The Wisdom of having Jesus as our Pilot and Anchor Bearer in Times of Storm!

15 Sep 2024 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 34:17.       The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.

Here it comes again friends, Sunday, the Lord’s Day, the first day of this new week, when we get together in fellowship and worship in the Lord’s house and find strength and confidence to both build and renew our faith so we can handle all the problems of the upcoming week. And this week’s song of worship is certainly an interesting and very appropriate one for these troubled and trying times. It’s one of our favourite Contemporary Christian songs titled, ‘The Anchor Holds.’ 

And the story behind the song is definitely a moving and uplifting one. It seems in 1992, the writer, Lawrence Chewning and his wife were experiencing some real tough times. He later termed it the year of their sorrows. His father had died, and He was a burned out pastor in a church that was having problems, then to further complicate matters, his wife had her third miscarriage. It was truly a time of sorrows. 

He then took a six months sabbatical and spent most of his time simply playing the piano. And it was during that period of difficulty and discouragement, of loss and lack of direction that the Lord opened his heart and filled it with that song. How marvellous and mysterious are the ways of our wonderful God! He’s always with us and never allows us to struggle more than is necessary. Whenever the time is right, He does something awesome to bring us out of our misery. 

And in God’s awesome agenda, He later led Chewning to speak with singer Ray Boltz about his difficult times and the song the Lord had poured into his heart. Boltz took the song remodelled to its current form, then in 1995, recorded it and made it a hit. And it’s still going strong today, having been recorded by several people in several genres. But today we’ll do a reggae, lover’s rock version as done by Jamaican Christian singer, Miss Judith Gayle. 

So, let’s offer up our sweet sacrifices of praise in a sincere, heartfelt manner, remembering the many times when the storm raged around us, but the anchor held fast because Jesus was our pilot and our anchor. Singing: ‘I have journeyed, Through the long, dark night Out on the open sea By faith alone, Sight unknown And yet His eyes, were watching me. (Chorus: The anchor holds, though the ship is battered. The anchor holds, though the sails are torn. I have fallen on my knees, As I face the raging seas, But the anchor holds, In spite of the storm.) 

I’ve had visions, I’ve had dreams, I’ve even held them in my hand, But oh Lord, I never knew, They would slip right through, Oh my Jesus, Like they were only grains of sand. (Chorus: But the anchor holds…) Oh, I have been young, but I am older now, thank the Lord, And there has been beauty, that these eyes have seen, But it was in the night, through the storms of my life, Oh, that’s where God proved, His LOVE for me. 

(Chorus: And the anchor holds, though my ship is battered. The anchor holds, though my sails are torn. And I have fallen on my knees, As I face the raging seas, But the anchor holds, In spite of the storm.  I have fallen on my knees, As I face the raging seas, But the anchor holds, In spite of the storm. Yes, the anchor holds, In spite of the storm. Thank You Jesus! I have fallen on my knees, As I face the raging seas, But the anchor holds, In spite of the storm. Yes, the anchor holds, In spite of the storm. Thank You Jesus!’ 

Ah friends, what powerful a testimony and uplifting message! And I know that many of us can attest to the authenticity of the sentiments in the song, because many of us have indeed gone through tough times when it’s only because of Jesus’ strong, solid, guiding hand on our rudder and anchor, that we made it through. That’s why Bruh David could write these reassuring words from Psalm 34. 

‘The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite heart (crushed in spirit). Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate (condemned, held guilty). The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate (condemned). (Ps. 34:17-22) 

And that’s the gospel truth my fellow believers. Our God won’t see us falling and not stop us from doing so, or if His purpose is for us to learn something from falling, to help us up when we do fall. As Cousin Sol wisely says in Proverbs: ‘For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief (stumble into calamity).’ (Prov. 24:16) And there are so many scriptures that attest to the goodness of God, that I don’t know which ones to quote. 

But as they say, when in doubt, you can’t go wrong with Bruh David. (smile) So here he is from Psalm 37: ‘The steps of a good man are ordered (established) by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed (descendants) begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed (descendants) are blessed.’ (Ps. 37:23-26) 

Oh my fellow saints, our great and faithful God will not see us in a precarious situation and not do something to help us out of it! He will never turn away from us. That’s why Jeremiah, though going through agony of body and soul in his Lamentations could still write: ‘The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.’ (Lam. 3:24-26) 

And yuh know what friends, when we can voice sincere sentiments like those in precarious times, then we’ll know that we’re on our way to true righteousness! Much LOVE!

…there is indeed life after the storm…and the anchor does hold…with Jesus operating it…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 August 2021 Psalm 34:19.

01 Aug 2021 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 34:19.      Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. 

