18 May 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a convoluted sentence, according to his riches in glory, all for our benefit, answer to life, bounden duty, cease from anger, delight thyself also in the Lord, destined for destruction, don't have to hurry, don't worry, fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body, Fret not thyself over evildoers, have Jesus walking our walk with us, hell bound, his mercy endureth for ever, I am the beloved of god, if god be for us who can be against us, if God is for us who can be against us, in god's eyes, Jesus is the answer to everything, LOVE, my God shall supply all my needs, no one can take that from me, no weapon formed against you shall prosper, not what I do, not what I have, not what people say about me, nothing is impossible for God, O Give thanks unto the Lord, of whom shall I be afraid, Rest in the Lord, Satan, share His love with the world, the best example of rebellion against God, the heritage of God's servants, the Lord is my light and salvation, trust in the Lord and do good, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, We can do all things through Christ, what shall we then say to these things
Romans 8:31. What shall we then say to these things eh? If God be for us, who can be against us?
So then mih people, as we move on to another bright sunshiny day in God’s great universe, this one called Tuesday, tell me nuh, how yuh feeling today eh? (smile) Yeh, I know it’s a convoluted sentence, but so is life, and we all must answer to life. So, let’s hope we all feeling fine nuh, as we walk this crazy and confusing earth in these crazy and confusing times. But most of all, I hope that we all have Jesus walking our walk with us!
Now that’s the answer to everything! And why is that you ask? Because Jesus IS the answer to everything! Leh me show you why nuh. In the first place, the Good Book tells us that nothing is impossible to Jesus! That means everything is possible with Him! Then as the Good Book also says: ‘We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.’ (Phil. 4:13) And yet again, it tells us: ‘But my God shall supply all our needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:19)
Wow mih bredrin! So it’s only logical that if Jesus could do everything, and strengthen us to do anything, as well as provide for all of our needs, then we don’t need nothing or nobody else but Jesus! Oh praise His mighty name! That’s why the psalmist so powerfully proclaimed: ‘O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy (LOVING-kindness) endureth for ever.’ (Ps. 107:1)
And Bruh David says it even more powerfully. ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?’ (Ps. 27:1) And just in case you don’t the answer to those two questions, here it is: ‘NOBODY!’ Believers ought to fear no other human being when Christ is in our corner.
Remember what the prophet Isaiah said on the Lord’s behalf, as he spoke of the Lord’s everlasting LOVE for Israel? ‘No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgement thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage (the inheritance) of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of (from) me, saith the Lord.’ (Is. 54:17) So what’s there to fear eh?
As Bruh Paul said to the church at Rome: ‘What shall we then say to these things eh? If God be for us, who can be against us?’ (Rom. 8:31) There again we have it my faithful brethren; once we have the Creator of the universe looking after us in the form of His Son Jesus, then nobody or nothing can touch us! And Bruh Paul cemented his argument with these words: ‘He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us good things?’ (Rom. 8:32)
Mamacita! How much more scripture do we need to convince us that Jesus is indeed the way, the truth, the life and the light and we should not fear what mankind can do, but put all our hopes, dreams, faith and trust in Him? Jesus said it loud and clear: ‘And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.’ (Matt. 10:28) Yes mih people, the only Being that believers ought to fear, is Almighty God Himself; the ONLY ONE who can destroy both our bodies and souls!
But strangely enough, it seems that the Lord God Almighty, our Creator and Provider, is the living being we are least afraid of in these modern times of high technology. That’s because we foolishly and fearfully kowtow to men and their evil desires, while we don’t keep God’s commandments and live the way He desires of us. We are even desperately trying to rid our society of Him! So friends, if men can’t save our souls or offer salvation, and God can do both, as well as destroy us, where is the wisdom in our current behaviour eh?
I hope that these majestic and wise words of Bruh David help us to understand the dire situation in which we’re currently enveloped. ‘Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (feed on his faithfulness). Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass.
And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgement (justice) as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices (schemes) to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil (for it only causes harm). For evildoers shall be cut off (destroyed): but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.’ (Ps. 37:1-9)
Now my fellow saints in Christ, that’s about the best advice we can find all in one place in the Good Book. It is wisdom of eternal proportions, so please, please, let’s accept it wholeheartedly nuh. Remember it’s all for our benefit, and neither Satan nor the evil men that follow him can do a blooming thing to help us when it comes to salvation and eternal life, only Jesus can! So let’s concentrate on kicking Satan and his evil minions out of our world nuh, instead of Almighty God. That’s the wise thing to do.
And for those of us who are already engaged in the fight, let’s go home declaring (oh yeah!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, telling the whole world who and whose we are. All together now: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
And having sincerely said all of that, our bounden duty now is to go out and generously share the awesome LOVE and friendship of Christ with those who don’t know Him. Much LOVE!
…Satan…the best example of rebellion against God…hell bound and destined for destruction…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
14 May 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: be careful for nothing, break our resolve, bring backsliders back to your fold, confusion and havoc of Covid 19, drown out all anxiety and worry, embrace your love and compassion, evil tentacles, faithful believers, Friday chant, friendship, fruit of the Spirit, gospel truth, in everything by prayer and supplication, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, LOVE, not a bed of roses, omnipotent help, passeth all understanding, practicing what I preach, praise is the hardest thing of all, put up a good fight, racial strife, read your Bible, rest from my sorrow, restoring faith in you, set them free, setting good examples, stand strong and live for Jesus, take the tests over and over, thanksgiving, the after-effects of covid, The Hardest Thing, the living truth, the peace of God, this sinful world, unexpected storm, victorious saints, wake up and smell the coffee, water in the wilderness, wise guidance
Philippians 4:7. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
So what’s up this Friday morning friends? I guess some of us are hard at work, while others are drifting around, suffering from the after-effects of covid. But please, please, my people, whatever we do, or whatever ‘sufferation’ we’re currently going through, let’s not allow covid and its evil tentacles to break our resolve to stand strong and live this life for Jesus!
We need to put up a good fight against it, and we can only do so if we have Jesus in our corner. The world is fighting a tough battle with several things at the same time, but as believers in Christ, sanctified as His church, we are ever so privileged to have Him battle alongside us with a faithful promise of eventual victory!
