23 Nov 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a LOVING Father, a pleasure to know God intimately, and now abideth faith hope love, assurance of God's love, Bible, born of God, Christ died for us, christianity, damnation, deepen my breath, dissenters, eternal separation, faith, give men for thee, God commendeth his own love toward us, God is LOVE, God so loved the world, have everlasting life, he gave his only begotten son, he that loveth not knoweth not God, heal broken bones, heaven, hell, hellfire, herein is love, holy spirit, increase my awareness of you, infinite patience, intimacy with god, Jesus Christ, know you all the more, lazing around, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, lead you to the abundant life, LOVE, LOVE is of God, loved thee with an everlasting love, mercy, no force more powerful than God's love, not reciprocated the Lord's love, not that we loved God but that he loved us, people for thy life, precious in my sight, quiet my soul, relax my muscles, salvation, set free those held captive by sin, sleeping in, slow my thoughts, stop the roaring seas, thank you for this tenderness, the depth of God's love, the faith journey starts, the greatest of these is love, the Holy One of Israel, the Lord's love song, the propitiation for our sins, truth, unceasing neareness, walk in faith, while we were yet sinners, whosoever beleives in him should not persih, wisdom
1 John 4:8. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE.
And now we’ve come to Saturday; our lazy-day Saturday, where most of us can do as we please, with little or no restrictions on time or effort. (smile) And it’s another damp and cloudy day, so that makes it even better for sleeping in and lazing around. I can’t complain either, because I did manage to get in a li’l lazy time despite the aches and pains crying out to get up and get some movement going in the ole body. But what else is new eh? (smile)
Anyway, let’s get to our most important matter right now, our Lazy-Day Saturday prayer. Please pray with me: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
And what a pleasure it is to know our Creator and Provider more intimately! There’s nothing like it in this world! Why? Because God created us for the express purpose of having intimacy with Him; a creation for Him to LOVE, and who would LOVE Him in return. And we see God’s LOVE highlighted all the way through His Word, with explicit scriptures like this: ‘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.’ (John 3:16)
Then there’s this: ‘But God commendeth (demonstrates) his (own) LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:8) Yes, instead of waiting for us to change, God’s LOVE was so great towards us that He just couldn’t wait any longer for us to turn ourselves around. And what about this scripture from the prophet Jeremiah? ‘The Lord hath appeared of old (from afar) unto me, saying, Yea, I have LOVED thee with an everlasting LOVE: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee.’ (Jer. 31:3) And as the scholars explain: ‘God’s LOVE for His people is accompanied by infinite patience.’
Yes, my fellow believers, God’s LOVE for His most important creation is unconditional, unending and unmistakable! And what about these most endearing words from the prophet Isaiah? ‘For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee (in thy place). Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable (honoured), and I have LOVED thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.’ (Is. 43:3-4)
That’s how much the Lord LOVED the people of Israel, and consequently all those who believe, trust and have faith in His Son Jesus Christ. Oh friends, the Bible is in fact the Lord’s LOVE song to us! All through it we see His LOVE rearing up on behalf of His people, especially in tough times. And John got it ever so right in his epistle. Just listen to this treatise on God’s LOVE nuh!
‘Beloved, let us LOVE one another: for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE. In this was manifested the LOVE of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4:7-11)
Oh my people, it could not be put any clearer or more straightforward than that! Unfortunately though, we have not reciprocated the Lord’s LOVE like we ought to. Instead, we’ve turned away from Him to other gods and man-made idols. Made Him so unimportant in our lives, that we’re even trying to eradicate Him from our society. But we know that will NEVER happen, for our God is the ONLY omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present Being in existence, and we cannot even make one move unless He allows it. And He will definitely not allow anyone else to take over the universe He so LOVINGLY created.
And because of His great LOVE for us and our stubborn, foolish and hardhearted, behaviour towards Him, He’s created a sanctuary for those who are wise and desire to have sincere communion with Him. It’s a place called heaven, where those who put their trust in His Son Jesus Christ will spend eternity enjoying the good and abundant life. However, for those who do not desire sincere communication with God, there’s another place called HELL, where those dissenters will spend eternity separated from Him. And if we’re wise, we’ll choose the first option, because the second is going to be pure hellfire and damnation!
Oh friends, God LOVES us because He simply LOVES us. As John says, God is LOVE, and thus can do nothing else but LOVE! And we’ll close today with this excerpt from an article on the subject of God’s LOVE found on the bible studytools.com website, which I believe very nicely explains it.
It says: ‘God absolutely LOVES you. It’s hard to get our minds around, but it is true. This is where the faith journey starts: understanding that God LOVES you. If you do not have an assurance of God’s LOVE, your faith journey will not last long. Fortunately, reading the Bible can help to strengthen your faith in God’s LOVE. There is no force more powerful than the LOVE our heavenly Father has for us, His children. His LOVE can move mountains, stop the roaring seas, heal broken bones and wounded hearts, transform lives, and set free those held captive by sin and shame. So great is his LOVE for you and me that he sent his only Son to die that we might live through him.
