17 Jan 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fierce love, a means of restoring faith in you, a reflex action, a sincere change of heart, anxiety, asking for mercy, bared his soul, be responsible, Beelzebub, Bible, christianity, Christians, communicating with God, confusion, crying out for your help, debauched parties, departed into a solitary place and prayed, discontent, dissatisfaction, divine aid, end up in hellfire, escalating problems, even unto death, evil ways, face time with God, faith, fell on his face, Friday chant, God loves us with a fierce love, holy spirit, human activities, if it be possible, in the morning, insincere hearts, interference in our business, intimate time, Jesus Christ, Jesus went up into a mountain apart to pray, lazy, let this cup pass from me, licentious manner, listening to God, living God, loud voices, LOVE, mercy, mortals, my soul is exceeding sorrowful, natural disasters, not as I will but as thou wilt, omnipotent help, our lives don't run right, out of control, partying, pleasures, prayer, proud, rebellious behaviour, retribution, rising up a great while before day, salvation, Satan, simmering unrest, sinful behaviour, sinful rebellion, sinful ways, sinful world, Sodom and Gomorrah, spend time with God, stay safe, sweet and strong, talking to God, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the Garden of Gethsemane, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the hand of God, the miracle of the five loaves and two fishes, the sinfulness of our world, the throne of grace, truth, unfortunate predicament, ungodly times, wait here, wake up and smell the coffee, watch with me, wisdom
Mark 1:35. And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary (deserted) place, and there prayed.
And finally it’s Friday! The weekend is upon us. Praise the Lord! And we send up our Friday Mantra; ‘Thank God it’s Friday!’ with loud voices, but insincere hearts. It’s now become simply a reflex action and no longer real heartfelt thanks for the end of the work week, for too many of us only look to the weekend as a means of partying, having a good ole worldly time and not giving thought to our Creator and Provider. But friends, that’s an unwise way to live, because our God desires His time with us. He’s not against partying per se, just the debauched and licentious manner in which we do it.
And above all, He expects us to have a reasonable amount of face time with Him. He knows that in the week we’re fairly busy and thus cannot always give Him the time He desires, but for sure on the weekend we can make whatever sacrifice might be necessary to spend more intimate time with Him. Yuh know, intimate, unhurried time with Him is all our God really desires of each of us. And when that happens on a regular basis, everything else takes care of itself.
And there’s no better example of that than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. When He was here on earth in human form, although He was still God, He always made time to spend with the Father. Why? Because He knew that without the Father’s awesome help He could not properly manage the human activities necessary to carry out His ministry work. And there are several instances in the Bible where it shows that Jesus got away by Himself to go and spend intimate time with the Father. My favourite is this one from the gospel of Mark, where it says: ‘And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary (deserted) place, and there prayed.’ (Mark 1:35)
Wow! How many of us even consider getting up early, or even going to bed a little later so that we can spend time with our heavenly Father and Provider eh? Not enough of us! But if Jesus the Son of God, could get up early to talk to the Father and find out His instructions for that particular day, why can’t we mere, finite, mortals do the same eh? Because we’re too proud, lazy or whatever! But then when our lives don’t run right, we wonder what’s wrong. It’s simple friends; if we don’t have good and regular communion with the Creator of the universe, our lives will never run right.
And we can see that happening right now throughout our entire world, only strife, chaos and disaster everywhere! Why? Because we have turned away from One True and ONLY Living God and foolishly embraced the sinful ways and pleasures of Beelzebub and his evil cronies. Do we ever remember the story of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 18 and 19, where the Lord announced to Abraham His intention to destroy those cities because of their overly sinful behaviour (Gen. 18:20) and then Abraham prayed that He wouldn’t destroy them if they contained any righteous people, including his nephew Lot who lived in Sodom. (Gen. 18:23-33)
But eventually the Lord’s will prevailed, and though Lot escaped, the cities were destroyed. Now that might be a very useful anecdote for us to remember since the sinfulness of our world is out of control, and who knows if all the natural disasters that are occurring all around the globe is not simply the Hand of God wreaking retribution for our sinful behaviour, like He did with Sodom and Gomorrah so long ago.
I believe it would do us a whole lot of good if we’d ponder on that possibility for a while and consider changing our evil ways and returning to the God of Abrahan, Isaac and Jacob, who LOVES us with a fierce LOVE, despite our rebellious behaviour, and does not want to see us end up in hellfire with Satan, so He’s prodding us, none too gently, because we don’t take kindly to interference in what we consider our own business. I like that sentence. It reminds me of some of Bruh Paul’s. (smile)
Ah friends, we’ve drifted away from our topic of intimate or prayer time with God, talking about how Jesus always found time to do so. And we have two other good examples of that. The first is when He fed the five thousand men with the five loaves of bread and two small fishes, and after collecting twelve baskets of left overs, sent the disciples over the lake in a ship, and the crowd away, then went up into a mountain to pray. (Mark 6:37-47)
And how can we ever forget the night before His crucifixion, when Jesus, went into the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. (Matt. 26:36-46) In great agony of spirit, He said to Peter, James and John. ‘My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here (wait here), and watch with me. Then he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.’ (Matt. 26:38-39)
Yes my fellow saints, Jesus bared His soul before the Father, and that’s exactly what many of us today also need to do, because we’re filled with all kinds of anxieties, fears, doubts and troubled minds and hearts, and the only way to relive that pressure is by going to God in prayer and asking for His divine help. And since now is as good a time as any to do so, let’s go to the throne of grace through our Friday Chant baring our souls, asking for mercy.
