15 Nov 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a heartrending act, a higher level of love and sacrifice, all which he hath given me, as the heavens are higher than the earth, believest thou this, Christ died for the ungodly, deepen my breath, do anything we want, everyone who sees the Son and believes on Him, faith, God commendeth his love toward us, God created us to spend communal time with Him, God demonstrated his LOVE for us.', God sent not his Son into the world to condemn it, God so loved the world, handle the ups and downs of this strife-filled world, have everlasting life, he gave his only begotten son, he that believeth in me, hectic work week, holy spirit, I am the resurrection and the life, I came down from heaven, I praise you for your unceasing nearness, I shall lose nothing, I want to be with you now, I will raise him up at the last day, if any man will come after me, in due time, increase my awareness of you today, Jesus Christ, know you all the more, laze on the couch, lazy-day Saturday, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, let him deny himself, LOVE, mercy, my thoughts are not your thoughts, my thoughts higher than your thoughts, my ways are not your ways, my ways higher than your ways, no doubt of God's great love for mankind, not to do my own will, our eternal destiny, perhaps for a good man, quiet my soul, raise it up again at the last day, read a good book, reconcile them back to Himself, relax my muscles, relax my musclesslow my thoughts, salvation, scarcely for a righteous man will one die, shall have everlasting life, sinful rebellion against God, some would even dare to die, spend time with the Father, take up his cross daily and follow me, thank you for this tenderness, the righteousness of God in christ, the ups and downs, the will of him that sent me, the world through him might be saved, this is the Father's will, this is the will of him that sent me, this strife-filled world, though he were dead yet shall he live, truth, warms the cockles of God's heart, when we were yet without strength, while we were yet sinners christ died for us, whosoever believeth in him should not perish, whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die, wisdom, you can't be contained, your love both surrounds and fills me, your peace and love are present
Romans 5:8. But God commendeth (demonstrated) his own LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Oh boy, it’s Saturday; our lazy-day Saturday where we can do anything we want! Now isn’t that a wonderful feeling? It surely is! Except for those who might have young children or old parents to look after. (smile) But otherwise, we can laze the day away, in bed, on the couch in front of the TV, or just sit in our favourite chair and read a book we’ve been dying to read for ages, but could never find the time during our hectic work week. And thankfully I did get to laze away some of the morning hours in bed. But one thing we must not forget to do though, is offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, with all sincerity and truth. (smile)
So 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 it’s oh so wonderful when we spend time with or ask the Father to help us get to know Him better, because it’s only through greater knowledge of and intimacy with Him, that we’ll ever be able to handle the ups and downs of this strife-filled and angry world. And as I always remind us, our heavenly Father desires nothing more than His human creation seeking to spend intimate time with Him, for that’s one of the reasons He created us in the first place; so that we could commune deeply together. And there’s’ nothing that warms the cockles of His heart like us coming to Him seeking closeness and sincere time with Him.
And if you don’t believe that God truly LOVES us and wants to be a major part of our lives, then tell me why He’s done all that He’s done for us, when He was not required to do so, especially after our sinful rebellion against Him? But He did it because He created us to spend communal time with Him and He LOVES us more than any of His other creations. Just think on these scriptures nuh, and tell me if what I’m saying isn’t true.
Hear this first one from Bruh Paul to the church at Rome: ‘For when we were yet without strength, in due time (at the right time) Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure (perhaps) for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth (demonstrated) his own LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:6-8) Now that’s one of my favourite scriptures, because it shows how much God really LOVES us, in that He didn’t wait for us to come to Him, like most other supposed gods would, but He came to us through the birth, death and resurrection of His only Son, Jesus Christ.
And I like how this commentary explains it. ‘The saying highlights a contrast between a “righteous” person, who follows the law, and a “good” person, who is seen as noble and selfless. The passage immediately uses this idea to explain that while it is rare for someone to die for a “good” person, God showed his LOVE by having Christ die for “ungodly” people, demonstrating a higher level of LOVE and sacrifice.’
And why not eh, since as He tells us in Isaiah: ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’ (Is. 55:8-9) Therefore it’s not surprising that our magnificent and magnanimous God would do such and unheard of thing like sending His sinless Son to die for bunch of abominable sinners, placing the whole weight of their sin on His shoulders, so that He could reconcile them back to Himself as the righteousness of God in Christ, because of Christ’s payment for their sin.
Only someone who truly LOVED someone else would ever dream of doing such a heartrending act. But as Jesus said to Nicodemus when he came searching for answers: ‘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. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world: but that the world through him might be saved.’ (John 3:16-17)
Now friends, that’s what true LOVE looks like; sacrificing one’s own heart for an undeserving other. And that’s why Jesus expects those who claim to be His disciples, His followers, to follow His example and sacrifice themselves for others, as He so expressly specifies in the gospel of Luke. ‘If any man will come after (follow) me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’ (Luke 9:23) That shows that following Jesus is a daily thing. We need to do just like He did, that’s follow the will of His heavenly Father.
And He said it out loud and clear: ‘For I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.’ (John 6:38-40) Yes my faithful brethren, it could not be any clearer than that: The will of the Father, is that everyone who believes in Jesus receives eternal life and will be raised up on the last day.
And as Jesus said to Martha, shortly before He raised her brother Lazarus from the dead: ‘I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead (may die), yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?’ (John 11:25-26)
Now that’s a question we would all do well to seriously consider and ponder on this rainy lazy-day Saturday in the middle of November 2025, because our eternal destiny hinges on it. Much LOVE!
…if one reads the scriptures…there’s no doubt of God’s great LOVE for mankind…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
08 Nov 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a sense of peace and calm, all these things shall be added unto you, an unacceptable end, anything goes, be tormented day and night, begging bread, bring thee to honour, cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, deepen my breath, desire to get closer to God, develop intimacy with God, dull dreary lives, established it upon the floods, exalt her, faith, fallen for the foolishness of Satan, fools despise wisdom and instruction, get understanding, get wisdom, God shall wipe away all tears, have it more abundantly, he hath founded it upon the seas, holy spirit, I am come that they might have life, I have been young and now am old, I have not seen the righteous forsaken, I may know you all the more, I praise you for your unceasing nearness, I want to be with you now, in all sincerity and truth, in the service of the Lord, increase my awareness of you today, it all begins and ends with God, Jesus Christ, lazy-day Saturday, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, life in heaven on earth with Jesus, lives without true purpose, LOVE, mercy, no more crying, no more death, no more pain, our lives are in God's hands, quiet my soul, relax my muscles, remember the Lord thy god, reverential awe of God, right heart motives, salvation, Satan cannot keep his promises, Satan was kicked out of heaven, Satan's living on borrowed time, seek the Lord while he may be found, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, she shall promote thee, slow my thoughts, thank you for this tenderness, the devil that deceived them, the earth is the Lord's, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, the former things are passed away, the fulness thereof, the Lord gives you the power to get wealth, the Lord is Sovereign over the earth, the seed of the righteous begging bread, to keep us joyful and contented, trials and tribulations, truth, we refuse to get closer to God, when you embrace her, wisdom, wisdom is the principal thing, with all thy getting, within reason, you can't be contained, your love both surrounds and fills me, your peace and love are present
Psalm 37:25. ‘I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed (descendants) begging bread.’
