30 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abominable, all manner of conduct, ambassadors for Christ, anything goes world, as god is merciful, ask in faith, ask Jesus for His help, back and belly, be anxious for nothing, be holy, be it rain or shine, be merciful, be sober, children of Israel, Christ's representatives, Christ's Second Coming, Christian dedication, conforming, cry out to God for help, dark dreary clouds, defiled, despair, discipleship, don't be afriad, emotions and spirits to rise, faith, fall down on the job, fulfill our calling, gird up the loins of your mind, glory hallelujah, God always keeps His promises, God will always help us, good news, Gordon Lightfoot, grace, hard-headed, holiness of god, hope to the end for grace, ignorance, impure, in sweet praise, intoxication, inward resolution, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus is in our hearts, Jesus will faithfully render help, Leviticus, lifting their voices to high heaven, live a holy life for christ, living our faith, look to Jesus, LOVE, loving god, lusts, make sacrifices, make yourselves unclean, Moses, negative depths, obedience, obedient children, personal disciple, personal situations, pleasant demeanour, positive disposition, prepare your mind for action, put our best foot forward, raining cats and dogs, rainy days, rainy days and Mondays, revelation of Jesus, sanctify yourselves, self-control, sin, spreading God's Word, stubborn, tell Jesus your problems, the birds never stop singing God's praises, the Lord is holy, the Lord never gives us more than we can bear, the Lord's admonition, the SON, the sun always rises, the Ten Commandments, to be your god, Triune God, Triune God is faithful, trying to keep us down, undisciplined, venerate Jesus, Ye shall be holy
Leviticus 19:1-2. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.
Oh Friends and fellow believers, how does it grab you eh – rainy days and Wednesdays? (smile) I certainly hope it doesn’t have us feeling like the old Gordon Lightfoot song, which says: ‘Rainy days and Mondays always get me down.’
Why you ask? Well because as Christ’s representatives, His ambassadors here on earth, we’re called on to have a pleasant, positive disposition most of the time. Anything less will simply not venerate Jesus and make others want to come to Him for the wonderful comfort and succour He has to offer.
And that’s basically our major purpose – LOVING our God, sincerely LIVING our Faith, and SPREADING His Word!
Now yesterday was a mostly rainy day in my neck of the woods, and so it seems today will also be. But my people, the good news is that though we might not be able to see the sun, we can be positively assured that it’s up there, shining brightly, somewhere above those dark, dreary clouds, because like the Son, Jesus, its Creator, the Sun ALWAYS RISES!
That means, once we have Jesus in our hearts, it is ALWAYS possible for our emotions and spirits to rise above whatever is coming against us and trying to keep us down, down in the negative depths of sin and despair.
So please my brethren, regardless of it’s raining cats and dogs in your area, like it is in mine, or the evil villain Lucifer is trying to drag you down to his below ground level, please don’t fear; don’t be afraid or anxious for anything, just look to Jesus, tell Him your problems, and sincerely ask for His help, and He will faithfully render it, because that’s what he promised to do.
And if it’s one thing ALL believers know, or ought to know, is that our great Triune God is ever faithful, ALWAYS keeps His promises!
So, please, let’s be like the birds, which never stop singing God’s praises, be it rain or shine, regardless of their personal situations, be their problems small or large. And the perfect example of that is I heard them outside my window earlier on, lifting their sweet voices to heaven in high praise, though their feathers and bodies were soaked with rain.
And all God’s children gave a grateful shout of ‘Glory Hallelujah!’
So now that we’ve finished rambling through the preamble, (smile) let’s turn to our Bit: ‘And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.’
And the first question is did you do your homework? Did you check out the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, to see if what the Jewish scholars say is true; that Chapter 19 of Leviticus embraces, or recapitulates all of the Ten Commandments amongst its diverse verses?
Ah mih people, you don’t have to answer that question because I know the answer for a majority of you is a big, fat NO! Just for the records though, I did, and found it be very true.
Anyway, in this last message on the holiness of God, and therefore our own holiness, let’s look at a couple of scriptures that declare its necessity. First off is the Lord’s admonition to the children of Israel earlier on in Leviticus, re clean and unclean animals.
‘Ye shall not make yourselves (your souls) abominable (impure) with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby.
For I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.’ (Lev.11:43-45)
Ah mih breddren, as usual our God is plain and straightforward! There’s nothing there hard to understand, and He tells us the same thing several times during those three verses, so at some point it ought to sink into our stubborn, hard-headed consciousness.
Now listen to Peter on the call to Christian dedication. ‘Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind (prepare your mind for action), be sober, and hope to the end for the grace (rest your hope fully upon the grace) that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
As obedient children, not fashioning (conforming) yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance. But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation (conduct); Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.’ (1 Pet.1:13-16)
Yes Friends, all of that still applies to us today, though sadly we are not living it out in the world, otherwise the world would not be so evil and ungodly!
Now here is some info from the scholars on verse 13, which I hope will empower and embolden us to start or keep on being holy, holy as we ought to.
‘1:13. The exhortation to set one’s hope involves an inward resolution. Gird up the loins of your mind: The imagery is that of personal discipline and outward conduct. Be sober (Gr. nephontes): Be free of every sort of mental and spiritual intoxication. The revelation of Jesus Christ is the Second Advent when Jesus returns to earth to set up His kingdom.’
Ah mih people, I know that to live a holy life for Christ takes a lot of discipline and self-control, in other words, great discipleship. However those are things that are not very easy to come by in this undisciplined and anything goes modern world.
But if we truly want to live our lives for Jesus, and in the way that He desires, then we have to put our best foot forward and make the sacrifice(s) that are necessary to fulfill our calling.
And please remember two things here: The Lord will never give us more than we can bear, and if we sincerely cry out to Him for help, He will gladly help us. That means there’s no reason for us to fall down on the job, unless we choose to do so.
Now let’s end, as I LOVE to do whenever possible, with a word from Jesus. ‘Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.’ (Luke 6:36)
Oh Friends, just one more wonderful aspect of our heavenly Father which we need to adopt! So without further ado, let’s get to it nuh. Much LOVE!
