27 Aug 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: attitude, be strong and of a good courage, bind up the broken-hearted, criticism makes you strong, empathy, God hates wrong doing, God is a God of justice, have good success, I am the way the truth and the life, I the Lord love justice, Jesus defeated Satan at his own game, Jesus-the author and finisher of our faith, justice, lazy day Saturday, liberty, life is never easy, make thy way prosperous, negative circumstances are positive opportunities, no man comes to the Father but by me, obligations to be met, preach good tidings unto the meek, shalt not depart out of thy mouth, the Lord hath anointed me, the secret to success, the ups and downs of life, this book of the law, thou shalt meditate therein day and night, to proclaim liberty to the captives, truth, trying times, when life hands you lemons - make lemonade
John 14:6. I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
So it’s lazy day Saturday, and we welcome it with open arms! Yes, this one day in the week when some of us can just do as we please, with no pressures from life or jobs or other people around us. For some unfortunate ones though, it’s also a busy day of housework, grocery shopping and other things they cannot do during the already crowded work week. They have my utmost empathy, (smile) for I remember those trying times in my own life, with children to look after, etc. etc.
And the sad part is that in my time there were definitely not as many amenities as they are now. But with faith and perseverance my generation made it through, and now we can simply enjoy lazy Saturday mornings without any outside pressures. Glory be! But chuh! I still have to get myself together though and do the Lord’s work, writing the Bit, based on the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow.
So here goes. The first quote tells us: ‘Life is never easy. There is work to be done and obligations to be met – obligations to truth, to justice, and to liberty.’ Now what can we say about that eh? In the first place I won’t say that life is never easy, because it can be very rough and tough at times, but if you’re a believer in, and follower of Jesus, then you will be able to handle the ups and downs of life much better than if He’s not your Lord and Saviour.
Why? Because He gives you all the tools you need to handle the vicissitudes of life. And though there is work to be done in His name – obligations to truth, to justice, and to liberty – with His awesome help we can handle them in a good and timely fashion. It does take faith, perseverance and a tough skin though to live and work for Jesus. But He is indeed the God of truth, of justice and of liberty. As He said in this famous proclamation: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ (John 14:6)
And then we have this awesome verse from Isaiah on the topic of justice. ‘For I the Lord LOVE judgement (justice), I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.’ (Is. 61:8) Yes friends, our God is a God of justice, He hates robbery and wrong doing, and did as promised, made a covenant with His people Israel.
And as per the subject of liberty, listen to Isaiah again. ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek (poor); he hath sent me to bind up (heal) the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty (freedom) to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.’ (Is. 61:1)
Wow mih bredrin! What a marvellous God we serve! And He did keep that covenant by sending His Son Jesus, who said it thus: ‘For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world though him might be saved.’ (John 3:17) And Jesus did come to save the lost, the sick, the needy, to set us free from the sin and dark rule of Satan, and He did just that when He died on the cross, then rose triumphantly from the dead, defeating Satan at His own game.
That finally brings us to the next quote. (smile) ‘Life imposes things on you that you can’t control, but you still have the choice of how you’re going to live through this.’ Now that’s totally true. Life does its own thing in our lives, much of which we cannot control, but we do have the ability to decide how we handle them. Basically, it’s called our attitude. We can have a good or bad, right or wrong attitude about those uncontrollable things. But when you’re living for Jesus, you will always have the strength and wisdom to know how to handle them, have the right attitude, so that they don’t inflict more damage than is necessary.
That’s what Jesus gives us friends, that’s what He showed us by example with all the suffering, the rejection, the injustice He suffered for our sakes down here on earth. He never complained, just went about His business, trusting in His heavenly Father to make straight His path. And so too, we need to look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, when life comes against us, as it most certainly will. Look to him for comfort and strength, wisdom and perseverance to handle the problems. That’s a major benefit of being a member of His fold.
Then we come to this interesting quote: ‘I like criticism. It makes you strong.’ I certainly don’t agree with the first part, (smile) but the second part is very true! Oh, none of us like criticism, especially when we know we’re doing the right thing, but it’s a fact of life, just ask Jesus about it. Not everyone will agree with our moves or motives, and will turn on us, even when we’re trying to help them, like they did with Jesus. But criticism makes us strong, that is if we don’t fall down and stay down because of it.
The first rejection, like the first failure is always the toughest one to handle. But once you get accustomed – oh, I don’t know if we ever get accustomed to rejection nuh, because each rejection hurts, but with Jesus as our foundation and backbone, we’re better able to handle it. And this next quote amplifies that situation. ‘Everything negative – pressure, challenges – is all an opportunity for me to rise.’
Yes my brethren, whatever negative thing happens to us, we must look at it as a positive opportunity to improve ourselves and our circumstances. That’s the only way to rise to higher levels of life. We can’t just wait for positive things to happen because they oftentimes won’t, while negative ones will always show up. It’s like the old cliché; when life hands you lemons, make lemonade. Whatever life throws our way, there is always something positive we can learn from it. Even if it’s simply not making the same mistake again. And with all the tools that Jesus gives us, we can certainly take advantage of any negative occurrences that pop up in our lives.
That brings us to this last quote: ‘You never really learn much from hearing yourself speak.’ And that’s only true if you’re a fool and like to talk a lot. However, if you’re a true believer in Christ Jesus, then you can learn even more from hearing yourself speak than listening to others. I’m talking about knowing the Word of God, having it hidden in our hearts, so that when the world or the devil or whoever or whatever tries to come against us, we can speak it and be reassured.
Sometimes too, we can just speak it for no good reason, simply because we want to hear it, or because we LOVE it, because it always makes us feel good, feel strong and reassured. But to do that, we first have to constantly read and meditate on the word, so that it seeps into our subconsciousness, because we can’t speak something we don’t know. And the best way to end today, is with this marvellous scripture that always brings a chuckle to my spirit.
It’s the Lord talking to Joshua when He made him the Israelites’ leader after the death of Moses. He said to Joshua, in no uncertain manner: ‘This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.’ (Josh. 1:8-9)
That’s it in a nutshell my fellow saints! That’s the secret to success in this world! And if we’re true followers of Christ, and if we are wise, we will follow it and be successful, for our God does not lie nor lead us astray. Much LOVE!
