17 Feb 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all things work together for good, be as ashes under the soles of your feet, blowing his own horn, divine help, dwell in the land of the shadow of death, glorify your father in heaven, grow up as calves of the stall, have life more abundantly, have seen a great light, holy spirit, I am the door of the sheep, I am the good shepherd, I am the light of the world, increase my awareness of you, Jesus Christ, Jesus is the answer, know you all the more, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, Let your light so shine before men, lighteth every man that comes into the world, LOVE, quiet my soul, salvation, see your good works, sincere prayer, slow my thoughts, the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep, the Messiah, the people that walked in darkness, the Sun of righteousness, the thief only comes to steal and to kill, the true light, tread down the wicked, upon them hath the light shined, warm the cockles of God's heart, wisdom
John 10:7. Verily, verily, I say unto you, I AM the DOOR of the SHEEP.
And this snow-white, chilly, lazy-day Saturday has opened up with brilliant sunshine! Glory to God! And isn’t it rather interesting and amazing how sunshine can alleviate even the worst of days, both physically and emotionally. I guess that’s just the normal response that the light of Jesus has on us, His oh so important creation. Remember, He created both the sun and us, and all His creations work hand in hand with each other as He’s built in an automatic chemistry between them. Yes friends, in God’s great and wonderful universe, all things work together, for good. (smile)
Now, let’s turn to our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer and offer it up in all sincerity and truth. As one 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!’
That prayer touches my heart, and I know it touches God’s too, because it’s simple and to the point; desiring more of God in our lives, to truly feel His awesome presence and LOVE flowing around, in and through us. And the Lord always answers sincere prayers like that, because they warm the cockles of His heart, letting Him know that His people truly desire Him to be with them. And that’s why, if we were sincere in that prayer, our hearts and souls are now quiet and at peace, and we can say ‘Thank You Lord, for Your peace and LOVE!’
Now, yesterday we began looking at the many I AM’s that Jesus declared (yes!!!) Himself to be, while here on earth, but because of much talking, (smile) was only able to finish the first one; ‘I AM the BREAD of LIFE!’ So without further ado, let’s look at the second one, ‘I AM the LIGHT of the WORLD!’ (John 8:12) Jesus made that magnanimous statement to a group of unbelieving Pharisees, who figured that it could not be true because he was ‘bearing record’ or witnessing of His own self, in other words blowing His own horn.
But if the foolish, hypocritical Pharisees had taken time to consult the scriptures, the Old Testament, since there was as yet no New Testament, they would have seen several references to Christ as the bearer of spiritual light. Scriptures like this one from Isaiah: ‘The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.’ (Is. 9:2) To whom does that refer, if not to Jesus, the coming Messiah?
And this scripture from Malachi also refers to Jesus. ‘But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall (grow fat like stall-fed calves). And ye shall tread down (trample) the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord.’ (Mal. 4:2-3) Yes friends, as the scholars explain, ‘the Sun of righteousness is a figurative representation of the Messiah,’ our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
And we all know that the main purpose of the Sun is to bring light to the darkness, therefore Jesus’ coming, brought light to this dark and evil world. And John 1:1-9 gives us further enlightenment on Jesus’ claim to be the light of the world. But because of time and space we can only quote this verse: ‘That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.’ (John 1:9) John the Baptist only came to bear news of the Light, that was Jesus. And most importantly, now that Jesus is no longer on earth in physical form, He’s bequeathed to us, His followers, that designation, when He said: ‘Ye are the light of the world… Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt. 6:14 &16)
That means we have our work cut out for us here, in this world of near total darkness. But that’s a sermon for another day,let’s turn now to the Jesus’ next declaration (yeah!!!) of ‘I AM,’ which has to do with being the door to the sheep enclosure. As He specifies: ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, I AM the DOOR of the SHEEP. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I AM the DOOR: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for (except) to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ (John 10:7-10)
Isn’t that ever so wonderful my people, that Jesus is the door to our salvation! Anyone else who claims to be our Saviour is a liar and a thief, and only comes to disrupt the sheepfold and bring further calamity. But Jesus refuses to allow it, as He says in His next ‘I AM,’ statement. ‘I AM the GOOD SHEPHERD: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling (a hired man), and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling (hired man) fleeth because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I AM the GOOD SHEPHERD, and know my sheep, and am known of them.’ (John 10:11-14)
Oh my fellow saints, do we truly know and believe that Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd of our Christian flock, and the door by whom we must enter to receive salvation? I certainly hope so, otherwise we’ll be left out in the cold when Jesus returns. And if you think things are bad now, believe me, they’ll be ever so much worse if Jesus returns and you’re not numbered amongst the sheep of His fold. So please, on this first lazy-day Saturday in Lent, let’s take the time to analyze both our physical and spiritual selves and see if we are in sync with Jesus. And if not, let’s go to the Father, through the Holy Spirit, and ask for divine help to make it so. Turning to the Father for divine help is always the best decision in any situation! Much LOVE!
…whatever your situation calls for…Jesus is the answer…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
21 Dec 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: at the name of Jesus, be ye also ready, became obedient unto death, being in the form of God, compassion, empathy, endure to the end, eternity in hell with Satan, even the death of the cross, every knee should bow, every tongue confess, for in such an hour as ye think not, found in fashion as a man, given him a name above every other name, glad to be alive, God hath highly exalted him, God sent not His Son to condemn the world, halfway home, hands on the plough, humbled himself, Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God, Jesus is the answer, let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, LOVE, made himself of no reputation, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, not turning back, our eternal benefit, pay a hefty price, suffer in hellfire for all eternity, the breath of life is still flowing through me, the incarnate birth of Christ, the Son of man cometh, the world through him might be saved, to a glorious future with Jesus, Wednesday Wail, ye know not what hour your Lord doth come
Philippians 2:5. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Three down, three to go, then the Big Day friends; a celebration of the incarnate birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Wow! The only thing to compare to it is His resurrection! So how can we not LOVE and worship Christ eh? He was born, died and rose again ALL for us, for our eternal benefit! If it wasn’t for out abominable sins and disobedience, there would have been no need for Him to be born, much less to die!
But then again, the Father’s LOVE for us was so great that He could not see His greatest creation suffer in hellfire for all eternity with the ole foolish crook Satan and not do something to help us. And since the Father is righteous and just, He couldn’t just wave away our sins, it needed a sinless soul to redeem us. And since Jesus was the only sinless soul besides Him, the burden of our redemption fell on Jesus. And since Jesus was also the obedient Son that none of us could, or would ever be, He did what the Father asked, despite the great ‘sufferation’ that it held in store for Him.