But to gain that victory, we have to do our part in the partnership, that’s read and meditate on His word, keep His commandments, and spread LOVE and the other eight fruit of the Spirit all around us, so that others will want to join our band of strong, powerful and victorious saints. Only when others see us standing strong, being the salt of the earth and the light of the world, shining forth like a beacon set on a hill, despite the trials and tribulations we’re facing, will they ever contemplate coming to Jesus and getting some of that same peace, LOVE, friendship and gospel truth to set them free from this sinful the world.
And I believe that this poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, can help us stand up strong this Friday. It is called ‘The Hardest Thing.’ So please read with me: ‘O God In these crisis days Of piercing pain And emotional fatigue Do a brand new thing in me. Give me water in the wilderness And streams in my desert. You have promised to be my God Through all my lifetime. Surely You will keep Your word! As You promised Give me rest from my sorrow And from my fear and from the bondage that binds me. One thing more, dear Lord: Enable me to praise you When to praise Is the hardest thing of all.’
And isn’t that the living truth? We need to praise the Lord even when times are tough and we don’t feel like doing it, or just can’t get up the wherewithal to do it. It’s the number one thing in our living for God; praising and glorifying Him. As Bruh Paul so wisely wrote to the church at Philippi: ‘Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:6-7)
Ah mih people, it’s only when we go to God in prayer and pour out our hearts to Him, while offering up thanks and praise at the same time, that the wonderful peace of God will come into our souls, and drown out all the anxiety and worry that’s permeating them. Our circumstances may not necessarily change, but we will be better able to handle them. And that’s what Jesus promises. With Him living and working in us, we are enabled to handle the world and its sinful and evil ways with a peaceful and quiet mind and spirit. Now isn’t that something wonderful to aspire to?
I certainly think so, and I have the peace of mind to prove it. No, my life is not a bed of roses, in fact because I am considered a teacher of the word, I am tested more than the normal person, to see if I’m adhering to, or practicing what I preach. (smile) And some days, before I’m even finished writing the Bit, I have to chuckle because the Lord will throw up something I’ve just written about and test me with it. Sometimes I pass the test…sometimes I don’t. But the Lord knows the state of my heart and helps me to come up higher in the tests I fail. And as Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) likes to say, with God, there are no downgrades, but you do keep getting to take those tests over and over until you pass them.
Now here is the Bible Promise attached to our poem. It comes from Jeremiah, as he talks about the restoration of Israel. ‘Then shall the virgin (maidens) rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together (as well): for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.’ (Jer. 31:13) Now isn’t that a mighty encouraging scripture? But of course! It’s one of the many promises our God has made if we are obedient to His word. And I’m sure we’ll all agree that that situation isn’t currently happening in our world to the extent needed, so no wonder our world is in constant upheaval.
But if we want peace and understanding to flourish in our time, we need to turn to God in prayer and thanksgiving. And my brethren, there’s no better time to do that than right now. So let’s offer up our Friday Chant in all sincerity and sense of purpose nuh. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and the racial strife is causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks.
And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
The next step my fellow saints, is for us to begin acting like faithful believers and setting good examples. Much LOVE!
…the only way to find true peace…read your Bibles…pray and give thanks…every day…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
10 May 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a believer in Christ, a future and a hope, a name anove every other name, a trite but true observation, baptizing them, be not overcome of evil, examples work more forcibly than precepts, forgive us and heal our land, forgiving and gracious God, good news of the gospel, hear and answer our prayers, Henry Fielding, humble servants, I am always with you, in the name of the Father, Jehovah Rapha, Joseph Andrews, LOVE, make disciples of all nations, mass confusion, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, monkey see monkey do, new mercies and compassions, overcome evil with good, salvation, sincerely seek your face, teach all nations, the christian motto, the God who heals, the Great Commission, thoughts of peace, to give you an expected end, wise guidance and direction
Matthew 28:19a. Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations,
Awright friends, it’s Monday, so let’s be up and at ‘em nuh! It’s a new day, with new mercies and compassions; a new work week for those still with jobs to go to. And even if you don’t have a paying job in the world, and you are a believer in Christ, you still have something important to do each day in His name.
What’s that you ask? As always, Jesus spelled it out loud and clear for us before He ascended back up to heaven. ‘All power (authority) is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt. 28:18-20)
That’s what we call ‘The Great Commission!’ Yes, my fellow believers, after His resurrection, Jesus was given total power over both heaven and earth. As the Good Book tells it: ‘Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of (those) things in heaven, and (those) things in earth, and (those) things under the earth. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil. 2:9-11)
So you see Jesus wasn’t lying when He told the disciples He had all authority in heaven and earth. It was therefore in His power to command them to go and spread His gospel, the good news of salvation which He had imparted to them, all over the world, to the very ends of the earth. That way, all the earth would know of the mercy, forgiveness and eternal life available through belief in Him.
And I like how the scholars characterize the Great Commission. They say: ‘Christianity is not represented here as the mere reverential devotion of disappointed men who honour their martyred leader. Here is a far different scene. The triumphant, living Lord sends forth His ambassadors to proclaim His gospel throughout the world. The Great Commission is not just and order but a pronouncement of victory by the risen Saviour through His disciples.’
Wow! Yuh hear that mih people? The Great Commission is a pronouncement of victory by the risen, Living Lord!! Glory be! The only problem is that we His disciples, His ambassadors, His agents, His representatives, or whatever we choose to call ourselves, need to go out every day and proclaim that victory to whomever we meet! That’s the ONLY way they will know about it!
And that’s why I said at the beginning, even if you don’t have a worldly job to go to today, as believers in Jesus, you always have something important to do; that’s spread the good news of His victory over Satan, over hell, death and the grave, and His wonderful promise of salvation and eternal life to all who sincerely accept Him as Lord and Saviour!
So please, let’s not think that our lives are being wasted if we don’t have physical jobs, we always have a spiritual job to perform for Jesus. To be living examples of His goodness and mercy, so that others can see the wonderful relationship we enjoy with Him, and also come to desire that wonderful relationship. We can’t always preach people into accepting Jesus, but we can always lead them to Him by the life we live. And that’s all He’s asking of us.
As the opening lines of the old classic book ‘Joseph Andrews’ by Henry Fielding, published in 1742 state. “It is a trite but true observation that examples work more forcibly on the mind than precepts.” That’s indisputable truth. Or as the old people would say, ‘Monkey see, monkey do.’ We just seem to live more by what we see than what we hear. That’s why many of us got licks as children, because we didn’t follow our parents’ advice: ‘Do as I say, and not as I do.’ And it’s only human nature to want to do what others do, especially if they tell us not to do it. (smile)
So please my brethren, let’s remember that our heavenly Father has a purpose and a plan for all of our lives, which include remaking us into the image of Christ, and also spreading His gospel around the world. That’s why He said through the prophet Jeremiah: ‘For I know the thoughts that I think towards 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) And that future and hope are all wrapped up in Christ and His good news of salvation.
Now, what would Monday be like if we didn’t offer up our Monday Morning Battle Hymn eh, especially in these very trying and troubled times? (smile) So, as one strong and sincere voice: ‘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, it’s all up to us to show God that we really mean what we just prayed. Much LOVE!
…the Christian motto…be not overcome of evil…but overcome evil with good… (Rom. 12:21)
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
07 May 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a means of restoring faith, be responsible and safe, bibleknowledge.com website, Covid-19 virus, embrace your love and compassion, Friday chant, God's anointing, heavy amuunition, icing on the cake, interpretation of tongues, it is the same God which worketh all in all, joy peace, kindness, LOVE, make a positive difference, Michael Bradley, not an easy task, one mighty sanctified soldier of Christ, our current worldwide predicament, our most potent tool, patience, prayer, racial strife, self-control, speaking in tongues, the fruit of the Holy Spirit, the gift of faith, the gift of prophecy, the gifts of the Spirit, the manifestation of the Spirit, the presence of the Holy Spirit, the word of knowledge, the word of wisdom, there are diversities of operations, to profit ALL, wake up and smell the coffee
1 Corinthians 12:6. And there are diversities (various kinds) of operations (activities), but it is the same God which worketh all in all (all things in us).
It’s a grey looking day in my neighbourhood, but I’m sure the spirits of true believers are riding high because of the presence of the Holy Spirit of Christ that’s leading and guiding us. And all I’m trying to say there, is that our outer circumstances should not always be a measure of our inner status. That with Christ in our lives, as Lord and Saviour, we ought to be flourishing even when things are not looking so good on the outside. And a particularly good example of that is our current worldwide predicament that’s causing so much sickness, death, strife and upheaval.
But through it all, followers of Christ Jesus are expected to stand up strong and make a positive difference in some form and fashion. And our Leader knows that is not an easy task, but a very doable one, since He’s already given us all we need to do what He requires of us. That includes the Fruit of the Holy Spirit, the nine attributes we receive when we live by its guiding – LOVE, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-control. (Gal. 5:22-23)
Now that’s plenty to fight this evil and godless world with. But added to all of that is also what we call the Gifts of the Spirit. Those are roughly nine more different gifts, given to different believers to do their earthly ministry. They include – the Word of Knowledge, the Word of Wisdom, the Gift of Prophecy, the Gift of Faith, the Gift of Healings, the Working of Miracles, the Discerning of Spirits, Different Kinds of Tongues, the Interpretation of Tongues. I think it best though, to let Bruh Paul give us some basic explanations.
He says: ‘Now there are diversities (various kinds) of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations (ministries), but the same Lord. And there are diversities (various kinds) of operations (activities), but it is the same God which worketh all in all (all things in us).’ (1 Cor. 12:4-6) Yes friends, there are all sorts of gifts, activities, and ministries, but they all stem from the same source, the Holy Spirit of God.
‘But the manifestation (or gift) of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal (All).’ (1 Cor. 12:7) And it’s especially important for us to note that my fellow believers: whatever gift we’ve been given is not just for our benefit, but for the benefit of ALL! Unlike the fruit of the Spirit, we don’t have ALL the gifts of the Sprit. Some have one, or some, and others have different ones.
As Bruh Paul continues: ‘For to one is given by the Sprit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit. To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same spirit. To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers’ (different) kinds of tongues (speaking in tongues); to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing (distributing) to every man severally (individually) as he will.’ (1 Cor. 12: 8-11)
Ah mih bredrin, with the Fruit of the Spirit, and the Gifts of the Spirit, we believers are certainly wired for battle and eventual victory over this sinful world, provided we use those tools the way we ought. And I like how Michael Bradley puts it in his article on the bible-knowledge.com website. ‘For the record, we feel that the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit are much more important than the 9 gifts are. As the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit have to do with God imparting part of His divine nature into the core of our personalities to help make us into a much better and holy people.
God’s ultimate aim for all of us is our sanctification in Him, and part of that sanctification process has to do with the Holy Spirit Himself transmitting 9 specific divine qualities and attributes into our personalities.’ Then He seems to quote someone else: ‘But if the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit are the cake, then the 9 gifts of the Holy Spirit are the icing on the cake. Put these two together, and allow God to work with a believer with both sets of these 9 fruits and 9 gifts. And you will have one mighty sanctified soldier of Jesus Christ, as the 9 gifts of the Holy Spirit will give you some serious heavy ammunition to have at your disposal as you walk with God’s anointing in your daily life.’
I couldn’t put it any better friends – with all that ammunition at our disposal, we ought to win whatever war in which we become involved. So today, as the world falls apart around us, let’s use our most potent tool nuh; prayer, to ask our great God for His divine help to halt the scary proceedings that have us wrapped up in much fear and anger. Therefore, as one voice, let’s raise up our Friday Chant to high heaven, sincerely pleading for release from our current demons.
‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and the racial strife is causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets.
So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways.
And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Now, my people, it’s up to us, to show the Lord that we are truly faithful believers, by using all the gifts with which He’s so generously endowed us to help make our world a better place. Much LOVE!
