20 Oct 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a built-in sense of upliftment, a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid, a wonderful ray of sunshine, assurance, being egotistical, christianity, courage, disputed Jesus' authority, disunity amongst Christ's followers, don't have to hurry, don't have to worry, free them from Roman atrocities, glorify your father in heaven, God is omnipresent, grow up as stall fed calves, guarding their earthly power, have seen a great light, he that followeth me, I am the beloved of god, I am the light of the world, I bear record of myself, in Christ's guiding light, in god's eyes, in the land of the shadow of death, inherent touch of melancholia, intimidating, it giveth light unto all that are in the house, Jesus as your Guiding Light, laziness, Let your light so shine before men, light will always overcome darkness, LOVE, Malachi, my witness is true, neither do men light a candle, not what I do, not what I have, our hold on life worldwide, our invaluable and unbreakable connection to the Father, peaceful Rabbi, put it under a bushel, rainy days and Mondays, relaxation, shall have the light of life, shall not walk in darkness, share His love with the world, tenuous, the great warrior king, the inward dwelling of the Holy Spirit, the Messiah, the outer recognition of the Father's creation, the people that walked in darkness, the Pharisees, the Sun of righteousness, they may see your good works, they that dwell, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, unto you that fear my name, upon them hath the light shined, will arise with healing in His wings, with Love as His testimony, words of awesome truth, Ye are the light of the world, ye shall go forth
John 8:12. I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Another wet and dreary day seems to be in the offing. But yuh know, unlike what the Carpenters said in their hit song way back in 1971, it’s not only rainy days and Mondays that get me down, but rainy days period. (smile) It’s just that rainy days seem to have this inherent touch of melancholia in them; just like sunshiny days have a built-in sense of upliftment. You see the sun and spirits automatically lift despite your circumstances. Likewise, you experience the wet and dreary looking weather and your spirits tend to fall somewhat, the attitude of relaxation and laziness also seem to pop up. (smile) You have to actively lift them up again.
And so it is with this Tuesday morning, after a rather melancholy Monday. But yuh know friends, when you have Jesus as your Guiding Light, the kind of physical day doesn’t really matter, because He Himself is such a wonderful ray of sunshine that just thinking of Him and talking to him automatically lifts you up! Glory to God my people! Jesus Himself revealed His awesome Light. ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’ (John 8:12)
But unfortunately, the Pharisees disputed His authority because He witnessed to Himself, which to them, invalidated His claim. That however did not change anything, all it meant was that the Pharisees would remain on the outside looking in; stubborn, like the head-butting goats they were. (smile) As Jesus’ reply indicated. ‘Though I bear record (witness) of myself, yet my record (witness) is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.’ (John 8:14)
Now here is an interesting explanation on Jesus being the light of the world from the www.biblestudytools.com website. ‘Jesus saying He is the Light of the world is the outer recognition of His Father’s creation and presence, and the inward dwelling of the Holy Spirit, by which we know our Father and walk with Jesus. Jesus is the Light of the world, our world, and in the world. Like God is omnipresent, so Jesus is Light.’ Ah friends, what a wonderful depiction of Jesus; His light just shining everywhere, being the ever-present reality, our invaluable and unbreakable connection to the Father!
And it’s obvious that the Pharisees, supposedly the most learned scriptural group back then, didn’t know or understand the true meaning of the scriptures, or were simply being egotistical and guarding their earthly power, for Isaiah said it loud and clear. ‘The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.’ (Is. 9:2)
The prophet Malachi also told us about the bright Light that would come. ‘But unto you that fear my name shall the SUN of righteousness will arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall (grow fat like stall fed calves).’ (Mal. 4:2)
Now if the Pharisees were so wise or knowledgeable of the scriptures, they would have put two and two together and come up with four and not three, especially since Jesus was healing people like crazy, something they’d never seen before. Or, possibly, as I said earlier, they did come up with four, but were wary of losing their upper crust position if they acknowledged Jesus for whom He really was.
