23 Nov 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a LOVING Father, a pleasure to know God intimately, and now abideth faith hope love, assurance of God's love, Bible, born of God, Christ died for us, christianity, damnation, deepen my breath, dissenters, eternal separation, faith, give men for thee, God commendeth his own love toward us, God is LOVE, God so loved the world, have everlasting life, he gave his only begotten son, he that loveth not knoweth not God, heal broken bones, heaven, hell, hellfire, herein is love, holy spirit, increase my awareness of you, infinite patience, intimacy with god, Jesus Christ, know you all the more, lazing around, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, lead you to the abundant life, LOVE, LOVE is of God, loved thee with an everlasting love, mercy, no force more powerful than God's love, not reciprocated the Lord's love, not that we loved God but that he loved us, people for thy life, precious in my sight, quiet my soul, relax my muscles, salvation, set free those held captive by sin, sleeping in, slow my thoughts, stop the roaring seas, thank you for this tenderness, the depth of God's love, the faith journey starts, the greatest of these is love, the Holy One of Israel, the Lord's love song, the propitiation for our sins, truth, unceasing neareness, walk in faith, while we were yet sinners, whosoever beleives in him should not persih, wisdom
1 John 4:8. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE.
And now we’ve come to Saturday; our lazy-day Saturday, where most of us can do as we please, with little or no restrictions on time or effort. (smile) And it’s another damp and cloudy day, so that makes it even better for sleeping in and lazing around. I can’t complain either, because I did manage to get in a li’l lazy time despite the aches and pains crying out to get up and get some movement going in the ole body. But what else is new eh? (smile)
Anyway, let’s get to our most important matter right now, our Lazy-Day Saturday prayer. Please pray with me: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
And what a pleasure it is to know our Creator and Provider more intimately! There’s nothing like it in this world! Why? Because God created us for the express purpose of having intimacy with Him; a creation for Him to LOVE, and who would LOVE Him in return. And we see God’s LOVE highlighted all the way through His Word, with explicit scriptures like this: ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ (John 3:16)
Then there’s this: ‘But God commendeth (demonstrates) his (own) LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:8) Yes, instead of waiting for us to change, God’s LOVE was so great towards us that He just couldn’t wait any longer for us to turn ourselves around. And what about this scripture from the prophet Jeremiah? ‘The Lord hath appeared of old (from afar) unto me, saying, Yea, I have LOVED thee with an everlasting LOVE: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee.’ (Jer. 31:3) And as the scholars explain: ‘God’s LOVE for His people is accompanied by infinite patience.’
Yes, my fellow believers, God’s LOVE for His most important creation is unconditional, unending and unmistakable! And what about these most endearing words from the prophet Isaiah? ‘For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee (in thy place). Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable (honoured), and I have LOVED thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.’ (Is. 43:3-4)
That’s how much the Lord LOVED the people of Israel, and consequently all those who believe, trust and have faith in His Son Jesus Christ. Oh friends, the Bible is in fact the Lord’s LOVE song to us! All through it we see His LOVE rearing up on behalf of His people, especially in tough times. And John got it ever so right in his epistle. Just listen to this treatise on God’s LOVE nuh!
‘Beloved, let us LOVE one another: for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE. In this was manifested the LOVE of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4:7-11)
Oh my people, it could not be put any clearer or more straightforward than that! Unfortunately though, we have not reciprocated the Lord’s LOVE like we ought to. Instead, we’ve turned away from Him to other gods and man-made idols. Made Him so unimportant in our lives, that we’re even trying to eradicate Him from our society. But we know that will NEVER happen, for our God is the ONLY omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present Being in existence, and we cannot even make one move unless He allows it. And He will definitely not allow anyone else to take over the universe He so LOVINGLY created.
And because of His great LOVE for us and our stubborn, foolish and hardhearted, behaviour towards Him, He’s created a sanctuary for those who are wise and desire to have sincere communion with Him. It’s a place called heaven, where those who put their trust in His Son Jesus Christ will spend eternity enjoying the good and abundant life. However, for those who do not desire sincere communication with God, there’s another place called HELL, where those dissenters will spend eternity separated from Him. And if we’re wise, we’ll choose the first option, because the second is going to be pure hellfire and damnation!
Oh friends, God LOVES us because He simply LOVES us. As John says, God is LOVE, and thus can do nothing else but LOVE! And we’ll close today with this excerpt from an article on the subject of God’s LOVE found on the bible studytools.com website, which I believe very nicely explains it.
It says: ‘God absolutely LOVES you. It’s hard to get our minds around, but it is true. This is where the faith journey starts: understanding that God LOVES you. If you do not have an assurance of God’s LOVE, your faith journey will not last long. Fortunately, reading the Bible can help to strengthen your faith in God’s LOVE. There is no force more powerful than the LOVE our heavenly Father has for us, His children. His LOVE can move mountains, stop the roaring seas, heal broken bones and wounded hearts, transform lives, and set free those held captive by sin and shame. So great is his LOVE for you and me that he sent his only Son to die that we might live through him.
God is not an angry taskmaster who shows affection only when you succeed. He is a LOVING Father who will always LOVE you no matter what. Take time to receive the depth of his LOVE for you today. Allow his LOVE to heal you, transform you, free you, and lead you to the abundant life he has always longed to give. Read, meditate, and pray over these Bible verses about God’s LOVE as you walk in faith today.’
Oh my fellow saints, I certainly could not put it any better than that! So please, let’s do what it says nuh, get deep into God’s Word and understand just how much He really LOVES us! That’s wisdom to the nth degree! Much LOVE!
…and now abideth faith, hope and LOVE…but the greatest of these is…LOVE… (1 Cor, 13:13)
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
17 Aug 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's wisdom, a genuine desire for the well being of another, Bible, christianity, closer to God, deepen my breath, drift away from God, every one that loveth is born of God, faith, fellowship, god, God sent His only begotten Son, great is thy faithfulness, greedy, hang all the law and the prophets, he that loveth not knoweth not God, herein is love, his compassions fail not, hold your head and bawl, hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord, howl like a hyena, I may know you all the more, if God so loved us, increase my awareness of you today, it is good that a man, It is of the Lord's mercies that we're not consumed, Jesus, Jesus Christ, lazy, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, let us love one another, LOVE, love is God's greatest attribute, LOVE is of God, love is the greatest emotion, Love thy neighbour as thyself, mercy, negative news, not that we loved God but that he loved us, on these two commandments, power hungry, quiet my soul, reciprocated love, relax my muscles, run to God, s wisdom, sacrifice, sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins, slow my thoughts, strife-filled, Thank you Jesus, that we might live through Jesus, the Lord is good unto them that wait for him, the Lord is my portion saith my soul, the love of god manifested toward us, the sinsful pleasures of Satan, therefore will I hope in him, thou shalt love the Lord thy God, to the soul that seeketh him, True LOVE, truth, we ought also to love one another, wisdom, with all thy heart soul and mind, you're the Best
1 John 4:7a. Beloved, let us LOVE one another: for LOVE is of God;
And what a perfect lazy-day Saturday this is turning out to be; wet and cloudy, though somewhat humid, an excellent chance to just laze around and do nothing but laze around. (smile) I was able to enjoy some of it by staying in bed a li’l longer, only because I went to bed at a fairly late hour of the morning, so the ole bones didn’t have a chance to get creaky and cranky.