And this scripture from Bruh Paul’s writing to the church at Philippi, should resonate ever so loudly in our ears this Christmas season. ‘Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made (came) in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’ (Phil. 2:5-8)
Oh my supposed fellow believers, where is our gratitude, our compassion, our empathy, our supposed LOVE of God eh? Doesn’t it seem shameful and disgraceful to you that Christ did so much for us and we can’t even remember that He’s the reason for this Christmas season. We concentrate on giving and receiving presents, on eating and drinking, and we talk a lot of foolishness about ‘Happy holidays!’ But where did the happiness and the holidays come from eh? From the birth of Christ!
So please, let’s not forget the word Christmas and the reason for this worldwide celebration; the li’l baby boy that was born in the manger on that cold winter’s night that was oh so deep. The same li’l boy that grew up to become the Saviour of the world. As He took such great pains to tell us: ‘For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.’ (John 3:17)
Yes friends, that was Jesus’ sole purpose for coming to earth; to save our sinful souls. And He deserves much more thanks, gratitude and praise from the very ones that He came to save than he’s currently getting! It’s a crying shame my brethren, that we don’t appreciate Jesus more than we do! For all He‘s done, we should be constantly bowing down to Him and offering our grateful thanks and praise.
But yuh know what? That will eventually happen, because the Father is not ungrateful like us, and consequently gave Jesus the highest honour possible. Listen as Bruh Paul explains it to the Philippians: ‘Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of the things in heaven, and the things in earth, and the things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil. 2:9-11)
Yuh see the great difference between the Father and us? He exalted Christ for His obedience, made His name revered for the most excellent work He had done. But no, we the frail, feeble, foolish, created minions, think it too much to glorify His name, although it was all for our benefit. And for that rejection of Christ Jesus, we will pay a most hefty price; eternity in hell, with that other foolish creation, Satan.
But thankfully, it’s not too late my people. Once we are alive, are still drawing the breath that Almighty God breathed into us, we still have a chance to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour and thus forego the eternal date with Beelzebub in the hot and humid chambers of Hades. But let’s put it all in proper context: If you die without receiving Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, or He returns to earth as He faithfully promised before you receive Him, then all bets are off.
That’s why the wise and sensible thing to do is not wait, but receive Him, as your most worthwhile benefactor RIGHT NOW! For no one knows when the Grim Reaper is going to come a calling, or when Jesus is going to show up. Jesus even warned us that He might come like a thief in the night, so we must always be prepared and ready. ‘Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come…Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.’ (Matt. 24: 42, 44)
Yes friends, we cannot say that we have not been warned. Now, for those of us who have received Christ as Lord and Saviour, and are doing our best to live for Him, let’s go home declaring (yayyy!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our wonderful and most enviable 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!’
And for a li’l encouragement, let’s remember that if endure to the end with Christ, that that future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine! Wow! Won’t that be a great time! Yes! The greatest time ever! Much LOVE!
…Jesus is the answer…the answer to every doubt and question…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
22 May 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a sad minefield of broken dreams, a sensible middle ground, accepted fear as part of life, always believe that the impossible is always possible, aspires to inspire us, eternal separation from God, even to the end of the world, everyone has a choice, fear is conquered by faith, for a better tomorrow, fun and frolic of Satan's world, human's penchant for fun, I am always with you, in peace love and joy, Jesus is the answer, Love thy neighbour as thyself, most responsive to change, narcissistic, our friend Anselm, ruined lives, shattered hopes, some things never change, surrender to Jesus, the fear of change, the fires of hell, treat ourselves shabbily, under the auspices of Satan, Victoria Day weekend, walk with Christ, with God all things are possible, with men this is impossible
Matthew 19:26. With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
So we into the Saturday of this Victoria Day long weekend, what’s up people? Barbecues, planting, cottage openings, beach parties and other summer stuff is the usual action, but for certain, with this pandemic lockdown, some of that stuff will surely be curtailed. The predicted rainy weather for today might even add to that curtailment. But knowing the human’s penchant for fun and excitement, the weekend will not be a lost cause. And believe it or not, the friendly discussions between the duchess and I over the level of the a/c have already begun! (smile) And today is only the first day… looking forward to many more as the weather gets really hot. Some things never change eh!
But let’s get down to our Saturday business nuh, that of checking out the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And the first one says: ‘I have accepted fear as part of life — specifically the fear of change… I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says: turn back.’ What can we say to that powerful statement eh? First off, it’s good to recognize that fear is a part of our lives, it will always be there, and it will only be conquered by faith!
And furthermore, when we become believers in Christ Jesus, then fear becomes one of our lesser worries, even the fear of change, which many of us tremble to even think of. That’s because faith in Jesus overcomes the fear of everything else in our lives. Look at how many times He said to His disciples, ‘Fear not!’ And He also derided them often with the words ‘O ye of little faith!’ And as He gave them the Great Commission, He made them this powerful promise: ‘For I am with you always…even to the end of the world.’ (Matt. 28:20)
But to get that faith, one must first know about Jesus, believe that what He says is true, then surrender your life to Him. And when you fulfill those requirements, the pounding of fear in your heart, re change, or anything at all, is quietened by the peace, LOVE, faith, strength and trust in Jesus! Wow! What a remarkable life one can live by trusting in Jesus!
And that brings us to this next quote: ‘It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.’ Now, I don’t think that one’s survival as a species is totally dependent on one’s response to change, although it is a part of the story. Please remember that all change is not necessarily for the better, and many a species have become extinct by accepting changes that did not suit or help them.
Species survival, and we talking about mankind here, is more dependent on the species being wise enough to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour of its life! Just look at the current fiasco that’s our world and human life nuh! If more of us had sincerely accepted Jesus as the answer to our problems, instead of trying to get rid of Him, our world, and consequently our lives would never be in such turmoil.
So, we come to the following quote: ‘Always believe that the impossible is always possible.’ Now what are you basing that belief on eh? You can only truly believe that if you are a follower of Jesus! Remember after Jesus told the disciples about it being easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God, and they were amazed, wondering who then could be saved? Jesus then informed them: ‘With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.’ (Matt. 19:26)
That’s reference to God’s omnipotence! And Christ makes the same statement when He prays in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before His crucifixion. ‘And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt (will).’ (Mark 14:36) Christ knew that if the Father wanted to stop His crucifixion He could, but that was the only just and righteous way for mankind to be saved. So, to believe that all things are truly possibly you must have some solid, foundational basis for believing it, and the only true basis for that is trust in Almighty God!
And as we move on, this interesting quote surfaces: ‘Everyone has a choice. You can choose your own path in life.’ Now that’s the awesome truth! But the first problem here is to determine the possible paths available to you. Then to decide which one best suits you! And I beg to offer that there are only two possible paths in this life; that set forth by the world under the auspices of Satan, and that set forth by Jesus Christ! And I further beg to offer that the one set forth by Jesus Christ is the best one!
