13 May 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: aura of love, awesome truth, burden, celebrations, Christ crucified, christianity, confidence, downtrodden, enthusiasm, foolishness of God, forgiveness, glorious kingdom, grace, holy spirit, humble servants, humility, invincible, jobs, lies, loving god, mercy, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, oppressed, power of God, renewed vitality, scorn, sincere heart, steadfast faith, summer weather, sure conquerors, the Lord respects the lowly, the weak and pitiful, though the Lord be high, totem pole, true repentance, useful purpose, weakness of God, weary souls, wicked taunts, wiles, wisdom, wisdom of God, yoke
Psalm 138:6. Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.
Ah Friends, unfortunately it’s Monday once again, and the Mother’s Day celebrations are over for another year. Sadly, they were marred somewhat in my area by cloud, rain and strong winds. I understand that we had hailstones too, and some places further north even had snow. So much for the blossoming summer weather. Chuh! Hopefully though, not too many of us are suffering this morning from the aftermath of those celebrations, (smile) and won’t get up feeling worse than is customary on a Monday morning. I know celebrations are wonderful, but when we overdo it, the price we pay later on is simply not worth it. Anyway, life goes on, whether we’re feeling up to it or not. The good thing though is that we worship a healing, caring and LOVING God, who’s only too willing to fix us when we’re hurting and/or broken. And one way He does that is by hearing our cries for help, our prayers, and granting them. So on this rough Monday morning, let’s cry out to Him for help and sustenance by singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. Now, in whatever voice you can manage, croaking or otherwise (smile) but with a sincere and true heart, let’s sing. ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together. We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’ Oh Friends, that wasn’t very powerful. Truthfully, it might be better termed pitiful. But that’s the whole idea about crying out for help. If you’re strong and able, then you don’t need help. And if it’s one thing our God LOVES to do, is to help the weak and pitiful. Our Bit declares that quite plainly. ‘Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto (He regards) the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.’ Yes my brethren, it’s the same Bit from two days ago. I wasn’t finished with it, but Mother’s Day forced me to put it aside till today. And if you remember, we ended that day with Jesus quoting Hosea 6:6, to the hypocrite Pharisees, re the Lord desiring mercy, faithfulness and not sacrifice from His followers, when they complained to the disciples about His eating with sinners and tax collectors. And as Bruh Paul told the Corinthians: ”For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than man.’ (1 Cor.1:22-25) Words of awesome truth my people! Remember too, that Jesus Himself dealt more with the sick and suffering, the outcasts and those from the lower rungs of society. As He said: ‘For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.’ (Matt.18:11) And unfortunately, those at the bottom of society’s totem pole, are usually the lost ones, who need healing and saving more than those higher up. However we put it though Friends, our God is undoubtedly a champion of the small, oppressed man. Cousin Sol wisely tells us: ‘Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly (weak, humble) (Prov.3:34) And Isaiah solemnly declares, re condemnation of Israel’s idolatry: ‘For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.’ (Is.57:15) Yes my people, it is always the Lord’s will to help those who are downtrodden, oppressed, fallen on hard times and any other negative situations that may affect their lives! But we have to call on Him in humility and true repentance. That’s the key to His mercy and forgiveness. Please, let’s remember that and act accordingly today. Our lives will be all the better for it. Much LOVE!…come unto me…all ye that labour and heavy laden…and I will give you rest…for my yoke is easy…and my burden is light… (Matt.11:28, 30)
06 May 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: aura of love, beauty of holiness, christianity, comatose attitudes, concrete jungles, desires, endless praise, eternal life, fear the Lord, fearful, good cheer, high on life, holy spirit, humble servants, idols, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, lies, Love of Jesus, mirror images of Jesus, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, noble sentiments, overcome the world, peace, raise voices to heaven, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, sally forth with confidence, salvation, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, suburbia, sure conquerors, sweet praises, tragic minded, tribulation, wicked taunts, wilting spirits, worship the Lord
Psalm 96:9. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him all the earth.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday, and I know that you all are rather anxious and excited to get out into the evil, ungodly world and fight for Jesus! You all just can’t wait to exit suburbia, the only place you can barely afford to live, get into your cheaply made but expensive cars and crawl along the highways into the concrete jungles, endure hassles over parking, then hustle into the ugly glass and steel towers, making sure you’re not late, and battle Beelzebub mano-a- mano! No Friends, I’m not high on anything but life and the LOVE of Jesus! And I sure wish many more supposed Christians could have some joy and fun in their spirits, rather than the dead, comatose attitudes some of us display. Jesus didn’t die for us to be fearful and tragic minded. As 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) That means we can all afford to lighten up and enjoy life. It’s not always a bed of roses, but knowing that our salvation and everlasting life are guaranteed, that should certainly enable us to have a better attitude towards this earthly life. Anyway, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with mucho gusto and perk up our wilting spirits. In harmony then, let’s raise our heads, hearts, hands, eyes and voices to heaven. ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together. We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’ Bravo, my people, Bravo! That was good! And I just heard a song on WACK 90.1 F.M in T&T that’s admirably suited to lift our spirits this bluesy Monday morning. The male vocalist is joyfully declaring: ‘O Jesus, I want to commune with You. Take my heart, take my soul. I give it all to You. My desire is to worship and exalt You, and testify about the greatness of Your Name. For You delight in the praises of your people. So hear my voice, hear my cry, hear my heart. I want to be one with You.’ Oh my brethren, what noble sentiments and desires! Sentiments and desires that all true Christians should have deeply embedded in our DNA! And in the Lord’s mysterious and wonderful way, the song also reflects the sentiments of our Bit. ‘O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear (tremble) before him all the earth.’ Yes my people, it’s a universal call to praise God, for the whole earth to submit to His sovereignty, His glorious majesty, His kingship. And why is that eh? Why does the Lord deserve these accolades? The psalmist kindly enlightens us. ‘For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens. Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.’ (Ps.96:4-6) Oh Friends, those are most excellent reasons to praise our great God! And when you add His care and LOVING-kindness towards His mortal creations, that includes sacrificing the life of His sinless Son Jesus so we could be redeemed and be reconciled to Him, I don’t know how you can do anything else but give Him endless praise and bow down and worship Him in all reverence and truth. As the psalmist continues, we ought to: ‘Give (ascribe) unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give (ascribe) unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him all the earth. Say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth: the world also shall be established (is firmly established) that it shall not be moved (shaken): he shall judge the people righteously.’ (Ps.96:7-10) So my fellow believers, let’s all go out today and be veritable mirror images of Christ nuh; going about doing good, spreading the good news of the gospel, and singing sweet praises to Almighty God. That’s why we were created. Much LOVE!…oh what sweet songs of praise…the name of Jesus…brings to my voice and my soul…
29 Apr 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: battle hymn, big up, bounden duty, christianity, Creator of the universe, dangerous jobs, divine protection, do good, easily defeated, enemies, enthusiasm, evil, extol God, forgiving God, give thanks, glorious kingdom, god, God's lifted us up, humble servants, ingrates, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, joy comes in the morning, maturity, mercy, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, reflection of Jesus, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, sing up a storm, sleeping weather, spiritual armour, spread LOVE, steadfast faith, sure conquerors, ungodly world, useful purpose, weary souls, weeping endures for a night
Psalm 30:1 I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.
Oh Friends, on this wet, spring, Monday morning, I won’t harangue us about booting it out of bed and getting a move on, even though this is certainly laze-about, sleeping weather. I’m depending on our sense of responsibility and the strong reflection of Jesus in our spirits, our maturity, to get us up and moving. Am I not very nice now? (smile) Without any more delay then, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn as though our lives depend on it. And who knows, they just might. So let’s sing up a storm now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together. We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’ Now that was most excellent my people! Yuh see what we can do when we put our minds and hearts to it. It was so good that the Father couldn’t help Himself and gave Jesus a big high five for having such good followers. Now don’t let that go to our heads, we still have to go out into the evil, ungodly world and do the job, provide the action for the talk; be humble, sacrifice and serve like Jesus did. That’s where the separation of the sheep and goats takes place. And in all of that it’s still necessary to lift up, to extol the name of our great and wonderful God, like Bruh David says in our Bit: ‘I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.’ Yes my fellow believers, just like we extol the names of men; celebrities and other powerful people, though most of them do nothing for us, we ought to ‘BIG UP’ our God. I don’t like the term, but that’s what the young people seem to understand these days. Yes we ought to promote, extol, exalt, lift up the name of the awesome and amazing God who does so many wonderful things for us, like giving us new mercies and blessings everyday and not allowing our enemies to overcome us. And in this Psalm – A thanksgiving for deliverance from death, Bruh David wisely and rightly acknowledges the God of his fathers for keeping him safe from harm, and possibly death. He solemnly declares: ‘O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave (the place of the dead): thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit (grave). Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness (holy name). For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.’ (Ps.30:2-5) Oh my brethren, are we being as reverent and thankful for the trials and tribulations that our omnipotent, but very merciful and forgiving God has saved us from, or brought us safely through? I certainly hope so, since the Lord dislikes ungrateful people…and so do I. Just thought I’d throw that in there. As they say, ‘who the cap fits, let them wear it.’ (smile) Further more, to boost the giving of thanks and praise, please note Bruh David’s words from Psalm 28 – A prayer for God’s help. ‘The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him. The Lord is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed (Messiah, commissioned one) Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance; feed (shepherd) them also, and lift them up for ever.’ (Ps.28:7-9) Oh Friends, please don’t allow the enemy to thwart our thanksgiving to Almighty God! For remember that the joy of the Lord is our strength. (Neh.8:10) Like Samson, when Delilah cut off his locks, and he became weak and easily defeated, the same thing happens to us when we lose that full and bubbling over joyfulness that we acquire when we’re walking in true harmony with the Lord. So let’s get out there into the evil world today and do what Jesus did while here on earth – spread LOVE and do good. That’s our bounden duty, our raison d’être, so let’s live up to it nuh. Much LOVE!…nothing, or no one…should stop the believer from walking in Christ’s footsteps…because we’re assured of His divine protection…
