The Overwhelming Importance Of Believers Understanding And Accepting God’s Great LOVE For His Creation!

15 Mar 2025 Leave a comment

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

John 10:11.       ‘I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.’

Well, I guess in the Lord’s wisdom, He figured that everyday could not be bright, sunshiny and dry, but there must be an opposite to keep everything well balanced and in the right perspective, that’s why today is cloudy, rainy and wet. (smile) I believe I also heard a couple rolls of thunder earlier on, so it looks like a serious day. But yuh know what, it’s also a perfect lazy-day Saturday, where you simply putter around the house, rest and meditate on the Lord’s Word and quietly interact with Him. Nothing can be more refreshing and uplifting that that! 

So let’s get the ball rolling by offering up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer with all sincerity and truth. As one positive 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 the peace and calm just begin flowing in our spirits and souls, as the Lord answers our heartfelt prayers that only serve to bring us closer to Him. Yes friends, there’s nothing the Lord desires and likes more than His children seeking to have closer intimacy and communion with Him, because that’s the main purpose for which He created us. And it breaks His heart when we turn away and instead fraternize with the foolish, fallen angel Satan, who has nothing of substance to offer us, nothing but sin, shame and disgrace that will eventually lead to eternal separation from our Creator and heavenly Father. 

That’s why it’s oh so important to create a personal relationship with Jehovah God, through His Son Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit that indwells us to try and keep us out of the clutches of the enemy and guide us on the straight and narrow path that leads to salvation and eternal life with Him. But because we have fair amount of free will, and are naturally imbued with a sinful nature, we tend to drift and stray away from the straight and narrow path, anxious to sample some of the seemingly awesome delights of the world held out and up to us by the deceitful and devious Satan, who’s so full of wiles and lies that he’s called the father of lies. 

And Jesus spells it all out in His analogy to the thief and the shepherd, in this scripture passage from John’s gospel. ‘The thief cometh not, but for (except) to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ (John 10:10) Right there we see the answer friends, Satan is a thief and only in intent on death and destruction. However, Jesus came that we could have life, and have it in abundance! So, whom will you accept as your leader and guide under those circumstances eh? Jesus of course!

 Unfortunately though, for whatever reason, too many of us are choosing Satan, or somehow or the other are falling in his devious trap, that’s why our world is so sinful, angry, strife-filled and ungodly! But it’s time many more of us wake up and listen to Jesus, when He says: ‘I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.’ (John 10:11) And that is exactly what He did when He sacrificed His sinless life on the cross of Calvary so that our abominable sins could be forgiven and we be made righteous in God’s eyes. 

So why this great movement, this sudden trend to turn to Satan eh, whom Jesus candidly describes in the next couple of verses? ‘But he that is an hireling (a hired man), and not the shepherd whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.’ (John 10:12) And Satan is both the thief and the hireling, for he tries to steal us away from Jesus, and when we find ourselves in trouble, he runs off and leaves us in the lurch, because he’s not really interested in our wellbeing, neither has he anything good or worthwhile to offer us. 

Jesus explains it thus: ‘The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have (Gentiles), which are not of this fold: them also must I bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold (flock), and one shepherd.’ (John 10:13-16) 

There you have it my fellow believers: Jesus states it in black and white. Unlike Beelzebub, He won’t run away from us when we find ourselves in trouble, but will always runs to us, because He cares deeply for us, that’s why He came to earth and died on Calvary’s cross. And if you can’t see the awesome truth in that, then you’d better get your mind examined right away. 

And please note how much Jesus cares for His creation, when He declares that He has other sheep to add to His fold, meaning us, the non-Jews or Gentiles. He came first to bring salvation to the Jews, through whom God worked and distilled His message down through the ages. But God didn’t forget the rest of His creation, because He LOVES us all, so badly, that it’s as Bruh Paul writes in Romans: ‘But God commendeth his LOVE toward us (demonstrated His own LOVE for us), in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:8) 

Now, isn’t that the greatest show of LOVE? Of course it is! Moreover, He couldn’t stand to lose even one of us to Beelzebub, as Peter says; ‘He’s not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.’ (2 Pet. 3:9:b) Yes friends, God LOVES all of His creation and has done His best to ensure that we all have the privilege of gaining salvation and eternal life through the sacrificial death of His sinless Son, which paid for all of our disobedience and wrongdoing. The ball is now in our court; it’s up to us to either accept or reject His most gracious offering of life with Him for ever and ever. Please be wise and accept it! Much LOVE!