…to walk how Jesus walked…takes much back and belly…but He will give them to us…if we ask in faith…
25 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a journey of hope and love, a saved world, accepting the challenge with a strong faith, advocating, all knees shall bow, all lips declare, almighty god, ascension, Beelzebub, bequeath our children, blessings, cast off forever, compassion, downward spiral, evil, evil powers, examine our ways, exhorting, expectant faith, eyes of faith, faith, fellow believers, forefront of our society, friends, gift, glory, God does not delight in afflicting His people, God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, grateful, grief, heavenly wisdom, honour, hope, hungry hope, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, just and righteous Deity, justified, Lamentations, legacy, lift up our hearts, LOVE, loving kindness, magnanimous Creator, magnificent and magnanimous God, materially, mercies, mire, new day, new every morning, omnipotent god, one true God, only son, pangs of misery, prosper, punishment for sins, put into action, quicksand, raise up the name of jesus, reignite God's image in our hearts, rekindle God's fire in our souls, resurrection, righteous, sacrificial death, Saint of the Little Flower, selfless, sentiments, sinful nature, sinful people, slaves, Son Jesus, spiritually, St. Therese, stooges, sucking away our lifeblood, take us to task, thankful, thanks and praise, the way to salvation, triumphant victory over death and the grave, turn again to God, uncoditional love, ungodly, walk in the steadfastness of god's grace and love, walk of faith, what a wonderful God we serve and worship, wisdom
Lamentations 3:32. But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, glory be! Yes, it’s another new day in paradise! Another marvellous and wondrous gift from our magnanimous Creator!
Oh my people, it just stirs me up so much when I consider the wonderful God we serve and worship!
Wow! Which other supposed deity gives His people new mercies and blessings every single morning eh? Who shows such undeserved compassion each and every day eh? NONE but our omnipotent God, my brethren!
That’s why we ought to give Him enormous thanks and continually praise His Holy Name. Remember, He doesn’t have to do what He’s done and doing for us, neither do our puny efforts deserve His LOVING-kindness. But it’s His unsurpassed unconditional LOVE that causes Him to bless us so richly, in spite of our sinful nature and behaviour.
And please remember too, that while we were yet stooges and slaves of Beelzebub, He sent His ONLY Son Jesus to die for us, so that we could be made justified, righteous, and all the other wonderful things that Jesus’ selfless, sacrificial death, resurrection and ascension accomplished.
So there are indeed numerous reasons for us to be thankful and grateful! Therefore, instead of trying to belittle Jesus’ importance, or take God out of our society, as we are allowing the evil powers that be to do, we ought to be jumping and shouting, beseeching and pleading, picketing and protesting, advocating and exhorting, to raise up the name of Jesus, just like the Father did after His triumphant victory over death and the grave!
We ought to be encouraging ALL knees to bow, and ALL lips to solemnly and sincerely declare that Jesus is indeed the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
Oh Friends, we ought to be filled with such a hungry hope and expectant faith, that we can clearly see, totally envision through our eyes of faith, a saved world; a world where Almighty God and Jesus Christ are once again at the forefront of our society!
Oh my people, my fellow believers, that’s the ONLY WAY our society will once again prosper, both spiritually and materially. If we don’t feel that way, don’t envision it happening, then we’ll just continue the downward spiral in which we’re now totally engaged.
Oh my brethren, the quicksand in the evil and ungodly mire of the world is slowly sucking away our lifeblood, unfortunately causing us to drift further and further away from the ONE TRUE GOD, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and if we don’t soon put a stop to it, then our children, and their children too, will be the ones to suffer the real pangs of misery and defeat, since we’ll already be dead and gone.
Now is that the legacy we want to bequeath to our children, whom most of us LOVE like the Lord LOVES us? I sincerely doubt it.
However Friends, it’s also necessary to remember that though we are currently a very sinful people, and that sometimes the Lord will take us to task for our sins, He will not cast us off forever. (Lam.3:31)
And all God’s people loudly declared: ‘All glory, praise, thanks and honour be to our magnificent and magnanimous God!’
Yes Friends, those are indeed wonderful sentiments, but we need to not only mouth them, but even more importantly put them into action!
And as our Bit so wisely and rightly states: ‘But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.’
Ah mih breddren, it gives our God no joy, no pleasure to punish us, but as a just and righteous Deity, He has to keep things right. Now listen to the words of Jeremiah, as he laments the state of his people Israel, which very much approximates to our current state.
‘For he doth not afflict willingly (with delight), nor grieve the children of men. To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth. To turn aside the right of (justice due) a man before the face of the most High. To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not.
Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil (woe) and good (well being)? Wherefore doth (how then can) a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?
Let us search and try (examine) our ways, and turn again to the Lord. Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.’ (Lam.3:33-41)
Oh Friends and fellow believers, that bit of scripture both highlights our current situation, and also points the way to our salvation!
Please, let’s accept the challenge with a strong faith, and ask God to ‘reignite His image in our hearts, and rekindle His fire in our souls,’ so that we can turn this evil and ungodly world around, and once again walk in the steadfastness of His abounding grace and undying LOVE!
Now that my people, is truly heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!
’…the walk of faith is ultimately…a journey of HOPE and LOVE…’
P.S. Those words in inverted commas above, have been taken from a devotional booklet on healing, based on the writings and actions of St. Therese, the Saint of the Little Flower.
Please, please, my people, let’s use them to truly reignite the flame and fire of God’s LOVE within us nuh, and thus bring some much needed change to our badly drifting and listing world! Much LOVE!
18 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Adam and Eve, adopted children of God, agony, All praise honour and glory to Jesus, auspicious, bend our knees, Bless His Holy Name, bow our heads, Christian, cringe with fear, day of judgement, death, depths of our souls, dwell in harmony, Easter, everlasting thanks, exorbitant price, extraordinary thing, faithful, fear, fellowship, footsteps of love, for they know not what they do, forbidden fruit, forgive them, forgiving Deity, freedom, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, Garden of Eden, generous help, give Jesus everlasting thanks, glory, Good Friday, good news, goodness, graciousness, greatest gift ever bestowed on man, heartfelt prayer, heirs with Jesus, high price of justice, holy spirit, honour, human-rights, intercession, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus is worthy, joy, justice, justified, King of Kings, lead and guide, light of Jesus Christ, loathing, Lord and Saviour, Lord jesus, lord jesus christ, Lord of Lords, LOVE, loving, magnanimity, magnify Your Holy Name, marvellous works, memorable Friday, no bounds, no more tears sorrow pain, obedience, patience, pay for our ghastly sins, pay our sin debt, payment for all of mankind's sins, peace, perseverance, praise, reconciled, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rescue, rest, resurrection, right fellowship with God, righteous, rivers of blood, sacrificial deed, selfless, sincere gratitude and thanks, sinners, sins, Son of Jehovah God, stripes, terrible ordeal, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, TGIGF! Thank God it's Good Friday, Thank you Jesus, tragedy, trials, tribulation, truth, unblemished lamb to the slaughter, unconditional LOVE, unity, worship and praise Jesus, worthless sinners, worthy enough
Luke 23:34a.Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.