What a life! But it’s a good life, despite the many problems that do crop up, because we have our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to help us deal with them. And all God’s people said a loud and grateful: ‘Thank You Jesus! You’re the BEST! We LOVE You and praise your Holy Name!’ And that’s exactly how it ought to be! Therefore, in conjunction with that statement, let’s offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, in a sincere and heartfelt manner.
As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
Yes friends, that’s a prayer the Lord cannot refuse, simply because He LOVES it when we desire close communion with Him. It’s the reciprocated LOVE that He desires of us, of which we spoke yesterday. And it’s one of the major reasons He created us; to want to know Him as deeply as possible, and have His awesome presence constantly present in an overwhelming manner in our hearts, souls, bodies and minds. That’s why right now we’re feeling an increase of His godly presence moving in our receptive spirits. And thus, we ought to continue looking at scriptures that show the LOVE of Jesus, as well as LOVE for Him. (smile)
And I like this commentary that asks ‘What is true LOVE in Jesus?’ Then gives this reply: ‘True LOVE is a genuine desire for the well-being of another. It is holy, sacrificial, and other-oriented. A LOVE that we can only know through the One who is LOVE Himself. God commands His people to LOVE Him with all their heart, soul, and strength.’
So when the pretentious lawyer asked Jesus what was the great commandment, He obviously replied thus: ‘Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ (Matt. 22:36-40)
Yuh see people, God’s plan is all about LOVE; LOVE for Him, for ourselves and each other! That’s all He asks of us. That’s because LOVE is the greatest emotion there is, and God’s greatest attribute is LOVE! As John so wisely and rightly declares in his first epistle. ‘Beloved, let us LOVE one another: for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE!’ (1 John 4:7-8) And you simply cannot get away from the indisputable truth of that statement: God is LOVE; and LOVE is of God!!!
Then John continues: ‘In this was manifested the LOVE of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him. Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4:9-11)
Now that’s perfect logic my brethren! God showed His amazing LOVE for us by sending His Son Jesus to die on the cross at Calvary to pay for our sins. You simply cannot get any deeper or greater LOVE than that! So why is it so difficult for us to reciprocate that LOVE to God, and to also show it to our fellow humans eh?
It should not be that difficult if we take into account the great sacrifice that both the Father and Jesus made on our behalf. But being the whole set of negative adjectives we’ve become; lazy, greedy, sinful, entitled, ungodly, strife-filled, power-hungry, etc. etc. it’s no wonder we find it difficult to give LOVE to God, ourselves, and other humans. The sinful pleasures of Satan have become more important than the everlasting goodness of God.
And then we wonder why our world is in such a terrible state. The answer is very simple: there’s no real LOVE in our hearts, so how can there be any in our world? And it’s interesting, but also heart-rending, that we all watch the great amount of negative news with which we are bombarded every day, and we decry it, but do we do anything about it, even in our little sphere of the world, of our family, of our neighbourhood?
No! Because that would take too much energy and sacrifice on our part, and disrupt our comfortable, cozy, amenity-filled lives. But friends, the first thing to know about LOVE is that it calls for sacrifice! You cannot truly show LOVE until and unless you’re willing to sacrifice something for someone, which includes, God, yourself and your neighbours.
And please don’t think that you’re LOVING yourself when you buy up on credit all the bright and fancy baubles and bangles that the world offers, but which you cannot really afford. No, because when the time comes to pay for them, then you’ll hold your head and bawl, howl like a hyena, especially if they come and repossess the stuff. You LOVE yourself by taking your time, doing and buying what you can afford.
And these words on the amazing LOVE of God by the prophet Jeremiah in his Lamentations, are most excellent words for us to go home to. Please read with me: ‘It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.’ (Lam. 3:22-26)
Please my fellow saints, let’s spend a few moments on this lazy-day Saturday pondering those words of awesome truth, so that they can bring us where we ought to be; closer to God! Much LOVE!
…it’s a fool’s wisdom…to drift away from God…rather than run to Him…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
22 May 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new commandment I give unto you, all men shall know ye are my disciples, Bible, Christ died for us, christianity, darkenss, despair, dress in several layers of clothing, endure to the end, eyes fixed straight ahead, faith, for all creation, God commendeth his love for us, God is love - Love is God, God's love is boundless, halfway home, hands on the plough, herein is love, hope, if God so loved us, if ye have love one to another, in dying born to eternal life, in pardoning we are pardoned, In Touch Devotional, it is in giving we receive, Jesus, Jesus Christ, let me sow love, let yoru love flow through me, light, LOVE, love is all the world needs, LOVE is of God, love one another as I have loved you, make me a vessel, make me an instruemt of thy peace, not looking back, prayer, remove the boundaries beween myself and others, seek to console, sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins, summer time, thank God, the breath of life is still flowing through me, the Prayer of St. Francis, to a glorious future with Jesus, to love, to understand, walking dogs rather than children, we ought also to love one another, Wednesday Wail, where there is hatred, where there is sadness - joy, while we were yet sinners, whre there i injury -pardon, wisdom, without beginning
I John 4:11. Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another.
Summer time, summer time, glorious summer time! That wonderful time of year when we don’t have to dress up in several layers of clothing just go and put out the garbage! And even better, I can now sit on my porch in shorts and T-shirt and watch the many people going for walks, catching up on the exercise they missed during the winter. The only sad part of that is that more of those people are walking dogs rather than children. But if dogs are the new children, then who am I to say otherwise.(smile) But yuh better believe in this day and age, dogs are much more expensive to raise and keep than children.
Anyway, it’s too beautiful a day to harbour any ill feelings, so let’s get down to brass tacks with this prayer from the ‘Let Us Pray’ Section of this month’s In Touch Devotional. Please pray with me. ‘Father, how can your LOVE be boundless, without beginning, and for all creation? It’s beyond my understanding, but the fact remains – You are LOVE. LOVE is You. Make me a vessel, God. Remove the boundaries I’ve put between myself and others, and let Your LOVE flow through me – to my family, friends, and neighbours, to people on the margins and those in power, to strangers and enemies. In Jesus’ name, amen.’