God is not an angry taskmaster who shows affection only when you succeed. He is a LOVING Father who will always LOVE you no matter what. Take time to receive the depth of his LOVE for you today. Allow his LOVE to heal you, transform you, free you, and lead you to the abundant life he has always longed to give. Read, meditate, and pray over these Bible verses about God’s LOVE as you walk in faith today.’
Oh my fellow saints, I certainly could not put it any better than that! So please, let’s do what it says nuh, get deep into God’s Word and understand just how much He really LOVES us! That’s wisdom to the nth degree! Much LOVE!
…and now abideth faith, hope and LOVE…but the greatest of these is…LOVE… (1 Cor, 13:13)
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
29 Jul 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a beautiful day, a beautiful morning, a better tomorrow, a fleeting thought, a sense of humour, Amen and Amen, Anselm, aspire to inspire, barbecue, blessed be the Lord God of Israel, block, bounden duty, constructive, doubling up work, downsizing, everything's going my way, fabulously made, fears, filled with God's glory, football, free medicine, from everlasting to everlasting, frustration, get to work, good management, gospel truth, heaven is excited, heavenly Father, housework, jungle-like atmosphere, Labour Day, laugh at yourself, laughter, lazing around, let everything that has breath, LOVE, opportunity, persistence, picnic, pilgrim's journey, Praise the Lord, problems, proud like a peacock, resilience, saints of God, score points, shopping, shout Hallelujah, solutions, sourpusses, stand strong, tackle, tension, the cold white stuff, the firmament of his power, the game of life, the loud cymbals, the sun and Son are shining, two out of three ain't bad, Winston Churchill, wondrous things
Psalm 41:13. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen.
‘Oh what a beautiful morning…Oh what a beautiful day! Oh what a beautiful morning…Everything’s going my way!’
Yes friends, it is indeed a glorious morning in my neighbourhood! Both the Sun and the Son are shining brightly. And you know when that happens all of heaven is excited.
I just wish I could get my body to respond with the same level of excitement that my soul and spirit currently enjoy. (smile) And I know a lot of you feel the same way.
But as the song says,’ two out of three ain’t bad.’ Let’s be thankful, for many others are batting zero for three…if you get my drift. (smile)
But it’s Saturday, and we’re either doing housework or shopping, or simply lazing around the house, if we’re lucky, or getting ready for a picnic or barbecue or some such outside entertainment.
And we had better get in as much as we can because this is the last Saturday in July, which means the summer is almost done; just August to go now…then it’s September – Labour Day, the cooler weather, and back to school!
Wow! Can you believe that the summer’s just whisked by like a fleeting thought? And we haven’t even had any real hot days…Even today is cooler than it usually is. But yuh know what, most of us will take this kind of weather over the cold, white stuff any day! Glory be!
Now let’s see what our friend Anselm had to say this week, as he aspired to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And here is the first one: ‘Persistence and resilience only come from having been given the chance to work through difficult problems.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth friends? We only learn persistence and resilience when we’re confronted by tough problems, then we stand strong, work persistently on them, and finally conquer them.
And this next quote, though it might be the proverbial truth, it surely isn’t widespread in practice today. ‘Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive that everyone wants to get to work and deal with them.’
Hn, hn! In which companies today do we see people excited to deal with problems eh, especially with all the downsizing and doubling up of work on those left behind?
Then we have: ‘The game of life is a lot like football. You have to tackle your problems, block your fears, and score your points when you get the opportunity.’
That surely is in the realm of truth in this crazy, strife filled world. Life is certainly full of blocks and tackles and attempting to score points, as we try to manoeuvre through its wild and jungle-like atmosphere on a daily basis.
But I’ve left the best for last. ‘It’s good to be able to laugh at yourself and the problems you face in life. A sense of humour can save you.’ Now that has oodles of truth percolating through it.
Without a sense of humour we’re just sad, sourpusses, painstakingly trudging along on our pilgrim’s journey. But a sense of humour relieves the tension and frustration and helps us bear the burdens much better. Remember laughter is the best free medicine one can buy.
And I believe it’s Winston Churchill himself who said that the best ability one could have was the ability to laugh at oneself, for it keeps us solidly grounded and not overly proud like a peacock. (smile) By the way, that last part was mine, not Winston’s.
And since today is such a glorious day, and we’re so joyful, I’ve been led to keep it simple and thankful, thus our Bit; words of Bruh David from Psalm 41 – Abuse and assurance. ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen.’
Oh precious saints of Jehovah God, we couldn’t do any better than to praise His holy name, for that’s why we were so fabulously made. And in a Bit earlier on in the week, we saw how the living creatures and elders in heaven continually praised and worshipped their Creator. So how could we do any less eh?
