18 Sep 2026
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a Theophany, artificial intelligence, be renewed and refreshed, be they sinners or siaints, bring thy seed from the east, by grace are ye saved through faith, by the example your faithful believers set, called thee by name, Chrisitanity, Chrisitans, conserve our energy for actual work, created him for my glory, created in christ Jesus unto good works, defeat the simmering unrest in our land, disgruntled employees, don't seem interested, end of sermon, every one that is called by my name, face commuting twice a day, face the consequences, faith, fear not, five days a week, for God so loved the world, Friday chant, Friday Mantra, further your glorious kingdom, Gentiles also offered salvation through the coming of Jesus, get sufficient fun fellowship and relaxation, give our leaders the wise guidance, glad to see the weekend, glorify God in your body and spirit, go where you can get a job, God loves all his creation, God wants all to come to salvation, God's omnipotent help, God's generous help, Gord loves us with an unending love, have everlasting life, he gave his only begotten son, hebrew teenagers thrown into the fire, help us to be responsible, holy spirit, I am the Lord thy God, I am with thee, I gave Egypt for thy ransom, i have loved thee, I have redeemed thee, I will be with thee, it is the gift of God, Jesus Christ, Jesus died on the cross for us, keepin the plebs in their place, know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, lest any man should boast, LOVE, make a productive impact on our world, mercy, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee, never ending traffic jams, new found miracle-worker, not a hair of their head was singed, not of works, not of yourselves, O Israel fear not, our indebtedness to God, our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffe, parted the Jordan, people for thy life, precious in my sight, refused to bow down to an idol, renewed and refreshed in soul body and mind, salvation, serious problems are escalating, serves their shortsighted purposes, Shadrach Meshach Abednego, stand strong and steadfast, take the pressure off from commuting, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the BIBLE, the form of the fourth, the fourth is like the son of God, the greatest news, the Holy One of Israel, the Lord parted the Red Sea, the powers that be, the protection of our great God, the weekend is here at last, there must be a better way, therefore will I give men for thee, they did not even smell of smoke, they saw four walking loose unhurt in the fire, they shall not overflow thee, thou art mine, thou hast been honoured, thou shalt not be burned, through the rivers, thus saith the Lord that created thee, thy Saviour, to come up with a solution, trusting faith, truth, uplifting Old Testament Scripture, we are his workmanship, when thou passest through the waters, when thou walkest through the fire, whosoever believeth in him should not perish, wisdom, wise guidance, witness for Christ is insuffcient, ye are bought with a price, ye are not your own
Today’s Scrip-Bit 18 September 2026 Isaiah 43:1b.
Isaiah 43:1b. O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by name; thou art mine.
So we’ve finally arrived at Friday, and today’s Mantra was floated up to heaven loud and clear on this warm, sunshiny day: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend is here at long last!’ And people must be glad to see the weekend, when they have to face commuting twice a day, five days a week, in never-ending traffic jams on some of the worst roads around. Thankfully, I don’t believe it was this bad in my day, and the roads were better kept, although I complained some in my time too. (smile) But unfortunately, if you want to make a living and thus support yourself and your family, you have to go where you can get a job, and face the consequences of getting to and from there.
As I keep saying, there must be a better way to take the enormous pressure of from the disgusting spectacle that commuting has become, so we can conserve our energy for the actual work we’re supposed to do. But the powers that be don’t seem interested in doing so, because it serves their shortsighted purposes, while keeping the plebs in their place. Apparently they don’t care that it also causes inferior work because of tired and disgruntled employees. I guess we will have to turn to our new-found miracle worker, Artificial Intelligence (AI) to come up with a solution to this world wide problem. (smile) End of Sermon!
And to help us handle these tiresome problems, let’s look at some encouraging and uplifting Old Testament scripture, beginning with these marvellous words from the prophet Isaiah, per Israel’s redemption. ‘But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by 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. Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give (them) up; and to the south, Keep not back (keep them not): bring my sons from afar, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.’ (Is. 43:1-7)
Now everything the Lord says in that scripture is true my fellow believers. He made us, created us for his glory, and LOVES us with an unending LOVE, and He showed it all to Israel in the early days. The Lord parted the Red Sea so the Israelites could get away from the Egyptians and cross on dry land. (Ex. 14:21-31). Then He did the same when they tried to cross the Jordan River during the flood season. (Josh. 3) Then when the three Hebrew teenagers, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were cast into the fire, in Babylon because they refused to bow down to an idol, what did the Lord do eh?
They threw three men in, but then they saw four walking loose unhurt in the fire, and ‘the form of the fourth is like the Son of God (a son of the gods).’ (Dan. 3:25) And most likely it was the Son of God, Jesus Christ in one of His several appearances in the Old Testament, called a Theophany – a visible appearance of a divine being. And furthermore when the teenagers came out of the oven, the fire had not had any power over them, not a hair of their head was singed, nor their coats affected, and they didn’t even smell of smoke. (Dan. 3:27)
Wow! Such was the protection of our great God! But the greatest news though friends is that the Lord didn’t do it only for the Israelites, but for everybody, by sending His Son Jesus to die on the cross of Calvary for us. Why? It’s as Jesus said: ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’(John 3:16) Just like the Jews were offered salvation in the early days, we Gentiles were also offered it with the coming of Jesus.
And the Lord is calling all those who are called by His name and thus belong to Him, to come unto Him and be saved. As Bruh Paul says: ‘For by grace are ye (you have been) saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship (creation), created in Christ Jesus unto (for) good works, which God hath before ordained (prepared) that we should walk in.’ (Eph. 2:8-10)
And one last New Testament Scripture friends to show our indebtedness to God. Bruh Paul declares to the Corinthians: ‘What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.’ (1 Cor. 6:19-20) So let’s concentrate on doing just that nuh. And to help us do so, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking divine aid.
Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work. It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. You know our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving, and we desperately need your help to fix them. Heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. So please give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly.
And despite the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times, help us to be responsible, and get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that we can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out next week and further your glorious kingdom by the good 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 it’s not only the sinful world that needs to wake up and smell the coffee, but also we Christians, for our current witness for Christ is most definitely insufficient. We need to do better, if we’re to make a productive impact on our world! So let’s get with it nuh! Much LOVE!
