15 Mar 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adorns, before all the nations, believers, billow around us, borders, bride, bridegroom, causes things to spring forth, clarion call, courageous, deer's feet, eternity, family relationships, fasting, fellowship, free time and family, Friday chant, friends, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, garments of salvation, generous help, get a foothold, good tidings of salvation, greatly rejoice in the Lord, greedy, habakkuk, health, hungry, I will joy, I will rejoice in the Lord, in Jesus name, Jesus in them with us, Lenten season, like hinds feet, living truth, look to Jesus, LOVE, lurking enemy, made it through, make my feet, meditating, my soul shall be joyful, on our p's and q's, overtime, praise, praying, relaxation, rest, righteousness, robe of righteousness, run down the dollars and cents, run the race, salve driver, satisfying, siren's song, sleep, spiritual journey, spiritual upliftment, steadfast, stick together, stop points, storms of life, sweet, TGIF!, Thank God it's Friday, the detriment of our families, the earth brings forth bud, the garden, The God of my salvation, the Lord God is my strength, value money, walk upon mine high places, we will win, week of work, weekends, wiser intellect, workingman's song
Habakkuk 3:18. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
Oh friends, let me apologize right at the beginning for the late start to the Bit, but I went to bed late last night and then the early morning sleep was so sweet and satisfying that I just could not resist the tempting offer of it’s siren’s call: ‘Sleep one more round…just sleep one more round…before you get up!’
Yeh friends, the ole fella was a sucker for that appealing temptation! (smile) But remember he’s only human and can’t be expected to resist everything that comes against him. And I know that you’ll understand and forgive me, because you are also subject to just such temptations. Praise the Lord! (smile)
But it’s Friday and the workingman is there chomping at the bit to declare (phew…wrong again) his clarion call, so let’s hear him nuh. ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend’s looming large on the horizon! The March Break also finish, and everybody who went away packing up now to come back home to school and work!
Steups! Don’t know why they make such a big to do over it nuh, because is just one lousy week, and as soon as yuh get where yuh going, yuh have to pack up and come back again! But it wasn’t a bad week here, the temp wasn’t that cold and I went out a few times with the children, so that kept them happy.
But the backbreaking work still continuing…the slave driver not letting up at all, especially since business picking up now. Brother! He just hungry and greedy and dying to get as much work done as possible! He even offering overtime on the weekends…
But that is his problem yes! I work hard enough during the week, the weekend is for me to party and spend li’l time with mih family. If the slave driver value money over his free time and family, then later for him yes! I’m going to thank God for Fridays and weekends oui!’
And isn’t that the living truth my people; many of us value money over spending time with our families and resting ourselves. But that’s not always wise because it breaks down everything; your family relationships as well as your own health.
So please, let’s not run down the dollars and cents, as so many of us are still doing, to the detriment of our families and ourselves. If the ordinary workingman can see and understand that principle, why can’t we believers, supposedly of wiser intellect see it too eh?
But anyway let’s chant our reply to the workingman’s song, which wasn’t as far out on the limb today as it usually is. Our Friday Chant is still more conservative and sensible and in line with Jesus’ desires. So all together now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen!’
Yes friends, we need to remember that we have certain borders and stop points that we ought not to go over unless we want the ever lurking enemy to get a foothold in our business and mess it up even more than it’s already messed up. (smile) We need to be always on our ‘p’s and q’s, because he is always on his.
And he’s no more voracious than in this Lenten season when he knows that we’re all seeking spiritual upliftment with fasting and praying and meditating a bigger slice of our lives than normal. There’ nothing he would like better than to get us off course on our spiritual journey. That’s why my fellow believers we have to do like the prophet Habakkuk says in his song. Even though times are very rough and trying: ‘Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.’
Wow friends! A few simple but powerful words can make a lot of difference to our spiritual selves! And why was Habakkuk intent on being so joyful even though his situation might be less than satisfactory?
Because: ‘The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds (deer’s) feet, and will make me to walk upon mine high places.’ (Hab.3:19) And yes friends, that’s as good a reason as any, and better than many, to put one’s everlasting and sincere trust in the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel!
Hear how Isaiah puts it when he declares (wrong again – going to have to stop using it) his good tidings of salvation to Zion. ‘I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with jewels.
For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.’ (Is.61:10-11)
And friends, if you are indeed a true believer in Christ, you won’t need any other promise than that to convince you to stick with Jesus ALL THE WAY TO ETERNITY! No other supposed deity can even dream of making such a promise, much less of keeping it like Jesus will!
So let’s be courageous and steadfast and run the race that God has planned for us nuh. If we stick together and look to Him, we WILL WIN in the end! Much LOVE!
…though the storms of life billow around us…we’re sure of one thing…that Jesus is right in the middle of them with us…Praise His Holy Name…
03 Mar 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Abraham Issac and Jacob, almighty god, an act of homage, anxious, as a tree planted by waters, backbreaking labour, blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, carnality, cease from yielding fruit, Christian Manifesto, consciousness, disasters, do their own thing, drought, ever-faithful, fear, fellowship, Friday chant, fun, generous help, glorious kingdom, glory hallelujah, he who has ears to hear, heat, her leaf shall be green, hope, in Jesus' name, in the year of drought, introspection, judges, kings, kiss the son, Lenten season, live it up, living for, on Christ's behalf, perish, pittance in pay, Praise the Lord, prayer, promise, rejoice with trembling, relaxation, rest, revel, rid our society of God, serve the Lord, shall not be careful, shall not fear when heat comes, sing and dance, sing praise, spreadeth out her roots by the river, submission, temptation, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the god of Jacob, the God of their forefathers, the Jews, the weekend, the workingman, the world's lust, times of dire need, trembling, truth, ungodliness, week of work, whose hope the Lord is, worshipping, wrath
Jeremiah 17:7. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.
Well friends, it’s Friday, and the weekend looms large around us! That’s why there is so much joyful shouting in the streets around the world; the workingman is free for two big, whole days!
And who can truly blame him when he joyfully declares: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday yes people! The weekend is here! The weekend is here! Glory Hallelujah! No more backbreaking labour for a pittance in pay!
So let’s sing and dance, live it up while we have the chance, for Monday will soon be here, then it’s back to the grindstone again! Oh Thank God for Fridays and the weekends oui!’
Now that’s a temptation the enemy throws out at us each weekend; the opportunity to revel in the world’s lust and carnality. But hopefully we believers are able to withstand it, especially in this Lenten Season of prayer and introspection, because it’s not the right thing to do.