Now we’re just going to wind down by checking out some joyful scripture along the lines of our Bit. Hear the psalmist from Psalm 106 – Israel sins against God’s LOVE. ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say, Amen. (Hallelujah) Praise ye the Lord.’ (Ps.106:48)
And Listen to Cousin Sol from the first of the only two psalms he authored. The other is Psalm 127. ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen, and Amen. The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.’ (Ps.72:18-20)
And according to the scholars that psalm closes the Second Book of the Psalter – The Exodus Book – Concerning Israel as a Nation. And we’ll end appropriately with these glorious words of Psalm 150 – Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord.
‘Praise ye the Lord (shout Hallelujah). Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness… Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high-sounding cymbals. Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord (Hallelujah). (Ps.150:1-2, 5-6)
And that’s how it ought to be my fellow believers! So please let’s go out and do that nuh, let’s do our bounden duty; praise the Lord, shout ‘Hallelujah!’ Much LOVE!
…giving much deserved thanks and praise to our heavenly Father…is one of the best things a believer can do…
22 Jul 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a comfortable life, a failure of trust, a fraud, a lost art, a LOVING Father, a paradox, a petty tyrant, acrimony, amenities, anger, arrogance, behaviour, bitter feelings, blessings, calamity, change lives, character, charlatan, Christian brothers and sisters, contagious, courage can be contagious, curse God and die, dance around, eat them for breakfast, epitome of trust, expect problems, fight through, God is at the centre, God-filled mien, high esteem, History, hope, inability to communicate, influence, integrity, lasting impressions, lazing around, Lucifer, memorable words of Job, mood, motivator, neck of the woods, prayed for his friends, problems, relationships survive on trust, reverence, rook him to taks, so busy, spare time, take on a life of its own, the course of history, the source of problems, Though he slay me, true communication, trust, ultimate in wisdom, underestimate your importance, what have you done for me lately, wisdom, with God's help, word of warning, words, yet will I trust in him
Job 13:15a. Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him…
Ahoy there mih friendlies! (smile) It’s a cloudy Saturday morning in my neck of the woods, perfect for pure, unadulterated lazing around the house! (smile) Is that your perception too?
Oh, yuh know our lives are so busy now, that even on our days off, some of us can’t afford to just lay around and do nothing. Steups!
Whatever happened to the promises that as our world became more motorized, our lives would become freer eh, we would have more spare time? That’s a joke! Because with all the supposed amenities we now have, we’re still busier than we’ve ever been.
Anyhow, just one word of warning; however you choose to spend today, just make sure that our heavenly Father is at the centre of it, let Him lead and guide you as He so desires. For that’s the ultimate in wisdom my Christian brothers and sister!
Now, since it’s Saturday, let’s look at quotes from our friend Anselm from this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And like our buddy Anselm had a problem-filled vision this week, for they all revolve around problems. (smile)
Here is the first one: ‘It is wise to direct your anger towards problems – not people; to focus your energies on answers – not excuses.’ Now that’s very true, but it’s not always easy turn our anger away from others, because invariably they are the source of our problems.
And the second says: ‘Most people spend more time and energy going around problems than in trying to solve them.’ That’s also true, because it’s usually easier to dance around the problem than fight through it.
Now this one, we should all pay serious attention to. ‘Relationships survive on trust, and if that is broken at any point, it’s pretty much the end of the relationship. Besides, inability to communicate leads to problems.’
And is that ever so true my people! There’s nothing that destroys a relationship as quickly and totally as a failure of trust. Sometimes they can be repaired, but very often they just disintegrate, leaving behind all sorts of acrimony and bitter feelings, because it’s so hard to replace trust once it’s lost.
And to make it even more difficult, nowadays, despite all the many wonderful methods of communication that exist, we still don’t communicate with each other as well as we should. It seems like true communication is a lost art of this society that’s predominantly focused on communication. Hn! What a paradox!
Now here is another meaningful quote. ‘You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all of the world’s problems at once but don’t ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own.’
Yeh friends, we must never ever underestimate our importance, because we never know what sort of influence our words and/or behaviour might have on others. We often make great and lasting impressions on people we don’t even know, which can change their lives, as well as the course of history.
Now here’s the last quote, and my favourite. ‘Expect problems and eat them for breakfast!’ Isn’t that beautiful mih breddren? We all know problems will crop up, but let’s not allow them to disturb our God-filled mien (mood, character), let’s just eat them up and spit them out – with God’s help of course!
Ah mih people, we’ve spent so much time and space on those quotes, that we don’t have much left for our Bit, which is one of the most powerful statements in the Bible, and the epitome of trust.
We’re talking about those memorable words of Job when he experienced terrible disaster; almost immediate loss of his health, family and fortune. His friends and family thought that his calamity was caused by some secret sin, and his wife even encouraged him to ‘curse God and die.’ (Job 2:9b)
However, Job stood tall, defended his integrity and faithfully declared: ‘Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him…’
Ah current saints of God, how many of us say words akin to those when we are going through some calamity eh? I don’t think as many as should. And that’s possibly because we don’t hold our great and wonderful God in as high esteem as Job did.