25 Mar 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: aura of love, battle hymn, christianity, comfort, confession, enthusiasm, fear, glorious kingdom, god of all comfort, good tidings, holy spirit, Holy Trinity, hope, human anguish, human imagination, humble servants, invincible, jobs, Lent, lies, loving kindness, mercy, Monday Morning, purpose of living, rejuvenation of spirit, religion, renewed vitality, resurrection of christ, salvation, spiritual armour, spirituality, sure conquerors, surrender, tribulation, undeniable fact, ungodly world, useful purpose, weary souls, well rewarded, wicked taunts
Isaiah 51:12. I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday…! And there’s a half-hearted cheer reeking with sarcasm for that unwelcome information. (smile) This is also the last Monday in Lent, where many of us gave up stuff to spiritually make a connection with Jesus fasting forty days in the wilderness before His death. But come next Monday, after the amazing resurrection of Christ on Sunday, I guarantee that there will be a much louder cheer when I announce it’s time for work. That’s because our souls will be a tad more joyous having regained the pleasures we gave up for Lent. And let me apologize here for not mentioning that yesterday was Palm Sunday. I don’t know what came over me, but I totally forgot about it, until I went to church and saw the palms there. I really don’t know how I could have forgotten such an important day in the annals of Christianity; the only day during Jesus’ earthly sojourn that He was actually recognized and publicly acknowledged as the worthy King, the Son of God, the Messiah He truly is. Anyway Friends, please forgive the ole fella, his mind obviously isn’t what it used to be. And I promise it won’t happen again, though I may forget something else. (smile) Now let’s move on to more immediate matters, like singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to get us in the right frame of mind to go out and labour. Altogether now, with as much heartfelt enthusiasm as we can muster. ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together. We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’ Oh mih people, that was only so so. We didn’t get a standing ‘O’ in heaven today, just some sporadic applause. But I’m sure by the time we hit the road, the enthusiasm, the flame of passion that burns deep in our hearts and souls for Jesus will have been reignited and we’ll be just rearing to get to the front lines of the battle and engage the evil enemy. (smile) And I’m not being overly optimistic here. One must have hope, loads of it. For if there’s no hope, what’s the purpose of living then? That brings us to our Bit: ‘I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a (mortal) man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass.’ It’s the same one as yesterday, and we’ll attempt to do what I’d planned to do back then, which is dissect it, before I was guided to talk about LOVE instead. There are three parts to it; basically comfort, fear and longevity. Let’s look at the first part; comfort. Our God says in no uncertain terms: ‘I, even I, am he that comforteth you.’ And that’s an undeniable fact my brethren! Our God is the greatest comforter in existence! He prides Himself in comforting His people. Now let’s check out a few of the many scriptures on the amazing comfort our God provides. And we’ll start with Isaiah, who offers comfort to Israel in several readings. First off is: ‘Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.’ (Is.40:1) That has to do with a day of salvation after Judah’s captivity in Babylon. Then in chapter 49, he exultantly declares: ‘Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.’ (Is.49:13) That’s regarding the Servant coming out of Israel, Jesus, the Messiah. He says basically the same thing in 52:9, re the Lord delivering His people from captivity. Meanwhile in chapter 61, proclaiming tidings of salvation to Zion, he boldly announces: ‘The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek (poor); he hath sent me to bind up (heal) the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn.’ (Is.61:1-2) And we all know Bruh Paul’s famous words 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 trouble (tribulation), by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.’ (2 Cor.1:3-4) Oh Friends, how could we ever doubt the healing and comforting nature of our wonderful God eh? Just like in all the other blessings He showers down on us, His comforting us is meant to be shared with others, not kept solely and selfishly for ourselves. That’s one of the reasons why our world is in such sad shape today; too many people not willing to share their abundance with the less fortunate. And we’ll end, as I like to when possible, with the words of Jesus. Listen to this pronouncement from the Sermon on the Mount, from the Beatitudes, which mirrors the end of Isaiah’s in 61:2. ‘Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.’ (Matt.5:4) What a promise my brethren! And we know it’s gospel truth if spoken by Jesus! And the scholars elaborate on that passage thus: ‘Those that mourn…shall be comforted. The depth of the promise of these statements is almost inexhaustible. Those who mourn for sin shall be comforted in confession. Those who mourn for the human anguish of the lost shall be comforted by the compassion of God.’ So Friends, in this crazy, confused, turbulent, evil, ungodly world, where we are constantly beset before and behind by problems and anxieties, let’s not lose hope, and consequently faith in our most awesome Holy Trinity, because we know of, and have personally experienced their comfort and LOVING-kindness. There’s NONE OTHER like them in existence. Hang tight with them and you’ll be well taken care of, rewarded far above and beyond your human imagination. Now isn’t that true wisdom? It sure is, my brethren! Much LOVE!…thy rod and thy staff…they comfort me… (Ps.23:4)
18 Mar 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: battle hymn, christianity, confidence, Creator of the universe, day of judgement, evil world, fight on strong, final judgement, glorious kingdom, government work, hard work, harmonious choir, heavenly host, humble servants, invincible, Jesus, jobs, judgement, lies, Monday Morning, punishment, religion, right frame of mind, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, sure conquerors, surrender to God, temptations, Thank God is Monday., the tough get going, theology, trials of temptation, ungodly world, weary souls, weekend, when the going gets tough, wicked taunts