One stumbling block for the whole Jewish society though, seemed to be the thinking that the Messiah would be this great warrior king who would come and through war-like means, free them from the Roman atrocities, not a gentle, meek, peaceful Rabbi with LOVE as the basis of His testimony. And no doubt we have also been influenced by what or whom we believe Jesus to be in our lives, not what He truly is, and thus have erred in our direction, belief and behaviour, just like the Pharisees did.
That can clearly be seen in all the different religions and denominations, doctrines, beliefs and behaviour held under the same great umbrella called Christianity. Thus the great disunity amongst Christ’s supposed followers. And thus, the lack of substantial testimony from us on Jesus declaration. ‘Ye are the light of the world.’
Yes friends, when Jesus returned to heaven, He designated us as His replacement for light in this ungodly world. But have we done that? Not to the extent that we should have, for there are still too many unbelievers out there, who have never heard about Jesus, or heard about Him and refused to believe because of our dark, unlit testimony.
So my people, this dark and cloudy morning, please let’s remember Jesus words and do our best to put them into action nuh. ‘Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle (lamp), and put it under a bushel (basket), but on a candlestick (lampstand); and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.’ (Matt. 5:14-15)
Those are words of awesome truth people, and if our light was shining as bright and as far reaching as possible, our hold on life worldwide right now would certainly not be as intimidating and tenuous. That means we have to raise our level of shining. In the immortal words of Jesus: ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt. 5:16)
And that’s all Jesus really expects of us yes friends; that we give good testimony of Him through our beliefs and behaviour, so that the Father can be glorified, which is what the Father sent him to do. And in these dangerous and uncertain times, it behooves us Christians to come up higher than we ever have, so the world around us can take some courage and assurance in Christ’s guiding light that shines forth through us. So let’ step up to the plate and do better nuh mih people.
And now, as we go home, let’s boldly and confidently proclaim to the world, who and whose we are by declaring (steups!) our Tuesday Mantra. ‘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’re sincere, we’ll now go out and share that awesome LOVE and friendship of Christ with others who, in these desperate times, so desperately need to know and come to LOVE Him! Much LOVE!
…light will always overcome darkness…but only when it’s shone there…
02 Mar 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abundance, cursed, every good work, faith, give, good measure, grace abound, it shall be given unto you, LOVE, Malachi, open the windows of heaven, pour out a blessing, pressed down, reap sparingly, right attitude, robbed me, running over, same measure yu use, shaken together, sow sparingly, test the Lord, the crown of righteousness, the Lord of hosts, the tough get going, tithes, trust, when the going gets tough
Luke 6:38. Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom (pocket, wallet). For with the same measure that ye mete (use, give) withal it shall be measured to you again.
So now it’s Saturday, and I have to go to a friend’s funeral this morning. He’s been sick for some time now, and the Lord has finally decided to call him home. Rest in peace Hamilton my friend, as I remember the many good times we had so long ago. Those were the days when we were young and giddy, and life seemed like it would never end, at least the good times. But unfortunately all good things do come to an end at some stage of the game, some of us are just blessed to enjoy them longer.
And with the passing of every friend and colleague, we tend to take our mortality more seriously, knowing that it’s only a matter of time before our time will come. (smile) But until then we just have to go about the Lord’s business as best we can. And since it’s Saturday, that means it’s time to look at some quotes from our friend Anselm, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow.
Check out this first one: ‘You’re going to go through tough times – that’s life. But I say, ‘Nothing happens to you, it happens for you.’ See the positive in negative events.’ And there’s no disputing that! Jesus said it Himself that we’ll see trials and tribulations in this world, but we need to be of good cheer, because He has already defeated the world. (John 16:33)
Consequently, when tough things happen to us, we need to try and extract the positive aspects from them, because there are positive aspects in almost every occurrence. As Gramp’s Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) liked to say: ‘When the going get’s tough, the tough get going!’ And as Christians, faithful followers of Christ, that is exactly how we ought to respond to tough times!
Now hear this: ‘I believe if you keep your faith, you keep your trust, you keep the right attitude, if you’re grateful, you’ll see God open up new doors.’ There’s absolutely no argument with that nuh friends because that’s the way the Lord has set up His kingdom! And possibly the most famous scripture in the Good Book about opening and pouring out blessings is that verse from Malachi that we don’t like to hear, because it conjures up a lot of sacrifice on our part.
