The Importance of Christians Knowing Scriptures Associated with the Specifics of God’s Promises! Part 2.

23 Jan 2026 Leave a comment

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

2 Corinthians 12:9.         And he said unto me, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.’

And finally, it’s that long awaited day called Friday! So, we offer up our Friday Mantra: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend is here at long last!’ It’s pretty cold, but it’s not snowing, and the sun is predominant over the clouds, though it’s not shining as brightly as we would like. (smile) But we’re still grateful for whatever little sunshine we can get to drive away the darkness of these dreary winter months. 

And as we promised yesterday, let’s continue with some scriptures that highlight God’s promises from the poem ‘The Promises and Non-Promises of God, which reads: “But God hath promised strength for the day, rest amid labour, light for the way; grace for trials, help from above, unfailing sympathy, undying LOVE.’  Yesterday we looked at the first two promises, let’s see how many we can get through today. (smile) 

Now, the first one up is ‘light for the way.’ And Jesus Himself declared: ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’ (John 8:12) And what does that mean. Hear this commentary explain it. ‘Jesus is signifying that He is the divine source of spiritual truth, guidance, and life, offering to lead people out of spiritual darkness and sin into salvation and eternal life if they follow Him. This metaphor highlights Jesus as the exclusive provider of spiritual understanding, dispelling ignorance and revealing God’s path.’ 

And the scriptures offer up several other verses that agree with Jesus’ declaration, like this well-known one from Psalm 119: ‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’ (Ps. 119:105) Yes friends, God’s Word shed’s light along the path He desires us to walk. As Cousin Sol so readily agrees with this verse from Proverbs. ‘For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:’ (Prov. 6:23) And as Bruh David tells us in Psalm 19: ‘The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.’  

So however you take it, between a personal relationship with Jesus and God’s Word, we are indeed able to get the spiritual light we need to help us through each  day. Now, what about ‘grace for trials.’ Oh brother, there are so many scriptures that I don’t know which ones to choose. And they all ‘highlight that God’s grace during trials provides strength, restoration, and endurance, often working through weakness to refine faith and offer comfort.’ 

But we’ll begin with this one that seems most important. It’s from  Bruh Paul’s second letter to the Corinthains, where, after beseeching the Lord three times to remove a thorn from his side, the Lord eventually declares. ‘My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.’ (2 Cor. 12:9) In other words, when we’re weak, God’s grace comes in to strengthen us. That means we are never far from His grace in our everyday lives. As one commentary calls this verse: ‘The definitive promise that God’s grace is sufficient, with His power perfected in human weakness.’ 

Then James, Jesus’ brother, in his famous discourse encourages us to consider trials as joy, knowing they produce endurance and maturity. ‘My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations (various trials); Knowing this, that the trying (testing) of your faith worketh (produces) patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire (complete), wanting (lacking) nothing.’  (James 1:2-4) Now that’s a tough row to hoe, but hoe it we must if we desire to grow in faith and spiritual maturity. 

Then there’s this most encouraging scripture from Hebrews that offers this wonderful invitation. ‘Let us therefore come boldly (confidently) to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.’ (Heb. 4:16) Wow mih people! Nothing can be better than going to the throne of grace to receive grace as we need it! Meanwhile, here is one of my favourite scriptures. This from Bruh Paul’s opening remarks in his second letter to the Corinthians. 

‘Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort: Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble (tribulation), by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation (comfort) also aboundeth in Christ.’  (2 Cor. 1:3-5) What beautiful assurance and comfort that is my fellow believers! Yes, God is the “Father of mercies and God of all comfort” who comforts believers in tribulation, which then allows believers to comfort others who need comfort! For as we suffer with Christ, we are also comforted through Him. 

And I’m chuckling here friends, because I’m now discovering that I can’t finish all the parts of the poem today either. So, we’ll end with this other interesting verse from 1 Corinthians, where Bruh Paul declares: ‘There hath no temptation taken (overtaken) you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way of escape, that ye may be able to bear (endure) it.’ (1 Cor. 10:13) 

Now please note that the Lord won’t always allow you to escape temptations, but will rather find a way for you to endure them, for temptations are a part of the testing of our faith, through which we grow in spiritual maturity and become more like Jesus. So, let’s go confidently now, but humbly, to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, that we can receive divine aid to help in these crucial times. 

