23 May 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a lark, basic downfall, comfort and guide you, cried like babies, David encouraged himself, delight thyself also in the Lord, desires of our hearts, despair, discouragement, discouraging circumstances, dregs from our fountain of hope, ebb of our determination, every demonic whim and fancy, fulfill the dreams, gracious God, has us by our manly parts, Henry Ford, holding us hostage, hopelessness, in the Lord his God, joy, lack for encouragement, lack of hope, lack of thanks prayer and praise, limitation, long and short of the story, long-suffering, loving, magnanimity, majesty, merciful, naysayers, neck of the woods, nothing is impossible, obedience to God's will, only your imagination, our friend Anselm, peace, Praise the Lord, push yourself, repentant, summer-like day, the Lord God Jehovah, the Lord investigates our hearts, the right motives, Thomas Edison, virus, Walt Disney, with God, Ziklag
1 Samuel 30b. But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.
Well friends, it looks like another glorious sunshiny, summer-like day in my neck of the woods! And all God’s people declared a loud and grateful: ‘It’s about time! Praise the Lord!’ Yes my brethren, there’s nothing better we can do than to praise and thank our mighty Creator for all that He’s done for us, is currently doing, and has promised to do in the future. That’s our basic downfall; lack of thanks and prayer and praise! But He doesn’t change; He’s still the long-suffering, LOVING, merciful and gracious God He always was, and always will be.
We are the ones who change, not Him. So let’s see if we can’t do better in our appreciation of His glorious majesty and magnanimity and obedience to His will nuh, so that we can enjoy even more of His wonderful blessings. Yeh, right now we can certainly use some of His awesome blessings in our fight against the tiny virus that’s got us by our manly parts, (smile) that’s holding us hostage to its every demonic whim and fancy! Ah mih people, I’m glad to see that more and more people are turning to prayer in these troubled times.
But are we serious, are we truly repentant, or is it just a lark, to see what happens, since we can’t find any real success in our own efforts? Just remember though, that the Lord doesn’t simply listen to the words we spout out of our mouths, no matter how godly and spiritual they sound, but He investigates our hearts to see if we have the right motives, and then considers how to answer our prayer. So if you’re not sincere, don’t pray it.
And since it’s Saturday, let’s turn to our friend Anselm and see what quotes he sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And for the second week running, the quotes are negligible. Last week I got one, this week I’ve gotten two. And don’t ask me what’s wrong? It seems like he’s alive, so I don’t know if his fount of quotes has just dried up, (smile) though I doubt it. Anyway, let’s deal with what we have. And the first quote says: ‘Your limitation—it’s only your imagination.’
And that’s the gospel truth friends! The limits of our imagination are the only limitation in our lives! Wherever our imagination takes us we can go…with the Lord’s help obviously! Just think about all the wonderful inventions that we’ve enjoyed down through the years; things like the printing press that made books, including the Bible, more easily available, the telephone, telegraph and radio, which made communication so much easier, and our social media and technological revolution right now, which brings almost instant communication.
They are all products of someone’s imagination! They had the idea, then worked on it, despite many naysayers and discouragers. They might have failed often, but they never gave up, and kept refining their ideas until…Bingo! They worked. Walt Disney was ridiculed, Thomas Edison failed at his numerous inventions several times, but eventually succeeded. So did Henry Ford with his gasoline powered horseless carriage, that eventually became our modern-day motor car. So please my fellow believers, let’s not say we can’t do it, or it’s impossible. If the Lord puts it in our minds, then it’s certainly doable. And furthermore, let’s remember that with God, NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE!
That brings us to our second quote, which nicely resonates with the first. It tells us: ‘Push yourself, because no one else is going to do it for you.’ And to a certain extent that is quite true, but a lot of us are pushed by others, although in many of those cases it’s not in the direction we want to go. The long and short of the story though is that we need to have some basic push and determination for ourselves, especially if we have serious goals that we want to reach or there are wonderful desires that the Lord has placed in our hearts to accomplish for His name’s sake.
And we have that glorious scripture of Bruh David’s from Psalm 37 which categorically states: ‘Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.’ (Ps. 37:4) Yes friends, when we go with God, He will indeed enable us to fulfill the dreams He’s put in our hearts. And I know that it’s not always easy to find that push, that determination in ourselves, that we all need, for the enemy is always fighting against us. And ofttimes those around us are not willing to push and encourage us either, in fact they might just want to do the opposite, discourage us and pull us down, disparaging our efforts in the difficult process of bringing our dreams to reality.
But my people, even when we’re at the lowest point, the very ebb of our determination and the last dregs from our fountain of hope, let’s never forget that there’s always One person who’s always there to encourage us, especially if you’re doing His holy will; that’s the Lord God Jehovah, our Creator and wonderful Provider! We never lack for encouragement when we turn to our great God! But that last push has to come from us; we need to turn to him, to sincerely seek Him.
And the best example of that in the Good Book, I believe is when Bruh David’s men considered stoning him, after they came back from war and found their city of Ziklag burned to the ground by their enemies the Amalekites, and all their kinfolk and worldly possessions taken captive, including Bruh David’s two wives and his children. And everybody; all those brave and mighty men cried like babies. But then, something changed in Bruh David’s men. And the Good Book relates it thus: ‘And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved (bitter), every man for his sons and his daughters…’ (1 Sam. 30:6a)
So what happened there eh? Why stone their leader eh? Didn’t Bruh David lose his sons and daughters too? Of course! But that’s just the blaming nature of mankind. We always need to find someone else to blame beside ourselves, where often the blame really lies. So imagine Bruh David’s situation now nuh: he’s lost his own family, and his men are threatening to stone him. So what does he do? With everybody against him, he does what we all need to do at times. The Good Book says: ‘But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.’
Mama Yo mih bredrin! It doesn’t get any better than that! So please, today, if any of us are suffering the painful pangs of discouragement and lack of hope, let’s do the wise and sensible thing like Bruh David did nuh; let’s turn to our great God and encourage ourselves in Him, for in Him there is always hope and the prospect of peace and joy despite discouraging circumstances. Much LOVE!