Hear the Lord’s accusation: ‘Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat (food) in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.’ (Mal.3:9-10)
Oh friends, we like to test the Lord in other ways, but not in tithing! (smile) However, we can be obedient in every other aspect of God’s word, and not in that of tithing, giving God ten percent of our income, we will NEVER be as blessed as we can be. We’re quick to distribute our time, talents and treasure to all different places, people and pursuits, but when it comes to giving God what is God’s, what He’s asked for from way back when, it’s like pulling teeth without anesthetic!
And sadly many churches are not preaching about that nowadays, figuring it’s Old Testament stuff, and wondering why they are not prospering as they expect. But friends, you can’t be faithful in some things and not others where God is concerned. You have to be faithful in EVERYTHING! That’s if you want to receive the crown of righteousness that the Lord has in store for you at the end of your race of life, like Bruh Paul says. (2 Tim. 4:6-8)
And all of that segues in nicely to this last quote: ‘When you focus on being a blessing, God makes sure that you are always blessed in abundance.’ And isn’t that the gospel truth my fellow believers! Jesus said it in plain and straightforward language in Luke: ‘Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom (pocket, wallet). For with the same measure that ye mete (use, give) withal it shall be measured to you again.’
In simple terms it’s merely that you have to sow before you can reap, and if you sow miserly, then you will reap miserly. As Bruh Paul expatiates on the subject (smile) to the church at Corinth: ‘But this I say, he which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully (generously) shall reap also bountifully (generously). Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity (compulsion); for God LOVETH a cheerful (joyful) giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye always having sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.’ (2 Cor.9:6-8)
So friends, what more can I say eh? Nothing really, because it’s all spelled out there in black and white in plain language! All I can do now is hope this li’l exercise today will loosen the purse strings of our time, talent and treasure and cause us to be more giving to God and our fellow man…that is if we want to receive in abundance from God and others too! Much LOVE!
…how much you receive…all depends on how much you give…
31 May 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a necklace, abundance, adornment, bind them about thy neck, challenge, compassionate heart, courage, creativity, curse, depart from evil, esteem, fear the Lord, filled with plenty, find favour, first fruits, forget not my law, forsake thee, give generously, glory to God, godly obedience, handle the issues of life, honour the Lord, if it's not one thing, intimate association, it's another, Jesus desires, keep my commandments, length of days, let thine heart, long life, loving-kindness, Malachi, mercy, my son, negative owrd, new wine, peace, possessions, prove me now, share, stewards, ten percent, the less fortunate, the mind, the table of thine heart, Thursday Blessings, Thursday's Blessings, tithes, truth, wisdom, wise in thine own eyes, with God and man
Proverbs 3:1. My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments.
At last friends, at long last, a breakthrough! Wow! I can now breathe fairly well through my nose again! Glory to God! You would not understand the difference it makes not having to wake up so often to moisten my dry mouth.
And I guess that’s why I slept in this morning; the body hasn’t had the luxury of sleeping for several hours undisturbed for a while now. (smile) Let’s hope we don’t regress again, because we were already at this stage last Saturday.
Yes, it’s time to move on to bigger and better things, like praying for those unfortunate people in Hawaii who are still struggling with the effects of the volcano lava spreading all over, and thanking the Lord that the tropical storm Alberto did not do as much damage to the Southern U.S. as expected, and has now been downgraded.
Ah Lord eh friends, as the old people would say; in this life, if it’s not one thing, then it’s another. And isn’t that indisputable truth, because we never seem to have a time when something negative is not happening in our lives. That’s why we’ve been admonished to godly obedience in our Bit, because it’s only through intimate association with Almighty God that we can successfully handle the issues of life.
‘My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments.’ And some are brass-faced enough to ask why they should do that? Well here is why! ‘For length of days, and long life, and peace shall they add unto thee.’ (Prov.3:2) And if you don’t want that, then I don’t know what to say to you, because I believe everyone wants those things.
