06 Jun 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a constant struggle, abundance, as for me an my house, baptizing, Beelzebub, curse, examples of our lives, faithful service, fleshly self, foolish personalities, generously, god, haughty, Joshua, kind, lay not up earthly treasures, lazy, logic, loving, making disciples, meritorious benefits, moth and rust doth corrupt, motives of the heart, negative word, not rich towards God, parable of the rich fool, proud, saints of Christ, self-control, self-discipline, selfishly hoard, selfless, sit on the fence, spiritual being, talent, the devil, the Father, the Holy Spirit, the prince of darkness, the SON, there is your heart, thieves break through and steal, Thursday Blessings, treasures in heaven, two options, we will serve the Lord, where your treasure is, wisdom, worthless baubles of the world, you got to bow to somebody
Matthew 6:19. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves break through and steal.
Well it’s wet and somewhat cloudy…but that’s nothing new! (smile) And it’s certainly not going to stop we saints of Christ from going about His business, witnessing to the unsaved, making disciples of them, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and leading lives that exemplify the glory and LOVING-kindness of Jesus!
Oh friends, that’s what we are called on to do, and do it we must, or the world will just be more strife-filled and sink even deeper into the mire of evil and ungodliness. It’s too bad already! Can you imagine it getting worse? But that’s what will happen if we don’t stand up NOW and be counted!
Just think about your children or grandchildren living in such an ungodly and evil world nuh. Think about them not knowing or even hearing about Jesus and the awesome stuff He’s done for mankind, and the wonderful treasures He has stored up for those who sincerely LOVE and obey Him. What kind of life would they be living eh? A satanic life of greed, selfishness, lust, envy and all the other stuff that will have them heading straight for hell and eternal damnation!
That means you won’t be seeing them in heaven, won’t be congregating with them in better circumstances that this evil earth. Like the rich man and the beggar Lazarus, they’ll be begging you to send a drop of water to cool their burning tongues in the raging fires of Hades and you’ll be unable to help them in the least bit! So let’s think on these things nuh and try to do better in our teaching and the examples our lives portray.
Oh, none of us are perfect, but we can all certainly improve and do better with the help of God. The problem though is that we are either too lazy, or too interested in the fancy but worthless baubles of the world…and asking God for help, well that’s definitely not in some of our proud, haughty and foolish personalities! But please remember people, in this world you got to bow to somebody, and the two main options are God and the devil himself!
You have to choose one. You just can’t sit on the fence, as so many of us try to do, and hope that everything will work out right, because it won’t! The two powerful entities that control things want you all for themselves, don’t want to share one iota of you with the other, so they’ll both try their level best to get you fully into their camp. That means a constant struggle between the devil; your earthly and fleshly self, and the Lord; your heavenly and spiritual being!
So whom are you going to choose eh? Remember Jesus said that no man can serve two masters; you can’t serve God and mammon too. (Matt.6:24) That means you have to make a conscious choice. And hopefully we’ll all declare like Joshua did: ‘But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’ (Josh.24:15d) Yeh friends, that’s the smart thing to do, the wise move to consciously make.
Why? Although Jesus calls on us to be more selfless, generous, LOVING and kind, sentiments that the world consider folly, the things that He has in store for us are way way more useful and important than the things Beelzebub, the prince of darkness has to offer.
And as always, Jesus put’s it so simply and succinctly: ‘Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ (Matt.6:19-21) Now doesn’t that sound like simple, sensible logic and wisdom? It certainly does!
That’s because all the treasures we amass here on earth, time and insects will eventually destroy, or people will steal them. And for sure we can’t carry any with us! Oh, I know some of us will have them place some in the box with us, (smile) but they’ll be no good on the other side, neither in heaven nor in hell. That’s why listening to Jesus, and following Him is the wiser of the two options we have. For if we do that, then we’ll end up in heaven, and will have treasures stored up their for us, that will be even better than those down here on earth.
Unfortunately though, many of us can’t see the forest for the trees, can’t see the bigger picture, always believing that a bird in the hand is better than two or three in the bush. But friends, with Jesus, we have to see it that way. And we can only do so by faith, believing for that which we don’t see. And yes, that’s not easy, especially with the kind of world we’re currently living in.
But as Jesus taught in the parable of the rich fool, (Luke 12:13-21) who, not caring about anybody but himself, kept building bigger and better and storing up treasures here on earth. And what happened when the Lord called him home unexpectedly eh? All his earthly treasure was left behind for others to fight over, and he had none in heaven to go to. ‘So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.’ (Luke 12:21)
And it’s oh so important that we hear this explanation from the scholars. ‘6:19-21. The attention of the believer is directed toward treasures in heaven. The term treasures implies the addition or accumulation of things. The two kinds of treasures are conditioned by their place (either on earth or in heaven). The concept of laying up treasures in heaven is not pictured as one of meritorious benefits but rather of rewards for faithful service, as is illustrated elsewhere in the teaching of Jesus.’ So heavenly rewards depend more on the attitude of our hearts and service, than just what we deserve for doing good.
Now let’s go home declaring (yes!) our Thursday Blessings. In full voice and strong belief: ‘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!’
And please remember, those wonderful blessings haven’t been given to us to selfishly hoard, but to go out and share with the less fortunate…generously…and with the right motive in our hearts! Much LOVE!