Now it might not seem so in the short term, but most certainly in the long run, it is the best path to choose. Granted it’s a narrow and difficult path, but in the end, the rewards of salvation and eternal life with Christ in heaven will definitely outweigh the suffering, the darkness and fires of hell and eternal damnation and separation from God that the broad and easy path provides. Yes friends, it’s your choice, but please remember that the fun and frolic that Satan’s deceitful world offers now, doesn’t last forever, and it eventually turns into a sad minefield of broken dreams, shattered hopes and ruined lives. So please choose wisely.
That brings us to our last quote. ‘You should LOVE and take care of yourself because after all, it’s your own life.’ You can’t dispute that, but in reality some of us overindulge ourselves, even to the point of narcissism, as the world dictates. And then some of us go to the other extreme, and for whatever reason(s) treat ourselves terribly. What we need is a reasonable and sensible middle ground. And that can only be found if we listen to and follow Jesus’ directive.
Remember the second part of His answer to the question of the Great Commandment? ‘And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself.’ (Matt. 22:39) That means we need to have a healthy respect for ourselves, because it’s only then are we able to LOVE anyone else properly. If we are narcissistic, we won’t be preoccupied with anyone but ourselves, and if we treat ourselves shabbily, most likely that’s the way we will treat others.
Now, I’m sure you can see from all we’ve spoken above, that Jesus is the only true and real answer to all of our problems! And that’s the sermon for today! (smile) Oh friends, please have a blessed and pleasant day, as you walk with Christ in peace, LOVE and joy. Much LOVE!
…Jesus is the answer…oh yes…Jesus is the answer…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
09 Sep 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a life of faith, a lifelong process, an ongoing process, casting all your care upon him, catch a dove, Christ can give His all to us, Christ died that we might have life, Christ liveth in me, come to terms with our working life, deeper than Bible reading, depending on Christ for all things, divine guidance, Dr. Robert H. Schuler, enjoy it more abundantly, enters our mental consciousness, exalted by the Father, exciting position in Christ, eyes fixed straight ahead, gave himself for me, get used to the humdrum, giving our all to Christ, God demands a total cling to Him, God's guidance, gotten over the hump, great sacrifice, halfway home, hands on the plough, he cares for you, Hour of Power Devotional, I am crucified with Christ, I live by faith, in the Son of God who loved me, Jesus is the answer, living life through the eyes of Christ, Lord of Lords, make God the trustee of our lives, nevertheless I live, not turning back, prayer, righteousness., saints in Christ, same ole, seek the kingdom of God, self-centred desires, spend a life feeling frustrated, spiritual things, surrender, symbol of the Holy spirit, thank God, the breath of life, the celestial wavelength, the Holy spirit is god, the King of Kings, the life I now live in the flesh, the mysterious experience, the name that's above every other name, the New testament, through the Bible, to a glorious future with Jesus, to our current circumstances, tune our minds to, unfailing obedience, Wednesday Wail, worship, yield upward
Galatians 2:20. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of (in) the Son of God, who LOVED me, and gave himself for me.
And then it was Wednesday, the mid-week day, the day we finally feel like we’ve gotten over the hump… Monday and Tuesday are gone and Friday is right there in sight! Glory be! Yeh friends, what a game of musical days we play during those many years of our working life. And sadly, too many of us don’t ever come to terms with it and thus spend a life feeling frustrated about doing the same basic things on the same basic days, over and over.
But that’s what life is all about! We can’t have fun and excitement every day, like some of us feel we ought to, we’d get bored and frustrated and tired of that too. So let’s get used to the humdrum, same ole, same ole way of life nuh, because that’s all we’re going to ever have…that is until we reach heaven. (smile)
And besides that, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ died that we might have and enjoy an abundant earthly life, and have it even more abundantly. (John 10:10) And that doesn’t mean just having plenty of earthly things, but also plenty of heavenly and spiritual things. And is only when we pursue those last two, seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, that we really find, really discover the enjoyment that life has to offer. (Matt. 6:33)
Bubba! What a day when we discover that, believe it, and truly put it into action! Our lives become so much more meaningful than they were previously, and we find that we have so much more to live for. That’s why the wisdom of heaven proclaims that ‘JESUS IS THE ANSWER!’ Yes my people, the name of Jesus is the name that’s above every other name, exalted by the Father because of His unfailing obedience and great sacrifice! He’s been made the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, to whom each knee must bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:9-11)
And how do we accomplish all of that eh? Through just one word: ‘SURRENDER!’ Yes to really take advantage of all that God has provided for us, we need to completely surrender our lives to Him and His will. Hear these words on that subject nuh, from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional.
He asks? ‘How are we guided? The answer is no secret. Surely God speaks to us through the Bible! Those who read it quietly and prayerfully find God’s guidance. And prayer is still the mysterious experience where we tune our minds to the celestial wavelength and ask God to guide us. In addition, there are thousands of people who will testify that in the quietness of worship God entered into their consciousness to illuminate them. But I would suggest that the real secret of receiving divine guidance is deeper than Bible reading, prayer, or worship.
The key word is SURRENDER! Surrender your sins, your self-centred desires, and your life to Jesus Christ. surrender your mind to the Holy Spirit. Are you sure you want guidance? Would you take it if He gave it? Do you know how to catch a dove? It is interesting that in the New Testament the dove is the symbol of the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is God who enters into our mental consciousness.
Hundreds of thousands of visitors to the San Juan Capistrano Mission in southern California try to catch the white doves that flock in the ancient mission. You may reach out with your hand, fingers open, and just as you are about to grasp the feet of the dove, it flaps its wings and flies away. So you try again. You reach out with your hand cautiously, slowly, furtively, and just as you are about to grab the bird, it escapes again.
The secret is this: Simply extend your hand. Hold it out straight in front of you. Open your palm. Wait quietly. And the dove will come and rest right in the middle of your hand. Surrender your soul, your mind, your spirit that way to God, and He will take over your life and guide you.’
Mama Yo mih bredrin! What awesome words of wisdom from Gramps Schuller! That’s the only healthy, sensible and wise way to live this life! Anything else is going to get us nothing but a wasted life! And what does total surrender to God mean and include. Listen to this definition. ‘The word surrender in this sense is derived from the Greek word “paradidomi” which can mean yield up, transmit, and entrust. Surrendering all to God means to yield upward rather than to our current circumstances. God demands a “total cling” to Him—not anyone else.’
Peter talks about ‘Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you’ (1 Pet. 5:7) That means God wants us to cast ALL of our cares, anxieties and worries upon Him, surrender everything, entrust ALL we have to Him, make Him the trustee of our entire lives; finances, emotions, health, etc. etc. Now, ‘The key to entrusting is leaving the cares with God and allowing Him to remain the trustee. This can be an ongoing process.’