…in Christ alone…is true success found…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
18 Jan 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a ravenous beast, a snake in the grass, a stumbling block, act responsibly, an occasion to the flesh, Anselm's quotes, by love, called unto liberty, charles stanley, chickens always come home to roost, eating meat offered to idols, effective in service to Christ, freedom, from the U.S., high-flying people, irresponsible behaviour, later than you sow, liberty, lose their power, more than you sow, numerous problems, power concedes nothing, reap what you sow, redemption, responsibility, responsibility of Christians, serve one another, snow storm, trip you up, use not liberty, weaker believers, without a demand, your sins will find you out
Galatians 5:13. For brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by LOVE serve one another.
Well friends and neighbours, today is the day of the big snow storm! According to the weather forecasters Southern Ontario will experience oodles of snow from around midday today! And if we do, we can’t really complain nuh because we haven’t seen much of the white stuff so far this winter. But let’s hope and pray that they’re wrong, as they so often are, (smile) and that at least the quantity won’t be as much as forecasted, some 50 centimetres. And that is a lot of snow, which will just cause numerous problems, problems that we can do without right now.
One last thing about the expected storm: it is blowing in from the south, down in the U.S. Yeh, contrary to popular opinion many of the storms we experience up here, both rain and snow, come from down south and don’t always flow the other way. Not because we’re further north, means that we’re automatically colder and given to more bad weather. In fact, the U.S. often has more bad weather than this blessed northern state! (smile) And since today is Saturday, let’s see what quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow.
Unfortunately, it seems like he’s only sent us two quotes this week. I can’t find anymore, even checked my deleted files to see if I had deleted any by mistake. So we’ll just have to make do with those two, the first of which says: ‘Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.’ And that’s ever so true! We can never get power, real or imagined, over anything or anyone without some kind of demand being made on us.
Look at all the high-flying people; athletes, celebrities, politicians, the wealthy, leaders of any type, be they countries or organizations; they all have power, but with that power always comes some sort of responsibility from which they cannot get away. Even as parents, we have power over our children, but we also have a responsibility to raise them right. Now those in power might use it inappropriately and don’t fulfill the responsibility inherent in their positions, like so many are doing nowadays, but believe me, that responsibility will seek them out, and oftentimes cause them to lose their power.
Ah friends, power is akin to a ravenous beast; it might give you a head start, but it’s always there, nipping at your heels, knocking at your door, ever ready to take it away too. So remember if power is something that you seek, be very careful, because from the outside it looks glorious, but it’s also like a snake in the grass, ready to bite you, to trip you up in a moment. In other words, power cannot be trusted!
And the next quote simply says: ‘Whatever happens, take responsibility.’ Now if our world would only accept that simple statement eh, what a wonderful place it would be! But sadly, these are the days of irresponsibility; a lot of it fuelled by the hideouts and platforms provided by the social media scene. Nowadays very few of us are ready to take the blame for our own actions, instead we keep looking for others to pass the blame to. It’s become a sad reflection on our society. Even in the halls of power, amongst international leaders, the blame game is also being played out on that big stage. So what do we expect from lesser mortals then eh? The same kind of irresponsible behaviour.
But yuh know friends, as the old people would say; do yuh do, but remember the chickens always come home to roost! In other words, have your fun, but your sins will eventually find you out; a day will come when you have to pay for them. As Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) likes to say: ‘You’ll reap what you sow…more than you sow…and later than you sow.’
However friends, as true believers in Christ, we’re called to be different to the world. Christ has set us free, for whom the Son sets free is free indeed, (John 8:36) but we’re not to use that freedom irresponsibly. As Bruh Paul warned the Galatians: ‘For brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by LOVE serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.’ (Gal. 5:13-15)
Sadly though, we’re doing the opposite of Bruh Paul’s advice; using our liberty in Christ to hate and war with and devour and consume each other. But here’s an interesting take from the scholars on the Liberty and Responsibility of Christians based on 1 Cor. 9:19 ‘One of the results of redemption is the liberty of the believer. Christians are free from depending on the law and free from the bondage of their old nature. Christian liberty releases us to accomplish all our potential. But that liberty should not be abused to justify hedonistic behaviour.
Although believers live in a state of freedom, concern for reaching others with the gospel and helping weaker believers grow will result in voluntary self-restraint in areas that might offend others, or hinder our efforts in reaching and helping people. Illustration: Paul referred to the example of eating meat offered to idols. He had the freedom to eat such meat, but he suggested that believers abstain because the practice acted as a stumbling block for weaker believers (Rom.14). Application: Believers should act responsibly in exercising their liberty if they wish to be most effective in service to Christ. (First Ref. Lev. 25:10; Primary Ref.. 1 Cor. 9:19; cf. Matt. 7:7).’
Yeh friends, though we are free to act as we please, we must always consider how we use that freedom, not take advantage of it to sin, or to hurt others who are not as strong in faith. Let’s ponder on that today nuh, and see how we shape up in the freedom scene, and obviously ask the Lord to help us come higher. Much LOVE!
…freedom is wonderful…but it’s not easy…for it also brings a lot of responsibility…
22 Nov 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a lifelong process, a stumbling bloc, are cahnged, as ina glass, be obedient, beholding, being transformed, brightens up our lives, chill in the bones, dark and cloudy place, doesn't happen overnight, Friday chant, from glory to glory, from head to toe, generous help, guidance, holy of holies, in-exact science, into the same image, Jesus Christ, know the truth, liberty, LOVE, mirror, Moses, my sunshine has come, new creations, onus is on us, Praise the Lord, sense of purpose, steals the joy, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, the Corinthians, the glory of God, the glory of the Lord, the Holy Spirit, the leading, the Lord is that Spirit, the New Covenant, the ordinary workingman, the throne of grace, the truth shall set you free, the veil upon their heart, the Word of god, to the Jews, tore down the veil, unveiled, want to come up higher, weather forecasters, week of work, with open face
2 Corinthians 3:18. But we all, with open (unveiled) face beholding as in a glass (mirror) the glory of the Lord, are changed (being transformed) into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Ah friends, you just don’t who or what to believe in these days of fake news nuh. I’m talking about the weather forecasters who promised a bright and sunshiny day yesterday, yet it drizzled with rain all day. And today, that was supposed to be rainy, seems like it might have some sunshine. Chuh! I guess that’s why weather forecasting is called an ‘in exact science.’ (smile)
It’s a good thing though that we believers can sing confidently like Angie Stone: ‘My sunshine has come. There’s no more rain…’ Yes my believing brethren, our sunshine came two thousand years ago…and He ‘s still here, shining as bright as ever in our lives! Praise the Lord for Jesus Christ, who brightens up our lives, even when they seem to be in a terribly dark and cloudy place!