…in all that we do…be it good or bad…the Lord looks for the motives in our hearts…
18 Dec 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fallen world, action, anger, as God, basic foundation, be kind, bitterness, change, Christians, clamour, corrupt communication, effective, ever learn, fervent prayers, for Christ's sake, forgive men, forgive your trespasses, forgiving one another, fretful patience, grieve my attitude, grieve not, hath forgiven you, help the needy, hurry, immortal words, impatience, in god's eyes, intolerant, labour, LOVE, loving, malice, members one of another, more flexible, need to grow, negative traits, one to another, One Year Book of Bible promises, past mistakes, practical ideas, put away lying, put on the new man, renewed, righteousness, Ruth Harms Calkin, sealed, share His love, sincere hearts, sink into our consciousness, Slow Growth, so slow, speak truth, steal no more, strong voice, support, talk, tenderhearted, the beloeved of god, the Big Day, the day of redemption, the Holy Spirit, the Lord's time, the spirit of your mind, tolerant, treasure trove, true believers in Christ, true holiness, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, understanding, what I do, what I have, worry, wrath
Ephesians 4:32. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
And so it’s Tuesday, the day before the next Big Day. Steups! Let’s hope it happens as planned now yes, and no more silly postponements! That means friends, many prayers bombarding heaven for the ole fella’s safe and productive surgery tomorrow. Glory be! That is if you want him to be around for a long time writing these interesting and provocative Bits! (smile)
And I sincerely thank you for all the support I’ve gotten so far, and I know that the effective and fervent prayers of you righteous people will be heard and positively answered in heaven. So I’m not worried, just a li’l skeptical that something might happen to put it off again. Let’s hope that this is now the Lord’s time! Amen!
And with that, let me share a most appropriate poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. This one’s titled ‘Slow Growth!’ Please pray with me: ‘In my fretful patience I am so often inclined to ask “Why can’t she change?” “Why is he always so slow?” “Will they ever learn from their past mistakes?”
And then You begin to impress me With my own slow progress upward. I see Your stretched-our patience. I remember how long you’ve waited for me. And I grieve that my attitude Is so often intolerant. O God, keep fresh the imprint Of my own need to grow And make me more flexible More understanding And always more LOVING.’
Ah mih people, not one of us can truly say we don’t see ourselves in that picture, because impatience and intolerance with the attendant hypocrisy are big parts of our society today. We all show some of those negative traits at some time or the other because we are human and live in a fallen society. But as sincere Christians, true believers in Christ, we ought to show those negative characteristics on as few occasions as possible.
Instead my faithful brethren, we ought to let these momentous words of Bruh Paul sink into our consciousness and lead us on a more Christ-like path. Hear him to the Ephesians, re the new life in Christ: ‘And be ye renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place (an opportunity) to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph.4:23-32)
Oh my people, what a treasure trove of practical ideas for godly and righteous living! If we’d only adopt a few of them, our lives would be oh so much better. And it’s not like they are so difficult to put into practice. Once we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, His Holy Spirit comes to live within us and seals us forever. Consequently our behaviour ought to change, granted, not all at once, but there must be some newness in our behaviour otherwise Jesus is not truly dwelling within us.
And hear these oh so practical options nuh: No more lying, but truth speaking to everybody, because we are all members of Christ’s body, His church. No keeping of anger after sundown, because it destroys our sleep and we wake up angry the next day. As best we can, don’t give the enemy any opportunities to invade our souls. Like no more stealing, but productive work, so that we can share with the unfortunate.
No cursing and corrupt communication, but words that can edify and uplift those who hear them. And put away all the negativity of vs. 31, which tend to be Satanic in nature. But instead, we ought to be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving, showing grace and mercy to others, just like our heavenly Father has showered down all that stuff on us.
Remember these immortal words of Jesus, the basic foundation upon which our faith has been founded and still rests: ‘For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.’ (Matt.6: 14-15)
Friends, it couldn’t be any simpler or plainer than that! So please, let’s seriously get ourselves together and begin treating each other the way we ought to nuh. Remember, it’s all for our benefit, not God’s! Now let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting the world know who and whose we are.
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!’
And if we truly believe it, then let’s go out and action it! Much LOVE!
…true Christianity places much more emphasis…on action…than on talk…
05 Sep 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, alive, another blessed day, Bless His Holy Name, boundaries, cast us off, chain, chisel, cleanse, comforting knowledge, comforts, Counselor, crash, crucifixion, crush, directed the Lord's Spirit, do god's work, do the will of who sent me, encourages, eternal future, ever-loving deity, finish his work, flood, free from outside influence, get away with nonsense, gives us chances, glad to be alive, glory hallelujah, God will exist forever, God's freedom, grasp anew, halfway home, He is the greatest, He is worthy, he went away again, I AM, if this cup may not pass away, inconsistency, independence, intentions, Jesus' darkest hour, justice, kicking, kind, knowledge, looking forward to, loving, melt, melt you with my love, method of Achievement, mine, Moses, my food, my love, nature, not looking back, o my father, One Year Book of Bible promises, our intention, our priority, planet earth, Praise the Lord, prayed, rebellion, resentment, rules, Ruth Harms Calkin, self-centredness, stifle fears, taught him, thanks and praise, the breath of God, the burning bush, the created, the creation, the Creator, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Good Lord, the method, the path of judgement, the Samaritan woman, the same, the second time, the well of Jacob, thy will be done, turn our lives around, understanding, unless I drink it, volition, Wednesday Wail, who is the boss, with my blood, with myself
Matthew 26:42. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except (unless) I drink it, thy will be done.
Alive! Alive and kicking mih breddren! Yea! The Good Lord has seen it fit to allow us to see another blessed day on His wonderful Planet Earth! Glory be! That means He still has stuff for us to do down here. So let’s go out willingly and do His work today nuh! Make it our priority this Wednesday, as it ought to be!
And all God’s people gave a loud and grateful shout of ‘Praise the Lord! Bless His holy Name, for He is indeed worthy of much thanks and praise! Amen!’
Yeh mih people, our God is indeed a great and powerful God, but also an ever-LOVING and caring deity. That means He doesn’t just cast us off, even when we deserve casting aside. But He works with us, encourages and comforts us, gives us second, third, fourth and even fifth chances to turn our lives around. No other supposed deity does that! That’s why He is indeed the GREATEST!
But though He’s LOVING and kind and all that, He still has rules and boundaries and will not allow us to get away with too much nonsense. I’m reminded of that by this piece in our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, titled ‘Method of Achievement.’
Please pray with me. ‘I said to You: Lord, crush my resentment Chisel my rebellion Chain my self-centredness Crash my inconsistency Stifle my fears. You said to me: I will cleanse you with My blood I will melt you with My LOVE I will flood you with Myself Until you grasp anew – Our intention is the same But the method is Mine.’
