10 Jan 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's voice is known by multitude of words, a man's word is his honour, all the days of his life, ambassadors for Christ, anxiety, ascended to high heaven, backsliders, barren woman, barter with God, be better witnesses for Christ, be not rash with thy mouth, be resposible, better is it that thou shouldest not vow, Bible, bitterness of soul, break our oaths, broken with impunity, burn out, character, chores, christianity, Christians, confusion, contracts, covenants, crying out for your help, deceitful, deceitful world, defer not to pay it, disciples of Jesus, discontent, dissatisfaction, divine aid, error of their ways, faith, fellowship, forget our part of the bargain, fraudulent, Friday chant, give me a man child, go our merry way rejoicing, God hath no pleasure in fools, God is in heaven, God pulls us out, Hannah, high esteem, holy, holy spirit, housework, I will give him unto the Lord, in olden times, integrity, Jesus Christ, lack of cooperation, let not thine heart be hasty, let thy words be few, LOVE, mercy, new flock of believers, no razor shall come upon his head, not held sacred, omnipotent help, our Number One Job, our sinful world, partying, pay that which thou hast vowed, prayed tearfully, problems are escalating, promises, promises are made to be broken, promises should be unbreakable, sacrosanct, salvation, Samuel's mother, simmering unrest, sindul behaviour, stand strong and steadfast, stay safe, sullies our reputation, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, than thou shouldest vow and not pay, the example we faithful believers set, the fiery furnace, the priest Eli, the throne of grace, thou upon the earth, to utter anything before God, took him under his wing, totally binding, truth, ungodly generation, ungodly times, vows, wake up and smell the coffee, wept in anguish, when thou vowest a vow unto God, wisdom, wise guidance
Ecclesiastes 5:5. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than thou shouldest vow and not pay.
So friends, Friday’s here at last, and numerous shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ have already ascended to high heaven. And it’s good to have the weekend come around, but please, let’s remember to not use it just for partying and idle, sinful behaviour, but for the purposes that it was granted; that’s rest, relaxation and fellowship with other believers in Christ Jesus! And that’s because we need to have our minds, souls, bodies, and faith renewed and refreshed so that we can go back into the world the following week and once again work diligently for Christ.
Now, I know that many of us have lots of housework to do, chores that couldn’t be done during the work week, but please don’t let the weekend be all about housework, make time to get in a reasonable amount of those renewing and refreshing factors of life. (smile) That way, we will escape burn out from too much work and worry, and continue being useful ambassadors and disciples of Jesus, which is our Number One Job.
And today we’ll talk about vows, promises, covenants, contracts, things that today are not held sacred, but are broken with impunity, helped by the lax law of the land. In olden times a vow, promise, contract or covenant was totally binding, but in this deceitful, fraudulent and ungodly generation those things are not held in high esteem and agreements are disregarded without much thought or fear. A man’s word is no longer his honour. We seem to believe the saying; promises are made to be broken.
But friends, breaking a promise or contract is one of the worst things we can ever do, for it sullies our reputation, while damaging our integrity and our character. Our word will no longer be trusted by others, and we will suffer judgement and lack of cooperation by those we desire to work with. So, it’s not wise to break our oaths without very good cause, especially one made to God. Yuh know how we like to barter with God, especially when we find ourselves in tough situations, with words like: ‘Oh God, if you will only do this or that for me, I will do this or that in return.’ And when the Lord pulls us out of the fiery furnace, we forget all about our part of the bargain, and just go our merry way rejoicing.
Now that won’t wash with God, for He doesn’t like people who don’t keep their promises. We need to be people of integrity, especially with God. People like Hannah, the prophet Samuel’s mother. Remember how she was barren for a long time and prayed tearfully to the Lord to have a son. The scripture tells it thus: ‘And she (Hannah) was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore (in anguish). And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then will I give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.’ (1 Sam. 1:10-11)
And we know that the Lord heard Hannah’s prayer, and did indeed bless her with a man child, whom she named Samuel (heard by God), and when he was probably about three years old she took him to the temple in Shiloh and presented him to the priest Eli, who took him under his wing and taught him about the Lord and the workings of His service. Now that’s what meant by keeping your word, your vow.
And, as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes, Cousin Sol issues a very strong warning on the subject. He writes: ‘Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God: for God is in heaven and thou upon the earth: therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business (effort, activity); and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words. 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 thou shouldest vow and not pay.’ (Eccl. 5:2-5)
Oh my fellow believers we cannot get any better advice than that. And please, let’s also do it in all our communications with man, not just with God. That’s the only way we will bring some integrity back into our forlorn and deceitful world. And I like how the scholars explain it. ‘The emphasis of the passage is on the folly of an empty religious profession before a sovereign God: God is in heaven, and thou upon the earth. God expects sincerity and meaningfulness in worship; He is not impressed with foolish vows.’
Oh, how I wish that many of us could understand that and stop trying to barter with God. Cousin Sol tells it thus in Proverbs. ‘It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy (to devote rashly something as holy, consecrated), and after vows to make enquiry (reconsiders his vows).’ (Prov. 20:25) Yes friends, let’s not speak too quickly, or too much, for it will only get us in serious trouble, both with God and man. So now, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking divine aid to help in these troubled and trying times.
Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times.
We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Now, let’s not forget, that for divine aid to be doled out to us, we need to become better, more faithful witnesses for Christ! Much LOVE!
…promises…both to God and man…should be held inviolable…unbreakable…sacrosanct…holy…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
11 Sep 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a changing of perception, a flamboyant lifestyle, a good foundation, a good name is to be chosen above riches, a good reputation, a good reputation is more valuable than wealth, be rich in good works, Bible, cahracter, charge them that are rich, christianity, digging dirt on opponents, do good, dreadful consequences, endure to the end, eyes fixed straight ahead, faith, fame, get in step, god, greed, halfway home, hands on the plough, he addeth no sorrow with it, he that steals my good name robs me, he who steals my purse steals trash, immediate satisfaction, integrity, it is the Lord that gives you power to get wealth, jealousy, Jesus Christ, lay hold on eternal life, laying up in store for themselves, lead us down wrong paths, LOVE, loving favour rather than silver or gold, makes me poor indeed, mercy, naked we came, naked we will go back, not looking back, power, ready to distribute, ready to give, social media, thank God, the arena of plotice, the blessing of the Lord it maketh rich, the breath of life, the prevalence of destroying eputations, the reality of the situation, they be not highminded, to a glorious future with Jesus, trust in the living God, trust not in uncertain riches, truth, wealth, Wednesday Wail, willing to share, wisdom
Proverbs 22:1. A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and LOVING favour rather than silver or gold.
And then it was Wednesday… and somebody said ‘Already!’ Yes sir, the week is moving along like nobody’s business, and if you don’t get in step with it, then it will simply leave you behind. (smile) Many of us believe that the days, and thus the weeks and months are moving faster than ever, as one person recently told me, before the weeks’ start they are finished, and that certainly seems true. However, the days and other elements of time are still moving ahead at the same pace the Lord assigned them many eons ago, what’s changing is our perception of them.