And that’s the advantage we have over the ordinary workingman who’s complaining today. ‘Yes, I know I should declare ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday!’ But ah fed up with all the rainy weather, with the cold and damp and the consequent chill it causing in mih bones! Oh I know it coming on to winter and all that, but does it have to be so wet and dark and dreary so often? What happen to a li’l dryness and sunshine every so often nuh man?
Brother! It just seems to suck the very life out of a body; going out and coming in in that constant dark, dismal and wet weather. And though it’s the weekend, and I’m glad to see it, the dirty weather just steals the real joy from it, because you still can’t go anywhere without getting wet from head to toe. Steups! So I guess I’ll just stay home then this weekend and watch the rain fall… But ah still thankful though for Fridays and weekends!’
No doubt many of us believers feel like the ordinary workingman, but thankfully we have Jesus Christ in our lives, and He mitigates the sad and downbeat effect dreary weather causes by His uplifting Word and Will for each and every one of His followers! Glory to God! That’s why we can chant our Friday Chant with such sincerity and sense of purpose:
‘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!’
Oh my precious people of God, I don’t know what we’d do without Jesus nuh! What a wonderful day it was when He came into our lives! Glory Hallelujah! Yes friends, when Jesus died on the cross He tore down the veil that guarded the Holy of Holies, where only the high priest could enter once a year, bur now each of us has the marvellous opportunity to come before the throne of grace personally when we accept Jesus.
As Bruh Paul wrote to the Corinthians: ‘But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless, when it (one) shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open (unveiled) face beholding as in a glass (mirror) the glory of the Lord, are changed (being transformed) into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.’ (2 Cor. 3:15-18)
And what does all of that mean eh? Listen to the scholars. ‘3:15. Veil is upon their heart: Unfortunately, as far as the Jews are concerned, Christ is still a stumbling block they cannot see (cf. 1 Cor. 1:23). For the apostle this is no light matter and a concern that caused him great anxiety (cf. Rom. 9:1-4). But now the veil is not so much on the revelation of the glory as on their own hearts. (cf. Luke 24:25; Acts 13:27-29).’ The glory of Christ has eventually been revealed my people, we have been set free from the bondage of sin! But the onus of receiving that liberty is now on us; as individuals, as supposed believers, we now have to accept and keep Jesus treasured in our own hearts, minds, bodies and soul!
And per 3:18, the scholars say: ‘Beholding as in a glass: The term ‘beholding’ can have the sense of “reflecting.” The believer himself ‘reflects” the glory of the Lord just as the face of Moses reflected the face of the Lord. For Moses the glory eventually faded away, but under the New Covenant the believer is changed into the same image. This transformation takes place by the abiding presence of the Spirit of God.’
What wonderful news my brethren! The Lord’s plan is to have ALL of His children transformed into the glorious image of His Son, Jesus Christ! And when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, His Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us and is responsible for transforming our lives, making us new creations!
But please, let’s remember that this transformation doesn’t take place over night, it’s a lifelong process, and the onus is on us to follow the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit, for He will not force us to do anything. That means we have to continually read the Word and listen carefully, so we can understand what the Holy Spirit is saying to us, and be obedient to Him, if we truly want to come up higher…be changed from glory…to glory… to glory… Much LOVE!
…know the truth…the Word of God…and the truth…shall set you free…
23 Oct 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a blast, a duck to water, a quiet day, all things whatsoever, carnal nature, cold weather, demise of the family, do them justice, do ye so even to them, donkey's years, embroiled in, enjoy the sea sun and sand, family, fulfilled, gospel truth, half a century, harsh blow, have Jesus in your heart, hilarious time, Hugs, in god's eyes, in love, in one word, in sync, Kingston, kisses, larger entities, laughter, leave taking, letter to the Galatians, liberty, license to sin, merriment, meshed, Mo Bay, modern families, morph into each other, new memories, one day from the next, people say about me, reiterating, reminiscences, resentment, responsibility, rest, serve each other, share His love, strife, strife-filled atmosphere, thank you's, that men should do to you, the beloved of God, the biblical injunction, the friend of Jesus, the law, this is the law and the prophets, traipsing up and down, Tuesday Mantra, what I do, what I have, ying and yang
Matthew 7:12. Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
And then it was Tuesday – at least I think so. (smile) I don’t know one day from the next, because they just seem to morph into each other, forming one long eternal day. What a life eh! I could handle this forever; my only real responsibility being to write the Bit every day. But I know that’s just wishful thinking, so I’ll just enjoy the time I have before returning to the cold north land and both responsibility and the cold weather hit me with a harsh blow.
I guess today is a rest day, as the duchess’ ying and yang don’t seem to be in sync. But that’s okay with me. I came to rest and to enjoy the sea, sun and sand, but they have had me traipsing up and down the place, so a quiet day is welcome. Oh, and I forgot to tell this most amazing story. On Sunday I took some of my Mo Bay family to Kingston to meet some of my Kingston family. And was it a blast! We laughed the whole way to Kingston, along the new highway.
And when we arrived at the sister who was holding the gathering, there was even more laughter and merriment, as the two families and few other friends whom I hadn’t seen in donkeys’ years just meshed right away, and the evening turned into one hilarious time of reminisces and the making of new memories, which I hope won’t take another fifty years for us to reminisce on. (smile) Good sentence that. I call it a Bruh Paulian one; long winded and ofttimes confusing to the reader.
The food and drink were good, and also plentiful, but unfortunately the ole fella couldn’t quite do them justice, because food and I don’t seem to get along very well this last meeting. What a change eh! As the old people would say, ‘what ent meet you, ent pass you!’ And that’s the gospel truth, because something can’t get hold of you until it meets you. (smile)
And I liked how it took quite a while for us to say our goodbyes; at least a half an hour. After we got up from the covered back porch, we gathered in the living cum dining room, sharing hugs and kisses and thank you’s, and making promises to see each other again, and that right soon, not another half century. Then when we finally got outside it was another pleasurable leave taking; more hugs and kisses. And it was not until the night had fallen that we finally dispersed.
And believe me, there was even more laughter in the car coming back to Mo Bay than going to Kingston. Everybody was in a jolly mood because the gathering had gone off so smoothly and effortlessly, the two families had taken to each other like a duck to water, (smile)and the endless reminisces were quite hilarious.
