The Importance of Acknowledging and Appreciating the Greatness of Jehovah God!

05 Oct 2025 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 105:1.         O Give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.

Check it our friends, it’s that marvellous warm and sunshiny day called Sunday; the day of our Lord God Jehovah, which means that all roads lead to His sanctuary for praise and worship, thanksgiving, faith and confidence building so that we can redouble our efforts on behalf of Jesus in the coming work week! And all God’s children said a loud and grateful, ‘Thank You Lord for your grace and mercy to the undeserving children of men!’ 

And today’s song of worship is a wonderful, fairly new, (1940’s) but great Christian hymn, aptly titled ‘How Great Thou Art!’ And according to the Godtube website, it was written by Stuart K Hine, a British Methodist missionary on a mission trip to Ukraine in 1931. Apparently, he heard the Russian translation of a German song inspired by Carl Boberg’s poem “O Store Gud” (O Great God) and Hine began translating the song to English, in the process adding several verses. 

But more on that later, right now let’s offer up our sweet sacrifices of praise in a heartfelt, scintillating, mid-tempo version of the song, ensuring that there’s no doubt of our sincerity. Singing: ‘O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder Consider all The works Thy Hand hath made, I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder, Thy pow’r throughout The universe displayed, (Chorus: Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee, How great Thou art! How great Thou art! Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee, How great Thou art! How great Thou art!) 

When through the woods And forest glades I wander I hear the birds Sing sweetly in the trees, When I look down From lofty mountain grandeur And hear the brook And feel the gentle breeze, (Chorus) And when I think, that God His Son not sparing, Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in. That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing He bled and died, to take away my sin. (Chorus:) When Christ shall come, With shouts of acclamation, And take me home, What joy shall fill my heart! Then I shall bow In humble adoration And there proclaim, “My God, how great Thou art!” 

(Chorus: Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee, How great Thou art! How great Thou art! Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee, How great Thou art! How great Thou art! Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee, How great Thou art! How great Thou art!’ 

Oh yes my fellow believers, our God is indeed a Great God! And we did a marvellous version of the song, with all heaven having tears welling in their eyes as they worshipped with us. (smile) And this commentary on the song, also by the Godtube website is certainly refreshing and true. ‘There’s nothing like a good hymn to truly make you feel closer to the Lord. When you sing out those lyrics, it’s almost like His strength and LOVE wash over us. And one of the most powerful hymns of all time is ‘How Great Thou Art.’  

Now here is some more info on the song, per the website Godtube. They say: ‘The third verse was inspired by the conversion of villagers in Russia who cried out to God loudly as they repented and realized God’s LOVE and mercy – “And when I think that God, His Son not sparing, sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in.” 

Stuart Hine and his family left Ukraine as famine and World War Two began, and settled in Somerset, Britain, where he continued to serve as a missionary to Polish refugees. The fourth verse of “How Great Thou Art” was inspired by displaced Russians who experienced great loss and looked forward to seeing their LOVED ones again in heaven – “When Christ shall come with shouts of acclamation to take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.”  

And you better believe that my fellow believers! For that day when Jesus comes to take us home will certainly be filled with joy unspeakable! And why not, since we’ll be leaving all the negatives of this evil and ungodly world behind, and going to a place where evil doesn’t exist, only LOVE and peace forevermore! Glory be! 

And what does the Bible have to say about all that exaltation of our God? Where does the author get the biblical inspiration for the hymn? Here are a few verses that might have inspired him. Listen to these verses from Psalm 90, the only psalm written by Moses, and titled ‘The Eternal God.’ He writes: ‘Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place (place of refuge) in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed (gave birth to) the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.’ (Ps. 90: 1-2) 

Then there is this passage from Bruh Paul’s epistle to the Colossians where he speaks of the Pre-eminence of Christ. ‘In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the first born (first in rank) of (over) every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in (on) earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities (rulers), or powers (authorities’): all things were created by him, and for him: 

And he is before all things, and by (in) him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have pre-eminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell.’ (Col. 1:14-19) 

Ah mih people, where else can you such a magnificent Godhead eh? Absolutely nowhere else! For the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the ONE and ONLY TRUE GOD of this universe! That’s why the psalmist proclaims, why he wisely advises us thus from Psalm 105. ‘O Give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of his wondrous works. 

Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord and his strength: seek his face evermore. Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgements of his mouth; O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen. He is the Lord our God: his judgements are in all the earth.’ (Ps. 105:1-7) 

And my fellow believers, it would certainly do us a lot of good if we could just take those words to heart this Sunday morning and put them into action! Much LOVE!