Our Friday Chant is a much better way to use the weekend, so let’s chant it now with sincerity and a true sense of purpose nuh. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes my people, that’s how we ought to spend our weekends; renewing and refreshing our bodies and spirits so that come Monday we can be refreshed, ready to go out and labour on Christ’s behalf. That’s the only way that makes any sense under our Christian Manifesto.
And likewise, our Bit falls squarely under that public declaration of policy decreed by Almighty God. ‘Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.’
Ah friends and neighbours, there’s absolutely no doubt about that statement! And why is that you ask? Well listen to the verse that follows our Bit.
‘For he shall be as a tree planted by waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see (fear) when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful (anxious) in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.’ (Jer.17:8)
Oh what a beautiful promise my breddren! And we all know that the Sovereign Lord is ever-faithful and keeps all His promises, so why won’t I put my utmost trust in Him eh, especially in these crazy and uncertain times? Hn!
But unfortunately, more people seem to be running away from God these days, than are running to Him! And that’s such a sad state of affairs, because He is the ONLY ONE who can help us in our times of dire need.
I really don’t understand people of today nuh, they are all trying to do their own thing, and what mankind says, but look at the mess it has our world in, why not try something else, like returning to seriously worshipping and living for Almighty God eh?
But that doesn’t seem to enter their consciousness at all! They just keep on trying to rid our society of God, regardless of the serious disasters that are happening, both natural and man-made.
Now the Jews of early times had their faults, but one thing I admire about them is that when they saw their world falling apart through ungodliness, they were quick to get back to worshipping the God of their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Why friends, can’t we be as smart, or even as logical eh? I guess only the Lord can truthfully answer that question.
Now let’s check out some scripture that agrees with our Bit. Listen to the psalmist from Psalm 2 – Why do the heathen rage? ‘Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son (perform an act of homage and submission), lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.’ (Ps.2:10-12)
Oh my fellow believers do we even need a better reason than that to trust the Creator of the universe? I don’t think so. Just the fear of His wrath and anger should propel us to trust Him.
Now hear the psalmist from Psalm 146 – The blessedness of trusting God. ‘Praise ye the Lord (Hallelujah). Praise the Lord, O my soul. While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praise unto my God while I have any being.
Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man (human being), in who there is no help (salvation). His breath goeth forth (spirit departs), he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is the Lord his God: which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever.’ (Ps.146:1-6)
Oh friends, I can’t think of a better argument than that for worshipping the Lord God Jehovah! Let’s hope that you agree and will continue to do so steadfastly, because that’s the only source of true wisdom in these trying times. Much LOVE!
…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…or he will certainly feel…
01 Mar 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a lamp, a light unto my path, association, At last, bacchanal time, believers, benefits, commandment, communication, converting the soul, covenants, crucifixion, defense, enduring forever, enlightening the eyes, entrusted myself, eyes fixed straight ahead, forest of my thoughts, forty days of Christ's temptation, fulfillment, get serious, God's Law, God's Word, God-centred, great news, guarantees my wholeness, halfway home, hands on the plough, honeycomb, immeasurable, in the thick of battle, interaction, Jesus, judgements of the Lord, Lent, Lenten season, LOVE, make time, making wise the simple, meditate, monk-like, more to be desired than gold, moved, my rock, my soul waits, not turning back, one, One Year Book of Bible promises, perfect, perfectly safe, practice, pure, put into action, read, rejoicing the heart, righteous, ruins of my heart, Ruth Harms Calkin, salvation, shaken, sincerity, statutes, strong tower, study, supports me, sweeter than honey, temptations, testimony, the breath of life, the fear of the Lord, the right path, the wilderness, thy word is a lamp unto my feet, to a glorious future with Jesus, to be loved, true, trust, truth, understands, Wednesday Wail, without God, wonderful life, worldly activities
Psalm 119:105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Ah friends, bacchanal time done now! It’s Ash Wednesday, the first day both of March and of the Lenten Season, where Christians settle down and get real serious about their interaction and communication with Almighty God.
It’s a season of intense study and meditation and looking inside to see what’s there and how it relates to our Christian faith, and how we can bring ourselves into closer association with our heavenly Father, as we go through the forty days of Christ’s temptation in the wilderness that lead up to His eventual crucifixion.
Now that doesn’t mean we have to be monk-like and don’t enjoy our lives. Absolutely not, but we do need to cut down on some of the worldly activities and be more God-centred, more God focused and serious about our faith and how we react to temptations, a-la Christ.
And here is a poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin that sort of describes what I’m talking about. It’s titled ‘At Last.’
And it says: ‘At last there is One With whom I am perfectly safe. One who knows thoroughly All the rubbled ruins of my heart. At last I see all that is Riddled and distorted in me Can still find God-planned fulfillment.
At last I need no longer explore The deep, dark forest of my thoughts For there is One who understands me Far better than I understand myself. One who stands with me In the thick of the battle One who supports me On the slippery, ice-crested paths.
At last I have entrusted myself To One who guarantees my wholeness Someone whose LOVE is immeasurable. In all the world He alone can LOVE me As I need to be LOVED. At last there is One – My Lord and my God!’
Yeh my people, that is the stage that we all need to come to; a proper understanding of whom our God is, what he’s all about, and the immense trust that we can and ought to place in Him if we call ourselves believers.
That’s the kind of stuff we need to sincerely seek during this Lenten Season. And the Bible Promise for that poem comes from Psalm 62 – God only is my rock and my salvation.
‘Truly my soul waiteth (waits silently) upon God: from him cometh my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defense (strong tower); I shall not be greatly moved (shaken).’ (Ps.62:1-2)
Yes friends, when we can truly declare those words with the utmost sincerity, then we’re getting the situation right, then we’re truly moving along the right path. But before we can get to that point, we have to invoke the words of our Bit. ‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’
We need to get serious about God’s Word. And as we said yesterday, MAKE TIME to read, study and meditate on it, then put what it tells us into sincere action in our lives. Remember that the Word has been given for our benefit, not God’s, and if we don’t try to practice it in all sincerity and truth, then crapaud smoke we pipe!
But you can’t practice what you don’t know, that’s why it’s so important to become very knowledgeable about the Good Book and what it says. Only then can we hope to say that it’s a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.
Now listen to what Bruh David says about the Lord’s word in Psalm 19- The creation and covenants of God. ‘The law of the Lord is perfect, converting (restoring) the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever: the judgements of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the (drippings of the) honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.’ (Ps.19: 7-11)
Oh my brethren, isn’t that great news? Wow! It surely is! Look at all the benefits we can derive from knowing and keeping the word nuh: it restores our souls, makes us wise, rejoices our hearts, enlightens our eyes, the word endure forever and is true and righteous.
Chuh man! It’s worth more than gold, the real good kind, and is even sweeter than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb! Mama mia!
