06 Mar 2026
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a Jew would be degraded by feeding swine, a means of restoring faith in you, a mighty famine arose in the land, a repentant sinner, a woman having ten pieces of silver, be responsible, began to be in want, calls her friends and neighbours together, crying out for God's help, discontent, dissatisfaction, divided unto them his living, easy money, faith, flock around for handouts, for our benefit, Friday chant, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me, God has concern for all of His creations, God's omnipotent help, holy spirit, I have found the piece I lost, ice patches, if the Lord grants life tomorrow, if there's delight in recuing one sheep or finding one coin, introduce a new flock of believers, Jesus came to earth to save sinners, Jesus Christ, Jews were not allowed to keep or feed swine, joined himself to a citizen of that country, licentious living, lights a candle and looks for the lost coin, likewise I say unto you, LOVE, mercy, moral obligation, no man gave him anything, our sinful world, over one sinner that repenteth, problems escalating, rejoice with me, rescued from being lost to sin, return backsliders to your fold, salvation, seeks diligently till she finds it, sent him into his field to feed wsine, show them the error of their ways, smell it sweet and strong, stand strong and steadfast, stand up and improve it, stay safe, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the example we faithful believers set, the gospel truth, the Lord will knock on your heart, the Lost Coin, the lost sheep, the Lost Son, the money's gone in two twos, the salvation of a sinner, the simmering unrest in our land, the weekend is here at last, the younger son gathered all together, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God, took his journey into a far cointry, trusting faith, truth, unexpected storms, wake up and see the chaos around us, wake up and smell the coffee, wasted his substance with riotous living, wisdom, wise guidance, with the husks that the swine ate, would fain have filled his belly
Luke 15:10. Likewise I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
And then it was Friday, the day we’ve all been looking forward to! But it’s not such a nice day, wet, cloudy with patches of hidden and dangerous ice in unseeming places. So if you go out, please tread carefully, for you know not what looks like solid ground might be hidden ice. But that has not stopped us from sending up our Friday Mantra: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend is here at long last!’ Now, yesterday we said that the Lord had guided us to look at the parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Lost Son, however we only managed to look at the one pertaining to the Lost Sheep. So let’s take a look today at the Lost Coin.
After talking about there being more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety nine who don’t need it, (Luke 15:7) Jesus continues by saying: ‘Either what woman having ten pieces of silver (a drachma – a valuable silver coin), if she lose one piece (coin), doth not light a candle (lamp), and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me: for I have found the piece (coin) which I had lost. Likewise I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.’ (Luke 15:8-10)
Yes friends, that’s how much a repentant sinner is treasured in the heavenly realms. And the scholars offer this explanation of those verses. ‘If a woman and her neighbours delight in recovering a solitary coin, and if a shepherd takes joy in rescuing a single sheep, how much more praiseworthy is the salvation of a sinner? While some portray God as impersonal or aloof from human affairs, Jesus here teaches of His concern for every individual.’
And that’s the gospel truth! The Lord is interested in the affairs of every one of His creations. And why wouldn’t He be eh? He made us so that He could LOVE us and we could LOVE Him in return, and LOVE means being involved with, and concerned about those we LOVE. And since Jesus came to earth specifically to save sinners, it must mean that a repentant sinner is very important to the heavenly kingdom, and thus rejoicing is called for when even one sinner repents, or is recused from being lost to sin. So, let’s not belittle the act of repentance and accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, for it’s the most momentous moment in a person’s life.
Then Jesus began talking about the Lost Son. ‘And he said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them, said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.’ (Luke 15:11-12) Now, the father given the son his inheritance before He died was something that would hardly happen in that society. And the scholars tell us: ‘According to Deuteronomy 21:17, the older of two sons was entitled to a double portion of a father’s estate. Here the younger son would have received one-third. He was probably under a moral obligation to use the inheritance in a way pleasing to the father, but he ignores this.’
Then Jesus continues: ‘And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance (possessions) with riotous living (wasteful, prodigal or reckless living).’ (Luke 15:13) And the scholars play hardball on that verse, by saying: ‘Gathered all together means that he turned his assets into hard cash. Not many days is Luke’s understatement. The lad wasted no time getting ready to waste money.’ And we see also that very often in our society, where those who come into easy money, blow it on licentious living, and in two twos, the money’s gone.
And that’s exactly what happened to this lost son. Jesus tells us: ‘And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his field to feed swine. And he would fain (gladly) have filled his belly with the husks (carob pods) that the swine did eat: and no man gave him anything.’ (Luke 15:14-16)
That’s another regular occurrence. When you have money or wealth, a lot of people flock around you looking for handouts. But when your money or wealth runs out, everyone stops coming around, none of those who previously flocked around for your largesse, ever remember your goodness to them. But even more importantly in this case, as the scholars explain: ‘A Jew would have been unbearably degraded by feeding swine. Also, the owner would have had to be a Gentile, since both keeping and feeding swine were forbidden to Jews.’
That tells you how low the prodigal son had fallen, even to the thought of eating the pig’s food. Unfortunately though, we need stop there for today because there’s much more to say on the Lost Son. But if the Lord grants us life tomorrow, we’ll continue looking at that parable. Now, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking divine aid in these terrible 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!’
And that’s exactly what we need to do my fellow believers; wake up and see the chaos around us, then stand up and do something to improve it. Remember, it’s not for God’s benefit but for ours and our descendants! Much LOVE!
…don’t worry…if you’re lost…the Lord will find you…by knocking on your heart…until you open it to Him…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
27 Feb 2026
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a means of restoring faith in you, a zeppo, above the highest heavens, amidst all the anxiety and confusion, be able to comfort them which are in trouble, be exalted O God, be responsible, be strong and of a good courage, blessed be God, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God, by the example your faithful believers set, Christ has given us the victory, come boldly to the throne of grace, comforts us in all our tribulation, crying out for God's help, defeat the simmering unrest in our land, discontent and dissatisfaction, divine aid, every ounce of emotion is drained, faith, fear not nor be afraid of them, feel and extra connection with God, find grace to help in time of need, Friday chant, God intuitively provides information, God sent not his son into thte world to condemn the world, God's love is everlasting, Gods' word is unquestionable, guide thee with mine eye, he hath not believed, he that believeth not is condemned already, he that believeth on him is not condemned, he will not fail thee nor forsake thee, holy spirit, humbly with confidence, I give them eternal life, I will instruct thee, I will not leave you comfortless, in the name of Jesus, in the name of the only begotten Son of God, introduce a new flock of believers, Jesus Christ, lifted to peaks of delight, LOVE, loved you with an everlasting love, may your glory shine over all the earth, mercy, my future is secure, my heart is a brambled desert, my past is forgiven, my sheep hear my voice, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand, never leave me comfortless, obtain mercy, omnipotent help, one body of Christ, One Year Book of Bible promises, our sinful world can wake up, Rare Moments of Delight, rare mysterious momnets, return backsliders to your fold, Ruth Harms Calkin, salvation, serious problems are escalating, show them the error of their ways, smell it sweet and strong, stand strong and steadfast, stay safe, teach thee in the way thou shall go, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the ecstacy of feeling, the Father of mercies, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the God of All Comfort, the Holy Spirit is the Comforter, the Holy Trinity, the Lord hath appeared of old unto me, the Lord thy God doth go with thee, the world through him might be saved, these ungodly times, they shall never perish, trusting faith, truth, unexpected storms, wake up and smell the coffee, wisdom, wise guidance, with lovingkindness have I drawn thee, you add to my knowing
Psalm 108: 5. ‘Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth.’
