17 Jun 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a joy to come into your homes, and now abideth, attribute of God, because he first loved us, beholding as in a glass, better is a dinner of herbs where love is, caring, changed into the same image, Christ died for us, faith hope charity (love), fear hath torment, flowing through me, for everyone, forgiving, from glory to glory, giving, glad to be alive, God commendeth his love, God so loved the world, graciously inviting, greetings, halfway home, hands fixed securely on the plough, have everlasting life, he gave his only begotten son, is love sweet love, looking forward, LOVE, love is the fulfilling of the law, love worketh no ill to his neighbour, Love your enemies, made perfect in love, not looking back, One Year Book of Bible promises, Resemblance, resemble each other, Ruth Harms Calkin, salutations, Scrip-Bit friends and family, sharing, should not perish, sin, than a stalled ox and hatred, thank God, the abiding presence of the Spirit of God, the breath of God, the face of Moses reflected, the glory of God, the greatest of these is charity (love), there is fear in love, to a glorious future with Jesus, transformation takes place, warmly welcoming, we all with open face, we love him, Wednesday Wail, what the world needs now, while we were yet sinners, whosoever believeth in him
1 Corinthians 13:13. And now abideth faith, hope, charity (LOVE), these three; but the greatest of these is charity (LOVE).
Greetings and salutations on this beautiful Wednesday morning, my Scrip-Bit friends and family! It’s a joy to come into your homes and visit with you for a few minutes every day! Thank you so much for graciously inviting and then warmly welcoming me. (smile) And the word for today is that monumental and magnanimous one, the chief attribute of our great God; LOVE! And what a magnificent word and attribute it is. But before we delve further into it, here’s something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin that beautifully expresses one important aspect of LOVE! It’s titled ‘Remembrance.’
So please pray with me: ‘Lord, somewhere I read That when two people LOVE deeply When they live together Sharing Caring Giving Forgiving Eventually they begin To resemble each other. Lord, how long will it be Before I look like YOU?’ Now that my people is indeed an awesome question! Why is that you ask? Because the Lord’s basic intention is to have all His children resemble Himself and His first born.
Hear how Bruh Paul puts it to the Corinthians in the Bible Promise used for our poem above. ‘But we all, with open (unveiled) face beholding (reflect) as in a glass (mirror) the glory of the Lord, are changed (transformed) into the same image (His likeness) from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.’ (2 Cor. 3:18)
And the scholars explain that verse thus: ‘3:18. Beholding as in a glass: The term beholding can have the sense of “reflecting.” The believer himself “reflects” the glory of the Lord just as the face of Moses reflected the glory of the Lord. For Moses, the glory eventually faded away, but under the New Covenant the believer is changed into the same image. This transformation takes place by the abiding presence of the Spirit of God.’ And remember He’ll keep doing that good work in us, right until Christ returns. (Phil. 1:6) So it’s not a vikey vie, or hit and miss thing. (smile)
Now let’s delve a li’l further into that marvellous attribute called LOVE nuh. And the first thing we need to realize and tearfully acknowledge is this verse from Bruh Paul to the church at Rome. ‘But God commendeth (demonstrates) his LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:8) Now friends, we’ll never understand the true meaning and value of the word LOVE until we sincerely appreciate what our great God did for us, while we were separated from Him by what He most despises; sin!
Yes, it must have taken a great attribute for Him to sacrifice His only Son for a bunch of ingrates. But He did it because of His unconditional and everlasting LOVE for us, His original creation! And Jesus stated it unequivocally: ‘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) Yes my people, it was all about LOVE! That’s why John could write so purposefully in his epistle: ‘We LOVE him, because he first LOVED us.’ (1 John 4:19)
And some of you are still wondering what’s so great about this thing called LOVE – and it’s not the romantic aspect we talking about here, but the brotherly aspect. Well here are a few things that LOVE does within societies. Cousin Sol warns us: ‘Hatred stirreth up strifes: but LOVE covereth a multitude of sins.’ (Prov. 10:12) And that is the gospel truth, for if there was more LOVE and less hatred in our world, it would not be in the sad state it’s now in with strife and resentment fomenting from corner to corner.
Cousin Sol also tells us this bitter truth. ‘Better is a dinner of herbs (vegetables) where LOVE is, than a stalled ox (fatted calf) and hatred therewith.’ (Prov. 15:17) And many of us have proven that for ourselves through disastrous and unhappy relationships. Now hear Bruh Paul again to the church at Rome: ‘LOVE worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore LOVE is the fulfilling of the law.’ (Rom. 10:13) Glory be mih people! When we truly LOVE, we won’t, or can’t do wrong to anybody!
And hear this wonderful power of LOVE from John nuh. ‘There is no fear in LOVE; because fear hath (involves) torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in LOVE.’ (1 John 4:18) Mamacita! What more can we ask or expect from LOVE eh? And remember that LOVE is not practiced by believers alone, for when Christ spoke about LOVING one’s enemies, He specifically stated: ‘For if ye LOVE them which LOVE you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans (tax collectors) the same? And if ye salute (greet) your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans (tax collectors) so?’ (Matt. 5:46-47)
So LOVE exists in all spheres of our societies, just not between enough of those spheres to make our world a worthwhile place. And we’ll end the LOVE story on this dramatic note, (smile) with these momentous words of Bruh Paul to the church at Corinth. ‘And now abideth faith, hope, charity (LOVE), these three; but the greatest of these is charity (LOVE).’ Yes friends, the greatest attribute man can ever acquire and most importantly put to work is LOVE. And please note that LOVE means more than just talking, but more importantly implies, calls for action! LOVE means doing, helping, caring for, showing compassion, etc., etc. all action words!
And having filled our souls and spirits with scriptures of LOVE, (smile) let’s go home declaring (steups!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our position in Christ. In strong voice, with sincere hearts: ‘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 know, we believe, that if we endure until the end, that future will be even more glorious than we can ask or imagine! Much LOVE!
…what the world needs now is…LOVE…sweet LOVE…not for some…but for everyone…
P.S. Yes, it’s late, but yuh know how the ole fella stay (smile) and I think it’s great though. (smile) Hope you do too. Much LOVE!