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!’
Now, let’s not forget that we’re in this unfortunate predicament because of our sinful rebellion towards God, and only a sincere change of heart and behaviour will bring divine aid. Much LOVE!
…what’s prayer…communicating with God…talking to Him…and listening to Him…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
18 Oct 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: anger, anger inflames talk, annoying rigmarole, as God, ate, be put away, bedrock, better than the mighty, between a rock and a hard place, bitterness, Charles stanlwy, clamour, create havoc, drank, Ephesians, evil speaking, exalteth folly, feel the anger, fellowship, for Christ's sake, forbearing, forgiving, fortification, Friday chant, furthering God's kingdom, glory, go down upon your wrath, got sick, great understanding, has forgiven us, hasty of spirit, he that ruleth his spirit, he that taketh a city, impulsive, in Jesus name, in our souls, kind to one another, later than you sow, learn mih lesson, let not the sun, listening to God, malice, mere coincidence, more than you sow, muddy our waters, partied, pass over a transgression, patience, playing the fool, Praise the Lord, refreshed, relaxation, rest, rising up, roaring lion, scripture, sick time rights, silence., sin not, slow to anger, slow to speak, slow to wrath, swift to hear, talk inflames anger, tenderhearted, testimony, testing my resolve, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, the discretion of a man, the Lord saved me, the righteousness of God, too much, trusty desktop, workingman, wrath, written indelibly, you reap what you sow
Proverbs 16:32. He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.
Yeah, it’s Friday! And though the sun is struggling to get out from under the cloud cover, there is joy in the land, simply because it’s Friday and the workweek is ending! Thus, there are many ‘Praise the Lord’s!’ both sincere and insincere, (smile) ringing out from all parts of the world. And there’s none louder than that of the ordinary workingman, who never shies away from expressing his true feelings.
And today, he shouts: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday oui! What a week it’s been! I ate and drank and partied so much this past Thanksgiving weekend, that I was truly sick come Tuesday and couldn’t go to the slave master’s work. Obviously he tried to give me a hard time when I showed up on Wednesday, but I just ignored him, because I have my sick time rights and this one was certainly legitimate. He feels that nobody should ever book off sick, because he loses money when they do.
But when he books off sick is okay though, because he’s the boss… Chuh! Just forget the li’l greedy man yes! And yuh better believe this weekend is going to be strictly rest! I like mih food and drinks, but not to the extent that I want them to get me sick. I surely hope I learn mih lesson this time yes. Thank God for Fridays and weekends oui!’
Ah friends, yuh see what happen when we overdo it? Unwanted consequences usually come back to haunt us. As Uncle Charles (Dr. Charles Stanley) likes to say: ‘You reap what you sow; more than you sow, and later than you sow.’ And that’s the gospel truth! It holds in all situations in life! So let’s turn now to our Friday Chant nuh, which isn’t as verbose and in your face as the workingman’s song, but does do the trick for us believers.
All together in true sincerity now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen!’
Yes, we do need to be careful how we operate, because the enemy, like the roaring, toothless lion that he is, is always lurking around seeking ways to get into our lives and create havoc. And I have a very good testimony on that point to share. This morning as I was getting ready to write the Bit, my trusty desktop computer began playing the fool. It just would not access the Internet after booting up.
And as the Lord would have it, I opened the Good Book and began flipping pages and just happened to stop in Proverbs 16…no I don’t think that just happened nuh, because the Word that I read plainly said: ‘He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.’
That was certainly more than mere coincidence, because every time I turned my computer off and on, and got no progress, I could feel the anger rising up in me and I wanted to give it a few good thumps. But with that scripture staring me straight in the face, and knowing that the Lord, or the enemy was testing my resolve, I managed to not thump it, and it did behave properly after the fifth or sixth time of turning it on and off.
I believe the Lord saved me though, because I’m pretty sure that I would have thumped it if I had had to go through the annoying rigmarole one more time. (smile) So I passed the test…but just barely. And that’s the way this earthly life is my faithful brethren. Life just likes to test us, to muddy our waters and see how we react.
Sometimes it’s the Lord, other times it’s the enemy. But whoever or whatever causes us to find ourselves between a rock and hard place, we need to be able to bring up scripture written indelibly in our souls, bodies and minds, to help us handle them in a godly and sensible manner. And today we just going to check out a few of those scriptures that we need to have as our bedrock, our fortification against unnecessary anger.
Hear Cousin Sol earlier on: ‘He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit (impulsive) exalteth folly.’ (Prov.14:29) And that’s certainly no lie, as many of us have found out over the years. And just recently we featured these immortal verses from Bruh Paul to the Ephesians.
‘Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph.4:31-32) Words of eternal wisdom my brethren!