Glory be mih people! The method is certainly God’s! He will do whatever we want, but it will be His way, according to His will, and His time! He’s just reminding us who is the Boss! Who is the Creator and the Created! And though He is indeed our Friend, our BEST Friend, He is also our Lord, our God, our Maker and Master, so we have to know our place! Amen!
Even Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour acknowledged that the Father’s will was most important. As He says in our Bit, when He was anguished in the Garden of Gethsemane, the night before His crucifixion. ‘He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except (unless) I drink it, thy will be done.’
Yeh friends, even in Jesus’ darkest hour, He acknowledged that the Father’s will was uppermost. And all through His earthly sojourn He never claimed that He was here to do His will, but always the Father’s. Listen to His reply to the disciples when they offered Him food at the well of Jacob, after He had spoken to the Samaritan woman. ‘Jesus saith unto them, My meat (food) is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.’ (John 4:34)
Ah my brethren, doing the Father’s will should also be our main job on this Planet Earth! He made us, created us for His purpose and if we’re truly faithful, we’ll do what He desires. He has a plan for every life He creates, and it’s our duty to talk to Him and find out what He desires of us personally.
And the scripture promise for our poem today was this interesting passage from Isaiah. ‘Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counselor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him the path of judgement (justice), and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?’ (Is.40:13-14)
And the simple answer to that friends is NOBODY! It was ALL His own doing!
And the scholars offer this interesting explanation re the Freedom of God. ’40:13. God is the only Being in the universe that possesses independence from the Creation. The only limits to God’s freedom are in His own nature and attributes. He is unlimited in His existence. Because His existence relates to His nature rather than His will, God will exist forever. He who exists by reason of His nature rather than His volition must have existed – and must continue to exist – forever.
Illustration: When God revealed His nature to Moses at the burning bush, He called Himself “I AM” (Ex.3:13-15). This name emphasizes God’s self-existence, the fact that He has always existed and always will. Application: Neither anyone nor any outside force will affect God’s relationship to us. He will deal with us according to His nature because He is free from outside influence. (First ref. Gen.6:17; Primary Ref. Is.40:13; cf. Rom.12.1).’
Ah friends, that might be somewhat confusing to some of us, but my favourite part is that nothing or no one will influence God’s relationship with us. Yayyyy! Glory to God! Now, having said all of that, let’s go home rejoicing, declaring our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know our position in Christ Jesus!
So in strong voice, with sincere hearts, let’s wail mih breddren! ‘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 as always, I can’t help but think that the eternal future with Jesus will be even more glorious than we can hope or imagine! Much LOVE!
…God is…was…and always will be…that’s comforting knowledge to the believer…
26 Aug 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a shout of joy, Alleluia, an instrument of ten strings, appreciation, be not frunk with wine, Christians, come before the lord, dance for joy, David danced before the Lord, dissipation, excess, filled with the Spirit, filled your soul with song, from sleep, full of confidence, going to church, gratefulness, harp, heard my cry, hymns, in the name of Jesus, Jerusalem, joy, let your trumpets sound, loving, loving-kindness, making melody in your hearts, merciful, more faithfull, mountains high, open your heart and soul, out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, play glad tambourines, psalms, receptive to God's word, Rejoice in the Lord, righteousness, rise o children, set my feet upon a rock, sincere hearts, sing a new song, sing praises, spiritual songs, strong voices, thanks and praise, the ark of the covenant, the earth is full of goodness, the happiest people in the world, the joy of the Lord is your strength, The Lord is good, the Lord's people, to go or not to go, trust in the Lord, turned your sorrow to joy, upon a psaltery, waited patiently, your Saviour has come
Psalm 144:9. I will sing a new song unto thee, O God: upon a psaltery (harp) and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee.
To go or not to go? That is the question: whether, on this summer Sunday morning, I should stay in my warm, comfortable bed, roll over and go back to sleep, or make a determined effort to roll out, get dressed and go to the Lord’s sanctuary, to praise and worship, give thanks and fellowship with other faithful believers?
Hn! Oh friends, I daresay that many of us are facing that question, or have already faced it. Let’s hope that your reaction was, or will be the wise one; getting up and going to church. And while there you sincerely open your heart and soul to your heavenly Father, and you also take in all that He has to offer, so you can leave there stronger, more faithful and full of confidence.
And today friends, in our li’l get together, we’re going to open the proceedings the way we always do, by softening up our hearts in song, making them more receptive to God’s word, by first giving Him thanks and praise. And we’re going to do exactly what our Bit tells us to do: ‘I will sing a new song unto thee, O God: upon a psaltery (harp) and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee.’
Oh what a joy it is to sing unto the Lord my brethren, especially a new song, one that He hasn’t heard us sing before, because then He is eagerly looking forward to the praise we have to offer. Yuh know that’s one of the reasons He created us; to praise Him? So let’s not keep Him waiting any longer nuh, let’s belt out this new song with strong voices and sincere hearts.
As one soulful choir now: ‘(Chorus: Sing a new song unto the Lord, Let your song be sung from mountains high. Sing a new song unto the Lord, Singing Alleluia! Alleluia!) The Lord’s people dance for joy. O come before the Lord And play for Him on glad tambourines and let your trumpets sound. (Chorus)
Rise, O children from your sleep your Saviour now has come. He has turned your sorrow to joy, and filled your soul with song. (Chorus: Sing a new song unto the Lord, Let your song be sung from mountains high. Sing a new song unto the Lord, Singing Alleluia! Alleluia!)
Yes my people, that’s the way it ought to be! The Lord is good and merciful and LOVING, so His people should show their appreciation and gratefulness by dancing before Him with joy! That reminds me of when Bruh David danced before the Lord with all his might when they brought up the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem (2 Sam.6:14)
And the Lord just LOVES His music, so it’s a no-brainer that we should play happily and sweetly on our musical instruments and thus bring Him pleasure. So let those tambourines jangle, the harps sing and the trumpets sound out! An’ yuh see, even the song says we must rise up from our sleep, because our Saviour, Jesus has come! Glory be!