16 Jun 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a night of hard labour, acknowledge God's sovereignty, arise cry out in the night, at the top of every street, before the face of the Lord, cried for help, faint for hunger, for the birds, for the life of thy young children, forty years in the wilderness, get God out of our lives, godly society, going to bed early, great is thy faithfulness, hear my voice, his compassions fail not, hunger, I am the beloved of god, I can trust my friend Jesus, I don't have to hurry, I don't have to worry, I hoped in thy word, I prevented, I'm not what I do, I'm not what I have, I'm not what people say about me, in god's eyes, It is of the Lord's mercies, Lamentations, let us rejoice and be glad in it, lift up thy hands toward Him, listen, LOVE, manna, meditate in thy word, negative stuff, no one can take that from me, obey, only sensible option, pained in body and soul, pandemic sickness, pandemic struggles and protests, pour out thine heart like water, poverty, rose before, share His love with the world, strife, testimonies, the dawning of the morning, the grim reaper, the Lord fed the Israelites, they are new every morning, this is the day the Lord has made, thy commandments are truth, thy loving-kindness, Tuesday Mantra, we are not consumed, well-nourished spiritually, words of Jeremiah
Psalm 119:147. I prevented (rose before) the dawning of the morning, and cried (for help): I hoped in thy word.
‘This is the day…Yes! This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!’ Oh friends, that’s the only sensible option of the two we have today and every day: either to rejoice and be glad in it, or be miserable and sad in it! (smile) And sadly, too many of us will indeed choose that latter option – believers included.
But friends, please, please, let’s remember the momentous words of Jeremiah in his Lamentations nuh: ‘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.’ (Lam. 3:22-23)
Yeh mih people, it’s the Lord’s mercies, his LOVING-kindness that keeps us going, and they’re new every day! Wow! No stale mercies for His people! But bright and fresh ones every day, like fresh bread from the oven every morning and you just slather it with butter…Ohhh, awfully good!
It’s like the manna that the Lord fed the Israelites with for forty years in the wilderness: everyday, except on the Sabbath, they picked it up fresh. They might not have liked it, but it kept them well-nourished in their rough times. Likewise, our Lord’s new mercies everyday keeps us well-nourished spiritually every day, and we’d be foolish not to accept them and cherish them. End of sermon! (smile)
And lemme make a salient point here before we move on nuh: this thing about going to bed early is really for the birds oui, not for me. I tried it last night, went to bed much earlier than usual, spent most of the night in the bed, but did not sleep as much as I expected, and still got up late. And worst of all, I got up severely pained in body and soul, as if I’d done a night of hard labour! Steups!
So all yuh could keep this early night nonsense yes! But as for me, I’m going to stick with my night owl business yes, because although I might wake up late the odd time (smile) I don’t get up as pained in body or soul! Now that’s my position…and I’m sticking to it! Chuh! No more of this early night foolishness! And it even make me less productive too…! And now that I’ve said my piece, (smile) let’s see what the Lord has to say to us nuh.
But this morning looks like a Jeremiah Lamentations morning yes, because the Lord is also pointing out the words of Jeremiah to his people Israel when they were facing extremely rough times like we are currently. Hear him nuh: ‘Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street.’ (Lam. 2:19)
Oh my people, there is so much hunger and poverty and strife and negative stuff in our world that we can never correct or even attempt to fix it without the Lord’s help! But we’ve become such a proud, haughty and know it all civilization that we blatantly refuse to acknowledge our Creator and de facto Controller and try to do it our way. With what results eh – pandemic sickness and pandemic struggles and protests in our streets! And yet we still refuse to turn back to Almighty God. How foolish is that eh?
When we were a fairly godly society, did we have as many problems? I really don’t know nuh. But I know for sure that trying to get God out of our lives right now is definitely not going to work, because He’s not going to allow us to do it. It’s His world and as He said so profoundly a long time ago: ‘I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.’ (Is. 42:8) And if we don’t believe that, then we can continue to fight the losing battle we’re currently fighting.
Oh my people, when are we going to truly realize and accept that the Most High God Jehovah is the Ruler of the universe eh, and that nothing happens without Him allowing it? We can’t control the most important aspect of our lives, that’s life itself. Regardless of how much money and power we have when the Grim Reaper comes a calling, we have to go. And even when we want to go before time, by taking our own lives, just look at how often we fail.
But listen to what the psalmist said nuh: ‘I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O Lord: I will keep thy statutes. I cried unto thee; save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies. I prevented (rose before) the dawning of the morning, and cried (for help): I hoped in thy word. Mine eyes prevent (are awake through) the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word.
Hear my voice according unto thy LOVING-kindness: O Lord, quicken (revive) me according to thy judgement (justice). They draw nigh that follow after mischief: they are far from thy law. Thou art near, O Lord; and all thy commandments are truth. Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever.’ (Ps. 119:145-152)
Yes friends, until we begin again to seriously do the words of the psalmist; cry out sincerely for help to God, acknowledge His sovereignty, and obey His Word, our world will remain in turmoil. It’s as simple as that. The Lord is now crying out to us to turn back to Him in true repentance and acknowledgment, but unfortunately we’re not hearing His cry. So what’s to be done eh? For the relatively small amount of us who do acknowledge his sovereignty, let’s go home declaring (yeahhh!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the rest of the world know who and whose we are.
Altogether now, in strong voice, with sincere hearts: ‘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!’
Now what we waiting for eh? Let’s go out and do just that nuh! Much LOVE!
…we expect the Lord to hear us when we call out to Him…but He also expects us to listen and obey…when He replies…
13 Jun 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Anselm's quotes, aspires to inspire, being confident, bite the bullet, bring the third part through the fire, discover our strengths, don't underestimate small doings, don't wait for opportunity, failure is not the end, focus on your goals, for a better tomorrow, God left him, hard does not mean impossible, he which hath begun a good work, I shall come forth as gold, I've failed over and over again, it is my people, keep going regardless, living truth, LOVE, lustful souls, never stop trying, of this very thing, one more time to the breach, one one cocoa full basket, promise of God, refine them as silver is refined, rest assured, saints in Christ, self-motivation, selfishly desire, tested not to show our weakness, the cleansing of Jerusalem, the key to success, the Lord is my God, to know all that was in his heart, to make a difference, to try him, try them as gold is tried, until the day of Jesus Christ, when he hath tried me, will perform it, with God all things are possible, with men it's impossible, working for Jesus
Philippians 1:6. Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform (complete) it until the day of Jesus Christ.
One more time to the breach, dear friends, one more time! Yes my faithful brethren we’ve been given another day on God’s great earth to make some sort of difference, no mater how small or insignificant it might be. Please don’t only seek to do the big things which you believe will bring lots of glory, because ofttimes many small things put together bring more glory, may be more valuable than one big thing.
And that’s the word for today; don’t disparage or underestimate small doings, for as my Jamaican people wisely say; one one cocoa full basket. (smile) And that’s the living truth! So today, let’s focus on the many small things we can do rather than search out the big thing that our lustful souls selfishly desire. Now, they tell me it’s Saturday, (smile) so that means we have to look at the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow.