…when despair and hopelessness threaten…turn to God…for He’ll surely keep His promise…to comfort and guide you in such times…
15 May 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a further setback, affections, bounden duty, change our way of life, conceited, cottage country getaways, crucified the flesh, dictates of the Spirit, enthusiasm, faithfulness, feel good to mih soul, forbearing one another, Friday chant, fruit of the Spirit, goodness, grateful for every drop, heavenly blessings, in the name of Jesus, increase the possibility, joy, lifting of work restrictions, live in the Spirit, long-suffering, LOVE, lusts of the flesh, making money, meekness, nobody happy like, not out of the woods yet, one another, one virus, Ontario, pandemic, passions, peace, physical distancing, precaustions, provoking one another, restoring faith in you, self-control, sinfuuul world, sweet and strong, take this thing seriously, temperance, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, the ordinary workingman, the righteous, the slave master, the virus spreading further, vain glory, Victoria Day, wake up and smeel the coffee, walk in the Spirit, walk not after the flesh, walking in LOVE, wear protective gear
Galatians 5:25. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Well at long last, some sustained heavenly blessings upon our neighbourhood earth! Yes friends, we’re finally getting some rain in my area, after I don’t know how long. And it’s still merely drizzles instead of strong downpours. But I guess the earth and the earth-workers are grateful for every last drop. Not like they could afford to be ungrateful and refuse it anyway. (smile) And this Friday morning indeed seems like it might just be different to many of those of the recent past. Why, you ask? Because some of the work restrictions have been lifted in our Province of Ontario, and some more places will be able to open come Monday.
So let’s see what the ordinary workingman has to say about it all nuh. ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday oui!’ And there seems to be some enthusiasm in his voice today. ‘Yes thank God that mih place of work opening back up on Monday, though still with some restrictions! Brother! Does it ever feel good to mih soul! Never thought I’d be happy to go to the slave master’s work nuh, but after being home for almost two months, I’d be glad to go out and do anything, just to get mihself active again! And ah know nobody happy like the slave master, because he LOVE the job more than anybody else, and making money is only a plus for him.
And it won’t be hard for us to do things like physical distancing because we don’t work close together anyway, the machines and them more than a few feet apart. And we wear head and face protective gear anyway. But leh we hope that people take this thing seriously yes, and doh go and behave chupid like they were doing earlier on, because we not out of the woods yet nuh. In fact we’ll never be out of the woods until we at least have a vaccine that can actually stop this virus in its tracks.
And I’m chuckling here because ah know the wife going to be happy to get me from constantly under her foot, although she not going to have anybody to help her with children, who still don’t have no school. And let’s hope that next week Friday, after a solid week of hard work, I’d still be able to say ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday with a smile oui!’
And yes, my fellow believers, it’s good news to a certain extent, although I don’t think the ordinary workingman realizes that Monday is a public holiday; Queen Victoria’s Day, so most likely, him and a lot of others won’t be going back to work until Tuesday. This weekend also usually marks the beginning of cottage country getaways, but it’s going to be different this year as people are advised not go up to their cottages, if at all possible, or just go with immediate family and stay right in their cottages, because we don’t want the country districts to be overflowing with visitors and thus increase the possibility of the virus spreading even further.
And ah have to laugh yes. Yuh see how one li’l virus, that you can’t even see without a strong microscope, change up we whole way of life in just a few months. So let’s hope that Ontarians behave in a responsible manner this weekend and as more businesses begin to open next week, because the next wave of this thing will be even worse than the first. Now let’s do our part in the prayer department and chant our Friday Chant nuh.
All together now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. It’s been pretty rough…though not from work, but from all the confusion and havoc that the Covid -19 virus causing. We not accustomed to that Lord, and it really telling on us. But with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat this virus. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the sure and wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible.
And with this lifting of more restrictions by the government, we implore you to touch the hearts of all those who go out into the open spaces, and make them understand that we still need to behave responsibly and take serious precautions so we don’t have a further setback. And please use this situation to also bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, and also introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion because of the way we, your faithful believers, handle the situation. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And the major problem there is if we, Christ’s ambassadors on this earth, are truly doing things, behaving the way that will make the heathen want to come to Him. Yes friends are we walking in LOVE, with the fruit of the Spirit pouring out of us in all unity and worthiness? Are we living like Bruh Paul recommends? ‘I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation (calling) wherewith ye are called. With all lowliness and meekness (gentleness), with long-suffering, forbearing (bearing with) one another in LOVE; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.’ (Eph. 4:1-3)
Oh my fellow saints in Christ, is that how we’re living? Because if it isn’t, then we we’ll just push people further away from Christ rather than bring them to Him. And these words from Bruh Paul to the Galatians should remind us of our bounden duty. ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness (kindness), goodness, faith (faithfulness), Meekness, temperance (self-control): against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections (its passions) and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory (be conceited), provoking one another, envying one another.’ (Gal. 5:22-26)
Yes friends, only if we truly live by the dictates of the Spirit will we produce righteous fruit that will encourage, and eventually convince the unbeliever that Christ has what he needs to make him whole, to give him a brand new life! So today, let’s examine our lives nuh, and then, with God’s help, make the necessary changes. Much LOVE!
…the righteous…walk not after the flesh…but after the Spirit…
04 Feb 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: carry them in his bosom, darkness, everlasting peace, for His name's sake, gather the lambs with his arm, Gentiles, gently lead those with young, glad to be alive, have it more abundantly, he shall feed his flock, hurry, I am the good shepherd, I am your God, I shall not want, joy, judge between cattle and cattle, lie down in green pastures, like a shepherd, no more a prey, no more pain, One Year Book of Bible Pthe Lord God will comeromises, optimism of Christ, paths of righteousness, selflessly, share His love, sheep of His pasture, sinless life, soul's soaring, surrender, the beleoved of God, the flock of my pasture, the Good Book, the light of Jesus, The Lord is my shepherd, the thief comes to steal, the valley of the shadow of death, they might have life, to high heaven, trust, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, with a strong hand, worry
Isaiah 40:11. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
Come Tuesday…I’m glad to be alive! Come Tuesday…my soul’s soaring to high heaven, because the Lord has kept His promise to get me through Monday all in one piece! Wow friends! I hope we’re all in the same boat…the one with Jesus being the guide, captain and pilot! For it’s only that boat, the one with that commander, that will get us safely through the storms of this earthly life to the other side, where there is no more pain and suffering, no darkness, just joy and everlasting peace in the light of Jesus!
And in keeping with that theme of trust and surrender to Jesus, here is this simple but most appropriate prayer from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s titled ‘Heartstrings.’ Please pray with me: ‘Lord, with no sense of direction I’m forever losing my way. Please tie a string From Your heart to mine So that even in the darkness I’ll feel the tug of Your heart And find my way home.’ Oh my people, that’s so simple, but ever so touching in its directness and simplicity.