Okay! At last it’s our lazy-day Saturday, where anything goes…well, anything within reason. (smile) For we are followers of and believers in Christ Jesus, and that means there are some things we ought not to do, for He does not condone many of the things the world considers all right. But there are enough things allowed to keep us joyful and contented on this chilly, windy but bright and sunshiny Saturday, and one of them is to offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer.
So let’s do so with all sincerity and truth. ‘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!’
Now, if our prayer was truly sincere, if we truly desired to get a li’l closer to God, to develop some more intimacy with Him, then we’ll soon be feeling that sense of peace and calm washing over us, for there’s nothing He LOVES more than His human creations seeking to get close to Him. And if our hearts and motives are right, He will surely grant our request for greater communication and involvement. And that’s why so many of our lives are dull, dreary and without good purpose; we refuse to get closer to the One who controls our lives and all that’s in the world.
Remember what the Bible tells us: ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods (rivers). (Ps. 24:1-2) So that tells us that the Lord is sovereign over all the earth and all that’s in it, which includes us human beings. Consequently, wisdom ought to be leading us to pay much more attention than we’re currently doing to the Creator and Ultimate Sovereign of the universe.
Remember our lives are in His hands. He controls our birth, life and death. And also as Moses wisely informed the Israelites: ‘But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish (confirm) his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. (Deut. 8:18) Ah mih people if everything in and on the earth belongs to the Lord, then it must also be in his power to cause us to be prosperous. Simple logic decrees that.
So, if the Lord has so much power over our lives, why are we so reluctant and consequently foolish in trying to ignore Him as much as possible, instead of running to Him and being greeted with open arms? Because we’ve fallen for the foolishness of Satan, who promises us all sorts of things but cannot keep those promises. And whatever he is able to give has so many strings attached to it, like a spider’s web, that we can never get loose from his avaricious grasp without the help of Jesus. Remember that; Jesus is the ONLY ONE who can take us from Satan’s greedy and evil grip.
It’s also worthy of note that Satan, like us, is a created being, and if he was as powerful as he pretends, he would not have been kicked out of heaven for trying to overthrow the Lord. And like us, his time is finite. Yes, he’s living on borrowed time, for when the Lord is ready Satan will come to the end the Lord promised. ‘And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.’ (Rev. 20:10)
And is that the same fate we desire to meet? I sincerely hope not! Not when we can achieve the exact opposite of life in heaven on earth with Jesus, where ‘God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.’ (Rev. 21:4)
Now please look at both those scenarios and tell me which you prefer? The one for Satan might look somewhat rosier on earth, but the end certainly is unacceptable. And I don’t know why we sell our souls to the devil to get material wealth and power, when we can get the same things from the Lord if we live the way He desires. Living sincerely for God doesn’t mean a poor, downtrodden, primitive, sad, desperate life. No way! Remember Jesus came to earth not only to save us from our abominable sins, but also that we could have an abundant life right here on earth. He said it quite clearly: ‘I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ (John 10:10b)
And an abundant life doesn’t mean scratching and scraping to make ends meet. No. But to get that abundant life, we also have to do as Jesus declared. ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33) And what better way to close today than with these most reassuring and faithful words of Bruh David from Psalm 37. He assuredly states: ‘I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed (descendants) begging bread.’ (Ps. 37:25)
Now, if we can’t believe Bruh David, who went through so many trials and tribulations in the service of the Lord, then who will we believe eh? So what are we to do? It’s like Cousin Sol says: ‘Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.’ (Prov. 4:7-8)
And where do we get that wisdom and understanding? From Almighty God obviously! Where else? As Cousin Sol so profoundly declares: ‘The fear (reverential awe) of the Lord is the beginning (principal beginning) of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.’ (Prov. 1:7)
Please my people, let’s not be foolish, but be wise on this lazy-day Saturday and seek the Lord while He may be found. Much LOVE!
…it all begins with God…flows through God…and ends with God…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
01 Nov 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a blossoming of life, a simple formula for achieving peace of mind, a warm glow of heat, aggrieved, an undying affirmation of faith and trust, becoming more intimate with God, behold the upright, bring forth thy righteousness as the light., cease from anger, clocks turning back, commit thy way unto the Lord, confidently trust the Lord, Daylight Savings Time, deepen my breath, delight thyself also in the Lord, do good, dwell in the land, everlasting life, evildoers shall be cut off, faith, feed on his faithfulness, forsake wrath, fret not thyself because of evildoers, fret not thyself because of him who prospers, fret not thyself in any wise to do evil, full of the fruit of the Spirit, give thee the desires of thine heaert, growing closer to God, have life more abundantly, he shall bring it to pass, holy spirit, I am the way the truth and the life, I marvel to think, I may know you all the more, I praise you for your unceasing nearness, I want to be with you now, in all sincerity and truth, in the face of the wicked's prosperity, increase my awareness of you, it only causes harm, Jesus Christ, lazy-day Saturday, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, LOVE, mark the perfect man, mercy, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity, no man comes to the Father but by me, note the blameless man, nothing better than spending time with the Father, refuse to surrender fully to God, Rest in the Lord, surrendering our lives to God, the christian's greatest endeavour, the end of that man is peace, the good graces of the Lord, the Lord shall deliver them from the wicked, the Lord shall help them, the Lord shall save them because they trust in Him, the unchanging character of God, those the wait upon the Lord shall inherit the earth, thy judgement as the noonday, trust also in him, trust the Lord with all of life's problems, undying affirmation of faith and trust, unwise actions, unwisely choose to keep control, wait patiently for the Lord, what it takes to live the abundant life
Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 November 2025 Psalm 37:5.
Psalm 37:5. Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
And then it was Saturday…our lazy-day Saturday! A mostly sunny and surprisingly somewhat warm day, as I went outside before coming down to write the Bit and felt a warm glow of heat on my face from the mid-morning sun. And is it ever good to feel the warmth of the sun at this time of year. Oh, by the way it’s also the first day of November and all the Halloween nonsense is now finished. The clocks will also be turned back one hour tonight to facilitate Daylight Savings Time, another of our unwise actions.