…God LOVES all His creation…be they sinners or saints…and wants all to come to salvation…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
01 Feb 2026
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a certificate of debt, a selfless sacrifice, all praise honour thanks and glory to God, an IOU, being dead in your sins, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances, bow our kness, but for the cross, But God commendeth his love toward us, by grace are you saved through faith, Christians should venerate the cross, come unto me all ye that labour, eternal life, faith, fellowship, forgiven you of all trespasses, from the depths of our hearts, gather in the Lord's sanctuary, give everlasting thanks to Christ, giving thanks, God's judgement, God's undeserved blessing, grace to strengthen us, heavy laden, holy spirit, humbly I come, I come to the cross, I will give you rest, indebted to God, into your strength, it is the gift of God, Jesus Christ, Jesus paid for our sins, Jesus paid our sin debt in full, joy, lest any man should boast, LOVE, made alive, man's inability to fulfil his obligation, mercy, my grace is sufficient for you, my guilt and shame, my strength is made perfect in weakness, not of yourselves, our journey begins and ends at the cross of Calvary, out of my weakness, quickened together with him, repentance, salvation, salvation is not of works, saving grace, seeking mercy and grace, shed innocent blood, singing God's praises, sweet sacrifices of praise, the BIBLE, the cross of Christ, the emblem of our faith, the essence of our lives, the Great Invitation of Jesus, the Lord's Day, the uncircumcision of your flesh, the words we sang, through Christ our debt was graciously blotted out, truth, while we were yet sinners christ died for us, wisdom, you call me by name, you died in my place, you paid the price, you welcome this child that was lost, your arms are open
Ephesians 2:8. For by grace are ye saved (you have been saved) through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
It’s that day again friends; Sunday, the Lord’s Day, bright, sunshiny and cold, (smile) which means we need to gather in the Lord’s sanctuary, or wherever, so we can fellowship with joy, giving thanks and singing praises to His holy name, while receiving His grace and mercy to strengthen us for another week. And our song of worship today is this time a fairly new one, only written in 2003 by Bob Somma and Bill Batstone, and is most appropriately titled for a time such as this: ‘I come to the Cross.’
It’s all about repentance, salvation, grace and mercy, four of the most wonderful and most important things in this rather ungodly world of ours. So, let’s offer up our sweet sacrifices of praise in a soulful, sincere, heartfelt mid-tempo version, pouring all we have and are into it.
Singing: ‘I come to the cross seeking mercy and grace, I come to the cross where You died in my place. Out of my weakness and into Your strength, Humbly, I come to the cross. I come to the cross seeking mercy and grace, I come to the cross where You died in my place. Out of my weakness and into Your strength, Jesus, I come to the cross. Your arms are open, You call me by name, You welcome this child that was lost. You paid the price for my guilt and my shame, Jesus, I come, Jesus I come, Jesus, I come to the cross.
I come to the cross seeking mercy and grace, I come to the cross where You died in my place. Out of my weakness and into Your strength, Jesus, I come to the cross. Jesus, I come, Jesus I come, Jesus, I come to the cross Your arms are open, You call me by name, You welcome this child that was lost. You paid the price for my guilt and my shame, Jesus, I come, Jesus I come, Jesus, I come to the cross Jesus, I come to the cross…Jesus, I come to the cross….’
Oh my people, that was wonderful! Anyone hearing it would know that we were truly sincere, and the words we sang came directly from the depths of our hearts. And they ought to, since Jesus made Himself to be such a selfless sacrifice on our behalf, on the cross at Calvary. It’s on that dreadful cross that Jesus paid for our sins, through His shed innocent blood. That’s why the cross is such an important aspect of our faith, and Christians ought to venerate it much more than they do since it was through it that we received the wonderful options of salvation and eternal life.
If Jesus had not died there, and paid our sin debt in full, we would never be able to talk about those things, much less stuff like mercy and grace. Note the opening line of the song: ‘I come to the cross seeking mercy and grace, I come to the cross where You died in my place.’ And that’s the place where every believer ought to bow their knees and give everlasting thanks to Christ. That’s where our journey ought to begin and end…at the cross of Calvary! For everything else pales in comparison to it.
We have salvation, forgiveness of sins and eternal life with the Father because of the cross. We also have grace, which is God’s undeserved divine favour because of the cross. For as Bruh Paul writes to the Ephesians: ‘For by grace are ye saved (you have been saved) through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.’ (Eph. 2:8-9) In other words, only through faith in Jesus Christ’s completed work on the cross can we acquire that saving grace. God gives it freely when we believe in His Son Jesus Christ. No works of ours can save us.
Bruh Paul explains it to the Colossians, as being dead to the world yet alive. ‘And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh (spiritual not physical circumcision), hath he quickened (made alive) together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us (certificate of debt with its decrees), which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way nailing it to his cross.’
And what does all of that mean? Simply that God through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, gave us new spiritual life. And the handwriting of ordinances refers to the Mosaic Law, which the Jews had contracted to obey, and to which the Gentiles by conscience were obligated. But owing to man’s inability to fulfill this obligation of obedience, he was therefore indebted to God. However, through Christ this debt was graciously blotted out.’
All praise, honour, thanks and glory to God for doing that! He must have LOVED us a whole lot, for the Bible tells us: ‘But God commendeth (demonstrated) his own LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:8) Yes, although we deserved God’s judgement for our sinfulness, Christ died in our place. What a great God we serve my people!
And I like how the song talks about:’ Out of my weakness and into Your strength, Jesus, I come to the cross.’ That reminds us of the Lord’s words to Bruh Paul when he asked three times to have a thorn removed from his flesh. ‘And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength (power) is made perfect in weakness.’ (2 Cor. 12:9a)
And as this commentary explains: ‘It means that when human strength fails and weakness is acknowledged, God’s grace and power are most fully displayed and effective. It shifts focus from self-reliance to dependence on divine strength, allowing, as Paul did, for boasting in limitations so that Christ’s power may rest upon the believer.’ Now, let’s not forget these most meaningful words of the song. ‘Your arms are open, You call me by name, You welcome this child that was lost. You paid the price for my guilt and my shame,’
Yes friends, Jesus surely did it all, and His arms are open wide, as we can see from the Great invitation He extends to all the lost, and weary: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ (Matt. 11:29) Who else offers such an invitation eh? No one but Jesus! So, on this first day of February in this new year of 2026, it behooves all who call themselves Christians to pay serious attention to the emblem of our faith; the cross of Christ, to bow before it and cherish it with heartfelt respect and LOVE, for it’s the essence of our very lives, both physical and spiritual. Much LOVE!
…oh the cross…the cross…but for the cross…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
27 Sep 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bunch of sinful ingrates, accounted sheep for the slaughter, angels, anyone who's seen the light of Jesus knows the truth, be able to separate us from the love of God, by grace are ye saved through faith, dead in sins, deepen my breath, distress, duped by the devil, eternal life, faith, famine, for God so loved the world, for thy sake, God broke His own heart for us, God commendeth his love toward us, God gave Jesus as a sacrifice, God who is so rich in mercy, God's love for mankind, he gave his only begotten son, holy spirit, I am persuaded, I may know you all the more, I praise you for your unceasing nearness, in all sincerity and truth, in all these things, increase my awareness of you today, it is the gift of God, Jesus Christ, kept in total darkness, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, lest any man should boast, Lord I want to be with you now, LOVE, man's foolish decisions, mercy, nakedness, neither death nor life, never doubt God's great love for mankind, Nicodemus, nor any other creature, nor height nor depth, nor powers, not of works, peril, persecution, principalities, quickened us together with Christ, quiet my soul, relax my muscles, salvation, salvation is the gift of God, Satan's evil machinations, seeking greater intimacy with God, shunned intimacy with God, slow my thoughts, thank you for this tenderness, the sword, the truth will set him free, things present, things to come, tribulation, truth, we are killed all the day long, we are more than conquerors, which is in christ Jesus our Lord, while we were yet sinners christ died for us, who shall separate us from the Love of Christ, whosoever believeth in him should not perish, wisdom, you can't be contained, your love both surrounds and fills me, your peace and love are present
Romans 5:8. But God commendeth (demonstrated) his (own) LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Another lazy-day Saturday…and is it ever bright and sunshiny! Brother! September is really treating us to some beautiful summer weather! And I hope that we won’t be angrily complaining when the cold weather at lasts sets in. (smile) But I know that’s just a pipe dream, because in this modern day society, complaining has become an integral aspect of our lives, even to the point of complaining just for complaining sake. Fortunately though, there’s nothing for us to complain about today since it’s so beautiful outside and we don’t have to go to work.