Now if you think that was all, yuh lie! The Mo Bay contingent had a family gathering last night, Monday, at the home of a family member. More food and drink and fine reminiscing and making of new memories. Now that’s the way families ought to live most of the time, not embroiled in resentment and strife as so many modern families are doing.
And sadly, if the smallest and most important part of our society, the family, isn’t a cohesive and together entity, then it’s obvious that the larger entities, like towns and cities, and nations, and the world will not be cohesive either. And that’s exactly what we are seeing; the demise of the small family group, and the strife-filled atmosphere of the larger entities.
So whatever happened to those immortal words of Jesus eh, that we so hypocritically call ‘The Golden Rule? ‘Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.’ Ah mih people, if we’d only treat others like we want to be treated our world would be such a wonderful place!
But for some unknown reason, one which boggles my finite imagination, we’re not following that rule, even in the smallest unit of our society, the family. So how can we expect the world at large to be receptive to it, and therefore representative of it eh? It’s not that difficult to treat one another decently mih breddren…I suppose if we want to.
And the scholars offer this explanation. ‘Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them, is the biblical injunction often called the “Golden Rule.” ‘This is the law and the prophets indicates that the statement made here by Jesus is not intended to be novel, but rather a summarization of the second table of the law.’ Yes friends, Jesus wasn’t saying anything new, just reiterating what had been said long ago.
And Bruh Paul in his letter to the Galatians, on the subject of living by faith, confirmed Jesus’ words. ‘For brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by LOVE serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled (obeyed) in one word, (one statement) even in this; Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself.’ (Gal.5:13-14)
Yeh friends, the liberty we have obtained under Jesus should not be abused; in other words, used as a license to sin, to indulge our carnal nature, but to serve each other in LOVE! So with God’s help, let’s sincerely try and do better nuh my fellow believers, because it’s strictly up to us to try and make our world a better place. End of sermon! (smile)
Now let’s go home declaring who and whose we are strongly and sincerely voicing our Tuesday Mantra. As one now: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’ And so said, so let it be done! Much LOVE!
…LOVE is so easy to come by…and express…if you truly have Jesus in your heart…
30 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a desert island, a leader, adversity, all loves excelling, allies, alone, Alpha and Omega, Amalekites, chains of sin, character, Charles Wesley, circumstances, dancing, faith, faithful mercies crown, forked tongues, freedom, friendship, from glory to glory, generosity, God's promises, godliness, gratitude, groaning, he encouraged himself in the Lord, human help, inquired at the Lord, integrity, joy of heaven, joyous hymn, Judah, liberty, lost in wonder, LOVE, love divine, loyalty, moaning, never giving up, new creation, Philistines, praise and worship, pressures of life, raise our voices, seek God's strength, sharing, singing, spoil, spotless, the things of Jesus, things of the world, true surrender, trust, wallow in the mire, wisdom, wise guidance
1 Samuel 30:6b. …but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.
Okay friends, this Sunday morning let’s begin our praise and worship with this joyous hymn, penned by Charles Wesley. It’s one we all know and treasure, so let’s raise our voices to the heavens in harmony and true surrender, believing what we sing.
All together now: ‘LOVE divine, all LOVES excelling, Joy of heaven to earth come down; Fix in us thy humble dwelling; All thy faithful mercies crown! Jesus, Thou art all compassion, Pure unbounded LOVE Thou art; Visit us with Thy salvation; Enter every trembling heart.
Breathe, O breathe Thy LOVING Spirit, Into every troubled breast! Let us all in Thee inherit; Let us find that second rest. Take away our bent to sinning; Alpha and Omega be; End of faith, as its Beginning, Set our hearts at liberty. Come, Almighty to deliver, Let us all Thy life receive; Suddenly return and never, Never more Thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing, Serve Thee as Thy hosts above, Pray and praise Thee without ceasing, Glory in Thy perfect love. Finish, then, Thy new creation; Pure and spotless let us be. Let us see Thy great salvation Perfectly restored in Thee; Changed from glory into glory, Till in heaven we take our place, Till we cast our crowns before Thee, Lost in wonder, LOVE and praise.’
Ah mih people, what a beautiful hymn! And it resonates with so many practical aspects of our faith, of our everyday lives. For instance it talks about, ‘take away our bent for sinning.’ Now I can’t think of a better desire than that! Then we sang ‘set our hearts at liberty.’ Oh how good that would be – freedom from the restrictive chains of sin!
And then we’d truly be a ‘new creation… changed from glory to glory…lost in’ the awesome wonder that’s Jesus, as we serenade and praise Him with true LOVE!
Oh friends, I guess that’s what you’d call the perfect Christian. Unfortunately though, too many of us don’t even come close to being perfect. For one thing we still speak with forked tongues, and still desire to wallow in the mire of the things of the world, instead of the things of Jesus.
Remember, we’re just supposed to be in the world, but not a part of it. And that can sometimes get difficult and confusing, but please remember too that our lives are in the best hands that exist – Almighty God’s. And nothing is too hard or too difficult for Him to do on our behalf.
So when the pressures of life get to us, we feel all alone on a desert island and no human help seems to be forthcoming, it’s Jesus we need to turn to. We need to do as our Bit says: ‘…but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.’
Yes friends, when Bruh David’s people wanted to stone him because their families had been taken captive and their city burnt, he had no alternative but to encourage himself in the Lord, to let his faith rise up and seek God’s strength and wisdom.
The Good Book tells us: ‘And David inquired at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? Shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.’ (1 Sam.30:8) And so said, so was it done!
Bruh David pursued the marauding Amalekites with his six hundred men, but along the way, at the brook Besor, he left two hundred behind who were too weak and faint to go on. And as the Lord would have it, they found a young Egyptian slave whom the enemy had left behind because he was sick, and after feeding and reviving him and promising not to slay him, he led them to the Amalekites camp.
‘And when he (the slave) had brought him (David) down, behold they (the Amalekites) were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.
And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels and fled. And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives.’ (1 Sam.30:16-18)
Yuh see friends what is possible when we totally surrender our lives to the Lord and place our complete trust in Him. If Bruh David had just sat around moaning and groaning like the rest of his men, they might probably have ended up stoning him. But instead, ‘he encouraged himself in the Lord his God.’ And why wouldn’t he eh? He’d be rather foolish not to, after all the wonders and miracles that the Lord had previously done in his life?