And the first one hits the proverbial nail right on the head: ‘Don’t wait for opportunity, create it.’ That’s gospel friends! We can’t always wait for opportunity to come along before we get up and get going, for sometimes opportunity never comes. It’s often left up to us to create our own opportunity. Just look at many of the great inventors, they had an idea or ideas and didn’t wait for opportunity to present itself on a silver platter, but went ahead and created the opportunity they needed. I guess in these times of fancy words and phrases they might call it something like ‘self-motivation.’
And all we believers in Christ need to have lots of self-motivation seeing that we have lots of demanding work to do in His name. That leads to this next quote: ‘It’s going to be hard, but hard does not mean impossible.’ Yeh mih people, very few worthwhile endeavours in this life come easily, so if you want to do anything worthwhile, especially for Jesus, you have to learn to bite the bullet and just keep going regardless of the problems and hardships you face. Remember Jesus’ words to the disciples re a rich man entering heaven? ‘With men this is impossible; but with God ALL things are possible.’ (Matt. 19:26)
So if you’re working for Jesus, you don’t have to worry about impossibilities, because there are NONE! And that brings up this quote: ‘Sometimes we’re tested not to show our weaknesses, but to discover our strengths.’ Now isn’t that the living truth…especially if you’re in Jesus’ employ! (smile) Yes friends, our Lord tries us continually to see what we’re made of, how strong our faith is, to see if what’s in our hearts really lines up what we claim through our mouths. The Good Book mentions testing many times.
Let’s check out a few. Look at King Hezekiah, who seems to have sincerely trusted the Almighty. The Good Book recounts: ‘Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to inquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try (test) him, that he might know all that was in his heart.’ (2 Chr. 32:31) And if you want to know more about that story please check it out in 2 Kings 20:12-19.
And remember this promise in Zechariah, re the cleansing of Jerusalem? ‘And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try (test) them as gold is tried (tested): they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.’ (Zech. 13:9)
But this is what we believers ought to be saying in our time of testing: ‘But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.’ (Job 23:10) Mama Mia! What words of awesome faith from Job even though he was going through hell here on earth! How many of us can make such a definitive statement eh? Not too many of us. But it’s what we ought to aspire to, if we truly want to be strong, faithful Christians.
And this next quote gives us some wise direction. ‘The key to success is to focus on goals, not obstacles.’ That’s for certain sure! We need to keep our minds focused on the goals we’re working towards, rather than the obstacles we encounter while working towards them. The obstacles will try to take away our focus, but we must not let them. We can’t ignore them, for sometimes they do present more and even better opportunities, but our minds ought to be stayed on our goals, assuming they are worthwhile ones.
And this last quote says it all. ‘I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.’ It’s obviously comes from some sports figure. But he makes the very salient point all of us need to write deep in our hearts, failure is not failure until we stop trying. And in God’s economy there is no giving up, which means there’s no failure.
We’re not going to win every round, but we MUST get back up each time we fall and continue keeping on. That’s the nature of the truly successful person in any walk of life! Get back up on your horse and ride again; that ought to be the believer’s motto. And we have this awesome promise of God to help us do all that we need to do. ‘Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform (complete) it until the day of Jesus Christ.’
Yes, my fellow saints in Christ, we can rest assured that whatever good work the Lord begins in us, He will keep on doing it, and complete it when Christ returns. So let’s hang in there and do the right things nuh. We all know what they are, but allow our sinful fleshly desires to thwart our righteous ones. Much LOVE!
…you can’t fail…if you never stop trying…
12 Jun 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all tears from their eyes, anxiety, back to your fold, backsliders, be responsible, blatantly ignore warnings, Christian folks, comeuppance, common sense, compassion, conflict in public places, confusion, Covid-19, defeat the virus and the unrest, demonstrations, downtrodden, eternal kingdom of Christ, every dog have he day, faithful believers, foolish greed, Friday chant, God shall wipe away, hard labour, havoc, he who has ears to hear, heavenly Father, history repeating itself, in broad daylight, introduce a new flock, least amount of loss to life, let him hear, LOVE, lust for power, man's inhumanity to man, mistreated, neither sorrow, new earth, new heaven, no more death, no more pain, nor crying, omnipotent help, one day one day congotay, physical distancing, prophetic, public servants, racism, refusing to listen, reuse to hear, revolt, serious setbacks, slave master, stand strong and steadfast, stay safe, street protests, talk the tlk, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, the former things are passed away, the have-nots, the haves, time longer than twine, too big for them britches, walk the talk, want what is rightfully theirs, we'll feel, wise guidance
Revelation 21:4. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Welcome to Friday friends; the end of another week filled with much talk about Covid-19 and no seeming relief from its deadly clutches, as well as street protests and demonstrations and confusion and conflict in public places and amongst public servants. And it doesn’t seem as though we’ll get any relief from that soon either. And isn’t it strange and somehow prophetic that both these conditions could rise up worldwide at the same time?
And I still maintain that the Lord God Almighty, Creator and Ruler of this awesome universe is trying to tell us something significant, but as always we’re refusing to listen, to pay serious attention to His warnings. Remember Jesus’ advice: ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear.’ And if we refuse to hear, then we’ll feel! There’s no doubt about that. Anyway, be all that as it may, (smile) let’s hear what the ordinary workingman has to say for himself nuh.
‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday! Thank God for the weekend and a couple of days rest from the slave master hard labour and all the confusion in the world! Is it never going to end? Chuh man! They still can’t find no answer for this Coronavirus business and with all the protests and rioting and people gathering in big crowds, ignoring the physical distancing warning, this Covid-19 thing doh look as it going away any time soon nuh. In fact it might just get worse, because we still doh know how to handle it properly, and people still catching it and dying from it all around the world.
But what is wrong with we eh? And look at how this racism thing just suddenly blow up in we face because of one stupid, well four stupid men eh… Steups! Common sense ought to tell yuh that yuh can’t do them things in front of everybody, especially when everybody have cameras on their cell phones and quick to take pictures of everything. And that just shows the police and them getting too big for them britches, when they could do that sort of thing in broad daylight and blatantly ignore warnings from the people they supposed to be protecting. It so entrenched, and they so accustomed to getting away with it, they doh care no longer.
But thank the Lord, that every dog have he day, one day one day congotay, and we all going to get we just and rightful comeuppance in time, because time longer than twine. Ah not able nuh. Nobody doh listen to people like me. So ah just going to go home and enjoy mih weekend with mih family and give thanks to God for all I have yes! Can’t do no more than that nuh.’
Ah mih people, we all can surely identify with the workingman because most of us don’t have any real say in the crises that are currently surrounding us, and that’s just why the racism thing is rearing its ugly head. The powers that be are so short-sighted that they can’t see that their system of holding down people can’t last forever, and the downtrodden and mistreated will eventually rise up and want what is rightfully theirs. It’s been this way ever since history began; the have’s refusing to share with the have-nots…until they revolt.
