of costumes, spontaneity of action, T&T, thanks and praise, the church age, the Good Lord, the last days, thrown to the wind, Timothy, unsatisfying, vain, warning, wine women and song, wisdom
Proverbs 21:17. He that LOVETH pleasure shall be a poor man: he that LOVETH wine and oil shall not be rich.
And the raging, unforgiving, unrepentant cold weather continues unabated in the northern climes, while down south, under blazing sunshine, mas and merriment are being joyfully made! What injustice! (smile)
But that’s the way the great I AM planned and created His awesome universe, so who are we, his sinful minions to dispute His higher than high ways, wisdom and understanding eh?
Yes Friends, it’s another deathly cold morning in my neck of the woods, while later today, down in Rio, New Orleans, T&T and wherever else, the crescendo of carnival is building up to its climax on the final day of the bacchanalian festival.
Oh that I was somewhere down there to enjoy the physical warmth, the splendour of the costumes, the joy, the spontaneity of action when the music blasts into your soul!
Oh Friends, there’s no feeling like playing mas in the hot sun, with the music, be it brass or steel, just jamming, and you singing and jumping to the high heavens! Ah Lord eh!
That’s why I keep reminding us to make good memories, because that’s all the ole fella has now – memories of carnival in yesteryear, when he made a fool of himself… oh but what enjoyable foolishness! (smile)
But as they so rightly and wisely say, after one time is two times. So all we ole fogeys who can’t jump and prance again, just have to delve into the archives of our memory and retrieve the good ones of a time when we were much less physically and mentally challenged. Hn, hn!
And at the same time, let’s all remember to give the Good Lord some thanks and praise for bringing us so far along into this life, and blessing us with all the blessings that so many others never received.
But my people, please, please never forget these extremely wise, very profound and gospel true words of our Bit: ‘He that LOVETH pleasure shall be a poor man: he that LOVETH wine and oil shall not be rich.’ It’s the awesome, awesome truth!
And we saw that yesterday, saw how Cousin Sol proved it with his great life experiment. (Eccl.2:1-11) And also as the scholars so wisely noted, that three thousand years after Cousin Sol’s empirical and factual conclusion to the contrary, mankind is still trying to find satisfaction and meaning in the unsatisfying, meaningless and fleeting good feelings of the pleasures of the world.
Yes my brethren, wine, women and song are pleasurable for the moment, but they have nothing of real and true lasting value. Only the things of God have true lasting value, can stand the test of time and the fire that our deeds will be eventually tested with.
So let’s now see what the scriptures have to say re Cousin Sol’s pronouncement that seeking a life of earthly pleasure is vain and futile.
And no words can be more telling than those of our Leader, Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! Listen to Him as He talks about the parable of the sower, explaining what happens to the seeds that fall in different places when they are thrown to the wind.
‘And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection (maturity).’ (Luke 8:14)
Oh my fellow believers, if we’re only concerned with the cares, riches and pleasures of this world, we’ll NEVER bear fruit for Jesus! And thus our rewards in heaven, if we do get there, will be severely limited.
Now, are you willing to take the chance on any of those two scenarios happening in your life? I certainly hope not! For as Bruh Paul warns Timothy about the apostasy of the last days.
‘This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be LOVERS of their own selves, covetous (money lovers), boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers (irreconcilable), false accusers (slanderers), incontinent (without self-control), fierce (brutal), despisers of those that are good,
Traitors, heady (reckless), high-minded (haughty), LOVERS of pleasures more than (rather than) LOVERS of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts.
Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate (disapproved) concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.’ (2 Tim.3:1-9)
Oh Friends, I couldn’t say it any better than Bruh Paul! But there are some words from the scholars that I think are important for us to know, although it will make the Bit longer. But what are a few more words when they help us to understand God’s Word eh? (smile)
And the scholars declare: ‘3:1-4. The last days began with the birth of Christ and will culminate in Christ’s return to the earth to set up His kingdom. The prediction of perilous times indicate that apostasy will characterize the final days of the church age.’
‘3:5-9. A form of godliness is mere religion without power or spiritual life. Paul commands Timothy to turn away from these false teachers who prey upon silly women laden with sins, who are especially susceptible to false teachers.
Ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth condemns not intense study but some esoteric quest for truth apart from God’s Word. Jannes and Jambres, according to Jewish tradition, were the two magicians in Pharaoh’s court who attempted to duplicate Moses’ miracles (cf. (Ex. 7:11; 9:11).’