Yes my fellow saints in Christ, surrendering to God is not an overnight process, but a lifelong one. And I don’t think anyone exemplified this better than Bruh Paul when he wrote to the Galatians. ‘I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of (in) the Son of God, who LOVED me, and gave himself for me.’ (Gal. 2:20)
Now that’s surrendering to God! Giving up all that you are to Him, living your life through the eyes of Christ, allowing Jesus to cultivate His desires, virtues, character and power in us. Living a life of faith, depending on Christ for our strength and ALL our necessities. That’s true surrender! So for those of us who are currently undergoing that surrender process, let’s go home now declaring (awright!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the world know of our unique and rather exciting position in Christ.
All together now, in strong voice, with sincere hearts: ‘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!’
And that means if we stay surrendered to the end, the future will be ever so glorious, more than we ask or imagine! Much LOVE!
…only in giving our ALL to Christ…can He give us His ALL to us…
01 Feb 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a great calm, acquire the parts to stand strong, aspires to inspire, bounden duty, Christian, come up higher, complaining, cultures, epitome of wisdom, failure, Friend Anselm, furthest from their minds, god, homelessness, indisputable fact, Jesus is the answer, leap year, naivety, no giving up, O ye of little faith, obey Jesus, owed and easy life, poverty, rebuked the winds, Saturday, save us, sickness, sincere effort, smidgen of hope, so much information, societies, Thank You Lord, the men marvelled, the winds and the sea obey him, this fallen world, through Jesus, we perish, what manner of man is this, whining
Matthew 8:27. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!’
And on this first day of February, in the leap year of 2020, some snow did fall in my area, not a whole lot, but enough that we can say snow fell. (smile) Yeh, it looks bad if you’re in winter and there’s not even a touch of the white stuff on the ground. Hn, hn! And I didn’t even know that this was going to be a leap year until recently when I checked out the February calendar and saw 29 days. I had to look again to make sure that I was seeing right.
Times surely have changed yes! Once upon a time a leap year was a big thing, all sorts of stuff was supposed to happen in one, you’d hear that news all over the place. But now, no one seems to pay much attention to it; nobody’s even mentioned it to me in passing. Don’t even know if the young people nowadays know what’s a leap year, or how it comes about. We have so much bloody information now that it’s hard to choose what to read or listen to, and more importantly, what to believe (yeah!).
But anyhow it’s Saturday, so let’s take a look at some of the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week in his sincere effort of aspiring to inspire us. And this first quote is ever so appropriate because it’s exactly what Anselm is trying to do with us. ‘The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do.’ Yeh friends, the Christian’s bounden duty is to try and lift up, encourage, and inspire those around us to come up higher in anything they choose to do.
Remember the motto of Jesus’ people is ‘diligence and excellence.’ We have to work sincerely at stuff, and do it in an excellent manner, not wishy-washy, like is so common nowadays. Our jobs and lives might be difficult, even unfair, but Jesus still desires a solid and sincere effort from us. For in His dominion, ‘Failure is impossible.’ And that’s an indisputable fact. Jesus doesn’t hold with failure at all. There’s absolutely no giving up in His kingdom!
As Cousin Sol says in Proverbs: ‘For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief (stumble into calamity).’ (Prov.24:16) And according to the scholars: ‘24:16. The righteous man always recovers, but the wicked man faces permanent destruction.’ Yes friends, if you check out Jesus’ dictionary you won’t find the words ‘failure’ or ‘give up’ in it. Because He’s the Master of Everything; the possible as well as the impossible!
And if you are a part of His dominion then you need to think like Him and behave like Him, and remember that through Him we can do ALL things, because He strengthens us! Then there’s this next quote; a dandy: ‘A good thing to remember is somebody’s got it a lot worse than you do.’ And is that ever gospel truth my people! We might think we have it rough, but believe me, a lot of other people are usually having it rougher, much rougher than us.
I remember complaining to my mother when things were rough with us, and she’d tell me, yes, times were tough, but they were a lot of people even worse off than us. In my youthful naivety I couldn’t believe that was possible, but as I went around the neighbourhood with a greater awareness, I was surprised to see many families living worse off than we were. And now, when you think of the rampant poverty, homelessness and sickness in our Western Society, we complain about how bad it is, but just check out the numerous societies and cultures on the other side of the globe who have it much worse than us, and tell me in which one you’d rather be.
At least in ours there seems to be some smidgen of hope for better times and conditions, but in many of those others there’s not even a smidgen of hope for anything better. Many were born into abject poverty, sickness and homelessness and will live and die the same way. So when you think you’re having such a bad day, and times are so rough, just think about those other more unfortunate people, and gratefully say, ‘Thank You Lord!’
And this last quote succinctly informs us: ‘Anyone can take the wheel of the ship in calm water but it’s not so easy when it’s not calm water. You can’t just enjoy the good times, you have to be resilient in the tough times.’ And that word ‘resilient’ seems to have faded from our vocabulary and lifestyle in these modern days, for the words backbone and belly which make us resilient are non-existent.
There’s never been as much complaining and whining in our world as there is now, even in the midst of great prosperity! Partly because we have allowed the young generation to grow up in an easy and non-sacrificial manner, no chores before or after school, always getting what they want, so now when real life hits them, they can’t cope with it. They think they are owed an easy life, have an inalienable right to it, because we the parents didn’t raise them right, and God is usually the furthest thing from their minds.
But friends, it’s only in and through Jesus that we can acquire the parts to stand strong when life comes against us. And one of the best examples of that occurs when Jesus and the disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee and a violent storm arose. The Good Book tells it thus: ‘And behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he (Jesus) was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.
And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!’ (Matt. 8:24-27)
Friends, Jesus is the man who made the winds and the seas, that’s why they obey Him! He is also the man who made us in His own image, that’s why we ought also to obey Him! Despite the free will He gave us, it behooves us, it’s the epitome of wisdom to believe and obey Him, because He is the ONLY one who can right the ship, or better yet calm the storms, the raging seas and gusting winds that inevitably confound our lives in this fallen world! Much LOVE!
