30 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abominable, all manner of conduct, ambassadors for Christ, anything goes world, as god is merciful, ask in faith, ask Jesus for His help, back and belly, be anxious for nothing, be holy, be it rain or shine, be merciful, be sober, children of Israel, Christ's representatives, Christ's Second Coming, Christian dedication, conforming, cry out to God for help, dark dreary clouds, defiled, despair, discipleship, don't be afriad, emotions and spirits to rise, faith, fall down on the job, fulfill our calling, gird up the loins of your mind, glory hallelujah, God always keeps His promises, God will always help us, good news, Gordon Lightfoot, grace, hard-headed, holiness of god, hope to the end for grace, ignorance, impure, in sweet praise, intoxication, inward resolution, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus is in our hearts, Jesus will faithfully render help, Leviticus, lifting their voices to high heaven, live a holy life for christ, living our faith, look to Jesus, LOVE, loving god, lusts, make sacrifices, make yourselves unclean, Moses, negative depths, obedience, obedient children, personal disciple, personal situations, pleasant demeanour, positive disposition, prepare your mind for action, put our best foot forward, raining cats and dogs, rainy days, rainy days and Mondays, revelation of Jesus, sanctify yourselves, self-control, sin, spreading God's Word, stubborn, tell Jesus your problems, the birds never stop singing God's praises, the Lord is holy, the Lord never gives us more than we can bear, the Lord's admonition, the SON, the sun always rises, the Ten Commandments, to be your god, Triune God, Triune God is faithful, trying to keep us down, undisciplined, venerate Jesus, Ye shall be holy
Leviticus 19:1-2. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.
Oh Friends and fellow believers, how does it grab you eh – rainy days and Wednesdays? (smile) I certainly hope it doesn’t have us feeling like the old Gordon Lightfoot song, which says: ‘Rainy days and Mondays always get me down.’
Why you ask? Well because as Christ’s representatives, His ambassadors here on earth, we’re called on to have a pleasant, positive disposition most of the time. Anything less will simply not venerate Jesus and make others want to come to Him for the wonderful comfort and succour He has to offer.
And that’s basically our major purpose – LOVING our God, sincerely LIVING our Faith, and SPREADING His Word!
Now yesterday was a mostly rainy day in my neck of the woods, and so it seems today will also be. But my people, the good news is that though we might not be able to see the sun, we can be positively assured that it’s up there, shining brightly, somewhere above those dark, dreary clouds, because like the Son, Jesus, its Creator, the Sun ALWAYS RISES!
That means, once we have Jesus in our hearts, it is ALWAYS possible for our emotions and spirits to rise above whatever is coming against us and trying to keep us down, down in the negative depths of sin and despair.
So please my brethren, regardless of it’s raining cats and dogs in your area, like it is in mine, or the evil villain Lucifer is trying to drag you down to his below ground level, please don’t fear; don’t be afraid or anxious for anything, just look to Jesus, tell Him your problems, and sincerely ask for His help, and He will faithfully render it, because that’s what he promised to do.
And if it’s one thing ALL believers know, or ought to know, is that our great Triune God is ever faithful, ALWAYS keeps His promises!
So, please, let’s be like the birds, which never stop singing God’s praises, be it rain or shine, regardless of their personal situations, be their problems small or large. And the perfect example of that is I heard them outside my window earlier on, lifting their sweet voices to heaven in high praise, though their feathers and bodies were soaked with rain.
And all God’s children gave a grateful shout of ‘Glory Hallelujah!’
So now that we’ve finished rambling through the preamble, (smile) let’s turn to our Bit: ‘And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.’
And the first question is did you do your homework? Did you check out the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, to see if what the Jewish scholars say is true; that Chapter 19 of Leviticus embraces, or recapitulates all of the Ten Commandments amongst its diverse verses?
Ah mih people, you don’t have to answer that question because I know the answer for a majority of you is a big, fat NO! Just for the records though, I did, and found it be very true.
Anyway, in this last message on the holiness of God, and therefore our own holiness, let’s look at a couple of scriptures that declare its necessity. First off is the Lord’s admonition to the children of Israel earlier on in Leviticus, re clean and unclean animals.
‘Ye shall not make yourselves (your souls) abominable (impure) with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby.
For I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.’ (Lev.11:43-45)
Ah mih breddren, as usual our God is plain and straightforward! There’s nothing there hard to understand, and He tells us the same thing several times during those three verses, so at some point it ought to sink into our stubborn, hard-headed consciousness.