…God will not do His part in restoration…until we do our part…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
06 May 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: contemned the counsel of the Most High, courage, creativity, curse, divine protection, faith, favour, generously share our blessings, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good, glorify His holy name, God is the judge, he delivered them, his mercy endureth for ever, in the name of Jesus, let the redeemed of the Lord say so, LOVE, magnificent and magnanimous God, man's first responsibility, negative word, new mercies and compassions, offer up unto God thanksgiving, promotion, prosper, renewed breath of life, self-disicpline, sick and strife filled world, succeed, their soul fainted in them, they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, they rebelled against the words of God, Thursday Blessings, to praise God
Psalm 107:6. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
Give it up for Thursday friends! Give thanks for the renewed breath of life flowing through us, with the Lord’s new mercies and compassions, fresh off the line, made especially for today! It is certainly an immense pleasure and privilege to do life with Jesus on another new day! Oh, glory be my people! Therefore, like the psalmist of old, we can most definitely declare (steups!) in grateful appreciation: ‘O Give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy (LOVING-kindness) endureth for ever.’ (Ps. 107:1)
Yes, my faithful brethren, we ought to be continually pouring out our thanks to the Lord God for His unending goodness to the children of men! I hate to think what would become of us if His mercies and compassions were not always available to us, despite the inherent sinfulness in our souls. And Psalm 107 is such a magnificent acknowledgement of God’s goodness to mankind that we going to look through it and cull some wonderful scriptures from it.
Here is the first one: ‘Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy.’ (Ps. 107:2) And yuh better believe that is what we ought to be crying out in loud voice and sincere appreciation my brethren, because the Lord went out of His way to redeem us from eternal separation and destruction by sending His sinless Son to die on the cross to atone for our abominable sins! Now isn’t that something to be proud of and everlastingly grateful? It surely is! So why aren’t we proud of Him, and shouting out to all and sundry His wonderful mercies eh?
Because we are a bunch of proud and arrogant ingrates! And why do I say so? Just listen as the psalmist continues. ‘And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south. They wandered in the wilderness is a solitary (desolate) way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses. And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.’ (Ps. 107:3-7)
Yuh see that mih people, when Israel found themselves in difficulty from their gross disobedience, they cried out to the Lord and He saved them from their problems. And I like how Asaph puts it in Psalm 50 – God is the judge. Talking about sacrificial offerings of animals, he speaks on God’s behalf. ‘If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fullness thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Offer up unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the Most High: And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.’ (Ps. 50:12-15)
Yeh friends, that’s how the redeemed of the Lord ought to behave! No wonder the author of Psalm 107, takes issue with us and sadly declares (spelled it wrong there too): ‘Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness (LOVING-kindness), and for his wonderful works to the children of men.’ (Ps. 107:8) We should have no problem in doing that nuh mih bredrin. But unfortunately, we seem to have just such a problem.
And here’s why the psalmist tell us to give thanks and praises to our great and wonderful God. ‘For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron (prisoners). Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned (despised) the counsel of the Most High:’ (Ps. 107:9-11)
Oh precious people, those words speak directly to our situation right now. We stubbornly and arrogantly rebelled against God, trying to kick Him out of our society! And what happened? ‘Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help.’ (Ps. 107:12) Any fool can see the obvious resemblance there to our current society, where we are suffering all kinds of problems and the more we try to solve them in our own strength, the greater the mess and confusion we’re making.
So what’s the answer eh? It’s obvious friends: ‘Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder (broke their chains in pieces).’ (Ps. 107:13-14) Yuh know, it still boggles my puny mind, that in all the troubles that we currently facing in this sick and strife filled world, very few of us, and none of the powers that be, are even considering calling unto the Most High God Jehovah for help. We’re only concerned about doing it in our own strength.
But what about the God of our fathers eh? Have we forgotten so quickly how good He was to them when they called out to Him in troubled times? It certainly seems so. But friends, please believe, that our problems will not be solved until we turn back to the God of our fathers, and do like the psalmist says: ‘Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness (LOVING-kindness), and for his wonderful works to the children of men!’ (Ps. 107:15)
And now that we have set us straight on that matter, (smile) let’s go home declaring (oh yeah!!!) our Thursday Blessings, which our magnificent and magnanimous God has seen fit to bless us most generously with to do His earthly work. In one loud and sincere 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 has 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!’
Oh my faithful believers, we are ever so blessed, that we can’t truly appreciate it! However, let’s go out now and generously share all those wonderful blessings with others who so desperately need them nuh, for that’s what Jesus desires of us! Much LOVE!
…man’s first responsibility…is to praise God… to give Him thanks…to glorify His holy name…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
05 May 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a state of turmoil and uncertainty, at the foot of Christ's cross, be not afraid or dismayed, cast all our cares on god, desperation and anxiety, endure to the end, fear and confusion, I am halfway home, I'm so glad to be alive, in the waiting arms of God the Father, Jehoshaphat, keep your eyes steadfastly on Christ, LOVE, mid-week crisis, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, neither know we what to do, Nobody can possibly help me, not focusing on the past, not turning back, one place of safety, our eyes are pon thee, raise the level of our faith, standing achingly helpless, Stay with God, stumbling through confused days, thank God, the battle is the Lord's, the breath of life, the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit, the Lord has given me cause to rejoice, to a glorious future with Jesus, tossing through sleepless nights, we have no power, Wednesday Wail, wisdom of the ages
2 Chronicles 20:12b. …neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.
And then it was Wednesday; the mid-week relief moment, the time when we were just getting reaccustomed to the new work week. But that was then…now, Wednesday is the mid-week crisis moment, when we’re wondering how and if we are going to make it through the rest of the week. Life has changed so drastically and unexpectedly during the past year that everything is in a state of turmoil and uncertainty.
But yuh know what friends, in all the desperation and anxiety, fear and confusion, there is ONE place of safety for all of us, one place that has never, and will never change. That is at the foot of Christ’s cross, or in the waiting arms of our heavenly Father, or in the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit. It simply means that our great God is the definitive place we must turn to for refuge from anything, or anyone, that comes against us in this earthly life.
And these words from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin magnificently describe the process. The piece is titled: ‘Nobody Can Possibly Help Me.’ And as true believers in Christ, deep down we know that is not true, but it’s just when troubles keep coming relentlessly at us, we tend to lose the faith we need to carry us through the moment.
