The Overwhelming Importance of Doing Good and Seeking Peace in God’s Kingdom!

26 Jul 2025 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 34:14.        Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

And then it was Saturday, our lazy-day Saturday, where we don’t have to do anything but laze around, if we so desire. (smile) And since it looks like it’s going to be another hot and hazy day, even with a promise of rain in the afternoon, the wisest thing is to stay inside and enjoy the calm and peace of an air conditioned situation. (smile) And to help us do just that, let’s offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday prayer with all sincerity and truth.

As one strong 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, just offering up the words bring a sense of peace and quietness, and when the Lord replies with His LOVING-KINDNESS, then it will be even better. So let’s raise our hopes, our dreams and faith as we spend some quiet, intimate time with the Father, this last Saturday in July 2025. Yes my brethren, July will be finished in less than a week’s time, so let’s make hay while the summer sun still shines by upgrading our witness for Christ. End of Sermon!

And as we promised yesterday, if God spared our lives today, we’d continue looking at the remainder of Psalm 34, as the scholars called it, the section of ‘seasoned instruction that can stem from such a deliverance,’ like Bruh David had from Saul and the Philistines with the Lord’s help. And that section begins thus: ‘Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear (reverence) of the Lord. What man is he that desireth life, and LOVETH many days, that he may see good?  Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile (deceit) Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.’ (Ps. 34:11-14)

Yes my people, if we want to learn the reverence of the Lord those are some of the things we need to do; don’t speak or do evil, but do good and seek peace, and pursue it. As Bruh David says in Psalm 37: ‘Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.’ (Ps. 37:27) And as Isaiah proclaims on the Lord’s behalf: ‘Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgement (justice), relieve the oppressed (reprove the oppressor), judge (vindicate or defend) the fatherless, plead for the widow.’ (Is. 1:16-17)

Now those are the things we’re supposed to be doing rather than doing evil and fomenting strife like we’re doing today. And it’s certainly interesting how Isaiah continues that passage. ‘Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.’ (Is. 1:18-20)

It’s laid out plain and straightforward my people. If we are obedient to the Lord’s word, we will prosper, if not, we shall be destroyed. And we can see evidence of it in the many heart rending problems that the Israelites faced when they disobeyed God, so why do we think it will be any different today eh? The Lord and His Word don’t change.

And as per peace, let’s note, it’s not only a matter of seeking peace, but actively pursuing it, looking for it, going out of our way to find it and make it happen! Bruh Paul in his epistle to the Romans, also warns us: ‘Let not the your good be evil spoken of: for the kingdom of God is not meat (food) and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men. Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify (build up) another.’ (Rom. 14:16-19)  

And later on the author of Hebrews also encourages us to: ‘Follow (pursue) peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see God. Looking diligently lest any man fail of (fall short of) the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.’ (Heb. 12:1-5) So friends, we see how very important the pursuit of peace is in the believer’s life. And if we don’t actively seek it, we can cause a lot of problems in both our lives and the lives of others.

Then Bruh David continues explaining why we should fear the Lord and do good. ‘The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off (destroy) the remembrance of them from the earth.’ (Ps. 34:15-16) Yes my brethren, the Lord dislikes evil, and has promised to destroy it and all memory of it from His world. Now, we don’t want to be amongst those that are destroyed, do we?

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

Oh my fellow saints, that’s what we have to look forward to when we fear the Lord, do good and not evil, and sincerely pursue peace! There’s nothing better to be gained in all the world! So please, let’s spend some time today contemplating those scriptures and seeing how they fit into our current lives. It can only be to our own amazing benefit. Much LOVE!

…be not overcome of evil…but overcome evil with good… (Rom. 12:21)

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   27 January 2022 Isaiah 1:18a.

27 Jan 2022 Leave a comment

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

Isaiah 1:18a.     Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord:

Oh friends, I don’t have any tongue in cheek words to begin today’s Bit, another cold and mostly sunshiny Thursday. (smile) But I do have some wise and admonishing words from the Lord our God, spoken by the prophet Isaiah to his people Israel, a long time ago, that certainly seem very appropriate to our current situation. It’s a call to repentance. So, let’s read, listen, ponder and contemplate the wisdom of these age old, but ever new sentiments from our God, and then put them into practice. 