Now that’s where a lot of us fall down my people. When times get real rough, we tend to forget God’s promises and all that He’s already done for us. But that’s the time when we need to remember His many blessings and mercies, so that our faith can be lifted, our trust in Him strengthened, and our circumstances turned around through His wise guidance.
And I want to close with this example of Bruh David’s godliness and generosity. After they defeated the Amalekites and returned with all the spoil, the selfish ones who had fought declared that the two hundred, who had remained at the brook of Besor, should only get back their families and none of the spoil.
But Bruh David overruled them. ‘Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the Lord hath given us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand.’(1 Sam.30:23) Then he made it a law from henceforth that all should share in the spoils of war. He also sent some of the spoil back to the people of Judah who had suffered at the hands of the Amalekites.
And the scholars offer an interesting take on Bruh David’s doings there. ’30:26-31. David’s sharing of the spoils of the victory over the Amalekites not only assured them of his gratitude for their friendship and help during his days of flight from the presence of Saul, but would convince his allies of his loyalty, despite the time spent with Achish (the Philistine king). Moreover, it would prepare their hearts for his soon-coming kingship.’
Ah friends, that’s what Christianity is all about; integrity, character and sharing the spoils God has blessed you with, especially if you’re a leader! Much LOVE!
…true faith means…never giving up…even under the greatest adversity…because our God is always there to help us…
12 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: agape, be brave, charity, Christ has made us free, conflict, Corinthians, courage, crown, danger, dearly beloved, death is gain, Dudley Atkins Tyng, duty, fear, George Duffield, gospel armour, joy, Joyce Meyer, liberty, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, mysterious hand of God, prayer, quit you like men, reign eternally, rout, royal banner, saving souls, serve the Lord, shame, slavery, soldiers of the cross, stand fast in faith, stand up for Jesus, suffer loss, the foe, the god of battles, the king of glory, the mighty hand of God, the trumpet call obey, the yoke of bondage, victory, watch, wisdom, worship, YMCA, zenith
1 Corinthians 16:13. Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you (be brave) like men; be strong.
Oh friends, let’s begin this Sunday morning’s proceedings with a most appropriate moment of worship, as we sing the old standard, ‘Stand up for Jesus.’
Please sing with me: ‘Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross; Lift high His royal banner, it must not suffer loss. From victory unto victory His army shall He lead, Till every foe is vanquished and Christ is Lord indeed.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus, the solemn watchword hear; If while ye sleep He suffers, away with shame and fear; Where’er ye meet with evil, within you or without, Charge for the God of battles, and put the foe to rout.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus, the trumpet call obey; Forth to the mighty conflict, in this His glorious day. Ye that are brave now serve Him against unnumbered foes; Let courage rise with danger, and strength to strength oppose.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus, stand in His strength alone; The arm of flesh will fail you, ye dare not trust your own. Put on the Gospel armor, each piece put on with prayer; Where duty calls or danger, be never wanting there.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus, each soldier to his post, Close up the broken column, and shout through all the host: Make good the loss so heavy, in those that still remain, And prove to all around you that death itself is gain.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus, the strife will not be long; This day the noise of battle, the next the victor’s song. To those who vanquish evil a crown of life shall be; They with the King of Glory shall reign eternally.’
And my fellow believers do we ever need to stand up for Jesus and all that He stands for in these very trying and difficult times! We’re not only meant to sing these words in church, but even more importantly to put them into action in our daily lives! That’s the only way Jesus’ LOVE Revolution will be victorious!
And to show how supposed believers are strange and unpredictable, I heard Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) say the other day that one of the many books she’s written is one titled, ‘The LOVE Revolution,’ and would you believe it’s the worst selling of all her books. Hn!
Why? Not because it was a bad book, because it isn’t, but because believers nowadays just don’t seem to be interested in ‘agape’ LOVE; the kind of LOVE that Jesus espouses, that has us caring about others, even when we are going through rough times. Ah Lord eh my brethren, when we going to wake up, to grow up and learn what real Christianity is eh?
Anyhow, as I went looking for the lyrics to ‘Stand up for Jesus,’ I discovered some worthwhile information on how it came about. Apparently, the writer, a Presbyterian minister, George Duffield Jr. in 1858 was an associate of the Rev. Dudley Atkins Tyng, who had recently been thrown out of his Episcopalian community for speaking against slavery.
In March of that year, Tyng preached one of the most successful sermons of modern times to the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) in the large space known as Jaynes’ Hall. Of the five thousand men that were there at least one thousand, became ‘the slain of the Lord,’ were converted. His sermon was apparently based on Exodus 10:11 “Go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord.” Pharaoh’s admonishment to Moses.
The following Wednesday, leaving his study for a moment, he went to the barn floor, where a mule was at work on a horse-power, shelling corn. Patting him on the neck, the sleeve of his silk study gown caught in the cogs of the wheel, and his arm was torn out the roots!
He died not long after that, but it’s reputed that before he moved on to the other side, he told his father “Tell my brethren of the ministry, wherever you meet them, to stand up for Jesus.”
At a memorial service for Tyng, Duffield preached a message based on Ephesians 6:14. “Stand firm, wearing the whole armour of God”, and supposedly the hymn was written simply as a concluding exhortation. However, the superintendent of the Christian school printed the hymn on leaflets for the children and one of those copies ended up in a Baptist newspaper…and the rest is history. Stand up for Jesus is now known and LOVED around the world!
Yuh see mih people how the mysterious hand of our great God works! Tyng gets tossed from his congregation for preaching against the inhumane system of slavery, but ends up saving many souls at the Y. But then through an unfortunate accident, he soon dies, but he’s already spread the seed he was meant to; stand up for Jesus, and his buddy Duffield, writes those verses more or less as a memorial, but the school superintendent prints it on some leaflets for the children, and a Baptist newspaper gets hold of one and publishes it. Only the mighty hand of God could have fashioned such an unlikely story!
And finally we come to our most appropriate Bit. ‘Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you (be brave) like men; be strong.’ That’s Bruh Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthians in his first missive. And to sweeten it, he adds: ‘Let all your things be done with charity (LOVE).’ (1 Cor.16:14)
Ah friends, so much of great importance has been said in those few words of those two verses, that if we follow them, we can never go wrong. And we’ll end with a couple more verses where Bruh Paul is encouraging his readers to stand fast.