In our current society, the popular term is ‘what have you done for me lately?’ So if God hasn’t come through for us lately, we’re quite liable to dismiss Him as being a fraud and a charlatan like the fallen angel Lucifer. But that’s the biggest mistake we can ever make my people!
Remember, God isn’t there to cater to our whims and fancies, we were made to serve and worship Him. He is the boss! Whatever He says goes…and when He says it too.
But He isn’t a petty tyrant, like so many of the other supposed gods that don’t truly exist. Instead, He’s a compassionate and LOVING Father who only wants us to do His will.
And please notice Job’s later behaviour, after the Lord took him to task and humbled him for a spot of arrogance. The Good Book tells us: ‘And the Lord turned the captivity of Job (restored his losses), when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before… so the Lord blessed the latter end of job more than his beginning…’ (Job 42:10, 12a)
Yes my brethren, that’s how our Lord will bless us when we stand humble but strong in integrity, faith and trust before Him. Please let that be lesson, a great motivator for us. Much LOVE!
…in proportion to our trust in…and reverence of God…so shall be our portion of blessings…
15 Jul 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a positive attitude, Anselm, challenges, Christian, common to man, decision making, deliver us from evil, different results, difficult times, discover, do what you want to do, dream, emotional distress, endurance, endures temptation, energy, evil, explore, for ever, fruition, glorify God's name, God is faithful, grocery shopping, grow, guidelines, hanging out with Jesus, heart's desires, household chores, humble thee, in your sails, joy, lazing around, lead us not into temptation, learning experiences, mature, money, opportunities, pleasure, problems, put your best foot forward, running from difficulties, safe harbour, Saturday, stop signs, taking in the sightd, temptation, the crown of life, the glory, the Mosaic Law, the power, them that love him, thine is the kingdom, this is the day the Lord has made, throw off the bowlines, thy latter end, time, trade winds, victory, we shall rejoice and be glad in it, wisdom, work clothes
Matthew 6:13. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Saturday, O Saturday! What have you got in store for me today eh? Will it be an easy day, just lazing around the house or going out and taking in the sights? Or will it be pure drudgery, like household chores and grocery shopping?
Whatever kind of day you turn out to be though Saturday, I’m sure of this one thing; I’ll constantly have the company of Jesus with me, always by my side to provide a healthy chuckle or lend a helping hand when times get difficult. And we’re going to have good time, because this is the day the Lord has made, therefore we shall rejoice and be glad in it. Glory be, mih breddren!
What a joy and a pleasure it is to have Jesus hanging out with us. Chuh! It couldn’t get any better than that nuh! And though I could go on singing the praises of Jesus all day, He requires me to look at some of the quotes that our friend Anselm blessed us with this week, as he aspires to inspire us to a better tomorrow.
And this first quote is something many of us believers need to put into practice. ‘If you have a positive attitude and constantly strive to give your best effort, eventually you will overcome your immediate problems and find you are ready for greater challenges.’ Remember friends, it’s a good, Christian attitude and always putting your best foot forward that eventually brighten your way.
This next quote should be obvious. ‘We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.’ Doing the same thing, or thinking the same way, won’t get different results.
Now these next two, which I’ve made one, are certainly interesting. ‘Problems are only opportunities in work clothes. Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines.’ And there’s lots of truth in them both, for problems usually show us opportunities, as well as guide us in sound decision making.
And this last quote is a definite winner! ‘Do what you want to do. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.’
Gospel truth that friends! But we need to do our do with a modicum of circumspection and with God always predominant in the mix. And I can give a personal testimony to that, because over the years I’ve gone out on a limb – am still doing it (smile) – and done some of my heart’s desires.
Now they were expensive in terms of time, energy, money and emotional distress, but the Lord allowed me to experience them, and I don’t regret them, because they were all learning experiences. But I have to chuckle when I remember how the Lord eased me out of them all, when He considered it time to seriously get into His Word and write His Bit. God gives us dreams, my brethren, so that we can go after them and bring them to fruition and glorify His holy name.
Okay, enough rambling, let’s turn to our Bit, everlasting words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus, as He taught the disciples, and by extension, us, how to pray. ‘And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.’
Now yesterday we saw from the scholars’ explanation that God doesn’t tempt us, though He allows some to come against us to test our faithfulness. James gives us this talk on the subject. ‘Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them the LOVE him.’ (James 1:12)
And the scholars have some interesting opinions on that verse which give us better understanding. ‘1:12. Mankind understandably may look on tragedy as the curse of God, as Job’s friends did. Trials are, however, the means through which God’s blessings can come. One’s endurance in and victory over trials bring God’s blessings. Christians, therefore, are not instructed to seek avenues of escape.