So Friends, it’s obvious that our total concentration on the pleasures of this world, only leads us to ruin! And daily we see lots of evidence of it around us. So please, I’m pleading with us, let’s all take serious note of it nuh, and consequently restructure and conduct our lives in a more appropriate fashion, one that suits true believers. Now that’s wisdom in spades! Much LOVE!
…he who LOVES the pleasures of this world…will not receive much LOVE from heaven…
24 Sep 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: angry, believe and receive, blood was shed at Calvary, brothers and sisters, burdens, Christian house, churches, confidence, contrition, criminals, ecpectant faith, enough is enough, excellent standards, faith, fellow believers, fervent prayer, fight back, freedom, God's will, God's Word, godly assurance, heart and soul, heartfelt pleas, heavy heart, holy spirit, human-rights, in the name of religion, injustice, Jehovah, Jesus Christ, justice, Kenya, live our faith, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, mercy, Most High God, murderers, negate our rights, one true God, openly worship Jesus, opiate of the people, oppressed, Pakistan, perpetrators, persecution, positive hearing, prayer, prisoners of hope, put up, repay injustice, righteous, scripture, shut up, sins, slaughter of innocents, Spread God's Word, stand and be counted, stand strong, steadfast faith, stigmatized, suffering, teach our children, terrorists, the prayer of the righteous, troubles, unfortunate friends, unjust persecution, wake up call, war-like actions, wonderful Son, worship, worship jesus christ, yokes
1 John 5:14. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us.
Oh Friends, what is our world coming to eh? Everyday now brings some unnecessary slaughter of innocents, all in the name of some religion! Religion is supposed to be the opiate of the people, keeping them nice and quiet, peaceful and law abiding. But unfortunately, in these ruthless and cruel times, it’s doing the exact opposite; stirring them up to war-like actions.
Just look at the attack in the mall in Kenya last week, and that on the Christians coming out of church in Northern Pakistan on the weekend! No one, or nothing is safe and sacred anymore from these despicable murderers. They’ll even kill their own, if they think it necessary. And the sad part is that we allow them to get away with it, calling them terrorists, when they’re simply out and out disgusting criminals!
Ah Lord eh! My heart is heavy and angry this morning Friends, but I won’t write what I really want to, because it might not align with God’s Word or Will. I’ll just ask us to keep praying for our fellow believers in so many parts of the world, who can’t openly worship Jesus Christ, who are oppressed, stigmatized and murdered simply because of their faith.
Please pray with me. ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, You know that we truly LOVE and worship You. The problem though is that some of us can do it in perfect freedom, but there are millions of Your children who are being innocently and unfairly persecuted for worshipping You.
Father in heaven, we implore You to help them this day. Lessen their burdens, lighten their yokes, help them to gain the freedom of worship that we blessed ones have, and please repay the perpetrators of this injustice, for You’ve promised to repay any injustice done to Your children.
Please, please help them Father, for their suffering is so great it’s now reached a stage where many may even consider giving up the faith, and we know You don’t want that. Please help them to stand strong, under all the oppression. Let Your Holy Spirit enable them to remain steadfast in faith, though their whole world seems to be falling apart.
Oh heavenly Father, we pray all this in the name of Your wonderful Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, whose blood was shed at Calvary in contrition for our sins. Amen.’
Oh my fellow believers, please let’s invoke a few pieces of appropriate scripture on behalf of our suffering brothers and sisters around the world. The first comes from the heart and soul of Bruh David in Psalm 34, titled, ‘The Lord hears the righteous.’ ‘The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.’ (Ps.34:17)
And the next scripture verse comes from Cousin Sol. ‘The Lord is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.’ (Prov.15:29)
Then James tells us that ‘The effectual (effective) and fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.’ (James 5:16b) And I know that there are many truly righteous people amongst us, so we ought to get a quick and positive hearing.
And finally, the most encouraging of all the scriptures, this from Jesus: ‘And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.’ (Matt.21:22)
Oh Friends, we’ve asked, and many are righteous who have done so. Now let’s perform the last requirement; that of believing. Let’s truly believe for God to help those many, many believers enduring injustice and ‘sufferation’ around the world.
And as a gentle reminder, (smile) let’s turn to heaven once more. ‘Father God, Your people are crying out today in all righteousness and faith! Please answer our heartfelt pleas with mercy and justice, on behalf of our unfortunate friends suffering such unjust persecution. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.’