Our world is now so busy and technologically advanced, with almost everything readily at hand, that we get the impression that things are moving quicker than usual. And believe me, that attribute of perception, the ability to notice and understand things that are not obvious to other people, can and have led us down some wrong paths with dreadful consequences. That’s why we have to be very careful of what we think or believe we perceive. Like thinking that the things of the world, it’s wealth, power and fame and the flamboyant lifestyle that those who have them live are so great that we ought to kill ourselves trying to get them.
But unfortunately that is definitely not the reality of the situation. For those things in and of themselves don’t bring true happiness, which only come from matters like peace, LOVE, joy and rightness with God. Oftentimes, they bring the exact opposite and those who have them then regret they ever acquired them. One of the reasons for that is the greed and jealousy of man. We see what others have and don’t know how they acquired it, but we want it too, so we decide to do whatever it takes to get it.
But here’s the wisdom, obviously from the wisest man ever, Cousin Sol, that should be our guide on this the Lord’s great earth. ‘A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and LOVING favour rather than silver or gold.’ (Prov. 22:1) Oh my fellow believers, a good reputation is much more important than wealth.
And it’s rather interesting that William Shakespeare in his play Othello, puts these words of absolute truth into the mouth of his character Iago, a lying, immoral man. ‘Good name in man and woman, dear my lord, Is the immediate jewel of their souls: Who steals my purse steals trash; ’tis something, nothing; ‘Twas mine, ’tis his, and has been slave to thousands: But he that filches from me my good name Robs me of that which not enriches him And makes me poor indeed.’
It’s no joke friends, the loss of our good name, our reputation, the tarnishing of our character is ever much more important our material wealth and fame, for when you lose that, it’s almost impossible to regain it. As this commentary explains. ‘Iago compares a good reputation to a precious jewel that, unlike money, has true and lasting value for its owner, yet is worthless to anyone who would try to steal it.’ And sadly in this modern age of social media and all the other technological developments, it’s very easy to slander and destroy someone’s reputation by simply posting lies and untruths that are greedily picked up and spread like wildfire by those who read or see them.
And it’s oh so sad that even the big newscasters nowadays no longer seem to check the facts, as they use to, before rushing to publish stuff they see on the social media platforms because the big thing is to be the first to bring it to public attention. But in their haste to be the first they are ofttimes making themselves look real foolish by publishing incorrect news. But that’s our modern world; everything is about speed and immediate satisfaction, the real truth doesn’t matter half as much as it should. And where the killing of someone’s reputation and character is most prevalent is in the arena of politics.
Now, no one campaigns on the strength of their own personality or what they have to bring to the table, but the first thing is always to look for dirt on one’s opponents and base your campaign on those things. And politicians are not above lying and making up untrue situations which the naïve and unschooled sheep known as the voters quickly believe, because our society is now built on defamation of character. And nowhere is that more visible than in the current U.S. Presidential Election campaign.
However, getting back to our topic of putting material wealth and fame and power at the top of our list, before God, there is one scripture we ought to pay particular attention to, that’s this one which Moses speaks to the Israelites, reminding them of where all their prosperity comes from. ‘And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee the power to get wealth, that he may establish (confirm) his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.’ (Deut. 8:17-18)
Yes friends, it’s Almighty God who gives to each of us the power to gain wealth. For as Jesus says, without him we can do nothing. (John 15:5) Let’s remember that God is the Creator and Controller of this world and nothing happens in it unless He originates it or allows it to happen. And again we turn to not only the wisest but also the richest man ever, that’s Cousin Sol for this other gem of wisdom on the subject. ‘The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.’ (Prov. 10:22) And if anybody should know about wealth that’s Cousin Sol because the Lord made him the wealthiest man ever because instead of asking for long life and riches, he asked for wisdom to lead God’s people.
And although there’s no shame in being wealthy in worldly goods, we ought to note this scripture from Bruh Paul to Timothy very closely. ‘Charge (command) them that are rich in this world (present age), that they be not highminded (haughty), nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute (give), willing to communicate (share); Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.’ (1 Tim. 6:17-19)
Oh my fellow believers, when the Lord allows us to gain earthly wealth it’s not for us to hoard and admire, but to share with the less fortunate of our society. Please, let’s remember that and promise ourselves to improve our generosity, because I’m sure all of us can do a li’l better than we’re currently doing in a world that’s desperate for brotherly help and LOVE. Now, let’s go home declaring (chuh!!!) our Wednesday Wail.
As one strong and sincere voice: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And it’s been further promised that if we endure with Jesus right to the very end, then that future will be even more glorious then we can ask or imagine. So, hoping to see you there at the very end! Much LOVE!
…naked we came…and naked we will go…except for what’s inside us…our character and integrity…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
10 Feb 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a means of restoring faith in you, Abraham twice lacking integrity, according to my integrity, according to my righteousness, adherence to moral and ethical principles, and shall we not receive evil, anxiety, better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, character traits of integrity, confusion, curse God and die, deceit, encouragers, evil men understand not judgement, fraud, Friday chant, gracious, hardworking, he that is a fool, he that is perverse in his lips, helpful, holy spirit, immorality, integrity, integrity requires honesty, introduce a new flock of believers, Job did not sin with his lips, judge me O Lord, justice, lounging in bed, LOVE, pandemic, pateint, respectful, resposnible, return backsliders to your fold, shall we receive good at the hand of God, simmering unrest, sinful world, social media, stand strong and steadfast, talkative society, the error of their ways, they that seek the Lord understands all things, trustworthy, wake up and smell the coffee, wise gidance, withheld thee from sinning
Proverbs 19:1. Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.
How interesting it is to awaken to a house with no electricity on a damp and cloudy Friday morning! Just the encouragement you need to jump back into bed, because it means no internet and thus no messaging or no Bit. And I could genuinely say ‘Thank God it’s Friday!’ and pull the covers back over my head. (smile) But good things don’t last forever, and some forty minutes later the electricity returned. Chuh! I was just getting warm and cozy with the duchess.
And once the electricity came back, she was ready to be up and about and begin her day. No lounging in bed for her. So, I reluctantly got up too. And here I am contemplating what to write. Obviously, I asked the Lord to show me what He wants me to write on, but nothing has come to mind so far, so let’s open the Good Library and see where He leads me. Soon come.
And it didn’t take long. He guided me to these awesome words of Cousin Sol in Proverbs. ‘Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.’ (Prov. 19:1) And isn’t that the awesome truth? It certainly is, and it’s highlighted ever so much by our current talkative society, who, with the help of social media talk a whole lot of baloney, on things they know nothing about. I don’t think we’ve ever had so many foolish people in our world like we do today, thanks to social media and the supposed encouragers who manipulate it for their own selfish and evil purposes.
And sadly, many of us don’t even know the word ‘integrity’ much less it’s meaning. And what does it mean eh? Well, according to the Random House Dictionary, integrity is: ‘Adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty. The state of being whole, entire or undiminished.’ Now how many of us nowadays adhere to moral and ethical principles or are honest eh? Not too many, because those things are no longer the backbone, the foundation of our societal character. Rather things like fraud, dishonesty, deceit, immorality and evil doings now are the guiding principles of our ungodly society.