…I’ll say it again…Jesus is the answer…to EVERYTHING…
12 Sep 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a paid up member, adore, allotted time, blessings, Calvary, Christ's Church, commandments, compassionate heart, curse, diverse country, eternal life, exalt, glorious sunshine, God of our salvation, great family, greetings, he is good, heat fuh so, heaven, hell, his mercy endureth for ever, hoard slefishly, Jesus is the answer, LOVE, memories, negative word, now, O Give thanks unto the Lord, old and grey, options off the table, positive outlook, reminder, resting, salvation, save us, share generously, sinless life, South Africa, success, surrender, the old ruged cross, Thursday Blessings, time to accept Jesus, trust, vigour, vim, well rested, wisdom, worship, zeppo
1 Chronicles 16:34. O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.
Well hello there my wonderful Scrip-Bit friends and family! Greetings and much LOVE to you from South Africa, this rich, beautiful, diverse country! Oh, I haven’t seen a lot of it as yet, but I like what I’ve seen so far. And I guess where I’m staying is one of the more developed and built up areas, so it obviously looks good. But whatever happens, or doesn’t happen, (smile) I am determined to enjoy my short stay here and make a chockful of memories to remember when I sit in my rocking chair sometime down the road, when I’m too old and grey to make more memories like that.
Oh how I LOVE those kinds of Bruh Paulian sentences, convoluted, but full of info, stuff like what Bruh Paul writes. (smile) And there isn’t a whole lot to tell today, because I spent most of it resting. I’ve finally taken the zeppo I got the other day to heart: ‘You might be feeling pretty good, but you’re not a hundred percent, so please take your time, and get sufficient rest, if you want to make it to your allotted time!’ And brother do I ever want to make it! I don’t want to shortchange myself at all, at all!
Anyhow, after a late rising to glorious sunshine, determined by a late going to bed, (smile) the duchess and I had some breakfast, late obviously, then we went out to the front of our building and Glory be… the sunshine wasn’t only bright, but nice and warm too. The duchess obviously took pictures of the surrounding area, the nice fountain and beautiful blue flowers and palm trees growing in the front of the building, then we came back inside and just rested. At least I rested, the duchess and her young daughter went out to do the mall thing, while I stayed in…and rested!
And now that I’m well rested, full of vim and vigour, I’m ready to do the town tonight! Mama Yo! And believe you me, our God does LOVE getting His thanks and praise yes, because earlier on, when I opened the Good Book, my eyes fell first on this wonderful, powerful and wise scripture, memorable words of thanksgiving from Bruh David to his people: ‘O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, and glory (triumph) in thy praise.’ (1 Chr.16:34-35)
And my faithful brethren, do we ever need saving and protection from the heathen, especially in these evil and ungodly times! And the ONLY person who can give us that protection and safety is Almighty God, through His saving grace, found in the adoration and surrender to His Son, our most wonderful Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! Yes friends, JESUS IS THE ANSWER! The answer to each and every question that we might have!
Who else could have answers like Him eh? When He selflessly sacrificed His sinless life on that old rugged cross at Calvary, He sent the message to all creation that He was the MAN! The MAN for all time, the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the King of all Kings, for ever and ever! And if you didn’t like it, or believe it, then that was your problem. He wants you to come to Him to receive rest and protection, salvation and eternal life, but if you choose not to, then crapaud smoke yuh pipe!
Sadly, what you think or believe is not going to change the fact, that Christ is El Numero Uno, Number One, and what He says goes! That’s why I’m pleading to all of us today, to get in agreement with Jesus, for He’s the One who butters our bread, gives us health and long life, the opportunity to get wealth and success, and most importantly, salvation and eternal life. None of the other supposed and false gods offer the wonderful life that Christ has in store for those who LOVE Him and obediently and sincerely follow His commandments!
The problem here is with timing my people; if we don’t accept Christ as soon as possible, that means right away, today, we’re liable to lose out on that saving grace that leads to salvation and eternal life, because once you breathe your last earthly breath, you no longer have that option. Plus the fact that Christ promised to come back to earth someday, no one but the Father knows when, but if Jesus come back and you’re not among His fold, a paid up member of His church, then you’re s.o.l! (smile)
Yes my people, whenever Jesus returns, all options are also taken off the table, then all that’s left available is hellfire and damnation in Hades with the evil crone Satan! And believe me, you won’t like down there nuh, because it’ll just be heat fuh so! So let’s get smart today nuh and place our everlasting trust in Jesus because there’s no better option than Him! And even if you think there might not be a heaven or a hell, still be smart and hedge your bet nuh, just in case those two places do really exist.
Now for those of who already believe, let’s go home sincerely declaring (right ho!) our Thursday Blessings, that wonderful and generous package of blessings that the Lord has bestowed on all those who LOVE, worship, adore and exalt Him! As one, in strong voice now: ‘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 because of our sinful nature, just a gentle reminder: (smile) those blessings have not been given for us to hoard selfishly, but to share generously with others. So let’s go out and do just that today nuh, and bring a smile to Jesus face and warm the cockles of His heart. Much LOVE!
…the time to accept Jesus is…NOW…
09 Jun 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all our problems, all ye that labour, awesome truth, bargain basement, beats so imperfectly, Calvary's cross, celebrating the Lord's day, come unto me, crapaud yuh pipe, each restless heart, eternal life, feel like a million dollars, give you rest, glimpse eternity, glory train, goor weather, great invitation, he may abide with you forever, he will send you another comforter, heavy laden, I am filled with wonder, I am still, I am strong, I can stand on mountains, I will come to you, I will not leave you comfortless, I will pray the Father, Jesus is the answer, lagniappe, last train to heaven, let not your heart be troubled, lifter of our heads and spirits, more than I can be, my heart burdened be, my soul is weary, no life without its hunger, not as the world gives, peace, Pentecost Prayer Breakfast, personally testify, prince of peace, the cares of this world, the strong shoulders of the Master, to walk on stormy seas, wait in silence, walk on water, when I'm on your shoulders, when troubles come, wishy-washy, You Raise Me Up
John 14:16;18. And I will pray the Father, and he shall send you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever… I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
And finally, like we will have some good weather with bright, warm sunshiny days! Glory Hallelujah! And do we ever deserve it after the rotten winter and spring we’ve had. And now you can’t use the rain as an excuse not to go to church today either, (smile) though some of us will spend more time trying to come up with some fanciful excuse than if they had just gone to church in the first place.
I don’t know how we can skip church without a good reason nuh. How we can miss the fellowship, the worship, miss hearing the Word, and thus miss having our hearts, bodies and minds renewed with the Lord’s confidence and assurance. Anyway, our Pentecost Prayer Breakfast yesterday morning was good – not as many people as expected – but whoever was there had a rollicking time; eating drinking, praying, singing hymns and just being filled with the joy of the Lord.
Our guest speaker was also an interesting personality, the pastor from the nearby Eden United Church. He made an astounding but quite disturbing revelation; re, the church he attended down on the East coast as a young boy. In those days the choir was large and the congregation in the hundreds. However, on a recent visit, the choir had less than a dozen people, and the congregation not more than fifty.