One more Sunday is on deck friends! What a way they come around often and quickly! (smile) But that only means it’s time once again for corporate praise, worship and thanksgiving to Almighty God, our Creator and Provider. And there is definitely no problem in doing that. In fact, it ought to be an exciting and joyful time to which we gladly look forward. For what can be more energizing and uplifting than giving thanks and praise to our heavenly Father, considering all that He has done for us, is currently doing, and has promised to do until eternity? Absolutely nothing my faithful saints in Christ! 

So let’s get on with it nuh, opening as always with a song of praise. And today’s song has been one of my favourites ever since I first heard it a few years ago. It’s titled ‘The Anchor Holds.’ The song was originally written by a small-town pastor called Lawrence Chewning. According to Chewning, around 1992 his wife and him were having a rough time. He was a burned-out pastor, and then his wife had her third miscarriage. He took a sabbatical for six months, and just ended up playing the piano all the time, while talking to God. 

One day he found himself playing a song that sounded familiar, but he really didn’t know it. Then he began singing some words that the Lord put in his heart and the song was born. But that’s not the end of the story. Sometime later, he was talking to the singer Ray Boltz and told him about the rough times and the song the Lord had given him. Then one day, out of the blue, Ray called and said he wanted to record the song. Obviously Chewning said yes, but told Ray that he would have to shorten the song, because he felt it was too long. Ray remodelled the song to what it is today and released it in 1995. 

It seems he even had problems getting the record company to release the song because they didn’t like it. But he persisted because others who heard it liked it. And to show how God doesn’t leave His children in the lurch, Chewning says that at the time of the release of the song, he had become an out of work pastor, having resigned some time before, wondering how he was going to support his family. Obviously, he was going to get some financial rewards from the release of the song. Isn’t our God great? He certainly is! 

Now after hearing that touching and encouraging story, let’s sing the song in an up-tempo reggae riddim like the Jamaican gospel singer Judith Gayle. Remember the background vocal, the flourish of hands and the high stepping, with joy and gratitude emanating from our hearts, as our sincere voices are raised to heaven in sacrificial praise. Wow mih bredrin, let’s sing! 

‘I have journeyed, Through the long, dark night Out on the open sea By faith alone, Sight unknown And yet His eyes, were watching me. The anchor holds, though the ship is battered. The anchor holds, though the sails are torn. I have fallen on my knees, As I face the raging seas, But the anchor holds, In spite of the storm. I’ve had visions, I’ve had dreams, I’ve even held them in my hand, But I never knew, They would slip right through, Like they were only grains of sand. The anchor holds, though the ship is battered. The anchor holds, though the sails are torn. I have fallen on my knees, As I face the raging seas, But the anchor holds, In spite of the storm. 

Oh, I have been young, but I am older now, thank the Lord, And there has been beauty, that these eyes have seen, But it was in the night, through the storms of my life, Oh, that’s where God proved, His LOVE for me. The anchor holds, though my ship is battered. The anchor holds, though my sails are torn. And I have fallen on my knees, As I face the raging seas, But the anchor holds, In spite of the storm.  I have fallen on my knees, As I face the raging seas, But the anchor holds, In spite of the storm. Yes, the anchor holds, In spite of the storm. Thank You Jesus! I have fallen on my knees, As I face the raging seas, But the anchor holds, In spite of the storm. Yes, the anchor holds, In spite of the storm.’ 

And is that ever the gospel truth my people! When Jesus is our Lord and Saviour, whatever storms we go through, be they literal or metaphorical, the anchor always holds because He is the Master of the storm! However, we need to believe that and put it into action when the storms of life come against us. Even in the raging seas, when our ship is battered and our sails are torn, the right thing for us to do is get down on our knees and cry out to Him for safety and succour. 

It is all based on the premise of hope in Christ Jesus which leads to an undying faith in Him. I like how the prophet Zechariah puts it as he speaks to his people, Israel about the coming of their future king, Jesus, the Messiah. He says: ‘Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope…’ (Zech. 9:12a) Yes friends, that’s what believers in Christ are, ‘prisoners of hope!’ And what’s hope? Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) describes ‘Hope as a revolution, a powerful presence that breaks through from the future and transforms today.’ Oh my people, that is exactly what hope in Christ does for us; gives us an encouraging glimpse of a wonderful future with Him! 

And we are just going to quote a few verses of scripture to back up our contention, re hope in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This first from Psalm 34 – The Lord hears the righteous. The psalmist declares: ‘The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite (crushed) spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.’ (Ps; 34:17-20) 

What marvellous words of assurance friends! And just in case you don’t believe that psalmist, then listen to the Sons of Korah from Psalm 46, who tell us in no uncertain terms: ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help (an abundantly available help) in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst (the heart) of the sea. Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.   Selah.’ (Ps. 46:1-3) 

But all talk aside friends, there is only one way to find out if all of that is true; and that’s by putting one’s hope, faith and trust in Christ Jesus. Otherwise you’ll just keep wandering aimlessly in the wilderness like the Israelites did so long ago. And in these desperate and uncertain times, our lives definitely call for less talk and more action! So let’s get to some serious action nuh! Much LOVE!