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

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

And what we supposed believers need to realize is that so far our Christian witness has been no good, otherwise the world would not have fallen so deeply into evil and ungodly ways. Therefore, to receive divine aid, we need to up the ante; to improve our Christin walk, and we have enough God-given tools to do it. So, let’s get together and do it nuh! Remember it’s all for our benefit, not God’s! Much LOVE!

…God’s grace and mercy are constantly available…if we walk in obedience to His desires…

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

The Importance of Christians Knowing Scriptures Associated with the Specifics of God’s Promises! Part 1.

22 Jan 2026 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 6:11.        Give us this day our daily bread.

Oh brother! Am I ever tired of this snow already. We had snow yesterday, then this morning we had some more. Granted not a lot today, but any amount of snow whatsoever is hazardous and dangerous to human life. (smile) I remember going to bed at minutes after four this morning and my driveway was clean, as my maintenance man had cleaned it during the night. Now, imagine my angry surprise when I got up this morning around eight, and although the sun was shining brightly, saw more snow in my driveway. 

The foolish snow has been keeping me from going out and doing some things I want to do. And to make matters worse, the Duchess tells me that they are forecasting snow for today and also tomorrow. Mama Mia! It’s enough to drive a body crazy! (smile) But rest assured I won’t allow it to do that, for once there’s no urgent reason for me to go out, the snow could fall day and night as far as I’m concerned. And I hope you realize that’s a lie! (smile) But enough of my ranting about the snow. As the Lord tells me, if I didn’t want to encounter that beautiful, fluffy white stuff, I should not have come to the northern climes. And as usual, He’s right. 

And today, I want to again address that poem we looked at yesterday; ‘The Promises and Non-Promises of God,’ in particular the last verse that concerns God’s promises. It says: ‘But God hath promised strength for the day, rest amid labour, light for the way; grace for trials, help from above, unfailing sympathy, undying LOVE.’ Now, let’s see what scriptures we can find that articulate those promises. And there are many scriptures that promote the first one ‘strength for the day,’ but I want to begin with this particular verse from the Lord’s Prayer, where Jesus gave the disciples, and consequently us, an example of accepted prayer. 

And the verse I want to centre on is ‘Give us this day our daily bread.’ (Matt. 6:11) Yes friends, as both the poem and Jesus say, all we really need is bread and strength for each day. It’s like when the Lord fed the Israelites with manna in the wilderness, He instructed them to pick up only enough for ONE day, unless it was for the Sabbath, then they could pick up for two. And anything left over one day spoiled immediately. (Ex. 16) It was a way of teaching them to rely on God’s provision for their daily need. It’s also something we have to learn today; take one day at a time, and God will provide all that’s necessary. As Jesus says: ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33) 

Then there are other verses which magnify the Lord’s strength like this one we all know and like to quote: ‘But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.’ (Is. 40:31) And what about these reassuring words from the Sons of Korah from Psalm 46: ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help (an abundantly available help) in trouble.’ (Ps. 46:1) Then Bruh Paul gives us this magnificent assurance in his letter to the Philippians. ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.’ (Phil. 4:13) And this one from Nehemiah is one we must always bear in mind: ‘…for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’ (Neh. 8:10) 

And I’m chuckling here friends, because I’m now realizing that this is a two day task and not a one day like I had imagined, for there are so many scriptures that we can quote, and leaving out any, seems like a travesty of justice. (smile) So here are a couple more on God’s strength for the day. ‘Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.’ (Eph. 6:10) Then Bruh Paul exhorts the Corinthians: ‘Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you (be brave) like men, be strong.’ (1 Cor. 16:13) Then finally, this reassurance of Bruh Paul to Timothy, one we all know but don’t action fully. ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind.’ (2 Tim. 1:7) And there are many more you can check out for yourself. (smile) 

Now turning to the promise of ‘rest amid labour,’ I believe there’s only one scripture needed to cover it all, that’s the Great Invitation, where Jesus invites all and sundry to: ‘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 my people, anyone who doesn’t take advantage of that glorious invitation from Jesus is a fool! And that’s putting it mildly. For who else offers such and invitation, or who else can ever deign to do so, for nobody else has the wherewithal to do it but Jesus! 

So let’s remember that today and place our trust in the One and Only, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour; the One who didn’t just talk the talk, but more importantly walked it, and  LOVED us enough to die on the cross of Calvary and bear our sins on His sinless shoulders. Now let’s go home declaring and thus activating our undeserved Thursday Blessings that the Lord has so generously bestowed on us to do His earthly work. Altogether: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! 