But to help ease whatever anxiety we might still possess, let’s offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, in all sincerity and truth. As one strong voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
And as we say every Saturday; there’s nothing better than seeking and achieving greater intimacy with Almighty God, our Creator. For intimacy is one of the main reasons for which He created us. But unfortunately, down through the years, mankind, for whatever reason(s) has shunned intimacy with God, obviously much to God’s disappointment and man’s misfortune. However, our God is so wonderful, compassionate and LOVING, that He has never given up on us, even sent His One Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross so that we could be reconciled to Him, to get that intimacy we both were denied through Satan’s evil machinations, and our foolish decisions.
Now, on the subject of God’s LOVE for mankind, there are two most relevant scriptures. The first is where Bruh Paul declares to the Roman church: ‘But God commendeth (demonstrated) his (own) LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:8) That just goes to show that God did not wait for us to come to Him with clean and pure hearts. No! He instigated the whole affair of salvation and eternal life, because of His great LOVE for His most important creation, and not wanting to lose any of them to the evil Beelzebub.
That’s why Bruh Paul could also write these magnificent and reassuring words to the church at Rome: ‘Who shall separate us from the LOVE of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake, we are killed all the day long; we are accounted sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the LOVE of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’
Mama Mia! What powerful and reassuring words from Bruh Paul, letting us know that nothing whatsoever can ever separate us from God’s LOVE, which comes to us through Christ! And just in case you didn’t know, (smile) that scripture is found in Romans 8: 35-39.
Now, the second poignant scripture we spoke of earlier, comes from the lips of Jesus Himself. That happens while talking with Nicodemus, the Jewish leader who had come to Him under cover of night seeking answers. Jesus candidly informs him: ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ (John 3:16) So what more do we need to see and understand that Almighty God’s LOVE for us is extremely important to Him? So important, that He was willing to break His own heart, to give His Son as a sacrifice, to suffer so much pain and abuse, for a bunch of sinful ingrates!
No wonder, Bruh Paul could write thus to the Ephesians. ‘But God, who is so rich in mercy, for his great LOVE wherewith he LOVED us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us (made us alive) together with Christ, (by grace ye are (have been) saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kingdom toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye (you have been) saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.’ (Eph. 2:4-9)
Yes friends, God LOVES us with such a fierce fatherly LOVE that He’s done everything in His power to give us the opportunity to get back into His good graces. And having seen and heard all of that, how can we then not desire greater intimacy with God eh? Not unless we are totally duped by the devil and his evil cronies and kept in total darkness and falsehood. For anyone who’s seen the light of Jesus knows the truth, and the truth will set him free from the evil and lying wiles of Satan. (John 8:32)
So my people, we can doubt many things in this world, but there’s one thing we can NEVER doubt, that’s God great, unconditional, undying, absolute and everlasting LOVE for His most wonderful, but sadly most foolish creation, human beings! Consequently, on this beautiful lazy-day Saturday, as we laze around doing not much of anything, let’s take some time to ponder that age old, but oh so true question of God’s undeniable LOVE for us nuh! Much LOVE!
…if God didn’t LOVE us…why did He sacrifice His Son Jesus…so that we could be reconciled back to Him…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
13 Aug 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a little of something good is better than none at all, believe in thine heart, believeth on him that sent me, by grace are ye saved through faith, Christ died on the cross to provide salvation, Christ rose for our justification, christianity, confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus Christ, cramping my style, endure to the end with Christ, eyes fixed straight ahead, faith, faith in Christ, God made a way where there was no way, God raised him from the dead, God sent not his Son into the world to condemn it, God's divine sovereignty, halfway home, hands on the plough, hath everlasting life, he hath not believed, he that believeth not is condemned already, he that believeth on him is not condemned, he that heareth my word, holy spirit, human responsibility, in the name of the only begotten Son of God, in thy mouth and in thy heart, is passed from death into life, it is the gift of God, Jesus Christ, lest any man should boast, LOVE, mercy, no difference between the Jew and the Greek, not of works, not of yourselves, not turning back, prideful person, salvation, salvation by grace through faith, second wind day, shall not come into condemnation, so glad to be alive, thank God, the BIBLE, the breath of life is still flowing through me, the Lord died for our sins, the parched earth, the same Lord is rich, the scripture says, the word is nigh thee, the word of faith, the world through him might be saved, thou shalt be saved, to a glorious future with Jesus, truth, unto all that call upon Him, Wednesday Wail, whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, wisdom, with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, with the mouth confession is made unto salvation
Romans 10:13. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Well hello there Wednesday, you glorious summer’s day! Thanks for showing up and allowing us to catch our second wind in this hot and frustrating work week. And for once the forecasters were right; we did get about ten minutes of rain yesterday afternoon and a lot of noise from Thor on his drums. But unfortunately it made little difference to the parched earth or the temperature, for later in the evening I went outside, intending to sit on my porch and watch the populace go by with their many dogs and few children, but had to come right back inside because it was still too hot to sit out there.
Chuh man! This extremely hot weather is cramping my style. I can’t get to indulge in one of my summer pastimes of sitting on my porch in the evenings and enjoying whatever scene unfurls before me. (smile) I also believe we might have had a little rain sometime during the night, because the streets were wet when I looked outside.at dawn. That didn’t do much to ease the drought either, but we’re surely thankful for what little we got, since the great minds say, a little of something good, is better than none at all. And who am I to challenge them eh? (smile)
Anyway, we’re also very thankful for the breath of life that’s still flowing through us today, so let’s keep our promise of yesterday and continue looking at Bruh Paul’s writing to the Romans on the word of faith, after skillfully using Moses’ words in Deuteronomy 9:4, and 30:10-14, to amplify his own conviction. The last thing we saw yesterday is where he writes: ‘But what saith it? The word is nigh (near) thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach.’ (Rom. 10:8)
So, the word of faith, faith in Christ is what Bruh Paul is preaching. Thus he continues: ‘That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed (put to shame). For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ (Rom. 10: 10-13)
Now that fact was first prophesied by the prophet Joel, in Joel 2:32. And was later corroborated by Jesus in His talk with Nicodemus. He said to him: ‘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) So you see friends, condemnation is a must, a certainty, if you don’t believe.