2 Peter 2:9. The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgement to be punished.
And then it was Monday…! And all of God’s children shouted a joyous, ‘Thank God is Monday yes! Time to go back to work. Ah tired being cooped up in this ole house all weekend, just washing and cooking and cleaning and looking after children and a lazy spouse. Steups! Ah doh work so hard in the government work nuh!’ Yes Friends, that’s the dilemma we often find our selves in. Home for the weekend, saddled with all the housework and dying to get out. Then by Tuesday evening, crawling in the endless traffic, we yearn for Friday and the weekend. No need to feel badly, we all experience that type of situation sometimes. Let’s just sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn and get ourselves in a right frame of mind to handle the outside world. As one loud, sweet, harmonious choir now. Let Jesus and all the heavenly host sit up and take notice. ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together. We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’ Awright mih breddren! The whole heavenly host was pleased. There was plenty applause, and we even got a standing O. Wow! So let’s go out into the evil world in which we work, carrying that same enthusiastic, faith filled, Christ-LOVING, people- LOVING attitude and win some needy souls for Christ, because that’s our earthly mandate! Now let’s see what wisdom we can glean from our Bit: ‘The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgement to be punished.’ And that’s the living truth Friends! Our God certainly knows how to bail out or help the faithful through the trials of temptation, but He also knows how to handle the evil pack that will be destroyed when He decides to wrap up this whole creation thing in the final judgement. Oh my brethren, I’m sincerely pleading, please don’t let us be found on the wrong side of the mighty ledger, the unjust and wicked side, because our end, come that final day, which only the Lord knows, will be real painful and sorrowful. And there’s nothing wrong with temptation, unless we give in to it, since we all are tempted sometime, in one fashion or another. And as Bruh Paul warned the church at Corinth, re Israel being used as a warning example: ‘Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition (instruction), upon whom the ends of the world (ages) are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 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 to escape, that ye may be able bear (endure) it.’ (1 Cor.10:11-13) Yes my people, our wonderful God will always help us in temptations. But the scholars bring up an interesting point here. ‘Make a way to escape (lit. “an egress” or “way out”): In early Greek usage, this term had the sense of a landing place for a ship. The idea is thus not that He will enable us to escape temptation, but that He will enable us to land intact on the other side.’ So it’s not that Lord will always keep temptation away, make us never suffer it, but more that we won’t get more than we can handle, and after undergoing it, He promises to bring us out safely. In other words, though we may get caught up in the temptation, with it swallowing us, like the fish did Jonah, the Lord will enable us to bear the burden, just like He did for Jonah, after he’d understood and repented of his wrong doing. So, please don’t despair when temptation comes, you’re not alone, all humans are tempted by the evil one and his evil cronies. Just hold on tight and fight with all your might, knowing that our God has promised to see you through it, and He faithfully keeps all His promises. The temptation may last longer than we like, or be more difficult than we appreciate, but note that there’s always a very good reason for whatever the Lord allows in our lives, and will not waste anything we’ve gone through, but use it for our eventual good. It’s all part of maturing us, bringing us more like Jesus. Don’t forget that, keep the faith and fight on strong like a good soldier of Christ. In time we’ll reap the rewards. Much LOVE!…when the going gets tough…that’s when the tough…the followers of Jesus get going…with His help of course…
04 Feb 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: battle hymn, enthusiasm, glory hallelujah, God's glory, gospel truth, holy spirit, humble servants, invincible, Jesus, jobs, lies, LOVE Revolution, man's honour, Praise the Lord, protective aura, rejuvenation of spirit, renenwed vitality, sincere fellowship, steadfast faith, sunrise, sunset, sure conquerors, taunts, TGIM, Thank God it's Monday, ungodly world, vanity of idols, wiles
Psalm 8:9. O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!