And here are some character traits related to integrity, which hopefully will rub off on us and keep us walking along the straight and narrow path. Integrity is: ‘Gracious, Respectful., Honest. Integrity requires honesty. … Trustworthy. People with integrity follow through on their commitments. … Hardworking, Responsible. Those with integrity take accountability for their actions. … Helpful. When someone has integrity, they help those in need. … Patient.’ Yes friends, to have true integrity, we must possess most, if not all of those characteristics.
Now, if you read through those traits again and compare them to our current society, you will find that we are a failed society under those terms of reckoning. And isn’t it interesting that later on in Proverbs, Cousin Sol chooses to reiterate his words on integrity in a slightly different manner. This time he writes: ‘Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness (integrity), than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich.’ (Prov. 28:6)
Oh my people, that’s another glorious truth! Wealth doesn’t give us the privilege to behave perverse and foolish, without integrity. But that’s exactly how many a wealthy person and/or family behaves nowadays. As though their earthly wealth has given them the authority to behave like they own the world and can do whatever they want, as dishonestly, deceitfully and ungodly as they desire. But yuh know what? The verse just before that last one offers us an interesting picture as it says: ‘Evil men understand not judgement (justice): but they that seek the Lord understand all things.’ (Prov. 28:5)
And that’s something we should sincerely contemplate, then try to make it true in our own lives. Sadly though, the Father of our faith, Abraham, suffered two occasions where serious integrity was totally lacking. Twice he lied and said that his wife Sarah was his sister, and since Sarah was beautiful both the Pharoah of Egypt and King Abimelech of Gerar took her for their wives. The Lord plagued Pharaoh’s house with great plagues because of it, and Pharaoh finally saw the light and returned Sarah to Abraham and then ran him out of town. (Gen. 12:10-20)
With Abimelech though, God warned him in a dream that Sarah was Abraham’s wife and he was playing with fire if he touched her. (Gen. 20:1-4) Abimelech protested his innocence. ‘Said he (Abraham) not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this. And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thine heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.
Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, and all that are thine.’ (Gen. 20:5-7) And Abimelech obeyed the Lord’s command, but first seriously reproaching both Abraham and Sarah.’ (Gen. 20:9-18)
Oh my fellow believers, you see the major problems we can cause others through lack of honesty and true integrity. Meanwhile in Psalm 7, Bruh David pleads with God to deal with him according to his integrity. ‘The Lord shall judge the people: judge me, O lord, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me.’ (Ps. 7:8) Now how many of us have the parts to ask God to do such a thing eh? Not too many.
And the Book of Job is chocked full of talk on integrity, for Job maintained before his friends and God that he had done no wrong to cause all his calamity to befall him. But I think the moment he shows the most awesome integrity is when his wife tells him: ‘Dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God, and die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive (accept) good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive (accept) evil (calamity)? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.’ (Job 2:9-10)
Ah friends, it’s not easy living the Christian life, especially in these last days, but live it we must. And with the help of the Holy Spirit that indwells us, we certainly can live it victoriously. We only have to abide by His leading and guidance. And the first thing He always recommends in our uncertainty is prayer. And there’s no better time for prayer than right now. So, let’s go to the throne of God, through our Friday Chant asking for divine help in our sinful and ungodly world.
Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the confusion and anxiety caused by the pandemic and our many other serious problems. We can’t fix them on our own Lord, so we desperately need your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land.
So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, without further serious setbacks. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to return backsliders to your fold, show them the error of their ways.
And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic, the bubbling discontent and dissatisfaction in our land, as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Now, our next move is to truly start living and behaving like the faithful believers we mentioned above, so that the Lord can look down on us with His divine favour! Much LOVE!
…a righteous heart walks in integrity…but the evil heart walks in ungodliness…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
28 May 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a positive mindset, aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow, be not afraid only believe, be sober be vigilante, eating out of his hand, God will never refuse to help, I have finished my course, I have fought a good fight, I have kept the faith, if thou wouldest believe, integrity, keeps God first place, lazing around Saturday, LOVE, mind the things of the flesh, mind the things of the Spirit, one negative thought can ruin your whole day, one positive thought can change your whole day, our christian walk, our friend Anselm, ponder the state of our race, the carnal mind is enmity against God, the devil as a roaring lion, they that are in the flesh cannot please God, this is the day the Lord has made, thou shouldest see the glory of God, to be carnally minded is death, to be spiritually minded is life and peace, walketh about seeking whom he may devour, we will rejoice and be glad in it, work ethic, you cannot have a positive life and a negative mind
Mark 5:36. Be not afraid, only believe.
And then it was lazing around Saturday… How nice it is to have one day in the week to just do as one pleases; to do nothing, or to do a lot, but it’s all up to you, with no boss constantly hanging around, watching to see how many breaks you take, or how much work you are actually doing. Now, sometimes, especially in our current society with little or no integrity or work ethic, it’s necessary for the boss to keep a close eye on us, but it’s still uncomfortable to have someone always watching your movements. That won’t happen today…unless it’s your spouse praying that you would get your lazy self, up off the couch and go do the household chores you’ve been putting off for so long. (smile)
And our Saturday chore is to look at the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow, and see how they interact with our Christian walk. And the first one says: ‘You cannot have a positive life and a negative mind.’ Now that’s gospel truth! Those two polar opposites together will never create something beautiful. It’s like God and Satan, sin and grace, or oil and water. They just don’t mix in a pleasurable way. And it’s obvious that a positive mindset, one that keeps God first place, that concentrates on building, is always better than the negative opposite, where Satan is simply intent on destroying anything that we build.
It’s like walking in the flesh, or carnality, and walking after the Holy Spirit, like Bruh Paul talks about in his letter to the Roman church. ‘For they that are after the flesh do mind (set their minds on) the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.’ (Rom. 8:5-8)
Yes friends, it’s the same way with a positive and negative mindset, it’s either one or the other, for never the twain shall ever meet successfully. That segues very nicely into this next quote. ‘One small positive thought can change your whole day.’ More wonderful truth my people. That’s the power of positive thinking, as opposed to negative thinking. One good and positive thought early in the morning can brighten up our entire day. Likewise, one negative thought can ruin our whole day if we allow it to, it can steal our wonderful joy.
And that’s exactly what the enemy tries to do when he comes storming into our minds with his negative, ungodly and sinful ideas. But we need to be like seed that’s sown on good and fertile soil and reject them as soon as possible. That’s why Peter sternly warns us to ‘Be sober, be vigilant; because the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in (being experienced by) your brethren that are in the world.’ (1 Pet. 5:8-9)
Ah mih people, the vengeful enemy is all over, trying to bring down the people of faith with the same basic temptations, so nothing that we are going through is new, or unique to any of us. Remember, he has no real power over us, unless we give it to him. For he’s just a toothless lion with a big roar. But we cannot afford to give the enemy even one small toehold in our lives, otherwise he will turn it into a stronghold, and have us eating out of his hand in that matter. That brings us to this quote: ‘Believe you can and you’re halfway there.’