Isaiah declares: ‘Wash you, make you clean: put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgement (justice), relieve the oppressed (reprove the oppressor), judge (defend, vindicate) the fatherless, plead for the widow.’ (Is. 1:16-17) 

Yes my brethren, those are indeed wise and powerful words that we all ought to hearken to, because our world has been overtaken by the enemy with his evil doings, and for it to improve, we must turn to the Lord God Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth and all therein, and cleanse ourselves of the enormous iniquity of which we are guilty. 

Now, here are some interesting comments from the scholars on those verses. ‘1:16-17. Wash does not indicate that the sinner may cleanse himself. Nor does it refer to mere ritual washing. Rather, it indicates that the sinner must accept the cleansing offered by the Lord, a cleansing of the heart resulting in true repentance.’ 

Yuh see my people, we can muddy our waters, but we can’t make them clean again on our own. We have to accept God’s cleansing, which means a sincere turning away from sin, and only through Christ Jesus can we accomplish such a heroic and herculean task. Yes, sin is no joke, like so many of us today consider it. 

Sin is serious business and it’s what’s driving our world right now, not the righteousness of God, as He desires. And with its many alluring enchantments and enhancements it’s not easy to turn away from sin. That’s why we need a power greater than the enemy to help us do it successfully. 

Oh, the Lord knows we’ll always fall into occasional sin because of our natural sinful nature, but with His Holy Spirit dwelling within us, to lead and guide us, we have more than a fighting chance to keep sin to a minimum in our earthly lives. That brings us back to the rest of Isaiah’s declaration. (Wow! I spelled that right!) 

He continues in a less accusatory and judgemental vein, but still not mincing his words. ‘Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.’ (Is. 1:18-20) 

Oh friends, our God is willing to sit down and reason with us, if we are willing to admit our sin and change from our evil ways. But if we refuse to come together with Him, but rather to rebel and be disobedient, then we’ll suffer the just punishment for such behaviour. 

And no one has to tell us that’s what’s happening to us right now! We have boldly rebelled against the dictates of the Lord and gone our own sinful way. Consequently, we’re being devoured, and not by the sword alone, through worldwide strife, but also through worldwide sickness, worldwide poverty and economic failure, with worldwide disasters, both natural and man-made, all occurring simultaneously! 

And yet we refuse, stubbornly and adamantly refuse to turn back to God and seek His forgiveness so that we could once more eat of the good of our land. Hn! Foolish pride and unwise belief in one’s own power will lead us to our demise every time. How did Cousin Sol put it? ‘A man’s heart deviseth (plans) his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.’ (Prov. 16:9) Yes friends, ‘The Lord is sovereign over man’s scheming and planning,’ so we often scheme and plan in vain. 

But enough of me, (smile) let’s listen to what the renowned scholars have to say on the matter. ‘1:18-20. The prophet’s appeal to come and reason together reveals God’s gracious invitation to all men. It literally means to be “reasonable” by repenting and turning to God. Their sin is described as scarlet and red like crimson, referring to their bloodguiltiness before God. 

The term ‘crimson’ also means ‘worm,’ referring to the colourful red dye of the scarlet worm. The eradication of this stain turns it snowy white and is symbolic of the life-changing grace of God, which delivers men from the guilt and condemnation of sin. Thus, the prophet reminds his readers that God stands ready to cleanse and forgive all who will turn to Him.’ 

Glory Hallelujah my people! What a great and remarkable God we serve! And though I’m no prophet, I believe it’s my bounden duty to again remind us of our Creator’s willingness to embrace all those who turn back to Him in sincere repentance. And His awesome Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, said it as plainly and clearly as He could. And we all know Him as a clear and straight-talking person. 

‘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) And we all like to quote that scripture in reference to the goodness of God, but what we fail to realize is that all those who don’t belief in Christ Jesus will ‘perish.’ Yes, that’s what he said…and meant. So, it’s up to us choose whether we believe or not, but please remember there are major consequences attached to each decision. End of sermon! (smile) 

But anyway, for those of us who choose to believe, the Lord has most graciously endowed us with blessings we don’t really deserve, but which help us to do His earthly work. We call them our Thursday Blessings. And since a blessing is not a blessing until it’s declared, let’s declare them right now nuh, in loud, confident, though humble voice. 

‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! 

I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’ 

Now let’s go out and share the fruit of those blessings with others, just as generously as the Lord’s shared them with us. Much LOVE!

…sin only looks good on the outside…but inside…it’s as dirty as hell… 

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