What better way to stay attached to our Maker than with the awesome connection of a heart string. That way, we can never lose our focus, it will be ever stayed on Him, as it ought to. And that’s exactly what’s promised in Isaiah: comfort, through trust in the Lord. Listen to these most comforting words. ‘Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand (in strength), and his arm shall rule for him: behold his reward is with him, and his work (wage) before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.’ (Is.40:10-11)
How can you ever beat such a promise eh precious people of God? You simply can’t! And our Bit is the Bible Promise for our poem today; the awesome promise of Almighty God to feed and gently care for all those who wisely come to Him for help, who desire to be in His fold and allow Him to lead and guide them like a kind and caring shepherd does his sheep. And there are so many references to God being our shepherd in the Good Book that we can’t cover them all, so we’ll just highlight a few; the first from the prophet Ezekiel.
‘Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle (sheep) and cattle (sheep). And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it.’ (Ezek. 34:22-24). What a mighty promise friends! And according to the scholars the reference to Bruh David there is in regards to his role during the Millennium reign of Christ. He will be appointed a shepherd of Christ’s flock.
Now we’ll turn to the words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, awesome words that we all claim to know, but as always, don’t fully put into practice, otherwise our lives wouldn’t be in such an ungodly mess. (smile) Hear the Master: ‘The thief cometh not, but for (except) to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.’ (John 10:10-11) And isn’t that exactly what He did on the cross at Calvary…give His sinless life so selflessly for us, the hoped-for sheep of His pasture?
That’s the amazing positivity and optimism of Christ; that before He was even sure of a flock, He died to preserve them! Wow! No one else would ever dream of doing that…except our Saviour! And as He continues later on: ‘I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also must I bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold (flock), and one shepherd.’ (John 10:14-16)
Oh friends, the other flock Jesus was referring to there was us, the non-Jews, the Gentiles, whom He greatly desired to also include in His one worldwide flock at a slightly later date, through Bruh Paul. So this morning, whatever the circumstances in which we find ourselves, let’s make sure that we know, and are hearing the voice of our Good Shepherd nuh, as He walks and talks and guides us safely and LOVINGLY through our day.
As Bruh David so famously described it: ‘The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me…’ (Ps. 23:1-4) Yes friends, those are gospel truths, if we believe in Jesus Christ!
So for those of us who sincerely belief, let’s go home now telling the world in no uncertain voice, who and whose we are as set out in our Tuesday Mantra. In strong voice with sincere hearts: ‘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!’
So let’s go out now and do just that nuh; share the LOVE and friendship of Jesus with those unfortunate ones who don’t know Him! Much LOVE!
…and ye my flock…the flock of my pasture…are men…and I am your God…saith the Lord God…(Ezek. 34:31)
02 Feb 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a man lay down his life, aroma, can ever pluck me, character traits, come unto me, Comforter, confidence, dance before the Lord, depths of peace, for his friends, from his hand, give you rest, greater love, hath no man than this, heavy laden, heights of love, in the love of Christ I stand, in the power of Christ, joy, life death resurrection of Christ, my burden is light, my light, my song, my strength, my yoke is eays, no power of hell, no scheme of man, passes all human understanding, peace, praise, righteousness., sacrificial praise, sing, sinless life, soulful harmony, stands in victory, sweet-smelling savour, the great invitation, the Lord's sanctuary, the Prince of Peace, this gift of love, time for church, timeless theme, uplifting word, worship with our fellow believers, ye are my friends, ye do whatsoever I command you
John 15:13. Greater LOVE hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Sunday morning…time for church! Don’t let the inclement weather we have going in the G.T.A, or for that matter, good weather wherever you are, keep you away from darkening the doors of the Lord’s sanctuary this morning. (smile) Yes, good weather ofttimes can deceive us into not going to worship with our fellow believers, makes us feel we’d be better off doing something supposedly more enjoyable.
But pray tell me people, what can be more enjoyable than meeting with a number of people who share our beliefs, who encourage us, then join with us to sing, praise, and dance before the Lord our God, to hear His magnificent and uplifting Word, and consequently leave His sanctuary refreshed, renewed, and full of the joy, peace and confidence that only He can give! Nothing friends…Nothing! So let’s get the show on the road nuh, beginning as usual with the singing and praising and dancing.
And today’s song of praise is a fairly new Christian song that’s become quite popular over the years. It’s aptly titled: ‘In Christ Alone.’ The website Godtube tells us that the song was written in 2002, by Christian songwriters Stuart Townend and Keith Getty. According to Townend “The song came about in an unusual way. Keith and I met in the autumn of 2000 at a worship event, and we resolved to try to work together on some songs.
A few weeks later Keith sent some melody ideas, and the first one on the CD was a magnificent, haunting melody that I LOVED, and immediately started writing down some lyrical ideas on what I felt should be a timeless theme commensurate with the melody. So the theme of the life, death, resurrection of Christ, and the implications of that for us just began to tumble out, and when we got together later on to fine tune it, we felt we had encapsulated what we wanted to say.”
And did they ever encapsulate a whole lot of stuff about Jesus! So let’s sing it now like we really mean it nuh, letting heaven know that we’re truly grateful for our wonderful Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Let our voices convey the sacrificial praise our hearts feel, in sweet, soulful harmony.
‘In Christ alone my hope is found; He is my light, my strength, my song; This cornerstone, this solid ground, Firm through the fiercest drought and storm. What heights of LOVE, what depths of peace, When fears are stilled, when strivings cease! My comforter, my all in all— Here in the LOVE of Christ I stand. In Christ alone, Who took on flesh, Fullness of God in helpless babe! This gift of LOVE and righteousness, Scorned by the ones He came to save. Till on that cross as Jesus died, The wrath of God was satisfied; For ev’ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live. There in the ground His body lay, Light of the world by darkness slain; Then bursting forth in glorious day, Up from the grave He rose again! And as He stands in victory, Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me; For I am His and He is mine— Bought with the precious blood of Christ. No guilt in life, no fear in death— This is the pow’r of Christ in me; From life’s first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny. No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man, Can ever pluck me from His hand; Till He returns or calls me home— Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand…Till He returns or calls me home— Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand… Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand….’
And that’s for certain sure friends! In the amazing and awesome power of Christ we must ALL stand, because there has never been, and will never be another as magnificent and magnanimous as Him! As I keep saying He is indeed our EVERYTHING! Our hope, our light, our strength, our song, the cornerstone on which our faith is built, the ONE who walks beside and guides us through the worst times of drought and storm…
And don’t talk about LOVE…His is the greatest. As He said so simply and sincerely: ‘Greater LOVE hath no man that this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.’ (John 15:13-14) And then He went out and laid down His sinless life, sacrificed it ever so selflessly for us, with the expectancy and anticipation that we would be His friends and do what He commanded us. Yes my fellow believers (steups!), Jesus didn’t just talk the talk, He walked the walk…on our behalf. He died that we could be alive and be reconciled to the Father; took our sins and gave us His righteousness…and so much more.