Ah friends, what an interesting prayer! Our minds are too small to comprehend the height, depth, length and width of God’s LOVE for us. But we’re still ever so sure that He LOVES us, His greatest creation, with an unfailing and everlasting LOVE, despite our overwhelming disobedience and sinfulness. That’s why, as Bruh Paul writes to the Romans: ‘But God commendeth (demonstrated) his LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:8)
It could not be put any clearer than that my people. Although John in his epistle tries to do so, where he writes: ‘Beloved, let us LOVE one another; for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE. In this was manifested the LOVE of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that He LOVED us, and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4:7-11)
And that’s the plain and simple truth my brethren! If God LOVED us despite our sinfulness and ungodliness, we ought to also LOVE one another. And Jesus also made that very clear to the disciples and to us who decide to follow Him later on: ‘A new commandment I give unto you, That ye LOVE one another; as I have LOVED you, that ye also LOVE one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one to another.’ (John 13:34-35)
What part of that don’t we understand eh my fellow believers? Why then are the numerous denominations which make up Christ’s church so intensely resentful and even hateful to each other eh? No wonder the heathen don’t consider us true disciples of Jesus! If we can’t LOVE those who supposedly preach the same gospel and live in the same kingdom, under the same Sovereign Ruler, how can we LOVE others who live outside of that spiritual realm eh? No way! That means that despite all our talk about Jesus and all the hoopla we create, we’re not really doing very much to forward His kingdom here on earth because of all the ill will between us, His followers.
And that’s why I like it when the prayer above asks: ‘Make me a vessel, God. remove the boundaries I’ve put between myself and others, and let Your LOVE flow through me – to my family, friends, and neighbours, to people on the margins and those in power, to strangers and enemies…’
Yes friends, that’s exactly what we need in today’s ungodly and selfish world. And it reminds me of what we call the Prayer of St. Francis, or the Peace Prayer, which says: ‘Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow LOVE; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be LOVED as to LOVE. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.’
Now my fellow saints, that is what we call a comprehensive prayer; one that includes a little of everything. And it’s what we believers need to be doing consciously and constructively; LOVING, comforting and forgiving others like we are LOVED, comforted and forgiven by our heavenly Father. Anything less than that is disobedience and rebellion, and thus sin. So let’s wake up and smell the stench in our world nuh and set ourselves as followers of Christ to do a much better job than we’ve hitherto done!
Now, for those of us who are serious and sincere about living for Christ, let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Wednesday Wail letting the whole world know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. 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 the promise is that if we endure right to the very end with Jesus, then that future will be even more glorious than we can ask or imagine. So let’s plan to meet there nuh…right at the very end! Much LOVE!
…LOVE is all the world needs to set it right…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
16 Apr 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a Christ-like attitude, a new theatre of strife, as for me and my house, be grateful, be the salt of the earth, Bible, bring about positive change, called me to his eternal glory in Christ, Christian, christianity, Christians are action oriented, elect God-fearing leaders, god, hearts and souls, hurry, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, If God be for me who can be against me, Jesus, Jesus Christ, LOVE, LOVE is of God, make me strong firm and steadfast, one one cocoa full basket, share His love with my neighbours, sincere action figures, something good is going to happen to me, something good is going to happen to me today, step up to the plate, suffered a little while, the beloved of God, the dustbin of history, the foolishness of man, the fullness of life in Christ, the God of all grace, the light of the world, this is the day the Lord has made, this too shall pass, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, turn up their noses, we will rejoice and be glad in it, we will serve the Lord, will Himself restore me, wisdom, worry
Psalm 118:24. This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Then it was Tuesday, and another uncomfortable, disturbing Monday has been flung into the dustbin of History! There’s also no doubt that spring has seriously sprung now! Yes! We had some good showers in the mornings over the weekend, but by afternoon the sun had come out strong and vibrant, actually spreading some warmth, and yesterday was a particularly beautiful spring day, despite it being Monday. (smile) Today is supposed to be another of those beautiful days with temps in the high teens.
So let’s be grateful and thank our great God for all the blessings He’s bestowing on us, by gratefully declaring (yesss!!!): ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Ps. 118:24) And while we’re at it, why don’t we declare a few more very useful acclamations, like: ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’ (Phil. 4:13) And what about this most useful one: ‘If God be for me, who can be against me? NOBODY!’ (Rom. 8:31)
Then there’s this non scriptural acclamation, but every bit as true: ‘Friends show their LOVE in times of trouble, not in happiness.’ (Euripides) And that’s the gospel truth! Oh how much better our world would be if supposed friends would show up in times of trouble and help, instead of running away like scared chickens! Next up is this wonderful acclamation first proclaimed by Joshua. ‘As for me and my house, we WILL follow the Lord; that’s for sure!’ (Josh. 24:15)
Now what about this gem: ‘And the God of all grace, who has called me to his eternal glory in Christ after I have suffered a little while, will Himself restore me and make me strong, firm and steadfast. Glory to God!’ (1 Pet. 5:10) Now that one is a bit long and somewhat tough to master both in memory and deed, but if we can ever get it right in our hearts and souls, our lives will be much better attuned to the vagaries and eccentricities of this world, because we’ll know without a doubt, that whatever comes against us is only for a time, and that our great God, will, in His time, restore us to the fullness of life in Christ Jesus.
Unfortunately though, a lot of people turn up their noses at acclamations, but that’s just the foolishness of man, because when we acclaim the scriptures or anything that is good and true, we reinforce the goodness and strength of God within ourselves, so when tragedy or trouble strike, we have enough confidence in our system to allow us to handle it with a good, Christ-like attitude. Finally, there’s this acclamation that sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) likes to say: ‘Something good is going to happen TO me today! Something good is going to happen THROUGH me today!’
And that’s exactly how it ought to be my brethren! Good things happen to us, and good things happen through us, for that’s the will of God. He delights in working through His wonderful followers. That’s why Jesus kept telling us to LOVE each other, for LOVE is of God. And if we’re showing true, brotherly LOVE to one another, then we’re behaving like God, and that’s what it’s all about…behaving like Christ as much as possible. And with our world in a sad and sorry state of strife, war, greed, hunger, poverty, sickness and natural disasters, we desperately need Christians to step up to the plate and be the salt of the earth and light of the world that Jesus expects us to be.
Oh my fellow believers, no one else is going to change our disastrous world if we don’t. Please, let’s understand that. Change, or rather positive and productive change will only come if we supposed Christians get up off of our lazy, comfortable, entitled fannies and do the work necessary to bring about positive change. We’ve got to stop the plentiful talking for which we’re so famous, and instead become serious and sincere action figures, who are getting things done, like Christ desires!