GOOD FRIDAY !
Oh Friends, that fateful day called Friday has rolled around once again! However, today is not only a Friday, but an extraordinary one that we term GOOD FRIDAY! Today we remember and celebrate the most auspicious and memorable Friday that has ever occurred in man’s history!
And though the event that occurred two thousand years ago today was a horrific tragedy; the stuff that took place on the surface was certainly bad, but its outcome was the greatest gift ever bestowed on mankind, that’s why it can be called good!
So today instead of just singing ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ We need to sing ‘TGIGF! Thank God it’s Good Friday!’
And you know that we’re referring to that memorable day when our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ sacrificed His sinless life, went like an unblemished lamb to the slaughter, to pay for our ghastly sins, so that we could once again have right fellowship with our heavenly Father.
And all of God’s people, feeling the trembling and gratitude boiling in their hearts, spontaneously sang out: ‘All praise, honour and glory be to our Lord Jesus Christ, Son of Jehovah God! Bless His Holy Name! Worship and praise Him and give Him everlasting thanks, for He is indeed worthy of it all!’
Yes my people, Jesus Christ is certainly worthy of more praise and thanks and honour and glory than we can ever give Him! For there is nothing or no one else who could have satisfied the Father’s high price of justice to pay our sin debt in full.
And that’s payment for ALL of mankind’s sins, from day one in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, right down to the day of judgement, and that promised time when sin shall be no more. When there shall be no more tears, no more pain and sorrow, but we shall all dwell in harmony and unity under the everlasting light of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. (Rev.21:3-4)
Oh what a wonderful person is our Jesus! Let’s give Him some more thanks and praise nuh mih breddren. ‘Oh Lord Jesus Christ, there are not enough powerful and thankful words in our vocabulary to truly praise and thank You for Your selfless, sacrificial deed on our behalf. But with whatever we have, we’re pouring out our most sincere gratitude and thanks this Good Friday morn, hoping that You accept it with Your usual graciousness.
We know that it was a terrible ordeal You underwent for us worthless sinners, though You and the Father thought us worthy enough to pay such an exorbitant price to save us. We know You didn’t have to do it, but Your obedience to the Father knew no bounds, so you bore with great patience, perseverance and magnanimity the trials and tribulations the Father decreed as the price of our freedom.
In Your most horrible moments of agony, You were even gracious enough to cry out the words of our Bit: ‘Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.’ Only a truly LOVING and forgiving Deity could do such an extraordinary thing! Thank You Lord Jesus, thank You, thank You, thank You!
Unfortunately, that’s the best we can say. But for that awesome sacrifice, we promise to bow our heads, bend our knees and acknowledge You as Lord of Lords and King of Kings. We will give You all the praise and thanks we can muster, and walk obediently in Your footsteps of LOVE, peace, joy, goodness, human rights and justice, from this day forth and forever more!
Please accept our heartfelt prayer, and let Your Holy Spirit lead and guide us into all truth, so that we can magnify Your Holy Name and spread the good news of Your Story, all over planet Earth! This we pray in Your Holy Name, on the rivers of blood that flowed from the stripes inflicted on Your broken and abused body on that horrible day, two thousand years ago! Amen! And again we say, Amen!’
Thank You Lord Jesus Christ for coming to our rescue! Just the thought of where we would have been, where we would have ended up, without your faithful and LOVING intercession, makes us cringe with fear and loathing!
But thankfully, through the amazing and unconditional LOVE of the Father, we now have nothing to fear, and instead are now gloriously declared righteous, reconciled, justified, adopted children of God, heirs to His kingdom with You, and so many other wonderful things that it would take us all day to name them!
Father in heaven… Lord Jesus… all we can say again is THANKS! Thanks from the innermost recesses of our hearts, and the very depths of our souls! We LOVE You, and will try our very best to walk obedient to Your dictates. In Jesus Name we pray all of this. Amen!’
Oh Friends, this is what I was guided to write this Good Friday morning. I do hope that the sentiments expressed therein will touch your hearts, minds, bodies and souls like it touched mine.
Over the last couple of years I’ve been guided to a greater appreciation of the suffering that Jesus underwent on our behalf, and now the Easter season has truly become the best part of the Christian calendar for me, for that’s where Jesus wrought His most marvellous works.
Please let us mourn the death of our Saviour today, while remembering the awesome good that came out of it. And as we close, let’s chant our Friday Chant with much enthusiasm! Thought I’d forgotten eh? (smile)
‘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.’
Now Friends, and fellow believers, let’s just remember that after the death, comes the glorious RESURRECTION! Much LOVE!
…the price of reconciliation can never be repaid…because it was born out of such unbelievable LOVE…
16 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adultery, awesome God, Bathsheba, be acceptable in God's sight, blabbering, bless the Lord, bless the name of jesus, blessing, brothers and sisters in christ, Bruh David, champion, change, contrition, crucifixion, different, Easter weekend, faithful, fellow believers, godly response, good and positive manner, growing, hearts and minds, Holy Redeemer, Holy Week, immortal words, inner contrition, investigate our hearts, Irene Peter, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus is worthy, Jesus' time, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, meditation, my redeemer, name of Jesus, not in sync with God, O Lord my strength, personality, Pharisees, pleading, Praise the Lord, prayer for cleansing, prophet Nathan, reality of the situation, resurrection, sacrifices, self-control, serve the Lord, shout Hallelujah, Sing praises to the Lord, sing unto the Lord, sinners, talk a good talk, the king of glory, the meditation of my heart, the words of my mouth, tongues, tongues wag, true motives, truth and wisdom, walk the talk, wicked, with Jesus' help
Psalm 19:14. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength (rock), and my redeemer.
And then Friends, it was Wednesday morning of Holy Week! Wow! That most amazing and awesome time is fast approaching! We’re talking about the Easter weekend when Jesus, our mighty Lord and Saviour turned the whole world upside down with His crucifixion and eventual resurrection!
And all God’s people declared a loud shout of joy: ‘Oh bless the name of Jesus, our champion and our Holy Redeemer!’
Yes my people, the name of Jesus is indeed worthy of incomparable blessing, thanks and praise for the overwhelming change He’s wrought in the world and in our personal lives.
And speaking of change Friends, here is an interesting quote from one Irene Peter, taken from my One More Day Devotional. There were so many Irene Peter’s listed when I checked for some info on her, that it was impossible to decide which one it was.
Anyway, Irene says that: ‘Just because everything is different, doesn’t mean anything has changed.’ And that can often be true my brethren!
We are continually growing – hopefully in a good and positive manner – but ofttimes that growth is gradual and we don’t realize or recognize the change (s) until an event, or some events, wake us up to the reality of the situation.