That’s why when Bruh Paul talks to us about the ways of the believer (steups!), we ought to listen and obey. ‘Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in LOVE, as Christ also hath LOVED us, and hath given himself for us as an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor (aroma).’ (Eph. 5:1-2) That’s exactly what He did my people, and as followers of His, He expects us to be obedient to His commands, do our best to adopt His character traits, because you know the Father’s ultimate plan is to have us all become like His Only Son…well as close as our human flesh and nature will allow. (smile)
And we don’t even have time and space to touch on all the topics the songwriters touch on in our song. So we’ll just look at these last two; peace and comfort. Oh my my, Jesus is the Master of Peace: the peace that passes all human understanding! Here Him to the disciples nuh: ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ (John 14:27)
And Bruh Paul describes Him thus: ‘For he (himself) is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition (division) between us;’ (Eph.2:14) No doubt about that! He mashed up the old order and destroyed the enmity between Jews and Gentiles and made them to exist in One body, His church.
And when yuh talking about comfort friends, there’s no better place to find it than in Jesus! Here these extraordinary words from His Great Invitation. ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest…For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt.11:28, 30) No one else can make that promise and keep it! That’s why I keep saying that Jesus is the ANSWER, for He has everything that you will ever need, both for this life and the hereafter! Please be wise and lean confidently, faithfully and reassuringly on Him! He won’t let you down! Much LOVE!
…The Prince of Peace…of Comfort…and of LOVE…Jesus Christ…
30 Jan 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, accountability, curse, deliverance, divine protection, faith, favour, fulfillment, generously share, glorify your father in heaven, have the light of life, he that follweth me, I am the light of the world, in Jesus' name, joy, Let there be light, let your light so shine, lifts the spirits, made to enjoy light, negative word, physical sunlight, pleasure, prosperity, revelation of God, salt of the earth, salvation, see your good works, self-control, selfishly hoard, Sermon on the Mount, spiritual light of Jesus, success, sunshine, supernatural wisdom, the Beatitudes, the darkness comprehended it not, the Life, the Word, Thursday Blessings, walk in darkness, work the works
John 9:12. I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Well it’s begun as a somewhat grey and unappealing Thursday morning, but let’s hope that it will eventually turn into a bright sunshiny day like yesterday, although it was a tad on the chilly side. Yes friends, there’s something to be said for sunshine, even when it’s freezing cold! (smile) It just lifts the spirits…don’t know if it’s because of the light and our spirits were made to enjoy light, not darkness, but it certainly does help to see a nice, bright day filled with sunshine, especially when things are not going too well.
But yuh know what? We believers don’t really need to depend so much on the physical sunlight because we have the one who made that sunlight, who is also that sunlight, dwelling deep down inside of us! And consequently, when the physical sunlight is not apparent, we can faithfully call on the spiritual light of Jesus to brighten up our days…and also our nights! Wow! That’s why He could make this awesome, but oh so true statement: ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’
Ah friends, what a blessing it is to have the Light of the world in our lives; dwelling securely and faithfully in the souls and spirits of each believer! (chuh!) Give Him much thanks and praise for He is certainly deserving of them! Now hear how John characterizes Him nuh: ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.’ (John 1:1-4)
Yes my people, Jesus was there from the very beginning: He was the Word; the awesome Word that God spoke to create the universe! ‘Let there be light…and there was light.’ (Gen. 1:3) He was also ‘the life’, which was the light of men, meaning when we have Jesus, we have both life and light! Glory be! And as the scholars explain: ‘1:4-5. Life…light: See also 8:12; 9:5; 11:25; 14:6. In John’s writings, life represents salvation and deliverance through Christ, and light denotes Jesus’ revelation of God which calls men to accountability.’
That’s why it’s so sad and unfortunate when John continues: ‘And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended (apprehended) it not.’ (John 1:5) Yes, Jesus came to shine light into a darkened world, but the world did not cotton to His light. Why, you wonder? Because as Jesus said in His famous discourse to Nicodemus: ‘And this is the condemnation of the world, that light (the light) is come into the world, and men LOVED darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.’ (John 3:19)
No wonder we refused the life and light that was, is, and will always be Jesus! It’s hard for evil man to give up his evil deeds because it’s just an inherent part of his nature. But friends, that evil nature will not get us anywhere except hellfire and damnation, eternal separation from Almighty God, which is the worst thing that can ever happen to a human soul and spirit! That’s why the Father sent Jesus to earth to redeem us and to reconcile us to Him, otherwise come the big judgement day, we’d be left on the outside looking in. And believe me friends, whatever that might entail in reality, it certainly will not be a good thing!
Now listen to Jesus again on the subject of ‘the light of the world,’ when He was about to heal a man born blind and the disciples asked Him who had sinned that he was born blind? ‘Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest (be revealed) in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’
Yes precious people of God, certain things are made to happen in this evil word so that our God can cause them to be rectified and thus glorify His most blessed and holy name! But the most important part of those statements is the fact that while Jesus was in the world, He was indeed the light of the world, but once He left the world, the duty of being light to a darkened world fell on us, His believers. Like He said back on the Sermon on the Mount after the Beatitudes: ‘Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. …Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt. 5:14, 16)
Ah my fellow believers (yeah!), we are now the reflection of Jesus’ shining light to this evil world, so let’s go out and shine nuh… Oh and don’t forget we’re also the salt of the earth, so we have to be tasty too, otherwise we’ll just be cast out and ground underfoot. (smile) And the great thing about Jesus is that He never gives us a task to perform unless He gives us the wherewithal, the tools to perform it. And He’s certainly given us the tools to be the salt and light of the earth in our Thursday Blessings, so let’s declare (yeah!) them now nuh, so we can invoke them in our daily routine.
As one strong and sincere voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection!
I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And if we truly believe and are truly sincere, then we’ll go out now and generously share those blessings with others as Jesus desires of us, and don’t selfishly hoard them for ourselves. Much LOVE!