And if that wasn’t sufficient, it also warns us when we are going astray. And then, when we abide by the Word, we are handsomely rewarded in the end! What can be better than the Word of the Lord then eh mih people? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
So please, I implore us to ponder on all those things this Lenten Season, so that we can get right all that we need to get right. Now let’s go home declaring our Wednesday Wail, with much enthusiasm and true sincerity.
‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home.
My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
What a wonderful life my precious people of God! Much LOVE!
…God gave us life to live…but we can’t live it fully without Him…
17 Mar 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 123 Newsletters, asaph, backsliding, blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, calypsos, chosen for his inheritance, Christian time, conduct, confession, day of abundance, Editor Bob, enjoy the day to the fullest, give ear, God is the judge, good fortune, green, growth, have fun, hear O ye kings, Holy Trinity, indigo glow of the sky, Irish Angel's Blessing, Irish folklore, joy, Lenten season, leprechaun, magnanimous, magnificent, mindset, mischief-making, Moments of Leisure, monetary, o ye princes, offering praises, patron saint of ireland, perfection of life, Pot o' gold, praise and thanksgiving, praise is comely, pro-actively cultivate, prosperity, reflections, relationship with god, repentance, shamrock, signs, sing praise to the Lord, sing unto him a new song, spread luck, St.Patrick's Day, symbolism, take life easy, the salvation of God, thethe word of the Lord is right, this is the day the Lord has made, topsy turvy world, truth, we will rejoice and be glad in it, Whoso offers praise glorifies me
Judges 5:3. Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes: I, even I, will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.
HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY !
Well a Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all you fine Irish and non-Irish folks out there! It’s time to enjoy the luck o’ the Irish! (smile)
St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated every year on March 17; the feast day of St. Patrick the patron Saint of Ireland. According to history though he was not Irish, but was born in Britain in 385 AD and brought to Ireland as a slave when he was sixteen. Six years later he escaped and became a priest, and per a vision, he returned to Ireland to Christianize the Irish people.
According to legend, St Paddy used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to the Irish people by showing them the three-leafed plant with one stem. And it eventually became the national flower/emblem of Ireland.
Another part of St. Paddy’s legend claims that he drove the snakes out of Ireland, although some biologists claim there were never any snakes in Ireland. (smile) St. Patrick died on March 17 461 AD.
And today I want to share some words of wisdom from Editor Bob from the 123 Group of Newsletters.
The newsletter begins by saying that ‘St. Patrick’s day is here, we know besides being a day celebrating the revered patron saint of Ireland it has now become a perfect time to groove away with folks and friends wearing green jackets adorned with a shamrock and wish for our pot of gold delivered by the lucky Leprechaun.’
And what is a Leprechaun you ask? Well it’s a type of fairy in Irish folklore, who is usually depicted as a little bearded man, wearing a coat and a hat, with a mischief-making side to his personality.
Now my recollection of St. Paddy’s day is just that as quoted above, because while growing up in T&T, St. Patrick’s Day was the only day you’d hear calypsos on the radio during the Lenten season. So it was basically a break in the staunch and strictly celebrated Christian time. We’d all be dying for St. Paddy’s day to come so we could drink and party with a clear conscience. (smile)
Ah Lord eh! What began as a religious festival has turned in to a universal time of partying. But anyway, here are Editor Bob’s words of wise advice.‘Wisdom comes from the moments of leisure and reflections that you give yourself; sometimes perfection of life is not having perfection at all.
So step down from the escalator and sit on a quiet bench, enjoy the indigo glow of the sky, invite a friend or two to spend the moment of nothingness with you and celebrate the day of abundance which is not necessarily monetary in nature.
The festival is full of signs and symbolism. Green is the colour of growth and prosperity. Leprechaun brings a message to take life easy and have fun with it. Pot of gold is the “good fortune” you crave for on the outside but is within your reach if you just believe. Shamrock stands for trinity indicating the power that you have to attract all that is good. So friends enjoy the day to the fullest.’
And that is exactly what we ought to do, not simply because it’s St. Paddy’s Day, but because we are alive and kicking, being LOVINGLY looked after by a mighty, magnificent and magnanimous God.
So why should we not follow the advice of both Editor Bob and the psalmist, who loudly declares: ‘This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Ps.118:24)
Oh my people, that is the mantra we should follow each and everyday we are blessed to open our eyes to greet a new morn. It’s not always easy because of the unfortunate circumstances that beset all of us at some time or other. But if we pro-actively cultivate that mindset, life will become much easier, and we will not allow our circumstances to steal our joy in the Lord as much as we’d otherwise do.
Now let’s turn to our Bit: ‘Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes: I, even I, will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.’
Yes friends, we’ll continue with scriptures of praise and thanksgiving to our great and wonderful God – even though we don’t have much time and space left. (smile) That’s because there is nothing else that brings joy to the Lord and to us than offering up praises to our Creator and heavenly Father.
First off, listen to these words of Asaph from Psalm 50 – God is the judge. ‘Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation (conduct) aright will I show the salvation of God.’ (Ps.50:23).
Oh my people, please let’s remember that the Creator made us to have an intense but beautiful relationship with Him. Mankind is the only one of His creatures that can do that.
But unfortunately, over the last generation or so, we have been backsliding badly, and now need to very seriously come to Him as desperate times are overtaking our world. Only confession, repentance and mountains of praise can right our upside down, topsy-turvy world.
The psalmist in Psalm 33 – Praise to the Lord for His creation- steadfastly and confidently declares: ‘Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely (beautiful) for the upright. Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.
Sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise (joyful shout). For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth.’ (Ps.33:1-4)
And all God’s children said a loud and grateful ‘Praise the Lord!’ to those words of indisputable truth.
And we’ll close with an appropriate Irish Angel’s Blessing: ‘May the leprechauns be near you, to spread luck along your way. And may all the Irish angels, Smile upon you on St. Patrick’s Day.’
Yes my brethren, I wish us all a blessed St. Patrick’s Day! Much LOVE!
…blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord…and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance… (Ps.33:12)
P.S. I’m somewaht tardy today because of my early celebrations of St. Paddy’s Day. (smile) Much LOVE!