I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’ 

And having made that declaration (awright!!!) it now behooves us to go out and use those blessings to help others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

…sometimes we Christians think too much about tomorrow…and not enough about today…

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

The Overwhelming Importance of Christians Not Abusing and /or Misusing God’s Promises!

21 Jan 2026 Leave a comment

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

1 John 2:17.         And the world paseth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

And then it was Wednesday, our second wind day. And do we ever need to catch that second wind so we can make it safely through, because it’s a cloudy, snowy, miserable day. Chuh! This looks like it’s going to be a snowy winter, for every time you turn around it’s snowing. But there’s nothing much to do but grin and bear it, for that’s the nature of the northern climes, and we’ve been spoiled in recent years with comparatively little snow during the winter months. But here’s an interesting poem I recently discovered amongst my piles of papers. I’m not sure where it comes from or when (smile) but I’m fairly sure I’ve shared it sometime in the past. 

But like so many of those prayers and poems, they are still very appropriate for these turbulent times. And I believe the poem is called ‘The Promises and Non-Promises of God.’ So please read with me. ‘God hath not promised skies ever blue, flower-strewn pathways all our lives through; God hath not promised sun without rain, joy without sorrow, peace without pain. God hath not promised smooth roads and wide, swift, easy travel needing no guide; God hath not promised we shall not bear many a burden and many a care. But God hath promised strength for the day, rest amid labour, light for the way; grace for trials, help from above, unfailing sympathy, undying LOVE!’ 

And that’s the living truth my people! God never promised that we will just waltz through this life with no cares, worries, burdens or trials. He simply promised that He will help us each and every day to bear what burdens or trials we might experience. It’s just that we know His omnipotent power and are lazy and selfish and expect to get through life Scot free, that we take these liberties about what God promised and what He didn’t. Why do you think He gave us first Jesus, then the Holy Spirit eh? 

Jeus came to save us from our abominable sinful behaviour that was leading us down the path of eternal separation from God. As He very plainly says in the gospel of John: ‘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) Yes friends, we needed divine help if we were to avoid hellfire and damnation. And having given us an option to avoid that most fearful outcome, the Lord then gave us the Holy Spirit to help us live the kind of life we needed to live so we could stay on the straight and narrow path that leads to Him and eternal life. 

The Holy Spirit is our guide and comforter and helper. If God didn’t think we’d need those things to live this earthly life, why give us the Holy Spirit? Listen to Jesus again, this time on the work of the Holy Spirit. ‘If ye LOVE me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter (Helper), that he may abide with you forever. Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless (as orphans): I will come to you.’ (John 14:15-18) 

And so it was done! The Holy Spirit came to dwell within each believer on the first day of Pentecost after Jesus’ ascension back to heaven. (Acts 2:1-4) Then later on, Jesus again spoke to the disciples about the importance of the Holy Spirit. ‘Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself (on his own authority); but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall ye speak: and he will shew you things to come.’ (John 16:13) And Jesus finally told them: ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33). 

Oh my people, the Lord knew that we would have tough times in this sinful world, that’s why he equipped us with all that we needed to handle it. The Holy Spirit, prayer, grace, mercy, and His Word. For living in an evil and ungodly world trying to be righteous and godly is a major task. That’s why we have scriptures like James’ exhortation: ‘My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations (various trials); Knowing this, that the trying (testing) of your faith worketh (produces) patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire (complete), wanting (lacking) nothing.’ (James 1:2-4) 

Yes those are tough words to handle, but as the scholars explain: These “negative” experiences are to be accepted with great joy, not for the sake of the trial itself but because of the positive work God can accomplish through the testing.’ We do need to remember that God tests our faith all through this earthly life and that is done usually through trials and temptations because it’s only when we are between a rock and a hard place that our faith grows. When life’s good, our faith either stagnates or gets soft and weak.(smile) 

And remember too that the Lord’s Number One Plan is to have all His children as replicas of His first born Jesus, therefore, as along as we are alive, we will be like putty or clay in the hands of a potter, with Him trying to make us into the image of Jesus. It’s like Bruh Paul says to the Philippians: ‘Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform (complete) it until the day of Jesus Christ.’ (Phil. 1:6) That means everyday we’re alive the Master Potter will be working on us. So it’s not an easy life to live for Christ, but as I keep saying, it’s very interesting and the rewards are unsurpassable. 