And what’s even better, is that He has turned our sorrow to joy, and filled our souls with song! Mama Mia! How can we beat that eh friends? No way! And as I keep saying, with a Saviour like Jesus, and all that He’s done for us, we Christians should be the happiest people in the world! Joy should be our watchword; ‘for the joy of the Lord is your strength,’ (Neh.8:10) And since we know that salvation has been granted and eternal life is waiting in heaven, our earthly life should be just one big sing along! (smile)
Like the Good Book says: ‘Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright. Praise the Lord with harp; sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. Sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise (a shout of joy). For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth. He LOVETH righteousness and judgement (justice): the earth is full of the goodness (LOVING-kindness) of the Lord.’ (Ps.33:1-5) And there is no disputing any of that my people!
And now hear Bruh David in Psalm 40 nuh –Praise for answered prayer. ‘I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings (my steps). And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.’ (Ps.40:1-4)
Ah friends, that’s the power of trusting in the Lord: you cry out to Him in patient and sincere trust, and He raises you up, and puts a new song in your soul, so you can praise Him even more! Glory to our heavenly Father!
And we’ll end with this wonderful advice from Bruh Paul to the Ephesians: ‘And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks ALWAYS for ALL things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph.5:18-21)
We couldn’t get any better advice than that nuh friends, so let’s take it to heart and put it into action today nuh! Much LOVE!
…there’s nothing our God LOVES more…than us giving Him sincere thanks and praise…
26 Jul 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a day in the life, Almighty God in our lives, an abundance of blessings, at the Father's right hand, blessings, caring, Christianity in action, come to Jesus, come to save, come up higher, courage, creativity, curse, disciples of Christ, disobedience, eternal damnation, faith, faith to waiver, father in heaven, favour, forgiveness, get involved with Jesus, God loves us, gone astray, good reason, grace, imperfections, in Christ's name, in our best interest, interceding for us, leave the ninety and nine, lives of good example, lost, lost soul, loving, Lucifer, mercy, negative word, obedient, planet earth, praise Your Holy Name, prosper, rejoices more over the lost, self-control, self-discipline, separation from God, sharing, shouldering the responsibility, spreading God's Word, strong connections, succeed, success, thank you, that which was lost, the evil one, the only way, the Son of man, Thursday Blessings, true believers, wisdom, with God's help
Matthew 18:11. For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
And so friends, with God’s help, we’ve come to Thursday and are about to enjoy another awesome day in the life! Wow! Christians are so blessed eh, I can’t imagine what we’d do, or be like, without Almighty God in our lives! Let’s give Him some much deserved praise and thanks nuh people, for being such a wonderful Father, for giving us blessings, mercy, grace and forgiveness that we don’t truly deserve.
Please pray with me: ‘Oh Father in heaven, we sincerely thank You for allowing us to see another day on planet earth. Life might sometimes be rough, causing our faith to waiver, and neither are we always obedient to Your will, but You made us and You still LOVE us despite our imperfections and disobedience. We thank You and praise your holy name for ALL that You are doing in our lives. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen!
Yeh friends, without God in our lives, we’d be lost and gone astray like so many people out there, headed for eternal damnation and separation from Him. And as I keep reminding us, separation from Almighty God is the very worst thing that can happen to a human being, that’s why it’s ever so necessary to get involved with Jesus RIGHT NOW, for He is the ONLY way that we can connect with the Father.
And as sincere disciples of Christ, His ears, hands, mouth and feet here on earth, we are expected to help bring those who are lost to Him. As He says in our Bit: ‘For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.’ Awright mih breddren, Jesus came to save such as you and I, who had gone astray, who had developed strong connections with the evil one, which was definitely not in our best interest.
And Jesus continues: ‘How think ye? If a man have a hundred sheep, and if one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?’ (Matt.18:12) Oh precious people, do you realize what that means? That if the only lost soul in the world was you or I, Jesus would still have done what He did; come to earth to die and save us! What a wonderful Lord and Saviour we have!
And that’s not all, because Jesus continues: ‘And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.’ (Matt.18:13) Wow mih breddren wow! Yuh see how important that lost sheep, that lost you and I are to Jesus? He rejoices over the lost that’s been found more than the many others who had not gone astray.
No wonder Jesus declared: ‘I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just (upright) persons, which need no repentance.’ (Luke 15:7) Jesus also spoke the parables of the lost coin and the lost, prodigal son, showing just how important the lost is to His kingdom. (Luke 15:8-32) And He wraps it up in Matthew with this: ‘Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.’ (Matt.18:14)
Oh people, oh people, yuh see it all stems from the Father! He doesn’t want to lose even one of His greatest creations to the fool Lucifer, that’s why He sent Jesus to save us. We are His very heartstrings! Whatever happens to us affects Him. But now that Jesus has gone back to heaven and is sitting at the Father’s right hand, interceding for us, it has now becomes our responsibility to look for those who are lost and help them become saved.
The question is, are we shouldering that responsibility responsibly? And the answer is, I don’t think so. Too many people are turning away from God these days for us to be doing a responsible job. In fact, if we give them a chance, they’d toss God completely out of midst. What a foolish thing to even consider, much less do.
But that’s how much sway Lucifer has over the world these days. And it’s up to you and I, as true believers to try and mitigate that evil hold, by living lives of good example and spreading God’s Word far and wide. We have the awesome capabilities to do that now, so there’s no excuse for the Word not to be broadcast all over the world.
So let’s seriously ponder, think on, consider, our actions along those lines nuh, and do our best to come up higher, for we can ALL come up higher and thus bring more of the many lost to Christ. And He’s already given us all the tools to do that through the bestowing of our Thursday Blessings. Now let’s go home declaring them for all and sundry to hear, that they might receive inspiration to want those same blessings.
In full 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!’
And since we were not granted such an abundance of blessings to hoard for ourselves, but to share with the less fortunate, let’s go out and do that now nuh, so the lost will have some good reason to come to Jesus. Much LOVE!
