The Necessity for Believers to not only Have Strong Faith, but More Importantly to Show that Faith in Action! Part 2!

21 Feb 2026 Leave a comment

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

Daniel 3:28a.         Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him,

So we’ve finally come to our lazy-day Saturday friends, where we can do as much or as little as we please! (smile) And the weather outside is just the type that calls for us to lay in bed for much of the day and simply rest after a hard week’s work, or pick up a good book and sit in a cozy corner and lose ourselves in it. Yes, it’s wet and cloudy, so unless there’s real need to go out, we shouldn’t. And to put it all into proper perspective, let’s offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, in 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!’ 

And on a dreary day like this, if we cannot come up with some sincerity in our prayers, then things certainly bad with us mih people! For if our prayer was sincere, we would be assured of soon receiving that calming, restful, uplifting peace we can’t understand, that comes only from God, to those who ask with right motives. And on top of that, the Lord has seen fit to allow the breath of life to continue in our mortal bodies today, so there’s another reason to give Him thanks and praise.

Now, as we promised yesterday, let’s continue looking at that marvellous story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that highlights the omnipotence of our great God. So far, we’ve seen where the three Hebrew men were thrown into the furnace that was heated seven times more than normal, and it killed those who threw them in. Then the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar claims to have seen four men walking around loose in the fire and one appeared to be the son of God (a son of the gods). But the best part of the story is still to come.

The Bible says: ‘Then Nebuchadnezzar came near the mouth (door) of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed (garments affected), nor the smell of fire had passed on them.’ (Dan. 3: 26-27)I like that, not even the smell of smoke lingered on them!

And that miraculous moment made such an impact on the king, that he then declared: ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed (frustrated) the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill (an ash heap): because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort (like this). Then the king promoted (caused to prosper) Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon.’ (Dan. 3:28-30)

What a marvellous story of faith my people, and the amazing way our God moves to prove His awesome power. One important note though from the scholars. They say: ‘Neb’s recognition of the God of the three men does not mean that he converted to their religion. It was simply an acknowledgement of their God’s power.’ But we’ll take that, for it’s a beginning on the road to faith! (smile) And it just shows how the Lord uses all types and sorts of people, even pagans kings to show forth His majesty and power, particularly Nebuchadnezzar, as we’d see if we read the fourth chapter of Daniel.

There, he has a dream which Daniel interprets as one in which he’s all powerful, but the Lord would eventually cut him down to size. Then later on he boasts of his power and majesty, and soon thereafter the consequences of the dream come to pass. He is driven mad for seven years, looking and living like a wild animal, and ox in particular. But in our God’s great mercy, He did not allow Neb’s kingdom to pass from him. For as the Bible says, ‘until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it whomsoever he will.’ (Dan. 4:32b)

And I guess it took seven years for Neb to learn that truth, (smile) for he says: ‘And at the end of the days (time) I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation. And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed (considered) as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay (restrain) his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?’ (Dan. 4:34-35)

Now friends, there’s a great lesson in that for all of us who refuse to recognize God’s power and sovereignty over all the earth, right down to our individual lives. And if we insist on boasting in our own might and power, He is liable to bring us down like He did to the Babylonian king, for foolish pride is one of the things He very much dislikes.

And the scholars ask two very interesting and important questions re Neb’s situation. ‘Could it happen to a man, and could it have happened to Neb? The answer to both questions is YES. There is a mental illness known as zoanthropy in which a man thinks and acts like an animal. It is also called boanthropy, more specifically when a man thinks of himself as an ox, (like Neb did – Dan. 3:32) In answer to the second question, this illness is not mentioned in Neb’s annals, but one would not expect such a humiliating experience to be chronicled. On the other hand, his long reign of 43 years (605-562 B.C) is more than long enough to include the length sickness.’  

So, seven years later through God’s grace and mercy, Neb was restored to sanity and regained his throne. And it’s obvious that he had learned his lesson, as he later spoke these words. ‘Now, I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgement (justice): and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.’ (Dan. 4:37)

Wow! What insight Neb gained from his trials and tribulations! And what a blessed thing it would be if  many more of us could learn from His prideful consequences, because pride is one of the biggest sins in our current world order. So please, let’s spend some time on this dreary lazy-day Saturday, pondering our own pride situation nuh, and, with God’s help, do our best to lessen it, for if we don’t we’re certainly riding for an eventual fall! Much LOVE!