We talk about history repeating itself, but we still don’t pay significant attention to it, otherwise the disturbances in our streets worldwide would not be happening now. But it’s jut a symbol of foolish greed and lust for power, highlighting man’s inhumanity to man. And it doesn’t seem as if it’s ever going to end until Jesus returns with the new heaven and the new earth and sets up His eternal kingdom. ‘And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.’
But until then friends, we need to keep up our good work and pray; pray like there’s no tomorrow, for who knows if there’ll be one, or what it will look like! So let’s cry out to our great and merciful God nuh, let’s chant up a storm; a storm of peace, LOVE and understanding through our Friday Chant.
All together now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. It’s been pretty rough…some of it from work, as many of us are now back to work in varied ways, but most of our anxiety still comes from all the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus still causing. We not accustomed to that Lord, and it really telling on us. And now, on top of all that, we have riots and protests to put up with. Oh Lord, yuh know we can’t handle it on our own and desperately need Your help. Yes, 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 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 having said all of that, we must now behave like faithful believers ought to behave in such situations. Christian folks, it’s time for us to rise up and show the world how true believers behave, like Jesus! Much LOVE!
…we can’t just talk the talk…we must also walk that talk…
10 Jun 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all these things, an understanding heart, ask of God, Beelzebub, dampen the spirit, disgrace, do the aged always understand judgement, done according to thy words, elect godly people, Elihu, endure to the end, gives liberally, giveth them understanding, glory hallelujah, great men are not always wise, halfway home, honour, it pleased the Lord, Job, keep my statutes and commandments, lack wisdom, lengthen thy days, LOVE, magnanimity of God, multitude of years, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, negative stuff, none like thee before thee, not looking back, opening remarks, riches, righteousness exalteth a nation, seek ye first, shame, should teach wisdom, sin is a reproach, sully my soul, the breath of life, the inspiration of the Almighty, the kingdom of God, the people perish, the prince of chaos and destruction, there is a spirit in man, this thy so great a people, to a glorious future with Jesus, troubling times, understanding, walk in my ways, Wednesday Wail, well-mammered, where there is no vision, who is able to judge, will be added unto you, wisdom, without reproach
Job 32:8. But there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration (breath) of the Almighty giveth them understanding.
Well I’m like the weather this morning; some early rain with the sun pushing through some dark clouds that are still hanging around. Hn! I guess the truth is I don’t have any remarkable opening remarks to offer this morning. There are some things I would like to say, but prefer not to touch on because they will only provide negative vibes, and I really don’t want to sully my soul, or yours, with too much negative stuff since there’s enough circulating around the globe in what we call the news to dampen the spirit of the strongest personality in the universe.
Instead, I’m going to throw out a few verses that I just noticed in the Good Book, verses that seem to have a particular reference to these troubling times. They come from the book of Job, when Elihu, the youngster in the group of Job’s friends finally got up to speak. Like a well-mannered young man, he had allowed his elders to speak first… something that’s no longer an accepted way of life in these modern days. Elihu had been afraid to voice his thoughts because of the age of his friends and his relative youth.
‘I said, Days (age) should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom. But there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration (breath) of the Almighty giveth them understanding. Great men (men of many years) are not always wise: neither do the aged (always) understand judgement.’ (Job 32:7-9) Ah friends, those words are even truer today than they were back in Elihu’s day. Technically speak, men of great years ought to be wise, but as we are seeing in these turbulent times that is certainly not the case.
And even with the Holy Spirit now living in believers, and ought to give us understanding, for whatever reason, too many of us are not listening to the Lord’s Spirit and following its instructions. That’s why there is so much strife and dissension and struggle in our world. We’re not seeking wisdom and understanding like Cousin Sol did back when the Lord raised him up to the throne of his father, Bruh David. When the Lord asked him in a night vision what he wanted, he replied: ‘Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people.’ (1 Kin. 3:9)
And it pleased the Lord that Cousin Sol hadn’t asked for long life, riches, or the life of his enemies. Unfortunately though friends, those are the things that too many of us are asking for these days, instead of wisdom and understanding. And what did the Lord do? ‘Behold I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and honour: so that there shall not be any (anyone) among the kings like unto thee all thy days. And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.’ (1 Kin. 3:12-14)
Yuh see friends, that’s the magnanimity of our great and wonderful God showing out there. When we’re not preoccupied with the things of this world, then the Lord showers us with some of those very things. As Christ advised. ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness: and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33) My people, the Lord knows what we need to live this earthly life and if we keep Him first in our lives, we will be well looked after. That’s His faithful promise.
And it’s a sad commentary on Cousin Sol, that when he got on in years he turned away from the Lord who had given him such wisdom and understanding and wealth. His many wives apparently led him to turn to their pagan gods. And no, I won’t say it. Don’t want to get into trouble with the wives. (smile) I guess what I’m trying to say is that our elders and leaders with age and experience behind them, ought to be doing a better job of leading the people than they’re doing.
And whether it’s through their own greed, lust for power, the devil’s machinations, or simply failing brain functions, or a combination of them all, the world leaders are not leading properly, there’s no wisdom and understanding amongst them, and consequently the world’s going up in both real and psychological flames. You can’t remove the great stabilizing power of Jehovah God from society and expect it to run smoothly, for Beelzebub is the prince of chaos and destruction. And right now he is indeed ruling the roost.
Friends, we need leaders and elders who are actively seeking wisdom and understanding to lead their people, rather than wealth and power and revenge and a heavy hand to keep them in subjugation. And as James says: ‘If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not (without reproach); and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering (not doubting). For he that wavereth (doubts) is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.’ (James 1:5-8)
Oh my people, faith in Almighty God ought to be our driving force, else we’ll end up lost and drifting aimlessly in the wilderness like the Israelites. And above all, we must seek wisdom and understanding, so that we can appoint the proper people to lead and guide us, for remember the words of Cousin Sol: ‘Where there is no vision (revelation), the people perish (cast off restraint): but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.’ (Prov. 29:18) Our leaders need to have more godly counsel, and our morality must be based on God’s revealed will.
Fellow believers, the long and short of the story is we the people must be actively involved in our government, not just leave it up to a bunch of greedy and evil politicians. We must elect godly people, and make sure they toe the line. Ensure that they remember, they are working for us, not we for them! Now let’s go home declaring (awright!) our Wednesday Wail, describing our wonderful situation in Jesus.
‘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 it will be, if we endure to the end. Much LOVE!