Meanwhile James adds his two-cents worth thus: ‘Wherefore my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not (does not produce) the righteousness of God.’ (James 1:19-20) And if you’re a true believer, you ought to know that. But listen to the scholars’ explanation anyway.
‘1:19. This is a key verse because it expresses three topics that James develops later: hearing, verses 19-27; speaking, 3:1-12; and wrath, 4:1-12.’ ‘1:20. Trials require silence and patience because talk inflames anger, and anger inflames talk. Anger also distracts from listening to God.’ I hope we all hear that friends: anger distracts us from listening to God, and when we don’t listen to God, we go astray and end up suffering severe consequences.
And here are some final words on the subject from Cousin Sol once again. ‘The discretion of a man deferreth his anger (makes him slow to anger); and it is his glory to pass over (overlook) a transgression.’ (Prov.19:11) Awright mih people, there’s the ammunition to fight the battle against anger, let’s go out and put it to good use now nuh! It’s Jesus’ desire for all His followers. Much LOVE!
…be ye angry…and sin not…let not the sun…go down upon your wrath… (Eph.4:26)
23 Jul 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a discipline always costs, a listening ear, a man of understanding, A Quiet Tongue, a revealing fact, anger distracts from, anger inflames talk, at my guilty heart, be swift to hear, before my mouth, beloved of God, Bible Study, circled them with red ink, communication technology, convenient for us, cringed, does not produce, ear-hurting noise, esteemed, even a fool, explosive rhetoric, expounding, feel more comfortable, first chapter of James, friend of Jesus, he that refraineth his lips is wise, he that shutteth his lips, help me to obey, hurry, I wanted to run. kept battering awaya, in god's eyes, is considered wise, it is best, keep the door of my lips, let every man, listening is a discipline, listening to God, my beloved brethren, my enlightened insight, not become angry, octopus-like tentacles, One Year Book of Bible promises, Ruth Harms Calkin, set a watch, share His love, slow to speak, slow to wrath, social media, solve the predicament, speak little, talk inflames anger, the multitude of words, the price, the righteousness of God, the way of the dodo, the wrath of man, to list much, trials require silence, Tuesday Mantra, wanteth not sin, what I do, what I have, when he holds his peace, worketh not, world leaders, worry
James 1:19. Wherefore my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
And then it was Tuesday…Whatever happened to Monday eh – the day that we thought would kill us, that we’d never get through? Ah mih people, like all those other Mondays, which we thought would be so destructive to our psyche and body, it has gone the way of the dodo, spinning uselessly into the annals of History, no more to be seen again!
Wow! What philosophical enlightenment! (smile) But here is something that we seemingly cannot, or just will not put into practice: ‘A Quiet Tongue!’ This from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. I just could not pass it up because it’s so apropos to our loud and oh so talkative times! I’ve shared it before, but it’s one of those reminders that we need to hear again and again.
Please pray with me: ‘Lord, a revealing fact Began to surface today: I talk more than I listen. I seem to be thoroughly convinced That my ideas My inspiring experiences My bits of wisdom Are exactly what all my friends need. Too often I break into conversations Confident that my enlightened insight Will solve the predicament – Whatever it is. Obviously I feel more comfortable When I’m expounding.
But this morning at a Bible Study I cringed when I read Your command In the first chapter of James: “Don’t ever forget That it is best to listen much Speak little, and not become angry.” At first I wanted to run. But as the words kept battering away At my guilty heart I finally circled them with red ink. Now, Lord, please help me to obey them. Remind me daily, hourly That listening is a discipline and a discipline always costs. I know I must pay a price. The price for me Is a listening ear And a quiet tongue.’
Mama Mia! How true is that of so many of us, believers included! And the sad part is that the sudden surge in communication technology has made it even worse. It’s like a free for all out there now with the advent of social media and all its octopus-like tentacles, reaching into every aspect of modern day society and creating such a loud, ear–hurting noise that many of us have to run from it. Or we’d be wise to run from it.
We talk so much that half the time we don’t even know or understand what we’re saying. But you can’t say that to anybody, because we all feel we’re so knowledgeable about whatever situation we choose to expound on. The truth is though, that most of us don’t know a blooming important thing about most of the things we choose to expound on! (smile)
And we’d be so much better off if we’d just shut up for a while and listen, that’s listen attentively, rather than talk, than break into conversations that we know li’l if anything about. What a quiet and wonderful place our world would be if only Christians did that eh! And it’s not like that the Good Book has not commanded us to do so. But who listens to the Good Book nowadays eh, unless it’s something that’s convenient for us eh?
And the Bible verse for our poem and our Bit for today is that of James’ awesome warning. ‘Wherefore my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not (does not produce) the righteousness of God.’ (James 1:19-20) And is that ever so true friends!
Now hear these explanations from the scholars on those two verses. ‘1:19. This is a key verse because it expresses three topics that James develops later: hearing, verses 19-27; speaking, 3:1-12; and wrath, 4:1-12.’ That’s stuff we’d do well to read and put into practice! ‘1:20. Trials require silence and patience because talk inflames anger, and anger inflames talk. Anger also distracts from listening to God.’