And later on Jesus told the Jews, who were desperately looking for something negative to prosecute Him with. ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation (judgement); but is passed from death into life.’ (John 5:24) So why would we be foolish and choose not to believe eh, when all the good things are in believing? Only a foolish, arrogant and very prideful person would do that! And thankfully, we’re none of those things. (smile)
But getting back to that last passage from Romans, the scholars offer some explanations on some of the things said therein. As per Confession is made unto salvation: They say: ‘One is not saved by his mouth’s confession, but rather, the mouth testifies readily of the grace of God in Christ which has been received by faith.’ Remember what Bruh Paul says in Ephesians? ‘For by grace are ye saved (you have been saved) through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.’ (Eph. 2:8-9)
So all of the grace and saving is not from our strength or power, but as this excerpt from a commentary tells us: ‘By grace, we receive the faith that enables us to believe that He has sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross and provide the salvation … The Lord died for our sins and rose for our justification, and He forgives, freely and fully, those who accept His gift of grace in Christ—and that acceptance comes through faith. This is the meaning of salvation by grace through faith.’
And how do we get this faith that’s oh so necessary to believe? As Bruh Paul says later in Romans 10: ‘So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.’ (Rom. 10:17) So we must be introduced to the Word of God to be able to get faith in Him. And the scholars note that ‘it’s not faith in what is heard, but faith that comes about by what is heard.’ So you can hear the word and not have faith, like so many of us today, but when the word touches us, that’s when faith rises up.
And as per verse 13, the scholars explain about ‘Whosoever: As chapter 9 stressed divine sovereignty in salvation, this passage stresses human responsibility. Scripture does not view these two principles as paradoxical or contradictory, but as mutually compatible truths.’ In other words, the Lord’s job was to make salvation possible, but then it’s our responsibility to accept it. And as the scripture says, that salvation is available to ANYONE who shall call upon the Lord’s name, be ye Jew or heathen! What a wonderful God we serve my brethren, making salvation open to ALL of His human creation!
And since we’ve said enough to give us sufficient food for thought, (smile) let’s go home declaring (steups!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus! As one strong and sincere voice: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
But that’s not all friends, for there’s the promise that all who endure to the end with Jesus will enjoy a future that’s much more glorious than we can ever think or imagine. So please, let’s be wise and endure right to the very end with Jesus nuh, so that we can enjoy that more than glorious future together! Much LOVE!
…God so badly wanted us to spend eternity with Him…that He made a way…where there seemed to be no way…that’s what He also does…in the individual lives of those who believe in His Son Jesus Christ…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
03 Aug 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a heartfelt expression of gratitude to God, a life of joy and peace, abolish the slave trade, Adam's sin brought death, Adam's transgression brought death to mankind, Amazing grace, as long as life endures, ascend up to heaven, been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, but now I'm found, by grace are you saved through faith, Caribana celebrations, celelbrate the Lord's day, christianity, created in christ Jesus unto good works, give God the praise, God ordained we should walk in, God who called me here below, God's free gift of grace, going to the Lord's house, grace alone brings salvation, grace my fears relieved, grace only comes to those who accept Christ, grace will lead me home, he will my shield and portion be, His word my hope secures, holy spirit, how precious did that grace appear, how sweet the sound, I have already come, I once was lost, in the sanctuaries of God, it is the gift of God, Jesus Christ, Jesus's sacrifice brings life, John Newton, lest any man should boast, LOVE, mercy, mortal life shall cease, no less days to sing god's praise, not of works, not of yourselves, one prayer away from Jesus' saving grace, one thing I know, possess within the veil, renewed confidence, salvation, salvation comes only through grace, sin causes all to die, slave trading, spiritual turmoil, spiritual up lifting, spiritually blind, spiritually refreshing Sunday, that saved a wretch like me, the awesome truth, the BIBLE, the dehumanizing slave trade, the earth shall soon dissolve like snow, the gift of grace, the hour I first believed, the Lord has promised good to me, the moral of the story, the sun forbear to shine, the transformative power of God's grace, the voices of prayer and worship, the work of Christ, then when we'd first begun, thoughts of Christ, through many dangers toils and snares, through the offence of one, tis grace hath brought me safe so far me, truth, twas grace that taught my heart to fear, until the end of time, was blind but now I see, we are his workmanship, when this flesh and heart shall fail, whereas i was blind now I see, will be forever mine, wisdom
Ephesians 2:8. For by grace are (you have been) saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
So after a lazy-day Saturday, we come to a spiritually refreshing Sunday, where in the sanctuaries of God, the voices of prayer and worship ascend up to heaven and return with renewed confidence, faith and spiritual uplifting. And this long August weekend, with the Caribana celebrations on tap, is no different, although we might be doing a bit more celebrating than usual. (smile) But please, let’s not allow the secular celebrating to stop us from going to the Lord’s house and celebrate His day as we are accustomed to doing every Sunday.
And today’s song of worship is one of the most popular Christian hymns ever, aptly titled ‘Amazing Grace.’ And why do we say it’s aptly titled? Because, as this commentary tells us, it is not a song of theology, but its author, John Newton’s own heartfelt expression of gratitude to God, who helped him turn from his profane and wicked life of slave trading and eventually fight against the ills he once practiced.
The song was written around 1772, by which time Newton had become and English clergyman and a poet, and thus was able to describe the transformative power of God’s grace, especially in his own life, after a period of spiritual turmoil and self-searching during the years of his life at sea, and his involvement in the lucrative but very evil and dehumanizing slave trade. And it’s rather amazing to hear the story of Newton’s life and subsequent transformation.
Apparently he went to sea from a young age, around 11, and though raised as a Christian by his mother, he rejected all her teachings, and was supposedly even more profane and debauched and coarse than what’s normally expected of sailors. But as our Lord is won’t to do, one night while steering his battered ship, the Greyhound through a particularly bad storm, he considered his ruined life, and thoughts of Christ began to fill his confused mind.
Obviously he considered himself beyond hope and saving, but sometime later he found a copy of the New Testament, and as he read Luke 11:13, ‘If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?’ Now that is a very powerful scripture, claiming that God will save anyone who asks for it. And that apparently began Newton’s turn from evil to godliness.
To make a long story short, he gave up his slave trading occupation, became a minister, and even helped William Wilberforce who led the fight to abolish slave trading in the British Empire with the passing of the British Slave Trade Act in 1807. So now that we know the story behind the song, let’s lift up our voices in sweet sacrificial praise, offering up a soulful, scintillating, heartfelt version of Amazing Grace, because it’s God’s amazing free gift of grace that has saved all of us unworthy sinners.
Singing: ‘Amazing grace! How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found; Was blind, but now I see. ‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, And grace my fears relieved; How precious did that grace appear The hour I first believed. Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come; ’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, And grace will lead me home. The Lord has promised good to me, His Word my hope secures; He will my Shield and Portion be, As long as life endures.
Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail, And mortal life shall cease, I shall possess, within the veil, A life of joy and peace. The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, The sun forbear to shine; But God, who called me here below, Will be forever mine. When we’ve been there ten thousand years, Bright shining as the sun, We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise Than when we’d first begun…. Yes, We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise Than when we’d first begun.’ And isn’t that the awesome truth friends? Singing God’s praises is what we’ll be doing until the end of time!