Now, I don’t know if simple belief will get you halfway to your destiny, (smile) but it will certainly give you the right beginning, the right start, because if you don’t believe you can complete or achieve whatever you have in mind, you most certainly won’t succeed. Belief is indeed the most important aspect of any project or programme. Like we said above, it’s the positive mindset that engenders faith and hope in whatever we desire to do.
What did Jesus say to Jairus, one of the synagogue rulers, when they came and told him his daughter was dead? Just these simple words: ‘Be not afraid, only believe.’ (Mark 5:36) And when Martha hesitated over rolling away the stone from the grave of her brother Lazarus, Jesus told her: ‘Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe , thou shouldest see the glory of God?’ (John 11:40) So friends, belief might not get us halfway to the end, but it will most definitely create the right and necessary attitude that will put us on the path to victory!
Consequently, the following quote also becomes important in our faith walk. ‘Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.’ Yes, it all has to do with positivity, hope, faith and belief in God Almighty! When we look forward to good things and tidings, with a strong faith, they tend to happen. That’s why the psalmist declared…ah Lord eh! Would you believe I spelled that wrong? I don’t know what it is with me and that word nuh, in all its forms too. I even refuse to try and write it again now. (smile) But like the psalmist said, and we should always say: ‘This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Ps. 118:24)
Now that gives us a positive, faithful expectation that each day will be good! Oh, we do know that every day will not really be good, because that’s just the nature of life with its up and downs, but more often than not, when we expect it to be good, it will turn out that way. Like Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) likes to say: ‘Something good is going to happen to me today. And something good is going to happen through me today!’ There’s just something about faithful expectations that put us in a better frame of mind, even when the circumstances aren’t favourable.
And the last quote says: ‘I will go anywhere as long as it’s forward.’ Now it’s very important to go forward and not backward in life. However, anywhere forward is not the best place, because that could also mean forward with the devil and his satanic cohorts. What we should be saying is that we would go anywhere forward with Jesus as our guide and leader! That’s because we need to end up like Bruh Paul said to Timothy. ‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course (race), I have kept the faith.’ (2 Tim.4:7)
Yes, my fellow saints in Christ, the only true way forward is with our Lord and Saviour! Any other way leads only to destruction and damnation! Therefore, let’s spend some time on this lazy Saturday pondering the state of our race nuh. Are we fighting a good fight, running strongly in our race, keeping the faith like we ought to? Or do we need to pick it up some? I believe that we can ALL come up somewhat higher and better than we’re currently doing because the world desperately needs us right now. So please, let’s ask the Lord to help us do just that nuh. Once it’s for His glory, we know He’ll never refuse to help. Much LOVE!
…true belief in Christ…creates miraculous doings in our spirit…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
19 Feb 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a virtue that is sadly lacking today, and doeth it not to him it is sin, be not forgetful to entertain strangers, come back like a boomerang, doing the right thing when o one is watching, Dr. Charles Stanley, frustrating and dangerous, have a positive opinion of yourself, his ability to affect others positively, integrity, later than we sow, let brotherly love continue, LOVE, more than we sow, not in wealth but integrity, quotes from our friend Anselm, respect the integrity of others, respect yourself, some have entertained angels unawares, the aftermath of snow, the crux of the matter, the greatness of a man, the job of true believers in Christ, to him that knoweth to do good, to live a life of integrity, true wisdom, we reap what we sow, who's opinion you value most, winter sports
James 4:17. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
Oh brother, I’m certainly getting tired of all this whiteness around me yes! I know that white implies clean, but the whiteness I’m talking about isn’t cleanliness but snowiness! (smile) Yes, just when it got warm and some of the snow melted, the temperature dropped and more snow fell. Steups! Not as much as the previous time, but snow fall is snow fall! (smile) But then again, it’s winter in Canada, so what do we expect but snow and cold temperatures?
However, regardless of how long you live in the snowy climes you never get accustomed or acclimatized to it, or like it, unless you are one of those who participate in winter sports. And I guess that’s because it disrupts your everyday life, by having to clean it up, dress warm and snugly to ward it off and then the serious problems it can cause walking and driving through it. Oh, it certainly looks clean and beautiful when it first falls, no denying that, but its aftermath can be rather frustrating and dangerous.
But enough of my griping about the snow, let’s do what we do on Saturdays, that’s check out the quotes that our friend Anselm sent us this past week. Unfortunately, I’ve only gotten three quotes, and one of them, he’s already sent us. So let’s begin with that one nuh. It says: ‘Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is watching.’ Now we all know that’s true, and it doesn’t hurt, but rather helps to hear it again, so we can write it indelibly in our hearts and souls, since it’s an attitude, a virtue that is so sadly lacking in our society today.
A lot of people don’t even know the word, much less what it means. How sad eh? But unfortunately, that’s the way of our current world. Wish we could teach that in our schools and universities, but we won’t, because the leaders know that it would just devastate, or ruin their evil and sinful hold over the ungodly society that they have forged. However friends, it’s the job of true believers in Christ, to live a life of integrity and thus teach it to those with whom we come into contact. That’s the only way to mitigate the lack of integrity in our world today.
Sadly though, a lot of us supposed true believers don’t actually live lives of integrity, but foolishly go along with the greed, lusts and deceits that the world has made more important than godliness and righteousness. But don’t worry, it will all turn around and bite us at some stage of our lives, come back like a boomerang to haunt us, for remember, in God’s economy, we reap what we sow, and according to Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) ‘more than we sow, and later than we sow.’
So please, those of us who know that we’re not living lives of integrity, let’s wake up and change our course nuh. Remember it’s doing the right thing. And what does James say about doing the right thing when one knows it. ‘Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.’ (James 4:17) That says it all my people! And leads us right into the next quote, more about integrity, since it seems Anselm is on an integrity kick these days. (smile) Nothing’s wrong with that though. In fact it’s a good thing, since it might just cause some of us to change our less than stellar ways.
And the quote says: ‘The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.’ Now I don’t think we can find any fault in that quote, because it’s absolutely true! I guess that’s why Jesus told His disciples: ‘It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.’ (Matt. 19:24) That’s because many rich people don’t have any integrity, and are more concerned about themselves and their wealth than in helping their fellow man.
But let’s remember that it’s the humble and spiritually impoverished that Jesus came to save, not the haughty and wealthy. And the good thing about this life is that we don’t have to be wealthy to have integrity and treat others in a good and positive manner. Whatever our station in life, it behooves us to treat our fellow man decently. For remember the warning in the Good Book. ‘Let brotherly LOVE continue. Be nor forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.’ (Heb. 13:1-2)
Yeh friends, integrity is simply showing brotherly LOVE and kindness to those around us. And since we never know with whom we’ll interact during our everyday journey, it’s always better to show brotherly LOVE and kindness, than resentment and disdain.
That brings us to this last quote…a long one too. (smile) And it says: ‘One of the greatest things you have in life is that no one has the authority to tell you what you want to be. You’re the one who’ll decide what you want to be. Respect yourself and respect the integrity of others as well. The greatest thing you have is your self-image, a positive opinion of yourself. You must never let anyone take it from you.’