…sharing…caring…LOVING…that’s true Christianity in action…
11 Jul 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate fire, angry, anointed, begged for mercy, blessings, bonafide believer, bounden duty, calamitous days, Christian trait, christianity, compassion, consumed, debtor's prison, delivered him, disastrous, do like christ did, doing good, dwelleth the love of God, eyes fixed straight ahead, finite minds, followers of Christ, for our benefit, forgave him, forgive not, fresh bread, from your hearts, generous to a fault, giving, glad to be alive, God was with him, God's manna, great is thy faithfulness, greed, had compassion, had pity on thee, halfway home, hands on the plough, have need, heart, his compassions fail not, hoarding, Holy Ghost, in deed, in time of need, Jeremiah, jesus of nazareth, Lamentations, lights a fire, looking to a glorious future, loving, loving-kindness, magnanimous god, mercies, new every morning, not love in word, not turning back, oppressed of the devil, owed money, power, sacrificing, sadly lacking, Scrip-Bit, sees his brother, selfishness, sharing, shutteth up his bowels, talk, talk your talk, thankful, the breath of life, the forgiven one, the land of the living, the Lord's mercies, thou wicked servant, to the tormentors, tongue, Top o' the morn, torturers, trespasses, truth, unchristian behaviour, walk your walk, Wednesday Wail, wroth
Lamentations 3:22-23. 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.
Well top o’ the morn to all you Scrip-Bit friends and family…and top of the afternoon to those of you faithful readers on the other side of the world! (smile) It’s just another brilliant, sunshiny day in the land of the living, with all of God’s manna, mercies and whatever brand new!
Wow! It’s like waking up to fresh bread every day! And we should be much more thankful than we are for those blessings. But our God is what we call magnanimous, generous to a fault, so He gives us stuff that we don’t truly deserve.
And yes, we’ll continue with the same Bit, because there are so many scriptures on compassion, a most important Christian trait in which we current believers are sadly lacking.
Jeremiah knew exactly what he was talking about when he declared in His Lamentations: ‘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.’
If you are a bonafide (true, sincere) believer, then you certainly cannot argue with that statement or the sentiments contained therein since it’s only through God’s LOVING-kindness that life is not more disastrous than it is. Now let’s check out some scriptures on compassion.
The first one we’ll look at today is Jesus’ telling of the parable about the two servants who owed money they could not repay. The first owed his master thousands of dollars, and when the master threatened to cast him into debtors’ prison, he begged for mercy, and the master forgave him the entire debt.
However that same forgiven one, found someone who owed him a measly few dollars, but when he couldn’t pay, he had him and his family cast into prison. Obviously that disgusting news got back to the master, who called the first servant and castigated him.
‘O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst (begged) me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth (angry), and delivered him to the tormentors (torturers) till he should pay all that due unto him.’ (Matt.18:32-34)
And it’s sad to say friends, that that kind of behaviour is still rampant in this world, amongst Christians too, believe it or not. But listen to the moral of the story as told by Jesus: ‘So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.’ (Matt.18:35) It couldn’t be any clearer than that!
And John says it thus in his epistle: ‘But whoso hath this world’s good (goods), and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels (heart) of compassion from him, how dwelleth the LOVE of God in him?’ (1 John 3:17) Good question friends? And the answer is that the LOVE of God does not dwell in such a person.
And to provide a solution to that unchristian behaviour, John therefore recommends: ‘My little children, let us not LOVE in word, neither in tongue (talk); but in deed and in truth.’ (1 John 3:18)
Oh my people, that is oh so necessary in the calamitous days our world is currently experiencing! We just need to have more LOVING action than just mere talk, as we all are so good at doing. I don’t know if there’s ever been a time that the saying; walk your walk and talk your talk, has been more important.
And this verse from Acts shows that is exactly what our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ did. ‘How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.’(Acts 10:38)
Oh my fellow believers, we have also been anointed with the same Holy Ghost and power that Jesus had, so it’s also our bounden duty to go around doing good and helping the less fortunate as much as we can, not keeping, hoarding and/or storing our power and anointing merely for our benefit. That’s what being a Christian means.
If we are followers of Christ, then we’re supposed to do like Christ did! And unfortunately we’re not doing it as much as we ought. Our compassion level is woefully low, while our greed and selfishness meter is way too high. So let’s hope today’s writing lights a fire, a compassionate fire under us. (smile)
But it’s time to go home now. And we’ll do so by declaring our Wednesday Wail, letting the entire world know our situation in Christ Jesus. As one voice now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And yuh know what friends? Our finite minds can’t even truly imagine how glorious that future will be! Much LOVE!
…true Christianity is sharing…and giving…and LOVING…and sacrificing…and being there in time of need…
P.S. It’s a tad late because I got held up talking to a friend about the World Cup Soccer Tournament. Some things just can’t wait. (smile) Much LOVE!
07 Mar 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a flourishing tree, a glorious future with Jesus, a god of judgement, adversity, all bets are off, betterment of lives, blessed, bondage, bosom buddies, brings forth fruit, calamitous times, calamity, charles stanley, Christian fervour, climate change, communication with God, confident, day and night, delight, dependent, Ecumenical Service, everyday, eyes fixed straight ahead, female population, flaunt God's love, get so busy, glory hallelujah, God-centred man, gospel truth, halfway home, happy, happy in Jesus, have mercy, his leaf, his thoughts perish, hope is in the Lord, human being, in his season, in the law of the Lord, Jesus promised, Jesus returns, justice, keepeth truth for ever, like a tree, look after our planet, loving, Lucifer's face, meditate, merciful, New York, no better way, no help, not turning back, planted by the rivers, ponder, returns to earth, reviving the environment, salvation, say Him nay, scornful, shall not wither, shall prosper, sincerity, sinners, sits in the seat of the scornful, spirit departs, stands in the way of sinners, Surinam, the breath of life, the counsel of the ungodly, the god of Jacob, the man, the Son of man, time longer than twine, trust and obey, trust in princes, trusting God, trusts in the Lord, truth, turn to the Lord, under Satan's yoke, waiting, Wednesday Wail, whatsoever he does, winter storm, World Day of Prayer
Jeremiah 17:7. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.