To the Galatians, he declares: ‘Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.’ (Gal.5:1) Wonderful advice my brethren!
And to the Philippians he solemnly advises: ‘Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.’ (Phil.4:1)
Oh friends, please let’s go out and do likewise today and everyday nuh, for that is wisdom at its zenith! Much LOVE!
…and having done all…stand…now, more than ever…Christians need to stand up steadfastly for what they claim to believe in…
26 Apr 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a doer of the work, a forgetful hearer, a soft rain, assurance, Bobby Schuller, bondage, bounden duty, burdensome, by love, Christian, christianity, everything is right with our world, freedom, fulfill the law of christ, gentleness, glorifying God, God is on the throne, godly enthusiasm, I am the beloved of god, I can trust my friend Jesus, Jesus' teachings, leaves budding, legalism, liberty, licence to sin, living by faith, Love thy neighbour as thyself, messianic King, moral condition, nothing to worry about, occasion to the flesh, overtaken in a fault, serve one another, shall be blessed in his deed, share His love with the world, show partiality, sin, sincerity, spirit of meekness, spiritual freedom, spring has finally sprung, stand fast, temptation, the annals of history, the beauty of our faith, the body of Christ, the grass is green, the perfect law of liberty, the principles of sin and death, the royal law, the yoke of bondage, transgressor, Tuesday Mantra, words of encouragement
James 1:25. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed (in what he does).
Aye mih breddren, it’s Tuesday; Monday has been relegated to the annals of History, so let’s not procrastinate and put off nuh, but use this present day to do what needs doing, above all, glorifying our wonderful, amazing, awesome God! Yes friends, for that’s the number One reason we were so wonderfully made.
And I believe we can truly say that spring has finally sprung in my area, because for the second consecutive day, there’s a soft rain falling gently on the land, the grass is green, and there are buds on the branches of the trees.
And more importantly, a few trees are even brave and bold enough to have some leaves already budding out. Oh glory to God, that winter has finally gone back to wherever it came from – for at least another few months! (smile)
So since our great God is still on His throne, and everything is right in our world, let’s declare our Tuesday Mantra with true sincerity and godly enthusiasm nuh.
All together now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen.’
Oh my people, my people, what beautiful words of encouragement and assurance! When we sincerely believe that mantra, then we have absolutely nothing to worry about. Oh, there will be trials and tribulations, Jesus promised that, but deep down we will be assured that they will be properly taken care of in God’s time and in His own particular way. That’s the beauty of our faith!
So please, let’s not allow the wily enemy to deceive us into thinking otherwise. As I said last week, using Cousin Bobby’s (Robert Schuler 111) testimony, if you’re not sure, not convinced, then please repeat the mantra everyday, several times a day, until you can feel truly assured in your soul.
Now let’s turn to our Bit, which I hope to conclude today – no promises though. (smile) ‘But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed (in what he does). And that’s a sincere promise from our ever-faithful God!
And as we’ve been doing, we’ll continue looking at the references the scholars gave about the perfect law of liberty. ‘It is a law of liberty because it frees from the principles of sin and death.’
And today’s reference comes from Galatians, where Bruh Paul gives forth on Living by faith. ‘Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.’ (Gal.5:1)
And the scholars explain that verse thus: ‘5:1. The verse could be rendered: “For freedom Christ freed us. Therefore stand fast and do not again be subject to a yoke of bondage.” The “freedom” in view is freedom from the law, here called “a yoke of bondage.” Paul wants the Galatians to “stand fast,” that is, retain their spiritual freedom.’
And I’m asking us today to do the same thing my fellow believers: let’s not fall back, lapse back into the bondage of the law, but continue truthfully and vibrantly in the spiritual freedom that Christ died for us to have.
And later on in that same chapter, Bruh Paul further advises the Galatians: ‘For brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by LOVE serve one another.’ (Gal.5:13)
And the scholars explain thus: ‘5:13. Having shown freedom from the law to be proper protection from legalism (vv.1-12), Paul now demonstrates it to be a proper antidote against unrestrained license to sin (vv.13-26).
Believers are not to abuse their liberty from the law for an occasion (opportunity) to the flesh (sinful nature). That is, don’t think freedom from the law means you can indulge in sin; it means instead that you are free to serve God by serving one another.’
Now that’s something we all seriously have to work on friends, since many of us falsely believe that because of that very freedom, plus the overwhelming forgiveness and mercy of our magnanimous God, we have a licence to willfully sin.
But that’s the furthest thing from the truth my brethren. When we truly come to God and truly have Him ensconced in our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, then because of the great LOVE we bear Him, willfully falling to sin and temptation should not even enter our consciousness. It ought to make us strive not to sin.
And the last part of the explanation re the law of liberty is: ‘James also describes it as the royal law (2:8) for it is the law of the messianic King.’
And pertaining to that, James 2:8 says: ‘If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well. But if ye have respect to persons (show partiality), ye commit sin, and are convinced (convicted) of the law as a transgressor.’ (James 2:8-9) I felt that last verse was necessary to show the true context of verse 8.
And that brings us to Galatians again, where Bruh Paul is talking about applications of new principles. ‘Brethren, if a man be overtaken (caught) in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness (gentleness), considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.’ (Gal.6:1-2)
Yeh friends, if we deliberately overstep those divine boundaries and fall into sin, those of us who walk by the Spirit, whose life shows the fruit of the Spirit, ought to talk to the Christian believer who has gone astray and try to bring them back to their normal moral condition.
And we need to do it all in LOVE, handle it delicately, while all the time making sure that we aren’t caught up in the same carnality, which is so easy to do.
And per verse 2, the scholars explain: ‘6:2. Contextually, the burdens are the moral faults of verse 1, but can have wider application to other kinds of burdens. The law of Christ is the sum of all Jesus’ teachings and desires; it is Christianity itself.’
And here endeth the lesson for today friends. (smile) We have indeed concluded the last message in the perfect law of liberty series. I do hope that we now have a much better understanding of what it means and how it applies to us, both as individuals and as the church, the body of Christ.
Please, let’s put all that we have learned into proper use nuh, so that we can advance the gospel of Christ, which is our bounden duty as believers. Much LOVE!