Oh Friends, it’s Monday…! And my pronouncement brings a sudden burst of joyous shouts of ‘TGIM! Thank God it’s Monday! Time to get out there and work for Jesus!’ Wow! Wonders never cease, but daily they increase! Ah mih people, I’m not idly day-dreaming, for if we live long enough, sooner or later we’re going to get that energetic and enthusiastic response on a Monday Morning. Right now the response is not as good as it could or should be, but it’s getting better with each passing week, and when the LOVE Revolution gets into full stride, that’s the genuine response Christ’s people will have. They’ll be ever so eager to get out into the wicked world and join the battle with Beelzebub and his evil cohorts. But until then, we still need to sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to put us in the mood, to kick start our motors. So let’s raise our voices in song to heaven with much enthusiasm. Fake it if you have to. (smile) But do raise your voices loud and clear. All together now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together. We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once your powerful, protective aura hovers over us. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that your Holy Spirit lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’ Now that wasn’t too bad, but definitely not as good as it has been. There were too many obvious fakers. Anyway, the most important results were obtained; it got our adrenalin bubbling, and our minds focused on Jesus. Now let’s turn to a most appropriate Bit for today. ‘O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!’ And all God’s people declared: ‘Glory Hallelujah! Our God is indeed great! He is the ONE AND ONLY TRUE GOD, and most worthy to be praised!’ And that’s the gospel truth Friends! Our Bit comes from Psalm 8, where Bruh David talks about God’s glory and man’s honour. But my people, are we truly upholding those two principles? When you look at the evil, ungodly way our society behaves, you tend to doubt it very much. But it’s what we ought to do, how we ought to behave. It’s our bounden duty as believers to exalt and glorify our God, and to live honourably with each other. But sadly in these evil, disastrous times, those are two other things that have become the exceptions rather than the rule. When we should all be running to God for succour and solace, foolishly, we are running away from Him. My brethren, please listen to what our actions should rightly be, coming from Psalm 113 – God’s mercies are many. ‘Praise ye the Lord (Sing Hallelujah). Praise, O ye servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and for evermore. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praise. The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth!’ (Ps.113:1-6) Yes Friends, that’s what our words and behaviour ought to proclaim! Now let’s reinforce that with more truthful words from Psalm 148 – All creation to praise the Lord. The psalmist first calls out individually to each of God’s creations to praise Him, then ends: ‘Let them praise the name of the Lord: for his name alone is excellent (exalted); his glory is above the earth and heaven. He also exalteth the horn (strength, dominion) of his people, the praise of al his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the Lord (sing Hallelujah).’ (Ps.148:13-14) Oh my people, why aren’t God’s creations praising Him the way we should eh? And don’t say because we’re too busy living our daily lives, for that’s hogwash, since our God desperately wants to get involved in all that we do, morning, noon and night. If anybody should be involved in all aspects of our lives, it’s Him! The truth I believe, is that we’re too taken up with false glitz and glamour of the world, and are constantly pursuing and acquiring its wealth and material possessions. That obviously leaves little or no time for God. Plus we feel that if we are true to God, then we’ll have to give up the things of the world. Now that’s true to a certain extent, especially when we begin to worship them, to see them as the be all and end all of our lives. But true believers, as I keep saying, have nice worldly things, not in spite of, but because they are blessed by God for their faith and sincere fellowship with Him. Remember Jesus also told us in no uncertain terms that if we set the kingdom of God as our first priority, that all of our needs would be met. (Matt.6:33) Obviously we all won’t live in wealth and splendour, but we won’t lack for anything in our day to day existence. But that doesn’t seem good enough for too many of us, so therefore we keep running down the things of the world. And don’t forget what the preacher told us in yesterday’s Bit; that it’s useless, futile, and vain to spend our lives amassing worldly possessions, since we can’t take any of them with us, when we return naked to the dust from whence we came naked. (Eccl.5:15) And we’ll end with some more truthful words from Psalm 113 – The greatness of the Lord and the vanity of idols. ‘Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the name of the Lord; praise him, O ye servants of the Lord. Ye that stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God. Praise the Lord; for the Lord is good: sing praise unto his name; for it is pleasant…. For I know that the Lord is great, and that out Lord is above all gods.’ (Ps.135:1-3, 5) That says it all Friends! So today, let’s seriously ponder our reactions to the things of the world and to the things of God, and begin having them lean towards the latter nuh. That’s the ultimate in wisdom. Much LOVE!…a fool and his earthly possessions…are soon parted…but a wise man in tune with Jesus…lives richly forever…
28 Jan 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: alive but dead, antidote, buffeted and bombarded, church at Sardis, cocoa tea, compromise, dangerous jobs, difficult jobs, enemy's wiles, incredible aura of LOVE, invincible, jobs, Lamb's book of life, living on past glory, Master Healer, Monday Morning, renewed vitality, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, sure conquerors, wearing white, weary souls, worthy