God desires that they mature in the situation rather than move from it. (cf. Rom.5:3-5; 1 Pet. 1:6-7). He does, however, promise to provide an escape if the testing becomes unbearable (1 Cor.10:13). God’s people need to meditate more on James 1:12 than 1 Cor.10:13. The reason for this, and why God allows trials in the lives of His people is revealed in the Mosaic Law: “That he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end” (Deut. 8:16).’
Ah mih people, I know that doesn’t sit well with some of us, since we’d prefer to escape all the trials and tests. But then how will we ever grow in faith eh, if we keep running from difficulties, because it’s in difficult times that we grow and mature?
And we’ll end with the verse from Bruh Paul to the Corinthians which the scholars believe makes us too soft and sappy. ‘There hath no temptation taken (overtaken) you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear (endure) it.’ (1 Cor.10:13)
And please note friends, the scholars tell us that the Greek term used in that verse refers more to a safe landing place for a ship, than for an actual escape. So the Lord’s plan is not for us to entirely escape the temptation, but help us to endure it and come out safely on the other side.
Let’s therefore stop thinking about only escaping temptation, but more about fighting through them and coming out victorious on the other side, with God’s help of course. That’s wisdom of eternal proportions! Much LOVE!
…only by fighting through trials…rather than escaping them…can a believer grow in faith…
17 Jun 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, aee the good in people, Anselm's quotes, authentic, backbone, band our bellies, be persistent, bear patiently, Christ is Lord indeed, Christians, endurance, endure, every foe is vanquished, faults, for my name's sake, fraudulent, goats, grocery shopping, happiness, harrowing experiences, hated of all men, have patience, he that shall endure, Hebrews, household chores, in harmony, in Jesus' name, in your patience, lay aside every weight, lazing around, live in harmony, no need to worry, not a hair of your head shall perish, persecution, perseverance, persist, persistence, possess ye your souls, private space, probe, promises, run with patience, see the good in people, selfish, shall be saved, sheep., signs of the end times, sin, so great a cloud of witnesses, stand up for Jesus, stand up until the end, strong and steadfast, sufficent unto the say, take no thought for the morrow, technological innovation, that ensnares us, the race set before us, the trouble thereof, the trumpet call obey, then you win, they laugh at you, to the end, two-faced, under God's control, under the umbrella of god, whimper, wisdom, your true self
Mark 13:13. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure (bear patiently, be persistent) unto the end, the same shall be saved.
And then it was Saturday mih breddren; a day for lazing around for some lucky ones, while others will be forced to do household chores ignored during the week, or go grocery shopping…
Chuh! It’s always something eh? Whatever happened to the glorious promises that technological innovation would make our lives easier eh? Our lives are busier than they ever were! Yes we have much more stuff, but we also have much more stuff to look after. Anyway friends, there’s no need to worry, for it’s all under God’s mighty and wise control! Glory to Him in the highest!
But it’s Saturday, so let’s check out some of our friend Anselm’s quotes for this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Hear this first one: ‘Be congruent (in harmony, together), be authentic, be your true self. Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.’
Ah friends, that’s how we ought to be, but in these fraudulent, selfish times, too many people are not their true selves, they are two-faced for whatever reason, thus they cannot live in harmony with themselves.
And then there’s this one: ‘See the good in people and help them. I look only to the good qualities of men. Not being faultless myself, I won’t presume to probe into the faults of others.’ That’s a very good philosophy my people. We should always look for the good in others, but in these current times, we still need to be very careful about whom we let into our private space.
Now listen to this quote: ‘Take care of this moment. I do not want to foresee the future. I am concerned with taking care of the present. God has given me no control over the moment following.’ Much truth lies in that. Jesus said that if we sought the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all we needed to lead a good life would be provided.
Then He concluded: ‘Take therefore no thought for the morrow (do not worry about tomorrow): for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil (trouble) thereof.’ (Matt.6:34) That simply means that every day will take care of itself if you are living under the umbrella of the heavenly Father.
And I like this last quote. ‘Persist. First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.’ Yes, precious people of God,, there’s an awful lot to be said about persistence. It will get us through the most agonizing and harrowing experiences or situations when nothing else will.
And we have one of the best examples of that in our Bit. ‘And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure (bear patiently, be persistent) unto the end, the same shall be saved.’
Ah friends, those are the words of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, expressed in the course of telling His disciples about the signs for the end times. Please note that those who shall be saved, are those who endure, persist, have the patience, the belly and backbone to stand up until the end, against all the evil and unjust stuff that will come against believers.
And we are seeing a lot of that stuff happening nowadays my fellow believers, which means we have to band our bellies and stand strong and steadfast in Jesus’ name, if we want to see the kingdom of heaven. We can’t afford to fall down, give up, and whimper out in fear now. This is the most crucial time in our history; a time when the sheep will be separated from the goats. The sheep will follow Jesus, while the goats will lust for Beelzebub.
