Man’s Basic Duty is to Fear (Reverence) Almighty God, and to Obey His Commandments!

14 Oct 2025 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ecclesiastes 2:24a.        There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour.

And then it was Tuesday…and all the thanksgiving celebrations finish…and we back to the same old daily grind and common task. (smile) But that’s what life is all about, doing the same routine and ofttimes boring and frustrating tasks every day. And that’s good for us, because it teaches us patience and not to expect life to be one jolly party all the time, and learn that work and play are essential, but work takes first place, for if you don’t work, you cannot afford to play. (smile) And some wise words from Cousin Sol, as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes, might help us better understand what life is all about. 

He says: ‘One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever… All things are full of labour (wearisome); man cannot utter (express) it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.’ (Eccl. 1:4; 8-9) And that’s basically true; life is a roller coaster ride, and most of what happens now, has happened before, and will most likely happen again, although it might take a different form and shape or intensity.

Yes friends, Cousin Sol with his wealth and wisdom took to studying life, and in Chapter 2, according to the scholars ‘he pursued fulfillment through pleasure, wine, great artistic works, wealth, aesthetic and artistic pleasures and fame. However, all of these failed to bring lasting satisfaction to the wisest man of all time, yet people three thousand years later are still trying them in search of enduring fulfillment.’ And we see it all around the world where we’re trying every avenue possible to find some sense of lasting fulfillment. 

But after discovering that wisdom exceeds folly, as far as light excelleth darkness (Eccl. 2:13) and that man’s day are filled with sorrow, (Eccl. 2:18-23) Cousin Sol comes to the conclusion: ‘There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God. For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto (have enjoyment), more than I? For God giveth to a man that (who) is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail to gather and to heap up (the task of gathering and collecting), that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity (futility) and vexation of spirit (a grasping for the wind).’ (Eccl. 2:24-26) 

Ah mih people, although Cousin Sol found that a lot of life was futile because we try to find fulfillment in material accomplishment, but then have to leave the fruit of our labour behind for someone else to enjoy or waste, he still maintained that the best way to live this life is to enjoy it and work as though it is all a gift from God. As the scholars explain: ‘When a man toils in his own strength, he is bound to suffer pain and grief. The answer then is for him to enjoy his work by receiving it as a gift of God. Elsewhere work is said to be part of God’s curse on man (Gen. 3:17-19), but it can become the sphere of God’s blessing.’ 

And if we hope to get through these tough and perilous times, then that’s exactly how we ought to consider work; as a gift from God. Remember, there are lots of folks out there who don’t have a job, and although they do their best to get one, just cannot do so, which obviously causes them all sorts of struggles and suffering. Therefore, for those of us who are blessed to have a job, we ought to stop complaining about it, and instead enjoy it as the gift of God, by which we are able to eat, clothe and cover ourselves and our families. And yes, the job might not be the greatest, but it’s a job, and there are many out there who would be glad to have it. 

However, we need to take Cousin Sol’s wise advice very seriously, for if the wisest and richest man ever tried to find fulfillment in life and material things and personal pleasures, and found it all futile and wasteful, why are we still running down those things trying to find fulfillment in them eh? Remember, the ONLY place that one can find true fulfillment is in God. Bruh Paul wrote it thus to the Colossians. ‘If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.’ (Col. 3:1-4) 

Yes friends, to find true fulfillment down here, we have to give up all the earthly vices and lusts and instead concentrate on the good things that are above. And as Bruh Paul later says, ‘put off the old man with all his deeds …and put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.’ (Col. 3:9-10) That means in the image of Jesus, the plan that God has for all of His human creation. Meanwhile, Jesus also advised us on the finding of fulfillment, when in the Sermon on the Mount, He instructed us to stop worrying about clothes, food and shelter: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33) 

So, enjoying the good things of life is not wrong, but the real duty of man is like Cousin Sol says at the end of Ecclesiastes. ‘Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every evil work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’ (Eccl. 12:13-14) And that’s exactly what the Bible tells us from Genesis right back to Revelation: God is Supreme, and He will manifest the works of mankind in His own time. 

Now let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Wail, letting the whole world know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’ 

And having made that declaration, (awright!!!) we’re now duty bound to go out and share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

the best advice…obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him… (Dr. Charles Stanley).

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 25 April 2020 Mark 6:50b.

25 Apr 2020 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mark 6:50b.    Be of good cheer (take courage); it is I; be not afraid.
 
And the world keeps turning, like the Lord planned it to: it’s pages quietly and unconcernedly rolling along from one day to the next, regardless of what happens from one day to the next! (smile) And it’s finally rolled around to this Saturday in what’s supposed to be spring time, but we haven’t seen any rain in such a long time that the old adage ‘April showers bring May flowers’ is in danger of not being true this year of the Coronavirus. But what else is new eh? Cousin Sol said long ago that there’s nothing new under the sun. Yes: ‘The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.’ (Eccl. 1:9) 

And yuh know, if the wisest man ever said that, then it ought to be so. (smile) But it also shows up in our age old cliché that ‘History repeats itself.’ And that is oh so true. If we look back we can see every powerful society that ever walked the earth making the same mistake of getting too full of themselves, too big for their britches, replacing God with man made idols as they obtained some basic knowledge of life, and then getting fat and lazy off of their prosperity, which meant they stopped growing and began falling behind into eventual oblivion. 