…righteousness exalteth a nation…but sin is a reproach (shame, disgrace) to any people… (Prov. 14:34)
08 Jun 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a city on a hill, a mighty avenger, a sound disciplined mind, a spirit of fearlessness, awesome ally, bounden duty, come short in obedience, compliance to your word, dazzles the eyes, double threats, fearsome enemy, find a positive solution, forgiving and gracious God, glorify the Father, God's the Boss, hang their hat on Jesus' hat rack, he that followeth me, heal our land, hear our prayer, heavenly Father, his thoughts and ways are higher than ours, humble ourselves, humble servants, I am the light of the world, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, light and love of Jesus, lights up the darkness, LOVE, mass confusion, men light a candle, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, need your help, pandemic, Praise the Lord, pray, promised to hear and answer our prayers, put it under a bushel, salt of the earth, salvation, Satan, shall have the light of life, shall not walk in darkness, shines so birhgtly, show the dark world, sincerely seek your face, the Holy Spirit, the Lion of Judah, the only one, victory, we have all sinned, wisdom, with power and insight, worldwide sickness, worldwide strife, Ye are the light of the world, you are a merciful
John 8:12. I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Yes…Yes…Yes… It’s Monday! And yuh know what? We coming out fighting! We going out fearless to battle the fearsome and daunting enemy on his own turf – the battlefields of this evil world! And the victory’s already ours, because our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, has already defanged and ‘detoothed’ (smile) the ole lion called Satan, and all he has now is a setta mouth, plenty bark and but no bite! Wow! What a mighty avenger is our Lord; the immortal Lion of Judah!
But we still need to engage Satan in mortal combat because like he doesn’t know or realize that he’s already lost the war for spiritual superiority and keeps showing up and threatening people with his toothless and defanged self. Thus, to add to Satan’s misery, our Saviour has given us a spirit of fearlessness, awesome power through the Holy Spirit that dwells within us to lead, guide and comfort us, plus His amazing LOVE, that shines so brightly, it dazzles the eyes and lights up the darkness, and last, but definitely not least, His everlasting wisdom, through a sound and disciplined mind!
So poor Beelzebub, he doesn’t stand a chance against us! Glory Hallelujah! Give our Jesus some thanks and praise for being such an awesome ally and giving us all the tools and help we need to keep our victory secure. And who still doesn’t want to hang their hat on Jesus’ hat rack, that’s their business yes, but for sure, me and mine are going to hang ours there! And all those who think like me, shouted a joyful and grateful: ‘Praise the Lord!’
Yes friends, we do need to praise our wonderful God, but we also need to communicate with Him through prayer, the medium that He’s devised for our communication. We need to tell Him our wishes and our woes, because He’s interested in EVERYTHING that concerns us, and sometimes has plans that are different to ours. But since He’s the BOSS, and His thoughts and ways are higher than ours, His desires ALWAYS take priority. And yuh better believe we have a lot to talk to Him about today yes, as we’re faced with double threats of worldwide sickness and worldwide strife and protests.
So as one strong and sincere voice, let’s call out to Him, invoking our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, asking for His mercy and grace. ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You that this Monday morning we’re alive, and hopefully haven’t contracted the virus that’s causing havoc around our world. And our anxieties have been recently deepened because some restrictions have been lifted in the lockdown, so more of us are going out to work now without any guarantees of safety.
Then to complicate matters Father, suddenly, and unexpectedly, worldwide strife and protests have also struck us in this sad time of pandemic, and we don’t have a clue how to handle either situation properly. Mass confusion is currently prevailing in our world, and we desperately need your help to solve both problems, as You are the ONLY One with the power and insight to successfully handle them.
Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously come short in obedience and compliance to Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, and You have 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, ordinary folks, as well as our leaders, employers and medical personnel, wise guidance and direction. Please show us how to successfully handle these scourges that are currently plaguing Your beautiful earth. Please help our leaders to wisely quell the strife and protests, and the scientists to find a positive solution, a sure antidote to the virus as quickly as possible. And for those who have already contracted the virus, or been injured in the strife, we pray that You will ease their suffering and heal them.
Father, 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!’
Yes my people, we’ve done the first part of our bounden duty; go to God in sincere prayer. Now we need to do the other part; show this dark and evil world the awesome LIGHT and LOVE that resides in Jesus and those who sincerely believe in Him. Remember Jesus’ words about the world: ‘And this is the condemnation, that (the) light is come into the world, and men LOVED darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.’ (John 3:19) And two thousand years later my brethren, that is still the case, men still prefer darkness to light because their deeds are still evil and are easily hidden in the darkness.
But please do not forget Jesus’ awesome proclamation to the Jewish Leaders: ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’ Now those Jewish leaders didn’t believe Him, because they considered Him to be boasting on Himself, tooting His own horn. But we believe Him! Glory to God! And the logical and natural corollary to all that is when Jesus ascended back to heaven, He left His faithful believers to be light in this dark world.
Please note His decree to us: ‘Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle (lamp), and put it under a bushel (basket), but on a candlestick (lampstand); and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt. 5:14:16)
There we have it friends! If you are a true and sincere believer in and follower of Jesus Christ, then it is expected that you will reflect, show the bright LIGHT that He’s placed in you to this dark and evil world, so we can envelop unbelievers in His light, and thus bring them to salvation. That’s it in a nutshell friends! So what are we waiting for eh? Let’s go out today and be like that city on the hill, show the dark world the LIGHT and LOVE of Jesus! Much LOVE!
…oh that many more of us…were truly salt of the earth…and lights of the world…so that in Jesus’ name…the Father would be truly glorified…
07 Jun 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a friend beyond compare, a lifeline, a man after God's own heart, a physical space, a powerful presence, a revolution, a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, an explosion of life, attend unto my prayer, breaks in from the future, casting all your care upon him, come unto me, comfort, darknights of rejection, discouragement, empathy, fellowship, gentle and humble, given me life, God's destiny for humanity, godly greetings, he careth for you, hear my cry, hope, hugs and kisses, humble yourselves, I am meek and lowly, I will give you rest, in a world marked by death, it changes everything, John W. Peterson, join Jesus, lead me to a rock, learn of me, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, my burden is light, my comfort in my affliction, my heart is overwhelmed, my yoke is easy, No one understand like Jesus, pain and suffering, peace, praise and worship, sacrifice of praise, saints in Christ, soulful harmony, succour, take my yoke upon you, thanksgiving, that is higher than I, the days are dark and grim, the gospel truth, the great invitation, the living truth, the throne of mercy, the ultimate revolutionary, this time of sickness and strife, thy word hath quickened me, transforms today, turn to Jesus for help, under the mighty hand of god, understanding
1 Peter 5:7. Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
One more Sunday, one more day of technological fellowship and thanksgiving. Hn! And are we ever getting good at it! But it’s never ever going to be the same as worshipping our great God in a physical space together, with hugs and kisses and handshakes and godly greetings, because the Lord made us to be people of physical fellowship, not this over the airwaves stuff. (smile) But since we don’t have much choice right now, let’s enjoy what we have, because the Lord is ALWAYS pleased with praise and worship however, or wherever we perform it.