But the power brokers seem to like those unwise actions, and the people are not enough aggrieved by them to rise up and meaningfully complain. So, until that time comes, we’ll just have to grin and bear it. But that doesn’t mean because we don’t agree with some things that we cannot enjoy life. Absolutely not! For we have a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who came to earth and died that we might have life, and have it even more abundantly. (John 10:10b)
As this commentary explains: ‘It means blossoming into a life full of the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22–23). While false teachers and false religions offer shallow, temporary relief, only Jesus brings truly everlasting life and spiritual abundance (John 14:6).’ And we know that reference refers to this wonderful verse: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ And He certainly is all of those things!
Anyway, on this first-lazy day Saturday in November, let us now offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, with all sincerity and truth. ‘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 there’s nothing better than spending time with the Father and becoming more intimate with Him. It also warms the cockles of His heart, because He created us for that very purpose; to have strong and LOVING communion with Him. Unfortunately though, too many of us miss out on that glorious situation, because we’re too busy to spend time with God, or we just don’t believe it’s necessary. But as the old people would say; the taste of the pudding is in the eating. It might look good or bad, but you’ll never know what it tastes like until you eat it.
Likewise, you’ll never know how beautiful true intimacy with our heavenly Father is until you try it. That’s where we find all the peace, the calm, the LOVE and compassion, the understanding and joy that enables us to live that abundant life Christ died for us to have. That’s why Bruh David strongly exhorts us in Psalm 27: ‘Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (feed on his faithfulness).
Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgement (justice) as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices (schemes) to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil (for it only causes harm). For the evildoers shall be cut off (destroyed): but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.’ (Ps. 37:1-9)
There it is my people, the sure way to enjoy the abundant life that begins right here on earth. And as the scholars explain: ‘The psalm also contains a simple formula for achieving peace of mind in the face of the wicked’s prosperity: fret not…neither be thou envious, (vs. 1), trust…do good (vs. 3), delight thyself also in the Lord (vs.4), commit thy way…trust (vs.5), rest…wait patiently…fret not (vs.7), cease from anger…forsake wrath…fret not (vs.8). All of these exhortations urge the believer to confidently trust the Lord with all of life’s problems.’
It surely does my people. And that’s the only way for us to get in to the good graces of the Lord, and most importantly stay in His good graces. It’s not a one time thing, but a continuous process of putting our lives in His august trust, surrendering our lives completely to Him. That’s the ONLY way He can mould and change us into the image of Christ that He desires. The problem though is that too many of us refuse to surrender fully to the Lord. Oh yes, we give Him some parts of ourselves, but not all of us. We unwisely choose to keep some for us to control. But that means we cannot then enjoy the abundant life, because it’s only through total surrender that is possible.
And I like what the scholars say to end their explanation. ‘The psalm concludes most appropriately with an undying affirmation of faith and trust in the unchanging character of God.’ And reading that most appropriate ending together is a perfect way to end Today’s Bit. So please read with me: ‘Mark the perfect (blameless) man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off. But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.’ (Ps. 37:37-40)
Yes my fellow believers, trust and total surrender in the Lord God Jehovah is what it takes to live the abundant life. So let’s be wise and put all that we are and have in His mighty, LOVING and compassionate hands to day nuh. Because it’s all for our benefit! Much LOVE!
…growing closer to God each day…should be the Christian’s greatest endeavour…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
25 Oct 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a permanent guest, above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, according to the riches of his glory, all saints derive their spiritual life from God, as the heavens are higher than the earth, be a true reflection of Christ, be able to comprehend, be divinely enabled, be filled with all the fullness of God, being confident of this very thing, being rooted and grounded in Love, Christ feels at home in us, Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, deepen my breath, divinely strengthened, exceeding abundantly, faith, for this cause I bow my knees, God may grant you, greater intimacy with God, growing in spiritual maturity, he which has begun a good work in you, holy spirit, I may know you all the more, I praise you for your unceasing nearness, I want to be with you now, in God' the potter's hands, in the inner man, increase my awareness of you today, Jesus Christ, lazy-day Saturday, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, live the kind of lives God desires, LOVE, mercy, my thoughts are not your thoughts, my thoughts higher than your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, perform it until the day of jesus, put it into practice, quiet my soul, relax my muscles, right and sincere motives, salvation, slow my thoughts, so are my ways higher than your ways, spiritual awareness, take it all to heart, thank you for this tenderness, the breadth and depth of God's love, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the life character and virtues of God, the whole family in heaven and earth is named, time is of the essence, to be at ease, to be awakened and enlightened, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit, to comprehend with all saints, to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, to live the Christian life successfully, truth, understand the enormous love of God, unto Him be glory in the church, unto him that is able to do, wisdom, world without end, you can't be contained, your love both surrounds and fills me, your peace and love are present
Ephesians 3:16b. to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
It’s our lazy-day Saturday friends! Where we lie around and do as little as we want, even to the point of doing nothing! (smile) And isn’t it a good feeling? It surely is! I even enjoyed some lazy-day sleep in, but that’s mainly because I went to bed at a rather late hour, so that might not count. (smile) Anyway, let’s get the ball rolling right away, for time is of the essence. And we’ll begin by offering up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer.
So, as one strong and sincere voice: ‘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 as always, if we’re sincere, we’ll soon feel an extra special calm and peace filling our souls, because our wonderful God just LOVES to offer them to those who come desiring greater intimacy with Him. It’s one request He’ll NEVER turn away, if our hearts are truly sincere. And remember, He checks out our hearts before He answers our prayers to see if we have right and sincere motives, so it doesn’t make sense going to Him unless we fulfill those two scenarios.
That brings us to this interesting prayer Bruh Paul prayed for the Ephesians in his letter to them. He writes: ‘For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye being rooted and grounded in LOVE, May be able to comprehend (understand) with all saints what is the breadth (width), and length, and depth, and height; And to know the LOVE of Christ , which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.’ (Eph. 3:14-20)
Wow! What an interesting prayer. Please note that Bruh Paul did not pray for earthly stuff but more for their spiritual awareness to be awakened and enlightened. And what does it all mean? The scholars offer these explanations. As per vs. 14, they explain: ‘For this cause. This expression resumes the apostle’s prayer begun in verse 1 but delayed by the discussion of verses 2-13.’ And that first verse simply says: ‘For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,’ It is just an introduction to what he says in verse 14 onward, but got diverted before he could get into the prayer.
And as per verse 15: ‘Is named means “is derived.” The whole Christian family, including those saints now departed and in heaven, and those saints still living on earth – all of them derive their spiritual life from God.’ Then in verses 16-19, ‘Paul makes three prayer requests for the addressees: (1) That they would be strengthened with might by his Spirit (vs. 16), that is, they be divinely enabled to successfully live the Christian life.
(2) That the readers be able to comprehend … the LOVE of Christ, that is, to better understand the enormous LOVE Christ has for them. And (3) that they might be filled with all the fullness of God, that is, that the life, character, and virtues of God Himself may be fully developed in them.’ Yuh see friends, it’s all about understanding the enormity of God’s LOVE for us and wanting us to be truly a reflection of the image of Christ.