Revelation 3:1. And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday, so let’s be up and at ’em nuh! No pussyfooting and complaining today. Let’s act like the adults, the believing adults we’re supposed to be and cut out the whining and moaning every Monday morning. Jesus is tired with it. He’s saying to us in Cocoa Tea’s words, ‘My people, stop it! Drop it!’ We all know that Monday is a working day, therefore it’s our responsibility to be prepared. That means to stop abusing the weekend, so we can step out smartly on Mondays when the battle call sounds. Now to help us get into a groove and strengthen our resolve, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn as though we really mean it. In unison now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together. We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’ Yes my people, that’s the kind of attitude we need to constantly foster, so that Mondays bring energy and determination, rather than fatigue and listlessness. And our Bit today is a very good reminder of that. ‘And unto the angel (messenger) of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art (but you are) dead.’ Yuh see Friends, Jesus wasn’t mincing words there with the church at Sardis. He was telling it as He saw it. They were alive, yet dead, like many of us are today. Now here’s some historical background, re the scholars, on the city of Sardis. ‘Sardis, the ancient capital of the rich and powerful kingdom of Lydia, was located about 30 miles south of Thyatira. The name may mean “Escaping.” It was destroyed by the Persians under Cyrus. Under Roman rule, in the New Testament era, it never regained its earlier prominence. It only possessed its former name of greatness, not those great works. The city was destroyed by an earthquake during the rule of Tiberius Caesar (A.D.17) and rebuilt by him. This indebtedness promoted emperor worship in Sardis and eventually prompted compromise by the church. So the church was now virtually dead in spirit and works, and is representative of dead orthodoxy. Today a small Turkish village named Sart lies near the site.’ Oh my brethren, I sure hope all of that rings an alarm bell in our minds re the modern day church, because we are behaving just like the people of Sardis; living on past glory, worshipping idols. Our spirits are basically dead, we have no real passion for Christ, we’re not excited to be believers and to be working energetically for our Saviour. Consequently, many of the orthodox churches are regressing, not progressing. Petty divisions and dissensions are further weakening Christ’s body. That should not be so my people. Please, let us not become like the people of Sardis, a mere shadow of our great past. And here then is the antidote proposed by the Master Healer Himself. ‘Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect (complete) before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment (garments); and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.’ (Rev.3:2-5) All I can do is warn us to pay serious attention to Jesus’ words there Friends. Our society is floundering, and as the serious remnant of Christ’s church we need to strengthen what is left and help to keep the sound teaching of the apostles alive till the day of Jesus’ return, which could be anytime. Please, I implore us, let’s try and be numbered amongst those worthy to be wearing white when Jesus returns, and our names written in the Lamb’s book of life, so that we can be sure of everlasting life with Jesus, because it’s only the names of genuine believers He will include therein and make mention to the Father. Much LOVE!…please listen carefully…and do as advised…for the consequences of disobedience will be life altering…
15 Oct 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: aura of love, criminal activities, cyber bullying, enthusiasm, families, Internet, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, Monday, negative consequences, praise and thanks, restrain our mouths, sure conquerors, ungodly world, vitality
Psalm 39:1. I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue; I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday, that wonderful day! And all God’s people responded with a rousing, ‘Yeah! Thank God it’s Monday, and we get to go out to work!’ Wow! What wonderful believers! (smile) Okay, so I’m a tad on the crazy side, but that’s how our LOVING, Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ wants us to react on a Monday morning, not with the moaning and groaning, the pity party and foul moods we usually exhibit. And foolishly or otherwise, I’ve promised Him that I will eventually get us to be as enthusiastic about Mondays as we are about Fridays. Now I’m sure you all don’t want to see me break my promise to Jesus. So please help the ole fella here nuh, help me by changing the gloomy Monday morning outlook, starting RIGHT NOW, as we sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, with plenty vim and vigour. All together now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together. We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’ Most excellent my people, most excellent! Jesus was proud of us. Now let’s go out into the evil, ungodly world and win some souls for Him, as He commissioned us to do. (Matt.28:19-20) And what shall we talk about today eh? I don’t have a clue. (smile) Okay Lord, okay, if that’s Your wish, I’ll finally obey. And I’m referring to a couple of things that have been bugging me for the last few days, but I’ve resisted the urge to say anything. However the Lord seems to want me to bring it up. Regular readers will remember that a couple days ago we were dealing with not talking or writing as much as we do in general, but even more so in the social media that’s chocked full of negative consequences. Well after the second day, I read about a couple things that greatly disturbed me about our ever so wonderful Internet, but I pushed it aside. However, it kept coming back through the newspapers and the television, and I guess now’s the time for me to get it off my chest. By the way, if we’re going to talk about talking too much, we can use the same Bit, since it’s still very appropriate. ‘I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue; I will keep (restrain) my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.’ Oh Friends, if what I’m about to say displeases you, then too bad, but it’s at sad times like these we, especially parents, have to take a serious look at our selves and our methods of rearing the children God gave us. Our society has sadly plummeted to rather deplorable and dumb standards, but what else can we expect from our general behaviour? Anyway, it seems that a couple of years ago, a grade 7 female student in British Columbia, Canada’s western coast province, in concert with supposed friends, published a picture of her breasts on Facebook. Steups! Right there the stupidity began! What in heaven’s name are you taking half-naked pictures of yourself and putting them out there for, especially at such a tender age? She must have been around 12 or 13, because she’s fifteen now. But unfortunately, a year later some evil type sent her a note that he wanted her to take more pictures of herself and send them to him, otherwise he was going to spread the old one all over the place. She claims she didn’t know who he was, or how he got hold of her earlier picture. But that’s relatively easy if you know how the systems work. But to make a long story short, he ended up doing exactly what he’d promised; sent the stuff to her friends, school mates etc. etc. That resulted in her being ostracised by all and sundry. Changing schools and cities didn’t make any difference the evil followed her everywhere she went. She was even physically beaten in addition to the jeers and verbal abuse. When she couldn’t take it anymore, she put out a warning to others using flash cards, then apparently committed suicide this week. Oh she’d tried it before, by drinking bleach, but fortunately she was saved. And here’s the headline on the story in Saturday’s Toronto Star newspaper. ‘Death by anti-social media.’ And as is our usual habit, we’re nicely calling that kind of criminal blackmail, cyber bullying, and everybody’s up in arms about it. Steups! When are we going to learn eh people? Everyday we hear about more and more criminal activities being perpetrated through and over the Internet, and it’s difficult to find the culprits, but yet still we go ahead and put stuff out there that has no reason whatsoever to be out there. And the sad part is that even after Amanda Todd’s terrible demise, many people are still gloating and happy and calling her terrible names. Now is that a nice society? I wouldn’t even ask about it being godly, because you don’t have to be godly to be nice or sympathetic. Oh Friends, we’ve run out of time and space, so I’ll leave the rest of my rant for tomorrow. But please, please learn from this disastrous mistake, that the Net is not all that the evil perpetrators and financial benefactors want us to believe it is. It does have it uses, but one of them is certainly not spreading your life history in cyber space for every Tom, Dick and Harry to see and be able to use and abuse. Much LOVE!…anything man-made…can always…and WILL eventually be used for evil…against society in general…or another man in particular…
01 Oct 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: adrenalin, complaining, enthusiasm, evildoers, invincible, Jesus Christ, LOVE, majesty, Monday blues, praise God, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, righteousness., spiritual armour, strength, sure conquerors, whining
Psalm 67:4. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.
Oh Friends, mankind is really something else yes! We’re like chameleons, constantly changing from one minute to the next, to suit our current desire. I’ve been thinking about how joyful most of us were on Friday, high-fiving each other and shouting ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday!’ But today, on Monday, only a couple days later, all I can hear is a set of moaning and whining: ‘Yuh mean to say is really Monday already? Ah really have to go to work today boy? Ah wonder how much sick time I have left eh…or which of mih family hasn’t died yet…? And besides, just look at the rain pelting down out there nuh…or the snow and the sleet…Mama Yo! And yuh see how the wind blowing crazy out there? It must be a hurricane or something yes! And they want me to go out there in that kinda weather…Steups!’ Hn, hn, hn! Yes Friends, that’s the way many of us behave, come Monday morning. We’ll use every trick in the book, find every excuse not to go to work. But you know, as true followers of Jesus, we’re not supposed to do that, especially in these precarious times when jobs are scarce and hard to come by, plus many of us are in debt way above our heads. But to help us overcome our lack of enthusiasm for work this morning, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, loud and strong, as though we really mean it, and eventually it will become the reality. As one now, let’s make Jesus proud of us: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together. We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’ Now doesn’t that make us feel better? The natural adrenalin, plus the deep LOVE for Jesus has awakened the sleeping, tired tiger in us, so that we’re just rearing to get out into the evil world and clean up those evildoers! (smile) Ah mih people, I wish it was that easy, but we all know it’s not. However, to enable us to keep our light, enthusiastic frame of mind, I’ve found an uplifting, positive Bit, and some uplifting, positive scriptures to back it up. So let’s get into our Bit. ‘O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.’ Yes my brethren, let’s pause and consider that statement for a moment. It’s just chocked full of truth; all nations ought to sing and jump for joy because we have such a just and righteous leader in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, or Elohim, the God of all people! Now hear these moving, positive and truthful words from Psalm 93. ‘The Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself; the world also is stablished, that it can not be moved (shaken). Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.’ (Ps. 93:1-2) And if you don’t believe that, then listen to this from Psalm 96; A call to praise God. ‘O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear (tremble) before him, all the earth. Say among the heathen (Gentiles) that the Lord reigneth: the world also shall be (is firmly) established that it shall not be moved (shaken): he shall judge the people righteously.’ (Ps.96:9-10) Now listen to this from Psalm 68, God has gone before his people. ‘Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol (praise) him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH (Lord), and rejoice before him. A father to the fatherless, and a judge (defender) of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.’ (Ps.68: 4-5) Words of absolute truth my people! And we’ll end appropriately with the words that follow our Bit. ‘Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase (give her produce); and God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.’ (Ps.67:5-7) And that’s gospel my brethren! So please, I implore us to encourage ourselves and each other in our wonderful God, today and everyday, to do our best to sincerely live our faith in this evil world that surrounds us, so that the heathen will see our great joy in the Lord of Hosts, and thus desire to know and LOVE Him too. That’s our purpose down here on earth. Much LOVE!…to know, know, know Him…is to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Him…
24 Sep 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: accept Christ, battle hymn, believers, conquerors, follow Christ, Gentiles, hope, humble servants, invincible, LOVE, Monday, Praise the Lord, the Holy Trinity, unity, wisdom
Psalm 117:1. O Praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people.