…oh…what a joy and pleasure it is…to be the salt and light of this evil world…in Jesus’ name…
29 Jan 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, believe also in me, brutal wars, Calvary, cell phones, charity, civil war, class, colour, contention, contrariness of humans, covers a multitude of sins, creatures of habit, creed, damnation, denial of christ, died on a cross, disagreement, discrimination, dissension, faith, faithfulness, fruit of the Spirit, gentleness, go to work, Gone with the Wind, goodness, halfway home, hands on the plough, head back to dust, hellfire, hope, hotbed, hump day, I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again, impersonal communication, In my Father's house, injustice, Jesus, joy, keep busy, kindness, let not your heart be troubled, loll about, lonely people, long-suffering, LOVE, love him or hate him, made disciples of the nations, many mansions, meekness, no fear in it, only true solution, our position in Christ, peace, promise to come back, race, racism, retirement, rose from the grave, Satan, self-control, social media, take away our sins, temperance, the answer to everything, the breath of life, the greatest is love, Wednesday Wail, where I am, with a passion, ye believe in God, you will be
John 14:1. Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
Well it’s Wednesday; the middle of the work week, the hump day, where we feel like we’ve finally gotten hold of, gotten over that invisible hump, where work takes up most of our time. But work certainly takes up most of our time in this life yes! Most of us work five days a week for an average of forty years, then we retire, thankful that there’s no work on the horizon, the early mornings and late nights are finally done!
But yuh know what? After doing something for forty years it’s hard to get accustomed to not doing anything, to not have to get up and go to work every day, although we complained most days about having to get up and go to work! Hn! And if we just loll about in retirement and don’t keep busy, then our bodies give up and we head back to the dust from which we’ve come, sooner than expected. We’re creatures of habit. That’s the contrariness of the human animal! (smile)
And I finally finished watching the second half of the movie ‘Gone with the Wind.’ And it is indeed an epic story. But if the truth be told, nothing has really changed in our world since then nuh; that civil war didn’t solve a whole lot, possibly besides the end of slavery, because there have been several bigger and more brutal wars since then, there’s still too much racism, overt and covert, still too much avarice and greed and jealously and strife, too much poverty and sickness and advantage, too much injustice and discrimination, be it by race, colour, class or creed, despite all the supposed advances we’ve made!
Yes friends, our world is still a hotbed of dissension and disagreement! And yuh know what? It’s getting worse! Just look around at all the discontent between friends and families, between neighbours and nations…we’ve come closer together in terms of distance and communication, but we’ve gotten further apart in terms of true fellowship. There are more lonely people around now even with the advent of cell phones and social media, because that communication is basically impersonal; half the time you don’t even know who you’re really dealing with.
Oh my people, the ONLY true solution to what ails our world is JESUS! He is the ONLY ONE who can truly bring us all together and give us the peace, LOVE and joy that we all seem to clamour for, but are far from experiencing! But strangely enough, Jesus is also one of the biggest factors of contention in our world; you either LOVE Him or hate Him with a passion!
But let me ask you a few questions? Who is the ONLY ONE that came down from heaven, was made man, made in our image and lived amongst us like us eh? JESUS CHRIST! Who is the ONLY ONE who died on a cross to take away our sins, to give us another option besides hellfire and damnation with Satan eh? JESUS CHRIST! Who is the ONLY ONE who died and rose from the grave and ascended back into heaven with the promise to come back for us when we have made disciples of all the nations so that nobody will be lost to Beelzebub eh? JESUS CHRIST!
Oh precious people, who said these momentous words with this awesome promise? ‘Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my father’s house are many mansions (dwellings): if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.’ (John 14:1-3)
Oh friends, Jesus had no cause to lie. They saw Him do numerous miracles. They saw Him crucified on the cross at Calvary, then rise up again. Yuh think if the early believers didn’t see Christ after He rose from the dead, they would have believed him and done what He asked and waited for Him? No way Jose!
Hear the scholars: ‘14:1. Let not your heart be troubled refers to Peter, Jesus having just told him of his imminent denial of his Lord (13:38). But the larger reference is to all the apostles, through whom Jesus is going to lay the foundation of the church. His comfort also includes instruction about His departure, the sending of the Holy Spirit, the promise of spiritual power, of answered prayer, and of peace, but especially the promise of His return.’ And a great shout of ‘Praise the Lord!’ echoes far and wide across the land in anticipation of that most wonderful promise!
Yes friends, Jesus is the ONLY ONE who desires to build a group of people, His church, on the basis of LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness (kindness), goodness, faith (faithfulness), meekness and temperance (self-control). And if you didn’t recognize them, they are the fruit of the Spirit, seeds of which are planted in our own spirit when we do the wise thing and receive Christ as our Lord and Saviour. It’s then left up to us to water and nurture them and let them grow in and through us, by reading His Word and sincerely living it.
That’s why Jesus said: ‘Wherefore by their fruit ye shall know them,’ speaking of false prophets and evil deceivers. (Matt.7:20) A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, neither can a corrupt tree produce good fruit. And we need to also remember these famous words of Bruh Paul to the Corinthians: ‘And now abideth faith, hope, charity (LOVE), these three; but the greatest of these is charity (LOVE).’ (1 Cor. 13:13).
Yes brothers and sisters, LOVE is indeed the greatest, because God is LOVE, and LOVE does no harm, but covers a multitude of sins, neither is there any fear in LOVE! And if God first LOVED us, then we should also LOVE Him, and LOVE one another too: those are His two greatest desires! And now that all of that is indelibly written in our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, let’s go home celebrating our position in Christ by declaring (chuh!) our Wednesday Wail.
Altogether now, in strong voice and sincere hearts: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ And in light of all Jesus has promised, friends, it will certainly be a glorious future indeed! Much LOVE!
…JESUS…the answer to EVERYTHING…
26 Jan 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a sacrificial lamb, all creation praise the Lord, awesome wonder, bled and deied, confidence, exalt, face the evil world, fear the Lord, fellowship, for God so loved the world, free will, grace, have everlasting life, he gave his only begotten son, his son not sparing, How great thou art, joy, like a heap, LOVE, mercy, my burden gladly bearing, my saviour God to thee, once to die, peace, put that in yuh pipe, rebellious, recharged batteries, reverence, sacrificial praise, should not perish, shouts of acclamation, smoke it, song of praise, spiritual strength, stand in awe of him, stubborn, that whosoever believeth in him, the breath of his mouth, the judgement, the waters of the sea, then sings my soul, to take away my sin, when Christ shall come, who doesn't hear will feel
John 3:16. For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.
And Sunday, the great day of wonderful fellowship has arrived! Not that fellowship can’t happen at other times, but Sunday has been set aside by the Lord as the day He wants as many believers as possible to gather together in His sanctuary to sing and praise and exalt His holy name, to hear His amazing Word, then leave there with batteries thoroughly recharged, filled with LOVE, joy, grace, peace, mercy, spiritual strength and confidence to face the evil world in which we dwell!