Now listen to Peter on the call to Christian dedication. ‘Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind (prepare your mind for action), be sober, and hope to the end for the grace (rest your hope fully upon the grace) that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
As obedient children, not fashioning (conforming) yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance. But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation (conduct); Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.’ (1 Pet.1:13-16)
Yes Friends, all of that still applies to us today, though sadly we are not living it out in the world, otherwise the world would not be so evil and ungodly!
Now here is some info from the scholars on verse 13, which I hope will empower and embolden us to start or keep on being holy, holy as we ought to.
‘1:13. The exhortation to set one’s hope involves an inward resolution. Gird up the loins of your mind: The imagery is that of personal discipline and outward conduct. Be sober (Gr. nephontes): Be free of every sort of mental and spiritual intoxication. The revelation of Jesus Christ is the Second Advent when Jesus returns to earth to set up His kingdom.’
Ah mih people, I know that to live a holy life for Christ takes a lot of discipline and self-control, in other words, great discipleship. However those are things that are not very easy to come by in this undisciplined and anything goes modern world.
But if we truly want to live our lives for Jesus, and in the way that He desires, then we have to put our best foot forward and make the sacrifice(s) that are necessary to fulfill our calling.
And please remember two things here: The Lord will never give us more than we can bear, and if we sincerely cry out to Him for help, He will gladly help us. That means there’s no reason for us to fall down on the job, unless we choose to do so.
Now let’s end, as I LOVE to do whenever possible, with a word from Jesus. ‘Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.’ (Luke 6:36)
Oh Friends, just one more wonderful aspect of our heavenly Father which we need to adopt! So without further ado, let’s get to it nuh. Much LOVE!
…to walk how Jesus walked…takes much back and belly…but He will give them to us…if we ask in faith…
23 Jan 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: accord, agreement, all things become new, any man be in Christ, backsliding, behaviour, Belial, Bruh Paul, cast off, Christ, Church of Christ, cloister, communion, consciousness, dark clouds, darkness, day of Christ's return, dough, down the wrong path, drawing closer, dreams, drowning, dry season, earthly pilgrimage, enemies, evil doer, evil powers of darkness, fall, Father, fellowship, feud, fighting diligently and faithfully, flesh is weak, friends, fruit of the Spirit, furthering God's glorious kingdom, glorious day, glory, godly behaviour, good effect, gospel truth, heavenly blessing, idols, immoral, immortal words, in the world, influence, intentions, joyous, keep the feast, lawlessness, leaven, light, living God, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, Lowlands, lush greenery, lusts, malice, material concerns, new creation, new man, not a part, old things, one bad apple, parched land, Passover, perishable world, personal experience, pineapple chow, pomp, purge, put on the armour of light, rain, righteousness., root out, sacrifice, seep in, separation from unbelievers, sin, sincerity, sinful flesh, soaking up the sea and sun, sons and daughters, spoil, Store Bay, stranglehold, temple of God, the day is at hand, the evil situation, the night's almost over, the sun rising, the works of darkness, transforming light of Jesus, truth, unclean thing, ungodly doings, ungodly hordes, unrighteous people, unrighteousness, victorious, weather forecast, wicked, wickedness, won the battle, yeast, yoked
Romans 13:12. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
Aye mih people, how goes it this beautiful Thursday morning? I hope it goes well with all of you. Personally, I can’t complain, for if I do the Lord will strike me down.
It’s now been a week since I arrived in Paradise, and I’m having a great ole time. Had a wonderful couple of hours at Store Bay yesterday afternoon, soaking up the sea, sun and sand and eating pineapple chow for the first time- nice and peppery.
Oh brother! If only I could have about six continuous months of this lifestyle, I’d certainly be a new man! (smile) No harm in dreaming Friends, for that’s what dreams are made for.
But right now I’m standing on the balcony of my little bungalow at Lowlands, where the day is just breaking, overlooking the pool downstairs, gazing at the lush greenery all around me, and some dark clouds fighting for survival. However unfortunately, behind the big trees in the foreground, the sun seems to be rising in all its splendour, as the white clouds above the trees sparkle and shine.
But what amuses me is that I just saw Tobago’s weather forecast for today on the computer, and it’s calling for temps of 30 degrees, with oodles of rain, not even one pin prick of sunshine shows up in it. Let’s wait and see, though it would be nice to get some heavenly blessing in what’s termed the dry season down here, to nurture the now dry and parched land.
Ah Friends, half an hour later, the sun has won the battle! Just as the transforming light of Jesus will win the feud over the evil powers of darkness, when He returns in all his pomp and regal glory! What a joyous and glorious day that will be my brethren!
And as our Bit says: ‘The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.’