Now, the song is about grace and salvation. And there are a couple of scriptures that illustrate that God’s gift of grace is our saving grace. (smile) Listen to this first one as Bruh Paul writes to the Ephesians: ‘For by grace are (you have been) saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship (creation), created in Christ Jesus unto (for) good works, which God hath ordained (prepared) that we should walk in.’ (Eph. 2:8-10)
And that’s the first thing we need to learn about grace; that’s it a gift of God, not of any works that we can do. We get saved by having faith in Christ and thus receiving God’s amazing grace. And that Grace alone, which brings salvation, means that God LOVES, forgives, and saves us not because of who we are or what we do, but because of the work of Christ. And that is further explained by Bruh Paul in his epistle to the Roman church when talking about Adam’s transgression causing death to all mankind.
He says: ‘But not as the offence, so also is the gift free (the free gift of salvation is not like the false step of Adam). For though the offence of one (Adam) many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ hath abounded unto many.’ (Rom. 5:15) In other words, Adam’s sin brought forth death, but Jesus’ sacrifice brings forth life. However, the important difference is that sin causes all to die, but grace only comes to those who accept Christ as Lord and Saviour.
Then there’s this interesting scripture from the gospel of John where Jesus healed a blind man on the Sabbath day by anointing his eyes with clay, then telling him to go and wash in the pool of Siloam, which he did, and received his sight. (John 9:1-7) But as always, fast neighbours intervened and wondered if it was the same man. Then the Pharisees ever looking for a way to get something negative on Jesus, got hold of the situation and begun badgering the man and his parents about who healed him and how.
‘Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner. He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see.’ (John 9:24-25) What a wonderful answer my brethren! That’s what the grace of God will do for you, make you see, when you’re spiritually blind, like it did for John Newton and so many of us.
And the moral of the story is that no matter how far gone you are, you are only one step, one sincere prayer, one cry away from Jesus’ saving grace and arms! That’s His promise to us. And let’s hope that we are all wise enough to take hold of that marvellous opportunity today. Much LOVE!
…God’s LOVE for mankind is so obvious…that only if we’re blind…we wont see it…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
26 Jun 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a positive outlook on life, being confident of this very thing, being justified by his blood, being made more like Jesus in conduct and character, bounden duty, broken right now, by grace are you saved through faith, Christ's death atones for our sins, Christ's righteousness is imputed to them through faith, created in christ Jesus unto good works, curse, divine protection, eternal life, faith, favour, follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, forgiveness of sins, God commendeth his love for us, God demonstrated his LOVE for us.', God hath before ordained, God made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin, god's declaration that a person is righteous, God's supernatural wisdom, good friends, good health, grow in spiritual maturity, he that believeth in me, he which hath begun a good work in you, holy spirit, I am the resurrection and the life, in the name of Jesus, it is the gift of God, Jesus Christ, Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, joy in God through Christ, justification, justified by his blood, keep God first place, lest any man should boast, LOVE, mercy, negative word, new life, not becuse of inherent righteousness, promotion, raised from glory to glory, receive clear direction for my life, received the atonement, reconciliation, reconnection to God, salvation, salvation is not of works, sanctified -set apart for God's work, saved from wrath through Christ, self-control, self-discipline, set apart for a sacred purpose, share our blessings generously, the numerous benefits of Christ's death and resurrection, the penultimate day of our work week, the recent heat wave, the righteousness of God in christ, the saving grace of God, though he were dead yet shall he live, truth, underserved divine favour, undeserved blessings, unless we have Christ we have nothing at all, we are his workmanship, we cannot earn salvation, we should walk in them, while we were yet sinners christ died for us, whosoever believeth in me shall never die, will perform it until the day of Jesus, wisdom
John 11:25. I am the resurrection, and the life he that believeth in me, though he were dead (may die), yet shall he live:
Ah friends, it’s Thursday, the penultimate day of our work week, and it looks like we’ve gotten through the recent heat wave without too much damage! Thank the Lord! And with a li’l rain falling in the early morning hours, and some falling outside right now, it’s helped to give us a cool, but somewhat cloudy day. And as we promised yesterday if God spared our lives, we would continue looking at some of the numerous benefits that His death and resurrection brought us.
Remember, yesterday we read this commentary that gave us a brief insight into some of those things: ‘‘Christ’s death and resurrection offer believers forgiveness of sins, new life, and the hope of eternal life, among other benefits. His sacrifice on the cross atones for our sins, while his resurrection conquers death, granting believers new life and the promise of eternal life.’ And we went through some of the relevant benefits and scriptures.
Today, as time and space permit, we’ll do a few more starting with one we touched on briefly yesterday. That’s reconciliation, or reconnection to God. That’s a major benefit, because our sins had separated us from our heavenly Father, and Christ’s dying and taking them, brought us back into communion with Him. And this passage of scripture touches on several of the things Christ’s sacrifice did for us. And one thing we should note is that it all happened because of God’s great LOVE for us.
Bruh Paul writes: ‘But God commendeth (demonstrated) his LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now (having been) justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more, being (having been) reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement (reconciliation).’ (Rom. 5:8-11)
Yes friends, in that passage we see God reaching out to us, although we were enemies, to provide reconciliation, salvation and justification through the death and the shed blood of His son. And what is salvation? Salvation is the saving grace of God, as Bruh Paul writes to the Ephesians. ‘For by grace are ye (you have been) saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship (creation), created in Christ Jesus unto (for) good works, which God hath before ordained (prepared) that we should walk in them.’ (Eph. 2:8-10)
And the gist of all that is simply that we are saved by the grace or undeserved divine favour of God, it is a gift of God, and we cannot earn it, no matter how hard we try. The fact is, we do good works because we’re expected to once we’re saved. We don’t do good works to be saved. And that’s something we all ought to understand, because many of us still believe doing good works will get us into heaven! Unfortunately it will not. Only faith, or belief in Christ Jesus will do so.
As Jesus said to Martha, the sister of Lazarus, before He raised him from the dead. ‘I am the resurrection, and the life he that believeth in me, though he were dead (may die), yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?’ (John 11:25-26) Now that’s a very crucial question! For belief and faith in Christ is the only way we will ever experience eternal life. His death paid the atoning price for our sins. ‘For he (God) hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Christ.’ (1 Cor. 5:21)
And ‘the righteousness of God’ is another benefit we received from Christ’s death and resurrection. Earlier on we talked about being ‘justified by his blood” that’s another benefit. So what’s justification, and what’s the righteousness of God? They are both intertwined, as this commentary explains: ‘Justification is God’s declaration that a person is righteous, not because they are inherently righteous, but because Christ’s righteousness is imputed to them through faith.’ Yes friends, all that we are, all that we have is because of Christ and applied to us because of Him. We have been made righteous, justified, reconciled and sanctified because of His work on the cross.
And sanctified simply means been set apart to do God’s work for a sacred purpose. It’s the process of being made more like Jesus Christ in character and conduct. And it’s a lifelong journey, not a one time event. It calls to mind this verse: ‘Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus.’ (Phil.1:6) Meaning that once God begins changing you into the image of Christ, He will not stop until Christ returns, or He takes you home.
Ah mih people I know it’s difficult to take in and understand all that Christ has done for us, but as the Lord changes us into His image, and we work with Him to do so, we will grow in spiritual maturity and understand more and more, as He raises us from glory to glory. So there’s no need to worry, once we keep God first place and follow the guidance of His Holy Spirit. And to show His goodness and mercy, God has bestowed on us what we call our Thursday Blessings. Undeserved blessings to do His earthly work. So, let’s declare and thus activate them right now!