So let’s make a special effort to gather in the Lord’s house today nuh my people, so that we can have joyful communion with our great God and with fellow believers! Steups! Like I can’t spell believers either! Ah Lord eh! And in a most appropriate manner, let’s open the proceedings with a favourite song of praise that tells of the true greatness of our magnificent God, one aptly titled ‘How Great Thou Art!’ Oh, some people leave out the second verse, but I think that’s wrong, because like the first it describes God’s great work in nature. So we won’t leave out anything that glorifies our God! (smile)
In full voice, like one harmonious whole, let’s raise our voices to heaven in sacrificial praise, sincerely believing the words we sing: ‘O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder Consider all The works Thy Hand hath made, I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder, Thy pow’r throughout The universe displayed, (Chorus: Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee, How great Thou art! How great Thou art! Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee, How great Thou art! How great Thou art!)
When through the woods And forest glades I wander I hear the birds Sing sweetly in the trees, When I look down From lofty mountain grandeur And hear the brook And feel the gentle breeze, (Chorus:) And when I think, that God His Son not sparing, Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in. That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing He bled and died, to take away my sin. (Chorus: )
When Christ shall come, With shouts of acclamation, And take me home, What joy shall fill my heart! Then I shall bow In humble adoration And there proclaim, “My God, how great Thou art!” (Chorus: Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee, How great Thou art! How great Thou art! Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee, How great Thou art! How great Thou art!’
Oh friends what a joyful and grateful song! The Lord was most pleased with our praise. How could He not eh, when the words were oh so true and the sentiments sincere? For throughout the scriptures there are acknowledgments of all that we have sung above. And it’s said nowhere better than in Psalm 148 – All creation to praise the Lord.
Please declare with me: ‘Praise ye the Lord (shout Hallelujah): Praise ye the Lord (shout Hallelujah) from the heavens: praise him in the heights. Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts. Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him all ye stars of light. Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord: for he commanded, and they were created. He hath also stablished (established) them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass.’ Ps. 148:1-6)
Yes friends, it’s all been the Lord’s doing! As another psalmist gave voice: ‘By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. He gathereth the waters of the sea together as a heap: he layeth up the depth (deep) in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spake, and it was done; he commanded and it stood fast.’ (Ps.33. 6-9) What an omnipotent God we serve and worship my people!
But yuh know what, the second half of our song is even greater than the first half, because it shows God’s true greatness through His mercy, grace, compassion and LOVE for us sinful children of men. Only a truly great, and in total control Deity could have espoused a scheme so magnanimous as sending His only Son to pay for our sins as a sacrificial lamb on the cross of Calvary. The old song says that ‘Only a fool breaks his own heart,’ but our God was no fool nuh when He broke His own to save us from eternal separation from Him. That just showed the immense LOVE He had for His creation, though that creation had turned against Him.
Here these poignant words of Bruh Paul nuh: ‘But God commendeth (demonstrated) his LOVE towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 8) And Jesus Himself made it very clear with these awesome words: ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.’ It couldn’t get any better than that nuh friends! The Creator giving up His Son, His sinless wonderful Son to save a bunch of reprobates like us…
Chuh! I don’t see how we could not sincerely LOVE, worship, reverence, exalt and be obedient to Him nuh, after all that He’s done and has faithfully promised to do for us. But since we have free will, freedom to choose whom or what we serve, we getting stubborn and rebellious. Remember though friends, our God might be a compassionate Deity, but He’s also a God of justice and righteousness, and one day we all will have to answer to him for our earthly behaviour. Hebrews warns us quite clearly: ‘And it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement.’ (Heb.9:27) Please put that in yuh pipe and smoke it. Much LOVE!
…he who doesn’t hear…will certainly feel…
28 Dec 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a people, a record of the past, a tree without roots, bacchanalia, be of good cheer, chaff in the wind, corruption, culture, demand, drunk or sober, fall in our laps, Friend Anselm, Granny's warning, grow, have it more abundantly, History, I am come, i have overcome the world, illegal actions, joy, life eternal, LOVE, lurking enemy, mature, mind yuh business, my peace, New Year's, no progress, no struggle, obtain a toehold, origin, past history, peace, power concedes nothing, sell your soul to the devil, the abundant life, The Israelites, they might have life, times of struggle, to understand the present, victory, wandering aimlessly, without the knowledge
John 10:10b. I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
And so we come to Saturday; the first one after Christmas Day! The Christmas season is waning, slowly morphing into the New Year season, where gifts and giving and Christ will soon be turned into thoughts of parties and resolutions and all things New Year! Ah Lord eh! The fickle nature of man! We give Christ just a few days in the forefront of our minds, then it’s right back to bacchanalia for the new year! (smile) And there’s nothing wrong with partying, Jesus partied in His day, but we just have to be careful how we party, not to let our hair down too much and thus allow the always lurking enemy a chance to obtain a toehold in our lives.
Remember, he doesn’t need a big opening to sinfully infiltrate our godly souls. That’s why it’s good to hear Granny’s warning over and over again, in the midst of this party season. (smile) ‘Sonny boy, drunk or sober, please mind yuh business.’ And I don’t care if you get tired of hearing it, it is my job to keep reminding you to keep your wits about you, even when you party and want to let go with gay abandon. (smile) But we said it was Saturday, that means we need to take a look at the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he aspires to inspire us to a better tomorrow.
And the first one tells us: ‘If there is no struggle, there is no progress.’ And that’s basically true my people. If we don’t have some difficulty in whatever we do or aspire to achieve, we won’t ever grow into it, because it’s only in times of struggle do we ever grow and mature. And that holds true for whatever situation in which we find ourselves. And that’s why the Lord sometimes test us with difficulties, to prove our faith, and to grow it. That leads us to this next quote that’s similar and just as true. ‘Power concedes nothing without a demand.’
And for all you power seekers, you better believe that yes, because power is a very demanding master! Just look at all the politicians and leaders around the world; some of them might truly want to be decent and upstanding citizens, (smile) but the power structure in which they are caught up might demand a different set of actions. Not all of them want to be corrupt and disgusting, all the time, but ofttimes they find themselves in situations that are very ticklish, to say the least. (smile)
For example when the big donor to your campaign begins to call in his marks for illegal and corrupt stuff, what do you do? In the back of your mind is the thought of the next election, and if you don’t do what they desire, you won’t get the same support next time. So you sell your soul to the devil for a li’l bit of power and prestige. But is it really worth it friends? I don’t think so. But unfortunately a whole lot of us do, that’s why there’s so much corruption and illegal actions in the halls of power and government these days, and there are not enough people with enough parts available to try and change it.