And though our lives may sometimes end up being completely different, deep down inside we are still the same basic person; still having the same unique personality that God has so amazingly granted us. We are still warm, caring, LOVING and faithful people, but we have grown in certain respects.
And it’s always nice to know that though we have grown, through all the changes, our basic personality has remained the same. And oh my people, one of the best ways to grow is by allowing the faithful and immortal words of Bruh David in our Bit, to take hold of, and rule our souls.
‘Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength (rock), and my redeemer.’
What a powerful statement, my fellow believers! One that we should all be trying to practice!
And though it is not always an easy task – what with all the ungodliness and evil that continually badger and buffet us – with Jesus’ help, we can certainly do it most of the time.
That’s provided we’re serious about it, and retain a strong self-control, not allowing our tongues to start blabbering before our hearts and minds consider the situation and are able to formulate a godly response.
And we have Bruh David again pleading in Psalm 51, his prayer for cleansing after the prophet Nathan draped him up for his adultery with Bathsheba.
He prayerfully declares: ‘O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else I would give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.’ (Ps.51:15-17)
Yes Friends, our God doesn’t desire outward and/or material sacrifices so much as true inner contrition. And that’s where a lot of us, even supposed believers, are sadly lacking today!
We certainly talk a good talk, and sometimes even walk the talk, but yet, like the Pharisees in Jesus’ time, our hearts are not truly turned to God, or in sync with Him and His directives. That’s why He wisely chooses to investigate our hearts, the inner recesses of our souls, to ascertain our true motives.
And we’ll close with these beautiful words and intentions from Psalm 104 – God’s preservation of nature. ‘I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord. Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the Lord, O my soul. Praise ye the Lord. (Shout Hallelujah!).’ (Ps.104:33-35)
And my people, there’s no better time than this Easter Season to shout a glorious ‘Hallelujah! Praise and blessings to our awesome God, and to His most wonderful Son, Jesus Christ, the true King of Glory!’
Let’s now go forth in all truth and wisdom to LOVE and serve the Lord! Much LOVE!
…God’s people are at their best…when their hearts and mouths are filled with His praise…
P.S. Oh Friends, please excuse the lateness of the Bit, but it was all my fault. I got up late, and then at one point Internet Explorer began acting up, as it has been doing since they supposedly made some improvements. Hn!
But at one stage all I could get were capital letters, and there I was thrashing Explorer. I even stopped and got on to Google Chrome, only to experience the same situation. Then it suddenly dawned on me, the capitals lock was on.
Hn, hn! How ‘geekish’ eh! A perfect example of what I was talking about; letting our hearts and minds consider the situation before letting out tongues wag. Ah Lord eh! Our God certainly knows how to drive home a lesson.
Please note too how short the Bits are these days. (smile) Much LOVE, my brothers and sister in Christ!
09 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: as we forgive our debtors, ask, asking for help, believer in Jesus Christ, blessings, bounden duty, communicating with God, communion, crying out to God in prayer, daily bread, deliver us from evil, despising shame, do unto others as you want them to do to you, don't give in to negative circumstances, endured the cross, factual data, faithful, forgive our debts, forgiveness, fundamental importance of prayer, God has heard my prayer, God has promised, God in the flesh, God's people, greetings, hallowed be thy name, heartfelt prayer, hold on to the Lord's faithful promises, in faith, in trust, it's good to be alive, Jesus, Jesus went out into a mountain to pray, joy, knock, lay aside every weight, lead us not into temptation, LOVE, loving kindness, magnanimous god, mercy, new mercies, Our Father which art in heaven, patience, perfecter of our faith, perseverance, prayer, prayer to god, promises, right hand of God, run with patience, salutations, seek, something joyful to look forward to, son of god, stand strong and steadfast, surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, teach us to pray, the author, the Father's help, the golden rule, the number one means of communicating with God, the power and the glory, the sin which ensnares us, thine is the kingdom, thy will be done, to work all things out for our good, trials and tribulation, trumped up situation, we shun it to our detriment
Psalm 66:1. But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
Oh Friends, blessings and greetings and salutations this Wednesday morning! It’s certainly good to be alive, although all might not be right with us.
And remember that new mercies and LOVING-kindness from our magnanimous God will be filtering down to us all day, so that’s something joyful to look forward to.
Therefore, let us not give in to any negative circumstances that are coming against us. Instead, let us stand strong and steadfast in faith and trust, for we know not what the end of the day will bring, for the Lord has promised to work all things out for the benefit of His people.
So if you consider yourself to be one of God’s people, then it’s your bounden duty to hold on to the Lord’s faithful promises. And if that is proving difficult to do, then there is always the option of crying out to Him in prayer, asking for help to handle the situation until He is ready to deal with it.
Remember, prayer is the NUMBER ONE means of communicating with our heavenly Father, and we shun it to our own detriment. And that’s not a trumped up situation, but one established by thousands of years of factual data.
That’s why the author of Hebrews could say with much conviction: ‘Wherefore seeing (since) we are compassed about with (surrounded by) so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset (ensnare) us, and let us run with patience (perseverance) the race that is set before us.
Looking unto Jesus the author (originator) and finisher (perfecter) of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.’ (Heb.12:1-2)
Oh my people, do you think the ‘cloud of witnesses’ went through all of their trials and tribulations for nothing? Or that the Father sent Jesus to die for us with no great plan envisioned?
Obviously not! The Lord made us in the first place so that he could have communion with us, which came about through prayer and answer. And even though we fell and became sinful, it was still the Lord’s intention to have meaningful communion with us.
Therefore He sent Jesus to pay the price needed for us to come before Him…again in prayer. Communicating with God has always been, and will always be first and foremost through prayer my people!
That’s why the psalmist could say in our Bit with such utter conviction, even before Jesus came to earth to save us: ‘But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.’
That Friends, is also why I’m trying to drive home to us the fundamental importance of prayer in believers lives! For it surely is surprising the number of supposed believers who don’t engage in serious prayer. But how can you call yourself a sincere believer in Jesus Christ and don’t indulge in serious and sincere communication with Him eh?
For how do you think Jesus managed to bear His trials and tribulations on earth? By prayer! Although he was God in the flesh, He still needed the Father’s help to bear the painful tasks set out for Him.
Hear the Good Book on the subject: ‘And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.’ (Luke 6:12)
Oh my brethren, if the Son of God needed prayer down here on earth to help Him, why do we mere mortals think that we don’t eh, and don’t seriously consider it?