So finally it’s Friday; the day we’ve all been looking forward to, and although it’s somewhat cloudy, we really don’t care, and have offered up our Friday Mantra: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend is here!’ But please note, that doesn’t mean we can laze around at work today. No! It means we still have to be diligent and do whatever is needed in the name of Jesus, because that’s what He expects of us.
And today we’ll look at an interesting poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. This one doesn’t sound familiar to me, but who knows, I might have shared it before. The fact is that they are all worthy to be shared again and again for they are inspiring, encouraging and tell lots of truths about our situations. This one is titled ‘Rare Moments of Delight.’
So please read with me: ‘Because you are God And Your Word is unquestionable There are things I assuredly know Even when my heart is a brambled desert And every ounce of emotion is drained: I know Your LOVE is everlasting I know You will never forsake me Nor will you leave me comfortless I know I can come to You boldly I know you will teach and instruct me You will guide me with Your eye I know my past is forgiven And my future is secure. But, oh, dear God How I praise You for the marvel Of those rare, mysterious moments when suddenly, without a flash or a sound You add to my knowing The ecstasy of feeling and I am lifted to peaks of delight!’
Oh friends, the poem doesn’t only gives us some of the many promises that our great God has made, and what we know from reading His Word, which keeps us safe and secure, but there’s an even greater feeling, one where He just intuitively flashes us some information that we were not expecting, which brings us even closer to Him. It’s what we sometimes call receiving a Zeppo. That sudden intuitive feeling that something is right, or it’s what we should do. It’s like when I was looking through the book today for a poem to offer, when I came to the one we just read, there was this feeling like the Lord was saying that’s the right one. So I just used it. At times like those we feel and extra connection with our God, renewing our convictions that He is indeed real and looking out for us.
And all I want to do now is remind us of some of the scriptures that we spoke of in the poem. For instance God’s everlasting LOVE. The Bible says it in different ways in several scriptures, but this one from Jeremiah probably says it the best. ‘The Lord hath appeared of old (from afar) unto me, saying, Yea, I have LOVED you with an everlasting LOVE: therefore with LOVING-KINDNESS have I drawn thee.’ (Jer. 31:3) And as per never leaving nor forsaking us, there are again several scriptures that point out that promise, but Moses said it quite early to the children of Israel. ‘Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee nor forsake thee.’ (Deut. 31:6)
Then as per never leaving us comfortless, there’s this great scripture from Bruh Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth, where he talks about the Comfort of God. ‘Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble (tribulation), by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.’ (2 Cor. 1:3-4)
Wow! What a magnificent scripture! God comforts us so that we can comfort others with the comfort we receive from Him. And don’t forget the Holy Spirit that dwells within us is also know as the Comforter. (John 14:16; 15:26) And Jesus also promised, ‘I will not leave you comfortless (as orphans): I will come to you.’ (John 14:18) So there’s lots of comfort to be had from our Holy Trinity!
Then, as per going boldly to God, we all know the scripture from Hebrews that says: ‘Let us therefore come boldly (confidently) unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.’ (Heb. 4:16) Now, boldly there doesn’t mean proudly or arrogantly, but humbly with the confidence that God will not turn us away. And as per His teaching and instructing us, Bruh David says it quite clearly in Psalm 32: ‘I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.’ (Ps. 32:8)
And finally, as per our forgiven past and safe futures, there are many scriptures that address those points, but for time’s sake we’ll only check out a couple of statements from Jesus. The first is one we all know: ‘For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world: but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.’ (John 3:17-18) Then later on Jesus declares to His accusers: ‘My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck (snatch) them out of my hand.’ (John 10:27-28) You cannot get any safer or more secure than that my faithful brethren!
And lest we forget, (smile) the Bible Promise for today’s poem comes from Psalm 108. ‘Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth.’ (Ps. 108:5) That’s the NLT (New Living Translation). Meanwhile the KJV (King James Version) says: ‘Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth;’ (Ps. 108:5) And though we are King James people here, (smile) I like the NLT version, and we’ll use it as our Bit. Now let’s go to the throne of grace, confidently, but humbly, through our Friday Chant seeking divine aid to help in these very troubled 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!’
And though we pray good prayers, friends, the truth is that until we come together as the supposed one body of Christ, and begin seriously living for Him, getting divine aid will always be a problem for us. Much LOVE!
…Christ has given us the victory…we now have to make sure we don’t lose it…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
20 Feb 2026
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a means of restoring faith in you, amidst all the anxiety and confusion, be responisble, bow to none other than Almighty God, by the example that we faithful believers set, can wake up and smell the coffee, christianity, Christians, crying out for God's help, defeat the simmering unrest in our land, divine aid, embrace your love and compassion, enjoy the weekend, faith, fear not, four men walking loose in the fire, Friday chant, god moves in mysterious ways, God's omnipotent help, heated seven time more than normal, help to navigate this crazy world, holy spirit, I am the Lord thy God, I have called thee by name, I have redeemed thee, I will be with thee, I will give men for thee, if God spares life, introduce a new flock of believers, Jesus Christ, LOVE, mercy, Nebuchadnezzar, our Christian witness is not good enough, our sinful world can wake up, people for thy life, problems are escalating, reach our destination safely, redeemed by Jesus Christ, refused to bow to a golden calf, return backsliders to your fold, salvation, Shadrach Meshach Abednego, show them the error of their ways, stand strong and steadfast, stay safe, strong in faith, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the BIBLE, the evening commute, the fourth is like the son of God, the Holy One of Israel, the Lord keeps all his promises, the real power of faith is shown in the positive action of faith, the throne of grace, the weather conditions, these ungodly times, they have no hurt, they shall not overflow thee, thou art mine, thou hast been honoured, thou wast precious in my sight, through the rivers, thrown into a furnace of fire, thy Saviour, trusting faith, truth, use the discontent and dissatisfaction, when thou passest through the waters, wisdom, wise guidance and direction, with God's help
Isaiah 43:1b. O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
And it’s Friday friends; the day we’ve all been looking forward to. And we’ve offered up our Friday Mantra: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday, and the weekend is here at last!’ However, I don’t think we’ll be happy with the weather conditions, for they are forecasting rain and snow for today. Well, the rain has already begun, which means it’s wet and cloudy, now we’re only waiting for it to change to snow.
And if that happens before the evening commute, it will be a long and dangerous time for many getting home to enjoy the weekend. But there’s not much we can do about the weather conditions except grin and bear it, and take our time moving through it, and with God’s help, eventually get to our destination safely.
And who says our God isn’t great and moves in mysterious ways eh? After talking about the weather, I didn’t know what to write on, so, as always, in those situations, I simply opened the Bible, and the Lord be praised, it fell open to this most appropriate scripture from the prophet Isaiah, talking about being redeemed by the Lord.