Oh, there will always be corruption in man’s affairs, but it doesn’t have to be so blatant and overwhelming as it is currently. And so we come to this gem of a quote. ‘A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.’ Oh friends, if we don’t know where we’ve come from, we wont’ be able to chart a good voyage to where we’re going. If we don’t know our groundings, we’re just like chaff in the wind; blowing hither, thither and yon, wherever the wind might lead.
And we see that sadly being proven in the lives of today’s generation. They have very little idea of their history, since they haven’t been taught it, or had it made a veritable presence in their lives, thus they are wandering aimlessly in the desert of life like the Israelites did back in the day. As the Rasta breddren who taught me History back in High School ofttimes declared: Chuh man! What is it with me and this word declared and it’s variations eh? Would you believe I spelled it wrong there too? Steups!
Anyway, with his feet covered with big brogues up on the table, he’d lean back in the chair, stroke his scraggly beard, and haughtily ask: ‘What is History?’ Then He’d answer: ‘History is a record of the past.’ ‘And why do we learn History?’ would be the next question. ‘So we can understand the present.’ There you have it friends, if you don’t know your history you can’t understand what happened back then and thus won’t be able to understand what’s happening in the present and why. Neither will you be able to fashion a proper future for the generations to come.
And the last quote, though very endearing, also comes with a price; we have to work at it. ‘Love yourself. Stay happy. Live life to the fullest, and focus on the best things in life!’ Yes my people, that situation doesn’t just happen, we have to put some elbow grease into it. Remember Jesus said: ‘I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ But the abundant life doesn’t just fall in our laps, we have to do our part to get it.
First we have to LOVE God, ourselves and our neighbours, as Jesus pointed out in the two Great Commandments. (Matt.22:37-40) Then we have to stay happy, or even better yet, joyful. And how do we do that? Just like Jesus said: ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’
Mama Mia! That says it all friends! This world is full of trials and tribulations, but when we have Jesus truly living in our hearts, we can focus on His sincere promises of a good life down here on earth and one in heaven later on. Remember, that’s what He came to give us: LIFE! Life Eternal! To save us from our sins and eternal death or separation from Almighty God.
He’s already done His part; we now have to do ours if we want that abundant life. And how do we get it, by totally embracing Him and getting Him involved in ALL aspects of our lives! It’s not always easy to do, but with His ever-available help, we can all successfully do it. So let’s get to it right now nuh. Much LOVE!
…what does Jesus have to offer…peace, LOVE, joy…and eternal VICTORY…Glory Be…!
04 Sep 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, Abraham Isaac and Jacob, and is, and is to come, believe the promise, beside me, bless the Lord, by your will, cast their crowns, constant joy in heaven, creating the world, day and night, fear ye not, folly, for thy pleasure, full of eyes, god the father, God the son, halfway home, his redeemer, His word is truth, holy holy holy, I am the first, I am the last, I'll worship, joy, looking forward to, lord god almighty, merriment, my hands on the plough, my witnesses, neither be afraid, not looking back, oh my soul, one true God, praises, rest not, saving the world, selfish, setting the stage, sing like never before, stingy, the breath of life, the four and twenty elders, the four beasts, the Good Book, the king of Israel, the Lord of hosts, the One and Only One, the oneness of God, there is no god, they exist, thou art worthy O lord, thou hast created all things, thus saith the Lord, to receive glory and honour, truth, undeniable statement, wake up, Wednesday Wail, which was, worship him that liveth forever, worship his holy name, worship something inanimate, Yahweh, your holy name
Isaiah 44:6. Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
Ah mih people, I woke up joyfully singing it this morning, even though I did not get much sleep, so I took it as a sign that we should open with some of it. (smile) So please sing with me: ‘Bless the Lord oh my soul, Oh my soul, Worship His holy name. Sing like never before, Oh my soul, I’ll worship Your holy name.’
One more time, cause when it’s so nice, you’ve got to sing it twice. (smile) ‘Bless the Lord oh my soul, Oh my soul, Worship His holy name. Sing like never before, Oh my soul, I’ll worship Your holy name.’ And yes friends, that’s exactly what we should all be doing, or have already done, this glorious Wednesday morning that the Lord has so graciously seen fit to allow us to see.
Bless His holy name my people! Bless and exalt it because He is the ONE and ONLY ONE! He said so Himself in His Word, through His prophet Isaiah, and He does not lie; His Word is truth; the ultimate truth!
Listen to His awesome Word and let your hearts be set free by its amazing truth: ‘Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.’ Mamacita! What a powerful, factual and undeniable statement that is my believing brethren!
And the scholars explain that thus: ‘44:6. In verse 6 the prophet emphasizes the oneness of God by stating that beside me there is no God. Yet at the same time, the prophet distinguishes between the Lord the King of Israel and his redeemer the Lord of hosts. The personal name ‘Yahweh’ is used of both the King and His redeemer, the one referring to God the Father and the other referring to God the Son.’
We can see that even way back then the Lord was setting the stage for coming of His most wonderful Son! And believe me, there’s no better stage manager in all the world than the Lord our God. You just have to read the Good Book and see how He set up everything right to the nth degree from creating the world to saving it!
But getting back to the Lord being the ONE and ONLY GOD, He continues to make His point, reasoning thus: ‘And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, (who can proclaim it? Then let him declare it), and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them show unto them.
Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? Ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.’ (Is.44:7-8)
Oh friends, I don’t know of any other nuh! (smile) They are a lot of pretend ones, but they have no power whatsoever. And how can a man bow down and worship something inanimate that he’s made with his own two hands eh?
And even if you worship the wind, the birds, the sun, the moon, the stars or some other aspect of creation, like you, they were created by the ONE TRUE GOD; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and none of them can do anything on their own, their apparent power is all wrapped up in what the Lord, the King of Israel gave and still gives to them!
So worshipping any other supposed God is pure folly! And as the Father said it to, and through Isaiah, so did the Son, Jesus Christ, say it to His beloved disciple, John in his vision on the island of Patmos, where he was exiled. ‘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)
And even around God’s throne everlasting praises are being sung spelling out His might and majesty and holiness. ‘And the four beasts had each of them six wings about them; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest (cease) not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.’ (Rev.4:8) Oh my people, heaven is constantly ringing with the Lord’s praises!
As John writes: ‘And when those beasts (living creatures) give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created (by your will they exist).’ (Rev.4:9-11)
Can you imagine that scene mih breddren? A rainbow around the throne of heaven, with the Lord sitting there looking as beautiful as ever, and thunder and lightning, and the beasts singing and the elders worshipping…pure merriment mih people!