And the same thing is happening in our current society, and our current worldwide trouble is simply a reflection of our stubbornness, hard heartedness and highly egotistical nature. It’s a wake up call from the Creator to the created, warning that we’re on the edge of a terrible precipice, and if we don’t heed the warning and repent and turn back to Him, a whole lot more damage will be done to our world. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! End of sermon! And friends I’m chuckling here, because I never came out to preach this morning, but that’s where I was led, so please take it easy on the ole fella nuh. 

But moving right along, since it’s Saturday, that lazy, late wake up day – most days are like that now though – let’s see what interesting quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a brighter tomorrow…and do we ever need one! And he seems to have been on progress kick this past week. Hear this first quote: ‘Delay is the enemy of progress.’ And so it is! Laziness and procrastination, and anything else that keeps us from doing what we have to do, is in fact delaying our progress. We can’t progress unless we get up off our fat fannies and do what we need to do! 

And the next quote also declares a great truth: ‘Comfort is the enemy of progress.’ Yes my people, as we said above, that’s why most societies eventually die. We start out by working hard and making progress, then when we reach a certain point of prosperity, we believe we can now rest on our laurels and enjoy what we have. But the sad fact of the matter is that continued prosperity depends on continued hard work, and resting comfortable on one’s laurels only eats away at said prosperity. 

It’s like your savings in the bank. The more you put in the more you will have, but when you stop putting in and only withdraw, then it will wither away li’l by li’l until it runs out. Well it’s the same way with progress and prosperity. Unless you keep building, working and saving, you will stop making progress and eventually fall. 

Now hear this one: ‘Some quit due to slow progress. Never grasping the fact that slow progress is progress.’ That’s more gospel truth my brethren! Good progress is usually a creeping thing that includes some failure in between. We don’t just begin something today, if it’s a worthwhile project, put in a li’l elbow grease and declare victory or significant progress tomorrow. No friends, progress is a time consuming thing, and ofttimes needs a lot of blood, sweat and tears before it can be significantly achieved. 

And that’s a major problem for this generation. We the parents have not taught the children sufficiently about waiting and working and being satisfied or contented with a little, that’s why they’re all going crazy, feeling entitled to everything while not wanting to work for or make a sacrifice for anything! That thing called true progress is ever so slow my people that sometimes you can’t even see it, although you know you’re making it. So let’s not quit when it looks like positive things are not happening for us nuh. It just means that the Lord is working in the background, doing the hard and dirty work that’s necessary to move us forward. 

In light of all that, it is therefore necessary for us to quickly befriend this next quote and hold on to it tightly, as our very lives may depend on it. ‘Courage means to keep making forward progress while you still feel afraid.’ And isn’t that the living truth! All of us feel afraid at some time or other in our lives, so it’s not a matter of never being afraid, or never having fear, for fear is a natural aspect of human life. But the important thing there is like Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) puts it: ‘doing it afraid.’ That’s what courage is really all about; doing what we need to despite the fear or anxiety we might feel. 

And the only thing that really conquers fear is faith! That’s why the most used command or warning in the Good Book is ‘Fear not! Do not be afraid!’ Moses said it thus to the Israelites when they were leaving Egypt and the massive Egyptian army was hot on their heels: ‘Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation (deliverance) of the Lord, which he will show to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever.’ (Ex. 14:13) And that promise did come true in spades as the entire Egyptian army was drowned in the Red Sea when the Lord closed it back up. 

And the psalmist gives us this small but everlasting treasure: ‘The Lord is on my side, I will not fear: what can man do unto me?’ (Ps.118:6) Yes friends, if the Lord is on our side, man cannot prevail over us. And Isaiah drives it home on the Lord’s behalf. ‘Say to them that are of a fearful heart, be strong, fear not: behold your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense: he will come and save you.’ (Is. 35:4) And he did exactly that through His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

And when Jesus walked on water towards His disciples and they were afraid, His comforting words were simply: ‘Be of good cheer (take courage); it is I; be not afraid.’  Yes my people, simple, but oh so reassuring words from our Master. That’s the beauty of His philosophy and words! 

And we’ll end with this most important warning from Bruh Paul to Timothy in his tough times, which we all ought to know by now, even if we didn’t know it before Covid-19. (smile) ‘For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power (His Holy Spirit), and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind.’ (2 Tim. 1:7) Now let’s go out and use those marvellous gifts in His work nuh! Much LOVE!

…fear and courage…two sides of the same coin…