It’s sad to see our world degenerating, deteriorating more and more with each passing day. For every day we hear about a new theatre of strife, and none of the old ones are closed, as well as starvation and sickness somewhere else in our world of plenty. What’s wrong with us eh? And the sad part is that many of our leaders who are promulgating the negative stuff claim to be believers in Christ Jesus, to be Christians. But how can we reconcile their warlike and evil actions with a supposed Christian nature eh? No way!
The trouble also stems from the fact that too many of us believers claim we can’t do anything about the worldwide situation, and that might be true to a certain extent, but what about electing true God-fearing leaders eh? And what about the negative situations right in our own neighbourhoods? Now don’t tell me that there aren’t any, because there are oodles of fixable problems in each and every neighbourhood, which Christians could be helping to alleviate, if we so desire, and thus making our little part of the world better. But, with our sad attitude of indifference, we all sit and wait for someone else to fix the problems.
However, what did some wise someone once say. If we want peace, let it begin with me. Yes friends, anything we truly desire has to begin with us! We each have to develop the habits of movers and shakers in our own areas, if we ever expect to see positive change. And we don’t have to start with big changes, small ones will do. For as my Jamaican people tell us: one one cocoa full basket. And it certainly does. Each small change we make builds up in number, till we have a full basket of them.
So please my fellow saints, let’s get up and get a move on nuh, let’s start taking back our beautiful world from the evil doers, who are just bent on destroying it, and sending both it and us down to Hades with the evil one. And that’s not an acceptable option. But it’s only if we wake up and start smelling the roses, will it ever change. End of Sermon. (smile) Now let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock stock and barrel.
As one sincere voice: ‘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 my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’
And having made that proclamation, we are now bound to go out and share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with those we meet, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…whether it’s in peace or war…actions always speak louder than words…and Christians are action oriented people…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
11 Jan 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, common sense, curse, eternal life, faith, fear hath torment, forgiveness, God is LOVE, he who loveth God love his brother also, holy spirit, Jesus Christ, LOVE, LOVE is of God, love made perfect, Love makes the world go round, made perfect in love, material wealth, negative word, no man hath seen God, perfect love casteth out fear, reconciliation, sacrificed His sinless life, self-control, self-discipline, spread the good news of Christ's gospel, the light of the world, the propitiation for our sins, the salt of the earth, the year of the Love Revolution, Thursday Blessings, wisdom
1 John 4:21. And this commandment have we from him (Jesus), That he who LOVETH God LOVE his brother also.
Ah friends, I can’t believe that it’s already Thursday, and the eleventh day of this new month and year. But it does seem as though time intends to go just as quickly this year as it did in 2023, and we just have to be ready to go along with it as speedily as it does, else we’re going to miss out on a whole lot of important things, times and places. (smile) That means we need to get our acts together as soon as possible; quit all laziness and procrastination, while sincerely petitioning the Lord for wisdom and discernment to know His holy will, and the strength to action it in His perfect timing.
Remember, this is the year of the LOVE Revolution, where we Christians turn things around in a big way; where we truly become the light of the world and the salt of the earth, give up all the foolish dreams of material wealth and power and concentrate on spreading the good news gospel of Christ, who sacrificed His sinless life so that we could have forgiveness, reconciliation and eternal life with Him and the Father! Wow! What a titanic year this 2024 will be in the annals of Christianity! It will be like the awesome beginning of the church on Pentecost Day where the amazing power of the Holy Ghost was displayed and people flocked to become believers in Christ!
Yes, my fellow believers, that’s the kind of heroic year our Lord and Savour expects from us. And there really shouldn’t be any need for Jesus to expect big things from us this year nuh, because common sense alone ought to tell us that if we don’t make a big splash this year, then our world will most likely explode or implode with all the anger, hatred, violence and evildoing that’s currently cycloning in it! So, it’s also in our best interest to ramp up our efforts and make the LOVE Revolution a reality. For you know where true LOVE exists, hatred and violence and all the other negative attributes of the enemy cannot take root.
And as I was just considering where to go from here, I opened the Good Library, and lo and behold it opened on John’s first epistle where he admonishes us to LOVE one another. And I said ‘Yes!’ that’s perfect, because we cannot conduct a LOVE Revolution without having LOVE for ourselves and each other! However when I read it, I found it too long and worthwhile to paraphrase and cut up, so I decided we should simply read the whole thing. (smile) So please read with me.
‘Beloved, let us LOVE one another; for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE, In this was manifested the LOVE of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him. Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4:7-11)
Now friends, there is no refuting that solid logic! God LOVED us first and sent Christ to save us, so the expectation that we would LOVE Him in return, and also LOVE our fellow man, is very reasonable. Then John continues with his logical reasoning. ‘No man hath seen God at any time. If we LOVE one another, God dwelleth in us, and his LOVE is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.’ (1 John 4:12-13) And what a wonderful gift is the power of the Holy Spirit, which leads and guides us in the will of God! Second only to the gift of Jesus himself!
John then testifies: ‘And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.’ (1 John 4:14) Oh my people, John wasn’t talking from hearsay, but from what he had actually seen and experienced. He had actually walked with Christ, the Son of God on this earth. That gives him good reason to expound on the subject. ‘Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the LOVE that God hath to us: God is LOVE; and he that dwelleth in LOVE dwelleth (abides) in God, and God in him. Herein is our LOVE made perfect (is LOVE made perfect among us), that we may have the boldness in the day of judgement: because as he is, so are we in this world.’ (1 John 4:15-17)
Yes friends, LOVE is the greatest attribute there is, and therefore it ought to be a dominant characteristic of believer’s hearts. Then, if God dwells in us, and we in Him, we ought to have total assurance of our positive position, and not fear the upcoming day of judgement. That’s why John could therefore continue: ‘There is no fear in LOVE; but perfect LOVE casteth out fear: because fear hath (involves) torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in LOVE.’ (1 John 4:18)
Now here are some explanations from the scholars on that rather important verse. They say: re ‘fear hath torment: Abject fear of God is based on the dread of punishment. But God’s LOVE for us renders such dread obsolete. Fear is still a part of the Christian walk in the sense of profound reverence, the unwillingness to violate God’s trust in us. Believers need not fear eternal rejection as a result of God’s judgement (John 5:24), but this does not mean a Christian’s approach to God is to be casual and flippant.’ Of course not! But we don’t have to fear what happens in the end times.