Oh friends, does it ever stop; the adversity and calamity? Apparently not, because it seems that New York and the surrounding U.S. States are due to be hit with another winter storm today, but with more snow than rain this time. And that while some people are still without power from the deluge last week.
Ah Lord eh! And some of it can definitely be blamed on climate change. And speaking of climate change, I went to an Ecumenical Service last night, on the World Day of Prayer, where the topic was reviving the environment, in specific reference to the country of Surinam, and the betterment of the lives of it’s female population.
Yuh know what? I think that EVERYDAY should be a World Day of Prayer because we have so many problems to deal with around our world, that one day is definitely not sufficient. But in this current world order, we get so busy that we don’t have time to do the things we need to do.
And what does ‘BUSY’ mean? According to Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) ‘BUSY means Bondage under Satan’s Yoke.’ And that’s a fact. Satan has us so busy doing the non-essential things that we don’t or can’t find the time to do the essential ones, like look after our planet and have greater communication with our awesome God.
But thank God that some of us are wise enough to flaunt God’s LOVE and power in Lucifer’s evil face. Only problem is that there ought to be plenty more of us doing it. But not to worry, time longer than twine, and with our faithful Christian fervour, we WILL increase those numbers substantially.
We have to start right now though friends, because who knows how much time we have before Jesus returns. And once He does return, ALL bets are off. That brings us to our Bit, the same one from a couple of days ago. I had planned on using it yesterday, but the Lord apparently saw a greater need for yesterday’s message yesterday. And who am I to say Him nay eh? (smile)
‘Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.’ Yes my faithful breddren, those are words of gospel truth! Remember in the last message with this Bit, we saw how Jeremiah described the God-centred man as a flourishing tree despite calamitous times.
Now listen as the psalmist, in the very first Psalm, corroborates Jeremiah’s statement. ‘Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly (wicked), nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate (ponder) day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers (channels) of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.’ (Ps.1:1-3) How wonderful is that promise eh my people!
And we’ll continue featuring scriptures that corroborate our Bit. Hear the psalmist from Psalm 146 – The blessedness of trusting God. ‘Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man (a human being), in whom there is no help (salvation). His breath goeth forth (spirit departs), he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is the Lord his God: Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:’ (Ps.146:3-6)
Now why would we turn to someone other than the Lord God Almighty eh; the One who made the universe and all it contains? No good reason that I can see friends. I definitely want to be bosom buddies with the greatest power, the most LOVING and merciful Being in the universe. No One or nothing else will do. It’s just pure common sense.
Now hear Isaiah in his appeal to his Jewish people to turn to the Lord for help. ‘And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgement (justice): blessed are all that wait for him.’ (Is.30:18)
And the scholars offer this explanation: ’30:18-33. Because God is gracious and has been willing to wait for His people to return to Him, He will certainly bless those who wait for him. “Waiting” is a confident and dependent trust in God.’
Oh friends, I like that last line. I think it puts it all in the right perspective. ‘A confident and dependent trust in God.’ That’s exactly what we’re talking about my people! So let’s wisely set ourselves up to try and achieve that goal nuh, for it’s the only one that really matters. Once we achieve that, everything else will flow smoothly from it.
In the meanwhile, let’s declare our current position in Christ Jesus through our Wednesday Wail, boldly letting the world know that without a doubt, we’re moving on with the Master.
As one, in sincerity and truth now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And what a glorious future that will indeed be my fellow believers, for Jesus has promised it! Much LOVE!
…trust and obey…there’s no better way…to be happy in Jesus…than to trust and obey…
27 Feb 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: assurance, Behold, beloved, beloved of God, bestowed on us, blasphemous, born again, breath of life, by God's hand, came unto his own, children of God, Christian faith, come running back, disobedient, enduring effect, fellow believers, finite, friend of Jesus, glory to God, grasp the concept, grow, hurry, I love you, in God's image, indisputable truth, Jesus, laugh too loud, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, LOVE one another, love personified, loving, mature, mortal man, my own way, never be in doubt, not of blood, One Year Book of Bible promises, our hearts and minds, penetrate, power to become, propitiation, put you first, quiet, reminder, reservation, right, Ruth Harms Calkin, serene, share His love, sinful, sinful nature, sob too long, spring break, steady, strong, talk too much, tenets of our faith, the Father, the sons of God, the will of man, the will of the flesh, to the very core, troubled society, true light, Tuesday Mantra, uncertain, undeserving, unsure, weak, what manner of love, willingly obey, winter season, without love, worry, wretched, wrong, You love me
1 John 3:1a. Behold, what manner of LOVE the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons (children) of God.
And then it was Tuesday…and the much appreciated spring break amidst the winter season continues seemingly unabated. Oh Glory to God! And on top of that, both the sun and the SON are shining forth brilliantly today. Mama Yo! What more can a mortal man ask for eh? Not much really.
But yuh know what, in our undeserving, sinful nature, our wonderful God gives us even more. Read with me, as I share this poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s simply titled ‘You LOVE Me!’
‘God When I am wretched and weak You LOVE me. When I am steady and strong You LOVE me. When I am very right Or terribly wrong You LOVE me. When I talk too much Or laugh too loud Or sob too long You LOVE me. When I am quiet and serene You LOVE me.
When I willingly obey You LOVE me. When I insist on my own way You LOVE me. When I fail to put you first You LOVE me. When I come running back to You You LOVE me. I need not beg You to LOVE me For You who are LOVE Cannot exist without LOVING.
And yet this very day, dear God I have no real assurance Of Your LOVE at all. I wonder why? (And the Lord answered) BELOVED child The fact remains I LOVE you.’
Isn’t that something now mih people! Regardless of who we are, or how we behave, our amazing God LOVES US! Even when we don’t feel His LOVE, the indisputable truth still stands; He LOVES us! He just cannot help LOVING, because He is LOVE personified!
And He caused me to share this particular poem today because He wants to remind us of that fact. He apparently sees that we don’t appreciate the true nature of His LOVE enough, that’s why we are so unsure and uncertain of ourselves in this crazy, troubled society.