But listen to what Ms. Calkin writes: ‘How wonderful! You can shake hands with a king. His name is Jehoshaphat, and his story reads like a letter from someone who feels desperate – maybe like how you feel right now. You don’t know where to turn. Neither did he. Jehoshaphat had no forces to oppose the “great company” marching against him. Standing achingly helpless (as you are), what did he do? He literally threw himself on God. He prayed. “O our God, we have no power to face this vast army attacking us. We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.” (You’ll find the story in 2 Chronicles 20.)
Do you see yourself in the mirror of the story? Do you feel overpowered by a “great company” of temptations? Are you stumbling through confused days and tossing through sleepless nights? What is the answer? Stoic endurance? No. That brings only deeper despair. But you can pray Jehoshaphat’s prayer! His God is your God if your faith is in Jesus Christ. You can plead with God on the grounds of His great power, His promises, and His LOVE. And all the while you can keep your eyes steadfastly on Him. The result? As you trust, you will one day say as Jehoshaphat said, “The Lord has given me cause to rejoice.’
And that’s the gospel truth my fellow believers! In times of difficulty the Lord wants and expects us to cast all of our cares upon him, because He cares for us. Remember, Jesus unequivocally invited us in His Great invitation, to bring our burdens and woes to Him because He can take them from us and lighten our load. So, in spite of how things may seem, once we turn in all sincerity to God, our rocky road will gradually get smoother. As we raise the level of our faith in our Creator and Provider, we get better at handling the problems that we encounter in this earthly life.
So as the song says: ‘There’s life in Him…There’s Hope in Him…There’s a bright future in Him. So don’t give up now… don’t give in…hang in there until things get better.’ And they will eventually, if we do like Jehoshaphat did; that’s stay with God. And here is the Bible Promise for our story today, Jehoshaphat’s pleading prayer. ‘O Lord God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen (nations)? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?
Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever? …O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.’ (2 Chr. 20:6-7, 12)
Ah friends, the same thing applies to us today: we need to keep our eyes steadfastly focused on God, for that’s where the answer to everything and every question in our lives lie. Like Peter, when he walked on water with Jesus, if we take our eyes off Him and focus on the circumstances and problems then we’ll begin to sink. And if the great king Jehoshaphat could call out to God in such fear and uncertainty, who are we to do differently eh? And yuh see how the situation ended?
Jehoshaphat and all his people of Judah fasted and prayed, then God sent them a message through Jahaziel: ‘Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s….Ye shall not need to fight in the battle: set (position) yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you.’ (2 Chr. 20:15, 17) And the next day the Israelites went out and didn’t lift a hand but ended up victorious, for our great God made the three armies that were coming against them to fight amongst each other and destroy themselves.
Oh my people, our God has not changed or become weak and immobile. He is still the omnipotent Creator and Provider, and He is telling us the same thing in these trying times: to not fear, leave your life in His powerful hands, just do what we are supposed to do, and He will protect us, because the battle is not ours but His. So let’s remember that in these turbulent times and stand strong and faithful. That’s all God is asking of us. He will do the rest!
Now for those of us who are sincerely trying to do just that, let’s go home declaring (steups!) 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!’
And just in case you’ve forgotten, (smile) if we endure to the very end, then that future will be even more glorious than we can ask or imagine! Much LOVE!
…in spite of what comes against you…stay with God…that’s wisdom for the ages…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
03 May 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: cliques, gladness of heart, I am the vine ye are the branches, idolatry, Jehovah Rapha, joy, LOVE, nine virtues, not that we are sufficient of ourselves, our sufficiency is of God, peace, repentance, sacrificial giving of oneself, shall not inherit the kingdom of God, strife, the fruit of the spirit, the gifts of the Spirit, the God who heals, the lusts of the flesh, to think anything as of ourselves, We can do all things through Christ, witchcraft, without me ye can do nothing
2 Corinthians 3:5. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.
Another merry-go-round Monday friends! It’s amazing how quickly the days are passing by although we are immersed in so much conflict and sickness. And it’s so sad that many of us don’t know whether we are coming or going, with our lives all confused and topsy-turvy, with no plausible ending currently in sight. But as positive and serious believers in Christ Jesus, we are expected to hold on tightly to Him and ride out the storm with His lead and guidance. Remember His teaching re the vine and the branches?
‘Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 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 15:4-5) That’s putting it very clearly and straightforward friends! Without Christ, our abilities are very limited. But with Him, we can do all things, because He strengthens us. Glory be!
And Bruh Paul corroborates Christ’s statement when he says to the church at Corinth: ‘Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.’ (2 Cor. 3:5) Now that’s exactly why we need to hold on to Christ and His faithful promises, especially in times of indecision and crisis like we’re now experiencing. And we know that many of our problems stem from our own mistakes, by our terrible inhumanity and critical lack of compassion for our fellow man, as we allowed the evil and negative aspects of the world, the lusts of the flesh, as it were, to take control of our society.
We’re talking about the same things that Bruh Paul so long ago advised the Galatians against. ‘Adultery, fornication, uncleanness (sexual impurity), lasciviousness (sexual excess), Idolatry, witchcraft (sorcery), hatred, variance (contentions), emulations (jealousies), wrath, strife (selfish ambitions), seditions (dissensions), heresies (organized divisions or cliques), Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings (excessive eating and carousing) and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.’ (Gal. 5:19-21)
So, basically, most of our problems stem from those things being too prevalent in our modern-day world. We lack what Bruh Paul calls the fruit of the Spirit. And here’s how he explains it to the Galatians. ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness (kindness), goodness, faith (faithfulness), Meekness, temperance (self-control): against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts (it’s passions).’ (Gal. 5:22-24)
And the scholars offer this basic explanation. ‘5:19-23. By contrasting the works of the flesh (vs. 19-21) with the fruit of the Spirit (vs. 22-23), the believer can know whether he is walking by the Spirit or being controlled by the flesh.’ And there’s no doubt that too many human beings are currently walking in the lusts of the flesh and not in the fruit of the Spirit, thus the ghastly and grievous situation that now exists in our world.