Now, let’s see if we can break that down. As per the first part, theoretically, you have the right to decide what you want to be, but in reality, everyone believes they can tell you…and even force you to be something that you don’t want to be. And that includes our parents, the government, the church, our friends and family, even total strangers. Now sometimes we listen to what others say, and sometimes we don’t. However, if we aren’t kosher with whatever we choose to do, we will not put the necessary energy and passion into it to make it successful.
That, I believe, is the main thing; doing something that will light up your energy and passion! And in doing what you are passionate about, it’s essential that you keep your self-respect and integrity, as well as not be disrespectful of others around you. For without that positive sense of self, you won’t get anywhere far or worthwhile in God’s eyes, though possibly in the eyes of the world. But who’s opinion is more important to you eh? That’s the crux of the whole matter!
According to who’s opinion you value the most, that’s the way you will live your life. Let’s hope and pray that we will all value the opinion of our heavenly father so much more than that of the world, for therein lies true wisdom. Much LOVE!
…living right…it’s so much easier and more productive…than living wrong…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
05 Feb 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ably aided and abetted by the Holy Spirit, against them that do evil, attitude of fairness, behind the eight ball, do good, doing the right thing, eschew evil, even the church reflects unfairness, he that will love life and see good days, his ears are open unto their prayers, his lips speak no guile, if any man will come after me, increased number of divorces, integrity, integrity gives you real freedom, keepin a commitment, lack of integrity, let him deny himself, LOVE, man's determination, nothing to hide, our moral conscience, our testimony is all falsehood, refrain his tongue from evil, seek peace and ensue it, stormy winter, take up his cross daily and follow me, the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, the face of the Lord, the Word of god, to be set free we need integrity, treat people with dignity, ungrateful sinners, when no one is watching, you have nothing to fear
Luke 9:23. If any man will come after (desires to follow) me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Then it was Saturday…and some more cold temps, but no snow…no work…and plenty sunshine! Yeh friends, just a blast of a day in the northern climes! (smile) Unfortunately though, it seems that the U.S got hit with a bad snowstorm over the last couple days, even a tornado hit one of the mid-western states. Imagine that nuh; tornadoes in snowstorms. But I saw a picture of a house that the tornado passed through and it was just flattened right to the ground, nothing was left standing. There were also several bad accidents in several states, and thousands of people are still without power.
What a stormy winter it’s turning out to be, after all those other mild ones of the last few years. But what can one expect if you live in a wintry climate eh? However, with man’s determination and persistence, most ably aided and abetted by the Holy Spirit of Christ that dwells within us, we will come through it all victoriously. We must believe that, otherwise we are playing behind the eight ball from the very start. So, having confirmed our victory, let’s do what we usually do on Saturdays; check out the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow.
And he seemed taken up with integrity this week, but we’ll deal first with the only quote that’s not about it. It says: ‘Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting the bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian.’ Now, I guess that’s quite true, because out world in general is not a fair place, but in our current edition, brother, the word or attitude of fairness doesn’t seem to exist. Every aspect of our society, even the church, tends to reflect unfairness rather than fairness.
We’ve lost that thing called humanity, where we treat people with dignity and appreciation, in other words like we want to be treated. And sadly, we can no longer expect fair treatment from even those close to us. So we have to be ever so careful in all our doings with our fellow man. What a pity! But enough about unfairness, let’s turn to that thing called ‘integrity’ that Anselm was so taken up with this past week. And I guess the first question is what’s integrity? And he gives us a simple but profound definition in one of the quotes. ‘Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching.’
Yes friends, that’s basic integrity; even when we are alone, we ought to do the right thing in every situation. Remember though, as believers, we are never alone, for God is always with us, and He sees all, and He is the righteous judge. So though no one else might know our lack of integrity, God knows it. It’s like Jesus says: ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness…’ And righteousness is basically doing what we know to be right. And between the Word of God, our own moral conscience and the leading of the Holy Spirit we should not have a hard time deciding what’s right from wrong.
Then there’s this quote that also defines integrity. ‘Integrity is keeping a commitment even after circumstances have changed.’ And by Jove, it does also mean that! Now that is something our world is certainly lacking; the keeping of commitments. We don’t even want to make them. Just look at all the young people who don’t want to get married, don’t want to get committed, but choose to live together with the mistaken idea that they can get out of that kind of relationship whenever they want to.
And even with the few who do get married, just look at the increased number of divorces that are happening daily, because they are not prepared, or committed to go through the difficult situations which arise in every marriage and every relationship. Ah mih people, integrity doesn’t mean always choosing the easy path, but rather toughing it out, even when it seems difficult and unfair. And that’s what Jesus desires of His followers: integrity! That’s what He had and showed to the nth degree.
Yuh think He wanted to leave the comfort of heaven and come to this sinful earth to die for a bunch of ungrateful sinners. Not on your life! But the Father asked Him to, and since He LOVED and revered the Father, and there seemed to be no other righteous or just way to save our sinful souls, He acquiesced to the Father’s desire.
Please note that last sentence carefully. Although the Father was all powerful, in His integrity, He still needed to show a penchant for rightness and justice. And since He had made the pronouncement that sin had to be paid for by death, to be seen as a just ruler and judge, He couldn’t simply wave His hand and eradicate our sins, someone or something sinless had to pay for them. And since Jesus was the ONLY sinless person beside the Father, the awful job of inhuman ‘sufferation’ fell to Him.
Now that’s true integrity; offering your only son as a sacrifice to show your justice and righteousness. And Jesus came to earth and showed that same integrity, that same sense of purpose, the stoic attitude in the face of all those who stood against Him. And that’s what He expects from those who believe in Him. Note what He said in terms of discipleship. ‘If any man will come after (desires to follow) me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’ (Luke 9:23) Yes my faithful brethren, every day we need to sacrifice our will to that of the Saviour, if we want to be true disciples. That means having integrity, oodles of it.
Now here’s something interesting that integrity confers on us. The quote says: ‘Integrity gives you real freedom because you have nothing to fear since you have nothing to hide.’ And that’s the gospel truth! When you know that you are behaving right, you feel free, because there are no skeletons in your closet to hide or worry about. No wonder so many of us are very afraid in these trying times and hold everything close to our chests. Our lack of integrity has caused us to do so much wrong stuff that we can’t relax for fear that others will find out and realize that our wonderful testimony is all falsehood. That’s why to be set free, we need integrity!
And the last quote says: ‘Listen with curiosity. Speak with honesty. Act with integrity.’ Words of enormous wisdom my fellow believers! And I believe these words from Peter’s first gospel do accurately reflect them. ‘For he that will LOVE life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile (deceit): Let them eschew (turn away from) evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue (pursue) it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.’ (1 Pet. 3:10-12)
Yes friends, if we concentrate on doing those things, then we’ll be considered righteous, people of integrity, true disciples of Christ! Much LOVE!