Please read with me: ‘But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned: neither shall the flame kindle upon (scorch) thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee (in thy place). Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable (honoured), and I have LOVED thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.’ (Is. 43:1-4)
What a marvellous promise my people! And we know the Lord keeps all His promises. He did indeed redeem Israel from all the terrible consequences of her rebellion, by bringing her back to her former land and making her great again. And the same way God reassured them: ‘Fear not: for I have redeemed thee,’ it’s the same thing He’s saying to us today, and we know that it’s true, because we have been redeemed by His Son Jesus Christ! So there’s nothing to fear!
And if you think our great God cannot protect us from the floods and fires, just check out the scripture in Daniel chapter 3, where his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who refused to bow down to a golden calf made by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, were thrown into a furnace of fire heated seven times hotter than normal. And what was the result? Because the fire was so hot, it slew the men who took the three Hebrew men up to the mouth of the furnace and cast them in.
But what of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? The Bible tells us: ‘Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was atonied (astonished), and rose up in haste, and spake, and said to his counsellors (high officials), did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt (are not hurt); and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God (like a son of the gods).’ (Dan. 3:24-25)
Yes friends, anything is possible when your faith in Jehovah God is strong. They knew that the Lord could save them, but were not sure of it, yet, they still refused to bow to an idol. And that’s how we ought to be in these terrible times of ungodliness and evil. So strong in faith that whatever comes against us, we will not bow to anyone but God Almighty!
But here’s some interesting info from the scholars, who say, re The fourth is like the Son of God: (lit., a son of the gods”): Neb had no knowledge of Christ and was probably saying nothing more than that a divine being was protecting the three men. The fourth person may have been the preincarnate Christ, who often appears in the Old Testament as “the angel of the Lord,” or may have been an angel sent by God to protect them.’
Unfortunately though friends, we’ll have to stop there for today, because the story although it has a wonderful ending, will make the Bit much too long, and we’re already on a late bus. (smile) So if God spares life tomorrow, we’ll continue with the awesome story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace. Now let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant to find divine aid to help us successfully navigate this stormy and crazy world.
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!’
And friends, although our prayers might be sincere, our Christian witness is not good enough, and until it improves, we will not see much divine aid! So let’s up the ante on our witness nuh! Much LOVE!
…the real power of faith…is not shown merely in talk of faith…but in the positive action of faith…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
13 Feb 2026
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a leadership method that foments hate and strife, a means of restoring faith in you, a modicum of circumspection, according to their own personal beliefs, anxiety, as flesh within the cauldron, as for my people, as for the pot, be resposnible, been evil in their deeds, behaved themselves ill in the doings, both shall fall into the ditch, break their bones, calamity, cause thee to err, children are their oppressors, chop them in little pieces, christianity, Christians, confusion, corruption is rampant, crying out for God's help, deceitfulness, declare their sin as Sodom, defeat the simmering unrest in our land, destroy the way of thy paths, disaster, don't go overboard with the celebrations, eat the fruit of their doings, egotism, faith, Family day, fellowship, followers, for personal gain, Friday chant, greed, hate the good and love the evil, he will not hear them, heads of Jacob, hide his face from them, holy spirit, if the blind lead the blind, in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, introduce a new flock of believers, is it not for you to know justice, it shall be ill with him, Jesus Christ, keep on our blinkers, lead you astray, LOVE, make sacrifices, male dominance, mercy, misleading the people, no respect for the law, omnipotent help, our only hope, our sinful world, power struggles, princes of the house of Israel, problems are escalating, real change only comes through real sacrifices, return backsliders to your fold, rewarded evil unto themselves, rising up and making godly changes, salvation, say to the righteous it is well with him, show them the error of their ways, smell it sweet and strong, stand strong and steadfast, stay safe, strip the skin from my people, TGIF!, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the BIBLE, the church of Jesus getting together, the current situation in our world, the failure of male leadership, the leaders of this people cause them to err, the look on their faces, the reward of his hands, the throne of grace, the worst set of leaders, their flesh from their bones, their guilty faces reveal their sinful hearts, they be blind leaders of the blind, they do not hide their sin, they shall cry unto the Lord, they that are led of them are destroyed, they which lead thee, trusting faith, truth, use the discontent and dissatisfaction, Valentine's day, wake up and smell the coffee, we are followers like sheep, we are like sheep, wisdom, wise guidance, witness against them, woe unto the wicked, woe unto their soul, women rule over them, your faithful believers set
Isaiah 9:16. For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.
So friends, we’ve finally come to Friday, the day we’ve all been looking forward to! And it’s sunny though cold…but who cares…it’s Friday! (smile) And obviously our Friday Mantra was offered up early and loud: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend is here at long last! And is this ever a big weekend in Canada. Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day and Monday is Family Day, a civic not federal holiday in most provinces, apparently created on the third Monday in February to provide a mid-winter break for families to spend time together.
So, you know the partying will be in full swing from today. But let’s all remember those important cautionary words of Jeeves: ‘a modicum of circumspection please.’ Yes, we don’t need to go overboard with all the celebrations, for our world is already overboard with all the strife and power struggles it faces. And let’s remember too, in the middle of all the celebrations, to fellowship with other believers on Sunday, so that we can be refreshed and renewed to face a new work week on Tuesday. End of Sermon! (smile)
And today we’ll look at an interesting passage of scripture from the prophet Isaiah that very much resembles the situation in our current world. Isaiah was talking to the people about their sins and refusal to repent and turn back to the God of their forefathers, and commented thus: ‘For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.’ (Is. 9:16) Oh friends, it’s the very same crime that can be thrown at today’s world leadership! Why? They are misleading the people according to their own personal beliefs and for their own personal gain.
Now that’s a method of leadership that does nothing but foment hate and strife, deceitfulness and power struggles. There’s no respect for the law, thus corruption is both rampant and flagrant. No one even considers hiding their corrupt souls any longer. It’s something to boast about. And right now I believe we have the worst set of leaders our world has seen in a very long time. Greed and egotism are their forte; not proper leadership. And remember, most of us are like sheep, mere followers, not given to do anything but what the corrupt, power hungry leaders do. So what can we expect then but a world filled with evil and ungodliness.
And it’s not the first time that Isaiah made that claim of misleading management. In chapter 3 where he talks about the Lord Pleads and Judges, he writes: ‘The shew of their countenance (the look on their faces) doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded (brought) evil unto themselves.
Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands given him (done to him). As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err (lead thee astray), and destroy the way of thy paths.’ (Is. 3:9-12)
Yes friends, their guilty faces clearly reveal their sinful hearts. And that last verse basically means the utter failure of male leadership over the society. Sadly, the same thing can be said for today’s leadership. The male dominance has driven the world to war and hate and corruption way too often in the last couple of centuries. Unfortunately though, it looks like that male dominance will continue amongst our leaders, so there’s very little change to expect.