…Christianity…the law of Christ…is not as burdensome as legalism…the law of man…
21 Aug 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all things are lawful unto me, all things do not edify, bondage, Bruh Paul, build up, but not all things are expedient, Christ's work, Christian behaviour, Christian Liberty, Christian's own judgement, circumscribe, Corinthians, debauchery, edify, expediency, expedient, fellowship, fresh like a daisy, Friday chant, friends, fun, generous help, glorious kingdom, go crazy, go overboard, I will not be brought under the power of any, indulgence, Jesus Christ, Judaistic legalism, lawful, liberty, live balanced lives, LOVE, perspective, power, principles, refreshed, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, restrictions, right decisions, right in the sight of God, self-control, straight and narrow path, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the Corinthians, the weekend, tiresome labour, vim and vigour, what is acceptable to God, wisdom
1 Corinthians 6:12. All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient (helpful): all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any (anything).
And then it was Friday Friends! Not soon enough for some, but nevertheless they declare in loud and joyful voices: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! Wow! The weekend’s here at last, and I’m just going to go crazy over those two days away from tiresome labour! Thank You God for this Friday yes!’
Ah mih people, it is right to be happy over the two days off of work, but by the same token, we just can’t use them to go overboard, because then we’ll be of no use to anybody, including ourselves, come the beginning of the new workweek. And as believers in, and followers of Jesus Christ, we are expected to live balanced lives.
For Remember what Bruh Paul says to the Corinthians in our Bit. ‘All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient (helpful): all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any (anything).’
Yes Friends, it’s not everything that’s lawful is right for us to do. As we saw in our recent Bit, ‘proving what is acceptable unto the Lord,’ we have to analyze every decision and see whether it’s acceptable to God or not. So though some of them might be lawful, they might not be acceptable to God. And wasting away the weekend in debauchery is certainly not acceptable to God. (smile)
Now the scholars give us a good explanation of that verse. ‘6:12. Paul’s principles may be summarized in three words: Lawful, expedient, and power. The first is the principle of liberty. When Paul says “all things,” we cannot take this in an absolute sense. Obviously, what God forbids can never be allowed.
Rather, it refers to those things about which the Scriptures are not explicit. Such matters are left to the Christian’s own judgement. The apostle is careful not to weaken the important doctrine of Christian liberty by leading these people back under Judaistic legalism.
Rather, his intent is to circumscribe its application through proper restrictions. These are expressed in the principle of “expediency.” Not everything is beneficial.
A second restriction is expressed in the words, I will not be brought under the power of any. This is the principle of self-control. Certain forms of indulgence become wrong when they bring the person into bondage.’
There you have it my people, we need to pay close attention to the expediency of things, even in our Christian liberty, and invoke that most difficult of tasks, self-control, in all that we do.
Bruh Paul felt so strongly about that, that he chose to repeat it in a slightly different form, later on in chapter 10. ‘All things are lawful for me, but not all things are expedient (helpful): all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not (do not build up).’ (1 Cor.10:23)
So my fellow believers, though many things are lawful and legal, not all of them are becoming re Christian behaviour. If they don’t edify, build us up, keep us on the straight and narrow path that leads to God, then they should not be indulged in.
And sometimes it’s not even so much indulging in those things, but more like overdoing them. And we have a perfect example in the way we spend the weekend. Nothing’s wrong with partying per se, but when we overdo it, get black up and start misbehaving, losing our self-control, then that’s certainly not expedient and useful to us.
And that’s why we have our Friday Chant; to give us a better perspective on how to spend our precious two days off. So as one now, let’s chant it with some vim and vigour 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 Friends, that’s more like how we ought to come up over the weekend; with rest, relaxation and fellowship, so that we can go back out next week fresh like a daisy, (smile) fully empowered, in both body and soul, to do Christ’s work. And that my brethren, should always be our first priority!
Now on this summer Friday then, let’s get our thoughts together as believers, and with the necessary self-control and help of Jesus, make the right decisions on how to spend our weekend, for that is indeed wisdom of the highest order. Much LOVE!
…it’s legal and lawful in man’s world…but is it right in the sight of God…that is the question…
01 Dec 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: awesome truths, blessed, eternal pleasures, family reunion, fleeting pleasures, freedom from sin, Hallelujah, happy hour, liberty, lies, Mosaic Law, mysterious ways, obedience, Parang party, perfect law, rain, reminiscing, reverence, walk the talk, wiles
Proverbs 8:32. Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways.
Oh Friends, our God surely does move in some mysterious and wonderful ways yes! Yesterday, after I finished writing the Bit, one of my uncles came to visit, then took me around town to straighten out some stuff. Now I had intended to go back to Tobago yesterday afternoon, however on Thursday when I bought the tickets to come to Trinidad by the ferry, I could only get one ticket for the return trip on Friday because of the weekend rush to go to Tobago. I could not even get a flight to Tobago on Friday, because all the planes were booked too. So the plan was go down to the ferry docks and do the stand by thing. But as the Lord would have it, I spoke to a couple friends and family by phone and they weren’t too thrilled that I had come to Trinidad for what amounted to only one day. Anyway, the long and short of the story is that I decided to spend another day in Trickidad. And was it ever a wise decision, because after I checked into the Capital Plaza Hotel, within walking distance to the ferry docks, we had a delightful lunch in the hotel’s restaurant with one uncle and his wife. Then another uncle showed up, one I had lived a bachelor’s life with some forty years ago, and we all sat down in the hotel’s foyer/bar area talking, laughing and reminiscing about old times. Meanwhile, a cousin was trying to get two tickets for the boat today, Saturday, which was reputedly also sold out. Eventually it was happy hour in the hotel and it got busy. But we were in the right place at the right time. (smile) Then I got a call to go down to the docks to get the ferry tickets. So the uncle with whom I lived ‘bache’, walked down to the docks with me, about two or three hundred yards along one of the main thoroughfares, Wrightson Road, with the Friday afternoon traffic in full swing. During the walk more reminiscing took place, but this time private stuff that we couldn’t share with the other family members. Hn! It sure has a lot of that! (smile) By the time we got back, a cousin had shown up, so you can imagine the commotion. And we stayed in the hotel foyer/bar area until 7 o’clock, only leaving because we had to come up and change to go to a Parang party that a friend had invited us to. The party was good, but we could not do it the justice it deserved since we were quite tired. Imagine there being a lot of food and drink, but me only picking at little bits of food, cause I’d been eating all afternoon and didn’t have my after lunch nap. Didn’t get home until minutes to twelve. And when I awoke, around 6.30, it was to a rainy, dreary-looking Saturday morning, with a crummy view of some big buildings over the street, blocking out most of the docks, and a construction site right down in front of me. But overall Friends, it was a delightful day! Thank You Lord! And I have some more people coming to visit me this morning, that’s why I can say from personal experience that our Bit is one of absolute truth. ‘Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways.’ Oh my people, how long are we going to let Beelzebub deceive us into following the ways of man and this evil world eh, which only leads to destruction, rather than that of Almighty God, which causes us to be immensely blessed, both now and in the hereafter? Following Beelzebub’s wiles and lies is a fool’s wisdom my Friends! Now listen to the psalmist, as he tells us the true story: ‘Praise ye the Lord (shout Hallelujah). Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon the earth; the generation of the upright shall be blessed. Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth (stands) forever.’ (Ps.112:1-3) Now my brethren, is there anything in Lucifer’s manifesto that can match those wonderful promises? Absolutely not! For Lucifer’s pleasures are fleeting and superficial, while those of Jehovah God have substance and last forever. Now hear James tell it: ‘But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed (what he does).’ (James 1:25) Oh my people, Lucifer or his cohorts can never make a truthful declaration like that! And these are the scholars’ comments on that verse. ‘The perfect law of liberty probably refers to the teachings of Christ and His Apostles. This law is perfect since Christ brought to completion the teachings and work of the Mosaic Law (cf. Matt.5:17-20; Rom.10:4). It is a law of liberty because it frees from the principles of sin and death (Rom. 8:2-3; Gal. 5:1,13). James also describes it as the royal law (2:8) for it is the law of the Messianic King (cf. Gal.6:2)’ Now, from the world’s most famous sermon, that from the Mount, listen to Jesus declare the awesome truth. ‘Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.7:21) I can’t add anything more to that Friends, except these observations of the scholars. ‘Not everyone professing Christ is genuinely saved. Even the outward verbal acknowledgement of His lordship is in itself not enough to save the unbeliever apart from true repentance and faith. A genuinely saved person is one that doeth the will of my Father, the Greek present tense suggesting that he is continually living in obedience to the will of God as the normal course of his life.’ There it is Friends in black and white! Spouting a lot of God centred stuff doesn’t automatically make you saved, you have to truly repent and then live in obedience to the Father after that. Therefore people, let’s sincerely aspire to not only talk the Christian talk, but even more importantly to walk it. Otherwise, we’re just fooling ourselves. Much LOVE!…But be ye doers of the word…and not hearers only…deceiving your own selves… (James 1:22)
01 Sep 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: believers, bondage, Christian fellowship, freedom, Labour Day, Law, liberty, Pharisees, sribes
Galatians 5:1. Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Oh Friends, can you believe it’s already September 1st! Wasn’t it just the other day, couple weeks ago, that we were talking about the beginning of August and Caribana? Now it’s suddenly September and Labour Day! That means eight months of 2012 have already gone by, like a flash in the pan, and the million dollar question faces us squarely in our hearts. Have we improved our faith walk, has it moved appreciatively along the continuum of maturity? Have we kept that New Year’s promise to increase our passion and LOVE for Jesus? I certainly hope so, otherwise, you know how our God feels about broken promises. (Eccl.5:4-5) In any case, we only have four months to catch up to that promise, for soon it will be October, Canadian Thanksgiving, then November, American Thanksgiving, then December and Christmas, and another New Year. So please, let’s try and not be found wanting in our promises, neither to God or man, when that New Year rolls around. And our Bit is one of those scriptures that both warns and encourages us of the need for unity and sincere fellowship amongst believers and freedom in Christ, if we truly want to establish a strong and serious faith walk. ‘Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.’ Now yesterday we ended on the note of there being too much disagreement and too many divisions in Christ’s church, from the local right up to the international level. And we saw some of that in the early days of the church, when certain Christian Jews who had lived under the old Mosaic Law, declared that one couldn’t be saved apart from the Law, especially as it related to the ritual of circumcision. This thoroughly disrupted the young church, until the first council at Jerusalem, (Acts 15) when Peter got up and declared to the disputing councillors: ‘Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us. And put no difference (made no distinction) between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore why tempt (test) ye God, to put (by putting) a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even (in the same manner) as they. Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience (listened) to Barnabas and Paul declaring what (how many) miracles and wonders God had wrought (worked) among the Gentiles by them.’ (Acts 15:7-12) Yes Friends, it wasn’t all sunshine and roses in the early church, but unlike us, they were just beginning and feeling their way through new rules and regulations. And with Jesus gone back to heaven, and people jousting for power, it was expected that problems would occur. Hear the scholars’ thoughts on the matter. ‘The primary speakers at this conference, often called the Jerusalem council, were Peter, Paul, Barnabas and James. Peter begins by relating how God had clearly saved Cornelius and the other Gentiles with him apart from any works of the Law (vv.7-9). In fact Peter acknowledges that not only do the Gentiles not need to become like the Jews to be saved, but conversely we, the Jews, need to saved as they, the Gentiles (v.11). The works of the Law for salvation will not even aid a Jew.’ However my people, two thousand years later, when we now have all the rules and regulations, all the benefits of gospel in one Book, the Bible, containing all the thoughts, desires and promises of God enshrined there, why are we still quarrelling with each other over mostly petty stuff eh? The law of man will never enable us to achieve salvation, only the grace of God through belief in His sacrificed and risen Son Jesus can do that. So let’s stop the foolish quarrelling amongst ourselves nuh, which only gives unbelievers ammunition to belittle Christ’s church. Instead we should be out there in the evil, ungodly world, working as ONE, living a life of true faith, and trying to bring others to the Truth of Christ. And we’ll conclude with the definitive words of Jesus on the subject. Oh how I like it when we can end with Jesus’ pronouncement on a topic. Here He is denouncing the scribes and Pharisees. ‘The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat (of authority): All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do: but do not ye after (according to) their works: for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne (hard to bear), and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do for to be seen of men…And LOVE the uppermost rooms (of honour, chief place) at feasts, and the chief (best) seats in the synagogues. And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master (Leader, Teacher); even Christ; and all ye are brethren.’ (Matt.23:2-8) Oh Friends, does that remind you of any people you know in the church today? It shouldn’t, but I’m sure it does. So let’s be careful whom and what we listen to, and follow the Holy Spirit of Jesus, so that we don’t get entangled in the slave like tentacles and mentality of the Law again. Much LOVE!…be wary of those who say one thing…but do something else…
SCRIP-BITS 