Ah mih people, let’s be prisoners of hope and stand in expectant faith, that our merciful and mighty God will hear our prayers and alleviate the ‘sufferation’ of believers all over His world. Let’s keep praying for them, and at the same time, improve our own faith and strength in numbers in this supposed free part of the world, because the enemy is picking away, bit by bit, at our Christian house.
Like a bunch of wood ants, they’re finding the unguarded spots in our situation and slowly gnawing away at them. Note the absence of prayer in our schools, public places and numerous homes, plus the subtle attempts everyday to negate our rights to worship in freedom.
People of other faiths are coming to our Christian countries and getting rights that trample on ours. Friends, we cannot allow this to continue. At some stage, like RIGHT NOW, we’ve got to stand up and say, enough is enough, and fight back. Otherwise, in a few short years, our situation will surely deteriorate to such that we won’t have the freedom of worship anymore.
This is a wake up call my brethren! I’m therefore calling on all of us who claim to believe in Jesus, to stand up and be counted! Let’s build our churches! Let’s teach our children the Word! Let’s live the Faith we claim to have, and spread the Word of God, which is so powerful that He used it to create the universe and all therein!
Oh my people, these are the days of sad reckoning. We either have to put up and get some serious action going, or shut up! Which one will it be eh? Are we going to have our descendants living in fear, running and hiding to serve and worship the ONE TRUE GOD of this universe? I think not! So let’s get a move on nuh.
And we’ll end with the godly assurance and confidence that comes to us from our Bit. ‘And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us.’
Oh my brethren, please let’s not disappoint Jesus, let’s live up to the excellent standards that He requires of us. That’s the only way we can recapture our world and have it turn again to the Most High God Jehovah! Much LOVE!
…if we believers don’t do the Will of God…how else will it get done eh…
12 Sep 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: advances, anger, ashamed of Christ, Beelzebub, believers in Jesus, bitterness, blessed day, blessings, bounden duty, christianity, cold and rainy, conquer the nations, darkness, death, demonic gates, destruction, doctrine of justification, enduring faith, entreaties, eternal life, evil, faith in the Lord, forgiveness, God's countenance, God's essential attribute, God's revelation, God-sent day, golden arches of heaven, gospel, Great Tribulation, Habakkuk's prophecy, Hades, hate, haughty, hot and sunny, injustice, justification by faith, kneel at Christ's footstool, life, life eternal, light, live our faith, lost souls, LOVE, Love God, loving god, Lucifer, mercy, moral sphere, New Testament, obey God's commandments, Old Testament, part of the problem, part of the solution, peace, plans of mice and men, proud, religion, revenge, righteous, salvation, scholarly explanations, separation from God, sin, Spread God's Word, stand strong, steadfast, suppress the truth, thanks and praise, the enemy, the Father, the guilt of mankind, the just shall live by faith, the power of God, the power of the gospel, the righteousness of God, the SON, theology, true repentance, ultimate gifts, ungodliness, ungodly world, union with God, unrighteousness, upright, victors, weather forecasts, wrath of God
Habakkuk 2:4. Behold, his soul which is lifted up (proud) is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
Oh Friends, another God-sent day is on the horizon. But whether it’s going to be hot and sunny, like the past two days, or cold and rainy, I can’t tell you, because I’ve seen two different forecasts in the last few hours. Around 10 p.m. last night, it said 31 degrees and rain, but at 2.30 this morning, it’s saying 24 and sunshine, and that’s after rain, thunder and lightning last night. So you go figure nuh!
The weather forecaster’s job right now is one of the most unpredictable in the world. But my brethren, regardless of what happens with the weather, believers in Jesus will stand strong, steadfast and upright because of their enduring faith, as our Bit so wisely declares: ‘Behold, his soul which is lifted up (proud) is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.’
And I guess you’re wondering why there’s no wandering preamble? Well I have plenty stuff to share, and I want to get it all in today, while keeping the Bit at a reasonable length. So right away, let’s get to some scholarly explanations re our Bit.
‘2:4. Two classes of people are contrasted (1) the proud, haughty Chaldeans who will be the victors in the forthcoming conflict; and (2) the righteous ones of Judah who will appear to be defeated in the forthcoming conflict, but in reality will be the victors because of their faith in the Lord.