…we talk about our great God…but we certainly don’t walk that talk…or our world would not be in its current evil and ungodly state… 

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

The Importance of Praising God in Song, and Communicating to Others, His Wonderful Works to the Children of Men!

24 Sep 2025 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 105:2.        Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of his wondrous works.

It’s no wonder that after the rain last night, that Wednesday has opened cloudy, damp and somewhat humid. And to tell the truth, the rain wasn’t so plentiful or powerful, but it’s accompaniment by the extravagant lightning and thunder show, with the heavenly rock drummer, Thor, putting on an especially rollicking performance made the show spectacular. Yes, I haven’t heard such cracking bouts of thunder in a long while. 

At one stage when the rain lightened, I went out on my porch to enjoy some peaceful moments out there, but within two minutes I was back inside after several lightning displays and a couple cracks of thunder chased me away. (smile) That brings us to today’s question: ‘Can You Sing in the Rain?’ It’s the title of an interesting story from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. 

So please read with me: ‘When I was a child I LOVED to take long walks with my tall, LOVING father. We trudged through the meadows, we climbed rolling hills, and often we walked through tree-lined parks. As we walked, Dad would tell me stories about his childhood, and I would ask countless questions about my grandparents. One day on a country road we walked under a gentle mist of rain. In the distance we saw a sparrow perched on a tree branch. The tiny bird was just singing away. 

My father asked a question: “Could you sing in the rain if nobody saw and nobody heard you but God?” Years have passed since that long-ago day. There have been wonderful days of joy. and there have been days of tears, too. Sometimes in the darkest night, during the most severe storm, God has enabled me to sing in the rain when nobody saw and nobody heard but God. Even through tears God has reminded me that the longest storm the world has ever known came to an end one sunny morning. And after the storm – a rainbow! God did it for Noah…and He does it for us!’ 

And that’s a wonderful fact that we should all be so very thankful for! Yes friends, even the longest and most powerful storm has to end sometime, and all the while it’s going on, our great God will hold and protect you in the shelter of His arms. It’s like Isaiah said of the Lord: ‘He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.’ (Is. 41:11) Now that’s what our great and wonderful God is about! Shepherding His people! Like Bruh David says so eloquently Psalm 23: ‘The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.’ (Ps. 23:1) 

And that’s what shepherds do; provide for their sheep, in both food and safety. And that’s what our God has promised to do and has indeed done. Remember the story of Noah, (Gen. chap. 6-9) when the Lord decided to destroy the earth by water, for the wickedness of man was so great in the earth, and his thoughts and intentions of his heart were continually evil. And God was sorry that He had ever made man on the earth. It sickened him, or grieved him at his heart. (Gen. 6:5-6) 

‘But Noah found grace in his sight.’ (Gen 6:8) And He was instructed to build a great ark and take in his family and two of every of God’s creations, for the Lord was going to destroy the world by water And as the author of Hebrews tells us in the Heroes of Faith chapter: ‘By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear (reverence), prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.’ (Heb. 11:7) Another great man of faith friends! 

But yuh know what? As Jesus reminds us: ‘But as the days of Noe (Noah) were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be….before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe (Noah) entered the ark.’ (Matt. 24:37-38) Yes sir! In those evil and dreadful times, it  was all about having a good time…just like it is now. That means the Lord will return when we least expect Him. Consequently, we need to be on constant alert, and have everything in readiness, as though He was coming back today. And we have to do our best to bring a lot of souls to Him before that awesome day. 

And to help us in doing so, Psalm 105 leads the way. From which our Bible Promise for the poem and Bit for today comes. It gently remind us: ‘O Give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of his wondrous works. Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord, and his strength: seek his face evermore. Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgements of his mouth; O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen. He is the Lord our God: his judgements are in all the earth.’ (Ps. 105:1-7) 

Now, unfortunately, too many of us, don’t seem to remember or value the advice given in the psalm, but if we don’t wake up and get our act together very soon, like immediately, we’re likely to be caught unawares, and thus lose out on all the good things when Jesus returns unexpectedly. And that would certainly be a crying shame! So, let’s consider ourselves warned. 

Now, it’s time to go home declaring our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

And it’s been promised that whoever endures with Jesus to the every end, will experience an even more glorious future than they can imagine or comprehend. So, let’s be wise and endure to the end nuh, so we can enjoy that more than glorious future together! Much LOVE!