Nothing this world has to offer can ever surpass salvation and eternal life with Christ. Remember too as John says in his first epistle: ‘And the world paseth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.’ (1 John 2:17) Yes, my fellow believers, this world will eventually pass away, but if we do God’s will, we will live forever with Him. Let’s remember that and set our minds to it, despite all the many tests and temptations we might face, for our God is just faithful and true ! 

Now let’s go home declaring our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our wonderful position in Christ. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘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!’ 

And if we’re serious, then we’ll endure with Christ right to the very end, and thus enjoy the promise of a more than glorious future for those who see it through to the end. Much LOVE!

…life is not a bed of roses…but a garden of thistles and thorns…that we need to work on…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 9 August 2017 Proverbs 9:10.

09 Aug 2017 Leave a comment

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

Proverbs 9:10.   The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy (Holy One) is understanding.

Another glorious day is in the offing friends! And to make matters even better, our names or pictures have not shown up in the obits today! Glory to God! 

So let’s be thankful and enjoy the day, proudly declaring, as the psalmist did: ‘This is the day which the Lord has made, we WILL rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Ps.118:24) 

For sure, because we would be foolish to do otherwise since Jesus sacrificed His sinless life so that we could live an abundant one. 

Now here is a li’l something to remind us that though life is good, it’s not always wine and roses. (smile) I don’t remember where I got it from, but recently I found it amongst some papers on my desk. 

I believe I shared it sometime back, but like so many of these things, they never get stale and are always good for retelling. And I seem to have given it the title of ‘The Promises and Non-Promises of God.’ 

Please read with me. ‘God hath not promised skies ever blue, flower-strewn pathways all our lives through; God hath not promised sun without rain, joy without sorrow, peace without pain. 

God hath not promised smooth roads and wide, swift, easy travel, needing no guide; God hath not promised we shall not bear many a burden, many a care. 

But God hath promised strength for the day, rest amid labour, light for the way; grace for the trials, help from above, unfailing sympathy, undying LOVE.’ 

And that’s more than enough for us friends! Our generous and gracious God gives us enough to live each day walking in His will! That’s all we need since we can only live one day at a time. 

That’s why His mercies are new every morning. Every day He gives us a fresh start. So please let’s be wise, grab on to it and run our race with patience, perseverance and understanding, for that’s the only way we’ll ever make it successfully to the finish line. 

And to ensure us of doing just that, we need the immortal words of our Bit written indelibly in our hearts, minds, souls and bodies. ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy (Holy One) is understanding.’ 

Yeh friends, until we learn to acknowledge and rightly esteem the Lord God Jehovah our lives will not run smoothly. That’s because we won’t understand what life is all about. And as we said yesterday, wisdom is basically about living successful lives. 

So it follows that if you don’t have wisdom, you can’t live successfully. But then, true wisdom comes only from appreciating, revering, and sincerely worshipping God. Which in turn means that we have to come to God in sincere faith before we can get that wisdom to live a successful life. Hope it makes sense. (smile) 

Now let’s turn to a couple of scriptures which highlight the importance of that somewhat ephemeral but oh so necessary accoutrement, wisdom. Listen to that great man of God, Job, as he expounds on wisdom being the Gift of God. 

‘But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof (the value); neither is it found in the land of the living.’ (Job 28:12-13) 

Then he goes on to say that it cannot be found in the sea, nor can it be purchased for gold or other precious jewels. (vs.14-27) So where and how can wisdom be had then? 

‘And unto man he (God) said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.’ (Job 28:28) What more can we say eh friends? If God says that’s how it is, then that’s exactly how it is! 

Now hear Cousin Sol with another tot of wise warning. ‘The fear (reverential awe) of the Lord is the (principal) beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.’ (Prov.1:7) 

And is that ever so true. So many of us are foolishly turning away from God in these evil times, so how shall we ever have widespread wisdom eh? 

And the scholars explain that verse thus. ‘1:7. The fear of the Lord means submission to the Lord and His revelation. When one is afraid of something, he either runs from it or submits to it. The latter idea is in view here. 

It is a healthy fear, like the fear of electricity or the fear of one’s parents, which causes one to act in an appropriate manner. The beginning does not mean that “the fear of the Lord” is left behind in the course of acquiring wisdom, but it is the controlling principle of wisdom.’  

And so my fellow brethren in Christ, now that we’ve beefed up our understanding of true wisdom, let’s go home showing that we are indeed on the right track nuh by loudly, sincerely and truthfully declaring our Wednesday Wail. 

All together now: ‘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!’ 

Ah mih people, isn’t it just wonderful living with, for and through Jesus! Much LOVE!