05 Feb 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living
Tags: afflictions, arthritic bones, Ash Wednesday, bacchanal, backbreaking labour, be sober, be vigilant, blessings, Carnival Friday, doing wrong, Drunk or sober mind yuh business, evil, faith, fanciful, fellowship, Friday chant, friends, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, glamourous, glory hallelujah, glory to God, Granny's advice, Hallelujah, in Jesus' name, Jesus Christ, joy, jump and prance., leggo beasts, Lent, Lenten season, LOVE, Lucifer, make you perfect, mas, merriment, modicum of circumspection, New Orleans, penchant, pleasure, Praise the Lord, rejuvenation, relaxation, resist, rest, Rio, satisfy my soul, Scarborough, seeking whom he may devour, settle, spirit of Carnival, stablish, steadfast in faith, strengthen, suffered, sunburn, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the God of all grace, the Lord in favour, the weekend, time of feasting, trust, truth, ungodly world, walk with god, week of work, wiles, wisdom, words of encouragement, your adversary the devil
1 Peter 5:8. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
Oh friends, on this Carnival Friday, a wet and windy one, I come to you from my little cottage by the sea in Tobago with these words of encouragement and LOVE! Glory to God!
Yes my brethren, it’s the start of the weekend, and I know that many of you around the world are going to, or have already shouted ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday, and the weekend’s here at last! No more backbreaking labour for a few days! Thank God it’s Friday yes!’
And so it should be my people; constant work deserves a spell of rest and rejuvenation. But the first thing I want to remind us about is how we spend our weekend, not in debauchery and lustfulness, but in thanks and praise and general well-being.
So let’s chant our Friday Chant which helps us to truly understand what the weekend is all about. As one now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes friends, that’s the general scene we ought to hold to on a weekend, especially this Carnival one, where in places like T&T, Rio and New Orleans, where the god of pleasure and debauchery, Bacchanal himself will be ruling the roost and so many of us will be behaving like true leggo beasts.
I don’t know about the other festivals, but here in T&T many people won’t be working from today until Ash Wednesday, so that’s a five-day weekend. And you know what can happen in such a long layoff from work, especially when pleasure is the subject of the day.
At no other time is Granny’s advice more necessary than now my people. So let me spell it out right away. ‘Sonny boy…and young girl too…please, please, ah beg all yuh…this is Carnival time, so drunk or sober, please mind yuh business! For as Shadow says in his kaiso; ‘on Carnival night…when them men get tight…they doh care who they bite…’
And that’s the gospel truth my people! At Carnival time even the most peaceful and ‘geekish’ body seems to develop a penchant for doing wrong, whether it’s through drugs and alcohol, or simply the enervating spirit of Carnival.
Oh I know this is the time before the Lenten Season when we are supposed to release all our pent up energy and frustrations before settling down to a more holy and godly time. But there is a way to do that, and also a way not to do it.
And our Bit today from 1 Peter gives us admirable, wonderful advice, advice truly akin to Granny’s. ‘Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
And the sad part is that at this particular time of feasting and merriment, the ole crook and scoundrel Lucifer doesn’t have to look far or wide, or even search hard for people to devour, because we open wide the doorway for him to come in and take up residence within our souls, with the kind of behaviour we put down during Carnival.
Now nobody’s saying we shouldn’t celebrate or party, but we ought to do it with a modicum of circumspection, as Jeeves would say. We can’t afford to give the evil one, even an inch, because you know he’ll end up taking a nail. (smile)
As for me, my days for the leggo beast kind of partying seem to be over. Hn! I can’t even walk properly, much less to jump and prance! The last couple days my left knee began acting up on me, and I’ve been limping around, just doing whatever I need to do, plus the duchess had a bout of the flu, so we’ve just been sitting around mostly, trying to get ourselves together.
I have been going to my waterhole every afternoon though. Got to get the ole arthritic bones soaking in that therapeutic sea water as much as possible. I don’t need to worry about the sunshine, because it’s been very hot the last few days, I might even have gotten sunburn. (smile)
This morning though I want to go up into the big city of Scarborough and try to get some proper channels on the t.v. Hn! Now that I have satellite t.v, the channels don’t appeal to me. Not even a good sports station, or a Christian one to boost my spirituality! Chuh! It might cost me more money, but what’s a few dollars for one’s comfort and satisfaction eh!
I’ll be in quiet Tobago for the weekend, hopefully watching some of the mas on the tube. And if my knee feels better, I might even go down to Scarborough on Tuesday afternoon to take in some Tobago mas. Oh it’s not as big and fanciful and glamorous as that in Trinidad, but it will satisfy my soul.
And besides, the overall mas scene has gone downhill as far as I am concerned; the good costumes are few and far between, with just a bikini top and bottom with a few feathers being more the norm, but still costing a lot of money.
Anyway friends, let’s end up here with the continuation of Peter’s warning after our Bit. ‘Whom (the devil) resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in (experienced by) your brethren that are in the world.
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish (confirm), strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.’ (1 Pet.5:9-11)
And all God’s children said a loud and proud and grateful: ‘Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!’
So my fellow believers in Christ, until tomorrow, the Lord in favour, please let’s walk safely and securely under His comforting umbrella, successfully thwarting the evil wiles of the enemy. Much LOVE!
…to successfully thwart Lucifer…one MUST walk with God…
27 Mar 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all ye that labour and are heavy laden, almighty god, anguish, betrayal, Bruh David, burial, Calvary, Christian, common sense, conviction, covenant, crucifixion, cry out to God, defeated death, die on the cross, Easter Sunday, encouraging, eternal life, faithfulness of God, fellowship, focusing on God, forgive our sins, forgiveness, Friday chant, friends and neighbours, further God's glorious kingdom, generous help, Good and upright is the Lord, gratefulness, guidance, guide in judgement, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, He will teach sinners his way, Holy Week, humble, I am meek and lowly in heart, I will forgive their iniquity, I will give you rest, I will remember their sin no more, if we confess our sins, in Jesus' name, iniquity, Jeremiah, Jesus is the way the truth and the life, Jesus' great invitation, Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, joy, justice, know the Lord, Lenten season, loving kindness, meek, mercy, my burden is light, my yoke is easy, our main priority, Palm Sunday, panache, pardon my iniquity, philosophical, poetic, protection, reconciled, rejuvenation, relaxation, repentance, rest, resurrection, sin, testimonies, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the heavy load, the living God, the sins of my youth, the weekend, thy goodness sake, to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, truth, uplifting, wisdom, zest
1 John 1:9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
And then my beautiful Friends and neighbours, it was Friday! The day that so many of us around the world can’t wait to come around, because it signifies the end of our labour for two, big, whole days. (smile) That’s why the joyful cry of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday, and the weekend’s here at last!’ rings out all over the land every Friday.
However Friends and neighbours, just to see Friday come around should not be the uppermost fact or factor in our lives. It does have its importance, but that’s certainly not at the head of the list.
Our main priority should always be our focus on the living God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the One who created the universe and all therein. The One who LOVED us so much that He sent His only Son to die for us on a wooden cross at Calvary’s Hill, so that we could be reconciled to Him.