As one strong and sincere voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
And having made that declaration, it’s now our bounden duty to use those blessings to help others, just as generously as God shared them with us! Much LOVE!
…unless we have Christ…we have nothing at all…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
17 Oct 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a propitiation, abundance, according to his own purpose and grace, all have sinned, autumn, Bible, bounden duty, by grace are ye saved through faith, called us with a holy calling, Christ's sinless blood paid for our sins, climate change, courage, creativity, curse, divine promotion, eternal life is a free gift, eternal separation from Almighty God, faith, faith in Christ, fallen short of the glory of God, favour, god, hellfire and damnation, Indian summer, It is finished, it is the gift of God, Jesus Christ, justified by faith, justified freely by his grace, lest any man should boast, LOVE, mercy, multi-coloured leaves, negative word, nothing in man to warrant justification, payment of ransom, salvation, salvation is not of works, salvation was totally unmerited, talent, the believer's standing before God, the forbearance of God, the redemption that is in Christ, the remission of sins, the shed blood of Christ, through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness, truth, unmerited favour, wisdom, without the deeds of the law
Ephesians 2:8. ‘For by grace are ye (you have been) saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD.’
Ah Lord friends, it seems like the weather is trying to make a liar our of me. Yesterday I trumpeted that the warm days are over except for a chance Indian summer, however I’m now hearing that next few days will be warmer than usual. I don’t know if that’s an Indian summer period or not. (smile) And strangely, the leaves on many of the trees have not assumed their autumn colour as yet, they are still fairly green. Usually, by now, my driveway would be filled with blowing multi-coloured leaves, but so far there’s only a handful.
So what are we going to do eh? Well, the easiest thing is to chalk it all up to climate change. And so be it! Climate change is the monster stalking through the halls, causing all the unaccustomed changes and damages. Wow! It’s so good to have somewhere to lay the blame. Anyway, enough of the lightheartedness, let’s get serious about the Lord’s business. And today we’ll continue considering the wonderful information on the old tract from the Leviticus Church in Jamaica, New York, that I recently found in my mother’s old Bible.
Yesterday, we stopped where Christ was on the cross, and having done His job, paid for our sins, He declared (steups!!!) ‘It is finished.’ No more ordinary blood sacrifices would be needed, for His sinless blood had paid the price once and for all! Then the tract tells us: ‘We are ‘justified freely by his grace.’ And they reference (Rom. 2:24a)
Now here’s the full context of the declaration. (awright!!!) Bruh Paul writes: For all have sinned, and come (fallen) short of the glory of God: being justified freely (without any cost) by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation (mercy seat) through faith in his blood, to declare (demonstrate) his righteousness for the remission (passing over) of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.’ (Rom. 3:23-25)
And what does all of that mean. Here are some explanations from the scholars. ‘Being justified indicates being declared righteous. It signifies the believer’s standing before God. Freely: There is no just cause in man to warrant justification, (since we have all sinned and come short of His glory). By his grace: Unmerited favour is bestowed through the redemption (release on payment of ransom). Christ’s death is the ransom. The sinner is released on the basis of the ransom’s having being paid.’
In other words, we were locked up, in bondage for our sins, but Jesus’ death paid the price required to set us free, and thus we are now set free and justified before God. But let’s remember that this freedom and justification doesn’t come automatically. No sir! It comes through faith in Christ. As the scholars explain. ‘Christ’s death satisfies the Father’s righteous demands. It’s benefits are only appropriated (obtained) through faith in His finished work. And as per ‘In his blood: The emphasis is not on the blood as it coursed through Christ’s veins, but as it was shed for our sins. This is how the propitiation (atonement) was accomplished.’
Yes friends, it’s the SHED BLOOD OF CHRIST, that has the all-consuming, amazing and redemptive power! As we sing in that well known song ‘Nothing But the Blood of Jesus can set me free!’ And that’s the gospel truth! If you don’t believe in Jesus and the power of his blood shed on the cross of Calvary being able to cleanse you from all sin and wash you white as snow, then you’re not saved.
For, as the tract continues: ‘Salvation is ‘Not of works, least any man should boast.’ (Eph. 2:9) God ‘Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world (time) began.’ (2 Tim. 1:9)
Oh my fellow believers, we ought to seriously consider those words. As the scholars explain: ‘Who hath saved us refers to the ultimate effect of the whole operation: our salvation. And called us with an holy calling looks at the means by which our salvation was effected. His own purpose and grace…was given us indicates that our salvation was totally unmerited.’
Please friends, let’s never forget that! All we have from our heavenly Father comes from His abundance of LOVE, grace, and mercy! We earn nothing and in truth deserve nothing! It all happens because our Creator and God LOVES us so much that He cannot bear to see us separated from Him in hellfire and damnation with the evil Beelzebub.
But getting back to the tract, it continues: ‘As the Bible, God’s Word, says, ‘Therefore we conclude that a man is justified (declared righteous) by faith without (apart from) the deeds of the law.’ (Rom. 3:28) And that we know is the indisputable truth. Then, the tract in all wisdom, saves the best for last; concluding thus: ‘For by grace are ye (you have been) saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD.’ (Eph. 2:8) And it does make its original point; as loudly described in its heading: ‘ETERNAL LIFE IS A “FREE” GIFT.’
And I do hope that we’ve enjoyed going through this old but ever so informative tract. For I know that many of us both hated to distribute and receive them on the street corners as was the custom some years ago. But when we refuse to do God’s work, and also refuse Him, we’re only setting ourselves up for eternal separation from Him, which we all know is the worst thing that can happen to a human soul.
Now, it’s time to declare (oh brother!!!) and thus activate our Thursday Blessings which the Lord has so generously bestowed on us to do His earthly work. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
And having activated those blessings, my fellow saints, it’s now our bounden duty to go out and use them on behalf of others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us! Much LOVE!