…the greatest pride…usually leads to the greatest fall…

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

The Immense Importance of Believers ONLY Boasting in God, and not in Themselves!

26 Dec 2025 Leave a comment

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

Deuteronomy 8:18a.        But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth,

Ah mih people, it’s Friday, Boxing Day, and most of the hoopla over Christmas Day has now died down. Hope that you and yours had a joyful time, me and mine certainly did. Sadly though, instead of Boxing Day continuing with a high degree of the Christmas Spirit, it’s now mostly about sales and returns of Christmas presents. The economics have taken over right away. But what to do eh? As Uncle Charles (Dr. Charles Stanley) says: ‘Look your best, do your best, and  be your best as always for Christ.’

Now, I don’t know if some of us even know that it’s Friday, but just that it’s Boxing Day and a holiday for many people. So some of us might not even have offered up our usual prayer of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ We just know that it’s a long weekend, and if we play our cards right we can be off work off almost a week, (smile) what with the New Years Celebrations in the offing. 

Anyway, the most important thing is that the birth of Jesus was celebrated, and He occupied a place in many hearts that He never occupied before, or not to such a great extent, and let’s hope and prayer that that Christmas spirit will continue right into the New Year and all though it; that 2026 will be a year when many more of us live sincerely for Christ! End of Sermon! (smile) 

And today I’ve been led to a quote from my ‘I LOVE YOU’ Poster, which says; ‘True wealth is what you are, not what you have.’ And that makes a lot of sense, for despite all of  your material wealth, if you don’t have the presence of God and godliness running within you, then you’re still  poor where it counts the most; emotionally and spiritually. That’s why so many supposedly wealthy people are so unhappy and miserable. They allow their material wealth to disrupt the workings of their souls in a way that displeases God. And without a true sense of God, without His presence in your soul, you can never be truly happy, despite your vast amount of material wealth. 

That brings us to this very important scripture where Moses warned the people of Israel about not forgetting the Lord when they got wealthy, not forgetting all the good things that He had done for them while they were struggling to survive in the wilderness. (Deut. 8:11-16) ‘And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.’ (Deut. 8:18) 

So we need to remember that it’s God who causes us to get wealth, be it material or emotional. And that ought to remind us of the story of the Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar in the Book of Daniel, who boasted of building his great palace through his own might, and before the words were out of his mouth the Lord had decreed that he would go mad and eat grass like the animals for seven years. And it all happened as decreed. (Dan. 4:28-33) Blessedly for Neb though, at the end of the seven years of madness, he gained back his mental faculties and his kingdom and praised God with a marvellous testimony for his miraculous recovery. (Dan. 4:34-36) 

Then, in conclusion he stated with all sincerity: ‘Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the king of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways of judgement (justice): and those that walk in pride he is able to abase (humble).’ (Dan. 4:37) Now, there we can see that Neb learned his lesson, but so many of us don’t, and unfortunately continue down the road to destruction and eternal death. We forget the scripture that tells us; ‘But he that glorieth (boasts), let him glory (boast) in the Lord.’ (2 Cor. 10:17) And in this boastful and selfish society we should all have those words tattooed on our faces so that we can remember it. 

And now, something else pertaining to true wealth, it’s a list of ‘The Twelve Aspects of True Wealth,’ that’s been on the wall on the opposite side of my office for donkey’s years, but do you think I see it. No way! Just like I don’t see the many other reminders I have all over the office. But for our information, here are those 12 aspects of true wealth. 

(1) A positive mental attitude. (2) Sound physical health. (3) Harmony in human relationships. (4) Freedom from fear. (5) Hope of future achievement. (6) The capacity for applied faith. (7) Willingness to share one’s blessings with others. (8) To be engaged in a Labour of LOVE. (9) An open mind on all subjects to all people. (10) Complete self-discipline. (11) Wisdom with which to understand people. (12) FINANCIAL SECURITY. 

And the whole point of that exercise is to show us that lots of money is the LAST aspect of true wealth, not the first, as so many of us make it. Hope we learn that lesson well for the upcoming New Year, seriously concentrating on the first eleven, rather than the twelfth. (smile) Now, it’s time go to the throne of grace through our Friday Chant,  seeking divine aid for all that ails us. 

Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough…  because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. 

We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

Yes friends, along with the sinful world, let’s truly wake up and smell the coffee this upcoming year nuh. It’s our bounden duty which we have been sadly neglecting. And the world is crying out for our help! Much LOVE!

…true wealth is what we have…when God is first and foremost in our lives…

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