Now that’s a more worthwhile focus, especially in this upcoming last week of the Lenten season, Holy Week, beginning with Palm Sunday, where we recreate Jesus’ triumphal entry into the Holy City of Jerusalem. Then during the week, we feel with Him the anguish of waiting for His betrayal, crucifixion, and burial.
And finally, the greatest moment of all in man’s history, when we celebrate His triumphant resurrection on Easter Sunday morning! For that’s what entitles us to promise of eternal life! If Christ had not arisen from the grave, having defeated death, then there’d be no after life for us to celebrate today, two thousand years later.
Now that’s where the Christian mind should be focused in these difficult and trying times. And to help us get into that frame of mind, rather than the ‘Thank God it’s Friday’ one, let’s chant our Friday Chant with much conviction.
As one powerful chanter now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yeh mih people, we need to concentrate on rejuvenating ourselves, so that we can continue our pilgrim’s journey with zest and panache next week. (smile) And an important part of all that is doing what our Bit advises. ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’
Unfortunately though my brethren, a lot of us don’t seem to believe that and we just go on constantly toting the heavy load that is sin on our frail human shoulders. That’s not wisdom nor common sense my people, for long long ago the Lord promised to forgive our sins if we turned to Him in repentance.
Listen to these beautiful, uplifting and encouraging words of the prophet Jeremiah nuh. ‘And they shall teach no more every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.’ (Jer.31:34)
Oh Friends, we all know the faithfulness of our God, so why is it so difficult to embrace that promise eh? Why do we insist on letting our sins weigh us down, when it’s not necessary?
Bruh David is a great example of not letting his sins weigh him down too much. He did his thing, but when times got rough, he wasn’t afraid to cry out to the God of his fathers for mercy and forgiveness. Hear this cry of his from Psalm 27 – A prayer for guidance and protection.
‘Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies, and thy LOVING-kindness; for they have been ever of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness’ sake, O Lord. Good and upright is the Lord; therefore will he teach sinners in the way.
The meek (humble) will he guide in judgement (justice): and the meek (humble) will he teach his way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies. For thy name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity; for it is great.’ (Ps.25:6-12)
Ah mih people, we don’t have to wax as poetic and philosophical as Bruh David, but we do have to bring our sins to Almighty God for forgiveness as often as possible, so that we can shed the heavy load that they bring to bear on us. Please remember Jesus’ great invitation to all and sundry.
‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble): and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt.11:28-30)
Oh Friends, there we have it in living colour, straight from Jesus Himself! What shall we do about it eh? Shall we foolishly reject such a wonderful invitation? Or shall we embrace it with joy and gratefulness?
I beg to advice that the latter option is the only wise and sensible one. So today, let’s ponder our true relationship with Jesus nuh, and hopefully come to the conclusion, that He is indeed the Truth, the Light, and the Way in this dark world of evil and sin. Much LOVE!
…the greatest wisdom mankind can embrace…is that of truly and faithfully following Jesus…
04 Mar 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a job, a rewarder of them that diligently seek him, a roof over your head, aches and pains, alive and kicking, appreciate our blessedness, bask in the glow, because of mine enemies, believing, bloodletting, bonday, clothes on your back, complacent attitudes, confidence, confuesed, deterioration of our society, dismantle, earthly sojourn, enemies in our society, energy, evil clutches, evil ungodly world, faith, fall for any nonsense, fellow believers in Christ, fight to keep what we have, figuratively, find grace in thy sight, food on your table, freedom to worship, freedoms, friends, frothing at the mouth, give their eye teeth, God never declines our requests, God's children, God's Word, grace, gracious, guidance, health issues, heavenly Father, homlessness, I am blessed, I will give thee rest, If I have found grace in thy sight, introspective, lead me in a plain path, Lenten season, let our voices be loudly heard, literally, lost, LOVE, loving, magnanimous god, Moses, my presecnce shall go with thee, no turning back, nourish, O Lord, omnipotent, our heavenly Father, petitions, petty inconveniences, pilgrim's journey, plowing straight ahead, poverty, Praise the Lord, Scrip-Bit family, serious action, short attention span, show me now thy way, smile, smug, stamina, stand up strong and steadfast, starvation, stay on the straight and narrow path, strength, take it for granted, take roots in our hearts, Teach me thy way O Lord, tell the world, tenaciously, that I may know thee, the body of Christ, the Father's way, the middle of the week, the providence of God, this nation is thy people, trying times, water, Wednesday, wisdom, without faith it is impossible to please God, wrongs
Psalm 27:11. Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain (smooth) path, because of mine enemies.
Aye mih Scrip-Bit family, it’s another beautiful day on God’s great earth! And all His children declared a loud and thankful ‘Praise the Lord!’
Yes Friends, this is the day we call Wednesday, the middle of the workweek. And once we’ve gotten there, there’s no turning back, just plowing straight ahead with the providence of God!
It’s obvious that I woke up late. (smile) I went to bed late too. But unfortunately, these days the ole bod doesn’t have the stamina and energy to go to bed late and get up early, so please learn to put up with the varying times that the Bit arrives. (smile) Once I’m alive and kicking, it will get there, I just can’t promise that it will be very early.
Anyway, for whatever reason the Lord has, I woke up with my right knee aching this morning, so I’m sort of limping around until it decides to play right. And that’s one of the things I detest about my aches and pains; their inconsistency. I’ll be fine for a while, then out of the blue, for no apparent reason, various parts of my anatomy will start to act up.
But yuh know what my brethren? Our God is so wonderful that He also caused me to wake up singing the chorus to the reggae song, ‘I am blessed.’ Yes Friends, ‘I, I am blessed! I want to tell the world, that I, I am blessed!’
Yes family, if you have a roof over your head, clothes on your back, food on your table, have a decent job to go to, and can also read this, then you are indeed blessed. So please sing the chorus with me. ‘I, I am blessed! I want to tell the world that I, I am blessed!’
One more time, more enthusiastically and gratefully than the first. ‘We, we are blessed! Let’s tell the world that we, we are blessed!’ And again: ‘We, we are blessed! Let’s tell the world that God’s children are blessed!’
Oh my people, we are so blessed that we don’t truly recognize it and take it all for granted. But at least three quarters of the world, consumed by starvation, poverty, joblessness, homelessness and health issues, would gladly give their eye-teeth (smile) for what we have.
Yet we walk around with smug, complacent attitudes, complaining about small, petty inconveniences. It’s high time we stop doing that Friends, and learn to truly appreciate our blessedness, especially in this Lenten season, where we are supposed to be introspective, looking inside to see what areas of our souls and lives we can clean up.