Please accept this reminder my fellow believers, and let it penetrate our hearts and minds right to the very core, so that we’ll never be in doubt, in any situation whatsoever, of our great God’s true and unconditional LOVE for us. It’s one of the elementary tenets of our faith, and if we can’t accept it without reservation, then our faith will be lacking, and won’t be able to grow and mature, as it ought to.
That’s why John, in his first epistle thought it so necessary to remind us of God’s great LOVE for us, as stated in our Bit. ‘Behold, what manner of LOVE the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons (children) of God.’
Ah mih breddren how can we not appreciate such an awesome bestowal eh? God didn’t have to, but He wanted to. Why? Because we are His; created by His hand, in His image, and we breathe His breath of life. And even though we have become sinful and disobedient, the facts of the matter cannot be changed.
Now listen to the scholars on our Bit. ‘3:1. Bestowed is in the perfect tense, suggesting the enduring effect of the LOVE God has given. Believers are children of God by virtue of being born of Him (2:29). Jesus stressed a connection between how the world related to God and how it would in turn relate to Christ’s true followers (John 15:18). After ‘sons of God’ the phrase “And we are” should be added, according to many ancient manuscripts.’
Yeh friends, for some reason or the other that definitive statement got left out of our version of the Good Book, but there is no doubt that we are indeed children of God, once we are born again and believe in His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
I think though that a part of the problem is that our minds are so small and finite, that we cannot truly grasp the concept of a mighty and holy God LOVING us, despite our sinful and blasphemous nature. But don’t we still LOVE our children though they are disobedient and go astray? So why should it be any different with God eh? Children are children, and fathers are fathers in whatever situation you place them.
Now let’s look at a couple of scriptures that corroborate our Bit. John says in his gospel: ‘He (the true Light) was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
But as many as received him, to them gave he power (the right) to become the sons (children) of God, even to them that believe on his name. Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.’ (John 1:10-13)
We couldn’t get more authority than that to become children of God. Now hear this most momentous and eye opening scripture, re the LOVE of God from John’s first epistle. ‘Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. BELOVED, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4:10-11)
That’s our Christian faith in a nutshell right there my brethren. Please let’s practice it in all sincerity and truth nuh. Now let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting the world know who and whose we are in strong voice.
‘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 since we’ve declared it, let’s go out now and action it nuh! Much LOVE!
…regardless of what we have…if we don’t have LOVE…we are nothing…
06 Jan 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a good plan, a hope and a future, a journey, a pain in the rear end, adversity, Anselm, aspires, belief, believe in your ability, bigger than you, cold weather, compassion, complacency of fools, concerns, dealt bountifully, despaired, dwell safely, embrace our faith, enemy, eternal plan, faithful, falling flat on our faces, fear of evil, find out from God, flaws, forgiving, free will, friend, from glory to glory, gave up on God, glory to God, God's hand moving, grin and bear it. endure, guiding light, have a purpose, have no fear, hear me, hearkens unto God, how long, I am helped, inspire, kind, let go of anxiety, listen more, loving, make dreams come true, merciful, my heart greatly rejoices, my heart trusted in him, my shield, nobody called us, northen climes, potential, pray, promises of God, prosperity, put our trust, rejoice, rejoice in thy salvation, shall slay them, sit on your ego, stand strong, surrender our lives, take one day at a time, talk less, the first step, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, The Lord is my strength, the simple, the sleep of death, them's the breaks, tight grip, tiny problems, trust in jesus, trusted in thy mercy, turning away, walking with God, waywardness, will I praise him, with God all things are possible, with my song, work it our for good, worries, you are not the G.M.
Psalm 28:7. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.
And the abominably cold weather keeps its tight grip on the northern climes! Chuh! This type of climate wasn’t made for man to live in nuh! But nobody called us, we came of our own free will. (smile) So I guess we’re here and will just have to make the most of it.
It’s just a pain in the rear end though to have to dress in several layers of clothing just to go outside. But them’s the breaks! You just have to grin and bear it. And you’d be surprised to find out what mankind can endure when he has to.
Anyway, it’s Saturday, and we have some quotes to share from our friend Anselm, who aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And I guess this first quote can address the cold problem we were just talking about. ‘If you have a purpose which is bigger than you, all your problems will become tiny.’ Yeh, if you’re hungry and have no food, then I suppose going out in the freezing cold to get some, won’t be much of a problem. (smile)
And the next one says: ‘Believe in your ability to make your dreams come true.’ If you’re dreaming serious dreams, then you should believe that you have the ability to make them come true. Otherwise why dream them? For belief is the first step in making dreams come true.
Then there’s this last long one. ‘We spend January 1st walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives… not looking for flaws, but for potential.
Things to think about for 2018: 1. Talk less; listen more; 2. Remind yourself you are not the General Manager of the Universe; 3. Sit on your ego; 4. Take one day at a time; 5. Separate worries from concerns. If a situation is a concern, find out what God would have you to do and let go of the anxiety. If you can’t do anything about a situation, forget it; 6. Pray.’
And it all makes sense friends. If we want to come up higher this year of 2018, then we must clean up our act and put the talents God gave us to good use, stop burying them in the ground and hiding our light under a bushel.
And we can only do that when we seriously turn to God and have a verse of scripture like our Bit, as our guiding light. ‘The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.’
Oh my people, in our own strength we can’t do a whole lot, but in partnership with Almighty God, any and everything is possible! We need to look to a power greater than ourselves for help, and there’s none greater than the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
And the excellent news is that He greatly desires to help us in ALL we do! And we already know that He is faithful and kind, LOVING and merciful, forgiving and full of compassion, so there’s no fear in surrendering our lives to Him, putting our total trust in Him. As Bruh David says above, he trusted in Him and he was helped. Glory to God!
Consequently there’s rejoicing and the urge to sing songs of praise to the One who helps us. That’s just a natural human reaction. So why don’t we try it today eh? Put our total trust in God and let Him lead our lives according to His eternal plan, instead of trying to do it on our own and generally falling flat on our faces.