Now, here’s another important scholarly explanation, I think I ought to mention. ‘5:22. The word fruit is significant for three reasons. (1) It means the result, product, outcome, or effect produced by the Spirit in the believer’s life. (2) Unlike “the gifts of the Spirit” (plural), only some of which are given to a Christian, each believer is to have ALL nine virtues composing “the fruit of the Spirit” (singular) (3) As fruit on a tree takes time to grow and mature, so the Spirit does not cultivate these virtues in the believer’s life overnight.’ That’s an important distinction we need to note between the ‘fruit of the Spirit’ and the ‘gifts of the Spirit,’ One is singular and the other is plural.
And just for good measure, (smile) I’ll throw in some more scholarly explanations, this time in a little more detail, re the fruit of the Spirit. ‘LOVE is willing, sacrificial giving of oneself for the benefit of another without thought of return. Joy is gladness of heart. Peace is tranquility of mind, freeing one from worry and fear. Long-suffering is patience with others, the opposite of a short temper, a disposition quietly bearing injury. Gentleness is kindness. Goodness is generosity. Faith here is dependability. Meekness is gentleness, that is, courtesy and consideration of one’s relations with others. Temperance is self-control, that is, the ability to harness and control one’s passions and lusts.’
So now, we can’t say we didn’t know what the fruit of the Spirit is, (smile) which brings us to these closing words of Bruh Paul on the subject. ‘If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.’ (Gal. 5:25) That means, since we are supposed to live by the Spirit as believers, let us really follow the leadings and promptings of the Spirit in our lives.
Finally, let’s go home pleading in prayer, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, for God’s mercy and grace on our current untenable situation. As one voice: ‘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!’
And the obvious corollary to that is for us to now go out and seriously and sincerely live by the Spirit, if we want to see substantial change in our world. Much LOVE!
…only by sticking close to Christ…like white on rice…can we crucify…the inherent lusts of the flesh…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
01 May 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a partnership with Jesus, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, avarice of the owner class, blasphemies, come unto me and I will give you rest, confidence, defileth not a man, doesn't happen overnight, false witness, freed from the burden of, grow Christ's kingdom, hard won rights, in Christ we have our very being, in Christ we live and move, it's a gradual process, Labour Day, lazy-day Saturday, LOVE, love our neighbours as ourselves, needing you to accept me, no sign of relief in sight, not that which goeth into a man defileth a man, out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, Praise the Lord, punishing your future for the mistakes of your past, read study and put the word into practice, sets the tone for all your others, that which comes out of the mouth, the ability to feel beautiful, the betterment of society, the brutal fangs, the building block, this defiles a man, to eat with unwashen hands, toting our baggage from the past, your relationship with yourself
Matthew 15:11. Not that which goeth into a man defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
Glory be friends! It’s lazy-day Saturday, and also the first day of the month of May! That means our world has already gone through four months of this year of 2021 ensnared in the brutal fangs of the Corona virus, racial, political and religious strife and numerous natural disasters. And we’re still locked down with no sign of relief in sight. There are vaccines aplenty, but the pandemic is still roaring ahead strong. And don’t talk about all the different kinds of strife, they seem to be proliferating daily because we keep fanning the flames around them instead of squelching them with LOVE and togetherness.
Consequently, there will be no Labour Day marches and celebrations of the hard-won benefits that the Labour Movement have won down through the Industrial Age. Instead, our sad state of affairs have given the owners of the means of production a chance to retract and restrict some of those hard-won rights. It has always been, and will always be, an uphill fight against the greed and avarice of the owner class of society. They are not really interested in the betterment of the society as a whole, just in that of their upper crust section.
And, unfortunately, we cannot fix the wrongs of the world in the pages of our Bit, but we can certainly offer encouragement and ideas that will help us survive, and eventually overcome. And all God’s children said a loud, proud and grateful: ‘Praise the Lord!’ So let’s keep that promise by checking out the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow.
Now, this first quote is the building block, the foundation of all the others. ‘Your relationship with yourself sets the tone for every other relationship you have.’ And that’s the indisputable truth friends! You can’t have a good relationship with anyone else until you have a good one with yourself. Why do you think Jesus told us that the second greatest commandment was to LOVE our neighbours as ourselves eh? (Matt. 22:39) Because He knew that only if we had a good feeling about, or relationship with ourselves, that we could have the same with someone else.
That means whatever is inside of us, is what we have to share and nothing else. No wonder He also said: ‘Not that which goeth into a man defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man…. But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.’ (Matt. 15: 11, 18-20)
So that’s why this next quote is also very important in the life of each individual. ‘There is no sense in punishing your future for the mistakes of your past. Forgive yourself, grow from it, and then let it go.’ That’s more indisputable truth my brethren. It’s a waste of life and precious time to keep toting our baggage from the past constantly along with us. Like the quote says, it’s just ‘punishing your future for the mistakes of your past.’ And that’s certainly not wise.
We need to leave our baggage behind, but certainly learn from it, so that we can have good energy and increased wisdom to move into the future and do better than we did before. And the best way to do that is to accept Christ’s invitation to lay it down at his feet, at the foot of His cross. He sincerely invites us: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest… For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light’ (Matt. 11:28, 30)
You can’t do any better than giving your problems to Jesus’ friends, because He’s the problem solver, the miracle worker, the I can do anything you want me to individual! And when we do that my people, this next quote comes shining through in our lives. ‘When I accept myself just as I am, I am freed from the burden of needing you to accept me.’
Oh, praise be my precious fellow believers! When we give ourselves and our burdens to Christ, we don’t need to seek acceptance from anyone else, because, Christ, the Lord and Saviour is the ONLY one we truly need acceptance from! Once He accepts us, we are free and clear of the worldly burden that the enemy tries to put on us, saying we must do this or do that to be acceptable in the sight of the world! Give thanks to His holy name friends for freeing us from all the foolishness, deceit and burdens the enemy tries to lay on us through the evil world system!
That brings us to our last quote, another beauty: ‘Confidence is the ability to feel beautiful, without needing someone to tell you.’ Isn’t that wonderful? It surely is! But then you ask, where do we find that confidence that leads to the ability to feel beautiful? From Jesus Christ of course my friends…From Jesus Christ! You can’t get than from no one, or nowhere else but the One who sacrificed His sinless life so selflessly on the cross of Calvary on our behalf! That’s what He gives us when we accept Him as Lord and Saviour and live the righteous way He desires of us.