You can’t dispute that friends. But who listens nowadays eh? Not too many of us, since we all want to be the focus of everybody else’s attention! But hear these wise words from Cousin Sol nuh: ‘In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.’ (Prov.10:19) Gospel truth that! The more we talk the more chance we have of committing sin.
And then there’s this: ‘He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent (calm) spirit. Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace (keeps silent) is counted (considered) wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.’ (Prov.17:27-28)
Oh mih breddren, mih breddren, what wonderful words of wisdom and advice from the supposedly wisest man that ever lived; Cousin Sol! Please, please, let’s wake up and take it nuh, because we’re talking ourselves into more and more difficulties and disasters every day. Just listen to the explosive rhetoric that’s being passed back and forth by our world leaders today nuh; it’s nothing but ammunition for anger, strife and war, of which we already have more than enough in this troubled world.
So I implore us to not heighten the ammunition level, but rather lower it, by talking less and listening more. And now that we’ve taken all of that o heart, written it indelibly in our souls, bodies and minds, (smile) let’s go home declaring (steups, wrong again!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the world know in no uncertain terms, who and whose we are.
In strong voice with a sincere sense of purpose: ‘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 now it’s time for us to go out and share that unconditional, undying LOVE and friendship of Jesus with others, as He so greatly desires of us! Much LOVE!
…set a watch (guard), O Lord…before my mouth…keep (watch over) the door of my lips… (Ps.141:3)
26 Jul 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a necessary condition, anger inflames talk, be swift to hear, blasphemy, bond, Christ is all, circumcision, click my heels, filthiness, filthy communication, free, glad to be alive, Greek, grin and bear it, harsh repercussions, hearing of the word, Jesus Christ, Jew, jump for joy, listening to God, looking ahead, malice, mature, meekness, my beloved brethren, my hands are on the plough, not turning back, old fogies, our existence, pain medication, parable of the seed, patience, pleasures, put off the old man, put on the new man, renewed in knowledge, rewards of heaven, save your souls, Sholem Asch, shout Glory Hallelujah!, silence., slave, sleep inducing properties, slow to speak, slow to wrath, talk inflames anger, the breath of life, the Christian's life, the implanted word, the power to forget, the power to remember, the righteousness of God, the wrath of man, them's the breaks, trials, uncircumcision, ungodly decisions, Wednesday Wail, wickedness
James 1:19. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.
Oh friends, I’m so glad to be alive, especially on such a wonderful summer’s morn that I just wanted to jump for joy, click my heels, and shout ‘Glory Hallelujah!’
But fortunately, the wise One that dwells within me immediately cautioned that the first two actions would be somewhat foolhardy, given my precarious physical state. So I simply shouted ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ (smile)
What a bam bam it is when your body can’t keep up with your mind eh? But them’s the breaks! It’s what happens when you’ve lived a long and productive life and have finally reached the winter years. So we just have to grin and bear it.
And with Jesus Christ in our lives, there are so many other pleasures for us to enjoy than just the physical ones, that we really lack for nothing. All glory to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
And let me apologize now for the lateness of the Bit. It seems that the pain medication I took before going to bed this morning also has some sleep inducing properties, which made it difficult to get up at an earlier hour.
Now here is a li’l something, which I shared way back when, but is still very useful in these trying times. It’s from Sholem Asch (1880-1957), a London born dramatist and writer of Polish-Jewish background, who later settled in the U.S.
He tells us that: ‘Not the power to remember, but the power to forget is a necessary condition for our existence.’
And that’s quite true mih breddren, otherwise our minds would be so riddled with memories, and mostly the bad ones too, that our lives would be even more confused that they already are.
But thankfully many of us old fogies don’t have to worry about that condition of life, because in our advanced stage we automatically forget most things anyway. (smile)
And though it’s convenient to forget, we have to remember to follow the critical command and warning of our Bit, even in old age. ‘Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.’
And why is that you ask? Listen to James’ explanation that follows. ‘For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.’ (James 1:20) Yeh friends, uncontrolled anger and speaking have no place in the Christian’s life, because they lead us to ungodly decisions and consequently harsh repercussions.
Hear the scholars take on those verses. ‘1:19. This is a key verse because it expresses three topics that James develops later: hearing, verses 19-27; speaking, 3:1-12; and wrath, 4:1-12.’
‘1:20. Trials require silence and patience because talk inflames anger, and anger inflames talk. Anger also distracts from listening to God.’
There you have it friends, several good reasons for controlling talk and anger! And I guess it’s only right for us to continue listening to James on the subject of hearing.
‘Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity (abundance) of naughtiness (wickedness), and receive with meekness the engrafted (implanted) word, which is able to save your souls. (James 1:21)
And the scholars offer an interesting explanation to that verse. ‘1:21. Engrafted word might better be translated “implanted word” and may reflect Christ’s parable of the seed planted in the four different soils (Matt. 13:3-9). Both Christ and James focus on the proper hearing of God’s Word (Matt.13:13, 19-20, 22-23).
One needs to hear that Word, for it is able to save your souls. Though the phrase accurately describes the Word’s work of producing initial salvation, it is better in this context to understand it as the Word’s ability to preserve and mature the Christian’s life through trials.’