Thankfulness for the great gifts we have and the freedom to worship Almighty God without fear of persecution should be ranked at the top of our list. But we have to work hard and stay faithful if we want to keep those wonderful gifts in these very trying times.
We just can’t assume that we’ll always have them, because there are enemies in our society who are just dying, frothing at the mouth to take them away.
So while we can bask somewhat in the glow of our blessings, we just can’t sit around, as we have been doing, and allow this evil and ungodly world to take away, to dismantle our blessedness. We have to fight to keep what we have my brethren!
That means we have to stand up steadfast and strong; let our voices be loudly heard all over the land, about the wrongs that are being done. And more importantly, as the body of Christ, we need to take some serious action to stop the bloodletting and deterioration of our society.
Our freedoms won’t handed to us on a silver platter. They were won by fighting fiercely and tenaciously for them, and we’ll only keep them the same way.
Enough of me now though, time for our Bit: ‘Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain (smooth) path, because of mine enemies.’
Oh Friends those are words and sentiments we can pray at the start of each and every day! They are that important because they take us to our heavenly Father to ask for His strength and guidance in our rough pilgrim’s journey. And that’s the only way we can handle our earthly sojourn with the strength and confidence we need.
If we don’t know the Father’s way, then we’ll get all confused and lost and fall for any nonsense that mankind proposes. And believe me, there is plenty nonsense in our world today just looking to grab us and keep us in bondage, both literally and figuratively. But when we look to the Father first and foremost, they will not be able to get us in their evil clutches.
And Friends, asking the Father for guidance is nothing new. Listen to Moses when the Lord appointed Him to lead the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt. ‘Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.’ (Ex.33:13)
A very reasonable request my people. And the Lord’s reply was: ‘My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.’ (Ex.33:14)
Oh my brethren, when we ask God for guidance and His presence in our affairs, He NEVER declines our requests! But after asking for it, we still need to have the faith that He’s going to intervene and make it all right. For without true faith, we can’t come before Him with our petitions.
‘But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’ (Heb.11:6) So Friends, it’s not just simply asking, but also believing that our requests will be heard and worked upon by our omnipotent and magnanimous God.
And I think I’ll stop there for today, don’t want to give us too much to ponder on all at once, for I know our short attention spans. (smile) So my fellow believers in Christ, please, let’s truly consider the words we’ve heard today nuh, and let them take deep and serious roots in our hearts.
Let’s also water and nourish them so that they will grow and help us stay on the straight and narrow path that leads directly to our most gracious and LOVING heavenly Father, for that is truly wisdom at its zenith! Much LOVE!
…God’s children need to stop simply talking faith…and rather take action…act zealously and faithfully on God’s Word…
24 Feb 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: A journey of love, almighty god, anger, Another Country, be not conformed to this world, be transformed by the renewing of your mind, be ye angry and sin not, bitterness, care, Christians, compassion, darkness, disappointment, Ephesians, evil speaking, faith, faithfulness, five foolish virgins, fleshly lusts, friends, give place to the devil, God's little Acre, good and acceptable to God, gospel truth, Hades, heaven, holy spirit, introspection, James Baldwin, Jesus Christ, Lent, Lenten season, live for Jesus, LOVE, LOVE for God, Lucifer, lying, malice, memorable words of Jesus, nature, practical guidelines, prayer, promises, retrospection, rough and trying times, spirit of your mind, St. Therese, steadfast faith, surrender, the fire next time, the North Country, the prince of darkness, The Saint of the Little Flower, trust, truth, ungodly world, watch, wherein the Son of man cometh, wisdom, wrongdoing
Romans 12:2. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Ah Friends, it’s Tuesday, and we’re in the last days of our stay in Paradise! And as I gaze out at the wonders of nature, hear the birds and insects sing their songs of praise to their Creator, with the seas at high tide bashing against the rocky shore, I sadly realize that in another couple days I won’t be waking up to this beautiful panorama of God’s making, but to a scene of snow and ice, of cold and darkness.
Ah Lord eh! And the ole heart stutters and flutters as it comes to grip with the great seismic change. (smile) But you know the ole fella will take it in his stride, because that’s where the Lord has me based for the present time. This was only a vacation, a blessed change and reprieve from the uncomfortable aspects of winter in the North Country.
And if I claim to have faith and trust in our omnipotent God, and have surrendered my will to Him, then I have no choice but to grin and bear whatever He allows to come against me, trusting in His faithful promises that He won’t give me more than I can bear, neither will He leave nor forsake me, while working everything out eventually for my good.
Oh my people, what a good and mighty God we serve and worship! And I’ve been walking with Him long enough now to be fully aware and fully cognizant of His everlasting faithfulness. He’s brought me through enough rough situations before, so why should He stop now eh, especially when I’m more faithful to Him now than I’ve ever been?
So although there’s sadness and disappointment in my upcoming departure from God’s Little Acre, I am also bolstered by the fact that my God is able to do whatever He promises, and will provide for me in whatever situation I may be in.
Consequently, I’d like to share this prayer from a devotional titled ‘A Journey of LOVE – Walking with St. Therese of Liseux; the Saint of the Little Flower, who promised to spend her heaven doing good on earth, letting fall a shower of roses as her signature. However Friends, in these very rough and trying times, we shouldn’t wait till we get to heaven to do good on earth, we need to do that RIGHT NOW!
And what better time to begin than in this Lenten season of both intro and retrospection!
Please pray with me: ‘Lord, help me to live always in the light of your presence. Should any darkness challenge my belief and LOVE for you, dispel that darkness so that I might witness to your merciful and gracious LOVE. Grant me the wisdom to confront a secular and egocentric world with your message of care and compassion for all people. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.’
Yes my people, there’s so much darkness and evil in our current world that it’s only with the omnipotent help of Almighty God, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit that we can ever hope to dispel and remove them from our lives. And it can ONLY be done through LOVE and compassion! So please let’s come together seriously nuh, and do what we know is meet and right for us to do.
The sad part of the situation is that we full well know what is right, but yet we allow the façade of the world’s false and short lasting beauty to lure us into wrongdoing and ungodly behavior. If we are truly children of God, then we desperately need to be walking according to the dictates of our Bit: ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.’
That’s the gospel truth my brethren! And it reminds me of a quote of James Baldwin (1928-1987), the controversial African American novelist, playwright, poet and social critic, who continually reflected on his experience as a black man in white America, penning such insightful works as ‘The Fire Next Time and Another Country.’
Well James is reputed to have said: ‘The future is like heaven – everyone exalts it but no one wants to go there now.’ And that’s a very accurate reflection of Christians nowadays! We all want to live a godly life, but just not yet, first we want to enjoy the pleasures and lusts of the fleshly world.