And we will invoke the eternal wisdom of the author of the Hebrews. Hear this classic verse. ‘Wherefore seeing (since) we also are compassed about with (surrounded by) so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset (ensnare) us, and let us run with patience (perseverance, endurance) the race that is set before us.’ (Heb.12:1)
What a magnificent verse of scripture that is my brethren! So strong that it ought to light a fire under us in these end times! We need lots of patience, perseverance and endurance my people if we’re going to fight the good fight for Christ!
And to boost our spirits and courage at this stage of the game, please listen to Jesus’ promise as told by Luke. ‘And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake. But there shall not a hair of your head perish. In your patience possess ye your souls.’ (Luke 21:17-19)
What a promise mih people! Not a hair on our heads will perish if we stand up strong under the persecution that will come against us. Wow! And we all know that Jesus is ever-faithful to keep ALL of His promises. So please hold on strong, stand in unity, because together we’re much stronger than apart.
Let’s raise up Christ’s church as we’re supposed to nuh. This is the time when all Christians must come together, regardless of colour, class, creed or race. Let’s do it for Jesus. It’s the least we can do for all that He’s done for us. Much LOVE!
…stand up…stand up for Jesus…the trumpet call obey…till every foe is vanquished…and Christ is Lord indeed…
29 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: agendas, Amalekites, angry, Anselm, compare yourself, comparison, conceit, contempt, David encouraged himself, depths of despair, discouraged, expectant faith, faith, focus, Gentiles, grocery shopping, hope, horse of a differetn colour, household chores, hungry hope, in black and white, in the Lord his God, jealous, keeping up with the Joneses, lazing around, lifted up their voice and wept, material lifestyle, motivation, negative results, no man stood with me, nutritious soups, oranges with oranges, outdoor sport, Philistines, physical wealth, picnic, playing fields, pride, rock bottom, Saul, selfishness, spake of stoning him, strengthened me, the Lord stood with me, the mouth of the lion, timelines, tropical climes, wisdom, with God uppermost, Ziklag
1 Samuel 30:6b. ‘…but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.’
And then it was Saturday; the day for household chores and grocery shopping for some, while for others it’s just a lazy, lying around day, doing nothing much of anything. For those blessed to be living in tropical climes, it might be a picnic or some outdoor sport or just lying in a hammock below a shade tree.
Or if you’re in Tobago, you might just be getting ready to go up Calder Hall and get some of Brother Kirby’s rich, tantalizing and nutritious soups. That would certainly go down well on this chilly Saturday morning. How lucky can some people get eh? (smile)
But not so in these northern parts, since it’s too cold for the usual outdoor sports and picnics, while it’s not cold enough to go skiing or outdoor skating. But to his each his own; all of us have different agendas and timelines, so let us do whatever we need to do, with God uppermost in our hearts and minds.
And on that note, let me share with you a rather wise offering this past week from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us. Listen up, as he advises: ‘Compare yourself with yourself. Not with others. Comparing what you have and your results to what other people have and have accomplished can really kill your motivation. There are always people ahead of you. Most likely quite a bit of people. And a few of them are miles ahead. So focus on you. On your results. And how you can and have improved them.’
Words of absolute wisdom my people! The worse thing we can ever do is compare ourselves with others. We all know about keeping up with the Joneses, which is a real killer in terms of physical wealth and material lifestyle. But it’s even worse when we try to compare our personal accomplishments with those of others, even those in like fields and professions because the playing fields are never level, are never the same.
Some start out with a gold spoon in their mouths, some with silver, others with brass, and many with no spoon at all. So comparisons are seldom ever oranges with oranges, but oranges with different fruit. It never pays to measure your accomplishment with others, because more often than not we fall short of the other person’s attainment and then get discouraged, jealous and even angry, which doesn’t help us any.
Then on the odd occasion when our accomplishment is better than others, we’re liable to look down on them with pride, conceit and contempt. That doesn’t help us either friends. The truth is that others will always be both ahead and behind us in accomplishments, and comparisons on either end will only bring us negative results.
So as Anselm advises, if we so badly want to compare, let’s compare ourselves with our selves; take stock of our own accomplishments as we grow and mature. We have all the right tools at hand to measure ourselves against ourselves, but not against other people.
That finally brings us to our Bit: ‘…but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.’ Oh friends, what a potent piece of scripture in only a few words.
Hear the story: Bruh David is running from Saul, whose avowed intention is to kill him. On this particular instance he’s living in Philistine territory in a place called Ziklag. The Philistines are preparing to make war against Saul and Israel and Bruh David goes with his rag tag band of men to help. But the Philistine counsellors distrust him, so they send him back to Ziklag. (1 Sam.29)
Lo and behold though, three days later when they get to Ziklag, they discover that during their absence the Amalekites have invaded the city and burned it to the ground. The really sad part though was that all their families had been taken away captive. The Good Book tells us that ‘Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.’ (1 Sam.30:4)
Then, though it didn’t seem possible, things got even worse: ‘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 for his daughters.’ (1 Sam.30:6a) It didn’t matter to them that Bruh David’s two wives had also been taken captive; they were just concerned about their own families. At those times the innate selfishness of man usually comes to the fore.