So if they can sing the Father’s praises so continuously in heaven, why can’t we lesser mortals sing His praises some too down here on earth eh? Why are we so stingy with giving Him His rightfully deserved praise eh?
Because we are selfish and don’t truly believe that He is who He says He is. But that will only lead to our eventual chagrin my friends. So please, let’s wake up and smell the roses, or the coffee, or whatever will open our eyes, minds and souls to the reality that the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the ONE and ONLY TRUE GOD in this wonderful universe He created!
And having settled that, (smile) let’s go home declaring (steups!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. 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 if you sincerely believe it, then please stick steadfastly with it, because one day, we too shall be singing and worshipping the Lord in heaven! Much LOVE!
…our human minds are too small…to fully comprehend…the constant joy in heaven…but if we believe the promise…one day we surely will…
31 Aug 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: after one time is two, and the servant of all, Anselm's quotes, as a man thinks in his heart, bad or good outcomes, behave as you believe, believe as you behave, Christ's Church, come the judgement, desire to be first, easily hurt, example, external circumstances, fall for anything, feelings of security, focus on, friend, godly beliefs, gospel truth, happiness, help the poor, if any man, is our strength, Jesus' principles, joy, Labour Day, memories, New York City, our mind is the battelfield, our way of thinking, positive vibration, pride, radiated in life, Satan, save the lost, servant, serve somemone, shall be last of all, so is he, stand for nothing, sticky situation, thank you, the Big Apple, the evil one, the Holy Spirit, the joy of the Lord, the same, the things of God, tried by fire, vulnerable, washed the disciples feet, watered down, wishy-washy, withstand the fire
Mark 9:35. And he sat down and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.
And then it was Saturday and the ole fella was late getting up. Late nights have a habit of doing that to you! (smile) And it’s not like I did not get up before, but I felt I wasn’t rested enough to take on the big task of writing the Bit, so I went back to bed to get better rested. And that’s why the Bit is late. However, I know that all of you will understand my sticky situation there, having also found yourselves in similar positions at some or other! (smile)
But to tell yuh how things change, and how after one time is really two, I did not even realize that this was the long Labour Day weekend until sometime late yesterday. In times past, oh boy, I would have already been in the Big Apple (New York City), or on my way there to attend their Labour Day Carnival Parade.
But just like the Caribana here has changed, in my opinion, become watered down, so has the New York Labour Day Parade become watered down, also with too much police control now. Steups! As soon as six o’clock comes, they rushing you off the Parkway. And when you add the setta walking …Brother!
The last time I checked it out, believe it was 2007, mih Aunty Anne and I had to park a mile from the parade and walk like everlasting to reach it! We both said no way again Jose! I haven’t been back since then. Even mih Uncle John and them pan side stop coming out because it just wasn’t the same, didn’t have the same flavour.
So I wish that all who go nowadays have a good time, but me ent going nowhere! Like I do with Caribana, I will just remember the good memories I have of those events, and like memories do, they won’t ever leave me! (smile) So let’s turn to the more important matters at hand now nuh; the quotes we friend Anselm sent us this past week.
Hear this first one nuh: ‘Our way of thinking creates good or bad outcomes.’ And that’s for certain sure friends, because it all starts in our minds! Our mind is the battlefield of our souls and bodies. That’s where all the fighting for power goes on between the evil one and the Holy Spirit! For as Cousin Sol informs us: ‘as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.’ (Prov.23:7a).
Yes my people, whatever we think or focus most on, that’s what we become. That’s why believers need to focus on good things, the things of God, if we want to live successful earthly lives.
And the next quote says: ‘Happiness comes from within. It is not dependent on external things or on other people. You become vulnerable and can be easily hurt when your feelings of security and happiness depend on the behavior and actions of other people. Never give your power to anyone else.’
The problem with that statement is the word ‘happiness,’ because that does come from external circumstances. Now if yuh talking about joy, then that’s a different story, because true joy can only come from within, and it’s there regardless of our difficult outward circumstances.
That’ why Satan tries his very best to steal our joy, because he knows that when he does that we simply become down and out. That’s because ‘the joy of the Lord is our strength!’ (Neh.8:10) And also why you can’t afford to allow others to control your situations, since they will invariably steal your joy.
Now listen to this: ‘If you don’t behave as you believe, you will end by believing as you behave.’ So true friends, so true! The corresponding saying is that if you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything and everything! And that’s certainly not a good way to live this hallowed life. So, especially as believers in Christ Jesus, we need to have strong, godly beliefs and stand strong in them, otherwise we’d just be wishy-washy, like so much of the world is today.
And then there’s this: ‘It does not matter how long you are spending on the earth, how much money you have gathered or how much attention you have received. It is the amount of positive vibration you have radiated in life that matters.’ And we all know that to be gospel truth my people! As Jesus said, ‘Ye shall know them by their fruits.’ (Matt.7:16a)
And furthermore, come the judgement, all our works will be tried by fire, and we’ll only be rewarded for the ones that withstand the fire. (1 Cor.3:13-15) So we desperately need to build on the only true foundation, which is our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!
And the last quote wisely asks? ‘How might you serve someone today? How could you take the time to say “thank you” to someone who has graciously loved and served you?’ Ah friends, those are all questions that we should seriously ponder this Saturday morning, because our destinies depend on them. Remember our mighty and majestic Lord Jesus Christ came down from heaven and became a lowly servant, not the Crown Prince He was entitled to be.
Remember what He said to the disciples when they were arguing amongst themselves who should be the greatest among them? ‘And he sat down and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.’ Oh my people, in Christ’s kingdom, being the greatest oftimes means being the least. And Christ’s desire for us down here is to serve and help those who need help and service.
Remember too the great example Christ gave us when He washed the disciples feet, did possibly the lowliest and most hated job in those times of dusty streets and dirty feet. And then His memorable words to them: ‘For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.’ (John 13:15)
Oh friends, that is certainly one area in which the overall body of Christ, His church, and we the people of that church are extremely weak! We don’t serve each other, or the numerous lost and hurting as much as we ought to, because we still have too much pride, and still believe like the world does, that the one who is being served is better than the one that’s serving.
However, that’s contrary to Jesus’ principles. So please let’s check our service meters today nuh, and see how we rank in that area, and take it to the Lord in prayer, because we can ALL do better than we’re currently doing, and that’s a big reason why Christ’s church is not growing and is not as powerful as it ought to be. Much LOVE!
…Jesus came to save the lost…to help the lowly and downtrodden…and that’s what He expects of His church…
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