So let’s get to some praise with this awesome and oh so appropriate hymn for these turbulent times, written by John W. Peterson (1921-2006) and titled ‘No One Understands Like Jesus.’ And if that isn’t the living truth friends, then I don’t know what is nuh! Therefore, with raised voices, in heartfelt sincerity and soulful harmony let’s thank our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for His unbiased understanding and sincere empathy, because as a man, He experienced the trials and tribulation of earthly life, like we’re currently doing.
Now let’s unleash our sacrifice of praise which our God LOVES to hear. ‘No one understands like Jesus; He’s a Friend beyond com-pare. Meet Him at the throne of mercy; He is waiting for You there. (Chorus: No one under-stands like Jesus When the days are dark and grim. No one is so near, so dear as Jesus; Cast Your every care on Him.) No understands like Jesus; Every woe He sees and feels. Tenderly He whispers comfort, And the broken heart He heals.
(Chorus ….) No one understands like Jesus When the foes of life assail. You should never be discouraged; Jesus cares and will not fail. (Chorus…) No one understands like Jesus When you falter on the way. Though you fail Him, sadly fail Him, He will pardon You today. (Chorus: No one under-stands like Jesus When the days are dark and grim. No one is so near, so dear as Jesus; Cast Your every care on Him.)
Ah mih people, in this time of sickness and strife, there’s no better place to cast our care than upon Jesus, for remember He understands what we’re going through, since He also went through dark nights of rejection, discouragement and enormous pain and suffering. So our troubles are nothing new to Him. That’s why Peter tells us so emphatically: ‘Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.’ And that’s gospel truth or God would not have sacrificed Jesus and have Him pay for our sins.
And Jesus Himself dearly and desperately wants us to come to Him for hope, comfort and succour, peace, LOVE and joy; all the wonderful things that heaven allows. Hear Him in the Great Invitation nuh… and don’t tell me yuh tired hearing it either, because if we’d only listen and accept it, we wouldn’t have half the problems we now have. So please listen up and positively action the invitation, the greatest one that’s ever been offered! ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble): and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt. 11:28-30)
Oh friends, I don’t understand us nuh; man is supposed to be the wisest creature in the universe, but when we find ourselves in trouble and can’t get out of it on our own accord, we still refuse to turn to Jesus for help. We prefer to suffer in our despair and tribulation. Now is that wisdom? Not in my book! And the sad part is that the scriptures have so many encouraging and comforting words, if we’d only wake up and own them. Let’s check out a couple nuh. Hear this one from the longest chapter in the Good Book, Psalm 119: ‘Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope. This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me (given me life).’ (Ps.119:49-50)
Oh my people, we were created to use the Word as a lifeline; to give us hope and comfort from our afflictions! So why aren’t we using it eh? And hear Bruh David from Psalm 61: ‘Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I; For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.’ (Ps. 61:1-3) Oh my fellow saints in Christ, if Bruh David, a man after God’s own heart, could cry unto the Lord when his heart was overwhelmed and find succour, why can’t we eh?
Now hear Bruh Paul to the church at Rome. ‘For whatsoever things were written aforetime (beforehand) were written for our learning, that we through patience (perseverance) and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.’ (Rom.15:4) Yes mih bredrin, the scriptures were indeed authored so that we could have hope! And if in these disastrous times you don’t have hope, then turn to the scriptures, that’s simple common sense! If there’s one thing we need to live this life successfully it’s hope! Without it, we’re dead in spirit.
And here’s something I believe I’ve quoted before, but it’s ever so timely right now. It comes from an article titled ‘Prisoners of Hope,’ by one Joshua Ryan Butler. And he unequivocally states: ‘Hope is a revolution, a powerful presence that breaks in from the future and transforms today. Jesus’ arrival has brought God’s destiny for humanity crashing into now – an explosion of life into a world marked by death. It changes everything.’
And that’s the kind of world we’re currently living in; one marked by death, and the only real hope for us to move from death to life, is to embrace Jesus and His wonderful revolution of hope, which ultimately fosters His LOVE Revolution. Yes friends, Jesus is, was, and always will be the ultimate revolutionary! Much LOVE
…want to be in a successful revolution… then join Jesus’…
29 May 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a spirit of fear, absentee ruler, be responsible, bring backsliders back to your fold, casting of blame, compassion, confused world, Covid-19 virus, crapaud smoke we pipe, desperately needed stability, differences of opinion, disagreement, disciplined mind, divine plan, Friday chant, God hath not given us, gospel truth, heightened calamity, his thoughts higher than ours, lockdown restrictions lifted, LOVE, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient God, pandemonium, physical distancing, physically harder, power, resentment, resoring faith, rhetoric, sound mind, stand strong, stay safe, steadfast action, talk is cheap, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, the error of their ways, the reins of his universe, trusting faith, very present on His throne, wake up and smell the coffee, weak-kneed ruler, what a crazy world we live in, wise guidance
2 Timothy 1:7. For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power (His Holy Spirit), and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind.
And then it was Friday, the last day of the normal workweek; a week of heightened calamity and tension, hatred and overflowing resentment around the world… all of that within the current upheaval caused by the Coronavirus pandemic. Oh friends, our world is now in a state ripe for exploding, and if we don’t lessen the tension soon, it will certainly explode. At one stage the pandemic seemed to be bringing us together, but with all the divisive rhetoric spouted on it, highlighting differences of opinion on what it is and where it came from and how to cure it, the obvious and nasty casting of blame and if it’s even true, the stage is set for a lot of national and international disagreement.
But faithful saints of Christ, please let us remember who created this universe; our omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God! And let’s not forget that He is still in complete control of it and whatever goes on therein, and He is not an absentee or weak-kneed ruler, but He’s very present on His throne and has the reins of His universe well in hand. And that means He knows what is happening and why He’s allowing it. It’s all happening according to His divine plan. Remember His thoughts and ways are higher than ours so we’ll not understand all that happens.
Therefore we must not let fear, worry, anxiety and all the other negative emotions bury us under their heavy yoke and cause us to lose faith, for faith in Almighty God is the only thing that will successfully see us through all the current problems we’re facing. Remember that majestic and most assuring verse of scripture from Bruh Paul to Timothy and now to us: ‘For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power (His Holy Spirit), and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind.’