And that’s where our Bit comes in: ‘…but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.’ Ah friends, what a moving and powerful scripture. It’s something that we should all remember and keep deep in our hearts, for when circumstances come against us and there’s no man to stand with us, then we need to encourage ourselves in our God, for He has promised never to leave nor forsake us even when things hit rock bottom.
That brings to mind another instance of the Lord’s providence, this one with Bruh Paul. As he says to Timothy: ‘At my first answer (defense) no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.’ (2 Tim.4:16-17)
Yes friends, there will be times when everything and everyone will seem to be against us, but that is not the time to give up. Instead, that’s the time for us to encourage ourselves in the Lord, to remember all His promises and the good things He’s done for us in the past and call upon Him with strong, expectant faith and hungry hope, knowing that He will not disappoint us, will never leave us in the lurch.
Now I know it all sounds fine in theory, and looks good on paper in black and white, but when push really comes to shove, it’s a horse of a different colour. That’s why we need to do our utmost to build our faith in Almighty God, because it’s only with real strong faith can we handle those situations, and not be totally overwhelmed by them.
More on this tomorrow friends, the Lord in favour. Till then let’s stand strong in our faith and keep looking to Christ for all our needs. He will meet them all. Much LOVE!
…only the powerful arms of Christ…can lift us from the very depths of despair…
29 Aug 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: admonishment, almighty god, antidote, as far as the east, attitudes, aura of love, bind us up, blessings, cast out, Come and let us return unto the Lord, complaining, confession, confidence, cussing, doing nothing, drudgery, enthusiasm, evil, faith, forgiveness, friends, fun, glorious kingdom, God's mercy, grace, groaning, holy spirit, Hosea, housework, humble servants, iniquity, invincible, Jesus saving grace, joy, lazing around, lies, LOVE, loving kindness, mercy, moaning, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Monday Morning Blues, Moses, Nehemiah, Praise the Lord, rain, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, repentance, rest, scatter you abroad, seek him with all thy heart, seek the Lord, set my name there, spirits lifted, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, TGIM! Thank God it's Monday!, thanksgiving, the uttermost part of heaven, thou shalt find him, trust, unbelievers, ungodly world, wisdom, with all thy soul, witness
Deuteronomy 4:29. But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
Aye friends, that wonderful day called Monday, has rolled around again! Wow!
Are you excited enough to joyfully declare: ‘TGIM! Thank God it’s Monday! Thank God that I will be able to get out of this drudgery of housework, or of just lazing around and doing nothing constructive, and instead go out and meet people, and help bring them to Jesus and His saving grace!’
Oh my people, if you can truthfully declare that prayer this Monday morning, then you’re amongst a very few blessed souls. And may the Lord bless you and give you your heart’s desire. That’s because most of us will be moaning and groaning and cussing and complaining about how we so tired, and how the weekend finish so quick, and we just might call in sick.
But don’t worry my brethren, we have an antidote for the Monday Morning Blues, it’s called our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. So without further ado, let’s get right into it so our spirits can be lifted and our attitudes become more Christ like. (smile)
Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Oh that was good friends; better than average! It even brought a trace of a smile to Jesus, our choirmaster’s face. Now let’s keep our adrenaline fuelled motors running and get out there and live our lives for Jesus. That’s all He asks of us.
And to help us do that, let’s turn to our current Bit for the last time. ‘But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.’
Oh my fellow believers what a wonderful promise of Almighty God to lay before unbelievers when we witness to them! They can be assured that whatever their sins might be – a li’l white lie or genocide – if they seek God with sincere confession and repentance their iniquity will be washed away.
Bruh David puts it thus in Psalm 103 – Thanksgiving for God’s mercy. ‘The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous (abounding) in mercy (LOVING-kindness). He will not always chide (strive): neither will he keep his anger forever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy (LOVING-kindness) toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.’ (Ps.103:8-12)
And all God’s people declared a loud and proud:’ Glory to God for His LOVING-kindness to the undeserving children of men!’ And that He certainly is my brethren!
Now let’s turn to a couple of other scriptures which corroborate our Bit. Listen to Nehemiah when he hears that Jerusalem is a waste land. He fasts, prays, confesses the sins of his people, and asks for guidance.
‘We have dealt (acted) very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, not the judgements (ordinances), which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress (are unfaithful), I will scatter you abroad among the nations.
But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though they were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there (as a dwelling for my name).’ (Neh.1:7-9)
Yes friends, that’s the beauty of worshipping our great and awesome God; we can remind Him of His promises when we fulfill the requirements! And we’ll end with these glorious words of Hosea – Israel’s reply to God’s admonishment.