So anyway we cut it people, God’s Word is of the utmost importance in a believer’s life; both for producing our initial salvation and then keeping us on that straight and narrow path which allows us to grow in faith and trust in our wonderful Creator. Praise the Lord for His wonderful Word that leads and guides us safely on our earthly pilgrimage!
And it isn’t coincidence that Bruh Paul wrote some of those same things to the Colossians. ‘But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond (slave) nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.’ (Col.3:8-11)
Yeh friends, the believer is called to a much higher standard of living than the great unwashed. (smile) And hear Bruh Paul again agreeing with James on the power and benefits of the Word.
This while preaching at Antioch. ‘Men and brethren, children (sons) of the stock (family) of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent.’ (Acts.13:26)
My people, I implore us, to never forget that! Consequently, we can go home now truthfully and sincerely declaring our Wednesday Wail. ‘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!’
Let’s do it for Jesus nuh mih people! Much LOVE!
…a Christian’s earthly life contains difficulties…but the rewards of heaven…especially Jesus’ eternal company… totally compensate for them…
07 Mar 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abundance, Adam and Eve, be as God, beginning of time, consequences, disobeyed God, divination, eternal life, evil, fall of man, forbidden fruit, freely eat, friend, good, good for food, greed, Hananiah, heaven, idolatry, iniquity, Jeremiah, Jesus, leave all the consequences to Him, listening to God, little, LOVE, lust, make one wise, obey God, Paradise, promise, rebel against God, rebellion, rebellious, rush hour traffic, salvation, Samuel, Satan, Saul, share His love, stranded, stubborn, stubbornness, surely die, taught rebellion, the beloved of God, the friend of Jesus, the knowledge of good and evil, the serpent, the sin of witchcraft, things of the world, trust a lie, Tuesday Mantra, what peopel say about me, wisdom, your eyes shall be opened
1 Samuel 15:23. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft (divination), and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry…
‘Rebellion! Rebellion! Rebellion!’ That’s the pattern of behaviour currently taking place in our world friends. Man is rebelling against both God and man. You see it clearly in all our relationships. Nobody wants to follow the tried and true order, we all want to do our own thing, which is only causing us more problems than ever.
Even the weather is rebelling. Today in my area, in the first week of March it’s going to be something like 11 degrees Celsius. Hn! That’s certainly not a norm. Last year when I came back from Tobago around this time it was something like minus 7.
And I’m saying all of that just to make an excuse for the Bit being so late: my body rebelled against me this morning and refused to get up at a decent hour. (smile)
Yeh friends, the ole bod just slept right through the waking up hour! But to a certain extent I can’t give it wrong, for it spent almost two hours yesterday afternoon locked up in a cramped car in the rush hour traffic trying to get home.
Ah Lord eh! I don’t know how some people do it day in and day out nuh. Having waited an hour to see the doctor, I left the parking garage in the big city around thee thirty, but did not get home until five fifteen. I could possibly have walked home quicker.
And it’s a good thing I decided to stop for gas too, because at that rate I would have ended up stranded on the highway. So now you know why the Bit is this late. (smile)
And since we began by talking about rebellion, I thought it only fitting to continue the topic in our Bit, because it really is a big problem in our society, in fact has been since day one.
‘For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft (divination), and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry…’
Yes my fellow believers, we all know those words as coming from the prophet Samuel to Saul, the first king of Israel, when he disobeyed God and thus lost his kingship. Rebellion against the Lord God Jehovah is indeed a very foolish thing to do, for there will always be serious consequences to pay at some time or the other.
Listen to this incident from Jeremiah, where he talks to the supposed prophet Hananiah. ‘Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; the Lord hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie.
Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the Lord. So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.’ (Jer.28:15-17)
Yuh see friends, it’s not only those who actually rebel against God that meet a sad end, but also those who teach rebellion against God. And from the beginning of time, we have been paying for the most foolish rebellion ever: that of our forefathers Adam and Eve not listening to God and eating of the forbidden fruit.
‘And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.’ (Gen.2:16-17)
Oh my people, what’s so difficult to understand about that eh? You have oodles of fruit to eat in a paradise, where all you have to do is tend the garden and enjoy and exotic life. But no, mankind is so stubborn and rebellious and foolish that Eve allowed the serpent to trick her into eating the forbidden fruit.
In response to his question about what fruit they should or should not eat, Eve replied. ‘But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods (as God), knowing good and evil.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes (a desirable thing), and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.’ (Gen.3:3-6)
And thus occurred the sad and foolish fall of man! Adam and Eve never considered the abundance they had, but the little they did not have. And Satan uses that same trick on us even unto today, emphasizing the little we don’t have. And we still fall for it, through our lust and greed, consequently ignoring the abundance that we have been blessed with.
Ah friends, please don’t allow the foolish things of the world to make us rebel against our Creator. He has given us all that we can ever need down here on earth, plus the promise of salvation and eternal life with Him in heaven.
Please, please, let’s not throw it away, like our forefathers did, for some simple earthly pleasure or possession that’s not worth anything. Otherwise we’ll lose all the wonderful blessings of God, like they did.