Then the scholars further break down verse 17, by saying: ‘This verse expresses the result of vs. 16: Christ will dwell in the lives of those who are recipients of the Holy Spirit. Jesus already lives in them and in all Christians. The Greek word translated “dwell” means to settle down and be at home, to be at ease. When they are divinely strengthened (vs. 16), they will then live the kind of lives God desires. When they thus please God, Christ will then be “at home” or “at ease” in their lives. As a permanent guest, He will enjoy living with them.’
Now the big question here is whether Christ is at home, or at ease in us, does He enjoy residing with us? And until we can answer that question with a strong affirmative, we have work to do. Well … we will always have work to do, but the point is, are we growing in spiritual maturity? And remember, even if we aren’t working on us, the Lord is. Bruh Paul states it quite plainly to the Philippians. ‘Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform (continue) it until the day of Jesus.’ (Phil. 1:6) That means we will be in God, the Potter’s hands from the moment we receive Christ as Lord and Saviour until He takes us home, or Christ returns, whichever happens first.
And Bruh Paul finishes his prayer for the Ephesians in style. ‘Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.’ (Eph. 3:20-21)
And the scholars tell us there that ‘Paul, has not asked for too much. For he prays unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that he can ask or think.’ And we all know that’s the gospel truth! Our great God can do much more than we can ever ask or think. He created us, therefore He must be a much higher power then us, His lowly creations. And He informs us of that most salient fact, very clearly through the prophet Isaiah. ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.’ (Is. 55:8-9)
Yes friends, the Lord states it as it is, and I pray that on this lazy-day Saturday we will take to heart all that we’ve said, and also put it into practice, so that we can keep growing in spiritual maturity as our wonderful God desires of us. Much LOVE!
…until Christ feels at home in us…we need to keep growing…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
20 Sep 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a celebration of life, a community of faith, a metaphor for freshness and abundance, a source of divine blessing, all that thou settest thine hand unto, behold how good and pleasant it is, bless thee, deepen my breath, down to the skirts of his garments, even life for evermore, faith, fellowship, for brethren to dwell together in unity, greater intimacy with God, gullible and fearful people, he hears us, holy spirit, I may know you all the more, I praise you for your unceasing nearness, I want to be with you now, if we ask anything according to His will, if we know that he hears us, in thy storehouses, increase my awareness of you today, Jesus Christ, lazy-day Saturday, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, living in harmony with God and each other, LOVE, mercy, nothing like offering up heartfelt and sincere prayers, people who share a close relationship, quiet my soul, rand down the beard of Aaron, relax my muscles, salvation, slow my thoughts, thank you for this tenderness, the calming and peaceful of God, the dew of Hermon, the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion, the divisiveness of Christ's church, the gospel truth, the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee thy God, the life-giving blessing that God bestows, the Lord shall command the blessing upon thee, the precious ointment upon Aaron's head, the profound and positive impact of unity among people, there the Lord commanded the blessing, this is the confidence that we have in Him, to alleviate all the stress, truth, we have the petitions we desired, whatsoever we ask, where his people dwell in unity, wisdom, you are here with me, you can't be contained, your love both surrounds and fills me, your peace and love are present
Psalm 133:1. ‘Behold, how good an how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!’
Oh my bredrin, it’s our sunny but somewhat cloudy and cool lazy-day Saturday, where we either sleep in for as long as possible, or get up and loll around on the couch, on the porch, the back yard or some such place that’s conducive to doing little of anything. (smile) That’s our Saturday heritage.
Unfortunately though, I cannot enjoy those luxuries this morning because I have to attend a celebration of life at my church for one of our long time parishioners and church leaders. That means I am up and about at a rather early hour trying to do the Bit before I leave. And if I’m not successful in doing so, I’ll just do it when I return. Now that might make it a tad late, but rest assured you will get it asap. (smile)
And to start the day off on a wise footing, let’s offer up our ‘Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer,’ with all sincerity and truth. As one voice: ‘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!’
Ah friends, there’s nothing like offering up heartfelt and sincere prayers to our wonderful God, for as John reminds us in his first epistle. ‘And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired (asked) of him.’ (1 John 5:14-15)
That means our asking for greater knowledge and intimacy with God, which is something He greatly desires, will surely be answered. So by now we ought to be feeling that calming and peaceful presence of His Holy Spirit working in us to help alleviate all the stress and strain of the just completed work week. What a great God we serve my people!
And our praying together reminds me of that beautiful Psalm 133, where Bruh David confidently proclaims: ‘Behold, how good an how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!’ (Ps. 133:1) And isn’t that the gospel truth! It surely is! For what can be better than people who share a close relationship, such as a community of faith, living in harmony with each other and their God? Absolutely nothing!
And to illustrate the goodness of that unity, the psalm continues with two powerful images that the Jewish people would be most familiar with. ‘It is like the precious ointment (oil) upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts (edge) of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded blessing, even life for evermore.’ (Ps. 133:2-3)
Yes friends, brethren dwelling together in unity is as powerful and profound as when on the orders of God, (Ex. 29:1-9) Moses appointed Aaron as the priest and his sons to serve in the priesthood. Meanwhile Leviticus tells us: ‘And he (Moses) poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron’s head, and anointed him, to sanctify him.’ (Lev. 8:12) Thus the running down of the anointing oil on Aaron’s beard and clothes. According to one commentary: ‘This symbolizes something valuable and fragrant, a blessing from God.’
Then, when we talk of the dew of Hermon and the mountains of Zion, they are one and the same place. As Deuteronomy tells us about some of the land that Israel possessed. ‘From Aroer, which is by the bank of the river Arnon, even unto mount Sion, which is Hermon.’ (Deut. 8:48) And according to the above commentary, the dew that fell on Mt. Hermon and the mountains of Zion: ‘This is a metaphor for freshness, abundance, and the life-giving blessing that God bestows where His people dwell in unity.’
And we see that in the last part of verse 3 of the psalm; ‘for the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.’ That blessing can be found in Deuteronomy 28. ‘The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.’ (Deut. 28:8) Ah my fellow believers, there’s nothing as important as believers dwelling in unity and harmony, for then they are able to do God’s work properly and enjoy His many blessings for that work.
And I like how the commentary describes the overall action of the psalm. ‘Psalm 133 uses vivid imagery to describe the profound and positive impact of unity among people, particularly within the context of faith and community, highlighting it as a source of divine blessing and life.’
And we ought to remember that, and start bringing all the many feuding divisions, religions, cliques or what have you, together, so that we can do God’s work properly, for all the divisiveness now pervading Christ’s church is sadly keeping us from that unity and thus positive and productive work. All it does is allow the enemy to have greater control of the many gullible and fearful people in the world, when it should be Christ Jesus they are worshipping and serving.