…what we do in darkness…should be able to withstand the light…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
13 Dec 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a joyful heart, a spiritual nature, Adeste Fidelis, be faithful and joyful, be of good cheer, believers in Jesus, born the king of angels, born this happy morning, children of God, Christ is worthy of adoration, Christ the Lord, citizens of heaven above, come and behold him, full of faith, give thanks to Almighty God, hearten our spirits, honour Christ's call, i have overcome the world, if any man will come after me, if ye love me, in a symbolic sense, integrity, joyful and triumphant, keep my commandments, let him deny himself, loyal, O come all ye faithful, O come let us adore Him, o come ye to Bethlehem, our Creator and Provider, praise and worship, Praise be to god, raise our spirits, season of Advent, steadfast in affection, take up his cross and follow me, the joy of the Lord is your strength, this Christmas season, unfailingly loyal to Christ, whosever shall lose his life for my sake, with strong assurance
John 14:15. If ye LOVE me, keep my commandments.
Sunday morning’s come down friends! And we’ll do what we do every Sunday morning, be it sunshine, rain or snow; get together and praise, worship and give thanks to Almighty God, our Creator and Provider! Only thing is that these days many of us are worshiping and giving thanks through virtual technology because of the pandemic lockdown. Yes mih people, they may stop us from gathering together physically, but they can’t stop us from giving thanks and praise! And all of God’s people said a loud and proud: ‘Praise be to God!’
And with the Christmas season upon us, when we celebrate the earthly birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, I thought it would only be right to open with a timely song, a Christmas carol we all know and LOVE; ‘O Come All Ye Faithful,’an adaptation of a Latin hymn Adeste Fidelis. It’s rather appropriate for this time as it ‘harkens to the biblical story of the birth of Christ. It is considered a reference to the shepherds, after hearing the angels singing, coming to Bethlehem to adore their new-born savior. Today this hymn signifies and celebrates our coming together in worship to adore the LOVING blessing of Jesus, as he sacrificed himself for our salvation.’
So let’s worship nuh, in strong soulful, harmonious voice. ‘ O come, all ye faithful, Joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem. Come and behold Him, Born the King of Angels! (Chorus: O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.) God of God, light of light, Lo, he abhors not the Virgin’s womb; True God, begotten, not created: (Chorus)
O Sing, choirs of angels; sing in exultation O sing, all ye citizens of heav’n above. Give to our Father, Glory in the highest! (Chorus) Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, Born this happy morning; Jesus, to Thee be the glory giv’n; Word of the Father, Now in the flesh appearing, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.’
And is Christ ever worthy of our adoration my people! For no one has ever done what He did; give up His heavenly position and come to earth in manly form, for the main purpose of sacrificing His sinless life so that we could become children of God, with all the wonderful benefits that entails. Mama Mia! What a Lord and Saviour!
But what does it really mean when we sing about ‘faithful’ eh? First let’s look at some definitions from the Merriam Webster dictionary. ‘1: steadfast in affection or allegiance : LOYAL – a faithful friend. 2: firm in adherence to promises or in observance of duty : CONSCIENTIOUS – a faithful employee. 3: given with strong assurance : BINDING – a faithful promise. 4: true to the facts, to a standard, or to an original – a faithful copy. 5: obsolete: full of faith.’ And you’ll notice what they say about the last one; that it’s obsolete, but a lot of people still believe that’s what it means, and who’s to say them nay eh? (smile)
So you see all the different meanings ‘faithful’ can have. They left out one word though; integrity, for you can’t be all or any of those things without integrity. And I like how Wikipedia explains it: ‘Faithfulness is the concept of unfailingly remaining loyal to someone or something, and putting that loyalty into consistent practice regardless of extenuating circumstances. It may be exhibited by a husband or wife who, in a sexually exclusive marriage, does not engage in sexual relationships outside of the marriage.’
Therefore, in our case we can say ‘faithful’ means that we remain unfailingly loyal to Christ, regardless of the prevailing circumstances. And that’s not an easy thing to do, especially in these rather turbulent and topsy-turvy times. But if we seriously want to be a faithful follower of Christ, then we must buckle down and do the things He commands us. Listen to His all-encompassing statement to the disciples, and consequently to us: ‘If ye LOVE me, keep my commandments.’ (John 14:15)
Typical Jesus, plain and straightforward. No beating around the bush. And that’s what it means to be faithful; do the things that the person or organization to which you are faithful requires of you. And don’t forget this other requirement of being faithful to Jesus. ‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. For whosoever will save his soul shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.’ (Matt. 16:24-25)
That means friends, all that wonderful singing we did above does carry serious consequences if we truly want to observe and honour Christ’s call and be faithful. That’s not to say we should not enjoy the merriment and festivity of the season, but we should also consider the job we have to do, after all the merriment is over. Note, after the shepherds went and saw Jesus, they went back to guarding their sheep, though with a more joyful heart. Likewise, our hearts should also be joyful, as we go through this season of Advent, contemplating the importance of Christ’s birth and what it means to us in these modern times.
And we’ll end with these appropriate words, but please don’t ask me where I got them from, because I don’t remember. (smile) ‘The encouragement to “come, all ye faithful, . . . to Bethlehem” situates the singer both among the shepherds who rushed to see Christ and in the great continuation of the “faithful” that have traveled to Bethlehem in a spiritual nature for over 2,000 years. Although today, we cannot actually witness Jesus in the manger, we can come to Bethlehem in a symbolic sense. We can be there in our imaginations as we allow the Christmas story to hearten our spirits.’
Yes precious people, let’s raise our spirits, be faithful and joyful in this Christmas season, despite the many troubles in our world. For that’s what Christians – faithful, steadfast and loyal believers in Jesus do, especially when one of His commands is to be of good cheer, because he has overcome the world! Much LOVE!
…the joy of the Lord is our strength… (Neh. 8:10)
09 Feb 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: active will, all things work together for good, bad things happen to good people, called according to His purpose, celebrat His day, comfort, consolation, courage, curse God and die, faith shall be sight, going to the cross, heartbreak, Horatio Spafford, inclement weather, integrity, it is well with my soul, Job, lean on his promise, like a river, moving of his Holy Spirit, never leave nor forsake you, not receive evil, not to question, peace, permissive will, receive good at God's hand, Satan should buffet, sea billows, sinful ingrates, sorrows, Sunday morning, the consuming fires of hell, the Lord shall descend, the Lord's sanctuary, the trump shall resound, to them that love God, total trust in God, tragedy, trust, trust and obey, whatever my lot
Romans 8:28. And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Come Sunday morning, me and my friends are heading for the Lord’s sanctuary, to celebrate His day, to give Him thanks and praise, to call to Him for help, and receive said help through the hearing of His Word, the supernatural moving of His Holy Spirit and encouragement from our fellow believers! That’s what me and my friends are going to do this Sunday morning – or evening – come hell or high water!
Oh my people, a li’l cold or inclement weather shouldn’t stop us from getting out to the celebrations at some time of the day. Just think what our lives would be like if Jesus didn’t feel like coming to earth and going to the cross nuh? Remember the Father didn’t force Him, but He agreed to do it after He pointed out that Jesus was the only choice the bunch of sinful ingrates He created had of bypassing the consuming fires of hell. So having to make a bit of a sacrifice to go out one day a week and praise and give Him the glory He so assuredly deserves, should not be a big thing.