And the importance of prayer is further highlighted my people by this episode: ‘And it came to pass, that as he (Jesus) was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.’ (Luke 11:1)
Yuh see Friends, knowing the importance of prayer in their lives, John must have thought his disciples to pray. And according to the scholars: ’11:1. Religious communities of the time customarily had their own distinctive prayers. Perhaps the disciples wanted theirs.’
But whatever the reason, Jesus granted their request, giving them this prayer as an example. ‘After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.’ (Matt.6:9-15)
Ah mih breddren, yuh see how important Jesus considered forgiveness that after the basic prayer, He went on to talk about it?
That should tell us all something, basically we ought to obey the golden rule: do unto others as you would that they do unto you, for as you do to others God will do to you. And that’s all I have to say for today. (smile)
Now may the Lord bless us and keep us safely under the protection of His powerful presence, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Much LOVE!
…the best way to ask, seek and knock…is through heartfelt prayer…
04 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: almighty god, anger, anxiety, assuring, begging bread, calamity, cast down, comforting, confusion, crime, depart from evil, distribution of wealth, do good, early retirement, eternal truth, evil, evil doers, fallible, fellowship, focused, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, God's largesse, godly men, godly wisdom, happy manner, healthy, hope, immortal, indisputable fact, inequality, infallible, jehovah god, Jesus, leisure, LOVE, mortal, necessities of life, peace, pensions, pipe dreams, poor getting poorer, poor stewards, poverty, relaxation, remove Jehovah God, resentment, rich getting richer, righteous forsaken, sacrifice, sad demise, several jobs, shall not stumble, shortcomings of our society, sickness, sincerity, sins, still can't make ends meet, stressed out, strife, survive in this rat race world, technological revolution, Thank God it's Friday, the weekend, ungodliness, walk safely, wealth, wealthy times, wisdom, work, working harder
Proverbs 3:23. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.
Oh Friends, it’s Friday, it’s Friday! The weekend’s come, and labour’s done! Thank God it’s Friday!
Yeh mih people, it is indeed Friday, but it never fails to amaze me at how much our society looks forward to those two days off. This was once supposed to be the generation of leisure, of take it easy, of so much wealth etc. that we didn’t need to work our sorry tails off any longer.
Hn! But what’s happened eh? In the midst of all the technological revolution, we’re now working harder than ever, often at several jobs, and still can’t make ends meet!
We’re the most stressed out and anxiety wired generation ever, in times of supposed peace. There’s also more poverty, homelessness, sickness, crime – both white and blue collar – plus oodles of resentment, anger and strife, accompanied by unforeseen ungodliness and evil, in what’s been amongst the wealthiest of times.
Oh my brethren, how did we ever get this way eh? Whatever happened to the dreams of a four and three day work-week, and early retirement with pensions we could afford to live on? Steups!
Unfortunately, those are not even pipe dreams nowadays, but more like impossible ones! Ah Lord eh! We certainly have been very poor stewards of God’s largesse.
I guess there are many reasons for our sad demise, but one of the biggest is the distribution of wealth. The rich have indeed been getting richer and the poor poorer! And once that great inequality in wealth exists, society cannot function in a healthy, much less happy manner.
When so many don’t even have the wherewithal to purchase the basic necessities of life, there must be confusion and calamity – especially when you also remove Jehovah God from the equation!
Anyway Friends, this wasn’t meant to be a treatise on the shortcomings of our society, just a brief edification. (smile) So let’s get to the matter at hand and chant our Friday Chant with much sincerity and hope, to keep us strong and thoroughly focused on what we need to do to survive in this rat-race world.
So let’s chant up a storm this Friday morning nuh! ‘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.’
Awright mih people, that ought to give us enough of the right perspective in how to handle the weekend! So let’s move on to our Bit, one of God’s great promises. ‘Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.’
Yes Friends, when we give Jehovah God sovereignty over our lives, we WILL indeed walk in the safety and security of His everlasting LOVE and omnipotence!
What can be more assuring and comforting than that eh? Nothing my brethren! Nothing at all!
If we can’t trust the Creator and Controller of this great and wonderful universe, whom then can we really trust? Certainly not mortal and fallible man!
Now let’s check out some scripture that corroborates our Bit, from two of the most godly and God endowed men that ever lived.
First up is Cousin Sol with a proverb of eternal truth. ‘He that walketh uprightly walketh surely (securely, safely): but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.’ (Prov.10:9)
And that’s an indisputable fact Friends, as we’re seeing every day, as more and more evil doers are being brought to light.
Now hear Bruh David; a man after God’s own heart. ‘The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again (does not repay): but the righteous showeth mercy, and giveth. For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth (land); and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off (destroyed). The steps of a good man are ordered (established) by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed (descendants) begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed (descendants) is blessed. Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.’ (Ps.37: 21-27)
Oh mih people, my fellow believers, what words of grace and godly assurance! And Bruh David lived them! It wasn’t any hearsay, but a true testimonial of his life. Though he occasionally stumbled and fell, the Lord never entirely cast him adrift. Of course he paid a price for some of his more heinous sins, but his name still reverberates throughout the Good Book as a man of God.
All I can say Friends, is that if you deal sincerely and truthfully with Almighty God, He will do the same with you. But you have to put your trust in Him first. He has already done His part by sacrificing Jesus to pay for our sins. It’s up to us now to receive His awesome grace, mercy, LOVE and forgiveness. And if we’re truly endowed with godly wisdom, then we’ll do just that! Much LOVE!
…if you can believe you’re in good hands with All State…a company run by fallible men…why can’t you believe you’ll be in even better…the best hands…with infallible, immortal…Almighty God…
03 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: after-shocks, almighty god, always and forever, an endless sea, anchor, angels, becalmed, buckle down to our tasks, can never recapture time, caught napping, charge over thee, Chile, Christ's Second Coming, Christian ethic, comfort, crapaud smoke we pipe, deliver, die by the sword, disasters, don't ne lazy, drifitng, earthquake, eternity, evil, fallacy, forever lost, forgiveness, freer use of guns, get serious, glorify the gun, God is a refuge and fortress, God is alive, gospel truth, guide and protect, habitation, healing, heartfelt prayers, heralding, honour, Jesus, just our imagination, killing machines, known my name, lift thee up, live by the sword, long life, loss of life, LOVE, make our way right, mend our fences with God, mercy, natural disaster, nebulous being, no evil shall befall thee, no solid foundation, on the outside looking in, plague, property damage, Psalm 91, pull up our socks, put our lives in God's hands, salvation, set on high, shall not stumble, shooting in fort Hood, spending eternity with Lucifer, spirit is willing, stop fretting, strike thy foot, stumble and fall, take the bull by the horns, the flesh is weak, the Lord's grace, the Most High, the trumpet sounds, Thursday, thy dwelling place, time, trample, tread upon the lion, trouble, tsunamis, unconcerned about mankind, universe, use time fruitfully, use time wisely, walk safely, war zones, waste our God-given time, what have I done for the week, worrying
Proverbs 3:23. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.