Therefore on this lazy-day Saturday, as we laze and loll around the house, please, let’s seriously consider the disunity in Christ’s church and think of ways that we can reduce it and thus become as true brethren living in true unity. Remember, it’s all for our benefit, not God’s! Much LOVE!
… when Christ’s church is divided…His work is compromised…and thus of inferior quality…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
05 Apr 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a chosen generation, a kindom of priests, a people set apart to proclaim God's praises, a royal priesthood, above all peapole, an holy nation, be a peculiar treasure unto me, believers are distinct from the world, believers have access to god, bring us back to God, brought you unto myself, christianity, church attendance is declining, contemplating God, deepen my breath, do all to the glory of God, established it upon the floods, every beast of the forest is mine, faith, for your unceasing nearness, God's sovereignty over creation, grace, greater communion and intimacy, he hath founded it upon the seas, holy spirit, I bare you on eagles' wings, I may know you all the more, I praise you, I want to be with you now, If I were hungry, if I were hunry I would not tell thee, in time past, increase my awareness of you today, into his marvellous light, Jesus Christ, keep my covenant, keeping us close to God, lazy-day Saturday, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, lifting our spirits, live a life of holiness, LOVE, many are turning away from God, meditiating on God's word, mercy, now have obtained mercy, now the people of God, obey my voice, our Controller, our Creator, our earthly purpose, our Provider, our Saviour, proclaim God's greatness, quiet my soul, reflecting God's character, relax my muscles, salvation, seek Him with a sincere heart, seen what I did to the Egyptians, share the light of the gospel, show forth the praises, sincerity and truth, slow my thoguhts, thank you for this tenderness, the BIBLE, the cattle upon a thousand hills, the earth is mine, the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the Lord enjoys sincere communion with man, the Lord revels in it, the ultimate owner and ruler of the earth, the unique status of believers, the wild beasts of the field are mine, the world and they that dwell therein, the world is mine and the fullness thereof, tied to wickedness and evil, too busy seeking the wealth of the world, truth, were not a people, whatsoever you do, when ye search for me with all your heart, who called you out of darkness, wisdom, with everything we have, with our heavenly father, ye shall seek me and find me, you can't be contained, your love surrounds and fills me, your peace and love are present
Psalm 24:1. The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
And the first Saturday in April has turned out to be wet, cloudy and chilly, but that only makes it an excellent lazy-day Saturday, one made for lazing around, especially if you don’t have to go out in the dreary weather. (smile) Or, here’s an even better alternative; spending time contemplating God, and meditating on His Word. What could be better than that eh? Nothing! For it serves the wonderful purpose of lifting our spirits and keeping us close to Him.
And if you haven’t been doing that as yet, let’s begin right now nuh, by offering up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer with all sincerity and truth! As one voice: ‘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!’
Now, that’s certainly a start toward greater communion and intimacy with our heavenly Father, something that He simply revels in. I can’t tell how you much the Lord enjoys sincere communion with His creation, especially when they come seeking Him with a sincere heart. Remember what He says in the Book of Jeremiah? ‘And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye search for me with all your heart.’ (Jer. 29:13) Oh my faithful brethren, it could not be said any plainer or clearer than that! The Lord greatly desires us to come seeking Him with all of our hearts. minds, bodies and souls; with everything we have!
But, unfortunately, too many of us have not been doing that in this last generation because we’ve been too busy seeking instead the ways and wealth of this evil and ungodly world. No wonder church attendance is declining, and numerous people are foolishly turning away from God, from our Creator and Controller, our Provider and Saviour! That’s not very wise eh, when He still controls the whole universe that He created. Remember how Bruh David puts in Psalm 24: ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods (rivers).’ (Ps. 24:1-2)
That says it all friends! It’s a declaration of God’s sovereignty over creation, and signifies that Jehovah God is the ultimate owner and ruler of the earth and everything in and on it. The psalmist Asaph, also makes that definitive statement in Psalm 50 – God Will Judge – when talking about the Lord not needing sacrifices. He writes of God, saying: ‘For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls (birds) of the mountains:; and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.’ (Ps. 50:10-12)
Now, Bruh Paul also reiterated that truth in his first letter to the church at Corinth. In talking about what one should eat or drink, he says: ‘For the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.’ (1 Cor. 10:26) Then concludes by saying: ‘Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.’ (1 Cor. 10:31) Now that’s excellent advice. And how I hope and pray that we would take it, because it would turn us and our world right around in such an amazing manner and bring us back to God where we belong.
And although I’ll keep on praying for that, I won’t hold my breath waiting for it to happen, because so many of us are so tied to wickedness and evil that it would take all the power of God to pry us lose. (smile) Anyway, getting back to the Lord owning the earth and all that’s in it, that statement was first made long, long ago by Moses to the Israelites in the third month of their freedom from slavery in Egypt, when they came into the wilderness of Mt. Sinai. Moses went up the mountain and the Lord spoke to him.
‘Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare (sustained) you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar (special) treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.’ (Ex.19:3-6)
And with the coming of Jesus and His sacrificial death on the cross, that now includes us Gentiles, or anybody who chooses to believe that Christ is their Lord and Saviour, as Peter says in his first epistle. ‘But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar (special) people; that ye should shew forth praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.’ (1 Pet. 2:9-10)
Oh friends, how wonderful it is to now be one of God’s chosen, receiving mercy and grace and all the other good things that comes to us because of Christ’s sacrifice! And this commentary further explains: ‘In 1 Peter 2:9, the New Testament describes believers as “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people”. This phrase, rooted in the Old Testament concept of Israel as a holy nation, emphasizes believers’ unique status and purpose as a people set apart to proclaim God’s praises.’
Then it gives a more detailed explanation of the various terms. “A chosen generation”: This refers to believers being selected by God, distinct from the world. “A royal priesthood”: This signifies that believers are not just ordinary people, but have access to God and can serve as mediators between Him and others. “A holy nation”: This phrase, originating in the Old Testament (Exodus 19:6), emphasizes that believers are to be set apart and live a life of holiness, reflecting God’s character.
“A peculiar people”: This term, while sometimes misunderstood, means “a people belonging to God,” emphasizing their unique identity and purpose. “That ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light”: This phrase underscores the purpose of believers: to proclaim God’s greatness and share the light of the Gospel with the world.’
Now, we can’t say that we don’t know our purpose here on earth. (smile) So please, let’s begin to fully live up to it nuh, as the Lord desires and our world desperately needs! Much LOVE!