‘Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten (stricken), and he will bind (bandage) us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord (let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord): his going forth is prepared (established) as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.’ (Hos.6:1-3)
Yes my faithful brethren, regardless of the nature of our sins, sincere confession and repentance will bring forgiveness. Just remember that the Lord looks at our hearts, so mere words will not fool Him. Much LOVE!
…heartfelt confession…plus sincere repentance…equals graceful and merciful forgiveness…
07 Dec 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adrenalin, aura of love, barren, Be exalted, brotherly kindness, charity, cleansed from sin, complaining, confidence, diligence, endurance, enthusiasm, evil, famished, generous help, glorious kingdom, glory hallelujah, glory to God, godliness, growing in grace, grumbling, hell, holy spirit, honourable men, hope, humble servants, humbled, hunger, I will also forget thy children, I will also reject thee, inhumanity, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, lack of knowledge, lazing around, lies, LOVE, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, my people are destroyed, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, pateince, perseverance, pomp, poverty, procrastinate, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, righteousness., salvation, sanctified, self-control, selfish lusts, spiritual armour, spiritual growth, steadfast faith, taunts, temperance, thanks and praise, the faithless, the forefront of the battle, the light of the Son, thirst, thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, thou hast rejected knowledge, thou shalt be no priest to me, time is of the essence, trust, truth, unfruitful, ungodly world, useless, virtue, wiles, wisdom
Hosea 4:6. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
Ah mih Friends, that much dreaded, but should be much LOVED day is here again. (smile) It’s Monday my people! Rise and shine and give some thanks and praise and glory to our heavenly Father for bringing us safely through the dark night into the blazing light of the Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
And please don’t waste too much time grumbling and complaining, because He is eagerly waiting for us to join Him at the forefront of the battle. Like all good leaders, He is showing the way, getting right into the heat of battle with us. So please don’t procrastinate, for time is of the essence.
Yes friends, time is certainly important; we’ve only been granted so much, so we can’t afford to waste it by lazing around and indulging in selfish lusts. And as always, to help us get up and over the Monday morning hump, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle hymn with much jump and joy nuh.
As one earthly, but heavenly sounding choir now, let’s sing. ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Oh what an awesome rendition my brethren! Jesus was jumping and jiving with us as He swung His conductor’s baton with that light and airy touch that He alone possesses! Wow! All of heaven was also singing along, including the Father! Mama Mia!
So with that adrenalin coursing through our bodies now, let’s get ourselves together and head into the evil world and show them, what it truly means to be a Christian, a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ! Oh glory to God!
Ah mih people, much to my surprise, the ole fella is really enthused this morning. I am being carried away by own rhetoric! (smile) Hope it rubs off on you too. But that’s what is possible when you put your faith, hope, belief and trust in Jesus! Your spirit is lifted and you are able to do incredible things in His name.
And what we desperately need to do today is get out into the world and begin changing the Lord’s opinion of us in the Bit. For remember it applies to our current society even more than it did to the Israelites.
‘My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.‘
Oh how sad that that’s the Lord’s impression of our society! And we have no one to blame but ourselves. So without further ado, let’s get into some scripture that verify our Bit. Listen to the great prophet Isaiah as he talks about the woes promised to and pronounced on the faithless.
‘Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. Therefore hell (Sheol) hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.
And the mean man (people) shall be brought down, and the mighty man (each man) shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled. But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgement, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness (hallowed).’( Is.5:13-16)
Yes Friends, we can see that happening already. Honourable people are having a hard time existing in this sinful society, and there is a lot of hunger, poverty, inhumanity and starvation. But have no fear, the Lord and His people WILL win out in the end!
Now let’s go home with some more encouraging words from Peter, as he talks about growing in grace. ‘And beside this (but also for this very reason), giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance (self-control); and to temperance patience (perseverance); and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity (LOVE).
For if these things be in you (are yours), and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren (useless) nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off (is short-sighted), and hath forgotten that he was purged (cleansed) from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure; for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall (stumble).’ (2 Pet.1:5-10)
And the scholars offer these explanations: ‘1:5-7. In this section Peter urges his readers to grow to spiritual maturity. Add to your faith indicates the areas of growth that follow after salvation. Virtue is moral excellence. Knowledge is spiritual truth. Temperance is self-control. Patience is endurance. Godliness is God-likeness. Brotherly kindness (Gr. philadelphian) is brotherly LOVE. Charity (Gr. agapen) is volitional LOVE. This process is a lifelong cycle of spiritual growth for all believers.’
There you have it Friends and neighbours, the wisdom of heaven! So let’s go out and practice it nuh, so that we can never fall, never fail in our Christian living. Much LOVE!
…he that hath ears to hear…let him hear…for disobedience will be catastrophic…
SCRIP-BITS 