And the prophet Micah reveals the same evil doing of the leaders when He declares: ‘And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes (rulers) of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgement (justice)? Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck (strip) off their skin from off them (my people), and their flesh from off their bones; Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and break their bones, and chop them to pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the cauldron. Then shall they cry unto the Lord, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill (been evil) in their doings (deeds).’ (Mic. 3:1-4)
Now that’s not a pretty picture of leadership, but unfortunately it also correlates to the kind of leadership we have today. And sadly, we Christians who are supposed to improve the situation, too many of us are following the crowd; being OF the world instead of simply being IN it. And the remainder either are afraid or simply don’t care. So how is the world to improve eh? It’s like when the Pharisees complained about Jesus saying that what goes into the mouth doesn’t defile a man, but only what comes out. (Matt. 15:11) Jesus said to the disciples: ‘Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.’ (Matt. 15:14)
And that’s exactly what’s happening today. Our blind leaders are leading us astray, and if we keep our blinkers on, the eventual outcome will only be more disaster and calamity than we already have. And our only hope is the church of Christ, getting together, rising up and making godly changes. That’s it friends. The evil doers will not willingly destroy their evil empire, so we have to do it for them. And to help us do that, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking divine aid in these most crucial and critical 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!’
And friends, things won’t turn around unless we are willing to make the sacrifices for them to happen. So, this long weekend, let’s ponder how willing we are to do that nuh. Much LOVE!
…real change only comes about through real sacrifices…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
06 Feb 2026
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a disciple of Jesus, a disciple picks up his cross daily, a senior's moment, abhor that which is evil, anxiety, as your Father in heaven is perfect, avenge not yourselves, be not overcome of evil, be responsible, be the children of your Father in heaven, be ye therefore perfect, bless and curse not, bless them that curse you, bless them which persecute you, by the example we faithful believers set, christianity, Christians, cleave to that which is good, confusion, crying out for God's help, defeat the simmering unrest in our land, divine aid, do good to them that hate you, even the publicans the same, faith, Friday chant, getting on in age, give place unto wrath, God sends rain on the just and the unjust, going against the grain, greet your brethren only, have regard for good things, he is the anointed of the Lord, he makes his sun to rise, heap coals of fire on his head, holy spirit, hypocrisy, I shall repay, if he thirst give him drink, if thine enemy hunger feed him, if ye love them which love you, introduce a new flock of believers, Jesus Christ, let love be without dissimulation, live peaceably with all men, LOVE, love thy neighbour and hate thine enemy, Love your enemies, make the sacrifices available to us, mercy, on the evil and the good, only good can overcome evil, overcome evil with good, pray for them which spitefully use you, problems escalating, provide things honest in the sight of all men, recompense no maan evil for evil, relent from the evil in our souls, return backsliders to your fold, salvation, show them the error of their ways, showed mercy, stand strong and steadfast, strife-filled times, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the BIBLE, the goodness of God, the Lord reward thee good, the Lord's anointed, the Lord's word is for our benefit, the weekend, these ungodly times, thou art more righteous than I, thou hast rewarded me good. I have rewarded thee evil, throne of grace, to stretch forth mine hand against him, took the high road, truth, unexpected storms, vengeance is mine saith the Lord, wake up and smell the coffe, what do ye more than others, what reward have ye, wisdom, wise guidance
Romans 12:21. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
And we’ve finally gotten to Friday! But though it’s a somewhat snowy and cloudy day, we’ve nonetheless sent up our Mantra: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday, and the weekend is here!’ We don’t seem to care what kind of day it is, once it’s Friday, (smile) because it means the work week is almost over.
Now, before we get into today’s topic, let me apologize for my mistake of yesterday. Ah Lord eh! I got so tied up in the prayer situation that I referred to yesterday’s message as the third instead of the fourth. My poor brain could not comprehend that we had already done three messages on prayer. I hope you all realized that it was a senior’s moment, (smile) and forgave the ole fella. He’s getting on in age, so anything’s possible.
Anyway, today we’re going to talk about a topic that should be at the heart of Christ’s church, but sadly isn’t. That topic is overcoming evil with good. And Bruh Paul wrote a lot about that, especially in his letter to the Romans. ‘Let LOVE be without dissimulation (hypocrisy). Abhor that which is evil; cleave (cling) to that which is good… Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not… Recompense (repay) no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men (have regard for good things).
If it be possible, as much as lieth in (depends on) you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I shall repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.’ (Rom. 12: 9, 14, 17-21)
And the pertinent question now is whether the members of Christ’s church are living like that? Unfortunately, the answer is no. Definitely not to a sufficient amount or level. And yes, some of that stuff is difficult to do, especially in these strife-filled and greedy times, but that’s the whole point of being a disciple of Jesus; going against the grain, going against what the world considers normal and right.
Remember Jesus said basically the same thing in the sermon on the Mount. ‘Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, LOVE your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully (spitefully) use you, and persecute you: That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
For if ye LOVE them which LOVE you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans (tax collectors) the same? And if ye salute (greet) your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans (tax collectors) so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’ (Matt. 5:43-48)
And we all know that we’ll never be perfect like our heavenly Father while we’re here on earth, but the important thing is to try to be much more like Him than we currently are. Remember what a disciple is supposed to be: One who denies himself, picks up His cross daily and follows Jesus. (Luke 9:23) Now that doesn’t mean being like the rest of the world. And if we need to show the unbelievers the goodness of God, then we have to relent from all the evil we carry in our souls and bodies, and let the good that resides there come out instead.
And I’m amazed at the way our God moves. Earlier on, when I opened the Bible, it opened at a passage that showed exactly what we’re talking about, and it’s what eventually lead me to the topic. And that scripture is about the time when Bruh David, after running from King Saul for many years, had the chance to kill him in a cave in the wilderness, but only cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. And when his men encouraged him to kill Saul, he refused, saying: ‘The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.’ (1 Sam. 24:6)
But after Saul left the cave, Bruh David rose up and accosted him outside of the cave, even bowing to his nemesis, because he was still the king and the Lord’s anointed. He than gave Saul a long speech, which you can find in 1 Sam. 24: 9-15. And surprisingly, after that, Saul admitted his sin. The Bible tells us that Saul said, ‘Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted his voice and wept.
And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil. And thou hast showed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me: forasmuch as when the Lord hath delivered me into thine hand, thou killedst me not. For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away (get away safely)? Wherefore the Lord reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day.’ (1 Sam. 24: 16-19)
Oh my people, what a wonderful example that is of overcoming evil with good. Although Bruh David had the right and the chance to kill Saul, instead, he took the high road and showed mercy like the Lord required of him. And it’s the same way that the Lord requires us to be much more merciful that we currently are, for when we show others mercy, He shows it back to us. Remember, everything in the Lord’s Word is for our benefit! Now, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking divine aid to handle the evil that surrounds us with the goodness of God.
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!’
Oh friends, prayer is a wonderful tool, but divine aid will only be forthcoming when the Lord sees us willing to get up and make the sacrifices available to us! Much LOVE!