…it cannot be said too often….life eternal can ONLY be gained…through faith in Jesus Christ…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
02 Aug 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a man after God's own heart, a new flock of believers, a sensitivity to sin, according to thy loving kindness, against thee only have I sinned, backsliders, Blessed is he, blessed is the man, blot out my transgressions, by grace are ye saved through faith, caribana festivities, cast me not away from thy presence, Civic holiday, cleanse me from my sin, confession, create in me a clean heart, crying out for help, day and night, dead to sin, defeat the simmering unrest in our land, divien aid, done this evil in thy sight, dysfunctional family, error of their ways, faith, forgiveness, Friday chant, God forbid, have mercy upon me O God, I acknowledged my sin, I will confess my transgressions, in whose spirit there is no guile, it is the gift of God, Jesus Christ, lest any man should boast, LOVE, my bones waxed old, my moisture, my sin is ever before me, not of works, purge me with hyssop, purposeful sin, renew a right spirit within me, salvation, shall we continue in sin, stand strong and steadfast, take not thy holy spirit from me, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, that grace may abound, the joy of thy salvation, the multitude of thy tender mercies, thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin, through my roaring all day long, thy hand was heavy upon me, truned into the drought of summer, truth, unto whom the Lord Imputeth n iniquity, wake up and smell the coffee, wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, when I kept silence, whieter than snowmake me to hear joy and gladness, whose sin is covered, whose transgression is forgiven, wisdom
Psalm 32:1. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
It’s the big day people; Friday! And it’s especially big in the Province of Ontario because it’s our long Civic weekend holiday, where the yearly Caribana celebrations will be front and centre. They had the King and Queen Competition last night, and tonight the Steelbands will be on stage, then tomorrow the grand parade. So when we shout ‘TGIF! Thank God It’s Friday!’ many will truly be thankful. (smile)
But fortunately, or unfortunately, my time for all the Caribana hoopla is over. I only go to the Steelband competition these days, as I don’t like the sorry spectacle it’s turned into. But that’s just my opinion…and anyway, the ole body can no longer handle all the physical exertion required to participate in the Saturday parade. (smile)
Today however, we’ll look at Psalm 32, where Bruh David talks about Confession and Forgiveness, two things that are ever so necessary in a believer’s life, especially in these ungodly and evil times. So let’s read: ‘Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth no iniquity (doesn’t charge his account with sin), and in whose spirit there is no guile (deceit).’ (Ps. 32:1-2)
Ah friends, those are such important words for us as believers. For Jesus died that we could be set free from the bondage of sin, and thus we have forgiveness of our sins through the shed blood of Christ on the cross of Calvary. And as Bruh Paul writes to the Ephesians: ‘For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.’ ((Eph. 2:8-9)
But does that give us the right to sin as we please? Obviously not! And Bruh Paul addresses that question in his letter to the Roman church, when he asks: ‘What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid (certainly not). How shall we, that are dead (who died) to sin, live any longer therein?’ (Rom. 6:1-2)
That means we cannot take advantage of the grace that abounds from God for our sins and keep on living a sinful life. We ought to do our best to live righteously, although we’re still human and will sin occasionally. (smile) However, when we sin, it is in our best interest to ask for God’s forgiveness as soon as possible.
Why? Listen to Bruh David from psalm 32: ‘When I kept silence, my bones waxed (grew) old through my roaring (groaning) all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture (vitality) is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.’ (Ps. 32:3-4) Yes mih bredrin, that’s what happens to us when we don’t confess our sins; they lay heavy on our souls, along with the Lord’s displeasure, such that our vitality, our pleasure in life seems to be lost.
But look at what happens when we confess. Bruh David writes: ‘I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.’ (Ps. 32:5) Now that’s what we ought to do when we know that we have sinned. And we have a very good example of that not being done by Bruh Daid after he had sinned with Bathsheba. He only confessed his sin after the prophet Nathan, on the Lord’s directive, confronted him with it. And you can find that story in 2 Samuel 12. And from that, it seems Psalm 51- A Plea for Forgiveness – was born.
There Bruh David writes: ‘Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified (be found just) when thou speakest, and be clear (blameless) when thou judgest.’ (Ps. 51:1-4)
And although Bruh David’s sin affected his work for God very much, and his confession and plea for forgiveness was somewhat late, the Lord forgave him because of his sincerity, but for the rest of his life he suffered for it with a dysfunctional family. And according to the scholars: ‘The psalm gives expression to why David was “a man after God’s own heart”: he was not perfect, but he had a sensitivity to sin that few knew about.’
So much so, that after confessing his sin and pleading for forgiveness, he continues with a plea for cleansing. ‘Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all of mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right (steadfast) spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free (generous) spirit.’ (Ps. 51:7-12)
Yes friends, ofttimes that’s the sort of cleansing we need for some of the sins we’ve committed. But please, let’s remember that if we don’t confess our known sins and ask for forgiveness, they will lay heavily on our conscience and will drag us down, causing us to lose our joy and be very ineffective witnesses for Christ. Now, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, asking for divine aid to live our best lives.
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 as always, the granting of divine aid depends on the examples that we, supposedly faithful believers set. Much LOVE!
…God’s grace should not be abused…by continual and purposeful sin…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
09 Feb 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a mustard seed, an unblemished lamb, by grace you are saved through faith, courage, curse, divine protection, everyone that doeth evil hateth light, faith, favour, fulfillment, God so loved the world, God's only son Jesus Christ, he gave his only begotten son, he that doeth truth cometh to the light, He who was without sin became sin, it is the gift of God, Jesus atoned for our sins, Jesus died so that we could live, Jesus took our sins and gave us His righteousness, lest any man should boast, LOVE, men loved darkness rather than light, negative word, not of works, not of yourselves, Praise the Lord, promotion, sufferation, talent, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, the greatest gift of God, the light is come into the world, their deeds were evil, this is the condemnation, Thursday Blessings, we have Jesus, we're in good hands
Ephesians 2:8-9. For by grace are ye (you have been) saved through faith; and not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
It’s raining, it’s raining! Yes friends, it is raining in my neighbourhood, definitely no sunshine to glory in this Thursday morning. But that’s okay, because it means the temperature is above freezing and we’re washing away a lot of the remaining snow on the banks of the roads and the rooftops, ostensibly making space for some more of that white stuff to fall later in the season. (smile) Well, we cannot rule out that possibility because this is the winter season, and that usually equates to snow.
But thankfully, whatever happens, however the rest of the season turns out, the important thing is that we have Jesus, and that means we’re in good hands, we don’t need anything or anyone else, for He is indeed sufficient for all of our needs, in fact, He is more than enough! And all of God’s children gave a loud and grateful shout of ‘Praise the Lord! Bless His Holy Name, and His greatest gift to His children, His awesome Son, Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And that’s the indisputable truth my fellow believers: Jesus is indeed the greatest gift ever given to mankind! He is the One who died so that we could live, that we could be saved from our abominable sinfulness. He took our sins upon Him and gave us His righteousness. How does the Good Library put it? In Bruh Paul’s words to the Corinthians: ‘For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Christ.’ (2 Cor. 5:21)
Yes, Jesus was sinless while here on earth, and that’s the ONLY reason He was able to pay our sin debts. It needed an unblemished lamb, a sinless lamb to atone for our sins. And I like how this commentator explains that verse. ‘God acted for our sake. That means God acted out of His LOVE, to make it possible to remove the separation between us and Him: our sin. To accomplish this, God made Christ, who had never sinned during His life on earth in any way, to become our sin. Jesus’ death, then, paid the price for our sin, removing our guilt and removing the obstacle between us and God.
Instead of “being sin” ourselves, those who come to God through faith in Christ are given credit for Christ’s righteous, sinless life. We “become God’s righteousness” and are reconciled in our relationship with Him. In short, by His gift of grace and through our faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8–9), God receives Christ’s death as payment for our sin and gives us credit for Christ’s righteousness in return. That’s what it means to be “in Christ.”
Glory Hallelujah my fellow saints! If that isn’t the greatest thing that’s ever happened to mankind, then I don’t know what is nuh! That’s why we LOVE and revere Jesus so much: His selflessness and obedience to the Father to go to the cross and accept all the ‘sufferation’ it involved, saved us from a life of torment and hellfire, with certain eternal separation from Almighty God. But His actions gave us an option, an option of immense importance; that we could live eternally and need not die.