And that seems to be something that’s happening in many of the old, mature churches, because I found the same situation some years ago when I visited my old parish of St. Andrews back in Tobago. For whatever reason, when they do go to church, the younger generation are ignoring the older churches. But that won’t stop us from celebrating the Lord’s Day in the style to which we’re accustomed. (smile)
And we always begin the proceedings with a song of praise and exaltation. And today’s song is one we all know and LOVE, the anthem in our Pentecost Prayer Breakfast yesterday; ‘You Raise me Up.’ And does Jesus ever do that! So let’s open up our golden pipes (smile) and sing sweetly to heaven my brothers and sisters in Christ. As one heavenly voice now:
‘When I am down and oh, my soul so weary When troubles come and my heart burdened be Then I am still and wait here in the silence Until You come and sit awhile with me. (You raise me up so I can stand on mountains You raise me up to walk on stormy seas I am strong when I am on Your shoulders You raise me up to more than I can be) x 2.
There is no life, no life without its hunger Each restless heart beats so imperfectly But when You come and I am filled with wonder Sometimes I think I glimpse eternity. You raise me up so I can stand on mountains (You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains) You raise me up to walk on stormy seas (Walk on stormy seas) And I am strong when I am on Your shoulders Oh, You raise me up to more than I can be.’
And isn’t that the awesome truth my brethren! Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ raises us up to certainly much more than we can ever be in our own strength! And isn’t it wonderful to know that when we’re burdened with the cares of this evil world that if we just wait quietly for Him, He’ll come and sit beside us and raise us up, raise us so high that we feel like we’re standing on mountain tops!
He empowers us so much, that we can even walk on water…and not just calm waters either, but stormy seas! Wow! What a lifter of our heads and spirits is our friend Jesus! And when we can’t walk on our own, He carries us on His shoulders, and we feel like a million dollars!
Now I can personally testify to being carried on His shoulders the many days I can’t put one foot properly in front of the other! (smile) And do I ever feel strong then, because I know I’m riding on the strong shoulders of the Master, of the World’s Creator, the Rock, the true foundation! Give Him thanks and praise my people!
Oh friends, Jesus is so wonderful that He not only sacrificed His sinless and holy life on Calvary’s cross to pay for our abominable sins, but He also offers us rest and peace and comfort from our troubles. Listen to these awesome offers nuh, beginning with the Great Invitation:
‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble): and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’ (Matt:11:29-30) You couldn’t get a better invite than that anywhere mih breddren!
Now hear His magnificent offer of peace: ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ (John 14:27) And all of that is simply in keeping with His glorious title of the ‘Prince of Peace!’
But hear the crowning glory: ‘If ye LOVE me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall send you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever… I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.’ Glory be my people!
And Jesus did just that in the upcoming Pentecost season where He sent His Holy Spirit to dwell within His followers to lead and guide them into all truth and to enable them to successfully do whatever is necessary to fulfill His will! From what other source can you get all of that wonderful stuff eh? From nowhere else but Jesus! He provides all-in one shopping! Shopping of the highest quality too, not no wishy-washy, cheap, bargain basement, shoddy stuff!
So there’s simply nothing left to say friends: Jesus is the ANSWER! Yes, He is the answer to ALL our problems! And as a lagniappe, He throws in eternal life with Him in heaven if you LOVE Him and obey His commandments! (smile) So how can you go wrong associating with Jesus eh? NEVER!
So friends, please wise up and get on His glory train to heaven right soon nuh, because it can leave at any time, and it’s definitely going to be the last train to heaven! And if yuh miss it, then sorry…crapaud smoke yuh pipe! Much LOVE
…Jesus can return for His church at any time…so it’s wise to accept Him…and all that He has to offer…RIGHT NOW…
26 May 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a song of praise, all that labour, Amazing grace, as I live from day to day, but couldn't find, come unto me, Crying in the Chapel, deceitful world, find the way, gentle, get down on your knees and pray, give I unto you, go to pray, harmonious songbird, heavy laden, holy spirit, humble, humble people, I prayed the Lord, I will give you rest, I'd grow stronger, I'm happy with the Lord, I've searched, in limbo, Jesus Christ, Jesus is the answer, learn from me, let not your heart be troubled, lighten our souls, lightning, live and work for Jesus, meek, my burden light, my peace I give unto you, my yoke is easy, neither be afraid, no way on, not as the world giveth, our Lord and Saviour, peace, Peace i leave with you, people are of one accord, Satan, simplicity, take your troubles, tears of joy, the great invitation, the Lord's Day, the meaning of contentment, the Sabbath, thunder, to gain peace of mind, to sing and praise the Lord, to the chapel, touching, truth, truthful, unburden your heart, we gather in the chapel, weighed down, with a vengeance, your burdens will be lighter
John 14:27. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
And the rain fell with a vengeance, for much of the day! And it wasn’t the measly drizzle we’d been getting for the last li’l while, but full blown showers accompanied by booming claps of Thor’s thunder and threatening bolts of fiery lightning! The sun would come out for a li’l while and you’d think, ‘Yes, the rain’s over!’ But that would be a wasted thought, for shortly thereafter the rain would come pouring down again. Chuh!
And that’s the worst kind of rainfall, because it just leaves you in limbo, never knowing what it’s going to do! But the good thing is that was yesterday, Saturday, today is Sunday, a different day completely, so let’s hope the weather will be different too. (smile) And it looks different, bright, but with some scudding clouds.
But even if it’s the same, please, don’t let us allow it to stop us from gathering in the Lord’s sanctuary to celebrate His day, the Sabbath, to give Him praise and thanks, to hear His faithful and wonderful Word, and receive His enabling blessings, without which we can’t successfully navigate the storms and trials of this earthly life. And as always, we’ll begin the celebrations with a song of praise and worship to lighten our souls and prepare our hearts to hear His Word.
And today’s song is a fairly new one, written in the second half of the 20th century, by one Artie Glenn, but was popularized by one Elvis Presley. So let’s get serious, soulful and sincere as we raise up our voices in praise and thanksgiving to heaven, through the words of ‘Crying In The Chapel’ It’s a soulful morning friends, so let’s feel it in our hearts and souls and trill as one harmonious songbird. (smile)
‘You saw me crying in the chapel, The tears I shed were tears of joy, Now I know the meaning of contentment, And I’m happy with the Lord. Just a plain and simple chapel, Where humble people go to pray. I prayed the Lord that I’ll grow stronger, As I live from day to day. I’ve searched (I’ve searched) and I’ve searched, But I couldn’t find, No way on earth to gain peace of mind.
But now I’m happy in the chapel, where people are of one accord (One accord). Yes, we gather in the chapel, Just to sing and praise the Lord. Oh you’ll search, and you’ll search, but you’ll never find, No way on earth to gain peace of mind. Take your troubles to the chapel, get down on your knees and pray, Then your burdens will be lighter, and you’ll surely find the way, Yes, you’ll surely find the way!’