But Friends we can’t afford to wait one minute longer to live for Jesus, because we don’t know when He’s coming back. It could be today or tomorrow. And if we’re found wanting when He returns, like the five foolish virgins who didn’t prepare for a long wait with extra oil for their lamps, (Matt.25:1-12) we’ll be simply excluded from His train of glory, and forced to spend eternity in Hades with Lucifer, the prince of darkness.
And as I keep reminding us, that my brethren is the worst thing that could ever happen to a human being! So let’s get to it nuh, let’s begin living serious godly lives, putting into effect these wise and true words of Bruh Paul to the Ephesians: ‘That ye put off concerning the former conversation (conduct) the old man, which is corrupt according to deceitful lusts;
And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth to his neighbor: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry and sin not; let not the sun go down upon your wrath; Neither give place to the devil…
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph.4:22-27, 31-32)
Oh my Friends, that’s how we’re supposed to live! Those are just some simple, every day, practical guidelines as to how we can put aside the ‘old man’ and assume ‘the new man,’ in our everyday lives. They’re definitely not very difficult to do, so let’s begin doing them seriously, diligently and Right Now nuh, so that we won’t be caught napping whenever Jesus comes.
Let’s put into effect these memorable words of Jesus. ‘Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.’ (Matt.25:13)
That’s heavenly truth and wisdom my fellow man, words for us to ponder today, and see if we’re ready to receive Jesus, just in case He returns today. Much LOVE!
…to create a better world…it’s essential that we put into effect…LOVE for God…for ourselves…and for our neighbours… plus sincere care and compassion for each other…
22 Feb 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: aimless, be not conformed to this world, by the renewing of your mind, children of God, Christian, Christians, closer to God, commitment, communicate with God, conforming, diligence, divisive, drifting, endurance, evil and ungodly world, faith, friends, furthering God's glorious kingdom, gnarled bark, grow, grow up into Christ, hypocrites, intorspection, Israel, Jesus Christ, journey with Jesus, Lent, Lenten season, LOVE, loving kindness, mature, misgiving, mores, patience, perfect will of God, perseverance, Pharisees, prayer, righteous lives, righteousness., sacrifice, scorn, set purpose, St. Francis, Sunday, testimony, the Lord's Day, the One Year Book of Bible Promises, the things of the world, two-faced, values
Romans 12:2. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Well Friends and fellow believers in Jesus Christ, once again the cycle of 7 days morphing into a week has begun. This is the day of the Lord, the first day of the week, and to show proper respect and our grateful appreciation for His goodness and LOVING-kindness last week, and this coming week, we ought to go to His sanctuary and offer up praise, worship and thanksgiving with other believers and receive the strength, encouragement and confidence to face another week in this mish-mash, predominantly ungodly world.
I already had my churching for today. And Friends, the ole fella read the scripture in church and shook my tambourine with much pleasure. Mama Mia! I like this church. It doesn’t seem to have a choir or organ, but they have an African drum and tambourines and the voices really are loud and proud, filling up the whole church with prayers, praises, songs of worship and thanksgiving!
And the female lay reader preached a mighty powerful sermon this morning on the meaning of Lent; a time for introspection, for growing, for giving up things of the world, so that we can get closer to God. And as usual, I saw people from my youth, people I have not seen in many a day. I guess there’s no place I can go in Tobago without meeting someone who knows me, my, mother, my father or my grandfather.
Unfortunately it will be my last visit on this trip. Next Sunday I’ll be back in my cold St. Francis church back in the North Country, but it’s only the surroundings that are cold, the people are warm and lovely and friendly! Hi there my people back at St. Francis! I missed you all, but not the cold weather. (smile)
And since Lent is a time for us to grow in the nature and image of Christ, this morning when I read this most appropriate passage from The One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, I obviously couldn’t pass it up. It’s titled ‘Grow Up.’
And it says: ‘Picture with me: a piece of gnarled bark tossed to and fro over the crashing breakers. First one direction, then another, back and forth, over and under. Aimless. No set purpose. Drifting… always drifting. What an accurate picture of an immature Christian. Nothing but spiritual puttering. Up and down, in and out. One study group for a few weeks, then another. One church for a while, then another.
Undisciplined, unsteady, one day soaring, the next day wading in self-pity. No consistency. The apostle Paul tells us to grow up! Not grow older, but grow up into Christ. What we are today is more important to God than what we were yesterday. Our life journey with Jesus is now – this very day, this very hour. Why yearn for change if we’ve made no effort to follow the direction God has already given us?
To grow spiritually we must be single-minded. Our one goal? To be conformed to the image of Christ. He longs for our willingness to let Him root us, cultivate us, water us. Above all, God wants our total commitment. He will take anything we give Him, except second place.’
Oh my people, those are such moving words of truth that I don’t see how we can ignore them if we truly want to be a mature Christian. Like everything else in this world, it takes, diligence, patience, perseverance, endurance, faith, prayer and the sweat of our brow to grow, to come up higher in Christ too. That means we can’t be wishy-washy and wavering, sitting on the fence, jumping down to one side or the other as the fancy takes us, or where the grass seems greenest.
And the promise for that passage is our inimitable Bit, memorable words from Bruh Paul to the Corinthians. And we’ll start with the first verse of the chapter. ‘I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable (rational) service.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.’ (Rom.12:1-2)
Oh Friends, that is the perfect recipe for the wandering, wavering, wishy-washy Christian! In fact for any Christian at all, because that’s how we become true children of God, reflecting the true image and character of Jesus Christ, which is God’s eternal plan. And the scholars have some very good explanations on those verses, so let’s check them out.
’12:1. By the mercies of God summarizes all that God has accomplished for the believer in Romans 1-11 in justifying the believer (chs. 1-5), enabling the believer to live a righteous life (chs 6-8), and being faithful to Israel (chs 9-11). That ye present refers to a definite act of presentation. The verb is used of offering a sacrifice that became “holy” under the Levitical system (cf. Ex.29:37).
This shows that the Christian life begins with total commitment and irrevocable presentation. Your bodies: The body has been an instrument of sin (ch 6). Now it is to be presented to God as a channel through which the righteousness of God is manifested.’
12:2. Be not conformed (lit. “stop conforming yourselves”). They are to resist being poured into the mould of the present thinking, value systems, and conduct of this world. This term is used only here and in 1 Peter 1:14.’
Oh my brethren, that last sentence says it all! We supposed Christians, followers of Christ are being too influenced by the mores, vales and conduct of this evil and ungodly world. So how can we expect to be true Christians when we’re not following the will and work of Jesus Christ eh?