Well NOW IS THE TIME for us to put that verse into steadfast action; to stand strong and faithful in the reverence, assurance, wisdom and LOVE of our great and faithful God! Remember, in His Word, He also says that he who survives to end will receive a crown of glory. So please let’s fight the good fight, run whatever race we have to run with diligence and excellence and the utmost faithfulness, so that we can prevail in the end. And no, I haven’t forgotten that today being Friday, many of you are looking forward to what the ordinary workingman has to say.
And as always, he opens – though somewhat less energetically than usual – with this proclamation: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday! And thank God the weekend is here at last too. It’s the second week of work since some of the lockdown restrictions lifted…the first full one, since last week Monday was Queen Vic holiday. And am I ever glad to see the weekend, because after such a long time off work, the body’s gotten soft and flabby and thus the work’s become physically harder. And I still need to get back accustomed to waking up so early in the morning.
But what a crazy world we live in eh Dr. Jack? Like they let some of us out from the zoo, the way we behaving like wild animals with no responsible physical distancing and such, although we still in the throes of the pandemic! Steups! Mankind is something else yes! That’s why they say we’re our own worst enemy…and that’s the gospel truth! No other animal quick to destroy themselves as we humans are. And sadly my views doh make any difference to anybody nuh. All I could do is my best yes…and hope and pray that people soon wake up and realize how bad the situation is oui… Otherwise crapaud certainly smoke we pipe!’
And there’s no doubt whatsoever about it friends, if we don’t wake up very soon, there will be pure pandemonium around our world; pandemonium like we’ve never seen before, or might ever see again! And as individuals, there’s not much we can do about the situation, but together, as the Church, as Christ’s body in this confused world, we can stand together and make our voices heard, and behave in a right and responsible manner, and hope and pray! So let’s start with the praying part right now nuh, our Friday Chant.
As one now, in strong voice, with sincere hearts: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. It’s been pretty rough…some of it from work, as many of us are now back to work in varied ways, but most of our anxiety still comes from all the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus still causing. We not accustomed to that Lord, and it really telling on us. But with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat this virus.
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 have to 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 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!’
Yes friends, we’ve fulfilled the praying part of the solution, let’s now turn our attention to the hope and responsible behaviour that must be done if we’re to be successful in defeating this virus and bringing some desperately needed stability to our world! Much LOVE!
…talk is cheap…especially when action is what’s needed…
28 May 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a positive outlook, Abide in me, always an empty space in our souls, brain storm the problem, come before His presence, comfort, cool down the heat, creativity, curse, didn't lose my joy, each empty space, ecstasy, ecstasy of soul, enter into his gates, faith, fell behind, frail and fragile, greedy, his mercy is everlasting, his truth endureth, hungry heart, I am the vine, joy, LOVE, make a joyful noise, mortal selves, mundane days, needed batteries, negative word, Newborn Ecstasy, not sufficient of ourselves, nourish the parched ground, obedient to God's will, open up our hearts and souls, our sufficiency is of God, power hungry, prosper, Ruth Harms Calkin, self-control, serve the Lord with gladness, shout joyfully, success, successfully navigate, thanksgiving, the Lord he is God, The Lord is good, the One Year Book of Bible Promises, Thursday Blessings, toss this coronavirus aside, until we come to Christ, unto the Lord, walking the straight and narrow path, with singing, without me, worked like a charm, ye are the branches, ye can do nothing
Psalm 100:1. Make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto the Lord, all ye lands (all the earth).
Well it’s not as bright and sunshiny in my area as it’s been the last several days; it’s somewhat cloudy… And we could really use some rain, to cool down the heat and nourish the parched ground. But we’ll just have to wait and see what the Lord has in mind for our area. And on that computer problem I encountered halfway through writing the Bit yesterday morning, it’s been fixed. And I have to laugh because it was a simple problem; my keyboard needed batteries. Hn!
And it was actually one of the first things I thought of when the problem occurred, but for some reason I never followed up on it, and even later in the night when my young D and I were trying to brain storm the problem, that never occurred to either of us. It’s only when I contacted the support department which suggested it, that I remembered that possibility. And as soon as the new batteries were put in, the computer worked like a charm.
Oh, the ways the enemy finds to get into our hearts, bodies and souls and disrupt our lives eh! But thankfully, he didn’t make me lose my joy, but nonetheless I fell behind in all the stuff I had planned to do yesterday. And I guess in his books that is still a win. (smile) But yuh know what? We are not going to let the ole geezer disturb our peace today, because we’re going to be talking about ‘Newborn Ecstasy!’ found in a poem in our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin.
So please pray with me: ‘O Lord, When I resolve to come to You Amid the chunks and cracks Of all my mundane days – When I resolve to listen Really listen to Your gentle voice Suddenly I know anew That you are life And life is joy! Like a singing brook Joy splashes over All the common “dailies” Until each empty space Of my hungry heart Is touched with newborn ecstasy.’
Oh friends, it is indeed when we walk sincerely with the Lord, are obedient to His will that we find true ecstasy! Yes, it’s not always easy walking the straight and narrow path, but you can bet your bottom dollar that as Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) likes to say, ‘Your worst day with Jesus is better than your best day without Him!’ Glory be! And isn’t that the gospel truth! Oh brother, you all just went and got the ole fella excited and now he can’t control the excitement. (smile) So let’s continue being excited in the Lord nuh, for there’s nothing better than that! And we’ll show that excitement by reciting, singing or whatever way you choose, Psalm 100; a psalm of praise or thanksgiving.
It’s also the Bible verse used for our poem above. So let’s go nuh: ‘Make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto the Lord, all ye lands (all the earth). Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves (his we are); we are his people, and the sheep of is pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.’ (Ps. 100:1-5)
Wow mih people! What encouraging words of indisputable truth! It’s only when we worship the mighty and merciful Lord God Jehovah, come before Him with praise and thanksgiving that our souls experience real joy, real ecstasy! That truly euphoric state cannot be experienced in any other way! So let’s try and open up our hearts and souls to Him today…and everyday nuh. When He comes knocking let’s allow strong and overwhelming faith to run to the doors of our hearts and joyfully greet Him! Then open our whole body and soul to Him, so that He can fill us with the peace, the joy, the LOVE and comfort that just naturally exudes from Him! That’s how we experience ecstasy of soul!
And consequently, we are able to successfully navigate all the storms and fires and floods and evil circumstances that this devilish world desires to inundate us with. Yes friends, wisdom and common sense dictate that we hang with the Risen Christ if we want to have enjoyable and successful lives, both here on earth and in heaven above. Please remember…better yet, let’s write these memorable words of Christ indelibly in our hearts so that we won’t ever forget them.