…truly living for Jesus…shows that one has acquired true wisdom…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 24 July 2013 Lamentations 3:31

24 Jul 2013 Leave a comment

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

Lamentations 3:31.   For the Lord will not cast off for ever.
 
Well a good Wednesday morning to all you beautiful images of the ONE TRUE GOD, out there on planet earth!
 
How goes it mih lovelies? Good, I hope. It’s not too bad with me, though I’m tired, because I didn’t get to bed until after one, reading an interesting British set novel. Yuh know when the story gets juicy, (smile) then you see you’re almost at the end, so you decide to finish it. But for some reason, it always takes longer than you expected. Well that was my dilemma this morning. 
 
But our most wonderful God, in His everlasting mercy and LOVING-kindness, looked down on me with favour and guided me to this poem I had sitting amongst some other papers. I don’t think I’ve shared it before, but if I have, it’s good enough to be heard one more time, especially in the middle of the work week when we’re generally in a state of flux; in no man’s land, neither here nor there, not fully acclimatized to it, but not yet desperately looking forward to Friday.
 
But let’s listen to this and allow it to raise our spirits and give us a boost to keep on living for Jesus, doing His bidding, and causing others to come to Him and LOVE Him as we do. There’s no official title, but I’ll call it, ‘The Promises and non Promises of God.’
 
‘God hath not promised skies ever blue, flower-strewn pathways all our lives through; God hath not promised sun without rain, joy without sorrow, peace without pain. God hath not promised smooth roads and wide, swift, easy travel needing no guide; God hath not promised we shall not bear many a burden, many a care. But God hath promised strength for the day, rest amid labour, light for the way; grace for the trials, help from above, unfailing sympathy, undying LOVE.’ 
 
Now all of that is certainly undeniable truth Friends! And I do hope it lifts our spirits and gives us strength, courage and faith to keep on keeping on, because patience, perseverance and constant plodding in the face of all adversity are the hallmarks of the pilgrim. And pilgrims we all are, on this earthly journey to our heavenly home.
 
And though we encounter much difficulty on the journey, there is one thing we can be absolutely sure of, as our Bit tells us. ‘For the Lord will not cast off for ever.’ And that’s truly, truly gospel my people!
 
As the Good Book continues: ‘But though he causes grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. For he doth not afflict willingly (with delight), nor grieve the children of men.’ (Lam.3:32-33)
 
Yes Friends, our God does not go out of His way to make life hard for us, or to unfairly punish us, but disciplinary measures (smile) are sometimes necessary to bring us into line with His divine will, or keep us on the right path, the straight and narrow one that leads to heaven, though we take rebellious delight in speeding down the wide highway that leads to death and destruction and the evil company of Lucifer. 
 
But listen to the wisdom of the psalmist on the subject. ‘The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity (futile). Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest (instructeth), O Lord, and teachest him out of thy law; That thou mayest give him rest (relief) from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked. For the Lord will not cast off (abandon) his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance. But judgement shall return unto righteousness: and all the upright in heart shall follow it.’ (Ps.94:11-15)
 
So my fellow believers, there’s no need to fear. Our God will never leave us or forsake us, neither will He afflict us unnecessarily. And if He does decide that chastening is called for, then we can take pleasure from it, (smile) for we know that He’s only disciplining us for our own good. That’s because He LOVES us with such passion and doesn’t want us to go astray. It’s just like when we discipline our children because we LOVE them, not because we want to hurt them.
 
And we’ll close with some more reassuring words from the Good Book on God’s discipline: ‘My son, despise not thou the chastening (discipline) of the Lord, nor faint (be discouraged) when thou art rebuked of Him: For whom the Lord LOVETH He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. 
 
If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? …Now no chastening (discipline) for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised (trained) thereby.’ (Heb.12:5b-7, 11)
 
That says it all Friends! Our God treats us like His children, and though our natural nature doesn’t like discipline, sometimes it is indeed necessary. And the sad part of it all, is that if God doesn’t discipline us occasionally, then we’re not His children. And I’m sure none of us want to hear that.
 
So let’s go out today nuh, walking in the power, faithfulness and trust of our omnipotent and LOVING God, knowing that he is looking over and looking out for each one of us, who’ve placed our faith in Him, His Son Jesus, and His Holy Spirit. When we do that, NOTHING on this earth can touch us. Much LOVE!
 
…when one walks confidently with God…the powers of darkness flee in fear… from the blinding light that’s Jesus…