And yuh know what? There were times when Bruh David couldn’t see God’s hand moving on his behalf, and he cried out: ‘How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? Consider and hear me, O Lord my God: lighten (enlighten) mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death. Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.’ (Ps.13:2-4)
And what separated Bruh David from most other men, is that though he cried out for help and none seemed to be coming, he never despaired or gave up on the Lord. Listen to the last two verses after his plea. ‘But I have trusted in thy mercy (LOVING-kindness); my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.’ (Ps.13:5-6)
Oh friends, how many of us just give up on God when He doesn’t answer us as soon as we call, or in the manner we desire? Too many! We have to remember that walking with God is a process, a journey, where we increase bit by bit, from glory to glory, and the Lord answers us in His own time and His own way.
We need to stand steadfast and strong even when we don’t see anything happening. Remember His awesome promises that He has a good plan for our lives, to give us a future and a hope, and that He will eventually work everything out for our good when He calls us and we stand strong despite adversity.
My brethren Christianity is a wonderful faith, but it does not come with a guaranteed easy life. We live in a sinful troubled world, and we will face trouble, hopefully much less than the good times. But it’s ever so important that we don’t give up on God, when times seem bleak and He doesn’t seem to be answering our cries for help.
And we’ll close with a few words of wisdom from Cousin Sol. ‘For the turning away (waywardness) of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity (complacency) of fools shall destroy them. But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet (secure, at ease) from fear of evil.’ (Prov.1:32-33)
And therein, my brethren, lies the wisdom of closely walking with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Much LOVE!
…to put our trust in Jesus…is to joyfully embrace our faith…and to have no fear…
09 Dec 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a life of lasting significance, adore, Anselm's quotes, be long hidden, bread, bread of life, came down from heaven, caring, celebrate Jesus, cherish life, Christmas time, controversy, dreams, earthly sojourn, eat of this bread, eternal life, everlasting life, evil cohorts, flesh, gHis only begotten Son, gift, glory to God, God so loved the world, he that believes on me, high priest, I say unto you, in the wilderness, know the truth, life is a gift, light of the Son, live for ever, live forever, Lord, loving, Lucifer, manna, moon, negative people, not big enough, outer darkness, peaceful, perish, praise and thanks, Redeemer, redemption, respond to, sacrifice, saviour, scare you, shines brilliantly, sun, take for granted, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the life of the world, the living bread, the truth will set you free, truth, tumultuous times, verily verily, wherever Jesus' name is called
John 6:47. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
Ah friends, unlike yesterday, my area is somewhat dark and cloudy today… But yuh know what? The awesome light of the Son is shining just as brilliantly as it always does! Up and down this old world, wherever His name is called, His light shines brightly at all times!
Glory to God! Give Him exceedingly much thanks and praise for LOVING us so much that He gave His most wonderful Son, Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, our Redeemer and High Priest!
And what better time is there to adore and celebrate Jesus than at Christmas, the time He came to earth in human form, as a beautiful baby boy, to begin the awesome process of redemption! Mama Mia!
What a great and wonderful God we serve and worship my people! How could we ever think of throwing Him aside eh, of worshipping anyone else, when there’s NO other Deity who’s truly alive, and as great and wonderful, as LOVING and caring of mankind as Him?
Give Him innumerable praise and thanks my brethren, exalt His Holy Name, for He is the ONE, TRUE and LIVING GOD; the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Creator and Controller of the universe and all therein!
And now that we’ve praised and raised up our wonderful God, this Saturday morning, let’s turn to some quotes from our friend Anselm, who sincerely aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And this week he’s picked some simple, basic but very powerful and truthful quotes.
Hear this first one: ‘The less you respond to negative people, the more peaceful your life will become.’ And that’s no lie! The less you have negative people in your life, the less controversy there’ll be. Listen to this: ‘Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.’
What an awesome truth my people! The sun, moon and the truth can only be hidden for so long until they burst forth in splendour and reality. It’s only a matter of time friends. As Jesus said, ‘And you shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ (John 8:32)
And this one is interesting: ‘If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough.’ True! What’s the point of having dreams if we know we can easily meet them. But we have to be careful not to make our dreams too big, that they indeed scare us from trying to implement them. There’s got to be some circumspection in those dreams.
And I’ve saved the best for last: ‘Life is a gift. Never take it for granted.’ How very true that is my brethren! Our lives can be put out at such short notice, even in the midst of our youth, that we ought never to take it lightly. We see it so often, especially in these tumultuous times, one moment we’re here, then the next, we’re not.
So we have to cherish this earthly life and use it wisely. But then too friends, we also have to be cognizant of the life after this earthly sojourn; eternal life, whether we’ll live forever, or be thrown into outer darkness with Lucifer and his evil cohorts. And therein lies the big question, how do we achieve or acquire eternal life?
And the question is answered simply, but truthfully in our Bit, in the words of Jesus. ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life.’
It’s oh so simple people! So simple that some of us think it’s too simple to be true. But believe me, it is true! If you’ll read Jesus words in the Good Book, they are usually very simple and straightforward, except perhaps His parables. And He’s made this most important aspect of life as easy as possible so that ALL can obtain it, regardless of level of understanding or education.
And we all know the great reason behind it all, found in the corollary to our Bit. ‘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 friends, that’s the long version. (smile)
Now let’s go back to after our Bit, where Jesus gives a more detailed explanation. ‘I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.’ (John 6:48-51)
Obviously His listeners back then didn’t understand Him. ‘The Jews therefore strove (quarreled) among themselves, saying how can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ (John 6:52)
But all Jesus was really saying was that instead of them having to make continual animal sacrifices for their sins, He would pay for their sins and all the sins forevermore with the sacrifice of His flesh. And that He certainly did my people!
So please, let’s take life a little more seriously than we seem to do these days nuh, especially our eternal life, for what we do on that front now, will mean EVERYTHING in the long run. Much LOVE!
…who gave His life…so that we could have life…life eternal and everlasting…JESUS…Glory to God…
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