…the Lord created everything and everybody…He controls everything and everybody…and eventually He’ll do as He pleases…with everything and everybody…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
30 Dec 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: casting all your care upon him, faith, fellowship, God cares for you, he who does the will of God abides for ever, humble yourselves in the sight of God, increase my awareness of you today, intimacy with god, Jesus Christ, know you all the more, lazy-day Saturday, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, LOVE, love not the world, neither the things that are in the world, New Year's Eve, not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord, quiet my soul, resist the devil and he will flee from you, Satan was kicked out of heaven, slow my thoughts, submit yourselves to God, the Lord gives thee power to get wealth, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life, the prince of darkness, truth, wisdom, without me ye can do nothing, ye shall surely perish
1 John 2:15a. LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world.
And here it is, another lazy-day Saturday clouded in darkness and drizzle! The eve of New Years’s Eve to boot! The time when preparations for the big day are at an all time high. But I don’t think the inclement weather will stop the celebrations, or even curtail it much, for in years past when it was snow instead of rain, everything went on as normal. It seems we will brace any kind of weather to celebrate the incoming New Year. However, for those of us who are not into all the hoopla of the time, and just want to be lazy and relax quietly with God and our thoughts, after all the hullabaloo of Christmas, this wet and cloudy day is admirably suited for it.
So let’s turn to God and open up our hearts and souls to him, through our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer. As one sincere voice: ‘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!’
Ah friends, it’s ever so good to be quiet and talk to out heavenly Father, knowing that He hears us and will react favourably to our requests to grow closer to Him. And there’s really nothing in this world that pleases God more than when we seek to have greater intimacy with Him, because that’s the main purpose for which He created us; to have close fellowship, enjoyable communion together. And sadly, that’s where many of us believers, and the world in general has fallen down; we don’t favour close fellowship and communion with God, our Creator and Controller.
Now, isn’t that somewhat foolish, not to want to communicate with the One who made you and still pulls all your strings? I would say it’s downright foolish, since within our own strength we can’t do a whole lot. Jesus puts it very clearly: ‘without me ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:5) And as Moses says in the Good Library: ‘But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth that he may establish (confirm) his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the Lord thy God, and walk after other Gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. As the nations which the Lord destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God.’ (Deut. 8:18-20)
No wonder we’re suffering so many trials and tribulations in these ghastly times! We have certainly turned away from the Lord God Jehovah and served and worshipped other supposed gods. We are even attempting to get rid of Him completely from our society. What madness, what foolishness! Do you really think the Creator of the universe will allow some mickey mouse creation of His, called mankind, to overthrow Him? No way Jose! Look at Satan, as the archangel Lucifer, he tried the same foolishness, to overthrow God.
And what happened to him eh? He was unceremoniously kicked out of heaven along with the other foolish angels who sided with him, to walk the earth and dwell in hellfire in sorrow and pain, eternally separated from the One True God! Is that what we want for ourselves and our families? It would certainly seem so, since so many of us have turned away, or are turning away from the God of our forefathers and embracing some pagan form of religion like materialism that the world favours so much. But friends, that’s the wisdom of a fool, for you cannot carry any of that material stuff with you when you die. You only take what you brought with you, your soul!
And as Jesus so gravely warned. ‘And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.’ (Matt. 10:28) But we seem to fear mankind who can only kill our bodies, much more than Jehovah God who can destroy both our bodies and souls in hell, as he has already done with the fool Satan, the prince of darkness and foolishness, whom we seem so intent on following. Oh my people the scriptures tell us so often that it’s unwise to follow any other deity than the One and ONLY True God.
That’s the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob, who created the world and all therein and stills controls it, and will NEVER give up what He created. But we simply refuse to listen and keep going our own way, only to suffer the pangs of the devil and hell. When are we going to wake up and realize that the devil is only out to cause confusion, hatred and violence on the earth eh? Anything that will turn us away from God is what the enemy is searching for and ever so ready and willing to use. And unfortunately, we give him so many opportunities to enter our souls and disturb and destroy them when we don’t stay close to God; don’t read His word, don’t pray, don’t talk to Him and obey His holy will.
That’s why James also warns us to ‘Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh (near) to God and he will draw nigh (near) to you… Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:7, 8a, 10) And Peter likewise cautions us: ‘Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you.’ (1 Pet. 5:6-7) And the Lord showed His heartfelt care and compassion when He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ to die on the cross at Calvary to save us from our abominable sins. So how can we believe, much less say that He doesn’t care for us eh?
And we’ll close with this other warning from John written in his first epistle. ‘LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh (physical desires), and the lust of the eyes (personal desires), and the pride of life (self-interest), is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.’ (1 John 2:15-17)
Oh friends, when are we going to wake up to the reality that there’s no greater force in this world than Jehovah God, it’s Creator and Controller, and He cares for us and desires us to spend eternal life with Him? If we allow Satan to plunge the world in much more darkness, then it might just be too late. Let’s be wise and make the necessary changes in our lives and in our world right now nuh. Much LOVE!
…he who doesn’t hear…will surely feel…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
17 Jun 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a crying shame, cheap imitations, Christ died for us, created us to have fellowship with Him, free will, getting to know the Father better, God commendeth his own love toward us, God sent not his Son into the world to condemn it, God so loved the world, have everlasting life, he gave his only begotten son, I am the good shepherd, I praise you for your unceasing nearness, increase my awareness of you today, it is certain we can carry nothing out, Jesus is the only true way, lazy-day Saturday, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, let my muscles relax, LOVE, materail wealth, monye, obeying God's word and will, only interested in what god can do for us, prideful arrogant, quiet my soul, slow my thoughts, stubborn, take some sacrifice, thank you for this tenderness, that I may know you all the more, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep, the world through him might be saved, there are always consequences to our deeds, we brought nothing into this world, while we were yet sinners, you can't be contained, your peace and love are present
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 finally lazy-day Saturday has arrived! Yes. The day that many of us dream of, where we do absolutely nothing, or a little as possible. And it’s a beautiful though a tad cool day. But sadly, some of us only have so much lazy time at our disposal, and unfortunately, I’ve used up all of mine already, so now I’ve got to be about my father’s business. (smile) And with that in mind, let’s say our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer.
As one strong and sincere voice: ‘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!’
Ah friends, what a beautiful prayer, and oh so appropriate to a day when we don’t have to do much of anything, where we can just relax and spend some worthwhile time with our wonderful heavenly Father, getting to know Him better, and who gets so much pleasure when we spend sincere time with Him. But that’s one of the reasons He created us, to have fellowship with Him, so why wouldn’t He be joyful when we do it out of a deep and abiding LOVE for Him.
The unfortunate thing though is that many of us are not really interested in God Himself, in enjoying who He is and what He stands for, but merely in what He can do for us. And is that ever a crying shame, for then we miss the true joy that can come from a tight and faithful union with our heavenly Father.
I guess it’s just like so many of us with our earthly father’s; we’re not particularly close, and we don’t really want to get close to them, we’re simply interested I how they can help us; provide a roof over our heads, food on the table and whatever else we need to go our merry way. And though that kind of relationship is never really beneficial to either side, sometimes it can be understandable by the way our human actions play out in this evil, ungodly and confused world, as some of our earthly fathers don’t care much for us either.