People oh people! Such simple but heartrending words of absolute truth! Wow! And we sung it so sweetly that all heaven was moved to tears! Don’t you just like it when we move all heaven to tears? Of course, because it means that we’ve done something, touching, sincere and truthful! That calls for another ‘Wow!’ this auspicious Sunday morning.
But on a serious note though, it’s certainly amazing how the sentiments in such a short and simple song could be so true. For example; the tears many of us shed when we go to church are usually ones of joy, because something happens within our souls and spirits and we’re lifted up, we become contented through the power of the Holy Spirit flowing through us and renewing and refreshing us.
And yuh know what? We don’t have to go to no big cathedral to search for God and pray, because we’ll find Him just as well in a simple chapel, where the folks are humble, because that’s one of the requirements of coming to Him in prayer. And we not asking for a whole lot usually – well some of us are (smile) but simply to grow stronger each day as we live in the presence of God’s amazing grace.
And yuh better believe that there is no other way of finding peace on this ungodly earth than through the auspices of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! That’s for sure! As He unambiguously told the disciples, and consequently us: ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’
Yes friends, the peace we get from Jesus is nothing like what this world has to offer; it’s an out of this world kind of peace, that ONLY He possesses and ONLY He can bestow! And that’s why we end up being contented and cry tears of joy in the chapel! And the best piece of advice there is to take ALL your troubles to God’s sanctuary, or really anywhere quiet and convenient, get down on your knees and pray; unburden your heart before Him, and He will lift your burdens and show you the way.
Just listen to Jesus as He makes this wonderful offer to ALL those who are weighed down and burdened nuh. We call it the Great Invitation: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek (gentle) and lowly (humble) in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt.11:28-30)
How can you ever beat that offer eh friends? Nobody has ever offered anything even close to it. And yes, I do know that when things seem too good to be true, they usually are, but that’s in the lying and deceitful world of Satan, not in Jesus’ realm! He is God and has no cause to lie! And better still, He also has the power to perform whatever He promises! All praise and glory to His Holy Name! That’s why this song, ‘Crying in the Chapel’ is so perfect in its simplicity and truth!
Oh how I wish more of us supposed believers would take hold of the simplicity of Jesus’ message and just run with them! It would make all of our lives so much easier. Our Lord and Saviour is not a complicated man, and His pronouncements are not complicated either. All He asks of us is to believe and obey! Is that so hard to do my people? Not at all!
So this Sunday morning, let’s take a serious and sincere stand nuh promise ourselves to just live and work for Jesus, in whatever manner He desires of us! That’s the unadulterated, God-given wisdom of heaven, by which earth should be guided! Much LOVE!
…to whatever question you might ask…Jesus is the answer…
24 Apr 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Abednego, abide in me and I in you, affections, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, anxiety, basking in hot temperatures, bring forth fruit, Bruh Paul, bundling up in winter coats, circumspection, cling to Jesus, come unto me, crucified the flesh, Daniel, deceitful, difficult and distressing times, envying one another, faithfulness, fear, fellowship, Friday chant, friends, generous help, get relief from your pain, God is a good god, God is ever-faithful, God won't burden us with more than we can bear, goodness, gospel truth, grace, help, I am meek and lowly in heart, I am the vine, I can do all things through Christ, I will give you rest, in Jesus' name, indisputable truth, Jesus Christ, Jesus is the answer, joy, kindness, lay them at the feet of Jesus, learn from me, like super glue, live in the Spirit, long-sufferng, LOVE, lusts, meekness, men plan while God laughs, Meshach, my burden is light, my yoke is easy, no threat of snow, our sufficency is of God, passions, peace, positive action, provoking one another, rejoice, relaxation, rest, running around half naked, self-control, sensible thing, shadrach, succour, sufficent of ourselves, summer accoutrements, take my yoke upon you, temperance, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the best laid plans of men and mice, the fruit of the spirit, the great invitation, the lion's den., times of need, truth, vain glory, walk in the Spirit, what a bam bam, which strengtheneth me, wisdom, wise, wishful thinking, without me you can do nothing, worry, ye are the branches, ye shall find rest unto your souls
Philippians 4:13. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Aye Friends, as the old people would say, the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray, and also, men plan while God laughs. I wanted to get up early, write the Bit and do some other stuff before the morning was finished. Hn! But obviously that was only wishful thinking. (smile)
And remember too, how a couple weeks ago when we were basking in temperatures in the upper teens and low twenties, when people were running around half naked, and all the summer accoutrements were being rolled out to enjoy it? Well that has all been reversed, without any warning either.
We’re lucky if we can get up into the high single digits now in the day time, and we’re back to bundling up in our winter coats. What a bam bam eh?
But Friends, let’s at least be thankful for one mercy; the sun is shining brightly this Friday morning and there’s no threat of snow in the offing.
So let’s rejoice, as we are wont to do, by declaring: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday yes! The weekend’s here and labouring soon finish for another week! Our God is a good God, and He won’t give us more than we can handle! Let’s say it again: Thank God it’s Friday yes!’
Oh Friends, our God is indeed a wonderful Deity and He won’t burden us with more than we can bear, for that just doesn’t make any sense. Instead He helps us to bear our heavy loads, and invites us in His Great Invitation to come to Him for help and succour in times of need.
‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble): and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt.11:28-30)
Oh my people, what a magnificent offer and invitation! And since we know that God is ever-faithful, and keeps all His promises, this morning I implore all who are bearing heavy burdens, to come and lay them at the feet of Jesus and get relief from your pain, your worry, your fear and your anxiety.
That’s the wise and sensible thing to do, especially in these difficult and distressing times. No one else can even promise such things, much less keep the promise: ONLY JESUS CAN!
Now let’s chant our Friday Chant to get us in the right mood, the right perspective to handle the short but oh so volatile weekend. As one now: ‘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.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes my people, we do have to handle the weekend with some circumspection, else we’ll be no good to God, or ourselves come Monday morning. And it all begins and ends with the faithful promise of our Bit. ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.’
Glory be, my people! With God’s help we can walk through fire like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and come out without even smelling of smoke. (Dan.3:20-30) And like Daniel, we can rest in the lion’s den without even one hair being plucked from our heads. (Dan. 6:14-23)
No wonder Bruh Paul made this bold and factual statement to the Corinthians in his second missive to them. ‘Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.’ (2 Cor.3:5) And that is the gospel, gospel truth my brethren!
Now hear Jesus tell it to the disciples, and ultimately to us. ‘Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:4-5)
And that Friends, is the indisputable truth! Without Christ we can do little or nothing at all! That’s why it is ever so important for us to believe in Him and cleave, cling to Him like super glue (smile) if we want to do good and useful stuff in this godless and evil world.