…Jesus is our Good Shepherd…but too many of us are disobedient sheep…and eventually…will pay the consequences of disobedience…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

The Overwhelming Importance of Consciously Seeking God and Giving Him Praise…Daily!

13 Dec 2024 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 105:7.       ‘He is the Lord our God: and his judgements are in all the earth.’

And then it was Friday, Friday the thirteenth! But since our total trust is in our Saviour Jesus Christ, we don’t pay any attention to the old wives’ tales which surround such a date. Tales like breaking a mirror, which brings seven years of bad luck, walking under a ladder, spilling salt, and crossing paths with a black cat. We do our best to ignore them because that’s not what Jesus teaches, but what’s interesting though, is if we realize in time that one of those things is about to happen, we’ll most likely do our best to avoid it. (smile) As the old adage says, better safe than sorry. 

Anyhow, on this sunny but chilly Friday morning, we’ve already sent up our shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday, and the weekend is here at last!’ We have the time to catch up on our Christmas shopping, baking and all the other things we do in the Christmas season. However, let’s remember that those things are merely the result of the season, not the cause of it. Jesus is the reason for the season of Christmas. 

So, all the foolishness about Happy Holidays and whatever terminology is used by the unbelievers to describe it, is pure hogwash, for if Christ had not been born, there would have been no holidays or anything else resembling it at this time. Therefore, in our daily lives, let’s make sure we talk about Christmas and Christ being the reason for all the festivities, and not leave Him conveniently out of the mix. End of Sermon. 

And today we’ll look at a few of the opening verses of Psalm 105, titled – God’s Wondrous Works, which gives a historical account of Israel and its association with Almighty God. We are first admonished: ‘O Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works. 

Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord, and his strength: seek his face evermore. Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgements of his mouth; O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen. He is the Lord our God: his judgements are in all the earth.’ (Ps. 105:1-7) 

Ah friends what wise advice, especially in this festive season of Christmas, where we are celebrating God’s greatest gift to us, the birth of His Son, Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and Deliverer! How could we not give Him much thanks and praise for all He’s done for us, and make His awesome deeds known to the people far and wide. As Psalm 119 says: ‘Make me to understand the way of thy precepts (my duties in your name): so shall I talk of (meditate on) thy wondrous works.’ (Ps. 119:27) 

And consequently, we ought to be singing joyful songs of praise unto Him, or as Bruh Paul writes to the Ephesians: ‘Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to God. 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. 5:19-21) Now that’s exactly what we ought to be doing this Christmas season on a much greater scale, while leaving the gifts, the shopping and the food preparation to take a lesser role. 

Yes, we ought to be glorying much more in the name of Jesus than we’re currently doing, and letting our hearts rejoice as we seek the presence of our wonderful God. Unfortunately, believers are not doing enough of those things, even at this Christmas season, we’re still more focused on the worldly than the spiritual things. As the psalm so rightly tells us: Seek the Lord, and his strength: seek his face evermore.’ (Ps. 105:4) 

Oh my people, there is no way we could ever go wrong if we do that from the sincerity of our hearts! But if we don’t, we’ll keep on going in the wrong direction, just like the world is right now. It’s like Bruh David says in Psalm 27 – My Heart Shall Not Fear. ‘When thou saidst, Seek my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face Lord, will I seek.’ (Ps. 27:8) So why are we not seeking God’s face much more in these times of dire need eh? 

Because we’ve gotten too big for our britches; we feel with all our knowledge and technological inventions, we have become a god unto ourselves. But friends, let’s not go down that road any longer, or further, for we are simply deluding ourselves by thinking that we can run our own lives. In this strife-filled, evil and ungodly world, it’s oh so important that we remember, ‘He is the Lord our God: and his judgements are in all the earth.’ (Ps. 105:7) 

Yes my fellow saints; it’s like Isaiah says: ‘With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgements are in the earth, the inhabitants of the earth will learn righteousness.’ (Is. 26:9) And we all know that the judgements of the Lord are in the earth, otherwise it would not be such a chaotic and disastrous scene, so let’s do our best to learn righteousness nuh. And we can begin right now, by going to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, asking for divine aid in these dire times.

 Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough…  because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. 

We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

Let’s remember now, that we will only see divine aid, if we wake up from our sinful ways and begin being much better witnesses for Christ Jesus in this ungodly world! Much LOVE!