Now let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra in all sincerity and truth. ‘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!’
Yes friends, let’s remember who we are and go out and behave in a suitable manner nuh, for that is wisdom untold. Much LOVE!
…the best advice…obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him… (Uncle Charles – Charles Stanley)
08 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool is considered wise, a little memebr, a man of understanding, a saved soul, a world of iniquity, ancient seals, anger inflames talk, batting our gums, believers in Jesus Christ, boasteth great things, born again, bridle, bridleth not his tongue, chains break, control, deceiveth his own heart, distracts, dr robert h schuller, draw near to hear, edifying, eventful day, evil, experience joy, faith, fool, footsteps of Jesus, heartache, hell, hold my peace, Hour of Power, ideals, iniquity, joy, keep thy foot, keeps silent, learn to know God, level of faith, listening to God, living a godly life, LOVE, my friend Jesus, of hell, on God's great earth, our worst enemy, Paradise, patience, pep in our steps, perfecting of the saints, Praise the Lord, principles, righteous, Satan, set on fire, share His love, shut my lips, silence is golden, silence., slow to speak, slow to wrath, spiritual and emotional walls, strife, swift to hear, talk inflames anger, the beloved of God, the body of Christ, the course of nature, the house of God, the righteousness of God, the sacrifice of fools, the tongue, the work of the ministry, the wrath of man, this man's religion is vain, trials, tripp off our tongues, trust, truth, Tuesday Mantra, unworthy children of men, useless, walk prudently, war
Ecclesiastes 5:1. Keep thy foot (walk prudently) when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear (draw near to hear, rather) than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.
All hail, my fellow believers in Jesus Christ! It’s a glorious Tuesday morning…Praise the Lord!
Yes friends, we’ve been granted another eventful day on God’s great earth! Wow! Isn’t He wonderful to us unworthy children of men? He surely is! That’s why we ought to give Him a lot of thanks and praise throughout the day.
And to do that, some of us might just need these words of encouragement from Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) from his Hour of Power Devotional. It’s titled ‘Learn to Know God.’
Please pray with me: ‘ Dear Jesus, I’ve got to know You better. Please help me! I can feel my spiritual and emotional walls crack. I can hear old chains break. I can feel my heart opening like a heavy old door whose ancient seals have just begun to break.
I can sense the footsteps of Jesus walking into my life. I am beginning to experience the joy of a soul that is being saved, a life that is being born again. Thank You, Lord! Life’s not fair, but God is good. Amen!’
Ah my people, when Jesus is walking in our lives there’s such joy in our souls, and such pep in our steps! For remember, ‘the joy of the Lord is our strength.’ (Neh. 8:10)
And to further raise the joy in our souls, the level of our faith and the pep in our steps this Tuesday morning, let’s declare our Tuesday Mantra with the utmost sincerity and belief.
As one 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!’
Yes mih breddren, it’s certainly a wonderful God we believe in and great Friend and Saviour we have in Jesus! Nothing in this world can beat it!
We just have to remember whose we are, and behave in a fashion suitable to their ideals and principles; basically living a godly life and sharing the LOVE of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
And the awesome advice in our Bit will surely help us to do that. ‘Keep thy foot (walk prudently) when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear (draw near to hear, rather) than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.’
Yeh friends, we’re still on that Bit because it covers such a wide area, especially where our mouths and our promises are concerned. We can either be righteous or evil with those two things. And James deals with them very nicely, obviously pointing us towards the righteous aspect.
Listen to him: ‘Wherefore my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. For the wrath of man worketh not (does not produce) the righteousness of God.’ (James 1:19-20)
And the scholars add this info to those verses. ‘1:19. This is a key verse because it expresses three topics that James develops later: hearing, verses 19-27; speaking, 3:1-12; and wrath, 4:1-12.’
‘1:20. Trials require silence and patience because talk inflames anger, and anger inflames talk. Anger also distracts from listening to God.’ So true friends, so true!
And later on in that same passage, James tells us in no uncertain terms: ‘If any man among you seem to be (thinks he is) religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain (useless).’ (James 1:26)
What indisputable truth! We can’t claim to be truly religious if we don’t know how, what and when to speak. The old adage that says ‘silence is golden,’ is very true on a lot of occasions.
We’d be better served by remaining silent than by batting our gums, for as Cousin Sol reminds us: ‘Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace (keeps silent), is counted wise (is considered wise): and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.’ (Prov.17:28)
And I pray: ‘O Lord please help me to hold my peace, to shut my lips, so that I will be considered a man of understanding, even though I’m a fool!’ (smile)
Ah friends, sometimes our mouths are our worst enemy, our tongues cost us more heartache than anything else. As James says: ‘Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter (forest) a little fire kindleth (sets on fire).
And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue (the tongues is so set) among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature (existence); and it is set on fire of hell.’ (James 3:5-6)
And the scholars explain: ‘3:6. The tongue is a system (world) of iniquity that sets on fire the whole course of life, and is even set on fire by Satan (cf.3:15).’
Yes precious people of God, the tongue is one of the smallest parts of our bodies, but it has unnatural control of the entire body. Since the beginning of time, our tongues have caused more war and strife than anything else, but we still can’t, or refuse to bridle them.