Yes my people, that awesome day of Christ’s glorious return is drawing closer with each passing day! That means the evil powers of darkness ought to be subsiding, but unfortunately its getting stronger, because we believers are not fighting diligently and faithfully enough.
Oftimes we’re even helping the evil situation by joining with the ungodly hordes, drowning ourselves in the material concerns of this perishable world and the lusts of our sinful flesh. So how then my people, is the church of Christ to come out victorious, if we are joining with and supporting His enemies?
Please remember Friends, that we’re only supposed to be IN the world, not A PART of it. Remember too these immortal words of Bruh Paul to the Corinthians. ‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.’ (2 Cor.5:17)
And following on from that most important and decisive verse, come these words from Bruh Paul, as he pleads for separation from unbelievers. ‘Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship (in common) hath righteousness with unrighteousness (lawlessness)? and what communion (fellowship) hath light with darkness?
And what concord (accord) hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel (unbeliever)? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.’ (2 Cor.6:14-18)
Yes Friends, believers ought not to adopt or allow the ways of unbelievers to seep in their consciousness and thus their behaviour. When we associate with unbelievers, as we must do in a predominantly unbelieving world, we need to ensure that it is our godly behaviour that shines out and controls the situation, so that we can influence them, rather than they influence us.
And the best way to avoid the latter situation happening, is to stay away from wicked, immoral, unrighteous people and their activities. Now that doesn’t mean locking ourselves up in a cloister, but throughout our earthly pilgrimage we will encounter persons and situations that are obviously not going to provide good fruit of the Spirit.
These we ought to say away from, for though we might have the best intentions in the world, our flesh is weak, and we are not always able to handle ungodly people and their ungodly doings.
For as Bruh Paul warned the Corinthians in his first letter. ‘Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump (a little yeast, spreads through all the dough)? Purge (clean) out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.
Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Cor.5:6-9)
Yes my brothers and sisters, even a little sin can spoil the whole soul! As we say, one bad apple can spoil the whole basket. And that’s gospel truth, as many of us have discovered from personal experience. Thus it is that one persistent sin or evil doer in our lives can cause us to fall.
So let’s therefore try and root out any known sin that has a stranglehold on us, or anyone who we associate with who’s leading us down the wrong path. And furthermore, let’s be very careful with what and whom we associate, and in whatever company we find ourselves, always endeavour to have our godly behaviour influence the gathering.
In that way, we will prevent ourselves from backsliding, and possibly have a good effect on others, leading them to accept Christ as their Lord and Saviour, thus furthering the righteous and glorious kingdom of our great, wonderful and marvellous God. Much LOVE!
…there’s no influence as strong and pervasive as that of other humans…so believers must be very careful of whom they allow to influence them…
24 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: accept Christ, affliction, apologize, arguments, asaph, awesome truth, bad, be sober, beleaguered, belong to Christ, birth of Jesus, black out, Bruh Paul, calamity, cavalier attitude, Christ is our everything, Christmas 2013, christmas eve, Christmas Season, City of Toronto, clean up, damage, despise, different opinion, disasters, disatrous situations, dissipation, drunkenness, earth, eating and drinking, Emergency situation, faithfulness, families, float up, freezing temps, friends, God is the judge, God's help, godly reason, good, good stewards, gospel, great gift of Jehovah God, greater toronto area, heavens, human nature, ice storm, idolatries, indisputable truth, joyful, joyous, judge, king, lasciviousness, lawgiver, live or die, Lord and Saviour, lord jesus christ, lusts, Maritimes, memories, Ontario, people helping people, physical labour, ponder, Praise the Lord, pray, preoccupied, punitive, reason for the season, relationships, relief, rewards, save us, scriptures, sincere prayer, Southern Ontario, spirit, suffering, the judgement seat, the Lord, the Roman church, Timothy, warning, warning to the wicked, watch unto prayer, will of the Gentiles
Isaiah 33:22. For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us.
And the clean up continues…slowly but surely… Yes Friends, the clean up of Southern Ontario continues on this cold, freezing, winter’s day, Christmas Eve of 2013. Ah Lord eh!
I would like to apologize though to my fellow Ontarians for my somewhat cavalier attitude towards our recent ice storm. Well it wasn’t really cavalier nuh, but I just didn’t take it as seriously as I should, and was more preoccupied with my little area, which wasn’t too badly hit, neither did we lose power.
But on watching the news yesterday morning, I was shocked to see the damage that had been done in the Greater Toronto Area, especially in the City of Toronto itself. They really got blasted! Many neighbourhoods have still not even been reached because of the fallen trees and wires, and they’ve been in total darkness and freezing cold since at least Saturday night, early Sunday morning.