…the only thing that can overcome evil…is good…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
30 Jan 2026
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a means of restoring faith in you, anxiety, arise and go down to the potter's house, as the clay is in the potter's hand, be proactive, being confident of this very thing, blasphemous, cannot I do with you as this potter, cause thee to hear my words, changing our spiritual shape, children of Almighty God, Christian witness, confusion, confusion of these ungodly times, crying out for God's help, discontent, dissatisfaction, divine aid, do a better job for Jesus, faith, Friday chant, God is moulding us into the image of Christ, God is our Creator, God's divine sovereignty, God's greatest desire, God's power to reshape and redeem, growing closer to christ, hath not the potter power over clay, he made it again into another vessel, he which hath begun a good work in you, holy spirit, improve our discipleship, insulting, introduce a new flock of believers, Jesus Christ, like the potter moulds the clay, LOVE, make hay while the sun shines, mercy, O house of Israel, O Lord thou art our father, pleading for mercy, problems are escalating, return backsliders to your fold, salvation, saw the light, shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, show them the error of their ways, simmering unrest, so are ye in mine hand, surrendered to God, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the annals of history, the created to question the right of the creator, the example we faithful believers set, the gospel truth, the need for human submission, the unexpected storms, the vessel that he made was marred, the weekend is here at last, thou repliest against God, to make one vessel into honour and another unto dishonour, truth, wake up and smell the coffee, we all are the work of thy hand, we are the clay and thou our potter, who art thou, why hast thou made me thus, will perform it until the day of Jesus, wisdom, wise guidance
Jeremiah 18:6b. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.
Oh boy, it’s another bright and sunshiny day, this last Friday in January, as we offer up our Friday Mantra; ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday, and the weekend is here at long last! And it’s certainly been a trying week for many of us who had to go out to work amidst all the madness invoked by last Sunday’s snowstorm. But we’ve survived, like the hardy lot that we are. (smile) It takes much more than a few inches of snow to keep us bowed down, especially when we are children of the most omnipotent God Jehovah!
And can you imagine that in another couple of days we’ll be talking about February, while the month of January 2026, is confined to the annals of History. So let’s remind ourselves again, that the days, months, and years are not waiting for us, they are moving along very quickly, so we have to be proactive and make hay while the sun shines, otherwise we’ll just get left behind. Therefore let’s up the ante, and do a better for job Jesus in the coming month of February. Remember our New Year’s resolution was to simply be a better Christian, a better disciple, daily growing closer to and more like Christ.
As Bruh Paul reminds us in his letter to the Philippians. ‘Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform (complete) it until the day of Jesus Christ.’ (Phil. 1:6) Yes friends, each day that the Lord allows us to draw breath on this confused and crazy earth, He is working on us to mould us into the image of His Son Jesus Christ, for His earnest desire is that ALL His children be the living image of His first born. That means some of the pressures we might feel are simply the Lord changing our spiritual shape like a potter moulds the clay he works with. And in several passages of the scriptures God is indeed referred to as a potter.
But before we get into some of those scriptures, listen to how this commentary explains that situation. ‘The metaphor of God as a potter and humans or nations as clay is a prominent biblical illustration used to convey divine sovereignty, the need for human submission, and God’s power to reshape and redeem.’ And as the scripture from Philippians above indicates, God is constantly on His potter’s wheel reshaping and reforming His rebellious children. Now let’s check out some of those scriptures that refer to us as clay and the Lord as the potter, the most obvious one being that from Jeremiah 18, where the Lord explains the analogy to Jeremiah, inviting him to go down to the potter’s house and see how he works.
The Bible tells it thus: ‘The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels (the Potter’s wheel). And the vessel that he made (was making) of clay was marred (ruined) in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.’ (Jer. 18:1-6)
And that’s the gospel truth my fellow believers! We are like clay in God’s hands. So, as the ruined clay is reformed or transformed into something else by the potter, so can the Lord form or transform us into anything He chooses. For remember, He is our Creator, who first formed man from the dust of the ground, and then woman from the rib of man, so He has the power to do anything with us. He’s just being nice and generous by telling us what He has in mind, whether we be good or evil. (smile) So as He tells Jeremiah, He can do what He wants with a nation, or consequently an individual.
Then there’s this scripture from Isaiah, where he says: ‘But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand. Be not wroth very sore (don’t be very furious), O Lord, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.’ (Is. 18:8-9) Yes friends, Isaiah saw the light and surrendered to God, pleading for mercy, on the basis that they were all His people. He acknowledged that God was both the Creator and heavenly Father.
Finally, we have these verses from Bruh Paul’s letter to the Romans, where he talks about God showing His mercy as He wills. ‘Nay but, O man, who art thou that thou repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?’ (Rom. 9:20-21) And so He has. It’s insulting and blasphemous for the created to question the right of the Creator to make whatever He desires, with whatever He has. Therefore God does have the authority and right to assign purposes for each one of us.
And to summarize it all, the commentary closes thus: ‘The metaphor conveys God’s total sovereignty and authority over our lives. It also implies the clay’s responsibility to remain submissive. The analogy shows God’s power to rework even a “marred” vessel for a new purpose. God shapes us, often through trials.’ And that’s a fact! Many of the trials we go through in this life are basically God shaping us into the image He desires. Now let’s go to the throne of grace through our Friday Chant, seeking divine aid to help us withstand those trials and temptations that befall us.
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, we’re asking for plenty from the Lord, but don’t seem willing to give what He asks for; that’s better Christian witness. However, until we improve our discipleship, divine aid will not be forthcoming. It’s as simple as that! And we cannot complain, because we already have all the tools to do it! Much LOVE!
…God’s greatest desire…to make us all into the image of His Son Jesus Christ…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
23 Jan 2026
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a light unto my path, a personal relationship with jesus, a tough row to hoe, as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, become more like Jesus, blessed be God, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God, Christian witness, come boldly to the throne of grace, consider trials as joy, count it all joy, dispelling ignorance, dreary winter months, enlightening the eyes, faith, fall into divers temptations, fall into various trials, find grace to help in time of need, Friday chant, God is faithful, God will not suffer you to be tempted more than you can bear, God's omnipotent help, God's power is perfected in human weakness, God-given tools, grace for trials, grow in spiritual maturity, have the light of life, he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, help from above, holy spirit, I am the light of the world, improve our christian walk, introduce a new flock of believers, Jesus Christ, Jesus leads mankind out of sin and spiritual darkness, lacking nothing, let patience have her perfect work, light for the way, LOVE, make a way of escape, mercy, my grace is sufficient for thee, my strength is made perfect in weakness, obtain mercy, our consolation also abounds in Christ, perfect and complete, prayer for divine aid, problems are escalating, rejoicing the heart, reproofs of instruction are the way of life, rest amid labour, return backsliders to your fold, revealing God's path, salvation, show them the error of their ways, simmering unrest, spiritual light from Jesus, stand strong and steadfast, strength for the day, such as is common to man, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the commandment is a lamp, the commandment of the Lord is pure, the definitive promise that God's grace is sufficient, the divine source of spiritual truth, the exclusive provider of spiritual understanding, the Father of mercies, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the God of All Comfort, the law is light, the sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, the statutes of the Lord are right, the testing of your faith produces patience, the trying of your faith worketh patience, the weekend is here at last, there hath no temptation taken you, thy word is a lamp unto my feet, trusting faith, truth, undying LOVE, unfailing sympathy, ungodly times, up the ante, walk in obedience to God's will, we may be able to comfort others, who comforts us in our tribulation, wisdom, wise guidance, with the temptation, ye may be able to bear it
2 Corinthians 12:9. And he said unto me, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.’
And finally, it’s that long awaited day called Friday! So, we offer up our Friday Mantra: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend is here at long last!’ It’s pretty cold, but it’s not snowing, and the sun is predominant over the clouds, though it’s not shining as brightly as we would like. (smile) But we’re still grateful for whatever little sunshine we can get to drive away the darkness of these dreary winter months.