A wise and wonderful Monday morning to all you believers in Christ! Awright, so we’re not all so wonderful or wise in our everyday lives, but we’ve surely made the wisest and best decision of our lives to follow Jesus, and that says a great deal about us. Yes my Friends, those who accept Christ as their Lord and Saviour, and stand steadfast and strong in their belief are the wisest people in this wicked and cruel world controlled by the arch enemy and master criminal Lucifer. But Jesus has already conquered him and his evil world, (John 16:33) so there’s no need to be anxious or worried about Lucifer’s bombastic carrying’s on. We just have to keep on HEARING the Word, LIVING it, and LOVING our wonderful THREE in ONE God, with all our hearts, minds, bodies and souls. What a joy that is my brethren! And yuh know, even that TRINITY of SPIRITS that’s our DEITY, speaks volumes re the power, glory and magnanimity of our Creator! And so, to give us the boost, the jolt we need, like our first cup of hot, strong java, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to get us in fighting mode. So with all the sincerity and enthusiasm we can muster, let’s sing! ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together. We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’ Wow Friends! Isn’t that a better ‘perker-upper’ than a cup of coffee? For sure! Now since we’re all perked up, let’s get out on to the battlefields of this ungodly world to put up one helluva fight for Jesus: the BEST THING that ever happened to mankind! No wonder our Bit today strongly and joyfully proclaims: ‘O Praise the Lord, all ye nations (gentiles): praise (glorify) him, all ye people.’ Yes my brethren, that’s exactly what the whole world needs to do. Why? ‘For his merciful (LOVING) kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Praise ye the Lord.’ (Ps.117:2) Now here’s some interesting info from the scholars: ‘Psalm 117. Well known as the shortest chapter in the Bible, this little psalm contains a great message. Though some have denied it an independent existence, attaching it to Psalm 116, Psalm 117 has all three elements of the hymn of praise: a call to praise (v. 1), a cause for praise (v, 2a, b), and a conclusion, which, in this case, is a simple praise ye the Lord (v. 2c). The fact that the nations and people (lit., “peoples”) are addressed in verse 1 makes this psalm the only one in the Psalter addressed in its entirety to the Gentile world. Its evangelistic mood was still baffling to some of Paul’s readers. This is one of four passages that Paul quotes from the Old Testament in Romans 15, to prove that God is interested in saving the Gentiles.’ And so He is my people. Now let’s check out some of the scriptures that the scholars talk about in Romans 15, which deals with Unity in Christ, in the section titled, ‘The Gospel to the Gentiles.’ Bruh Paul declares thus: ‘Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister (became a servant) of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers. And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy, as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. (quoted from Rom.14: 1,3, and Rom.5:20) And again he saith, Rejoice ye Gentiles, with his people. (quoted from Deut.32:43) And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud Him all ye people. (quoted from Ps.117:1) And again, Isaiah saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust. (quoted from Is.11:1,10) And all of that comes from Rom.15:7-12. Just goes to show Bruh Paul’s high standard of education and his incredible ability as a wordsmith. And the scholars explain Bruh Paul’s motives thus: ‘Since God’s purpose has been to unite both Jew and Gentile into one body, diverse convictions and practices in doubtful matters should give way to harmony and unity.’ Oh Friends, if only that would happen in our world eh! Anyway, let’s close with a blessing from Bruh Paul that ends that section, the Gospel to the Gentiles. ‘Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.’ (Rom.15:13) And all God’s people said a loud and prayerful, ‘Amen!’ Much LOVE my brethren!…peaceful unity of all God’s creation…that’s Jesus’ purpose…
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