It’s been reported that at the height of the storm over six hundred thousand Ontarians were without power, half of that in the Greater Toronto Area. And though the relief crews are working around the clock, the damage is so extensive and requires so much manual, physical labour, that it will take a fair amount of time to clean it up.
You know when these disasters strike, it’s simply human nature that all of us who are affected want and expect relief right away. But unfortunately that’s seldom possible, so many of us have to bear the affliction as best we can, with God’s help and whatever our fellow man can provide.
And one of the arguments going on is whether an Emergency situation should have been declared. Mayor Ford said that he didn’t think the situation warranted it. If the wind and rain we had expected during Sunday had happened, then he might have called it.
But I’m sure those who are still suffering the black out and freezing temps will be of another opinion. One of the problems with calling an Emergency is that many of the people who would come and help are unfortunately dealing with disastrous situations in their own areas.
However, it’s sure that this Christmas of 2013 – Chuh! I’m somewhat ahead of the game yes, for it’s the second time on my rough draft that I wrote 2014. Yes Friends, this Christmas of 2013 will not be such a joyous one in many parts of Southern Ontario, and possibly in the Maritime Provinces on the East coast too, since the storm is supposed to be heading there now.
There will be many memories, but certainly not joyful, Christmas ones. One good thing that seems to have come out of this calamity though, is that neighbours and friends are actually going out of their way to help each other. Praise the Lord! As they say, good can usually come out of bad.
And please Friends, as we ask whenever disaster strikes, that you pray for those suffering it. Today I ask you to pray for us here in Ontario and the Maritimes, and also help in whatever other way you can. When you sit down to enjoy your family relationships, please remember to float up a sincere word or two for all the beleaguered families who can’t enjoy it like you.
Now let’s turn to our Bit. ‘For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us.’
Yesterday Friends, we were looking at scriptures that corroborated that awesome truth, and today we’ll continue doing the same, for it’s very important that we understand the importance of Christ being our EVERYTHING, and in this particular case, our JUDGE!
Listen now to Bruh Paul as he talks to the Roman church about Christ being the ONLY JUDGE. ‘For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.
For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived (lived again), that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why does thou set at nought (despise) thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgement seat of Christ.’ (Rom.14:7-10)
Yes my people, once we accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour, we belong to Him completely, and live and die for Him, just as lived and died for us.
Now check out this info from the scholars’. ’14:10. The judgement seat of Christ: See 1 Cor. 3-10; 2 Cor. 5:10. The judgement seat of Christ is not punitive. It is for the sake of rewards, and every believer will be there, though some will receive special rewards for faithfulness.’
And here again is Bruh Paul, as he gives Timothy the charge to preach. ‘I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick (living) and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom.’ (2 Tim.4:1)
Meanwhile, the psalmist Asaph in Psalm 75, a warning to the wicked, boldly and rightly proclaims: ‘But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up (exalts) another.’ (Ps.75:7)
Indisputable truth, my brethren! And we’ll conclude with some more memorable words of truth from Peter’s first epistle, where he is talking about being good stewards of God’s grace.
‘For the time past of our life is enough (may suffice) to have wrought (done) the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness (licentiousness), lusts, excess of wine (drunkenness), revellings, banquetings (drinking parties), and abominable idolatries:
Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot (dissipation), speaking evil of you: Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick (living) and the dead.
For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. But the end of all things is at hand; be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.’ (1 Pet.4:3-7)
And isn’t amazing and amusing my people, how we’ve come to that scripture in this Christmas season, a time when we’re usually prone to excesses of the flesh? (smile) There must be a godly reason for it. So please let’s take Peter’s words as a warning on two counts; of Christ being our eventual and eternal judge, as well as not to overdo the eating and drinking this Christmas season.
Let’s spend some more time pondering on the great gift of Jehovah God; the birth of Jesus, the real reason for the season. Much LOVE!