John then reasons: ‘We LOVE him, because he first LOVED us. If a man say, I LOVE God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that LOVETH not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he LOVE God whom he hath not seen?’ (1 John 4:19-20) Now that’s a very good question my brethren! And if we follow John’s logic, then there are many liars among the believers. For many of us claim to LOVE God, but don’t have the time of day for our fellow believers, couldn’t give a hoot about them. Now that’s not the LOVE of God.
That’s why John ends with this verse. ‘And this commandment have we from him (Jesus), That he who LOVETH God LOVE his brother also.’ (1 John 4:21) That’s just how it ought to be my fellow saints. And if it isn’t, then we need to go to the Father and ask for help to fix it. Now, let’s go home declaring (yesss!!!) our Thursday Blessings, so that we can activate those undeserved blessings the Lord has so generously bestowed on us to do His earthly work! As one voice! ‘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 since we’ve activated those blessings, it’s now our duty to go out and use them to help others come to Christ! Much LOVE!
…LOVE is what makes the world go round…from God to us…and from us to our fellow man…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
14 Nov 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: at the bottom of the heap, beloved if God so loved us, beloved of God, Consider This, God is LOVE, God sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins, God's knowledge cannot be separated from His love, hurry, in god's eyes, In Touch Devotional, Jesus Christ, lasting peace, looking upward and climbing upward are two different things, LOVE, LOVE is of God, Love makes the world go round, out of shame, prefer to keep hidden, see the sun come shining through, share His love with my neighbour, the chambers of your heart, the top of the mountain, trust my friend Jesus, truth, Tuesday Mantra, up from the valley floor, we ought also to love one another, while we were yet sinners christ died for us, worry
1 John 4:11. Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another.
And this Tuesday in mid-November, seems to be one of those cloudy-sunny days where any number can play. But thankfully, it doesn’t appear that there will be any untoward precipitation to mar the dry day. And though I still haven’t fully recovered from the severe bout of covid, I do believe I am getting stronger with each passing day! Thank the Lord for that, because at the bottom of the heap is a tough place to be, and though from there you can only look upward, looking upward and climbing there are two entirely different things. Anyway, with the Lord’s help, we’re slowly climbing up from the valley floor to the top of the mountain, and one day soon, we’ll get there and see the sun come shining through. Glory to God!
Now here’s this interesting piece from this month’s In Touch Devotional that simply says: ‘Consider This.’ Please read with me. ‘God knows and understands everything about this moment – from what’s happening in the halls of government to the drama unfolding in the chambers of your heart. What a comfort that is for those of us who understand so little – who are so often confused and overwhelmed. But if God knows everything is an uncomfortable thought, it may be a sign something is off in your relationship with Him.
Perhaps you’ve chosen to LOVE something or someone who harms you physically, spiritually, or both. Maybe there’s a part of you that you’d prefer to keep hidden out of shame, fear, or an unwillingness to let go. Whatever the case, it’s important to know this: God’s knowledge and LOVE cannot be separated. God is LOVE! There’s no point in hiding. And there’s nothing to lose. In fact, there’s everything to gain – freedom, joy, and lasting peace.’ And all God’s people said a loud and grateful ‘Amen!’
Yes friends, it’s amazing how many of us still run from God, and try to keep stuff hidden from Him. But that’s a fool’s wisdom my brethren, for our God is omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present, meaning He’s all powerful, all knowing and all seeing. There’s nothing that happens in this world, in this universe that He created, that He doesn’t know about. As the reading says, whatever happens in the halls of power, or in the deep recesses of our heart, God knows them completely. So it doesn’t make sense to try and hide stuff from Him.
Just imagine it nuh, a supposed Christian hiding stuff from the Almighty, the One who created him and controls every aspect of his life! How ironical! And furthermore, as the reading says, you cannot separate God’s knowledge from His LOVE, because God is LOVE! And the sooner we realize that, the better off we will be. John puts it quite simply and clearly in his first epistle, when he writes: ‘Beloved, let us LOVE one another: for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE.’ (1 John 4:7-8)
It couldn’t be any clearer friends. Anytime you start talking about LOVE, you ought to have God in your heart, and anytime you begin talking about God, you ought to have LOVE in your heart, for they are inseparable, one cannot exist without the other! So it’s obvious in these blasphemous times that all is not right with us, when we bandy about the name of God and the word LOVE, using them indiscriminately, without proper judgement.
And John continues to explain the LOVE relationship between God and man. ‘In this was manifested the LOVE of God toward us, because God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that He LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation (atonement) for our sins.’ (1 John 4:9-10)
What a marvellous God we serve and worship my fellow saints! A God, who LOVED us so much, that He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ to earth to die to atone for our horrible sins. Which other Deity would ever dream of doing something so remarkable and LOVING eh? NONE whatsoever! And Bruh Paul stated it quite clearly in his letter to the church at Rome, when he ascertained: ‘But God commendeth his LOVE (showed His own LOVE) toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:8)
Wow mih brethren! What a magnificent God is the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! Even to the point of putting aside His feelings, His heartbreak, to allow His Son to die for us while we were yet sinners. And although He was God, that was no easy feat to accomplish. Remember how Jesus cried out on the cross when He felt the weight of the world’s sin on His shoulders and knew that the Father’s face was turned away. ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ (Matt. 27:46)
It was the ONLY time that the Father and Son had ever been separated, and all because of the sin debt Christ was paying on our behalf, because He LOVED the Father and wanted to be obedient to Him. So you see friends, it’s all about LOVE! From the very beginning of creation it was all about LOVE! The LOVE of the Father and Son for us and our LOVE for the Triune Godhead. No wonder John writes in his epistle: ‘Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4:11) And that’s the indisputable truth my people! LOVE ought to be the number one emotion flowing through us, to each other and to God! End of Sermon.
Now, let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel. As one sincere voice: ‘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 my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’
Now, let’s go out and do just that nuh; trust our friend Jesus and share His LOVE with those we meet, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…LOVE is indeed…what we need…to make the world go round…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
05 Oct 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a clanging cymbal, a new commandment I give unto you, ambassadors of Christ, by this shall all men know that ye are my disiciples, catching their second wind, endure to the end, faith hope charity (love), forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, have not Love, I am become as sounding brass, I'm not turning back, LOVE, love covers a multitude of sins, love does not brag on itself, love is like a blanket, LOVE is of God, Love never fails, love one another as I have loved you, love rjeoiceth in the truth, love suffereth long, love the Lord with all thy heart soul and mind, Love thy neighbour as thyself, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my hands are on the plough, thank God, the breath of life is still flowing through me, the greatest of these is love, to a glorious future with Jesus, unique traits, Wednesday Wail, without love I am nothing
1 Corinthians 13:8a. Charity (LOVE) NEVER FAILETH…
Now, today being Wednesday, some of us are having the mid-week blues, while others are catching their second wind, readying themselves for the homestretch journey, down to the finish line of Friday. It’s interesting how people can have different approaches to the same work week. But I guess that’s because the Lord made us all with the same outward kind of body, but different and unique traits within it. So, although we may look the same, we don’t necessarily think or behave the same.