Thus our lives are oftimes turned topsy-turvy by the words that trip off of our tongues. But today, I implore us to take good care, to ask the Holy Spirit to help us keep silent and think before we talk, and then to only talk that which is: ‘For the perfecting (equipping) of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.’ (Eph.4:12)
If we successfully do that, then our lives and our world will surely become more a representation of paradise, than one of hell, as it currently is. Much LOVE!
…many of us would be better off…if we had no tongues…harsh…but true…
22 Aug 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a false witness, a word to the wise, adrenaline, anger, angst, at our peril, aura of love, be about the Lord's business, by our words, Christians, condemned, confidence, conquerors, constructive purposes, curses, death and life, deceit, disgruntlement, enthusiasm, evil, excited to greet the new day, foibles, frailties, friends, frustration, glorious kingdom, going to work, humble servants, ignore them, in the power of the tongue, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, judgement day, justified, lies, listening to God, LOVE, mass communication, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, nasty weather, negative behaviour, negative reactions, negatives, patience, peaceful, piercings of a sword, raise our spirits, refreshed, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, relaxed, renewed vitality, rest, righteousness., shall eat the fruit thereof, silence., slow to speak, slow to wrath, social media, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, swift to hear, talk inflames anger, technology, TGIM! Thank God it's Monday!, think before we talk, traffic jams, trials, truth, ungodly world, utilize the weekends, wake up devices, weary souls, wisdom
Proverbs 18:21. Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that LOVE it shall eat the fruit thereof.
And then it was Monday…with all the wake up devices going off around the world, and millions of people rolling over, muttering curses, steups’, chuhs, etc. in disgruntlement and frustration at the signal to get up and get ready for work!
What a sad state of affairs it is for the majority of the world’s population on a Monday morning; thinking about how lousy they feel, the traffic jams they will undoubtedly encounter, the nasty weather out there, the bosses and co-workers they have to put up with for another week, etc. etc.
Meanwhile, a handful of smart, peaceful, relaxed and refreshed individuals roll over, are excited to greet the new day, and simply declare: ‘TGIM! Thank God it’s Monday! Time to return to work and do my thing! Thank God for Mondays!’
For whatever reason that group doesn’t allow the many negatives to disturb them. Oh, I would like to say that they are a bunch of Christians, but I know that’s taking it a bit too far. (smile) But friends, until and unless we change our work systems, or utilize the weekends properly, preparing wisely for Monday, there’ll always be a lot of angst, anger, frustration and other negative reactions to getting up and going to work.
And the strange part is that the rest of the week doesn’t bring about such a rash of anger and disgruntlement as does Monday. Anyway, we working on it, and will eventually bring it down to a minority, but until then, let’s continue to sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to raise our spirits and encourage us to be up and about the Lord’s business. So let’s belt it out with as much enthusiasm as we can muster, remembering that our choirmaster, Jesus, expects us to put on a good show.
As one now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Ah mih people, that wasn’t too bad, but just barely average. Jesus wasn’t thrilled, but neither was He terribly displeased, in His wonderful way of understanding our foibles and frailties. Now let’s keep that adrenaline fuelling our motors as we go out to meet the enemy in battle, paying close attention to the very important words of our Bit. ‘Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that LOVE it shall eat the fruit thereof.’
Oh my brethren, my brethren, those are words of such importance in a Christian’s life that we ignore them at our very peril! Remember what Jesus said yesterday? That we will all have to account for our words come the judgement day, and that we’ll either be justified or condemned by them. (Matt.12:36-37)
So please, I implore us to be very careful with our words. Let’s stop and think before we speak. James puts it thus: ‘Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. For the wrath of man worketh not (does not produce) the righteousness of God.’ (James 1:19-20) So true my friends.
And the scholars expand on those two verses. ‘1:19. This is a key verse because it expresses three topics that James develops later: hearing, verses 19-27; speaking, 3:1-12; and wrath, 4:1-12.’
‘1:20. Trials require silence and patience because talk inflames anger, and anger inflames talk. Anger also distracts from listening to God.’ And not listening to God is something we surely don’t want to be guilty of as believers!
Now let’s listen to Cousin Sol from his contrasts of the wise and the foolish. ‘He that speaketh truth showeth forth (declares) righteousness: but a false witness deceit. There is that (one who) speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is (promotes) health’ (Prov.12:17-18) More words of absolute truth friends!
And the scholars tell us. ‘12:18. Words have the power to penetrate where no sword can touch; for good or for evil. A wise man uses his tongue for constructive purposes.’
Now the first sentence of the scholars’ explanation is ever so true! Words can hurt and cut us to pieces more than any sword can. However, the last sentence is unfortunately not true of our current society, for nowadays we don’t use words constructively; we don’t care what we say or to whom we say them, we wield them more like a sword, intentionally out to hurt others.
We don’t seem to consider the feelings of others in this age of technology and mass communication. And I believe those supposed areas of progress bear a lot of the blame for that negative behaviour, since we didn’t talk as much or at such length before they allowed us to do so.