But our heavenly Father…why are we against Him? Why do we refuse to truly connect with Him eh? He’s never done us any wrong, and LOVES us with such a powerful LOVE that there’s no stronger LOVE in this whole wide world. And He’s made us so many wonderful promises if we just obey His Word and LOVE Him the way He desires us to. And even when we disobey and turn away from Him, His LOVE still persists, even to the point where the Bible says: ‘But God commnendeth (demonstrated) his (own) LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:8)
Wow! What a powerful LOVE that is, that instead of waiting for us sinners to come to Him and repent, God went ahead and made an easier way for us to come back to Him, where before there was no easy way. But yet still, with the free will He granted us, we chose to keep rebelling against Him, being prideful, arrogant and stubborn, believing that we know the world and all therein that He created, better than Him. But that’s such utter foolishness my people. We are allowing the enemy, the devil and his demonic cohorts to turn us against the One who’s prepared such a wonderful life for those who truly LOVE and obey him.
And the sad part is that the devil has nothing really to offer us but hellfire and damnation, for all he does is lie and deceive. But Jesus said: ‘I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.’ (John 10:11) And that’s exactly what He did: give His life so that our miserable sinful souls could be saved from eternal separation from our Creator. And what has the devil done for us eh? Nothing but steal and lie and deceive us. But yet still we refuse to turn to Jesus and run behind the foolishness the enemy tells us, like material wealth and money, which we cannot do anything with when we’re dead.
As Bruh Paul so wisely reminded Timothy. ‘For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.’ (1 Tim. 6:7) So why run down the things that the enemy and the world think are so important when all we do is leave it all behind for others to misuse and/or fight over.
For as the wisest and richest man who ever lived, Cousin Sol discovered in his search for wealth and wisdom says in Ecclesiastes. ‘Yea, I hated all my labour, which I had taken (toiled) under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. and who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have tule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity (futility, useless).’ (Eccl. 2:18-19)
And that has a whole lot of truth in it. For we see it played out in the world every day, where some wealthy person who spent most of his life accumulating earthly riches only for it to be passed down after his death to complete wastrels and fools, who just use and abuse it until there’s nothing left, or to those who fight each other tooth and nail for some portion of it, and finally most of it ends up in the hands of lawyers and other officials as fees or whatever.
And the sad part is that if we so badly want material wealth the best place to get it from is God Almighty, who owns it all anyway, and gives it generously to those who LOVE and obey Him. The devil can never give you foolproof wealth, because he owns nothing. He’s just the biggest scam and fraud artist around. But we so desire the easy way out, that instead of obeying God’s word and will, which might take some sacrifice, we fall for the enemies lies and deceptions.
Oh friends, please realize that like us, Satan is one of God’s creations, who in foolish pride and arrogance tried to overthrow God and got kicked out of heaven to walk the earth in grief and shame, and be eventually destroyed in the lake of fire So why do we insist on following him eh when he has absolutely nothing of value to offer, only fake baubles and bangles, that look nice but are just cheap imitations of the real McCoy that God has to offer?
And I can’t think of a better scripture to close with today, than this monumental one. ‘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. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.’ (John 3:16-17)
Now therein lies the truth of it all my people, and it’s up to us to believe it or not. But please remember that there are consequences, either good or bad to each side of the equation. Much LOVE!
…you follow the enemies lies and deceptions…to your own travail…for Jesus is the way…the ONLY true way…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
10 Jun 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a decreasing of tension, all things work together for good, He spake a parable unto them to this end, I may know you all the more, in every thing give thanks, interaction with Almighty God, Jesus went out into a solitary place and prayed, lazy-day Saturday, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, let my muscles relax, LOVE, men ought to pray and not faint, pray without ceasing, prayer communication between man and God, prayer is an awesome privilege, prayer is good for the soul, quiet my soul, rising up a great while before day, slow my thoughts, thank you for this tenderness, the amazing power of prayer, this is the will of God in Christ, to them that love God, when ye pray use not vain repetitions, your peace and love are present
Luke 18:1. And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought to pray and not faint (give up).
So, at last it’s our lazy-day Saturday, dry and warm and partly sunny in my area, according to my computer. But whatever the weather conditions, we can still bask in that lazy, idle time that Saturday affords us…well at least some of us. (smile)
Anyway, let’s set the stage by saying our Lazy-day Saturday Prayer. As one voice: ‘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!’
Ah friends, the awesome power of prayer! Yes, at times it can be truly awesome! And I’m sure that we all felt a lessening or decreasing of our tension and anxiety as we said those few sincere words. Our spirits just sighed and relaxed because of that interaction with Almighty God. And it’s truly unfortunate that so many of us do not know the real amazing power of prayer, otherwise our lives would be so much more fulfilled.
And the truth is that prayer’s not some magical element in the believer’s arsenal, but just simply a means of communicating, or talking to our heavenly Father, the One who created us and still LOVES us with such unlimited passion that He sent His Son Jesus to die for us, so that we could be reconciled back to him. And prayer is just the awesome privilege of being able to talk with, to take all our problems to the omnipotent Lord of the universe, who is interested in any and everything that happens to his creation.
Why do you think that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, while he was here on earth spake a parable to his listeners to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint or give up? (Luke 18:1) Because prayer is good for the soul, and it takes us into the Father’s presence and allows us to lay our problems before Him.
And although Jesus was a part of the Triune Godhead, while down here on earth, He also left us that example of regular prayer. He prayed all about, at all different times. The gospel of Mark even tells us: ‘And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary (deserted) place, and there prayed.’ (Mark 1:35) So if Jesus found it necessary and useful to pray, who are we mere creations to think otherwise eh?
Prayer is essential when we get up in the morning to give thanks for been allowed the privilege of seeing another glorious day on God’s great earth, and also when we lay our heads on the pillow at nights, to give thanks for making it through another day. And then during the day, every so often we ought to remember our Creator and tell Him thanks for whatever is happening with us, or ask him for help to handle whatever we’re doing.
We ought to do nothing whatsoever without first consulting Him. That’s why Bruh Paul tells us to ‘Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.’ (1 Thess. 5:17-18) And the scholars explain those verses thus: ‘In every event or circumstance (thing) the Christian is to give thanks to God for the good He can bring out of the event, even should the event be unpleasant. The constant attitude of prayer, mentioned in verse 17, will help the believer to maintain gratitude in the face of adversity.’
And that’s the indisputable truth my fellow believers! When we are always in, for want of a better phrase, prayer mode, we can handle adversity much better than when we’re not, because we know that God is in control and that in due course, He will work everything out for our good, as promised in Romans 8:28. ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.’
So, if you’re a believer, then eventually everything will work out for your good in God’s time and way. And until you truly believe that, your spirit will have no rest, just anxious moments worrying about what’s going to happen in any and every circumstance.