And then it was Thursday… ‘Thursday,’ I asked myself? How could it be Thursday already eh? It was just Monday a couple days ago…
And then I ask myself: ‘What have you done for the week?’ And myself truthfully replies: ‘Not a whole lot nuh.’
And that’s the gospel truth Friends, because I can see the load of stuff sitting next to me, either to be read or actioned in some way. And it’s not like I’ve been watching a lot of television, playing computer games, or even sleeping. Hn!
But some how or other, time has gotten away from me. Unfortunately though, time passes so quickly these days – that’s just our imagination yes, time’s been passing at the same speed all along (smile) – and once it’s passed, we can never recapture it. So it therefore behoves us to use it wisely and fruitfully while we have it.
On the other hand though, once it has passed, we need to stop fretting and worrying over it, and just move on with whatever time we have left. Hopefully, I can begin doing that today, because there is a fair amount of stuff to be done. And it’s not difficult stuff either, just time consuming. And though the spirit is often willing, the flesh is too often weak. (smile)
So Friends, let’s all try and pull up our socks today nuh, take the proverbial bull by the horns and simply buckle down to the tasks we need to accomplish. And that is all a part of our Christian ethic too – not to be lazy and waste our God-given time.
And we’ll just quickly mention two of the latest disasters to hit the West; that of the 8.2 level earthquake that hit off Chile’s north coast yesterday. Let’s pray for all those involved and hope that there is no further loss of life or property damage, through tsunamis and after shocks.
Now that natural disaster we can’t do much about, but the shooting in Fort Hood, the U.S. Army Base … Steups! When is the foolish shooting going to stop eh? So many people are killed everyday by guns, outside of war zones, totally unnecessary deaths, yet we still glorify the gun, even allowing it greater and freer use within our society nowadays, as well as making improvements, to make them even better killing machines.
Ah Lord eh! We seem to have conveniently forgotten the old adage that he who lives by the sword, dies by the sword. That pertains to guns too my people.
Anyway, despite all the negatives involved, let us send up heartfelt prayers to heaven, asking for the Lord’s grace, mercy, healing, comfort and forgiveness on all those involved.
That brings us to our Bit: ‘Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.’
Yes Friends, if more of us would put our lives in God’s hands, and try to live the way He desires of us, fewer of us would stumble and fall. But foolishly we seem to consider God as some nebulous being, way out there in the farthest reaches of the universe, either unconcerned about mankind, or simply unable to help him.
Oh my people, that is a fallacy of enormous proportions! Our God is alive, in control, and right here with us – ALWAYS AND FOREVER!
But until we truly believe that and consequently act on it, we’ll be forever lost, becalmed on an endless sea, just drifting, hither, thither and yon, with no solid foundation to anchor us.
And we have the perfect scripture to back all of that up. It comes from Psalm 91, appropriately titled, ‘God is a refuge and fortress.’ Please listen closely to the psalmist as he declares his holy case.
‘Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation (dwelling place); There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh (near) thy dwelling.
For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear (lift) thee up in their hands, lest thou dash (strike) thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder (cobra): the young lion and the dragon (serpent) shalt thou trample underfeet.
Because he hath set his LOVE upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life (length of days) will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.’ (Ps.91:9-16)
Oh Friends, what’s more to say eh? NOTHING! For that passage of scripture says it all!
Oh mih breddren, it’s so simple and easy – just like the work I’ve been putting off. (smile) We just need to get serious and do it. If we make our way right with Almighty God, He will guide and protect us. If we don’t, then it’s cleaners for us; crapaud smoke we pipe; we’ll end up on the outside looking in, spending eternity with Lucifer rather than Jesus.
Now that surely doesn’t sound like such a wonderful idea! So please, let’s mend our fences with our Creator as soon as possible nuh; preferably today, RIGHT NOW, so that we won’t be caught napping when the trumpet sounds up yonder, heralding Christ’s Second Coming. Much LOVE!
…God has given us two choices…spend eternity with ME in heaven…or spend it in Hades with Lucifer…the choice is ours…wisdom though, strongly advises we pick the first option…
29 Mar 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ability to make choices, believe, blessings, book of life, bringing us down easy, brow beat, buy wine and milk, cold temps, come to the waters, compassion, consideration, decisions, distortion, disturbing, eternal life, eternally grateful, fear not, floods, genuine believer, gift of grace, God's invitation, God's Word, heap abuse, holy city, holy spirit, horrific winter, hunger nor thirst, I come quickly, ice storm, infinite wisdom, Israel, Jacob's Well, Jesus, Jew, litany of woes, living water, Lord jesus, loving kindness, magnanimous god, mind-boggling, molly-cuddle, multitude, New Jerusalem, northern climes, offspring, palm branches, plagues, pour water on who thirsts, prophecy, repercussions, Revelation, right and wrong, Samaritan, shepherd. living fountains of water, sigh of relief, snow, snow belt, spring, substraction, testify, thanks and praise, the gift of God, the greatest, the Lamb, the Spirit of God, the throne of God, the water of life, thumbs up, too late, Toronto and environs, tribulations, warning, we bless your holy name, we Love you Lord, white robes, whoever is thirsty, winter weather, wipe away all tears, wisdom, without money, without price
Isaiah 55:1. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Oh Friends, we’re going to begin this morning by giving our wonderful God some thanks and praise for His infinite wisdom and LOVING-kindness to us up here in the northern climes, in particular Toronto and its environs. Why you ask?
Remember how we’ve been complaining about the terrible winter weather and the great amounts of snow piled up all around, wondering where we’d put it if any more fell, and also about spring taking long to come?
Well mih people, spring still isn’t here on a consistent basis, but there’s been method to the Lord’s madness, meaning that there’s hardly any snow on the ground now, and the Lord in His wisdom, compassion and consideration for us did it slowly. That’s why we’d have a day of warmish weather, then some cold ones.
All to allow the snow to melt a little at a time, because if He had allowed it all to melt at once, we’d surely be adding floods to our litany of woes; abundant ice and snow and bitterly cold temps for far too long. Some people and places have not even fully recovered from the ice storm, can you imagine if there were floods to add to their tribulations.
So all you people who live in the snow belt, please give the Lord a big thumbs up for bringing us down easy after such a horrific winter. And all God’s people uttered a huge sigh of relief, then let loose with an astounding voice of praise. ‘Thank You Father for looking after us! You are indeed the GREATEST! We LOVE You Lord and bless Your Holy Name, today and for ever more! Amen!’
