The Overwhelming Importance of Christians staying focused on God, and being prepared for Christ’s Second Coming!

Today’s Scrip-Bit   19 October 2026   Genesis 6:5a.

Genesis 6:5a.        And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,

A new working week has begun my brethren; one filled with brilliant sunshine, bright colours of the flora, and fairly warm. That means today is Monday, and unless you have sick time in the bank, you will have to work all five days because there’s no holiday this time around to ease the pressure. (smile) And it’s somewhat of an anomaly that although many of us have been working five days a week for several years, we never seem to get accustomed to it, or handle it with a calm temperament. Many Monday mornings seem to find us disgruntled, short tempered and not very Christ-like.

And I don’t know if it’s because we don’t like our jobs, the people we work with, or the tough two way commute every day that sours our disposition to such an extent that we simply give up hope, stop caring and just go through the motions without any true sense of purpose or enjoyment and enthusiasm in our working lives. Now if that’s the case, it’s a sad commentary on both ourselves and our society. What a waste of many lives for many years! And what a sad tale it tells when so many people today only go to work for the money, try to do as little as possible, and find no satisfaction or enjoyment in their jobs.

The society is gung-ho about its social media and technological advances, but a high percentage of individuals appear to be more frustrated and disappointed with life, especially right now as our world is overwhelmed with strife, suppression and poverty, when the economic situation looks very bleak as prices for everyday necessities like fuel, housing, food and clothing are constantly rising, but salaries are not rising to meet the increases, and many jobs are being lost as technology takes over the work that people once did.

And to make that sad picture even sadder, in this rather inequitable society, the rich seem to be getting richer by leaps and bounds while the poor keep losing whatever little they have. I guess all of that doesn’t make for a happy or satisfied working class. Meanwhile, the powerbrokers and ruling technocrats spout a lot of heifer dust, but are really only interested in cementing their powerful positions and increasing their already enormous wealth. I don’t know if we’ve ever seen a time like this one where greed, egotism, selfishness and corruption have been so firmly entrenched, and even worse, so shamelessly exhibited by those who are supposed to be leading our society to higher ground.

It’s a crying shame the way the rich and powerful flaunt their wealth and power to excess, despite the numerous serious problems in our world. No wonder the ordinary worker isn’t enthused about going to work or about doing a good and fair day’s work even for decent remuneration. So what’s the answer to the problem, you ask? To tell the truth, I don’t know. The only thing that might answer all the problems is for the Lord to decide that it’s time for Christ to come again. (smile) Because our society is so sick and evil that it’s only the Lord who can clean it up.

Unfortunately though, it seems like our world might be as sick and evil as it was way back in time, that it could not be cleaned up, but had to be destroyed and started again. As the Bible enlightens us: ‘And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination (intent) of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (all day long). And it repented the Lord (he was sorry) that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me (I am sorry) that I have made them.’ (Gen. 6:5-7)

Ah friends, who knows what the Lord’s thinking right now, but I’m sure that He’s very displeased with the evil and ungodly state of His once wonderful universe. And although nothing’s impossible with our omnipotent God, it might just be wiser to destroy mankind again, especially after unsuccessfully sacrificing His only Son Jesus to try and turn things around. And the time might just be right for John’s great revelation to come true. ‘And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.’ (Rev. 21:1-5)

Yes my people I know we’re longing for the day when there are no more, tears, pain, sorrow or death on the earth, but that’s the Lord’s decision, and as Jesus said of that time: ‘But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.’ (Matt. 24:36) But rest assured that day will eventually come, however, until then, we need to stay encouraged, trust God’s Word, watch and pray, be in a state of constant readiness for whenever that fateful day comes. And to help us do that, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking divine aid.

Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise and thank You this Monday morning for our jobs; jobs we sometimes don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose; keeping lives and families together. We also thank You Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm You’ve wrought in our weary souls over the weekend. It’s that rejuvenation of spirit which now allows us to sally forth with confidence into the evil and ungodly world, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s evil schemes.

But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing Your powerful, protective spiritual armour! We surrender our all to You, and humbly ask that You allow Your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit to lead and guide all Your servants, as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, thereby furthering Your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! Amen!’