And as we promised yesterday, let’s continue with some scriptures that highlight God’s promises from the poem ‘The Promises and Non-Promises of God, which reads: “But God hath promised strength for the day, rest amid labour, light for the way; grace for trials, help from above, unfailing sympathy, undying LOVE.’ Yesterday we looked at the first two promises, let’s see how many we can get through today. (smile)
Now, the first one up is ‘light for the way.’ And Jesus Himself declared: ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’ (John 8:12) And what does that mean. Hear this commentary explain it. ‘Jesus is signifying that He is the divine source of spiritual truth, guidance, and life, offering to lead people out of spiritual darkness and sin into salvation and eternal life if they follow Him. This metaphor highlights Jesus as the exclusive provider of spiritual understanding, dispelling ignorance and revealing God’s path.’
And the scriptures offer up several other verses that agree with Jesus’ declaration, like this well-known one from Psalm 119: ‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’ (Ps. 119:105) Yes friends, God’s Word shed’s light along the path He desires us to walk. As Cousin Sol so readily agrees with this verse from Proverbs. ‘For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:’ (Prov. 6:23) And as Bruh David tells us in Psalm 19: ‘The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.’
So however you take it, between a personal relationship with Jesus and God’s Word, we are indeed able to get the spiritual light we need to help us through each day. Now, what about ‘grace for trials.’ Oh brother, there are so many scriptures that I don’t know which ones to choose. And they all ‘highlight that God’s grace during trials provides strength, restoration, and endurance, often working through weakness to refine faith and offer comfort.’
But we’ll begin with this one that seems most important. It’s from Bruh Paul’s second letter to the Corinthains, where, after beseeching the Lord three times to remove a thorn from his side, the Lord eventually declares. ‘My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.’ (2 Cor. 12:9) In other words, when we’re weak, God’s grace comes in to strengthen us. That means we are never far from His grace in our everyday lives. As one commentary calls this verse: ‘The definitive promise that God’s grace is sufficient, with His power perfected in human weakness.’
Then James, Jesus’ brother, in his famous discourse encourages us to consider trials as joy, knowing they produce endurance and maturity. ‘My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations (various trials); Knowing this, that the trying (testing) of your faith worketh (produces) patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire (complete), wanting (lacking) nothing.’ (James 1:2-4) Now that’s a tough row to hoe, but hoe it we must if we desire to grow in faith and spiritual maturity.
Then there’s this most encouraging scripture from Hebrews that offers this wonderful invitation. ‘Let us therefore come boldly (confidently) to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.’ (Heb. 4:16) Wow mih people! Nothing can be better than going to the throne of grace to receive grace as we need it! Meanwhile, here is one of my favourite scriptures. This from Bruh Paul’s opening remarks in his second letter to the Corinthians.
‘Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort: Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble (tribulation), by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation (comfort) also aboundeth in Christ.’ (2 Cor. 1:3-5) What beautiful assurance and comfort that is my fellow believers! Yes, God is the “Father of mercies and God of all comfort” who comforts believers in tribulation, which then allows believers to comfort others who need comfort! For as we suffer with Christ, we are also comforted through Him.
And I’m chuckling here friends, because I’m now discovering that I can’t finish all the parts of the poem today either. So, we’ll end with this other interesting verse from 1 Corinthians, where Bruh Paul declares: ‘There hath no temptation taken (overtaken) you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way of escape, that ye may be able to bear (endure) it.’ (1 Cor. 10:13)
Now please note that the Lord won’t always allow you to escape temptations, but will rather find a way for you to endure them, for temptations are a part of the testing of our faith, through which we grow in spiritual maturity and become more like Jesus. So, let’s go confidently now, but humbly, to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, that we can receive divine aid to help in these crucial 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!’
And what we supposed believers need to realize is that so far our Christian witness has been no good, otherwise the world would not have fallen so deeply into evil and ungodly ways. Therefore, to receive divine aid, we need to up the ante; to improve our Christin walk, and we have enough God-given tools to do it. So, let’s get together and do it nuh! Remember it’s all for our benefit, not God’s! Much LOVE!
…God’s grace and mercy are constantly available…if we walk in obedience to His desires…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
02 Jan 2026
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a means of restoring faith in you, a modicum of circumspection, a new year, and reaching forth, Bob Marley, by the example we faithful believers set, crapaud smoke we pipe, crying out for help, currently running rampant in our world, dictatorship, discontent, dissatisfaction, divine commendation, everywhere will be war, excessive hunger for power, experiencing Christ's power, experiencing the resurrected life, faith, for the prize of the high calling of God, forget our guilt or past successes, forgetting those things which are behind, Friday chant, get out of hand, greed, Haile Selassie I, heavenly reward for reaching this goal on earth, holds one race superior and another inferior, holy spirit, I count not myself to have apprehended, I press toward the mark, introduce a new flock of believers, Jesus Christ, keep our focus heavenward, keep the populace under control, know christ as well as I can, lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, look forward to what is ahead of us, lose the many advantages derived from using our differences as roadblocks, LOVE, make a positive difference, mankind's differences, mercy, more heavenly than earthly minded, moth and rust doth corrupt, negative and evil stuff, no longer first and second-class citizens, nothing will change without big overriding changes, of no more significance than the colour of his eyes, omnipotent help, our sinful world, participating in Christ's suffering, permanently discredited and abandoned, play up rather than play down our differences, practice the philosophy, prejudiced tools, problems are escalating, procrastinating attitude, put out differences behind us, reaching forth unto those things that are before, remain but a fleeting illusion, return backsliders to your fold, rumours of war, salvation, selfishness, show them the error of their ways, simmering unrest, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the colour of a man's skin, the divine summons extended to the believer for salvation, the dream of lasting peace, the goal of knowing Jesus to the best of our ability, the gospel truth, the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, the joyful personal satisfaction, the prize, the rule of international morality, the weekend, thieves break through and steal, this one thing I do, to be pursued but never attained, trusting faith, truth, unexpected storms, ungodly times, until basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all, until that day, using our differences as roadblocks, wake up and smell the coffee, where your treasure is there will be your heart also, wisdom, wise guidance, without regard to race, world citizenship
Philippians 3:14. I press toward the mark (goal) for the prize of the high (upward) calling of God in Christ Jesus.
And would you believe it, we’re already into the second day of this new year of 2026, and the partying will continue over the weekend, after offering up the Friday anthem: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday, and the weekend is here at last!’ Now, nothing’s wrong with partying, but there needs to be a modicum of circumspection attached to it, otherwise things will eventually get out of hand, as they’ve recently gotten out of hand in many other aspects of life in our world. And we can’t expect our greedy, strife filled world to turn around in only two days, or because it’s a new year.
To tell the truth, this new year stuff is simply another way for the powers that be to make money and keep the populace under control, for not much usually changes from one year to the next. Now, in an attempt to get over my lazy and procrastinating attitude for this new year, (smile) after several months of ignoring it, I finally went into my music studio last night and played some music. And one of the songs I played was one by Bob Marley that makes an impact on me every time I hear it, and which is rather appropriate for these evil and ungodly times. The song’s simply titled ‘WAR.’