The just shall live by his faith is often quoted in the New Testament in support of the doctrine of justification by faith. (See Rom.1:17; Gal.3:11; Heb.10:38) Thus, this Old Testament prophecy anticipates the New Testament gospel which shall ultimately conquer the nations and bring them to Christ.’
And that’s exactly what the New testament Gospel has been doing Friends; conquering both individuals and nations and having them kneel at Christ’s footstool in true repentance to receive His ultimate gifts of salvation and eternal life! What can be more pleasing to our heavenly Father eh? Nothing, except for the whole, entire earth to believe and receive salvation, not losing a single soul to the enemy Beelzebub!
But just remember my fellow believers, that our most important job here on earth, our bounden duty, is to help bring those lost souls to Jesus. So if we don’t do right, that’s LOVE God, LIVE our Faith, and SPREAD His Word, then we’re part of the problem and not of the solution.
Oh, and by the way, I hope you all checked out the reference from yesterday, Daniel 5:30-31, where Habakkuk’s prophecy came through in the middle of the night. Belshazzar, the Chaldean king was slain and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom.
And today’s certainly your lucky day Friends, sorry blessed day (smile) because I’ve planned to quote all the scriptures the scholars referenced above, including this one from John.
‘The Father LOVETH the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth (remains) on him.’ (John 3:35-36)
Yes my people, those who don’t believe in the light and life of the Son, darkness, death and destruction will continue to dog them forever. And as Bruh Paul said to the Roman church, when he talked about the power of the gospel and the guilt of mankind.
‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.’ (Rom.1:16-18)
Ah mih breddren, the gospel of Christ is so powerful that it can propel you from the very demonic gates of sin, death and Hades right to the golden arches of heaven, through salvation, so you can enjoy life eternal.
Wow! I say it every day: what a mighty and LOVING God we serve my people! Everyday we should just be falling all over ourselves to live for Him, to give Him the thanks and praise He so worthily deserves!
But instead we foolishly resist His entreaties and advances, push Him aside, and live with hate, bitterness, anger and revenge as the prominent emotions in our lives, rather than those of Peace, LOVE, Mercy and Forgiveness which flow from Him.
And then we wonder why life is so rough. Hn! The answer is so simple; we’ve turned away from Almighty God. We no longer obey His commandments, so how do we expect to receive His blessings and LOVING-kindness eh?
Oh Friends, I think I have to change my plans here yes, because I’ve just seen some explanations from the scholars re the last two verses above, which I believe will help us understand those scriptures better, so here goes.
‘1:17. Righteousness, God’s essential attribute is revealed. It is not man’s invention; it is God’s revelation. Left to himself, man would never have thought of it. From faith to faith: It’s source and end are the same. To those who possess God’s righteousness Paul pronounces, The just shall live by faith. What one believes does make a difference. If he believes the gospel he has life (union with God); otherwise he has death (separation from God).
1:18. The wrath is not the revelation of a future judgement of God or of the Great Tribulation, but a present revelation that parallels the present revelation of God’s righteousness (cf.1:17). This revelation comes from heaven.
Ungodliness is failure in the religious realm. Unrighteousness is failure in the moral sphere or injustice toward man. Who hold (lit. “hold down,” “suppress”) the truth in unrighteousness. They received the truth concerning the wrath of God but hindered it and prevented it from completing its work.’
Oh my fellow believers, I do hope that brings a clearer understanding of those scriptures. So we’ll end there, and if God’s willing, will continue this topic tomorrow, for we all know that the best laid plans of mice and men usually go astray, (smile) and it’s the Lord’s plan that carries the day.
Till we meet tomorrow then, may we walk in the sunshine of God’s countenance, may peace and LOVE guide our footsteps as we continue looking to Jesus for strength and faith to face this evil, ungodly world. Much LOVE!
…if you don’t believe in Jesus…then you’ll pay the price…just like Lucifer is doing…
16 Jun 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abuse, admonition, architect of the family, bounden duty, christianity, cock of the walk, competent manner, cruelty, don't provoke your children, emotional succour, father figures, Father's Day, fatherly duties, fatherly responsibilities, forget not my law, God's eyes, good father, good understanding, harmony, human-rights, injustice, keep my commandments, lasting effects, loss of temper, LOVE, mercy, negative cycle, no vision, peace, quality time, ridicule, rules and regulations, sexual prowess, spiritual education, spiritual leadership, the people perish, titular head, training of God, trust in the Lord
Proverbs 3:1: My son forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments.
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!