‘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) Mamacita! Yuh hear that mih bredrin! Jesus spells it out loud and clear: without Him, we can do NOTHING! Please, let’s keep that first and foremost in our consciousness.
And as Bruh Paul reminded the Corinthians: ‘Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.’ (2 Cor. 3:5) And yuh know friends, that’s our problem right there: we think too much of our blooming petty, greedy, power hungry but oh so frail and fragile, mortal selves. We believe we’re such hot shots with the li’l knowledge that we’ve acquired down through the ages, that we can now toss God, our Creator, our Deliverer and Provider aside. And very conveniently we seem to forget who made the heavens, the earth and all therein! Well let’s see us toss this coronavirus aside nuh! End of sermon!
Now for the wise ones amongst us, let’s go home declaring (steups!) our Thursday Blessings, that the Lord has so generously granted us to do his earthly work. All together, in strong, voice with sincere hearts: ‘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 everyday! Amen!’
So let’s go out now, while physically distancing, and share those blessings just as generously as the Lord shared them with us. That’s His ardent desire! Much LOVE!
…until we come to Christ…there will ALWAYS be…a lonely and empty space in our souls…
P.S. I hope you all enjoy reading this and get excited like I did while writing it. (smile) Much LOVE!
20 May 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fountain, a serious wake up call, a well of water sprining up, Advocate in heaven, all of which he hath given me, all that come to me, any man pluck them from my hand, assurance, bear the consequences, believers will be utterly safe, by fasting and prayer, by prayer and repentance, calamity, cannot change our minds, Coronavirus pandemic, depart this earthly life, disobedience, drink of this water, endure till the end, enough is enough, eternal life, ever-faithful God, eyes fixed straight ahead, fear, feeling lousy, free will, god moves in mysterious ways, graven images, halfway home, hands on the plough, he who has ears to hear, I shall lose nothing, I will in no wise cast out, individual decision, Jesus comes again, lack of sleep, life is a bully -boy, long-suffering, LOVE, merciful, my glory, never perish, not looking back, raise it up again, shall never thrist, thank God, that I shall give him, the breath of life, the last day, the Samaritan woman, thirst again, this is the Father's will, this kind goeth not out, to a glorious future with Jesus, trepidation, Wednesday Wail, will I not give to another, will surely feel
John 6:39. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
Ah mih people, life really not fair nuh, and it is indeed a bully-boy. Just when you’re down, it chooses to put you even further down! Steups! Good example. A few minutes ago I came down with my coffee, already feeling lousy from lack of sleep, and telling the Lord that I needed His help ever so badly this morning because of my poor state. Next thing I know, I put down the coffee and spill it! Chuh man! That only made me more aggravated and later than I already was, because I had to spend some valuable time cleaning up the mess.
And would you believe in all the years I’ve been doing this, I can’t remember ever spilling the coffee, even one time before now. But as they say, after one time is two. And I have to chuckle, because I didn’t have any opening remarks in mind, so the Lord gave me something to write about. Oh, how He does move in ever-faithful but ofttimes mysterious ways eh! (smile) How then can we not LOVE and adore Him eh? The One who LOVED us so much that He gave His only Son as a sacrifice for us while we were yet sinners and had no positive relationship with Him?
The One who created us from the dust of the earth, then breathed His miraculous and marvellous breath of life into our mortal souls eh! The One who makes a way, where there seems to be no way, and eventually works everything out for our good, despite the prevailing circumstances! And yuh know what friends, our great, merciful and miracle working God is the same one who will find a way for us to withstand the rigours and trepidation and calamity of this Coronavirus pandemic that has so many of us living in fear. As He says, this too will pass!
But as Jesus told His disciples when they could not cure a young epileptic boy: ‘Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.’ (Matt. 17:21) Likewise, this pandemic will only pass through sincere prayer and repentance! Oh friends, I don’t know whether I’m right or wrong nuh, but I feel it deep down in my soul that this plague is a serious wake up call from our heavenly Father. Yes, He is long-suffering and merciful and all that, but there comes a time when even He must get tired of our disobedience and say enough is enough!
And I believe this is what He’s saying right now. He’s tired and fed up with our efforts to throw Him out of our society and the awful sinful way in which we’re currently living. Remember, He’s a living God, with feelings and emotions just like us, and He’s promised that NO ONE will ever take away His glory: ‘I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.’ (Is. 42:8) And right now in our sinful, idol worshipping society, that’s exactly what we’re trying to do; rob Him of His awesome might and power and honour and glory!
So don’t be surprised that He might be fighting back. I can assure you, He’s not going to go down without a major fight. That again just goes to show how much He LOVES us, that He’s not willing to see us waste our lives and end up eternally separated from Him, dwelling with the fallen angel Lucifer in Hades, and being eventually destroyed in the lake of fire. Oh friends, Jesus came to earth to save us from sin, and as our Advocate in heaven right now He’s still fighting to save us and give us eternal life.
Hear these wonderful, reassuring words He spoke down here on earth nuh. ‘I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.’ (John 6:35). Yeh mih people, Jesus is the One through whom eternal life is found! Glory be! And remember what He told the Samaritan woman at the well? ‘Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water (fountain) springing up into everlasting life.’ (John 4:13-14)
And how can we consider ourselves wise and not want that eternal life eh? But here’s the crux of the matter. Jesus said: ‘All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise (certainly not) cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up the last day.’ (John 6:37-40)
Oh my fellow saints in Christ, what wonderful and encouraging sentiments! And if that doesn’t touch you, then listen to these further words of Jesus to the doubting Jews: ‘My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck (snatch) them out of my hand. My Father which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck (snatch) them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.’ (John 10:27-30)
And the scholars say of those verses: ‘10:27-29. Never perish: These verses declare the assurance that all believers will be utterly safe from any creature that might wish to destroy them.’ Mama Yo! That’s the best news I’ve heard for the day mih bredrin! No one can take us away from Christ or destroy us if we walk sincerely with Him! So why wouldn’t I want to walk in company with him eh? Ah friends, to me it’s cut and dried that the best way to live this life is by following Christ.
But we each have to make our own decision on that matter, that’s why the Father gave us free will. But please remember that whatever decision we make, once we depart this earthly life, or Jesus comes again, we cannot change our minds then, and we’ll have to bear whatever consequences those decisions bring, come eternity. Matter fix!
Now for those of us who choose to follow Christ, let’s go home declaring (steups!) our Wednesday Wail, telling the world of our wonderful and secure position in Christ. All together now, in strong voice with sincere hearts: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And if we endure until the end, then it will be even better than we can ask or imagine! Much LOVE
…let him who has ears to hear…hear…else he’ll certainly feel…
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