… I place before you life and death…please choose life…that you and yours may live… (Deut. 30:19)

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 10 January 2019 Isaiah 43:2.

10 Jan 2019 Leave a comment

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

Isaiah 43:2.   ​When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon (scorch) thee.
 

Welcome to a brand new day friends! Oh I know that some of you have begun your day long ago, and those of you over the pond are closer to finishing it, but the ole fella, with the Lord’s help, is just beginning his, somewhat late yes, but at least I’m around to begin! (smile) And that’s something we ought to give our wonderful God much thanks and praise for, so please join me in a short prayer. 

‘Oh God of our fathers, we thank you for allowing us to see this bright and splendid day! Our aches and pains, our worries and problems have not gone away, and we’re still living in a sinful world, but we joyfully remember Your promise that by the stripes of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, we will be healed, and by the spilling of His holy blood, reconciled, justified, sanctified, and resurrected to salvation and eternal life. 

And we know that You are a Deity who keeps ALL of His promises, so we’re not worried. Consequently we give You much thanks and praise for all the mercy, grace, forgiveness and LOVING-kindness that you’ve bestowed on us in these trying times, and we ask that you continue to bless and keep us under Your safe, caring and comforting wings, till whenever You think it necessary to call us home to heaven, your wonderful place of retreat and retirement. All this we pray in Jesus’ name!’ And all God’s children declared a loud, proud and grateful, ‘AMEN!’ 

Ah friends, I know that both you and the Lord are chuckling because I promised a short prayer, but you all know that the ole fella is a long-winded soul, so you just have to be godly and forgive me. (smile) Now let’s reinforce that short prayer with a couple of powerful scriptural acclamations. 

Here we go: ‘I am an overcomer through Christ!’ ‘I am above and not beneath! The head and not the tail! (Deut.28:13) ‘I am more than a conqueror, through Christ who LOVES me.’ (Rom.8:37) And this last one is one that I need to believe ever so much in my current state of renovation. (smile) ‘And the God of all grace, who has called me to His eternal glory in Christ, after I have suffered a little while, will himself restore me and make me strong, firm and steadfast.’ (1 Pet. 5:10) 

And all I can say to that friends, is ‘Glory to our great God!’ That’s because He never leaves us in the lurch, never carries, or allows us to be carried where we can’t be reached by His strong, outstretched arm; never gives us more than we can bear, and even when it seems that way, He will eventually make a way for us to handle our circumstances. 

As Bruh Paul told the Corinthians: ‘There hath no temptation taken (overtaken) you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear (endure) it.’ (1 Cor.10:13) 

Now friends, that doesn’t mean we will escape all temptation, or all rough and trying circumstances, but that the Lord will bring us through them safely, for meeting and experiencing temptations and trials is an essential part of our Christian growth, we can only become more Christ-like and grow more godly when we experience some sort of negative experience. And that brings us to this wonderful passage and promise of scripture, uttered through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah, as he talks about ‘The Lord, the ONLY Redeemer.’ 

Listen up carefully: ‘But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon (scorch) thee. 

For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable (honoured), and I have LOVED thee: therefore I will give men for thee, and people for thy life. Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather them from the west.’ (Is.43:1-5) 

Oh my people, my people, what more can our God promise us eh, so that we’ll stop worrying and place our total trust in Him eh? And throughout His Holy Word, the Bible, you’ve seen numerous instances of where He has kept His promise, especially in redeeming us through the sacrificial death of His Son, Jesus Christ! So let’s rise up to the heights of wisdom in these last time nuh, let’s sincerely accept Him with thankful hearts, minds, bodies and souls, as He so greatly desires. 

Now let’s go home declaring (Chuh…wrong again!) the wonderful Thursday Blessings that He’s so wonderfully bestowed on us sincere believers. All together now: ‘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 everyday! Amen!’ 

And the next step is to share those blessings with others, for that’s a large part of the reason they were granted to us. Much LOVE!

…those who enjoy God’s blessings…will NEVER pay attention to the enemy again…