But unfortunately, that doesn’t happen overnight, it is a gradual process. We can’t live one way for several years and then expect to change to another completely different form in the blink of an eye. And it does take effort on our part, because it’s a partnership we enter into with Christ. There are some things we need to do and some that only Christ will do. And please believe me when I say that He won’t do the things we need to do, so our progress or regress depends quite a lot on us.
And those things include reading, studying and meditating on His Word, the Bible, which is His Guidebook for our earthly lives. Then we not only need to know what that guidebook contains, but even more importantly, we need to practice what it says. Now that’s the major difference between a confident and non-confident Christian. The confident ones go out and do stuff, make things happen in Christ’s name, while the non-confident ones just talk and don’t do anything to grow Christ’s kingdom.
Yes friends, please remember that’s what we are supposed to be all about on this God-given earth nuh, spreading Christ’s Word and growing His kingdom. So, let’s get out there today and do just that nuh, with the wonderful confidence that He so generously instills in us when we truly believe in Him! Much LOVE!
…in Christ we live and move…in Christ we have our very being… (Acts 17:28)
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
30 Apr 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fear of evangelizing others, be not afraid of them that kill the body, be not wise in thine own eyes, being ashamed, believers in Jesus Christ, bind them about thy neck, bring backsliders back to your fold, compromising, cowards will not enter heaven, embrace your love and compassion, exhortations on obedience, fear Almighty God, Friday chant, Fritz Chery, hath power to cast into hell, infiltrate our thinking and way of life, Jesus as our storm pilot, keep safe physical distance, lean not unto thine own understanding, length of days and long life, let not mercy and truth forsake thee, let thine heart keep my commandments, LOVE, mano a mano, motives of our hearts, my son forget not my law, pearls of wisdom, so shalt thou find favour, social gatherings, stay in close touch with Him, the immoral dictates of the world, them's the breaks, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, trusting God less, wear a mask, with both god and man, write them upon the table of thine heart
Proverbs 3:1. ‘My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
Well friends, it’s Friday, the day that used to be the harbinger of the weekend with parties and social gatherings galore, but is now just another day to stay cooped up at home and away from others, except your household members. Not only that, but if you do venture outside, you now need to wear a mask and keep a safe physical distance away from others. It’s still incomprehensible to see how life has drastically changed worldwide with the appearance of one li’l virus. (smile)
But them’s the breaks! It’s the only way to keep the virus at bay until everybody has been vaccinated…at least we hope so, for we still don’t know a lot about the Corona virus and its several variants. And I really don’t know how else to encourage us but to remind us that as believers in Christ Jesus, we need to stay in close touch with Him and live the way He desires, especially in these times of many adversarial storms.
You know sometimes storms come from behind you and drive you along quicker to your destination, meanwhile, others, like the ones we’re currently facing hit you directly in the face and try to destroy you. But with Jesus as your storm pilot, we are promised that they won’t ever destroy us. Yes, they might cause us some real difficult times, but they’ll never completely put us under. However, in the meantime, there are also some things we need to do to stay afloat, like these exhortations to obedience from Cousin Sol found in Proverbs.
Listen to these words of awesome truth, wisdom and encouragement. ‘My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. Let not mercy (LOVING-kindness) and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart (mind): So shalt thou find favour and good understanding (high esteem) in the sight of God and man.’ (Prov. 3:1-4)
Oh my fellow believers, how true and wise are those words eh! And even more truthful, is the fact that too many of us supposed believers have not sincerely adhered to the Lord’s commandments for a rather long time, that’s why our lives are so topsy-turvy and confused right now. Unfortunately, we have allowed the immoral dictates of the world to infiltrate our thinking and way of life, and thus have fallen from favour with both God and man.
It’s no secret that the world has no room for God and is doing its best to get rid of Him completely. But that will NEVER happen, because the Lord won’t allow it, neither will we, His staunch and faithful believers allow such an abomination to come to pass. But even in these tremulous and uncertain times, the enemy is still trying to evict God from His sovereign status in His universe, and sadly, we Christians are assisting them by being fearful, lazy, wishy-washy, sitting on the fence and not being strong and bold enough to face them mano-a mano and let them know the real truth of the situation; that Jesus is Lord, and despite their best endeavours, always will be thus!
And there are so many scripture verses that tell us we should not be afraid of man. Jesus puts it best though with this warning from Luke’s gospel. ‘And I say unto you my friends, Be ye not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto, Fear him.’ (Luke 12:4-5) Yes friends, the death of the body is not the end of our lives, we still have our spirit man to account for, and the One who decides where we will rest for eternity is Jehovah God Himself. Man won’t determine that.
And I like how Fritz Chery opens his article on the Bible Verses about the fear of man, that can be found on the biblereasons.com website. He says: ‘There is only one person that a Christian should fear and that is God. When you are fearful of man that will lead to a fear of evangelizing to others, of doing God’s will, trusting God less, rebellion, being ashamed, compromising, and being a friend of the world. Fear the one that created man, the one who can throw you into Hell for eternity. Too many preachers today fear man so they preach messages that will tickle people’s ears. Scripture makes it clear that cowards will not enter into Heaven.’
What awesome words of truth my brethren! And unfortunately, these days, we supposed believers are so cowardly and fearful, we’ve become more afraid of man than God. So what kind of life do we expect to have under those circumstances eh? Nothing but a confused, troubled and calamitous existence, like the one we’re currently experiencing.
And Cousin Sol offers us a few more pearls of wisdom as he continues: ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct (make straight or smooth) thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel (body), and marrow (strength, refreshment) to thy bones. Honour the Lord with thy substance (possessions), and with the first fruits of all thy increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses (vats) shall burst out with new wine.’ (Prov. 3:5-10)
Oh mih bredrin, nothing has changed nuh since Cousin Sol gave us those guidelines long ago. The Lord our God is still the same yesterday, today and forever, and neither has His word or ordinances changed. So what has changed eh? We have. And if we don’t change back to what He desires, then crapaud smoke we pipe! As simple as that.