…talk is a precursor to action…that means…talk without action is useless…                                                                                                     

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8    

Today’s Scrip-Bit 27 September 2020 Psalm 34:18.

27 Sep 2020 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 34:18.     ​The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit (crushed in spirit).

The Lord’s day, the Lord’s Day, it’s here mih bredrin! But sadly, we not breaking down the doors of His sanctuary to gather together in worship, as there are still restrictions and many people are still anxious about darkening the church doors for fear of the Covid-19 virus. But as Bruh Paul said to the church at Rome: ‘nothing can separate us from the LOVE of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Rom. 8:30) And that’s the gospel truth! So though all of us can’t gather to worship as we desire, there are ways for all of us to worship, if we so desire. (smile) 

And today in our song of praise, one a friend recently acquainted me with, and from the time I heard it, I knew we had to sing it this Sunday. (smile) Thanks friends, for all the good and useful stuff you all send me through WhatsApp. And today we slowing it down, we going soulful, getting it straight from the heart in a contemporary Christian song by Jamaican gospel singer Judith Gayle, titled ‘Stay with God!’ And if that isn’t the best news in the world, then I don’t know what is nuh! So in strong and soulful voice, with sweet harmony, let’s raise our sacrifice of praise to high heaven, pouring out our hearts in utter sincerity. 

‘I know the mountains get so high sometimes I know the valley seems so wide It seems this journey, it will never end, And you keep asking the question: God why? I know the road it gets so rocky at times Ahhh, I know the heartaches are severe Oh, It seems like life will never change its tide But there’s an answer to all of life’s cares. (Chorus: Stay with God In spite of what you see or feel Stay with God In spite of how things may appear Come on, Stay with God It doesn’t matter what may come our way There is only one place we are safe Stay with God.) 

I know the way you feel says give up now I know you feel you can’t hold on You’re not the only one who is carrying your load Remember He said to cast all your cares on Him. I know you cry and tell everyone you meet Because you feel that will ease the pain But if you just believe your life is in God’s hands Then today I tell you your mountains have to disappear. (Chorus – twice) Ooh yeah You got life in Him There is hope in Him There’s a bright future Just stay with him yeah just stay with him yeah Oh he’ll never leave you He’ll never never forsake you no 

Just cast all your cares upon Him Don’t give up now Don’t give in no Whatever may come your way God is always there, Stay with God In spite of what you see or feel Stay with God In spite of how things may appear Stay with God It doesn’t matter what may come our way There is only one place we are safe Come on, Stay with God Stay with Jesus Stay with Jesus Stay with God Eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God yeah Stay with God…Stay with Jesus…Stay with God…right until the end…Stay with God…’ 

Oh friends, those are the most truthful and encouraging words you can ever say to another human being! Why? Because there’s only ONE place in this world where you can be sure of safety and comfort and care: in the LOVING and comforting arms of Jehovah God, that’s under the rock that’s higher than we are and thus safer too. The Lord God Almighty is the answer to ALL of life’s cares. 

He’s invited you to come to Him and be relieved of your burdens through His Great Invitation. (Matt. 11:28-30) He’s also told you to cast all your cares on Him because He cares for you. (1 Pet. 5:7) He’s also promised ‘never to leave nor forsake you.’ (Heb. 13:5) And when you endure to the end with Him, there’s a bright and glorious future in store for you, with a crown of righteousness and magnificent heavenly rewards. 

But friends, to be able to do all of that successfully, you must give your life over to God, surrender your life to Him, and then spend time in prayer, or conversation with Him, while reading and meditating on His holy word with obedience to it a priority. There also needs to be humility of spirit, no false human pride, and a contrite heart. 

Isaiah puts it this way. ‘For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy, I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.’ (Is, 57:15) And Bruh David said it twice. In Psalm 34 – The Lord hears the righteous – he proclaims: ‘The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit (crushed in spirit).’ (Ps. 34:18) 

And then in that powerful psalm 51 – A prayer for cleansing – when he finally admits to his sins with Bathsheba, after the prophet Nathan drapes him up, Bruh David declares (awright!): ‘Oh Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else I would give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.’ (Ps. 51:15-17) 

Yes friends, those are some of the basic ways we ‘Stay with God.’ And please remember, it is not a one time, one and done thing, but it has to be a constant affair, for staying with God means you are always around Him, and He is always around you. It’s a life relationship; even till after death. In fact, eternity is the time when it gets real good! (smile) So on this last Sunday in September, of this crazy and tumultuous year of 2020, when the worse possibly hasn’t happened as yet, let’s remember that the best way to face life is to ‘Stay with God!’ Much LOVE!

…doing life with God…that’s the ONLY sensible way to go about it…