It’s where he takes the words of a speech given by the Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I in California in 1968 and puts it to music. And it prophetically declares: ‘…Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior, is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned. That until there are no longer first and second-class citizens of any nation. Until the colour of a man’s skin is of no more significance than his eyes. That until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all, without regard to race. That until that day, the dream of lasting peace, world citizenship and the rule of international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion, to be pursued but never attained…And everywhere will be war…ah say war…’
And that my people is the gospel truth! Until we stop using our differences as roadblocks to our future, that future will be filled with nothing but war and rumours of war, of greed and selfishness, of excessive hunger for power and dictatorship and all the other negative and evil stuff that’s currently running rampant in our world. So all this guff or foolishness we spout at the end of every year is just that, for nothing is going to change until we make those big overriding changes mentioned in Haile Selassie’s speech above. And who really wants to make them eh, or even be responsible for making them?
None of the powers that be, nor many supposed Christians either, because it will take away the many advantages they possess from using the prejudiced tools that play up, rather than play down our differences. That’s why, to make a difference in this turbulent world, true believers have to put our differences behind us and do like Bruh Paul exhorted the Philippians in his letter. ‘Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended (known Christ as well as I can): but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth (forward) unto those things which are before (ahead), I press toward the mark (goal) for the prize of the high (upward) calling of God in Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 3:13-14)
Yes my fellow believers, if we want to undertake serious changes in our world, we have to forget all that’s behind us, any guilt or past successes, and look forward to what is ahead of us, that’s the goal of knowing Jesus to the best of our ability, with all that it implies. And the scholars point out, that basically means ‘experiencing Christ’s power and participating in His suffering, becoming more like Him in death, and experiencing the resurrected life.’ Now those are some of the important things we need to attend to in this new year, if we truly desire to improve both our lives and our world.
And what’s the purpose of, or prize for attaining that mark or goal, you ask? The scholars tell us: ‘The prize is the joyful personal satisfaction of having attained it, as well as the divine commendation and reward to be granted in heaven for having reached this goal on earth. The high calling of God is the divine summons extended to the believer for salvation.’ So, in the long run, we’re building up heavenly rewards and commendations for our Christ-like work on earth.
And there’s nothing better than doing that, for as Jesus so rightly exhorted us: ‘Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ (Matt. 6:19-21)
And that’s more gospel truth my people! Wherever our treasures are stored that’s where our concentration will naturally follow. And since we’re more heavenly than earthly minded, (smile) let’s go the throne of grace through our Friday Chant to get divine aid to keep our focus heavenward. 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!’
Oh my people, do we ever desperately need to wake up and see the great amount of evil that’s being perpetrated in our world, with some of it even purported, or alleged to be under Jehovah God’s direction, and do our best to make a positive difference. Otherwise…crapaud smoke we pipe! It’s as simple as that! Much LOVE!
…until mankind’s differences are used for and not against him…our world will never know true peace…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
26 Dec 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a joyful time, a means of restoring faith in you, a positive mental attitude, a way that displeases God, all whose works are truth, amidst all the anxiety and confusion, an open mind on all subjects to all people, as it is this day, be responsible, be your best for Jesus, boast in the Lord not yourself, Boxing Day, by the example that we faithful believers set, complete self-discipline, continue down the road to destruction and eternal death, crying out for your help, defeat the simmering unrest in our land, disrupt the workings of their souls, do your best, donkey's years, Dr. Charles Stanley, embrace your love and compassion, engaged in a labour of love, establish His covenant, faith, fervently pray, financial security, for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, freedom from fear, Friday chant, God is first and foremost in our lives, godliness, harmony in human relationships, He sware unto thy fathers, he that glorieth let him glory in the Lord, his ways of justice, holy spirit, hope of future achievement, I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the king of heaven, introduce a new flock of believers, Jesus Christ, learned his lesson, look your best, LOVE, material wealth, mercy, money is the last aspect of true wealth, more of us live sincerely for Christ, my power, Nebuchadnezzar's boast, omnipotent help, our bounden duty, our sinful world, play our cards right, poor emotionally and spiritually, problems are escalating, remember the Lord thy god, return backsliders to your fold, salvation, show them the error of their ways, sound physical health, stand strong and steadfast, tattooed on our faces, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the capacity for applied faith, the economics of the situation, the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth, the presence of God, the throne of grace, The Twelve Aspects of Wealth, these ungodly times, those that walk in pride He is able to abase, thou say in thine heart, true wealth, true wealth is what you are not what you have, trusting faith, truth, unexpected storms, use the discontent and dissatisfaction, wake up and smell the coffee, willingness to share one's blessings, wisdom, wisdom with which to understand people, wise guidance, without God's presence in your soul
Deuteronomy 8:18a. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth,
Ah mih people, it’s Friday, Boxing Day, and most of the hoopla over Christmas Day has now died down. Hope that you and yours had a joyful time, me and mine certainly did. Sadly though, instead of Boxing Day continuing with a high degree of the Christmas Spirit, it’s now mostly about sales and returns of Christmas presents. The economics have taken over right away. But what to do eh? As Uncle Charles (Dr. Charles Stanley) says: ‘Look your best, do your best, and be your best as always for Christ.’
Now, I don’t know if some of us even know that it’s Friday, but just that it’s Boxing Day and a holiday for many people. So some of us might not even have offered up our usual prayer of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ We just know that it’s a long weekend, and if we play our cards right we can be off work off almost a week, (smile) what with the New Years Celebrations in the offing.
Anyway, the most important thing is that the birth of Jesus was celebrated, and He occupied a place in many hearts that He never occupied before, or not to such a great extent, and let’s hope and prayer that that Christmas spirit will continue right into the New Year and all though it; that 2026 will be a year when many more of us live sincerely for Christ! End of Sermon! (smile)
And today I’ve been led to a quote from my ‘I LOVE YOU’ Poster, which says; ‘True wealth is what you are, not what you have.’ And that makes a lot of sense, for despite all of your material wealth, if you don’t have the presence of God and godliness running within you, then you’re still poor where it counts the most; emotionally and spiritually. That’s why so many supposedly wealthy people are so unhappy and miserable. They allow their material wealth to disrupt the workings of their souls in a way that displeases God. And without a true sense of God, without His presence in your soul, you can never be truly happy, despite your vast amount of material wealth.
That brings us to this very important scripture where Moses warned the people of Israel about not forgetting the Lord when they got wealthy, not forgetting all the good things that He had done for them while they were struggling to survive in the wilderness. (Deut. 8:11-16) ‘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 power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.’ (Deut. 8:18)
So we need to remember that it’s God who causes us to get wealth, be it material or emotional. And that ought to remind us of the story of the Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar in the Book of Daniel, who boasted of building his great palace through his own might, and before the words were out of his mouth the Lord had decreed that he would go mad and eat grass like the animals for seven years. And it all happened as decreed. (Dan. 4:28-33) Blessedly for Neb though, at the end of the seven years of madness, he gained back his mental faculties and his kingdom and praised God with a marvellous testimony for his miraculous recovery. (Dan. 4:34-36)
Then, in conclusion he stated with all sincerity: ‘Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the king of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways of judgement (justice): and those that walk in pride he is able to abase (humble).’ (Dan. 4:37) Now, there we can see that Neb learned his lesson, but so many of us don’t, and unfortunately continue down the road to destruction and eternal death. We forget the scripture that tells us; ‘But he that glorieth (boasts), let him glory (boast) in the Lord.’ (2 Cor. 10:17) And in this boastful and selfish society we should all have those words tattooed on our faces so that we can remember it.