And we’ll end today with a reminder of the kinds of stuff Jesus is talking about when He refers to us bearing fruit. Listen to Bruh Paul expatiate on the subject to the Galatians. (smile)
‘But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness (kindness), goodness, faith (faithfulness), Meekness, temperance (self-control): against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts (its passions).
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory (be deceitful), provoking one another, envying one another.’ (Gal.5:22-26)
Oh Friends, what a wonderful way to end today’s message! Please, let’s take it all to heart and go out and put it into positive action, in Jesus’ name.
And all God’s people declared a loud, proud and grateful: ‘Praise the Lord! Amen!’ Much LOVE my brethren!
…remember …for whatever ails us…whatever we need…whatever we desire…whatever the problem…Jesus IS the indisputable answer…
04 Feb 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: another beautiful day in Paradise, attitudes, believe before you see things happen, best behaviour, Bible promise, bright and beautiful, caring, compassionate, dog paddling, evil world, find my way home, friends, full moon, golden sandy beach, have a blessed day, he began to teach them many things, He is worthy to be praised, Heartstrings, his arm shall rule, his reward is with him, in God's kingdom, in the darkness, in the service of Jesus, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus is the answer, Jesus is the way, Jesus was moved with compassion, King of Kings, left overs, like lost sheep, living aimlessly, Lord of Lords, losing my way, LOVE, Mama Mia, multitudes, no sense of direction, novel, One Year Book of Bible promises, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, our sinful nature, Praise the Lord, problems, reading, Roti Shop, see things happen before we believe, selfish ways, shepherd, Store Bay, the Lord God, the most important person in the universe, the real McCoy, the skylight, the tug of your heart, they were as sheep not having a shepherd, tie a string from your heart to mine, touched my heart, trials, tribulations, trust in jesus, truth, we all must serve sombody, will come with strong arm, wisdom, write it indelibly in our hearts
Mark 6:34. And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people (a great multitude), and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.
Ah Friends, I don’t want to say it again, because I know the bad state some of you are in up in the north country, but it’s true: It’s another beautiful day in Paradise! And I am feeling a little better, a little stronger. Praise the Lord!
Yes, most things are all right in the ole fella’s world. And what isn’t, I’m just leaving them to the Lord to deal with, because I obviously can’t. So if nothing else, there’s peace in the ole fella’s soul. Thank You Lord!
Oh, and I finally got to the real McCoy yesterday; Store Bay! Imagine that nuh! it took me a whole week to get to my favourite beach, which is only a ten to fifteen minutes drive away from me.
But Friends, after that significant episode in California some years ago, where I hustled to the beach, lost my wedding ring and my way home, I’ve learned my lesson, and just try my best to leave everything in God’s hands and times.
And believe me, Store Bay was not on its best behavior. Though the water was a beautiful aquamarine blue, it was rough, and getting rougher as the tide came in, with the water coming right up to the deck chairs on the beach.
It prevented the duchess from bathing, but not me. I had a couple nice dips, though I couldn’t do much swimming, more like dog paddling, because of my aching right shoulder and arm. But nonetheless I enjoyed myself. How could I come to Store Bay and not do that eh? I walked up and down the golden sandy beach a couple of times and felt energized.
Unfortunately, I rushed from Store Bay to get a roti, but when I got to the Roti Shop at four o’clock, it was closed, although the lady that runs it had earlier on told me she closed at five. Ah Lord eh!
I was disappointed, but I came home, relaxed, ate some left overs, then picked up a novel I had begun reading about two weeks ago, but hadn’t gotten very far. And would you know it, I got so into the book that I just sat down outside on the on the verandah, with some music playing on my computer, and read till I finished it sometime after midnight, then went to bed.
So now you know all… Oh I forgot to tell you about the beautiful full moon that’s been out every night, throwing it’s bright God-sent light down to earth. The first couple nights it seemed like two new moons grafted together; the one on top, showing its upper half, then the other attached to it in the middle showing the whole moon below.
I remember seeing that back home in the north country and mentioning it. But to make sure that I wasn’t seeing things, I called the duchess outside and she verified my assertion.
But even better than that, the past couple nights when there was only one moon, around midnight, I looked up through the skylight in the kitchen and just saw it staring back at me, strangely not as big as the ones back up north, about two thirds the size, but still bright and beautiful! Mama Mia!
Enough about me though, let’s turn now to the most important person in the universe – our most wonderful Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! And all God’s children declared a loud and grateful shout of ‘Praise Him, for He is indeed worthy to be praised!’
And that He is indeed my brethren. And part of that is because of His actions in our Bit. ‘And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people (a great multitude), and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.’
Oh Friends, when I read that verse yesterday, it just touched my heart something special! I do hope it touched yours too, enough to make us improve our selfish ways and attitudes, and show more compassion to our fellow man.
Now here is a very appropriate poem for our Bit, from the One Year Book of Bible Promise’s with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s simply titled ‘HEARTSTRINGS.’
‘Lord, with no sense of direction I’m forever losing my way. Please tie a string From Your heart to mine So that even in the darkness I’ll feel the tug of Your heart And find my way home.’
Oh my people, doesn’t that sound just like the multitudes that Jesus saw that day, and the multitudes today, who also have no sense of direction, living aimlessly like lost sheep with no caring and compassionate shepherd to guide and care for them.
And the Bible Promise that supports that poem is rather appropriate too, and is none other than these comforting and encouraging words from Isaiah. ‘Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand (strength), and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work (wage) before him.
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arms, and carry them in his bosom (close to his heart), and shall gently lead those that are with young.’ (Is.40:10-11)
Oh Friends, Isaiah promised that hundreds of years before Jesus was born, but He faithfully fulfilled that promise along with so many others. So why is it so difficult for mankind to put their trust in Him eh?
I really can’t say for sure. But I suppose it’s a combination of our sinful nature, plus the fact that in the evil world, we like to see things happen before we believe, but in God’s kingdom, you have to believe before you see things happen.
And we’ll end with the chorus of a song I heard on the radio this morning. It says: ‘Jesus is the answer, For all the world today. Above Him is no other, Jesus is the way! And that’s indisputable, unequivocal gospel truth my people!
So please, let’s write that indelibly in our hearts minds and souls today, as we go out to serve Jesus in the ungodly world that surrounds us, and let it help us work though all the problems, the trials and tribulations that we will undoubtedly encounter. For that my people is the wisdom of Jesus. Have a blessed day in the service of Jesus! Much LOVE!
…we must all serve somebody…and Jesus is the best person to serve…because His is name higher than any other… He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords…
Previous Older Entries
SCRIP-BITS 