That’s why so many unbelievers look down on us with scorn and serious misgiving, comparing us to the hypocrite Pharisees of Jesus’ time and thus refuse to attend church or commit their lives to Jesus. And they’re quite right too! How can we expect people to join something that’s so conflicted, divisive and two-faced?
In other words Friends, we’re not helping God’s cause with that kind of behavior, but driving it into the ground. And there’s no better time than this Lenten Season to check ourselves and see where we may be coming up short for Jesus, and seriously communicate with Him to help us change, grow, mature, and thus do better in furthering His glorious kingdom.
So let’s concentrate on that today nuh my people, for all of us can use God’s help to improve our earthly witness. Much LOVE!
…the best testimony for Jesus…is through our true and righteous lives…anything less is not good enough…
18 Feb 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living
Tags: adversaries, all glory be ot God, Ash Wednesday, ashes, bacchanal, Carnival, cleansing, communication with Almighty God, deliverance, doing it like a boss, drawing closer to God, enabled, energized, eyes of faith, fasting, forty days of prayer, friends, guidance, I give myself unto prayer, introspection, Jesus, led by the Holy Spirit, Lent, Lenten season, Lucifer, Machel Montano, not what goes into a man defiles him, prayer, punishment, spritual strength, stray from God, temptations, that which comes out of a man defiles him, the Lord didn't disappoint me, the Lord never gives us more than we can bear, ungodly stuff, wilderness
Matthew 15:11. Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
Ah Friends, it’s Wednesday – Ash Wednesday – and all the bacchanal done! Yes Carnival is over for another year, and we now move into the season of Lent; forty days of prayer, fasting, cleansing, getting and keeping in close touch with God.
A time when we remember and seriously consider Jesus being led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by Lucifer, where He fasted for forty days, to build up His faith, His resistance to Lucifer and acknowledge in deed through prayer, His heavenly Father’s caring and provision for Him.
And He successfully accomplished His mission there, chasing the devil by quoting the Word. (Matt.4:4, 7, 10) And when Lucifer saw that he couldn’t get anywhere with Jesus, he left Him alone. As the Good Book describes it: ‘Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.’ (Matt.4:11)
Yes Friends, it’s the same way that the Lord will send His angels to minister to us when we go through strong temptation but hold up strong. And plenty of the masqueraders who were yesterday worshipping at the altar of the idol Bacchus, with his over the top, extremely sinful behaviour, have today gone, or will go to church to receive ashes and repent for their numerous sins of yesterday.
And I guess that’s how it ought to be. Unfortunately I didn’t get to church this morning, as it was scheduled for six o’clock. I was up too early, then went back to bed, and didn’t get up until it was too late. Deep down though, I guess I never really wanted to go and conveniently laid there till it was too late.
But our wonderful God understood my human frailty and has forgiven me. That’s the beauty of our God; though He might not like or approve of our behaviour, He understands, and He forgives… But please remember too, that He also disciplines, so we can’t get away with the same nonsense all the time.
Now this Ash Wednesday morning began as a cool, cloudy, blustery day, with leaves and trees just blowing around. Finally a shower of rain came down. One that actually provided enough water to wet the boards of the deck and make the ground a bit soft. And since then it’s been drizzling off and on. I even got caught in one of the drizzles when I went for my walk along the shoreline of the property. The sun is still fighting to break through the clouds at minutes to nine.
Anyway, yesterday in the afternoon, I went down to the big city of Scarborough (smile) to see some mas. I braved the hot sun and the walk – about a quarter mile from the parking lot to the stands where I’d been the night before, with the duchess boasting when I asked if she could handle the walk, that it was me, not her who had problems walking.
But my people, as always, the Lord didn’t disappoint me. He energized and enabled me to walk without any problems, and later on, when I was too tired to move, He picked me up like a little child and carried me on His strong, caring shoulders. Much thanks and all glory be to our wonderful God, who never gives us or puts us through more than we can handle!
The mas was just starting when we got there shortly after two, and it was decent enough by Tobago standards. There were some relatively intricate and beautiful costumes. But if I ever hear Machel Montano’s song ‘Doing it like a Boss’ again, I’m going to strangle the D.J. or mash up the radio! Brother, that was about the only song they played when the bands paraded in front of the judges, right beside me.
Steups! And it had to be so loud too. At one stage I saw about three youngsters sitting next to me block their ears from the noise. And that foolishness only causes hearing problems for all and sundry. And wonder of wonders, the duchess’ I-phone refused to take pictures. And I don’t know what devil got into me, but I got out my old, cheap phone and began taking pictures.
Hn! I had to laugh, because I’ve never taken more than a couple pictures with it, but I learned how to do it as I went along. And we were lucky too, for after about half an hour in the blazing sun in the stands, the wife went across the street to an establishment to get a drink, but it was closed. However they had a nice wide overhang protecting their verandah, with seats, so we sat there for the rest of the time.
We left about six thirty, somewhat disappointed that I hadn’t seen the much talked about ‘mud mas.’ We bought some Chinese food and ice cream on the walk back to the car, not even bothering to stop at the Pan on D Road that was again taking place at the junction, because it still sounded tired and uninspiring. We got home without incident, ate, watched a little t.v. then went to bed. And that was the sum total of my Carnival Tuesday activities! (smile)
Today though my people, is a day for introspection. We’ve been physically looking outside all through the Carnival season, but now that Lent is here, it’s time to turn our eyes of faith inside and see what’s really in there, and try to clean it up. For remember what Jesus said in our Bit: ‘Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.’
Words of absolute truth my brethren! That means we have to look very closely at what ungodly stuff is simmering within us, and with God’s help get rid of it. And that can only be done through prayer, and sometimes in conjunction with fasting. As Jesus told His disciples when they couldn’t cast out a demon from a young boy. ‘This kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting.’ (Mark 9:29)
Yes Friends, some things can only be cleansed from our souls by diligent prayer and consistent fasting, but the important thing is to pray for guidance and deliverance! And if necessary, for this Lenten season, give up certain things that are weighing you down and causing you to stray from God, or not get close to Him.
We need to say like Bruh David in Psalm 109 – A prayer for punishment of the wicked. ‘For (in return) for my LOVE they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.’ (Ps.109:4)
Oh Friends, without prayer, sincere prayer, we’re lost, for it’s our best method of communication with Almighty God, the Creator, and Controller of ALL things and ALL lives! And although we don’t have the spiritual strength of Jesus, we do have enough to resist most temptations, especially when co-joined with His strength. goes
So this Lenten season, let’s make a very special effort to clean up our act, through prayer, fasting, giving up stuff, and whatever else it takes to cleanse our souls and brings us closer to God. That’s true wisdom! Much LOVE!
…Lent…a time for serious cleansing of our heart, minds, bodies and souls…and drawing closer to God…
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