Well a Happy Father’s Day to all you fathers out there! I surely hope that it finds us all in good health, and doing better than we did a year ago. And I’m talking there about our fatherly duties. That’s because too many of us don’t measure up to what’s considered a good father.
Oh, I know that it can be a hard task, especially with the way things are going in our world today, but that doesn’t give us the right to renege on, or abdicate our fatherly duties.
Remember that in God’s eyes, the father is the titular head of the household, and we need to represent Him in a competent manner. Fathers are responsible for providing both physical and emotional succour for their household, as well as spiritual leadership. (Eph.5:22-33)
It’s an awesome responsibility, that’s why we fathers have to consider our words and actions very carefully, because they can have lasting effects, good or bad, on our families. For as the father goes, so usually does the rest of the household.
That’s why Bruh Paul warns the fathers of Ephesus: ‘And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture (training) and admonition of the Lord.’ (Eph.6:4) And really, that says it all, yes my people!
As the scholars explain: ‘Fathers can provoke their children to wrath by injustice, loss of temper, undue severity, cruelty, favouritism, suppression, sarcasm, ridicule, and misuse or abuse of authority. Nurture basically means “training,” here denoting spiritual education.
Admonition is instruction that points out one’s responsibilities and duties. Of the Lord is in Greek a subjective genitive. This indicates that behind the parents’ rearing and instruction of their children stands the Lord as the chief teacher in the child’s education. Parents do not rear children alone.’
And that’s an undeniable fact, my brethren! The Lord God should be the architect of our family building, with the father being the chief builder, following His well laid out plans as closely as possible.
But unfortunately our modern society is more concerned with moving away from God, which results in the breaking up of families, rather than the constructive building of them.
Consequently, in too many homes around the world, there are either no father figures, or not particularly good ones. Too many fathers have turned away from God, or never knew Him, which means that families are not God-centered, or spiritually minded. And that’s truly a sad state of affairs my brethren!
How many households are there in our society today eh, where fathers speak to their children like Cousin Sol does in Proverbs 3, exhorting them to obedience and trust in the laws and ways of God? Not too many, or rather far from enough to make our society a blessed place to live and raise children and families in a godly manner.
Proverbs 3 begins with our Bit: ‘My son forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments.’
Friends, that applies to the rules and regulations of our earthly fathers, as well as those of our heavenly Father, which, in the first place, are supposed to guide us all. And throughout that whole chapter, Cousin Sol goes on to teach the right way; the right way for both earthly fathers to live, and to teach their children how to live.
Unfortunately though my people, not too many of us tell our children things like: ‘Let not mercy (LOVING-kindness) and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart (mind). So shalt thou find favour and good understanding (high esteem) in the sight of God and man.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct (make smooth) thy paths.’ (Prov.3:3-6)
Oh Friends, that’s the kind of stuff we ought to be teaching our children, especially in these godless times!
In many cases though, the fathers were never taught those things in their own childhood, and therefore don’t even know about them, so they obviously can’t teach them to their children, which only keeps the already negative cycle going from generation to generation.
And to make matters worse, our society is drifting away from God, increasing our already sad state of immorality, which allows young men to sire children all over the place without thought for the children or mothers, and shirking their fatherly responsibilities.
Oh Friends, there are too many single mothers in our society, and too many irresponsible fathers, who are only concerned about their sexual prowess and being ‘cock of the walk.’ That combination though is a sure-fire way to raise godless, irresponsible, immoral children, to the further detriment of our society.
Oh my people, please remember God’s promise; if we live according to His dictates, we’ll prosper, if not, then we’ll suffer. And we can see the ‘sufferation’ definitely happening now, as our entire world is facing serious hardships and disasters, though we are at astonishing heights of technological progress.
A lot of this is due to the poor leadership of the fathers amongst us. We’ve fallen down by paying more attention to the affairs of the world than those of God, and the affairs of God are the only things that will guide us aright in this evil, ungodly, troubled world. Then we’ve further failed our children by not spending enough quality time with them, then teaching them the wrong things, through our personal examples and words.
So Friends, fathers and fellow believers, let’s try and improve on our past performance nuh, because if we don’t, we’ll just keep going downhill until we perish in the mire of our own making. Please remember those wise words of Cousin Sol: ‘Where there is no vision (prophetic vision or revelation), the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.’ (Prov.29:18)
Yes Friends, where there is no divine revelation, with a lifestyle based on God’s will, then a society disintegrates. And we definitely don’t want that to happen to us. So let’s get behind our leaders, most of whom are also fathers, and raise a groundswell of dissatisfaction. Let’s tell them in no uncertain terms, that we’re not happy with the current state of affairs, and if they don’t do better, soon they’ll be looking for a job, just like many of us.