However, in two important aspects the Lord expects us to be in total agreement and therefore similar behaviour. That’s in our LOVE for Him and our LOVE for our neighbours. Remember when Jesus was asked which was the greatest commandment in the law, how He broke them down to just two basic ones: ‘Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto the first, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ (Matt. 22:37-40)
Yes friends, LOVE for God, ourselves and our neighbours encapsulate all the other stuff that we’re supposed to do or not do. Meaning that true LOVE will always lead us to do what is right, so we don’t have to worry about the individual commandments like stealing, adultery, covetousness, murder, taking God’s name in vain, etc. etc. And why is LOVE so wonderful eh? Because it’s like a blanket, it covers everything we do. For as Peter says: ‘And above all things have fervent charity (LOVE) among yourselves: for charity (LOVE) shall cover the multitude of sins.’ (1 Pet. 4:8)
Now there, Peter was quoting Cousin Sol in Proverbs, where he wisely declared: ‘Hatred stirreth up strifes: but LOVE covereth all sins.’ (Prov. 10:12) And that’s the gospel truth my brethren! LOVE is indeed a mighty tool, used first of all for not committing any wrongdoings against God, and also our fellow man. However, when that inevitably happens, (smile) LOVE should also be invoked in the forgiving of those wrongs. We go to God with repentance, asking for His forgiveness. Then we forgive those that do us wrong. That’s when we behave the most like God; when we forgive others of any wrongs they’ve committed against us.
And believe me friends, that act of FORGIVING is just as important as LOVE. Why? Because it shows, it manifests LOVE. And Jesus made it quite clear in what we call ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ when He taught us: ‘And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.’ (Matt. 6:12) Then, a couple of verses later He spelled it out in black and white, so that there could be no misunderstanding. ‘For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive your trespasses.’ (Matt. 6:14-15)
It’s as simple and straightforward as that my people. You forgive, and the Lord will forgive you. You don’t forgive, you won’t be forgiven. It’s not rocket science. And you won’t believe how many of us supposed believers refuse to forgive each other, but are quick to run to God for forgiveness. Hn! The Lord must shake His head in amazement whenever that happens.
Anyway, let’s get back to how LOVE works, or is supposed to work in true believers. As John so wisely says in his first epistle: ‘Beloved, let us LOVE one another: for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE. In this was manifested the LOVE of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him. Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that He LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4: 7-11)
Wow! What an argument for LOVE! But it makes complete sense. God LOVED us so much that He sent Christ to die for us, so that we could be saved from our sins, therefore we have a responsibility to LOVE God and each other, just the way the Father and Christ LOVE us. And Jesus said it to us in no uncertain terms. ‘A new commandment I give unto you, That ye LOVE one another; as I have LOVED you, that ye also LOVE one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one to another.’ (John 13:34-35)
So you see my fellow saints, the defining trait of discipleship is LOVE for each other. Unfortunately though, that trait is sadly lacking throughout the world, and more sadly within the church of Christ, with all its divisions, disunity and scandalous behaviour. No wonder the world isn’t taking supposed Christians seriously, and many are turning away from God because of the bad examples that we are setting. And all I can do is plead with us, that if we truly LOVE Jesus, to wake up from our slumber, or whatever is causing our blasphemous behaviour and do better. Because that’s the ONLY way others will come to Him. We are His agents and ambassadors on this earth, and as we show our colours, others will respond accordingly.
And we can’t end this talk on LOVE without sharing this other great treatise on LOVE, this time by Bruh Paul to the Corinthians. He writes: ‘Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity (LOVE), I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling (clanging) cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity (LOVE), I am nothing.
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity (LOVE), it profiteth me nothing. Charity (LOVE) suffereth long, and is kind; charity (LOVE) envieth not; charity (LOVE) vaunteth not itself (does not brag on itself), is not puffed up (arrogant). Doth not behave itself unseemly (rudely), seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil (keeps no account of evil); Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth. Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity (LOVE) NEVER FAILETH…’ (1 Cor. 13:1-8)
Yes friends, there is more, but I chose to stop there because those two simple words, in a nutshell, tells the entire story about LOVE: it NEVER FAILS! Why? Because it is of God; it’s His greatest attribute, and our God, like His amazing LOVE, NEVER FAILS! So please, let’s remember that nuh, let’s remember the overwhelming importance of LOVE in our faith, our world, and our lives, and begin showing it more in our actions.
And for those of us who are sincerely trying to show LOVE for God and each other, let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. So, 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!’
Now here’s an important reminder: if we endure right to the end with Jesus, then that future we’ve just talked about will be even more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine. Wow! What encouragement to endure! See you then…at the end! (smile) Much LOVE!
…and now abideth…faith…hope…charity (LOVE)…these three…but the greatest of these is charity (LOVE)… (1 Cor. 13:13)
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
30 Aug 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: an immense shower of love, and now abideth faith hope love, beareth all things, believeth all things, But God commendeth his love toward us, Christ died for us, doth not behave itself unseemly, endureth all things, envieth not, forgive us and heal our land, hatred stirreth up strifes, hear our prayer, hopeth all things, humble servants, Jehovah Rapha, learn to enjoy, let us love one another, LOVE, Love - the great mover and shaker, love covereth all sins, LOVE is of God, Love never fails, love suffereth long, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, negative producing emotions, sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins, sincere repentance, steal the joy and peace of Jesus, the God who heals, the greatest of these is love, the penultimate day, turn from our evil ways, while we were yet sinners, wise guidance and direction
Proverbs 10:12. Hatred stirreth up strifes: but LOVE covereth all sins.
Here comes Monday, here comes Monday, ringing in the penultimate day of August! And with the end of August, our summer weather will soon fizzle out to nothing. But be it hot, cold, or in between, I believe the important thing is for us to learn to enjoy whatever kind of weather we may experience, once it means that we are still alive, and still enjoying the wonderful life that Jesus died for us to have!