…He shall call to the heavens from above…and to the earth…that he may judge his people… (Ps.50:4)
20 Aug 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: affliction, back to school, body, busy schedules, Cleanse your hands, divine guidance, draw near to God, exalted, exhortations, faithfulness, fear, flee from satan, followers of Jesus, following Jesus, gloom, God resists the proud, good works, grace, heart, humble, humble apologies, humble yourselves, humility, in the sight of the Lord, in vain, inner thoughts, jealousy, Jesus' teaching, joy, justified, lament, laughter, LOVE, LOVE for God, LOVING heart, lusts, man's envy, maturing, meek, mind, mourn, New Year's resolution, outward deeds, peace that transcends understanding, petty, pilgrim's path, pride, resist the devil, school of hard knocks, scowling faces, scriptures, self-aggrandisement, selfish, short attention spans, sinners, soul, sour taste, speak directly to our hearts, submit yourselves to God, the good work of God, true believers, unchristian things, ungodly world, weep, wonderful LOVE, worldliness
Luke 18:14. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Oh Friends, can you believe that we’re already closer to the end of August than to the beginning! Where does the time fly eh? Just the other day we were all excited about the upcoming Caribana celebrations, but now we’re thinking about schools opening in early September and all that that entails. Brother!
And please accept my most humble apologies for forgetting to remind us (smile) about our monthly check up on the state of our great New Year’s Resolution; that of following Jesus more closely, of becoming more like Him, of maturing in His school of hard-knocks, of humility, of good works, of faithfulness, and of LOVE for God and all His creation.
If you haven’t done that for this month on your own, then please do it now, since it’s always easier to do it in small bits than in big chunks.
And we’ll continue with our Bit of the last two days, because it is extremely important for us to understand the principle it details. ‘I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.’
I also have some scripture with which to try and impress the importance of that principle, humility, on us, meek and humble followers of Jesus. (smile)
Ah Friends, that smile is more one of heartache than happiness, because too many of Jesus’ supposed people are still too caught up in the petty, selfish, me and I stuff, the foolish self-aggrandisement that our ungodly world admires and does its best to encourage.
But true believers simply cannot afford to get caught up in that selfish system, where I, the first person, am always first. Instead we need to get into Jesus’ teaching, where I, always comes last.
Now I heard this story recently about a lady who went to church and saw the chairs in the sanctuary placed in a confirmation she didn’t like. Apparently they had been set that way for a few weeks. She then asked one of the ushers when the chairs would be replaced in their earlier configuration.
The usher replied that she didn’t know. And would you believe that fine, upstanding Christian lady walked out of the church and didn’t stay for the service!
Ah Lord eh! And then we wonder why unbelievers look at us with a scowl on their faces and a sour taste in their mouths. But it’s because of those stupid, selfish, very unchristian things that we do in front of them. Now was the position of the chairs so important to the conduct of the worshipping of God? Obviously she felt so.
Anyway Friends, enough of me. I’ll just let the scriptures speak directly to our hearts now. And we’ll begin with James talking about worldliness and pride. ‘Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy (yearns jealously)?
But he giveth more grace, wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh to you.
Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded. Be afflicted (lament), and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness (gloom). Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:5-10)
Ah mih people, there’s nothing I can add to that, except clear up some uncertainty by giving us the scholars explanations.
Re verses 5 and 6: ‘Although many believe that verse 5 refers to the positive ministry of the indwelling Holy Spirit, yearning jealously over the believer, the tenor of verse 4 and 5 is negative, speaking of man’s envy. The good work of God begins at verse 6 in contrast to 4 and 5 as the conjunction indicates.
But he giveth more grace is literally “greater grace” (Gr.meizona). God gives grace that is greater than the world’s attraction of verse 4 and the inner lust of verse 5 (cf. Rom. 5:20), and so can withstand both.’
Re verses 7-10: ‘Therefore: The exhortations that follow logically result from the conditions in verses 1-6. Resist the devil: Do not submit to fear, or flee from Satan, but stand against him (1 Pet. 5:8-10). Satan cannot lead into sin against one’s will.
Draw nigh: God will not be unmoved; His welcoming response is always near (cf. Deut. 4:7; Lam. 3:57; Luke 15:20). Hands and hearts: The cleansing of one’s life must involve both outward deeds and inner thoughts (cf. Ps.24:3-4).
And as always Friends, I encourage us to read the scriptures that the scholars recommend. They’re placed there for our benefit, because they do help us in understanding the Word.
And I guess that’s it for today mih breddren, because we already have a lot of stuff to ponder on, and what I still have to say will definitely make the Bit too long. Please note my conscious interest in our busy schedules and short attention spans. (smile)
We’ll just have to continue this topic tomorrow, God in favour. Till then faithful followers of Jesus, please, please let’s look to Him for divine guidance and counsel rather than to man.
And may He grant us the wisdom, strength and courage to tread the difficult pilgrim’s path He’s laid out for us, plus the peace that transcends all man’s understanding, and the wonderful LOVE that flows from the everlasting wellspring of His most generous and LOVING heart. Much LOVE!