Now prayer is good, but then it should not be used to show off one’s supposed righteousness, like Jesus warns. ‘And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites (pretenders) are: for they LOVE to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet (inner room), and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which seeth in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.’ (Matt. 5:5-8)
Yes friends, we don’t need to make a spectacle of ourselves by praying all about the place, although nothing is wrong with public prayer in general, and when it is called for. Jesus Himself prayed in public on several occasions, for instance when he blessed the food before feeding the 5,000 in Matthew 14 and the 4,000 in Matthew 15. He taught his disciples to pray publicly in Luke 11:1-4, and in John 11:41-42, before He raised Lazarus from the dead, Jesus prayed aloud so that the crowd could hear him. So public prayer is not bad, it’s just should not be done to attract attention to our supposed godliness.
And this last warning from Jesus: ‘But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do; for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.’ (Matt. 6:7-8) Ah mih bredrin, long speeches and repetitions will not get you heard any more or any quicker than short to the point prayers. Then Jesus went on to give us an example of prayer, we call the Lord’s Prayer, or Our Father, which can be found in Matt. 6:9-15. And I’d suggest we open our Bibles and read it, to make my words come alive in our spirits. (smile)
Oh my people, prayer is indeed the greatest privilege we have as believers in Christ Jesus, and we just have to read the gospels and see how often Jesus prayed, and in all the different places and occasions to realize how important it was to Him. And as I said earlier, if it was so important to the Son of God to pray to His heavenly Father while down here on earth, how much more important it is for us to be doing the same thing.
And as in most things in this life, one will never really find out the truth until one practices whatever it is, and then experiences the results for oneself. So don’t just believe me, or anybody else about the great value in prayer, please try it yourself. You won’t ever stop. I can guarantee you that! Much LOVE!
… prayer…communication between man and God…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
03 Jun 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a future and a hope, allergy problems, ask and it shall be given to you, be with him in trouble, crying out for water, feel out of place, God has promised to bring us home, he hath set his love upon me, increase my awareness of you today, knock and it shall be opened, lack of heavenly blessings, lazy-day Saturday, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, like exiles, Lord I want to be with you now, LOVE, Mother Earth, quiet my soul, relax my muscles, seek and ye shall find, set him on high, shew him my salvation, slow my thoughts, thank you for this tenderness, that's life, the presence of God, tough love, unconditional LOVE, when ye shall search for me with all your heart, ye shall seek me and find me, your love surrounds and fills me, your peace and love are present
Jeremiah 29:13. And ye shall seek me and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Well friends, it looks like this lazy-day Saturday is going to be another hot, dry, sunshiny summer’s day. Mother Earth is crying out for some water, for some respite from the lack of heavenly blessings, and I’m crying out for an end to the allergy nonsense that’s been harassing me all week. I haven’t had any allergy problems like this for years, and the sneezing, weepy eyes and runny nose are rather inconvenient and positively annoying. (smile) And the medication only seems to relieve it for such a short time. Chuh! But as they say: that’s life! And we just have to grin and bear it as best we can.
And by the way, I have decided to use that prayer I shared last Saturday from the In Touch Devotional as our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, since it seems appropriate for a quiet, lazy, relaxing, God-filled day. (smile) However, unlike our other Scrip-Bit Prayers, this one will come at the beginning rather than at the end. So, without further ado, let’s pray our Lazy-day Saturday Prayer.
As one sincere voice: ‘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!’
Yes mih people! I like it, because it’s calming and soothing and takes us into the presence of God, where we diligently seek to find and know Him, which is exactly what He says He desires of us. And we can find one instance of that scripture in Jeremiah 29, where the Lord promises the Israelites their captivity in Babylon will only last for seventy years, then they will return home.
‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope). Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall pray unto me, and I will hearken unto (listen to) you. And ye shall seek me and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.’ (Jer. 29:11-13)
Yes my fellow believers, our God desires us to seek and search for Him with all our heart, that’s diligently. And what does diligently seeking God mean? ‘It means we keep seeking God until we find Him, not resting until we hear from Him in our situation or circumstance. Doing something “diligently” means doing it energetically and persistently.’
Now, how many of us can truly say that’s how we are seeking God eh, if we are seeking Him at all? Are we truly seeking Him with all of our heart, or diligently, in these evil and trying times eh? It’s certainly not as many as ought it to be, otherwise our sway and power, that’s God word in the world would be much stronger.
And why do we need to seek God, besides His command? This commentary tells it nicely. ‘You long to be noticed, understood, and valued – to feel at home. When we feel out of place – like exiles – God is listening to us. He reminds us of his presence and his promise to bring us home.’
Oh, that’s for sure my fellow believers! And it’s just a reflection of our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, where we’re in an uncomfortable, unsure frame of mind, and need assurance of our worth and value, that someone out there truly LOVES and desires the best for us…and that someone is God Almighty! He is the ONLY One that LOVES us in that understanding and unconditional manner. All those others who claim to LOVE us have conditions attached to their LOVE, but not our heavenly Father.
That’s why we can behave unseemly, inappropriately and His LOVE for us will not change. Oh, we will pay a price for our disobedience, but that doesn’t change His LOVE one iota. Our heavenly Father practices what I believe we call tough LOVE. That’s means His LOVE is steadfast, but you won’t get away with nonsense, you will pay for your disobedience. And oh, how I wish that more of us earthly parents had practiced tough LOVE on this current generation, for they would certainly not have been as irresponsible, entitled and ungodly as they are. But that’s another sermon for another time. (smile)
And as always, Cousin Sol has something to cover every scripture. For our scripture of diligently seeking God, he says: ‘I LOVE them that LOVE me; and those that seek me early (diligently) shall find me.’ (Prov. 8:17) There’s no doubt about that my people!
And the psalmist in Psalm 91, concurs with all that we’ve been saying, when he wrote these marvellous words of reassurance in our wonderful God. ‘Because he hath set his LOVE upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life (length of days) will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.’ (Ps. 91:14-16)
Mama Mia! That’s what we get for seeking God diligently and sincerely my faithful brethren! We all want honour and safety and long life and salvation, and we go about seeking it either on our own or through man’s unfaithful help, but the surest way to get that is by sincerely and diligently seeking God. It’s the gospel truth friends! And there’s no better way to end this lazy-day Saturday, than with these astounding words of truth and faith from Jesus as He winds down His Sermon on the Mount.
He sincerely advises: ‘Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?’ (Matt. 7:7-11)
That says it all friends! And I’m pleading with us, on this lazy-day Saturday, let’s take some time to ponder our relationship to our heavenly Father, consider whether we are truly seeking Him diligently and sincerely, in other words, with all of our hearts, because the quality of our lives depend on it, as that’s what we were made for! Much LOVE!
…God created man…to seek Him…above everything else…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
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