And please note that I said, ‘learn to enjoy,’ for that kind of thing does not come naturally. We have to make a conscious decision to not let it steal the joy and peace we find in Jesus, who is our strength, and enables us to overcome every circumstance that comes against us. And with the sad and angry state of the world, I believe today is a rather appropriate time to consider these wise words of Cousin Sol: ‘Hatred stirreth up strifes: but LOVE covereth all sins.’ (Prov. 10:12)
Oh my people, I doubt that there’s ever been a time in our world when we have needed LOVE more desperately than right now! The anger, greed, jealousy, resentment, hatred and all the other negative producing emotions are currently at an all-time high. And only an immense shower of LOVE will, or can stop it from further destroying our world. That’s because LOVE is the greatest attribute of our great God Jehovah; the attribute that caused Him to send His Son Jesus to earth to die for our sins.
As the Good Book so truthfully recounts: ‘But God commendeth (demonstrated) his LOVE toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:8) And it is ONLY LOVE that will keep us from doing further damage to our world and to each other. Why is that you ask? Because LOVE is the perfect antidote for all negative emotions and reactions! So let’s see what the scriptures have to tell us about that marvellous thing called LOVE nuh.
Bruh Paul puts it this way to the church at Corinth in what we refer to as the LOVE Chapter: ‘Charity (LOVE) suffereth long, and is kind…envieth not…vaunteth not (does not brag on) itself…is not puffed up (arrogant), Doth not behave itself unseemly (rudely), seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil (keeps no counts of evil); Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things…never faileth.’ (1 Cor. 13:4-8)
Oh my, my…LOVE is certainly the great mover and shaker! That’s why Peter could confidently declare to the church: ‘And above all things have fervent charity (LOVE) among yourselves: for charity (LOVE) shall cover a multitude of sins.’ (1 Pet. 4:8) And that’s the gospel truth friends; if we have sincere LOVE for each other, it will clean up so many of our wrongful thoughts and actions.
And we can never talk about LOVE in the scriptures and leave out these immortal words of John from his first epistle. ‘Beloved, let us LOVE one another; for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE. In this was manifested the LOVE of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4:7-11)
Matter fix friends! Story done! (smile) So all that’s left for us to do now is to inculcate that godly attribute of LOVE into our daily lives, so that we can lessen the hatred and strife that’s engulfing our world. And yes, I know that’s sometimes difficult to do, but again, if we truly have Jesus in our hearts, and we seriously desire to live for Him, then, as we said earlier on, we can do whatever we need to do, through His awesome strength and power. And we can begin right now by going to Him in prayer and laying all of our problems before Him, asking for His divine help.
So as one strong voice, let’s offer up our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to heaven nuh. ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems.
Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.
And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
Now friends, please remember that the Lord’s answer will pivot entirely on our keeping those promises we’ve just made. Much LOVE!
…and now abideth faith, hope, LOVE…these three…but the greatest of these is…LOVE… (1 Cor. 13:13)
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
24 Jul 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a mindset of love, a new commandment I give unto you, an early morning flower, an ugly caterpillar to a beautiful butterfly, another blessed day in the life, But God commendeth his love toward us, by this shall all men know, Christ's redeeming presence, covenant love, God sent His son, God's perfect and infinite compassion, hypocrites, if ye have love one to another, in terms of love of God self and neighbour, like burnt toast, LOVE, love is an action word, LOVE is of God, love means comittement and action, love one another as I have loved you, LOVE the Lord with all our hearts, Love thy neighbour as thyself, opening to the sun, thank you heavenly Father, the moral life can be summed up, to be the propitiation for our sins, unconditional LOVE, which is the great commandment, while we were yet sinners christ died for us, without the love of Christ you're nothing, ye are my disciples
John 13:35. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one to another.
Saturday, oh Saturday! Another blessed day in the life! Thank You my heavenly Father, for it is only with Your divine help and protection, your awesome grace and mercy, that I awoke this morning and can put one foot in front of the other! Without You, I’d just be like burnt toast, without any good use, only waiting to be thrown in the garbage. But when You proclaimed Your amazing and unconditional LOVE for me, life just blossomed, like an early morning flower gracefully and gratefully opening to the sun, like an ugly crawly caterpillar being miraculously transformed into a beautiful, colourful butterfly!
Oh Father God, with such a blessed, secure and comforted life, how can I not LOVE You with all my heart, mind body and soul eh? That’s why Your most wonderful Son, Jesus, when asked ‘Master which is the great commandment in the law?’ quoted the words of the Old Testament Covenant. ‘Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and prophets.’ (Matt. 22:36-40).
And that’s the indisputable truth my fellow saints! LOVING our heavenly Father, our Most High God Jehovah is the number One action that’s called for in our lives! And then we need to LOVE those around us in the same manner that we LOVE ourselves. That obviously means that the action, emotion and mindset of LOVE is ever so important in our lives. So important that Jesus, before His crucifixion said to the disciples: ‘A new commandment I give unto you, That ye LOVE one another, as I have LOVED you, that ye also LOVE one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one to another.’ (John 13:34-35)
Oh my people, once again Christ reiterated the utmost importance that LOVE ought to play in our lives, especially those who claim to be His disciples, His followers, His ambassadors and agents! And as one commentary on the Great Commandment from the LoyolaPress Website explains: ‘Jesus teaches that the moral life can be summed up in terms of LOVE of God, self, and neighbor.
The New Testament understanding of LOVE is based on the Old Testament understanding of covenant LOVE, which is that God’s steadfast LOVE will never waver. The Christian who cooperates with the Holy Spirit will not waver in his or her LOVE for God. This is a LOVE of commitment and action to a better personal relationship with God. It shows a true appreciation of how much God LOVES the person as an individual — as well as the person’s willingness to serve the neighbor.’
Yes my brethren, the three most important words there are ‘commitment and action.’ Those are the backbone of LOVE! We have to be committed and then put that commitment into action, because LOVE is not merely a spoken word, but even more importantly an ACTION word! For you cannot say that you LOVE and don’t have action to back it up. But that’s just how many of us in this evil and ungodly world do it, even supposed Christians. We talk a good talk, but our actions don’t show any real LOVE!
Remember Jesus said that people would know us as His disciples if we showed LOVE to each other. But you can check out any Christian congregation and the amount of dislike and resentment you’d find would be unbelievable. And John in his first epistle reminded us of that godly action that’s necessary amongst believers. ‘Beloved, let us LOVE one another: for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE.
In this was manifested the LOVE of God towards us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4:7-11)
Oh friends, we couldn’t have a better reason for LOVING God, than His action of showing how much He cares for us by sending His One Son to die for us. And the thing is that God cared for us so much, as Bruh Paul states to the church at Rome: ‘But God commendeth (demonstrated) his (own) LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:8) Imagine that nuh! We did not have to change first before He LOVED or saved us. But the Lord stepped out first. He showed that He was seriously in LOVE with us by acting on His words and sending Christ to die for us.