Yes my brethren, I don’t know about you all nuh, but I am eternally grateful, for with the three or four feet of snow on my back deck, my backyard and by the side of my driveway, I don’t know what I would have done if it had all melted at once. At least I can now see some of the grass in my backyard, and some of the floor boards on my deck.
That’s why Friends it’s so disturbing and mind-boggling that people constantly ignore, and even heap abuse on our magnanimous God and His free gift of grace as outlined in our Bit. ‘Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.’
Today’s the last day for this Bit, and I’m not going to get into any arguments over it or try to change anyone’s mind. We have done enough of that over the last few days, and if people aren’t wise enough to accept God’s invitation, then too bad for them. We shouldn’t have to brow beat people, or molly-cuddle them. The Lord gave us all the ability to make choices and also showed us what’s right from what’s wrong. We’ll just have to live with the repercussions of our decisions.
Today we’ll just quote a few more scriptures that deal with the living water, the Holy Spirit, which Jesus promises to every one who believes in Him. And the first scripture comes from Jesus’ opening parry with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. She obviously was most surprised when Jesus, a Jew, asked her, a Samaritan for a drink, since Jews despised Samaritans and had nothing to do with them.
‘Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.’ (John 4:10) And we already know how that story eventually panned out.
The next scripture comes from Isaiah, some chapters before our Bit, where he is also promising that the Spirit of God would be upon Israel. ”Thus saith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground:
I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring; and they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses. One shall say, I am the Lord’s; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord (write with his hand, the Lord’s), and surname himself by the name of Israel.’ (Is.44:2-5)
Then in Revelation, where the numberless multitude stand before the throne of God and the Lamb, clothed in white robes, holding palm branches, serving the Lord day and night, having borne great tribulations, (Rev. 7:9-14) John reveals: ‘They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on (strike) them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed (shepherd) them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears (every tear) from their eyes.’ (Rev.7:16-17)
And finally, from Revelation again, John concludes: ‘And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst (thirst) come. And whosoever will (desires), let him take the water of life freely. for I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. He which testifieth these things (Jesus) saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.’ (Rev.22:17-21)
Oh Friends, that says it all! It’s a serious warning against distortion and subtraction of God’s Word!
And per the scholars: ‘Anyone who wilfully distorts the message of the Book of Revelation shows himself not to be a genuine believer and will not participate in eternal life or the blessings of the New Jerusalem.’
So please my brethren, consider ourselves warned. Much LOVE!
…to believe or not to believe…that is the question…and the choice must be made NOW…for when Jesus comes again, it will be too late…
19 Mar 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a man after God's heart, alive and kicking, atonement for sins, believe, believers in Jesus Christ, blessed the Lord, brimming with energy, Bruh David, Bruh Paul, disbelief, enthusiasm, eternal life, everything belongs to God, evil world, exalted, excited, exhortation, faithfulness, for ever and ever, fragance of God's knowledge, genuine faith, God will always make a way for us, God will never give us more than we can handle, God's power, God's wisdom, good news, greatest blessings, greatness, grumpy, head above all, heavenly Father, honour and glory, immeasurable, in god's hand is power and might, in the blink of an eye, Jesus, Jesus' gospel, joy, kingdom of god, leap of faith, Lord and Saviour, Lord god of Israel, LOVE, loving kindness, majesty, marvels and miracles, modern technology, my spirit came alive, noised abroad, not ready to face the day, only wise God, praise God's glorious name, Praise the Lord, prayer, reconciliation, rejuvenation, riches and honour come from God, salvation, see god work wonders, selfless sacrifice, Spread God's Word, tests, Thanks be to God, thanksgiving, the glory, the Great Commission, the kingdom, the Lord's faithfulness, the power, the Son of God, the work of the Holy Spirit, thine is the kingdom, time in prayer, tired, to all and sundry, triumph in Christ, victory, willing to do God's bidding, wine and roses, wisdom, wonder of wonders, word of caution
Matthew 6:13. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (the evil one): For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, the ole fella’s excited this morning! Why? I really don’t know, because there’s nothing to be really excited about except being alive and kicking!
The story though, is that I woke up sort of early this morning, feeling tired and not ready to face the day, so I went back to bed. I got up an hour or so later, still somewhat tired and grumpy – and don’t you dare say that’s normal (smile) – but I could not afford to give in to my tired feelings and go back to bed, for the Bit would be even later than it already was going to be.
But wonder of wonders, after spending some time in prayer with our heavenly Father, my spirit just came alive, and now I’m brimming with energy, enthusiasm, joy and LOVE, ready to face the evil world that we dwell in!
Now that rejuvenation could only have come through the work of the indwelling Holy Spirit. As I keep telling us, our God’s not foolish, His wisdom is immeasurable. He knew that I had to write the Bit, and couldn’t do a decent job if I was feeling low down and grumpy, so He rejuvenated my spirit!
And as Bruh Paul told the Corinthians: ‘Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to (leads us in) triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour (fragrance) of his knowledge by us in every place.’ (2 Cor.2:14)
Oh Friends, our God is such a wonderful Deity! Please don’t ever doubt it! He never leaves us in the lurch, especially when we cry out to Him in genuine faith. But the problem though my brethren is that we first have to BELIEVE; to BELIEVE that He is a helper of those who truly seek Him.
And that’s where a lot of us falter… we don’t truly BELIEVE.
Now do you think I could have been writing the Bit going on 8 years now on only my strength? No way Jose!
And you all know how I laughed in disbelief when the Lord first broached the idea, pleading my lack of knowledge etc. etc. But the Lord persisted, and I finally agreed to do His bidding.
And my people, over the years, as I have tried my best, I’ve seen the Lord’s faithfulness in helping me to do His bidding. And now, now I’ve reached a point where I have NO DOUBTS whatsoever as to the Lord’s faithfulness and LOVING-kindness to those who are willing to do His bidding!
But we first have to make that leap of faith. And I challenge us to wisely make that leap of faith today, RIGHT NOW, if you sincerely want to see God work wonders in your life!
Now one word of caution; don’t get the idea that it will be all wine and roses when the Lord begins to work in your life. Hn! On the contrary, it might get more difficult as He tests us to see if we truly want to be a part of His kingdom.
But please remember that He will NEVER give us more than we can bear, and WILL ALWAYS make a way for us to handle the situation, even when there seems to be no way. I can vouch for that.
And all this ties in quite nicely with our Bit, immortal words of Jesus on prayer: ‘And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (the evil one): For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.’
Yes Friends, only if the kingdom, the power and the glory are truly the Lord’s, can He work marvels and miracles in our lives! So to see and experience one side of the equation, you must sincerely believe the other!
And nobody’s said it better than Bruh David, when he exhorted his people in thanksgiving and prayer. ‘Wherefore David blessed the Lord before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, Lord God of Israel our father, for ever and ever.
Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all.
Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.’ (1 Chr.29:10-14)
Oh mih people, mih people, could Bruh David excite a body and spirit with prayer or what! I guess that’s why the Lord called him a man after his own heart.
So even before Jesus, the Son of God declared it, Bruh David recognized that the universe, the power and the glory were all God’s, and penitently noised it abroad. So too my fellow believers, ought we to noise the kingdom of God abroad to all and sundry.
And fortunately it’s never been easier to do than in these times of modern technology, where information can be transferred and transmitted to those in faraway places in the blink of an eye. Yes my brethren, we are the first generation that’s physically able to comply with Jesus’ Great Commission and spread the Word to ‘ALL NATIONS.’ (Matt.28:19-20)
So please, let’s get ourselves together and joyfully spread the good news of Jesus’ wonderful gospel nuh; of His selfless sacrifice, His atonement for our sins, His enabling of reconciliation with the Father, and the wonderful promises of salvation and eternal life! Wow! Those are indeed the GREATEST BLESSINGS that the world has ever known!
And we’ll close with some appropriate words from Bruh Paul to Timothy: ‘Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the ONLY WISE GOD, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.’ (1 Tim.1:17)
And all God’s people gave a mighty shout of joy, which resounded across both heaven and earth. ‘Praise the Lord God Almighty! For His is indeed the kingdom, the power and the glory!’
Much, much LOVE, my fellow believers in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
…unless you truly believe in God’s power…you won’t ever see it working in your life…
08 Mar 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: almighty god, ambiguity, Amen, assumptions, believing in God's promises, Blessed be God's name, Blessed be the name of God, communication, communication guidelines, communication skills, communication styles, confidentiality, counsel, Daniel 2:20. Daniel, deceived, deceiver, deliver us from evil, depth of riches, don't worry, el numero uno, empathetic, ever-Loving, extol the Lord, forgiving, fruit of his doings, glory, God's omnipotence, gospel truth, head honcho, infinite, inquity, Jesus, judgements, keep in close contact with God, lifts up the humble, look to Jesus, lord of hosts, loving kindness, magnificent God, merciful, might, never leave nor forsake us, perceptions, ponder, praise, Praise the Lord, Psalm 147, respect, respite from cold weather, responsibility, sensitive, sing unto the Lord, stand tall, strength, strong points of God, temptation, thanksgiving, the final word, the mind of the Lord, the power and the glory, thine is the kingdom, think before you talk, tolerate, true believers, trust God, understanding, wisdom, wise, work out all things for good
Daniel 2:20. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his.
Ah Friends, at last it seems like we’re going to have a brief respite from the exceedingly cold temps that’s been overwhelming us the past few weeks. This weekend promises to be above freezing – not all that much- but anything above freezing is surely welcome. (smile) Praise the Lord!
But who knows how long that will last eh? However, as true believers, we need to take whatever comes against us in our stride, faithfully believing in God’s promises that He will never leave nor forsake us (Heb.13:5), and to work out all things for our good when we walk in obedience to Him. (Rom. 8:28)
Therefore, let’s stand tall, and though the weather or other things might be getting to us, let’s just look to Jesus as He desires. It’s not always easy to do, but do it we must. And how did Jesus handle His earthly problems? Basically by not worrying, doing what He was supposed to do, keeping in close contact with the Father, and trusting Him to make things right. And so should we, my brethren.
Now hear are some respectful communication guidelines that we can all use. I got this from my pastor at a recent Advisory Board Meeting, and was guided to share it. Apparently it has been copyrighted by Eric H.F. Law in 1995. It’s laid out in acrostic form, and the letters spell RESPECT, but because of our format we have to do it otherwise.
And it says: ‘R = take RESPONSIBILITY for what you say and feel without blaming others. E = EMPATHETIC listening. S = be SENSITIVE to differences in communication styles. P = PONDER on what you hear and feel before you speak. E = EXAMINE your own assumptions and perceptions. C = keep CONFIDENTIALITY. T = TOLERATE ambiguity because we are not here to debate who is right or wrong.’
Now they all are useful parameters, though I have a slight problem with the last one, tolerating ambiguity, since sometimes you do need to make decisions and distinctions as to who or what is right and wrong. But I do believe that if we put those practices to work, our communication skills will improve a whole lot. Now that includes communication with Almighty God too. (smile)
But it’s time to turn to our Bit: ‘Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his.’ Yes Friends, wisdom and might are among the numerous strong points of our wonderful God!
And today we’ll continue looking at scriptures which uphold Daniel’s contentions. Let’s begin with Job, when he answers his supposed friends’ harsh accusations, acknowledging God’s omnipotence in the process.
‘With him (God) is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding. Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up (imprisons) a man, and there can be opening (no release). Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth. With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his.’ (Job 12:13-16)
And oh my fellow believers, there’s absolutely no doubt about the power and wisdom of our majestic and magnificent God to do all those things!
Now listen to the psalmist extol the Lord from Psalm 147: ‘Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite (Lit. innumerable). The Lord lifteth up the meek (humble): he casteth the wicked down to the ground. Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God.’ (Ps.147:5-7)
Now that’s exactly what we ought to be doing my brethren – giving much praise and thanks to our ever-LOVING, merciful, forgiving, wise and powerful God!
And Jeremiah proclaims in his prayer: ‘Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard (too difficult) for thee: Thou showest LOVING-kindness unto thousands, and recompensest (repay) the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them:
The Great, the Mighty God, the Lord of hosts, is his name, Great in counsel, and mighty in work (deed): for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.’ (Jer.32:17-19)
Jeremiah really poured it on quite thick there. (smile) But it’s all gospel truth, my people!
And this testimonial wouldn’t be complete without a word from Bruh Paul. To the Roman church, he declares: ‘O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgements, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been His counsellor? Or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.’ (Rom.11:33-36)
And as we LOVE to do whenever possible, we’ll give Jesus the final word on the topic. In His teaching us to pray, He concludes: ‘And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.’ (Matt.6:13)
Yes my brethren, our God is the great I AM, the Head Honcho, El Numero Uno, Number 1 in all the universe! Let’s NEVER, NEVER forget that! Much LOVE!
…if Jesus says that the Father is the GREATEST…then it must be so…since He cannot lie…
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