Now, for those of us who sincerely want to get back into the good graces of our most wonderful God, this is the best time to start. Therefore, let’s go to Him in sincere prayer nuh, what we call our Friday Chant, and lay bare our hearts to Him in sincere repentance, asking for His awesome forgiveness and mercy.
As one voice now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. Yuh know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and the racial strife causing. We not accustomed to that kind of life Lord, and it really telling on us. And we know we can’t handle it on our own, that we desperately need your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets.
So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the sure and wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, so that we can avoid any more serious setbacks. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to also bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways.
It’s also a good opportunity to introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion because of the way we, your faithful believers, handle the situation. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And as always my people, God’s response will depend on our subsequent behaviour and the motives of our hearts, which He will check out, before answering our prayer. Much LOVE!
fear not man…but fear Almighty God…who can destroy…both body and soul…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
29 Apr 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a positive outlook on life, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, Billy Graham, broad is the way that leads to destruction, cast out demons in your name, choose wisely, clear direction for my life, come unto me, courage, creativity, curse, decisionmagazine website, enter ye in at the strait gate, eternal damnation, eternal separation from God, few there be that find it, gentle and humble, have we not prophesied in thy name, heaven with Christ, hell with Satan, I am meek and lowly in heart, I am the way the truth and the life, I never knew you depart from me, I will give you rest, Jesus is alive and kicking butt, learn of me, LOVE, many will say to me, negative word, no one comes to the Father but by me, one foot in heaven, one foot in the world, only two options in life, ride the middle road, self-discipline, short-sighted outlook, take my yoke upon you, the extremes of humanity, the great invitation, the short cut is often the wrong cut, Thursday Blessings, wide is the gate, ye shall find rest unto your souls, you cannot be neutral about eternal life
Matthew 11:28. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Moving on to Thursday friends, another wonderful day on God’s earth! Oh yes, despite our many problems, it’s going to be a good day, because we know that Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, is alive and kicking butt on our behalf! Now isn’t that cause for celebration and encouragement? It certainly is!
When we have the Creator of the universe in our corner, there’s nothing more we need, except to accept Him with pride and gratitude and live the way He desires of us. And the wonderful thing is that His dominion is not tough, onerous or embarrassing as so many of us believe.
Just listen to what He says nuh. ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble): and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt. 11:28-30) Where else can you get such a marvellous invitation eh? Nowhere! That’s why we call it the Great Invitation!
No one else has the parts or the power to offer such an invite, only Jesus! So why aren’t more people flocking to Him and His cross eh? Because they mistakenly think that His yoke is a heavy burden, and has too many restrictions. But that’s not true my people, as we who sincerely follow Him know. There must be rules and regulations in every organization, otherwise anarchy will prevail, and the organization will soon crumble. Even our sinful, anything goes world, has rules and regulations, but many of us consider them less restrictive and contentious than those of Jesus.
However, that’s a very short-sighted outlook friends. The easy way is often the worst way. That’s why the old people taught us that a short cut is often the wrong cut. And Jesus is trying to teach us the same thing: the easy way is not the best way. Consequently, He taught us to ‘Enter ye in at the strait (narrow) gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. Because strait (how narrow) is the gate, and narrow (difficult or confined) is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.’ (Matt. 7:13-14)
Yes friends, there are only two paths to life, the strait and narrow one to eternal life with Jesus, which requires more self-discipline and self-control, with plenty LOVE, kindness, mercy and forgiveness involved. Meanwhile the other path, that of the wide-open road that leads to destruction and eternal separation from God, that’s what our evil world is offering, and unfortunately a whole lotta people seem to be following that one, because generally speaking, it lets them do whatever they want to do.
The rules and regulations are much looser than those of Jesus, but His are not a strait-jacket as so many of us feel. They are just more humanitarian and don’t condone evil like the world does. And I like how this article by Billy Graham, titled ‘Which Road are You on?’ puts the situation. It can be found on the decisionmagazine website.
Billy writes: ‘You cannot be neutral about eternal life, but a lot of people try to be. They try to ride the middle road—but there is no middle road. Jesus said it’s one or the other. He said if you’re not on the narrow road that leads to eternal life, then you must be on the broad road that leads to destruction. Every person is on one or the other. Which road are you on? The broad road or the narrow road? One leads to destruction and hell; the other leads to a full life here and now and eventually life to come in Heaven. Which is it? It’s one or the other.
And I want to tell you, if I did not know which road I was on, I would make sure, no matter what it cost. Notice that the broad road is a wide road. In other words, you can enter the wide gate and carry with you all your sins. You can carry your selfishness, your prejudice, your hate, your lust, your intolerance, your bigotry. There are no restrictions, no inhibitions, no rules. The extremes of humanity are on this broad road. There are the immoral, the dictators, the murderers. But there are also some moral people and even church people on this road.
The Bible says, “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me’” (Matthew 7:22-23). They were on the broad road all along. “Jesus said it’s one or the other. He said if you’re not on the narrow road that leads to eternal life, then you must be on the broad road that leads to destruction.”
And all those people who tried to keep one foot in the world and one foot in Heaven, those who tried to ride both roads—all of those people are on the broad road, in the sight of Christ. This broad road is also a crowded road. Jesus said there are many who go in by it. I think one of the greatest sins is conformity. We always hear, “Everybody else is doing it.” No other reason except everybody else is doing it. Conformity. Nobody has the moral courage anymore to stand alone.’
And is that ever the awesome truth! The proverbial motto nowadays is ‘Everybody’s doing it! So why not me?’ Good question? But sadly you’ll end up like everybody else, in eternal damnation, if you don’t take the way that Jesus recommends. And remember you can’t get to heaven and the Father, unless you go through Him, because, as He so plainly points out: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ (John 14:6) That’s it in spades friends, no strait and narrow way, no Jesus, then no heaven, no eternal life with our Triune God! It’s as simple as that!
So let’s wake up and show some wisdom nuh. And for those of us who have found Him, let’s go home declaring (steups!) our Thursday Blessings which He’s bestowed on us to do His earthly work, to help lead others to Him, so that they too can be saved from the life-destroying fire of Hades. So as one strong 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 the natural consequence now is for us to go out and share those blessings, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us! Much LOVE!
…there are only two options in life…heaven with Jesus…hell with Satan…please choose wisely…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
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