…when a man truly knows Jesus…oh…he can’t help but LOVE Him…with all his heart, mind, body and soul…
17 Jul 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: authority of the Scriptures, beautiful exteriors, become unfruitful, body of Christ, bountiful blessings, cares of the world, Christian behaviour, Christian habits, christianity, common sense, covet the things of the world, darkness, deceitfulness, dressed up garbage, elevate level of Christianity, enemy of God, enmity with God, everlasting light, evil desire, Excellence in Jesus, fall of the race, flesh overrules, forgiveness, friend of the world, friendship with the world, gain the whole world, hot and humid, human existence, julie mango, light, LIGHT that's Jesus, lose your soul, LOVE, loving kindness, lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, lusts, mercies, motto, no substance, personal desires, physical desire, pride of life, raise our standards, rewards, Satan, self-interest, sin, Son of man, summer, sweltering day, temptations, testimony, the things of God, the things of heaven, the will of God, the Word of god, weaknesses, wisdom, working for Jesus, worthless
Matthew 13:22. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
Oh Friends, it’s going to be another hot, sweltering day in my area! Summer seems to be finally hitting us with a big stick! Last night I went for a walk around midnight, and it was still so hot and humid that even the insects refused to come out and play. (smile)
The best part though, was when I came back, I sat down on my porch and devoured a cold, delicious Julie mango. My, my, my, was it ever tasty! Now usually I don’t like them cold, but that was just what the doctor ordered for that particular time.
Anyway, here’s an interesting, but also very important question for us. Are we ready to receive the bountiful blessings, mercies and forgiveness that’s about to descend on us today from heaven?
We better had be ready, be on the lookout for them, otherwise we’ll miss them, and our day will not be as wonderful and joyful as it could have been. The darkness that’s now giving way to light in the physical world will also be lifted from our souls and be filled with the everlasting LIGHT that’s Jesus, so we can go about His business here on earth.
That brings us to our Bit: ‘He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care (cares) of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.’
Ah mih people, that is so true of many of us today, it’s not funny. We hear the Word, even know the Word, but the lusts of our flesh overrules it way too often. So much so that we become unfruitful, we’re not working successfully for Jesus, our lives and actions are not a testimony to His LOVING-kindness, mercy and forgiveness.
But Friends, it’s very important that our lives bear testimony to Jesus, for as He asks, after foretelling His passion: ‘For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels: and then he shall reward every man according to his works.’ (Matt.16:26-27)
Oh my brethren, do we want to gain the world and things it has to offer, all of which will eventually be destroyed, and lose our soul in the process? I doubt it very much. Though the things of the world seem bright and flashy and golden and beckon us with great promises, they’re mostly dressed up garbage, stuff adorned with beautiful exteriors, but inside they’re worthless, they have no real substance.
But if we want to save our souls, we need to raise our standards, elevate our level of Christianity, both as individuals and as the body of Christ, the church. Remember yesterday we said that as the individual members go, so does the body, the church. And the only way to change that is by rising up, first as individuals, then as the church, and pursuing true Christian behaviour and habits.
Our motto should be: ‘Excellence in Jesus’ Name!’
But we can’t do that if we’re concentrating too much on the things of the world. For as James so rightly says: ‘Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of (with) the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will (wants to) be a friend of the world is (makes himself) the enemy of God.’ (James 4:4)
And that’s gospel Friends! We definitely can’t be a LOVER of God and of the world at the same time. We therefore have to choose one to follow, and in my humble opinion, following God is the wisest choice.
For as John so wisely advises us: ‘LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever!’ (1 John 2:15-17)
Ah mih breddren, truer words were never spoken!
Now we’ll end with some info from the scholars on those verses. ‘World for John signifies the evil desire and sin so much a part of human existence. Though all people are tempted differently, according to their individual weaknesses, temptations follow patterns. They appeal to three fundamental areas of life: (1) the lust of the flesh (physical desires); (2) the lust of the eyes (personal desires); and (3) the pride of life (self-interest).
Illustration: When Satan caused the fall of the race, he appealed to each of these areas of weakness (Gen.3:6). He also appealed to them when he tempted Christ (Matt.4:1-11), who defied Satan’s temptations by relying on the authority of the Scriptures.
Application: The Christian today should also depend on the Scriptures to defeat temptation. (First Ref. Gen.3:1-6; Primary Ref. 1 John 2:15-17; cf. Rom.5:12)’
So my people, as I regularly ask us to do, with all that important info at hand, let’s take a few moments to ponder how it all affects us personally nuh. Then let’s sincerely ask the Father to help us make whatever changes are necessary, so that we can come ever closer in line to the plan He has for our lives.