Anyway, as always, we’ll begin the proceedings with some worship. And today’s hymn is an old one we all know and LOVE. It’s titled, ‘It is Well with my Soul.’ It highlights the incredible story of faith of one Horatio Spafford (1828-1888), who at the height of success and prosperity, like Job, suffered much tragedy. A prominent and prosperous Christian Chicago lawyer, he first suffered the loss of his son, then the Great Chicago Fire destroyed his real estate investments, then in 1873, he sent his wife and four daughters on a boat trip to Europe.
However, a few days later, he received a telegram from his wife that said: ‘Saved alone…’ The boat had been shipwrecked and all four daughters lost. And ostensibly this oldie but goldie was created a short time later when Spafford on his way to meet his wife, was passing over the area where his daughters lost their lives. Now having heard that background, let’s open our hearts and voices to high heaven in a soulful and harmonious rendition of this testament to faith, and the resilience that can be found in Christ when it’s called for.
As one now: ‘When peace like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say It is well, it is well, with my soul (Chorus: It is well (it is well) With my soul (with my soul) It is well, it is well with my soul.) Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, Let this blest assurance control, That Christ has regarded my helpless estate, And hath shed His own blood for my soul. (Chorus) My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought My sin, not in part but the whole, Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, o my soul (Chorus)
For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live: If Jordan above me shall roll, No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul. (Chorus) But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait, The sky, not the grave, is our goal; Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord! Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul! (Chorus) And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight, The clouds be rolled back as a scroll; The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, Even so, it is well with my soul. It is well (it is well) With my soul (with my soul) It is well, it is well with my soul.’
Oh my people, what strong, incredible faith, what inordinate trust what herculean courage was called for to pen those awesome, but oh so true words! I doubt many believers (steups!) would have been able to do it, because not many of us have those magnanimous parts. Many of us would have been cursing God, even turned away from Him. But Mr. Spafford, in his tragic circumstance probably remembered Job’s story, possibly even read it, and like Job, concluded that ranting and raving against God would not help the situation.
He obviously rejected Job’s wife’s advice in favour of Job’s wisdom: ‘Then said his (Job’s) wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God and die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive (accept) good at the hand of God, and shall nor receive (accept) evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.’ (Job 2:9-10) Friends, that’s one of the most interesting and enlightening conversations in the Good Book.
And the scholars explain it thus: ‘2:9-10. Job’s wife suggested that Job do what Satan had predicted: curse God. After all she had been through, it was no wonder she was ready to give up all hope. But Job recognized that both good and evil come from God’s hand, though one by His active will and the other by His permissive will. God can permit evil things to happen for good ends (cf. Gen. 50:19-20; Bruh Joseph’s story). In all this did not Job sin is proof enough that Satan was wrong and was sorely defeated. Satan does not appear again in the book.’
And I guess Horatio Spafford also proved Satan wrong, because instead of cursing God, he wrote a touching testimonial to His awesome comfort and consolation in times of heartbreak and severe tragedy. And the only thing we can really do in those cases, unless we want to drive ourselves crazy, is hang on to this awesome scripture verse of hope: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.’ No other scripture can give us a supposedly comforting reason for why bad things happen to good people, and vice versa.
Friends, we just have to put our total trust in Almighty God and remember what He’s done for us in the past, and lean on His promise that He will never leave or forsake us. Remember His thoughts and ways are higher than ours, and He knows the end from the beginning, so we just have to surrender our all to Him, regardless of the circumstances. That’s what true faith is all about! Much LOVE!
…ours is not to question…just to trust and obey…
24 Aug 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a beautiful day, a beautiful morning, actions of others, Anselm, avoid a breakdown, be the victim, Christian motto, direction of truth, distractions, do unto others, dod-eat-dog world, fast paced, friend, from the lip, good for the gander, good for the goose, immune to the opinions, integrity, judge not, LOVE, Love the Lord thy God, Love thy neighbour as thyself, most unlikely sources, of needless suffering, open mind, pearls of wisdom, prayer, promises, rat-race, regardless of consequences, rest, self-love, selfish motives, social media, take a break, the great commandment, the same will be meted out to you, the second is like unto it, tough character, what judgement ye judge, what you would have them do unto you, with all thy mind, with all thy soul
Matthew 22:37. Jesus said unto him, 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.
Oh what a beautiful morning! Oh what a beautiful day! It’s somewhat windy and chilly… But everything’s still going our way!’ And for that we have to give much thanks and praise to our heavenly Father for allowing us to enjoy another joyful day down here on planet earth! Praise His holy name friends! Exalt Him to the very ends of the earth, for He is indeed worthy to be praised and exalted!
And having paid our respects to our God, Creator, Provider, etc. etc. let’s see what bits of wisdom our friend Anselm has to offer us this Saturday morning. Hear this first one: ‘Don’t Take Anything Personally. Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.’
Now I don’t know if I agree with all of that nuh. Granted, you can’t be open to the slightest of offences, and people do project their own ideas on you, but you shouldn’t be immune to their opinions and action, because ofttimes, though their motives might be selfish, some of their ideas might be sound and thus beneficial. You need to have a tough character, so to speak, but also an open mind, for pearls of wisdom can come from even the most unlikely sources.
And the next quote wisely advises: ‘To avoid a breakdown, take a break for rest and prayer.’ And is that ever so true! There’s so much meltdown and breakdown in our society today because we live in a fast paced, dog-eat-dog, rat race where there’s never enough time for rest and prayer.
That’s because we don’t make time for it, being too busy trying to keep up with the world and all it’s distractions. And that’s especially true of believers! Oh precious people of God, please, let’s slow down, let’s make time for rest and for God nuh. That’s the only way we can truly enjoy this earthly life!
Then there’s this: ‘Be Impeccable With Your Words. Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the Word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.’ How true my friends, how true all of that is! But unfortunately nowadays most of that has gone out the window, into the trash can of history, especially in these times of all-pervasive social media and all the talking that’s going on.
We no longer think about what we say, before we say it, we just gush everything from the lip, regardless of the possible consequences. Sorry, no one considers consequences anymore, even though there are a lot of sad and tearful ones occurring each and every minute of each and every day!
And don’t talk about integrity nuh! What’s that eh? That’s what a lot of us might ask when posed with that quote. There’s no longer any integrity in our sad and sorrowful world. And that’s basically being of true and sound character, your word being your bond, given to trust and being trusted, fulfilling obligations as agreed upon, etc. etc. Even supposedly lawful contracts are being reneged on every day, so who’s going to stand on their word eh?
Christians ought to! True believers in Christ Jesus are supposed to stand by their promises, just like Jesus did and still does by His. None of us would be happy if Jesus broke any of His promises. We’d be ever so quick to pull Him down, to make a mockery of Him. But it’s okay for us to do it. Ah friends, as they say, what’s good for the goose, is also good for the gander.
Remember these immortal words of Jesus: ‘Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete (use), it shall be measured you again.’ (Matt.7:1-2) Those are words of great truth friends, for whatever you give out, you will eventually get back; like a boomerang, all your deeds will eventually come back to haunt you, or what you sow, you will eventually reap.
As Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) likes to say: ‘More than you sow, and later than you sow.’ That’s why we have to adopt the principles mentioned in this last quote as quickly and thoroughly as possible, and also spread them world wide so that our world can be greatly improved. ‘More smiling, less worrying. More compassion, less judgment. More blessed, less stressed. More LOVE, less hate.’
Mamacita! What a wonderful world we’d have if those things played a larger role in our lives! And yuh know what my people? I believe that all of that quote falls under these simple but far-reaching words of Jesus, which He answered to the Pharisee lawyer who tried to tempt Him, by asking:
‘Master (Teacher), which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, 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.’ (Matt.22:36-38)
And so it is indeed my fellow believers. The first and most important thing for mankind to do is to LOVE our Creator with all that we have! That sets the tone and direction for everything else in our lives. But the interesting thing in this session is that the man asked about the great commandment, and Jesus gave it to him, but He didn’t stop there. He continued: ‘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.22:39-40)
And our Lord and Saviour and Leader and God, Jesus Christ would never lie to us! So therefore it must be of the uttermost importance that we concentrate in this life on LOVE for our great and wonderful heavenly Father, then LOVE for ourselves, and also LOVE for our neighbours.
But friends, please pay attention to Jesus’ words, ‘LOVE thy neighbour as thyself.’ That means we can only LOVE our neighbours as much as we LOVE ourselves. And we’re not talking in a narcissistic way. But unfortunately, in these trying and troublesome times, too many of us don’t LOVE ourselves, that’s why we can’t LOVE our neighbours. Remember, we can only give what and as much as we have!
And that’s a major reason why our world is in such turmoil. So please, today, let’s ponder the state of our self-LOVE nuh. And whatever state it might be in, let’s ask the Lord for His grace and mercy to bring it up higher, so that we can also LOVE others more, and fulfill His commandment, and thus make our world a much better place for our children and future generations! Let’s let out legacy be one of LOVE! Much LOVE!
…the basic Christian motto…do unto others…as you would have them do unto you…
10 Nov 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a divine place, a full slate, a guide, a passing grade, a servant, actions, agreement, Anselm, aspires to inspire us, bad food, be my people, be separate, be their God, being better, believers in Jesus Christ, better than somebody else, biblical principles, by example, caring, children, Christians, contaminate us, covered in white, defile not, desire to be first, enemy of mankind, examples, failure, fairness, friend, God hath said, good examples, gospel truth, greatness, humility, I will dwell in them, idols, indwells us, influences, integrity, Jesus' dictates, Jesus' economy, Joseph Andrews, lack of sleep, laugh, leader, licentious living, live, live holy lives, live obediently, lived, long and short of the story, my father, New Testament, northern climes, Old Testament, quotes, reflect the true nature of God, riotous, shall be last, shining brightly, snow, snowy winter, success, take care of your body, talk the talk, tell me how to live, than precepts, the Holy Spirit, the living God, the Sun, the temple of God, think of you, true greatness, walk the walk, walk with them, white powdery stuff, with the Lord's help, work more forcibly, your normal self
2 Corinthians 6:16. And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Hn, hn, hn! I have to laugh this Saturday morning yes mih people! Why? Because instead of telling you that it’s another wet morning in my neighbourhood, I have to tell you it’s a white and snowy morning. Chuh!
Yes indeed, that white powdery stuff called snow, the enemy of mankind, (smile) is on the ground, on the rooftops…everywhere and everything that’s uncovered is just covered in white! (smile)
Granted, it’s not a whole lot, but any snow at all is too much! And would you believe that the sun is shining brightly out there? Hn, hn, hn! I have to laugh again, because that’s possibly the second time I’ve seen it shine so brightly in the last couple of weeks.
But that’s life in the northern climes! Let’s just hope that this morning isn’t a prelude to a real snowy winter. And if so, we’ll just have to deal with it as best we can, with the Lord’s help of course. Amen!
And since it’s Saturday, let’s look at some of the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And he sent us a full slate of them this week, all very plausible.
So here goes: ‘Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring, and integrity, they think of you.’ Ah friends, is that ever so important, especially for believers in Jesus Christ. We can’t just talk the talk, we have to even more importantly, walk the walk.
And that segues quite nicely into the next quote, or the next quote segues quite nicely into that one. (smile) ‘My father didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.’ And that’s called living life by example!
And hopefully it’s a good example. Because as they say, ‘examples work more forcibly on the mind than precepts.’ Yes my brethren, we often learn much better and quicker when we see the words in action, rather than just spoken.
And I have to laugh here again, because, if I remember correctly, that quote about examples and precepts comes from a book titled ‘Joseph Andrews’ that I read in High School some fifty something years ago. But it has always stuck in my consciousness. That just goes to show the awesome power of the mind.
And let’s sincerely hope that the children of today can say that their fathers were good examples. I know that I’ve been found badly wanting in some areas, but overall, I might get a passing grade. (smile)
That brings us to this next quote: ‘Greatness: There is nothing great about being better than somebody else. True greatness is achieved by being better than your normal self…yesterday, last month, last year, last failure and last success.’
And that’s basically true! Being better than somebody else is not all it’s cracked up to be, especially in Jesus’ economy. Remember what He said to the disciples when they were disputing about the greatest amongst them?
‘And he sat down and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.’ (Mark 9:35) Yes friends, in Jesus’ kingdom, whoever wants to be first, must first understand the humility in being last and the servant of others!
And the penultimate quote says: ‘The journey is never ending. There’s always gonna be growth, improvement, adversity; you just gotta take it all in and do what’s right, continue to grow, continue to live in the moment.’ No disputing that friends!
As long as we are alive, again as believers in Christ, we are expected to grow and learn each and every day, and take everything in stride. As it says, ‘do what’s right,’ live obediently according to Jesus’ dictates. But please be careful about living in the moment, for we can overdo it. We have to give some thought to the future.
And the last quote simply says: ‘Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.’ And isn’t that the gospel truth! Your body is the only one you have, and will ever have, and it goes with you everywhere, so you need to take very good care of it, if you want it to last a long time. Unfortunately though, too many of us abuse our bodies with riotous and licentious living, bad food, lack of sleep etc.
And to make matters even worse, we don’t take the words of our Bit seriously. ‘And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; And I will be there God, and they shall be my people.’
Yes my fellow believers, if the Holy Spirit of God indwells us, then it follows logically that God lives within us, and wherever the Lord is it’s a holy and divine place, and therefore needs to be taken good care of.
Thus Bruh Paul quotes the prophet Isaiah (52:11) as he continues after our Bit. ‘Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord.’ (2 Cor.6:17-18)
That last verse is a combination of 2 Sam.7:14 and Jer.31:1,9. Bruh Paul always tried to use Old Testament scripture to back up His New Testament declarations, because unlike some current theories, the New does not negate the Old, it just backs it up and explains it further.
However friends, the long and short of the story is that Christians ought to live holy lives, lives that reflect the true nature of God, who saved us and caused His Holy Spirit to dwell within us as a guide and leader. Therefore we need to separate ourselves from ‘actions, influences, or people that will contaminate us,’ and live by biblical principles and standards. Amen! Much LOVE!
…defile not the temple of God…both physically and spiritually…
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