So why is it so hard for us to treat each other decently eh? And yes, LOVING each other doesn’t necessarily mean dying for each other, although that’s a possibility, but simply being thoughtful of and caring for others, especially those of the faith. And that’s why the heathen laughs at us and consider us such amazing hypocrites when we talk about LOVE, because we don’t treat each other in a Christlike or LOVING manner. So why would they want to be like us eh? We ourselves are the biggest detriment to Christ’s church by the evil and ungodly way so many, too many of us behave.
And I want to close with this important explanation from the scholars, re 1 John 4:7. They say: ‘In context, John is not saying that everyone who LOVES is somehow a Christian, whether they trust in Christ or not. He makes it clear elsewhere that true knowledge of God entails right belief about Christ, as well as right response to God, including LOVE of others. Mere human LOVE apart from Christ’s redeeming presence and motivation falls short of LOVE in its fullest dimension as a human response to God’s perfect and infinite compassion (cf. 1 Cor. 13).’
That means you can have all the LOVE in the world, as the world defines it, and don’t have Christ, then you’re still lacking in true LOVE! And I guess you all have realized by now that once again I did not receive any quotes this past week from our friend Anselm. Please, let’s pray that he is all right, and will soon resume his task of aspiring to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Much LOVE!
…regardless of how many gifts you possess…if you don’t have the LOVE of Christ…you’re nothing…
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13 Jan 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a frightful state, a future and a hope, a new day, angry, better late than never, bounden duty, Christ's redeeming presence, compassion, confused, deprave, divine purpose, For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, God is always good, halfway home, hands on the plough, hateful, hatred stirreth up strifes, have not Love, lost, LOVE is of God, Love never fails, Love thy neighbour as thyself, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, names not in the obits, not turning back, sounding brass, the first great commandment, thou shalt love the Lord thy God, though I speak with the tongues of men, thoughts of peace and not of evil, tinkling cymbals, to a glorious future with Jesus, to give you an expected end, turbulent times, Wednesday Wail, when ye shall search for me, with all of your heart, with all thy heart soul and mind, without me ye can do nothing, ye shall seek me and find me
Jeremiah 29:13. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
So a new day has dawned, and we’re still alive to tell about it! That means there’s a reason why; a purpose for our names not being in the obits. Glory to God! Let’ seek that reason, that purpose nuh my people, why the Lord has us on the planet in these turbulent times. Yes, my fellow saints in Christ, we were made and placed here especially for this moment, this opportunity and occasion to fulfil His divine purpose and plan concerning our lives. And it is our bounden duty to enquire of Almighty God, our Creator, what that purpose and plan entails so we can diligently pursue it.
And we know it will never be a bad plan, because our God is always good, but since sin abounds in our world, there will be troubles and adversity involved in some form and some area of our lives. Hear how the prophet Jeremiah characterizes God’s plan for us. ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).’ (Jer. 29:11) But His plans don’t just unfurl before us with no sense of interest and/or activity on our part. No sir! Here’s what He further says: ‘And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.’ (Jer. 29:13)
Now Jesus reiterated that when asked what was the great commandment in the law. ‘Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.’ (Matt. 23:37-38) And that’s the cut-tail part of this whole life my brethren! Too many of us are either not seeking the Lord at all, or we’re not doing so with all of our heart, mind, body and soul. No wonder we’re so confused, so lost, depraved, angry and hateful and our world is in such a frightful state.
Oh friends, when are we going to wake up and truly learn that without God in our lives, our lives are not worth a whole lot eh? It’s only with Him in the lead are we ever, and can we ever be truly fulfilled. Jesus said it quite plainly: ‘I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:5) I don’t know how else He could have said it for us to understand nuh people. It as clear as day: if you don’t have Jesus and He doesn’t have you, then your life’s worthless!
Please note how many rich and powerful people, who supposedly have it all are still basically miserable and unhappy. All their earthly possessions don’t satisfy a certain hunger that we all possess in our souls; that hunger which is for God, and until He comes and fills that void in our lives we’ll never be completely satisfied. Yeh friends, our God’s not stupid yuh know. Oh, He gave us free will and all that, but He also made a li’l empty space in our hearts and souls that will always yearn for Him, and can only be filled with His divine presence.
That’s why, try as hard as we can, we can never run away from Almighty God! He’s continually monitoring us, has us on His radar 24/7. So please, let’s stop running from Him and instead run to Him through His Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ nuh. It’s the only thing that makes sense in this turbulent and unstable world. Yuh think if we were keeping the first two commandments…oh, Jesus threw in this one for a lagniappe: ‘And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ (Matt. 23:30-40)
Yes, friends, if we were sincerely seeking God and LOVING our neighbours as ourselves, do you think our world and consequently our lives, would be in such an awful mess? No Way Jose! Another major problem we have besides not seeking and LOVING God, is that so many of us don’t LOVE ourselves either. So how can we LOVE others if we don’t LOVE ourselves eh? And that doesn’t mean in a narcissistic manner. Oh my people, it’s all about LOVE! As Cousin Sol says in Proverbs: ‘Hatred stirreth up strifes: but LOVE covereth all sins.’ (Prov. 10:12)
And as Bruh Paul informed the church at Corinth on the way of LOVE: ‘Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity (LOVE), I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling (clanging) cymbal…Charity (LOVE) suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not (does not brag on) itself, is not puffed up…Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things. Charity never faileth…’ (1 Cor. 13:1,4,6-8)
Oh mih people, mih people, that wonderful thing we call LOVE, NEVER FAILS! No, it doesn’t! Why is that you ask? I believe John gives us the basic answer in his first epistle. ‘Beloved, let us LOVE one another: for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE.’ (1 John 4:7-8) Yes friends, to know true LOVE, one must know God; and to truly know God, one must know LOVE! For that’s whom God is; that His most outstanding trait.
No wonder Bruh Paul put it so nicely and so succinctly: ‘And now abideth faith, hope, charity (LOVE), these three; but the greatest of these is charity (LOVE).’ (1 Cor. 13:13) No getting away from that friends; LOVE is indeed the GREATEST! And when we talk about LOVE here, we’re not talking about mere human LOVE, but that which comes from having Christ’s redeeming presence in our lives, cause basic human LOVE falls far short of God’s perfect and infinite compassion.
Well I’ve done my best to convince you, hope I got through. (smile) So let’s go home now declaring (yippee!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our most wonderful position in Christ. As one strong, 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 we don’t need to be reminded that if we endure to the end, that that future will be even brighter than we can ask or imagine. (smile) Much LOVE!
…God made the world with LOVE…so that we all could enjoy LOVE…with Him…and with each other…
P.S. We’re a tad late because I had to go out and do some blood work this morning. But better late than never. And it’s oh so goodddd! (smile) Much LOVE!
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