That’s both wisdom and common sense at their zenith! Much LOVE!
…when we covet the things of the world…it turns our hearts away from the things of heaven… and thus of God…
16 Jul 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a heart for any fate, all knees shall bow, all tongues confess, be not conformed to this world, be up and doing, become unfruitful, believers in Christ, cares of the world, choke the word, Christ's Church, Christian dedication, comfort zone, conduct, deceit, deceitfulness of riches, dramatic days, enthusiasm, faith, fatal attraction, friend of God, friend of the world, glory to Jesus, god the father, henry wadsworth longfellow, humdrum lives, hypocrisy, ignorance, Jesus christ is Lord, LOVE Revolution, lusts, make a difference, passion, precious lives, present thinking, renew your mind, resentment, righteousness., routine, sower of seed, take action, taking risks, talk the talk, things of the world, thorns, trust, unforgiveness, value systems of the world, walk the walk
Matthew 13:22. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
Oh Friends, another day is blossoming in our beautiful but currently troubled and distressed world! But that’s no reason for us to just lie down and die, to meekly accept whatever comes our way. For we are believers in Jesus Christ, the ONE to whom all knees shall eventually bow, and all tongues shall readily confess that he is Lord, to the everlasting glory of God the Father! (Eph.2:10-11)
Wow! What a powerful declaration my brethren! But that means we’re supposed to be up and about doing the work of Jesus, with plenty passion, enthusiasm, trust and faith! In the words of the famous American poet and educator, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882): ‘Let us then be up and doing, with a heart for any fate.’
Yes my people, we ought to be getting involved in actions that bring glory to Jesus and the Father. It means taking some risks, stepping out of our comfort zone, not being content to simply wallow in mundane routine. Now there’s nothing wrong with routine, our lives must contain some for them to be orderly and stable, but for it just to be the same old, same old everyday, with no passionate highs, or chilling lows, is definitely unchristian.
Look at Jesus nuh. Everyday He went out and got involved in something or another. Not everyday was dramatic, but there were enough dramatic days to enlighten and enliven His earthly sojourn and make a difference in the world around Him.
So if we’re supposed to be following in Jesus’ footsteps, then our lives should also provide some enlightenment and enliven the world around us and thus make a difference. It shouldn’t just run along the humdrum continuum, as so many precious lives are unfortunately wasted doing.
We each have a part to play, a job to do for Jesus, and I’m sure that none of them are classified as sit on your laurels and fannies and do nothing. They all involve action that will eventually bring others to God. But please look around Friends, how many of us, out of the billions of believers, are actually doing that eh?
I can’t tell the exact numbers, but I’m sure that it’s no way near enough, because instead of turning to and warming up to God, too many people, unbelievers, as well as supposed believers, are turning away from God, for any number of reasons. But if we, the true believers were really living the kind of life that glorifies God, others would be turning to Him in droves, rather than the other way around.
A lot of the blame for the world’s ills lies with us, because we talk a very good talk, when we feel so inclined, but don’t walk the walk half as good. How then can we bring people to Jesus eh mih people, especially when our lives are filled with so much hypocrisy, deceit, resentment and ‘unforgiveness’?
And sadly, as the individual members of Christ’s church go, so does the overall body. That means if we’re not going right as individuals, the church won’t go right as a body either, which is certainly happening right now.
But unfortunately, a lot of that has to do with our refusal to give up the fatal attraction for the things of the world. Thus in the parable of the sower, so many of us fall into the category that Jesus talks about in our Bit. ‘He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care (cares) of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.’
Yes my brethren, too many of us allow the cares of the world to restrict the Word of God in our hearts, therefore we cannot perform His work properly.
But please remember Bruh Paul’s famous admonition to the church at Rome: ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.’ (Rom.12:2)
And according to the scholars ‘Be not conformed’ literally means to stop conforming ourselves. We ‘are to resist being poured into the mould of the present thinking, value systems, and conduct of this world. This term is used only here and in 1 Peter 1:14.’
And since many of you won’t check that scripture, I’ll include it here. Peter is calling the people to Christian dedication. ‘Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind (prepare your mind for action), be sober, and hope to the end for grace (put your hope fully upon the grace) that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
As obedient children, not fashioning (conforming) yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance. But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation (conduct).’ (1 Pet.1:13-15)
Oh Friends, it couldn’t be put any simpler or more straightforward than that! Now we all know it’s difficult to resist and turn away from the lures of the world, but it’s doable, if we seriously and sincerely want to do it, especially when we’re guided by the Holy Spirit, which was expressly sent to give us good guidance and true direction in this wicked world.