Now let’s enjoy our Father’s Day in peace, LOVE and harmony. Much LOVE!
….our children are our future…so father’s, let’s teach them right nuh… it’s our bounden duty…
25 May 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all is vanity, be happy with your lot, choose Jesus, God's always victorious, God's faithfulness, God's in control, God's judgement, God's on His throne, God's promise, honour, injustice, innuendo, justice, lies, Lucifer's jealousy, most important decision, omnipotent god, righteousness., sagging spirits, senseless beasts, soaring spirits, spirituality, time for every purpose, time for every work, timely reminder, understanding, unseasonal weather, wickedness, wiles
Psalm 49:20. Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.
Oh my people, blessed greetings to you and yours on this chilly May morn! Yes it’s somewhat chilly in my neck of the woods. The weather’s been playing games with us, moving from a high of twenty something degrees celsius a week ago, to the low and mid teens this past week. But I guess much of North America has recently been plagued by unseasonal snow, wind, rain and deadly tornados.
But not to worry, for Almighty God is still on His heavenly throne, still in total control, and nothing happens in this world without His approval. So if you feel somewhat challenged today, please turn to Him and pour out all your heartfelt fears, frustrations and anxieties. He will hear your pleas and respond in the appropriate fashion at the right time.
And this seems to be a very good time to remind us of God’s Promise, the poem I shared a couple weeks back, for there’s nothing that lifts our sagging spirits as a timely reminder of the many wonderful promises our God has made us, and is ever so faithful to fulfill.
So read on dear Friends and let our spirits soar. ‘I will not fear; God is always with me. I will not doubt; God is always in control. I will not despair; God is always good. I will not falter; God is always watching. I will not fail; God is always victorious.’
Yes my Friends, our God is ALWAYS VICTORIOUS!
Please remember that when the enemy comes a-calling, demeans and bad talks our wonderful and omnipotent God. It’s just pure jealousy, because he’s been spayed, neutered, declawed and defanged by Jesus’ victory over death and the grave, and all he can do now is bat his toothless gums together and try to scare us with his snide, nasty remarks, for he’s lost whatever little power he ever had over believers. He can’t harm us, unless we allow him to. Remember that.
Now let’s look at our Bit: ‘Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.’
Oh my brethren, that is the foolish man who listens to Lucifer and falls for his lies, wiles and innuendo. Though he has earthly wealth and power, he is without true understanding of the ways of Almighty God. Thus he perishes as the senseless beasts, without any hope of a positive life after his earthly death.
Yesterday we looked at some scripture pertaining to that topic, and today we’ll look at some more. To further help us make the most important decision of our earthly lives – following Christ – let’s hear from Cousin Sol in Ecclesiastes 3, where he talks about God judges both the righteous and the wicked.
‘And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgement, that wickedness was there (in the place of justice there was wickedness); and (in) the place of righteousness, that iniquity (wickedness) was there. I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose (matter in which one delights) and for every work.
I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest (test) them, and that they might see that they themselves are (like) beasts. For that which befalleth (happens to) the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no pre-eminence (advantage) above a beast: for all is vanity.’ (Eccl.3:16-19)
So Friends, back then, Cousin Sol saw injustice in the courts where justice should have prevailed. Sadly, our court system today is similarly as unjust. Moreover, he was sure that God’s justice would be forthcoming, though the casual observer could not see it.
But though man and beast seem to simply return to the dust from whence they came, the spirit of man goes back to God for judgement, as he later declares. ‘Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.’ (Eccl.12:7)
And the scholars proclaim that ‘God does not clearly reveal to man all the events that will occur after him, therefore, man should be happy with the lot assigned to him by God. (v.22)’
Now hear Cousin Sol tell it. ‘All go unto one place; all are of dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knoweth (knows whether) the spirit of man that goeth upward (goes upward), and (whether) the spirit of the beast that goeth (goes) downward to the earth?
Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion (heritage): for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?’ (Eccl.3:20-22)
So Friends, the facts are before us. Jesus came later and clarified some stuff, but it’s still all a matter of personal belief. The choice is ours. Let’s hope though that we all make the right choice; JESUS, FOR THAT’S THE WISDOM OF THE AGES! Much LOVE!