And we’ll end there for today. But please, please my people, let’s take time to stop and think before we talk, because the words we speak here on earth, will definitely play a big part come the judgement day in heaven. Much LOVE!
…a word to the wise is sufficient…and Christians are supposed to be wise…
18 Dec 2012
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: blessed, dark places, faith, gladness, heart of darkness, highly faovured, incarnation, joy, light, listening to God, sadness, separation, the SON, wedding anniversary, wings of the morning, woman
Luke 1:28. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
Oh Friends, it’s one of those days when the ole fella had a busy yesterday, keep forgetting I’m not 25 anymore, (smile) then went to bed late, and had a hard time getting up this morning. But today’s also a very important day in the ole guy’s life; it’s my forty-first wedding anniversary! Wow! Yes mih people, forty-one years ago, the Duchess tied up my foot (smile) on a serene and sublime Saturday at St. Crispin’s Anglican Church in Woodbrook, Port of Spain, Trinidad. It sure was a fun day…what I remember of it! So thanks for all your congrats, but don’t think it was easy; interesting, yes; oftimes fun, yes; but nothing is easy for forty-one years. There have been many ups and downs, a couple periods of separation, but somehow or other, we always got back together again. I guess that was the Lord’s doing – and sometimes I question His wisdom in that respect. (smile) But Friends, overall, it has been good. And it seems like we’ll still be together for the foreseeable future. Only the Good Lord knows that though. Now here’s an interesting quote attributed to Jean Giraudoux (1882-1944), a French novelist, playwright and diplomat. It says: ‘Sadness flies on the wings of the morning and out of the heart of darkness comes the light.’ That’s undeniable truth my brethren! We see it happen all the time. The night, or merely being in a dark place, usually has us thinking morbid thoughts, or just being sad and blue, even when there’s no reason to be so. Even in times of sickness, we often feel sicker at nights. But oh brother, when the sun rises over that eastern horizon, it’s like a new day is born in our lives, and suddenly all the sadness, sickness, morbidity and every other evil thing just disappears. Oh Friends, it works in the same manner with Jesus! When you’re suffering and struggling with the temptations and evil forces of this world, your soul experiences darkness, negative thoughts and untrue images of finality. But once the SON rises in your life…oh what a beautiful day appears; joy, gladness and true positivity enter your soul! Your spirit sings and dances with pleasure when it encounters the wonderful Spirit of Jesus that comes to live within you, after He’s risen in your heart. Mama Mia! Then, and only then, can we truly say that we’ve seen the light! We become new people, look at life differently, and begin coming up over our problems instead of stagnating and suffering under them. Oh Friends, I could carry on in this enthusiastic vein all day, but we have a Bit to deal with, a most enthralling one today. ‘And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail (Rejoice), thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.’ Oh fellow believers, you know we constantly talk about the men of great faith listed in the Good Book, and tend to ignore the few women whose names are mentioned there. But some of the women had greater faith than some of the men. And the one I want to consider today is Mary, the mother of Jesus, whose faith I believe was only surpassed by her son’s. Just imagine this scenario nuh: You’re an ordinary teenaged girl in a backwater town called Nazareth, engaged to be married to an ordinary man named Joseph, a carpenter by trade. Your life’s simple and uncomplicated, without any great expectations, possibly just looking forward to marriage and raising a family. But then, one day, all of a sudden, out of the blue, an angel appears and greets you in that highly respected fashion. In the first place, many of us would be downright scared by the whole scenario and possibly run away, bawling our heads off in the process. But we see the strength of Mary’s character right off the bat. She doesn’t get all flustered and discombobulated. The Good Book simply says: ‘And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind (considered) what manner of salutation (greeting) this should be.’ (Luke 1:29) Then the angel explained the situation. ‘And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest (Most High): and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.’ (Luke 1:30-33) Now can you imagine somebody, angel or otherwise, telling you that two thousand years ago, when even to this day of great technological advances, it still takes the sperm of a man to mate with the egg of a woman to create a human embryo? And that doesn’t seem as if it’s ever liable to change. The only difference is that it’s no longer necessary for the man to actually and physically lie with the woman to create another human. We’d either run them out of town, calling them mad, or laugh them to scorn. But Mary’s reaction is quiet and thoughtful, without any fuss. And her one question is simple and very logical. ‘Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man (I am a virgin)?’ (Luke 1:34) Now that’s a very good question Friends, one that we’ll answer tomorrow. But in the meantime, please ponder Mary’s situation; that surprising meeting with the angel, and her calm reaction, then consider our own response under similar circumstances. There must have been a whole lot of unseen depth to Mary’s character for the Lord to choose her to bear His Son in human form. In the same way, our God is seeing a whole lot more to each of us than is physically visible, and that’s why He’s talking to us about all sorts of things. Most likely they’re not as big and memorable as Mary’s situation, but they’re all still very important to our lives and our doing His will. The problem is, are we receiving it with the calm, grace, trust and faith like Mary? Please, let’s ask ourselves that question today, then do whatever it takes to answer it with a resounding ‘YES!’ Therein lie the seeds of wisdom and greatness. Much LOVE!…when the Lord speaks to our hearts…what’s our reaction…
SCRIP-BITS 