…whatever you may think…Christmas…is all about Jesus…

Today’s Scrip-Bit   29 March 2023 Psalm 105:4.

29 Mar 2023 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 105:4. Seek the Lord, and his strength: seek his face evermore.

So another day has opened bright and sunshiny in the spring vein, with temps above the freezing mark, though there’s a bit of an edge to the March winds on this last Wednesday in the month. But we’ll take it as we catch our second wind for this work week, and say the Lord be praised for the upcoming spring and Easter seasons, where we see so much renewal, rebirth and resurrection in our lives, both physically and spiritually. 

That’s the joy that this time of year provides; the supposed dead flora, that’s really only been hibernating during the winter months, bursts out in beautiful, new, green life, while our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, having been crucified on Good Friday, rises triumphantly on Easter Sunday to prove that He’s conquered hell, death and the grave. Glory be my fellow believers! We couldn’t ask for a better situation and time than that to come out of the winter blahs. (smile) 

That’s why these marvellous words of Psalm 105 should always be in our memories and quick to reach the tips of our tongues. ‘O Give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works. glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord, and his strength: seek his face evermore. Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgements of his mouth. O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen. he is the Lord our God: his judgements are in all the earth.’ (Ps. 105:1-7) 

Yes friends, the Lord God Jehovah is indeed our God and is indeed worthy of our praise and honour! There’s no doubt about that, after all the things He’s done for mankind! That’s why we ought to give Him much thanks and call on Him all the time, while spreading the good news of His wonderful works, in particular the gospel of Jesus all around the world. And singing psalms and other holy songs to Him is a no brainer, because He rejoices in our worship and praise. That’s one of the reasons why he created us in the first place, so we could have a good relationship and we could praise and worship Him. 

But unfortunately, sin raised its ugly head and caused a severing of that relationship until Jesus came and died in our place so that it could be restored. And that was the work of God; His desire to be reconciled to us. We had nothing to do with it. So that’s another reason why we should be ever so thankful to the Lord, worship Him with an undying LOVE, and let others know of His wonderful deeds towards the underserving children of men. And I LOVE this verse that says: ‘Seek the Lord, and his strength: seek his face evermore.’ (Ps. 105:4) 

Sadly however, that’s not something a lot of us are currently doing. Many people instead are turning away from God, and those of us who remain and claim to believe are only paying lip service, not truly searching and seeking for God, otherwise our lives would not be as miserable and disastrous as so many of them are. Please note these words that the Lord, through the prophet Jeremiah, conveyed to the Israelites during their captivity in Babylon. 

‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you and expected end (a future and a hope). Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me. and I will hearken unto (listen to) you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.’ (Jer. 29:11-13) 

Yuh see that mih people! Even though the Lord allowed them to be carried into captivity for their disobedience, He still had their welfare at heart, and encouraged them to seek Him with all their hearts, that’s sincerely. And it’s the same thing He’s saying to us today. Call on me, seek me sincerely, and I will answer you. Many of us though are not calling on the Lord God Jehovah, and for those of us who are, our prayers are not sincere, they don’t come from the bottom of our hearts, but are mostly lip service. As James says: ‘Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.’ (James 4:3) 

But please, let’s remember these words of Jesus that sets everything in the right perspective. ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33) That my fellow saints is the definitive word of the gospel: seek God and His righteousness above all else! And if you’re not doing that, your life will be more miserable and disastrous than it ought to be. That’s because when you seek God sincerely, then He overwhelms you with blessings of all different varieties; physical, emotional and spiritual. 

As they say, then you don’t have to chase the blessings, they chase you. Wow! What can be better than that eh, blessings running you down? Nothing! But we have to do like Jesus said, seek the Lord first, and then everything will fall in to place. Let’s not forget what Jesus also said was the first and great commandment: ‘Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ (Matt. 22:37-40) 

Yes mih bredrin, it’s all based on the power of LOVE; of sincere LOVE! That’s why the psalmist could confidently say in Psalm 91: ‘Because he hath set his LOVE upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honour him. With long life (length of days) will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.’ (Ps. 91:14-16) 

Oh friends, that’s how the Lord treats us when we sincerely seek Him and do our best to live according to His holy will. And for those of us who are currently trying to do just that, let’s go home declaring (yesss!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. 

Altogether 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 having said all of that, it now behooves us to keep on seeking His heavenly kingdom and doing the things that warms the cockles of His heart! Much LOVE!

…now there are these three…hope, faith and LOVE…but the greatest of them is LOVE… 

 Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