…I choose JESUS…because HE’S THE TRUTH…THE LIGHT…THE LIFE…AND THE ONLY WAY…
14 Sep 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: bless, blessed, curse, enthusiasm, evil, exuberance, faith, Friday chant, good, heritage, injustice, legacy, modicum of circumspection, perspective, revenge, righteous kingdom, suffering, TGIF!, trials, tribulations, weekend
Proverbs 17:13. Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.
Oh Friends, our wonderful God again blessed my area yesterday with a perfect summer’s day! Wow! All praise and thanks be to You O Lord! But I don’t think today is going to be so nice, because they’re calling for cooler temps and rain. But when has a little rain and some cool weather ever stopped God’s children from joyously shouting on a Friday: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday?’ Never! That’s because we’re so wrapped up in our Fridays; first because it’s the end of the work week and then it’s also the start of our labour free weekend. However Friends, before we allow our exuberance to aimlessly carry us away, let’s chant our Friday Chant, so that we can keep everything in its right perspective. So with the same enthusiasm that we just shouted, ‘TGIF!’ and ‘Thank God it’s Friday!’ let’s all chant as one. Blow the roof off heaven mih people! (smile) ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’ And now that we’ve curbed our aimless enthusiasm with ‘a modicum of circumspection,’ as Jeeves the butler in the P.G. Wodehouse books was wont to say, let’s turn to our Bit. ‘Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.’ Those are certainly words of invaluable truth my people, for that’s how our most just and righteous God has set up His everlasting kingdom. Evil has no place in it; especially for those who return evil for good. Being evil is bad enough, but returning a good favour with evil consequences, is the lowest of the low. Now yesterday we ended with Peter telling us that we should be joyful when we suffer for righteousness sake. (1 Pet.3:13-14) However Friends, we all know it’s rough to suffer injustice and don’t long for some kind of revenge. That’s just our natural human nature. But James tells us this: ‘Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried (has been proved), he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that LOVE him.’ (James 1:12) Accepting evil for good and not making any noise, comes with the territory my brethren. Jesus suffered immeasurable evil for our sakes, but He never complained. Granted we don’t have all the parts that Jesus had, but we can still stand strong in His Holy Name. For you see what’s the end of returning evil for good? Evil will remain forever in the house, the family of that person(s). Now is that a legacy we want to leave our descendants? Absolutely not! And it’s not only Jesus who endured evil for good, but many other faithful followers did too. Hear Jeremiah tell his story: ‘Give heed to me, O Lord, and hearken (listen) to the voice of them that contend with me. Shall evil be recompensed (repaid) for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul (life). Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for (concerning) them, and to turn away thy wrath from them.’ (Jer.18:19-20) Poor Jerry ended up in jail for warning his people about the coming calamity from God if they did not repent of their evil ways. Now listen to Bruh David, who knew a thing or two about suffering evil at the hands of those he treated well, like Saul and his own son Absalom. He declares thus in Psalm 35, a prayer for rescue from enemies: ‘Let their way be dark and slippery: and let the angel of the Lord persecute (pursue) them. For without cause have they hid (hidden) for me their net in a pit, which without cause they have digged for my soul (life) – shades of Jeremiah – …False (fierce) witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge (asked me) things that I knew not. They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling (sorrow) of my soul.’ (Ps.35:6-7,11-12) Oh Friends, I know that many of us are still suffering the heartfelt pangs of receiving evil in return for good. But as I tried to show, it’s a part of our heritage, our faith, to suffer, especially on Jesus’ behalf. And though it’s never easy, we have to try and rise above the situation of returning evil for good, and when it happens to us, we have to look at it as a test from God, who has promised to strengthen us in all our misfortunes and also reward us if we stand strong and steadfast in His Word and His Will. And we’ll end with some poignant words from Jesus on the subject. After he told the Jews: ‘I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones to stone him. Jesus answered them. Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?’ (John 10:30-32) And we think we have it hard! Oh my people, let’s ponder today on the trials and tribulations that Jesus unfairly bore on our behalf, so that we could be reconciled with the Father. Then let’s allow His Holy Spirit to rise up in us and strengthen us, as we make our own difficult pilgrimage through this earthly life. Much LOVE!…but I say unto you which hear…LOVE your enemies…do good to them which hate you…bless them that curse you…and pray for them which despitefully (spitefully) use you… (Luke 6:27-28)
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