And now, something else pertaining to true wealth, it’s a list of ‘The Twelve Aspects of True Wealth,’ that’s been on the wall on the opposite side of my office for donkey’s years, but do you think I see it. No way! Just like I don’t see the many other reminders I have all over the office. But for our information, here are those 12 aspects of true wealth.
(1) A positive mental attitude. (2) Sound physical health. (3) Harmony in human relationships. (4) Freedom from fear. (5) Hope of future achievement. (6) The capacity for applied faith. (7) Willingness to share one’s blessings with others. (8) To be engaged in a Labour of LOVE. (9) An open mind on all subjects to all people. (10) Complete self-discipline. (11) Wisdom with which to understand people. (12) FINANCIAL SECURITY.
And the whole point of that exercise is to show us that lots of money is the LAST aspect of true wealth, not the first, as so many of us make it. Hope we learn that lesson well for the upcoming New Year, seriously concentrating on the first eleven, rather than the twelfth. (smile) Now, it’s time go to the throne of grace through our Friday Chant, seeking divine aid for all that ails us.
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!’
Yes friends, along with the sinful world, let’s truly wake up and smell the coffee this upcoming year nuh. It’s our bounden duty which we have been sadly neglecting. And the world is crying out for our help! Much LOVE!
…true wealth is what we have…when God is first and foremost in our lives…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
12 Dec 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a pot of gold, accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour, according to his glorious power, all that labour and are heavy laden, all things work together for good to them that love God, amidst all the anxiety and confusion, at the end of the rainbow, be filled with the knowledge of God's willl, be of good cheer, be responsible and stay safe, being fruitful in every good work, better Christian witnesses, by the example that we set, can disappoint very quickly, can wake up and smell the coffee, come unto me, crying out for help, defeat the simmering unrest in our land, delivered us from the power of darkness, divine aid, do not cease to pray for you, don't depend on others to make you happy, embrace your love and compassion, faith, find joy in Jesus, find rest unto your souls, Friday chant, gentle and humble, giving thanks unto the Father, happiness, happiness can be fleeting, hits the nail on the head, holy spirit, humans are irresponsible and unpredictable, i have overcome the world, I stand at the door and knock, I will come into him, I will give you rest, if any man hear my voice and open the door, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, in me ye ight have peace, in the world ye shall have tribulation, in whom we have redemption through his blood, increasing in the knowledge of God, introduce a new flock of believers, Jesus Christ, Jesus is the only who will not let us down, Jesus never disappoints, joy, learn of me, life just gives us time and space, LOVE, meek and lowly in heart, mercy, my yoke is easy and my burden light, No one is guaranteed happiness, nothing can be better than living for Jesus, omnipotent help, our sinful world can wake up, place our trust in Almighty God, problems escalating, return backsliders to your fold, salvation, scripture of promise, show them the error of their ways, stand strong and steadfast in faith, strengthened with all might, take my yoke upon you, tests our faith through tough circumstances, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the forgiveness of sins, the joy found in Christ is everlasting, the most assurance of happiness, the throne of grace, these things I have spoken unto you, these ungodly times, time of need, to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, to them who are called according to his purpose, translated us into the kingdom of his Son, trusting faith, truth, unexpected storms, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness, walk worthy of the Lord, we experience joy with Jesus, we must fill it with joy and meaning, who hath qualified us, will sup with him and he with me, wisdom, wise guidance
Matthew 11:28. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Oh friends, at long last it’s Friday, and we can see a pot of gold, the weekend, at the end of the rainbow, this work week. And to make things better, although it’s cold and windy, the sun’s shining brightly, just the way we like it! No wonder we’ve sent up sincere prayers of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’
And today we’re going to look at interesting quote from my ‘I LOVE You’ Poster my young daughter gave me years ago. Now this quote sounds familiar, and I might have used it sometime ago, but like so many of these sayings, they are worth hearing over and over. And this one resonates with awesome truth. It says: ‘No one is guaranteed happiness. Life just gives us time and space. It’s up to us to fill it with joy and meaning.’
And that hits the proverbial nail right on its proverbial head. Happiness is not guaranteed, and often it doesn’t last very long. But we have to make ourselves happy, and the best way to do that is by starting off with Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, for through Him, even if you don’t have happiness here on earth, you will certainly have it with Him wherever He is in the next life! And in Jesus we don’t experience happiness so much as joy, which is a much deeper and more lasting experience.
Now, we also have to pay attention to another aspect of the happiness situation, that is depending on others to make us happy. That’s not always wise, for human beings are so frail, fragile, irresponsible and unpredictable that if we depend on others to make us happy, in no time flat they can disappoint us, and the whole happiness house will come crashing down upon our heads. So it all comes right back to basing our happiness, our joy in Jesus, who is the ONLY One who will never let us down.
And why would He, after sacrificing Himself for our sins on the horrific cross of Calvary, and pleading with us through His Great Invitation to come to Him for rest and comfort. ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (humble and gentle): and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt. 11:28-30)
He’s also constantly knocking at the doors of our hearts, so He can enter in and dine with us. He says it quite plainly: ‘Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup (dine) with him, and he with me.’ (Rev. 3:20) Who else offers these faithful comforts eh? Nobody else but Jesus!
Oh, we humans might be faithful for a moment or a short while, but eventually we all disappoint to some extent. Jesus NEVER disappoints, if you understand His teachings and His commandments. Life with Him will not necessarily be easy, in some cases it might even be more difficult, as He tests our faith through tough circumstances, but we are assured that He will not let the devil have us, He will see us through to victory eventually. As Bruh Paul says in this awesome scripture of promise. ‘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.’ (Rom. 8:28)
Yes friends, if we sincerely surrender to and place our trust in Almighty God, though we will suffer trials and tribulations, we are assured that the end we will fine. It’s like Jesus reassures us in the gospel of John, where He says: ‘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) Now that’s not always easy to do, but if we put our sincere trust in Jesus, He will help us to do it.
And we’ll end with one of the most beautiful prayers in the Bible, and one that sets the basic standard for life and joy in Christ. It’s Bruh Paul’s prayer for the Colossians. So please pray with me: ‘For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet (qualified us) to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in (the) light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated (transferred) us into the kingdom of his dear Son (the Son of His LOVE): In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.’ (Col 1:9-14)
Wow mih bredrin! Tell me what can be better than living for Jesus eh? NOTHING! And where can we find the most assurance of happiness here on earth and in the next life? With Jesus; where else! And now that we’re convinced that Jesus provides the best scenario for happiness and joy in this world and the next, let’s go to the throne of grace through our Friday Chant seeking help in this dire time of need that our evil world makes necessary.
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!’
And yes, our sinful world does need to wake up, but so do we Christians, and start showing better witness for Christ, if we expect to receive divine aid. Much LOVE!
…happiness can be fleeting…but the joy found in Christ is everlasting…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
Previous Older Entries
SCRIP-BITS 