And with that boost to our confidence, let’s go out and do as we promised! Much LOVE!

…although evil is rampant in our world…believers need to stay focused on God…and be prepared for Christ’s Second Coming…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

The Overwhelming Importance of Christians Giving Much Deserved Thanks and Praise to Almighty God Each and Every Day!

Today’s Scrip-Bit   10 October 2026   Psalm 96:1.

Psalm 96:1.        ‘O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth.

And then it was our lazy-day Saturday! Awright! Another bright and sunshiny autumn day, though a little cooler than the previous ones and with less wind. And I certainly enjoyed some lazy time in my bed, that’s why we’re only getting a midday start. Now, since everyone will be busy preparing for the Thanksgiving celebrations, let’s offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer right away.

So in all sincerity and truth: ‘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 happens every time, when the Lord checks our hearts and finds them sincere and true, He soon directs the Holy Spirit to fill us with His awesome peace and calm; a state of mind and being that our finite minds cannot comprehend. That’s because the Lord takes pleasure in our coming to Him for greater intimacy. It just warms the cockles of His heart when we come reaching out to Him to offer our LOVE and appreciation for His grace, His mercy and undeserved goodness.

It restores His faith that creating mankind was a worthy venture, unlike in Noah’s time when things were so evil, that ‘it repented the Lord (or He was sorry) that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.’ (Gen. 6:6) So He destroyed the earth only leaving Noah and his family. Unfortunately though the earth is again approaching that stage of uncontrolled and appalling evil, where the Lord might just have to consider wiping the slate clean again. Please note though, the next time it won’t be with water, but something much more destructive and painful like fire.

But let’s not think on such a dire subject today, because hopefully we’ll be able to turn things around, and besides this is our Thanksgiving weekend when we ought to be offering up thanks and praise to our wonderful God for all His wonderful blessings to us in this amazing land of Canada. So, in accordance with that oh so true sentiment, let’s acknowledge the Greatness of the Lord, as Psalm 96 encourages us to do.

Please pray with me: ‘O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth. Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; shew forth his salvation (proclaim the good news of his salvation) from day to day. Declare his glory among the heathen (Gentile nations), his wonders among all people. For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens. Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. Give (ascribe) unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength.

Give (ascribe) unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear (tremble) before him, all the earth. Say among the heathen (gentiles) that the Lord reigneth: the world also shall be (is firmly) established that it shall not be moved (shaken): he shall judge the people righteously. Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof (all that is in it). Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall the trees of the world rejoice before the Lord: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.’ (Ps. 96:1-13)

Yes, my fellow believers, that’s the kind of honour, glory, praise and worship we ought to give to our great God who created the universe and all therein and still reigns supreme over it. Especially on this Thanksgiving weekend, our praises and thanks ought to be rising continually to high heaven; so much so that the Lord doesn’t have a chance to hear them all, much less digest them all. (smile) Now that would certainly be plenty praise and thanks if the Lord in His infinite wisdom and understanding couldn’t hear and digest it all. But that’s exactly the way we ought to be praising Him and giving Him thanks each and every day, not only at times like an official Thanksgiving day.

Each day we open our eyes from sleep, a great shower of praise and thanks ought to be raised to high heaven, because many around the world did not have the blessing of opening their eyes. And all during the day we ought to be thanking God and praising him for the little miracles and wonders He continually does in our lives, although we hardly notice some of them. But if we’ll keep track of all that happens as our day progresses, we will certainly see several times where the hand of the Lord has intervened on our behalf, and for those times we ought to be eternally grateful and tell Him so.

It’s a sad commentary on our current society that we only tend to acknowledge the big happenings and fail to, or refuse to acknowledge the small ones, where oftentimes the small ones are so much more fulfilling. And today, let’s pledge to begin looking for all the little things that the Lord does in our daily lives, and appreciate them more than we ever did before. So please have a happy lazy-day Thanksgiving Saturday, and remember to give our great God oodles of thanks and praise during the celebrations, for that’s our bounden duty! Much LOVE!

…God delights in His people’s sacrifices of praise…the fruit of their lips giving thanks to his name… (Heb. 13:15)

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien