25 Feb 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: as I was with Moses, because thou hast seen me, behold my hands and feet, blessed are they that have not seen yet believed, do the best I can, doubt, faith, fellowship, hand clapping blues, holding to his nail scarred hand, holy spirit, hope, I will not believe, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John, leaving my troubles behind, LOVE, mercy, My Lord and my God, one more battle with the devil, One more river to cross, peace be unto you, put my finger into the print of the nails, seeing is believing, so will I be with thee, stand still in Jordan, standing alone, the ark of the covenant, the battle gets hard, the Israelites Exodus from slavery, the priests stood firm on dry ground, the print of the nails, the Promised Land, the tolling of bells, thrust my hand into his side, truth, wisdom
John 20:29b. blessed are they that have not seen, and yet believed.
It’s Sunday friends, can you hear the church bells ringing, inviting you to worship in the Lord’s sanctuary on His special day? It’s so sad that the young people don’t know about that tradition, but that was a time when church going was a normal part of your Sunday activities, and the bells would ring at certain times to tell you how much time was left to the start of church. But can you imagine churches ringing bells nowadays. It would cause such and uproar. The cops would soon be at the church door telling you to cease and desist. And back then I don’t believe people were so put off by the tolling of bells as they would be now, because that’s what they grew up with, and you just got accustomed to it.
Anyway, my brethren, tolling bells or not, it’s Sunday and time to gather in fellowship with other believers and spend time, praying, praising and giving thanks to our great God Jehovah. And as always, we’ll begin with a song of praise. This one’s simply titled ‘One More River to Cross,’ a Negro Spiritual that’s been very popular down through the years and recorded by numerous people. And today we’ll raise our sacrifices of praise in a soulful, down home Southern, hand clapping blues version, that ought to have heaven singing and clapping along with us. And we’ll open with an intro borrowed from the song ‘One More Mountain to climb,’ which sounds very appropriate for our song too. (smile)
So here goes: ‘(Hey Lord, my troubles never seem to end, Tell me, are you still my friend? I got such a heavy load. When will I reach that glory road?) (Chorus: One more river to cross, one more mountain to climb One more valley that I’ve gotta go thru then I’m leaving my troubles behind One more battle with the devil, then I know he’ll understand I’m going thru with Jesus, Hallelujah, Holding to His nail scarred hand, holding to His nail scarred hand.) I’ve had a lot of troubles and trials, in my little life span When I’m standing alone, and the battle gets hard, I always do the best I can I’ve crossed a million valleys, and shed a million tears, But when I come to the River of Jordan, Hallelujah, then I’ll have no fear (repeat)
(Chorus: One more river to cross…) Yes, There’s been a lot of people talking ‘bout me since I’ve walked this narrow way But that’s just another little valley, I came thru it when I prayed, I’ve climbed a lot of high mountains and crossed a lot of little streams But when I see ol’ Jordan cold and dark, that’ll be the last for me (repeat) (Chorus One more river to cross, one more mountain to climb One more valley that I’ve gotta go thru then I’m leaving my troubles behind One more battle with the devil, then I know he’ll understand I’m going thru with Jesus, Hallelujah, Holding to His nail scarred hand, holding to His nail scarred hand.) repeat.’
Oh my people, that was wonderful, and we had heaven clapping and jiving just like us, because they could feel the sincerity and strong faithful emotions in the music, as we all look heavenward to the glorious day we’ll show up at the pearly gates to meet St. Peter, then Jesus and the Father face to face! Wow! What a day that will be! There’ll be no greater day before or after that! But let’s look now and see what scriptural references we can find in the song. The first thing that comes to mind is the part of the chorus that talks about holding on to Jesus’ ‘nail scarred hand.’ The nail scars in Jesus’ hand were the main way he confirmed to His disciples that it was truly Him, in the same body, now risen and transformed.
The first time Jesus appeared to the disciples after His resurrection, was after He revealed Himself to the two followers He found walking along the road to Emmaus, who hustled back to Jerusalem to tell the eleven about their experience. (Luke 24:13-35) ‘And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted (frightened), and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? And why do thoughts (doubts) arise your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and feet.’ (Luke 24:26-40)
But that wasn’t the end of the story, because one of the disciples, Thomas was not there with them when Jesus first appeared, and when told about it, refused to believe, saying, ‘Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.’ (John 20: 25) And eight days later, Thomas got his wish, for Jesus appeared to them all, coming as before through the locked doors. And He again said unto them, ‘Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless (unbelieving), but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet believed.’ (John 20:26-29)
Those last words of Jesus were meant for us friends: those who haven’t seen Jesus in person; neither his nail scarred hands nor the other injuries on His body, but yet believe! And that’s the kind of person Jesus desires to be His disciple, one who can believe without seeing, for that’s what His kingdom is all about, believing through faith and not by sight. As Hebrews tells us: ‘Now faith is the substance (realization) of things hoped for, the evidence (conviction) of things not seen.’ (Heb. 11:1) We believe until we see! And we see that very clearly in the next scriptural references, that to ‘But when I come to the River of Jordan, Hallelujah, then I’ll have no fear… But when I see ol’ Jordan cold and dark, that’ll be the last for me.’
Those are references to the crossing of the river Jordan by the Jews, under the leadership of Joshua to enter the Promised Land. The slaves likened that crossing to their entering heaven. Once they got to the Jordan River, they’ll have no more fear, or nothing to fight about, no more troubles to face, mountains to climb or valleys to go through, because it will mean they are going home to heaven. That other famous parting of water is recalled in Joshua 3. ‘And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee (make you great) in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan….
And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest.) That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from (at) the city of Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until the people were passed clean (completely) over.’ (Josh, 3:7-8, 15-17)
Yes friends, that was another of God’s major miracles in the story of the Israelites Exodus from slavery in Egypt. But please note that the Jordan did not part until the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant were immersed in it. That just goes to show that if we don’t believe God’s instructions and adhere to His dictates, we will not see His awesome power of great mercy and grace in our lives. So please, let’s start raising our faith and trust level in Almighty God, so that we can enjoy all that He has planned for us. Much LOVE!
… in the world…seeing is believing…but in the kingdom…believing comes before seeing…
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05 Aug 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a quiet day, advice, afraid, antidote, ashamed, ask and you shall receive, aura of love, Caribana, doing the best we can for Jesus, forgiveness, further your glorious kingdom, get jealous, good motives, good work, hands on, his blood, humble servants, in strong voice, indwelling every believer, intimate, irritable, jobs, John, keeping lives and families together, kind of person, kindness, knocking on heaven's door, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, not many days hence, pay our sin debt, personal power of Jesus, playing fair, ponder our situation, receive power, relaxation, residual effects, rest, rewards, right with you, sacrificed His life, serve a useful purpose, short tempered, sincerely believing, spiritual armour, the Holy Spirit, the uttermost part of the earth, to share Christ's gospel, truly baptized, with the Holy ghost, with water, witnesses, ye shall be baptized
Acts 1:5. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
And the Caribana celebration is still going strong this Monday morning, though many have gone back home or are in the process of doing so. In fact, today’s the day when a lot of the big parties will be held, but unfortunately, or otherwise, (smile) the ole fella will not be a part of any of those celebrations. I’m just going to spend a quiet day of rest and relaxation at home with the duchess. Yes, we getting old, and we value our quiet time at home now, much more than we ever did. (smile)
However, some of us do have to go to work, and when we read about the partying and the rest and relaxation, only to realize that we’re not a part of either one of those preferable situations, understandably, we liable to get somewhat jealous and irritable. But fear not working friends, we have the antidote for whatever’s ailing you this Caribana Monday morning. It’s called our Monday Morning Battle Hymn; a mighty prayer of praise, of asking, of seeking and knocking on heaven’s door.
So as time is of the essence, let’s get right to it nuh. All together now, in strong voice, sincerely believing, for though Jesus said ask and you shall receive, (Matt.7:7) He also specified: ‘And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.’ (Matt.21:22) So yuh see friends, the asking part is important, but the believing part is even more so. Therefore, let’s ask and believe and receive nuh.
‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour.
We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
And as always, you can tell those who not going to work today, because their voices were the loudest and hoarsest; residual effects from a lot of partying. But I’m sure that for those of us who sincerely prayed and believed, our attitude and perspective has now changed. Our batteries are suddenly fully charged, and our energy level is much higher than before, and we just dying to get out into the evil world and give the enemy heck in Jesus’ name! (smile)
Oh my people, it’s so good when our spirits are raised and we are in full Jesus mode, because our lives run so much better and smoother. We’re not as short-tempered and irritable. Kindness and forgiveness come to us more readily and easily, and we’re not ashamed or afraid to share the gospel and LOVE of Jesus with others. And it all comes when we follow the leading and wise advice of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us for that very purpose.
Consequently, Jesus warned the disciples to remain in Jerusalem after His ascension: ‘For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.’ And when, in their impatience, they asked: ‘Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?’ He calmly replied: ‘It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power (authority). But ye shall receive power, after that (when) the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.’ (Acts 1:6-7)
Yeh friends, Jesus just reiterated what we know as the Great Commission. (Matt.28:19-20) Our raison d’etre is to spread Jesus gospel to all parts of the world and the Holy Ghost is our lead and guide for doing that. And we all know how Jesus’ words came to pass on Pentecost Sunday when the Holy Ghost invaded the souls of the believers in the upper room, appearing like cloven (divided) tongues of fire and sitting on each of them, giving them such supernatural power that they were able to speak in other languages of which they previously had no knowledge. (Acts.2:3-4)
And after that the Holy Spirit began indwelling EVERY believer, so that they could have the intimate and personal power of Jesus living with them. It couldn’t get any more personal or intimate than that my people! That’s the kind of hands on, always right there with you kind of person that our Jesus is! So how can we not do His bidding eh?
We not playing fair if we don’t put out our best on His behalf because He gave His ALL; His very life; sacrificed it for us, so His blood could pay our sin debt in full. And now, so many of us want what He offers, but refuse to do what He asks. That just doesn’t compute my people. So sometime today, let’s take a moment or two and ponder our situation nuh, our relationship to Christ and see whether we are doing the best we can for His kingdom. Remember, there will be rewards for good work with good motives! Much LOVE!
…after all Jesus has done for us…how can we not LOVE Him eh…and strive to do our best for Him…
25 Jun 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a joy to behold, alive and kicking, Alpha, bounden duty, Christians, Day of Pentecost, death is swallowed up in victory, dwell in you, ending, exaltation, fear not, First and Last, friend of Jesus, give life to, gives us the victory, Hallelujah, hath God raised up, hurry, in exile, in god's eyes, Jesus is alive, John, message of reassurance, no match for, Omega, paid for our sins, Patmos, praise, Praise the Lord, resurrection power, saints in Christ, selflessness of Christ, share His love, sin, substitutionary death, the Almighty, the beginning, the beloved of God, the cross of Calvary, the disciple Jesus loved, the grip of the grave, the most joyful people, the power of God, the Revelator, the Spirit of him, the sting of death, this Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, victory, was and is to come, we all are witnesses, white on rice, worry, worship, your mortal bodies
Acts 2:32. This Jesus hath God raised up, wherefore we are all witnesses.
Oh what a beautiful morning! Oh what a beautiful day! And it is indeed a beautiful day in my neighbourhood! But you wouldn’t believe that daunting shower of rain that fell around midnight last night! Thought for sure it was going to be a ‘riney’ day. But thanks be to God, when I awoke it was bright and sunshiny with everything washed clean by God’s showers of blessings. Isn’t He a most wonderful God? He most surely is!
And a note of info here: the ole fella is two thirds of the way through his radiation treatment, 20 down, 13 more to go! Wow! And so far, all thanks, as always, be to God, I haven’t experienced any serious side effects! But the best news of the day my faithful brethren is that Jesus is still alive! Alive and kicking! Kicking gloriously too! Like a powerful and artful kick-boxer, He’s just a joy to behold in His wonderful moves! He’s all over His opponents like white on rice! (smile)
And just to give you a glimpse of how majestic and beautiful our Lord and Saviour is, check out this quote from a Daily Bread Devotion. ‘The grip of the grave is no match for the power of God!’ And all God’s people declared a loud and proud: ‘Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! For He is indeed a mighty and powerful God, deserving of much praise, exaltation and worship!’
And is He ever my people! For who do you think had the resurrection power to raise Jesus from the dead eh? None other than Almighty God! As Peter declared (right ho!) to all of Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost: ‘This Jesus hath God raised up, wherefore we are all witnesses.’ Yes friends, the Father raised the Son from the dead after He had paid for our sins on the cross of Calvary.
Thus Bruh Paul could say with great assurance to all who believe in Jesus Christ: ‘But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken (give life to) your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.’ (Rom.8:11)
Glory Hallelujah my fellow saints in Christ! Just like the Father raised Christ from the dead He will also raise all those who sincerely believe and obediently follow in the footsteps of His wonderful Son! That means us! And since Christ has defeated hell, death and the grave through His substitutionary death and most awesome and amazing resurrection, the victory is already ours. Glory to God!
No wonder Bruh Paul could also quote from the Old Testament Scriptures: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave (Hades, hell), where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (1 Cor.15:54-57) How can we not then, as believers in Christ Jesus be thankful and joyful eh, since victory is already ours through the magnificent work and selflessness of Christ?
That’s why Christians ought to be the most joyful people on God’s great earth! But unfortunately too many of us supposed believers are so miserable, dragging around and unhappy that it’s not funny, which just makes a mockery of Jesus’ great sacrifice on our behalf. Oh, by the way, the Old Testament verses that Bruh Paul quoted above there came from Isaiah.25:8 and Hosea 13:14.
And Jesus Himself told His disciples, after Peter acknowledged that He was indeed ‘the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ (Mat.16:16): ‘And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter (a stone), and upon this rock (large stone) I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’ (Matt.16:18)
And please realize that Peter himself was not the rock that Jesus meant to build on, but the entire discipleship that He had put together. They would be responsible for building the church, for going to all nations and witnessing, teaching and baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.
And coming up, is what Jesus said to John, as He revealed awesome wonders to the disciple that He LOVED while on earth. Who knows whether John was being presumptuous or not when he wrote that in his gospel. (John 13:23) (smile) And it can be argued that he was right since Jesus chose him to be the Revelator of those things to come, while in exile on the island of Patmos for preaching Christ’s gospel.
And John says of his encounter with Jesus: ‘And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell (Hades) and of death. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.’ (Rev.1:17-19)
I have to chuckle here, because John’s initial reaction to encountering Jesus in all His glory in the vision was one of fear, and who would not be afraid under those circumstances eh? But as was so typical of Jesus while on earth, He used one of His favourite lines to His beloved disciple. ‘Fear not.’
And friends, today He is still giving us that same message of reassurance and conviction, that as true believers in His power and glory, we have nothing to fear. And we all said, a loud and confident: ‘AMEN!’ Now let’s go home displaying that confidence as we declare (yeh!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know who and whose we are.
In strong voice and sincere sense of purpose: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
And our bounden duty now is to go out and action those statements we just declared. Much LOVE!
…I am Alpha and Omega…the beginning and the ending…saith the Lord…which is…and which was…and which is to come…the ALMIGHTY… (Rev.1:8)
P.S. Not making any excuses for the Bit being somewhat late. I just got up late. (smile) Much LOVE!
03 Apr 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, Alpha, Christ's saints, dark evening hours, darkness, death, destruction, doubleminded, eternal party, everything in between, eyes fixed straight ahead, First, God's self-revelation, halfway home, hands on the plough, hell fire, hereafter, hitch your wagon, hope for the best, immortal truth, Jesus Christ, Jesus' horse, John, John Wesley, Last, not looking back, offer the best hope, Omega, rejoicing, saltwater, Scarborough, shower, sitting on the fence, the Almighty, the beginning, the Creator, the end of the ages, the ending, the Lord, the revelation, the vision, the world, therapeutic properties, Wednesday Wail, which is, which is to come, which was, windstorm, wishy-washy
Revelation 1:8. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
Greetings my faithful Scrip-Bit friends and family from this earthly Paradise so aptly named Tobago! (smile) I can’t believe that I’ve been here already for a week! And the strange thing is although I’ve been out the street every day, I haven’t journeyed to the capital, the big city of Scarborough as yet! But time will take care of that.
Sorry but I did not get back down to that gas station yesterday, went to another one close by, so I couldn’t get that quote for you. I did have a nice li’l swim in Grange Beach, in the early dark evening hours. Obviously I was the only one in the water, while the duchess and some of my Tobago family sat on the sea wall chatting and laughing.
They were dubious about me going for a swim at that time, but I was adamant that I wanted some salt water on my skin, I’d already missed one day, wanted to miss none really! Well why should I eh, when the salt water was one of my main reasons for coming to Paradise? I’ve been known to boast about its therapeutic properties, so I need to have some true testimony about it, otherwise I’m just talking from hearsay, which isn’t good! (smile)
And for your information, it’s been a cloudy and rainy kind of morning – the rain’s actually falling now, not the li’l 10 seconds thing it likes to do, but a good shower. Earlier on we had a small windstorm along with a shower. The dry earth desperately needs some heavenly blessing!
But yuh know what, to my left the skies look dark and somewhat foreboding, but to my right the sun seems to be coming out again. And that just struck me as an interesting contrast between darkness and light, between hope and hopelessness. That brings us to this quote attributed to the great English cleric John Wesley (1703-1791), one of the leaders of the early and formative Methodist Church. He reputedly said: ‘The world hopes for the best, but the Lord offers the best hope!’
Words of immortal truth my people! Where then should we place our hope eh? In the world, or in our Creator? In our Creator obviously, because it’s impossible for the world to make a better offer than it’s Creator! The created can never be better than the Creator! And that’s what this world refuses to believe and to accept in its mad journey into decline, decay, destruction and death!
There is some hope in the world and the things it offers, but they are all transitory and without real substance. The only hope that provides real substance and lifelong continuity is that which comes from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ – the First, the Last and Everything in between! He made that quite clear in His vision to John: ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.’
It couldn’t be any plainer that that my brethren! Jesus Christ is indeed the First and the Last of this universe! He was here before it was created, and He’ll be here long after it’s destroyed! The scholars offer this explanation: ‘1:8. Alpha and Omega, the first and last words of the Greek Alphabet, refer here to God’s eternality and sovereignty, and possibly to the fullness of God’s self-revelation.’
So in light of such convincing evidence, (smile) where then should we, as wise and true believers place our hope eh? Nowhere else but in the hands of the Living and Risen God! In His nail pierced hands lie the hope of this evil world! He bore the pain and paid the price for our sins, so who then should we look to but Him eh?
Hear how He said it to John later on in the vision, or the revelation. John says: ‘And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell (hades) and of death. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.’ (Rev.1:17-19)
What more can I say eh friends? Not a whole lot. When John saw the vision, he was initially fearful, but Jesus told Him, as He had said on earth so often, ‘fear not.’ Christ died and rose again, thus defeating hell, death and the grave, so He is in fact the mighty conqueror over the powers of darkness and evil! They cannot prevail against Him, because He was raised to the highest level by the Father for His selfless sacrifice on the cross; to be the name above ALL other names, and to whom ALL knees will eventually bow!
So who else are you going to look to eh? Who yuh going to call when things get rough and tough eh? Not Ghostbusters! (smile) But Jesus! That’s the only wise and sensible name to call out to for hope and help in this life my people. But you can’t be wishy-washy about it. You can’t be doubleminded and try to sit on the fence in the hope of getting the best both sides have to offer, because you’ll end up with nothing from either.
And remember too, that only Jesus has good things to offer after this earthly life is over. All the enemy has is darkness, death, destruction and the hellfire of hades! And you know who conquered all of that nuh? Jesus of course! So please be wise and hitch your wagon to His horse, and He’ll lead and guide you aright.
Now for those of us who have done so, let’s go home declaring (right ho!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the world know our true and sincere position in Christ! All together now: ‘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 I need to keep reminding us, that the future planned for Christ’s saints, will be even bigger and better than we can ever imagine! So please stand strong and run a good race, because you don’t want to miss that eternal party! Much LOVE!
…only those in Christ will be rejoicing…at the end of the ages…
25 Nov 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ask me twice, belief in Jesus, burden is light, calling, Christian experiences, come home, come unto me, commandments, damnable situation, deathbeds, doing as He asks, Dwight L Moody, earnestly, eternal life, find rest, flushed with excitement, forgiveness, gentle, get a word in edgewise, get soulfull, gospel truth, He's waiting, hearts a flutter, heavy laden, heed not his call, holy word, hugging, humble, I am meek, I will give you rest, Jesus is calling, John, kissing, labour, learn from me, linger, listening to Jesus, LOVE, lowly, material possessions, mercies, money in the bank, New Testament, o sinner, on the portals, pardon, pleading, rot, shadows, sincere hearts, sing praise, Softly and tenderly, Sunday morning, take my yoke, tears of joy, tenderly, the gift of fellowship, the great invitation, the house of God, the prodigal son, toil, totally exhousted, watching, Will Lamartine Thompson, wisdom, worshipping God, you who are weary
Matthew 11:28: Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Sunday morning coming down, heading for the house of God, with hearts a flutter, souls and bodies flushed with excitement to hear His holy word, sing praises unto Him, and thank Him for the gift of fellowship amongst believers. What can be better than that eh friends? Nothing really! For sincerely worshipping God in company with other believers is one of the greatest experiences a Christian can attain on this earth!
You really can’t put it into words, you have to be there to see and experience it for yourself. So let’s have joyous fellowship this morning nuh, beginning with some praise and worship, through a hymn written in 1880 by Will Lamartine Thompson (1847-1909). And it’s one we all know and LOVE!
And according to Wikipedia, Evangelist Dwight L Moody liked it so much, that once when he was in the hospital and Thompson came to visit him, he declared: ‘Will, I would rather have written “Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling” than anything I have been able to do in my whole life.” Now that was truly praise for the song, because Moody did do a lot of good and godly things in his life.
But nuff talk now, the Father and the whole host of heaven are waiting to hear our song of praise and thanksgiving. So let’s get soulful and trill it up in rich, harmonious voice and sincere hearts, causing tears of joy to flow down the cheeks of those up there. ‘Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, calling for you and for me; see, on the portals He’s waiting and watching, watching for you and for me.
(Refrain: Come home, come home; you who are weary come home; earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling, O sinner, come home!) Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading, pleading for you and for me? Why should we linger and heed not His mercies, mercies for you and for me? (Refrain: Come home, come home…O sinner, come home!)
Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing, passing from you and from me; shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming, coming for you and for me. (Refrain: Come home, come home…O sinner, come home!) O for the wonderful LOVE He has promised, promised for you and for me! Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon, pardon for you and for me. (Refrain: Come home, come home; you who are weary come home; earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling, O sinner, come home…come on home!)’
Yes friends, we certainly stirred up the emotions this morning with a wonderful, soulful rendition of that marvellous hymn! Brother, the words are so realistic – I never really paid them that much attention before, but they do tell the story of Jesus and our sinful souls in living colour!
And He’s just standing at the door waiting for us to come home to Him, like how the Father had an eye out for the Prodigal Son and ran and met him as soon as he came into sight. Hugging and kissing him, and not letting him get a word in edgewise. Yes mih breddren, that’s how Jesus is anxiously waiting to greet us!
And yuh know most of us are weary and tired with this evil old world, so why are we tarrying and lingering when Jesus is calling us to come home eh? Let’s wisely heed His mercies, His promises, His pardon nuh for all the sins we’ve committed. There’s no better solution to our dark and damnable situation than that! And time’s flying by, not waiting on us, shadows are gathering and deathbeds are in the offing, so why not accept Jesus’ wonderful offer to come home to Him eh? No good reason whatsoever!
And friends, I don’t know what scripture Johnson used to write that hymn, but believe me, I don’t think there’s a better and more appropriate passage in the Good Book than 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.11:28-30)
Yeh friends, if you don’t know anything else about Jesus, that passage of scripture ought to have you looking towards Him for some answers to your sorrowful situation. How can you not consider it eh? No other supposed deity is so earnestly and tenderly calling you to come into their fold like Jesus is doing. All the other supposed deities want a whole lot of stuff from you, but all Jesus wants is your LOVE and your belief in Him. Yuh better believe He won’t have to ask me twice! (smile)
So friends, what’s stopping you from coming to Jesus eh? Whatever it is, please don’t let it, because it’s not worth passing up Jesus’ invitation! Nothing on the face of this earth is worth that! Remember, the earth and all therein will pass away at some time or the other, in the Father’s time, but the LOVE and mercy and pardon and forgiveness enshrined in Jesus, which leads to eternal life will NEVER pass away!
That’s gospel, gospel truth! It’s better than having plenty money in the bank or plenty material possessions, because those will rot and be destroyed over time, but faith and trust and belief in Jesus will last for eternity. So please, please, I implore you, come to Him today nuh; relieve yourself of your heavy burden and get some fruitful rest.
Jesus is simple, but powerful, and also kind, LOVING and gentle! There’s so much you can learn from Him. And as He says, His yoke is easy, and His burden is light. That means you will not be asked to bare any heavy loads or toil till you’re totally exhausted.
And John says it thus in his first epistle: ‘For this is the LOVE of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous (burdensome).’ (1 John 5:3) And if anybody should know about Jesus’ commandments, it would be John, who spent so much time with Him and wrote so much of the New Testament. So don’t take my word for it, take John’s! Much LOVE!
…true wisdom is listening to Jesus…and doing as He asks…
21 Jul 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a burden, a huge sigh of relief, Andrew, Anselm, aspires, backbones, baggage, crowded sidewalks, current situations, dearly bought experiences, derive useful lessons, don't look back, dwellers in the past, energy, fatigue, fit for the kingdom of heaven, font of wisdom, forward looking, forward thinking, friend, God's work, Gomorrah, great thinking machine, greater priority, he who has ears to hear, History, inspire, James, Jesus recuited, Jesus said to him, John, lack of incentive, learn from our mistakes, like beached whales, live in the past, looking back, lordship of Christ, Lot, mankind, moving forward, negative stuff, no man, obedience, past errors, Peter, pillar of salt, productive system, profiting, Public transportation, pushing, put His hand to the plough, rehashing, romanticize, rushing, Saturday, Sodom, solution to the problem, sons of Zebedee, surely feel, tests of discipleship, the good old days, the past is dead and gone, time, tiredness, to and from work, traffic jams, waste, wisdom, workers for Jesus
Luke 9:62. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
And so we come to Saturday; a day when so many of us breathe a huge sigh of relief, like a great burden has been lifted off our shoulders. And a great burden has indeed been lifted off of many shoulders, and I’m not simply talking about having to go to work, but the effort it takes to get to and from work.
We’re talking about the endless traffic jams, morning and evening, the hustling along the crowded sidewalks, the rushing and pushing to catch Public Transportation, and then being packed like sardines in the subways and buses. Hn! No wonder so much fatigue, tiredness and lack of incentive exists in our society, and people are prone to do just as much as they can get by with.
And then, come Saturday, they just lie around like beached whales, too tired to do much of anything but eat and sleep. I don’t know the solution to the problem nuh, but I do know that we waste a lot, too much time and energy just getting to and from work.
One would think that mankind, as this great thinking machine, as this great font of wisdom, would be able to devise a better, more productive system. Unfortunately though, I don’t see it happening any time soon, so we’d better look about strengthening our backbones and our minds so that we can bear it. Sermon done! (smile)
And since it’s Saturday, let’s turn to the quotes of our friend Anselm, who sincerely aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. I don’t know what happened, but I only got one quote from him this week, but it’s a good one. ‘We should not look back unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dearly bought experience.’
What words of absolute wisdom my brethren! Looking back is not something we ought to do too often because it keeps us from moving forward. As Anselm says, we should only look back to learn from our mistakes and use them to make our future more productive.
Unfortunately though, many of us live in the past. We keep rehashing the things that have happened and keep bringing all that baggage to our current situations. Therefore we can never get ahead with all that negative stuff weighing us down. Please remember my brethren that the past is dead and gone, it’s history, and we can never get it back no matter how we romanticize it, talking about the good old days.
Now here is the definitive word on the subject, from none other than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. ‘And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.’
That’s one of the tests of discipleship, and what Jesus told the man who wanted to follow Him, but first desired to go and tell his family farewell. Ah mih people, it sounds like a rough, unfeeling statement, but workers for Jesus must be forward looking, forward thinking people, not dwellers in the past.
Hear the scholars’ explanation. ‘9:62. Fit, occurring elsewhere only in 14:35 and Hebrews 6:7, means “suitable” or “usable.” One who makes life’s lesser matters of greater priority than God’s work is of little use to Him.’
Remember how Jesus recruited Peter and Andrew and James and John, the sons of Zebedee? He just passed by the seashore and saw Peter and Andrew casting their nets: ‘And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets and followed him.
And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.’ (Matt.4:19-22) What obedience my people! Can you imagine Zebedee’s consternation; his sons’ just walking away with a total stranger?
And the scholars tell us: ‘The statement in verse 22 that they immediately responded to His call gives us a perfect picture of true obedience to the lordship of Christ.’
And we also have the perfect example of how looking back can affect us negatively in the story of Lot when the Lord warned him to flee from the area of Sodom and Gomorrah where he lived. The angels took him and his family out to the city limits. ‘And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad (outside), that he (they) said, Escape for thy life, look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain, escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.’ (Gen.19:17)
But Lot begged them to let him escape to a small city nearby, called Zoar, and they agreed. (Gen.19:18-23) Then the Lord rained down fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah. ’But his (Lot’s) wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.’(Gen.19:26)
And the scholars explain: ‘She became a pillar of salt: Jesus used this incident as a warning to others not to look back (Luke 17:21-33). Lot’s wife apparently lingered behind, continually and longingly looking back on her beloved possessions, and was buried by the explosion that resulted from the destruction of the city. Brimstone and fire may refer to a meteorite shower that literally burned up the whole area.’
Nuff said my people. Much LOVE!
…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…else he will surely feel…
09 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a comapssionate heart, a pillar of fire, a sun, abundance, bad, courage, creativity, curse, divine protection, everlasting light, foolish drivers, give grace, give light, glory, glory of Zion, glory to God, glows in the darkness, godly light, good, goodwill to men, halls of heaven, heavenly Father, holy presence, ice, indisputable words, Isaiah, Job, John, led by your dreams, light by day, LOVE, magnanimous god, manifestations, monologue, Moses, negative word, no good thing will he withhold, no temple, no way Jose, out of the mouth of babes, peace on earth, perfected praise, prosper, pushed by your problems, reassurance, revelations, rush hour, saints in Christ, self-control, self-discipline, shekinah glory, shield, sleet, slush, snow, Spirit of the Lord, spiritual sun, spoken word, succeed, supernatural wisdom, talent, Ten Commandments, the Lamb, the light thereof, the Lord God, the moon, the Sun, thy god thy glory, troubled souls, unscathed, veil his face, walk uprightly, weather forecasters
Psalm 84:11. For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
Ah friends, can you believe that this early in the game, the weather forecasters are calling for that beautiful, innocent-looking but oh so dangerous thing called snow? Steups!
Ah Lord eh! But that’s what you get for all the good weather we’ve enjoyed so far this late in the year. As Job, says, you can’t expect to always receive good and no bad.
Can you imagine the mess the place will be in this evening, especially if it begins during the rush hour? And the sad part is that you not only have to look out for yourself, but even more for the many foolish drivers on the road!
But yuh know what, I’ve promised myself that from hereon in, I’m not going out in no setta snow to go anywhere. If somebody wants to drive me, then I’ll consider it. But once I’ve got to drive myself, ‘NO WAY JOSE!’
I can handle the cold, but driving through the slush and sleet and snow and ice and otherwise… too much unnecessary pressure. I think I’ve had enough of that. I’ve come through the last forty something years of it fairly unscathed, no need to go and get my ole bod damaged at this stage of life. End of monologue! (smile)
That’s why I’m going to do as Pastor Bobby (Bobby Schuller – Hour of Power) says: ‘Do not be pushed by your problems, but be led by your dreams.’ Words of wisdom, even from one so young.
For as Jesus rebuked the Israelite leaders when the children praised Him in the temple, using some of Bruh David’s words from Ps.8:2. ‘Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings (nursing infants) thou hast perfected praise?’ (Matt.21:16) Yeh friends, age doesn’t matter all that much if the Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
And our Bit explains why: ‘For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.’
Ah precious people of God, what indisputable words of reassurance from our great God! He has not only set the sun in its physical place, but He also wants to be our spiritual SUN; the bright light that glows in the darkness of our troubled souls.
Hear how Isaiah puts it when he talks about the future glory of Zion. ‘The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.’ (Is.60:9)
Just imagine it nuh friends, at some stage of life, we won’t need the sun nor that moon to provide light for us, because we’ll be dwelling in the holy presence of our awesome God, who Himself will be our light, provide all the light we need.
‘And all God’s people declared a mighty shout: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace and goodwill to men!’ Oh my fellow saints in Christ, what a glorious day that will be, when we reside in the halls of heaven in the presence of our heavenly Father, who will be just exuding godly light!
Listen to how John describes it in his Revelations. ‘And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten (illuminate) it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.’ (Rev. 21:22-23)
Wow! I can’t get my head around not needing a sun or moon to see around me. But the Lord has promised it, therefore it will be so.
And the scholars offer these explanations on those verses. ’21:22-23. There is no temple in the city, since both the Father and the Son will be present in their fullest manifestations. Its light will be provided by the Shekinah glory of God and of Christ (cf. Ex.3:3-4; 24:15-17; 33:14-16; Luke 2:9; 9:29; Heb.1:3).’
The Shekinah glory of God is basically where He reveals the full majesty of His light and power. Like when He went before the Israelites in the wilderness in a cloud and a pillar of fire, when He passed before Moses, but only allowed him to see His backside, otherwise Moses would have been annihilated, even the radiant look on Moses face when He came down from the Mount after receiving the Ten Commandments and had to veil his face.
So just imagine the treat we’re in for my fellow believers, when we see God face to face, shining in all His might and glory! Now we haven’t come to that point as yet, but in the meanwhile our most magnanimous God has given us enough blessings here on earth to make our mark in His name. So let’s declare them nuh, since the power of our God lies in His spoken word.
Altogether 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 everyday! Amen!’
And having declared that with sincerity of heart and strength of purpose, let’s now go out and share those blessings with others, as Jesus requires of us. Much LOVE!
…a blessing isn’t really a true blessing…until it’s been shared…
22 May 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: A journey of love, Andrew, care, character, Christian fellowship, compassion, confusion, consternation, darkness witness, disobedient, egocentric world, faith cometh by hearing, follow me, glorify, God's absence, gospel truth, hearing by the word of God, help, I will make you fishers of men, James, John, leadership, like pulling teeth, live in god's light, LOVE, merciful and gracious love, message, mind your business, ministry, obedience, oral communication, praise, prayer, relationship with Christ, rules, secular, Simon, St. Therese, struggle, Sunday, the body of Christ, the church, the Good Book, the Holy Spirit, the Lord's Day, the Lordship of christ, the sea of Galilee, there's strength in numbers, trying times, watch your actions, watch your habits, watch your thoughts, watch your words, where two or three are gathered, wisdom, worship, yuh dog not in this fight, Zebedee
Matthew 4:19. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
At last it’s Sunday my brethren; the day of the Lord, where we get to go to His sanctuary and praise and worship and glorify Him with other believers! Glory to God!
Now some of us might consider that to be no big thing, but believe me friends it is a huge doing in our Christian fellowship, for we were advised by Christ to gather together as His body, His church, so that we can keep our relationship with Him fresh and renewed through prayer and praise and all the other wonderful things we do in church.
What did Jesus say? ‘For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.’ (Matt.18:20) And that’s no lie, for wherever and whenever we get together our Lord and Saviour is right in the midst of us through His Holy Spirit.
So please don’t think that it’s not necessary to go to church, because it is. As a cohesive group we can get so much more done, and also as the old saying goes, there’s strength in numbers, and the body of Christ badly needs sincere and faithful numbers in these tumultuous and very trying times.
Anyway, suffice it to say that it’s Sunday and all believers ought to make an effort to go to church, or at least listen to the Word by radio or television. For remember Bruh Paul’s words to the church at Rome. ‘So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.’ (Rom.10:17)
As the scholars explain, He’s talking there about the oral communication of the gospel, and that ‘faith is not in what is heard, but faith that comes about by what is heard.’
Now let’s lighten up some and check out this Trini quote of the day, sent to me by a Trini friend. ‘Yuh dog not in dis fight.’ Generally said as a scolding to someone for attempting or getting involved in something in which they do not belong; such as an argument, fight etc. The same as saying – mind your own business, this does not concern you, so keep out. Have a great day.’
Only in T&T you say! And He adds as a useful corollary: ‘Watch your thoughts: They become words. Watch your words: They become actions. Watch your actions: They become habits. Watch your habits: They become your character.’ And it’s all gospel truth my people.
And now it’s time to get serious with this prayer from a little devotional booklet titled ‘A Journey of LOVE: Walking with St. Therese of Lisieux.’ I believe I’ve shared it before, way back when, but as we all know, prayer never gets old or goes out of style (smile). This deals with the struggle with God’s absence, something that quite a few believers have problems with.
Please pray with me. ‘Lord, help me to live always in the light of your presence. Should any darkness challenge my belief and LOVE for you, dispel that darkness so that I might witness to your merciful and gracious LOVE. Grant me the wisdom to confront a secular and egocentric world with your message of care and compassion for all people. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.’
Yes my people, in these dark and troublesome times, that kind of prayer is absolutely essential! We need to be assured of Jesus’ light so that we can witness on His behalf. And that allows us to segue nicely into our Bit.
But first let’s set the scene. Jesus is about to begin gathering His posse of disciples. ‘And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers (fishermen). And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.’ (Matt.4:18-20)
Just imagine that nuh friends; Jesus simply told them to follow Him and without any hesitation they just upped and did it right away. Hn! Can you imagine that happening today? I very much doubt it. Chuh! Getting people to follow Jesus nowadays is like pulling teeth.
And the scholars offer these explanations on those verses. ‘4:18-20. Simon called Peter, and Andrew became the first two disciples called publicly by Jesus. Andrew had introduced his brother to Jesus on an earlier occasion (cf. John 1:40). The invitation, Follow me, called these earlier believers into a permanent ministry to be shared with Christ.
I will make you fishers of men clearly indicates the nature of this ministry. They would receive special training in bringing men into the kingdom. Having left their nets, these disciples entered into a new relationship and would never again be able to fully return to the occupation they once held so dear.’
But Jesus wasn’t done fishing yet. The Good Book declares: ‘And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.’ (Matt.4:21-22)
Wow! Can you imagine poor Zebedee’s confusion and consternation! Some man he doesn’t even know, passes by and calls his sons and they just up and leave him and their fishermen business behind! Steups!
And the scholars have a wonderful line on that. ‘The statement in verse 22 that they immediately responded to His call gives us a perfect picture of true obedience to the Lordship of Christ.’
And does it ever my fellow believers! Unfortunately though, not too many of us nowadays can lay claim to such obedience. And that’s certainly a pity, because both our individual lives and the world around us would be a much better place if our obedience was even a little higher than it currently is.
So friends, in light of what we’ve studied today, let’s spend some time pondering our own level of obedience nuh. It can’t hurt, even if we’re terribly disobedient. And then, in wisdom, let’s sincerely turn to the Lord and ask for His ever-present and ever-faithful help. He’ll never refuse us! Much LOVE!
…for any group to be successful…obedience to the leadership and the rules of the organization is absolutely necessary…
26 Mar 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a brighter day, arrest, betrayal, by His precious blood we are saved, by His stripes we are healed, Calvary, circumstantial evidence, condemn him to death, cross, denied Jesus, desire, disappointment, dreams, Easter Sunday, fearful sheep, for unto you it is given, fuelled their hearts, Gentiles, get down and dirty, glorifying, Good Friday, guidance, guilt, in behalf of Christ, interloper, Jerusalem, Jesus, Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, John, Joseph of Arimathea, Judas, lies, LOVE, magnifying, meaning, miracles, mock, mock trial, Nicodemus, objective, Palm Sunday, Passover, persecution, Peter, philosophy, purpose, remorse, salvation, scattered to the four winds, scourge, sermons, serving, shepherd, suffering, the disciple Jesus loved, the Son of man, threat, to believe on him, to die is gain, to live is Christ, to suffer for his sake, total disaaray, trials, tribulations, troublemaker, wine and rose
Philippians 1:29. For unto you it is given in behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.
Well friends, all the Good Friday hoopla is finally over. The feast of the Passover is in progress. The Romans and the ruling Jewish class are happy that Jesus the interloper, troublemaker and very possible threat to their power and political status is dead. They are exhaling a big sigh of relief and resting satisfied in the culmination of their most heinous and criminal act; causing Jesus to be crucified on lies and circumstantial evidence.
Thanks to Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, His lifeless body is now lying in a new tomb sealed by a big rock, with soldiers guarding it, so that there is no chance of any mischief from His rag tag band of followers.
Meanwhile, in reality, that group of followers have fled hither, thither and yon, fearful for their own lives, because of their association with Jesus. Sincere disappointment also clouds their spirits, because they had had such high hopes for and in their leader. All His great sermons and miracles and wonderful philosophy had fuelled their hearts and minds with dreams of a much better and brighter day.
But now, in the blink of an eye, after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem some six days earlier, (Palm Sunday) everything had suddenly been turned topsy-turvy by His sudden betrayal, arrest, mock trial and death on that wooden cross at Calvary. I guess, like any of us mired in a similarly difficult situation, they were wondering what would become of their lives, since they had given up everything to follow Jesus.
Judas, His betrayer, has gone and hung himself, remorse and guilt having gotten the better of him. Then Peter, who had denied knowing Jesus three times, was tearing out his hair, wondering how he could have done something that stupid and cowardly. Mary, Jesus’ mother, per His dying directive, had gone to live with John, the disciple whom He LOVED. And the once solid band of believers was now in total disarray.
It had all happened so suddenly that they had all been taken by surprise, although Jesus had tried to warn them of His impending troubles. As they were going up to Jerusalem, to celebrate the Feast of the Passover, Jesus had tried to tell them what was about to happen.
‘Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles (Roman rulers): and they shall mock him, and shall scourge (flog) him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.’ (Mark 10:33-34)
But obviously none of them were paying serious attention to His words. Even the night of the Last Supper, when He informed them that one of the group would betray Him, they still didn’t take it seriously, although they all wondered and asked if it was them. But now things had come to up bump; the Master was dead, and they were like lost, fearful sheep scattered to the four winds, without the LOVE and guidance of their shepherd.
Yes friends, that was the general state of affairs in Jerusalem, come Saturday morning. I guess it taught that first band of believers a serious lesson; namely that being associated with Jesus could be a dangerous endeavour, entailing suffering and persecution.
I sincerely hope it has also taught us that too, some two thousand years later, as our Bit details. ‘For unto you it is given in behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.’
It’s not all wine and roses my people, we ofttimes have to get down and dirty and also suffer some on Jesus behalf. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great life, and I wouldn’t trade it for any other, but like life itself, there are problems and difficulties to encounter, bear and overcome, obviously with Jesus’ help.
As Bruh Paul declares earlier in the chapter: ‘For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.’ (Phil.1:21)
And the scholars tell us: ‘1:21. For explains why Paul is just as happy to magnify the Lord by death as by life (v.20). It is because to him, to live is Christ. He means that living consists of serving and glorifying the Son of God; apart from this, his life has neither meaning nor purpose.
But why is Paul just as content to magnify Christ by death? Because to him to die is gain; that is even though living and serving God are good, death is a graduation to something better: it is a promotion to the heavenly presence of Christ and perfect fellowship with Him.’
Now friends, all of that is perfectly true, but like most of you, I don’t think I’m ready for that heavenly promotion just yet. I still have a lot of serving and magnifying and glorifying to do down here on earth. (smile)
But seriously though my people, like Bruh Paul, our main objective, whether down here on earth, or in heaven on high should be to seriously magnify Christ. That ought to be our basic desire; whatever we do or say should have God’s glorification as its number ONE objective.
Yuh see all the really rough times Bruh Paul went through fearlessly for Christ’s sake! And Christ brought him safely through them all! Now most of us won’t have to go through anything like that, but we will meet opposition and even persecution, if we become and behave like serious followers of Christ.
Now that is the number ONE question: how many of us are willing to go through trials and tribulation in Christ’s service?
And what better day to ponder and consider that question my people, than on the Saturday between Good Friday, when Christ sacrificed His life on the cross, and Easter Sunday, when He rose triumphantly from the grave?
Please, let’s all do that today nuh. And hopefully we’ll all come up with the same resounding answer: ‘Yes! We will go to the grave magnifying our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! After what He’s done for us, we can do nothing less!’
Now let’s go out and put that promise into action this Easter Saturday nuh, before we have time to think about it and change our minds. (smile) Much LOVE!
…by His stripes we are healed…by His precious blood shed on the cross we are saved…thank You Jesus for salvation…
01 Dec 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a talkative society, a waste of time, adult food, apocalypse, be wise, bequeath to our children, blessed is he that readeth, Christians, communication of new truth, communication technology, compassion, conveyance of truth, divine revelation, end of the age, exposure, food for thought, God's perspective on time, God's program, godly roots, Hades, have good success, he that hath ears to hear, honour, I am the beloved of god, I can trust my Friends Jesus, I don't have to hurry, I don't have to worry, I'm not what I do, I'm not what I have, I'm not what people say about me, Jesus Love Revolution, John, keep those things which are written therein, legacy, LOVE, make God the focus of our lives, make thy way prosperous, mature in Christ, meditate, mercy, messenger, our first priority, our ungodly society, privilege, prophecies, put it into action, Revelation, share His love with the world, social media, talk, testimony of Jesus Christ, the book of Colossians, the book of the law, the day of the Lord, the Rapture, the revelation of Jesus Christ, the sorry state of our world, the things of heaven, the things of the world, the time is at hand, the Tribulation, the Word of god, they that hear the words of this prophecy, truth, Tuesday Mantra, unveiling, visions
Revelation 1:3. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Oh Friends, what’s there to say on this wet and somewhat chilly December 1st morning eh? Not a lot… and plenty. And what do I mean by that?
Well we’ve become such a talkative society with the flourishing of communication technology and the social media, but a lot of that talk is inane and foolish, a waste of our very valuable time, while there is a lot of meaningful and important stuff that we should be talking about which we’re not doing.
Like for instance about the sorry state of our world and how to fix it, and of God and the ungodly society in which we’re currently living.
Most of us will say that God is the most important element or person in our lives, but when we check out our lives in action, that statement doesn’t hold true, otherwise our world would not be in such a sad state of deterioration. Unfortunately, the things of the world are still our first priority.
Remember yesterday we spoke about Christians concentrating on the things of heaven, rather than those of earth? And I sure hope we did our homework, reading the Book of Colossians, so that now we know what’s really expected of us, and we can go on and put it into action in our lives.
Oh my people, unless and until we truly make God and His Word the focus of our lives, our world will never get better but continue to slide into the murky depths of Hades. And I’m sure that’s not the kind of legacy we want to bequeath to our children and our children’s children.
So it’s completely up to us believers to keep on fomenting Jesus’ LOVE Revolution, so that the world can return to its godly roots. Nuff said! He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
And since it’s Tuesday, let’s confess our Tuesday Mantra like we really believe and mean it. All together now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen.’
Oh my people that’s so refreshing and revitalizing! Just imagine nuh, that we are the BELOVED of God, and the FRIEND of Jesus!
Wow! What an honour and a privilege to be so highly considered! Now let’s make the most of it by going out and sharing the LOVE that they have so graciously and mercifully shown us nuh. A LOVE that our fallen world so desperately needs.
Now let’s turn to our Bit, but we also need to hear what comes before it, so that we can understand its proper context. ‘The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly (quickly, swiftly) come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
Who bare record (bore witness) of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.’ (Rev.1:1-3)
Oh Friends, what powerful and meaningful scripture! And I know that many of us don’t understand what the Book of Revelation is all about, so here is some info from the scholars that will help us to better understand.
‘1.1. The Revelation of Jesus Christ is the title of the book. The revelation is both from Christ and about Christ. Since Christ is the revelation of God Himself (John 1:18), God gave the revelation to Christ to be shown to John by means of an angel (messenger).
The word “revelation” (Gr. apokalypsis) refers to an unveiling or exposure of God’s program for the world through Christ. The prophecies of the book will occur shortly in the sense that the day of the Lord (the end of the age) may begin at any time (following the Rapture). The statement must be understood in accordance with God’s perspective on time (cf. 2 Pet.3:4, 8)
The word signified (Gr. esemanen) refers to the conveyance of truth by means of signs and symbols, and refers to the visions described throughout the book. Symbols must be interpreted either from something in the context or from other scriptures.’
Now let’s rest for a moment after taking in all that heavy stuff. (smile)
Yes friends, it’s time we start eating some adult food, some meat and potatoes, rather than just drinking baby milk all the time. If we want to mature in Christ, then we need to take our understanding of His Word to a higher and deeper level.
And before we go any further, allow me to point out something. Please note that the word ‘apocalypse’, as we see from above, means the unveiling or revelation of what’s going to happen, not the eventual fiery and tumultuous destruction of the world as many of us consider it, although that might be involved in the revelation.
Now let’s continue getting deeper in God’s Word with some more explanations from the scholars. ‘1:2-3. Bare record: John was a witness of what he wrote. He saw the revelation and wrote what he saw. The blessing of verse 3 has a threefold condition: (1) read the book, (2) hear (understand) it, and (3) keep (obey) it.
The essential nature of prophecy was the communication of new truth (divine revelation). God has given it to be obeyed, not simply to be discussed and debated. The time is at hand in the sense that nothing else now has to occur before the Rapture and the beginning of the Tribulation Period.’
Awright mih breddren, that’s enough food for thought for today. But let’s be wise and ponder all the things we’ve read and heard, so that our hearts and minds can be truly filled with the Word of God and the things of heaven.
More on this tomorrow, the Lord willing. Till then though, let’s all try to walk in sincere peace and LOVE, showing mercy and compassion to others, as our wonderful Lord God has shown, and is still showing to us. Much LOVE!
…this book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth…but thou shalt meditate therein…day and night…that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein…for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous…and then thou shalt have good success… (Josh. 1:8)
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