And all we had to do was to believe in Him. As He said to Martha when she confronted Him about His tardiness in coming to save her brother Lazarus: ‘I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead (may die), yet shall he live. And whosever liveth and believeth in me shall never die: believest thou this?’ (John 11:25-26) Now that’s a rather important question we should all ask ourselves RIGHT NOW, for if we don’t truly believe in Christ Jesus, then things will turn out very badly for us in the long run.
And this passage from an earlier chapter in John, which we all know so well, spells it out in spades. ‘And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 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 3:14-18)
There you have it my brethren: all it takes is simple belief in Christ Jesus. And if you don’t believe, then you are already condemned. And you might ask why that is? Well, here’s Jesus’ answer to that question. ‘And this is the condemnation, that light (the light) is come into the world, and men LOVED darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth (practices) evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved (exposed). But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.’ (John 3:19-21)
It’s all so simple friends. There are only two options: evil or darkness and light or truth. The choice is entirely up to us as to which one we choose. But let’s remember the first option ends in hellfire and eternal separation from God, while the second, and only wise option, ends in heaven and eternal life with Jesus. And I sincerely hope that we all choose the second option, because it’s the only one that makes any sense, that manifests wisdom. And one last reminder of how that process works: ‘For by grace are ye (you have been) saved through faith; and not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.’ (Eph. 2:8-9)
Please, please, let’s never forget that it’s only through the goodness of God’s grace that we are saved through belief in Jesus, and there’s NOTHING that we ourselves can do to attain eternal life, except sincerely believe in Christ Jesus. Now let’s go home declaring (chuh man!!!) our Thursday Blessings that have been generously bestowed on us so that we can spread the gospel, the good news of Christ, making it known throughout the entire world.
As one strong and sincere voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
Now, it’s our bounden duty to go out and use those tools, as generously as Christ bestowed them on us, to do His work. Much LOVE!
…only believe…even faith as small as the size of a mustard seed…that’s all it takes…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
28 Aug 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a kind of firstfruits, a life of joy and peace, Amazing grace, bright shining as the sun, but now am found, by grace you are saved through faith, come together, every good and perfect give is from above, for he satisfieth the longing soul, for His goodness to the children of men, God rescues us at our lowest point, he filleth the hungry soul with goodness, heartfelt expression of gratitude to God, how sweet the sound, I once was lost, I was glad when they said unto me, it is the gift of God, John Newton, lest any man should boast, let us go into the house of the Lord, LOVE, never too late for God's grace, no shadow of turning, no variableness, not of works, not of yourselves, oh that men would praise the Lord, that saved a wretch like me, the Father of lights, the truth of the Lord endures for ever, was blind but now I see
Ephesians 2:8. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.
My fellow believers, let’s come together right now, to praise, worship and give thanks to our great and wonderful God, for that’s the major reason He created us! Consequently, Bruh David could joyfully declare (chuh!!!) in the opening verse of Psalm 122: ‘I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.’ That’s where we’re supposed to be sometime this last Sunday in August of 2022.
And besides being made to praise and worship God, the psalmist also declares: (yesss!!!) ‘Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness (LOVING-kindness), and for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.’ (Ps. 107:8-9) That’s even more reason to praise and worship Him.
And as always, we have a marvellous song of worship to open the proceedings. Today’s hymn is one of our very ‘favouritest’ (smile) aptly titled ‘Amazing Grace.’ It was supposedly written ‘to illustrate a sermon on New Year’s Day of 1773.’ by the sailor, slave trader, turned Anglican priest and abolitionist John Newton (1725-1807). The story goes that Newton, who was brought up in a Christian home rejected his mother’s teachings and became a real profane and wicked individual.
However, during one of his voyages, a wicked storm (smile) enveloped his ship and threatened to drown them, but during the storm, his mind turned to Christ, and later, finding a New Testament he began reading it. And apparently Luke 11:13 changed his mind about being too wicked to be saved. ‘If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?’
Now that’s a terribly important question. And the answer is the Lord will give us ever so much more than we can give our children! Obviously, Newton must have asked for the power of the Holy Spirit and the Lord granted it to him. And isn’t that just the way our Lord LOVES to work; take us up, rescue us when we are at our lowest point. It’s a perfect example that we can never fall too low for the Lord’s grace and mercy to reach us and pull us out of the evil mire in which we’re ensconced.
Anyway, enough talk for now. If you didn’t know the general background of the hymn, now you know it, so let’s sing it in a soulful, harmonious, mid-tempo version. I hate hearing people sing it like a dirge, for it’s not a sad song but a happy one. A song of salvation should never be sad. So, with voices raised to the max, let’s offer up sacrificial praise, singing like we truly feeling the overpowering sentiments of the song.
‘Amazing grace! How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found; Was blind, but now I see. Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come; ’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, And grace will lead me home. The Lord has promised good to me, His Word my hope secures; He will my Shield and Portion be, As long as life endures.
Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail, And mortal life shall cease, I shall possess, within the veil, A life of joy and peace. The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, The sun forbear to shine; But God, who called me here below, Will be forever mine. When we’ve been there ten thousand years, Bright shining as the sun, We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise Than when we’d first begun.’
Ah mih people, that was marvellous! Heaven couldn’t doubt that we were sincere! And I particularly like this comment in an article on the song from the website Godtube. It says: ‘This song isn’t a song of theology – it’s John Newton’s own heartfelt expression of gratitude to God, who helped him turn from his profane and wicked life and eventually fight against the ills he practiced.’
Yes friends, it must be amazing when we can go from one end of the spectrum right to the opposite end! And although the song might not be a theological text (smile) it’s only God’s grace can cause that to happen. For as Bruh Paul wrote to the Ephesians: ‘For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast.’ (Eph. 2:8-9)
And I guess Newton full well recognized that fact, having later become and Anglican priest, for in the song, he acknowledged this most important fact: ‘’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far. And grace will lead me home.’ And that’s for certain sure my fellow believers, for as James, Jesus’ brother tells us: ‘Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness (variation), neither shadow of turning. Of his own will he begat us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.’ (James 1:17-18)
Yes precious saints of Christ, everything good comes from our heavenly Father, who is immutable, doesn’t change. And as we said at the beginning, He made us, His most important creation to have fellowship with Him, to be the first step in His redemption plan for all creation. And as the song concludes: ‘When we’ve been here ten thousand years, Bright shining as the sun, We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise Than when we first begun.’
Now isn’t that the glorious truth? It surely is! As long as there’s’ life in our bodies, physical or spiritual, we’ll always have occasion to sing the Lord’s praises, for that’s why we were made! So, let’s remember that nuh and keep singing God’s most deserved praises each and every day of our lives as the Good Book instructs us to do. ‘O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise (glorify) him, all ye people. For his merciful (LOVING) kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Praise ye the Lord (shout Hallelujah!)’ (Ps. 117:1-2)
And that only comes when we truly believe, and thus have the joy, the truth, and the grace of God moving majestically within us! Much LOVE!
…it’s never too late…or one’s never too far gone…to receive God’s grace…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
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