So please, let’s raise our level of righteousness nuh, by seriously inspecting our lives and making whatever changes are necessary, and also helping those who come crying out for help. It’s only as a totally supportive and uniform body, can we ever hope to truly raise LOVE for Jesus, thereby bringing others into the welcoming and protective embrace of His LOVE Revolution, which is what we’re called to do, and expected to do. Much LOVE!
…a friend of the world…is no friend of God…and vice versa…
22 Aug 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: attributes, begotten Son, Calvary, characteristics, cross, death, disobedience, eternal separation, everlasting life, friends, god, gospel truth, holy spirit, Jesus, LOVE, lusts, pleasure, rebellion, sacrifice, salvation, selfishness, selflessness, talk, unworthy sinners, walk
1 John 4:16. And we have known and believed the LOVE that God hath to us. God is LOVE; and he that dwelleth in LOVE dwelleth in God, and God in him.
Oh Friends, the word for today is LOVE! It is the supreme attribute and characteristic of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Therefore it should also be the supreme characteristic of those who claim to follow Him. And how do we know that LOVE is the major attribute of our God eh? Because His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ told us so. ‘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) And Jesus later corroborates that feeling of LOVE by saying: ‘Greater LOVE hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.’ (John 15:13-14) And what did Jesus do shortly after that? He gave His sinless, holy life as a sacrifice on the cross at Calvary for His Friends, those who were doing as He instructed! Wow! What a champion my people! Just think about it nuh Friends, Jesus gave up His good life in heaven to come to earth and die for us, a bunch of unworthy sinners, so that we could be reconciled to The Father, and receive forgiveness of our sins, salvation and eternal life. Now if that isn’t the highest form of selflessness, which in this case denotes absolute LOVE, I don’t know what is. Jesus walked His talk! And so should we. But sadly Friends, our world is desperately lacking in that kind of selflessness. Instead everything begins and ends with ‘Me, My, I and Mine.’ In contrast to that, selflessness talks about ‘You and Yours,’ puts the other person’s welfare first. Can you imagine what our lives would be like if God, then Jesus, had said: ‘Chuh pool! They’re just a bunch of ignorant, disobedient, rebellious, lustful, fleshly, pleasure bound no goods. Leave them be, and let them fend for themselves. They think they know everything anyway. And if they want to follow that fool Lucifer, then let them. They’ll pay the price of death and eternal separation for their stupidity, just like he will.’ But no my brethren, the Lord God Jehovah made every one of us, and just like we LOVE even our most rebellious, disobedient children, He LOVES us the same way too! Please note when our children do wrong and end up in the courts, or prison, we still don’t give up on them, although they may justly deserve their punishment. No, we still pray for them, talk to them, and try to show them the error of their ways, notwithstanding that we’ve been preaching the same sermon to them from their youth. Friends, it’s the same way our great, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God felt, and still feels about us. As John says in our Bit: ‘And we have known and believed the LOVE that God hath to us. God is LOVE; and he that dwelleth (abides) in LOVE dwelleth in God, and God in him.’ Those are powerful words of truth my people! If God could do us such a great favour, we should also be able to do it to our fellow humans. And it doesn’t necessarily mean actually giving up one’s physical life, although in some cases it can, but it refers to more of a selfless attitude towards others, thinking about their well-being above ours, making sure they are well taken care of, helping them in any way we can. Oh my Friends, the basic premise of God’s LOVE is that we don’t only look out for ourselves, but also for others. As John asks earlier on: ‘But whoso hath this world’s good (goods), and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion (heart) from him, how dwelleth the LOVE of God in him?’ (1 John 3:17) It obviously doesn’t, my people! Now listen to Jesus, when Judas Iscariot asked how He would manifest Himself to the disciples and the world. ‘If a man LOVE me, he will keep my words; and my Father will LOVE him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode (home) with him.’ (John 14:23) It’s simple Friends, if we truly LOVE Jesus, we will keep His commandments. As the scholars say: ‘The divine indwelling (of the Holy Spirit) is conditional on LOVE, and obedience to Jesus’ words. The Word of the gospel is primarily (though not exclusively) in view here.’ And John tells it this way: ‘And this is His commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and LOVE one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.’ (1 John 3:23-24) Oh Friends, that’s the gospel truth! Please let’s ponder that scripture today and see how it works in our lives, so that we can better represent Jesus here on earth. More on this tomorrow, provided we’re still breathing. Till then, let’s all try and walk in as much LOVE as possible nuh. Much LOVE!…he who truly walks in LOVE…is a true reflection of Jesus…and truly pleases Him…
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