And Cousin Sol continues with his exhortations to obedience. ‘Let not mercy (LOVING-kindness) and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart.’ (Prov.3:3) Wow! What wisdom friends!
But before we look at why doing those things are considered wise, let’s check out some explanations from the scholars on that verse. ‘3:3. About thy neck: The teachings should be made as much a part of one’s adornment as a necklace. The table of thine heart, that is, the mind.’
Yes my people, God’s laws should be so much a part of us, that they come like a necklace around our necks and should also be constantly on our minds. And what’s the benefit of all that? ‘So shalt thou find favour and good understanding (esteem) in the sight of God and man.’ (Prov.3:4) I don’t know about you, but I surely want to find favour with God, and to some extent with man.
Then in his God-inspired wisdom, Cousin Sol pens these words of everlasting truth, which so many of us quote, but don’t really put into practice. ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct (make smooth) thy paths.’ (Prov.3:5-6) Oh mih breddren, what words of truth and wisdom!
And the scholars explain: ‘3:5-6. Three commands are given: trust, meaning, “rely on, depend upon”; lean not, meaning do not depend on your own native instincts; and acknowledge him, meaning have fellowship and intimacy with God in all of life. The result of such devotion is that God will make the paths before you smooth and/or straight.’
And normally people would stop there, but I’m not going to, because there’s much more wisdom that we desperately need to follow in the next few verses. ‘Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.’ (Prov.3:7) And you wonder why? ‘Because ‘It shall be health to thy navel (body), and marrow (strength) to thy bones.’ (Prov.3:8) Yuh see friends, following the Lord even brings bodily health and strength!
And we’ll close with this admonishment, that’s also so important, but which most of us don’t follow to our own demise. ‘Honour the Lord with thy substance (possessions), and with the first fruits of all thine increase:’ (Prov. 3:9) And again you foolishly ask why you should give to God so generously of your earthly possessions? ‘So shall thy barns shall be filled with plenty, and thy presses (vats) shall burst out with new wine.’ (Prov.3:10)
Ah mih people, remember one of the first rules that God laid down for the Israelites was giving a tithe, ten percent of their income to the church, so that the church could support the priesthood and do His work. And when they followed His command, they prospered.
But now, we seem to think otherwise and it’s not taught in many churches. But friends, that’s why a lot of us individually, and churches as a whole, are suffering in these difficult times. We consider it difficult or unwise to give God ten percent of what He has given to us. Remember it’s all His, and we are just stewards of it.
Please note His challenge to the Israelites in Malachi: ‘Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat (food) in mine house, and prove (test) me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.’ (Mal.3:10)
Oh my people, let’s start back teaching it in our churches nuh. Let’s just try it and see, take up that challenge and see if we can prove the Lord wrong nuh. From personal experience, I guarantee that we won’t! End of sermon.
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings that the Lord has so generously bestowed on us, although we don’t deserve many of them. In strong and sincere voice now: ‘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 if we’re truly sincere, then we’ll go out and share those blessings with the less fortunate as Jesus greatly desires of us. Much LOVE!
…give generously to God…and He will give back to you…much more than you gave…
10 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a foothold, a heritage of the Lord, a sun and shield, Abrahamic Covenant, Abram, another week of work, ashes, boundaries, brutal winds, calves of the stall, children, Christians, cold of the morning, common sense, confidence, covenant, exceeding great reward, exuberance, faith, faithful to deliver, fellowship, Friday chant, fruit of the womb, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, generous help, get in trouble, glory, go overboard, grace, grow fat, healing, help, in his wings, in Jesus' name, Jesus Christ, judgements, kill we with work, leggo beast, let it all hang out, Lord and Saviour, Malachi, mama yo, no good thing, parameters, party fuh so, precipitation of snow, promises, rain, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rest, restrictions, reward, riotous goings ons, slave driver, Sodom, soul body mind, statutes, tendencies, TGIF!, Thank the Lord Friday come, the enemy, the law of Moses, the Lord God, the soles of your feet, the Sun of righteousness, the white stuff, the workingman, them that walk uprightly, thy shield, trample down the wicked, weekend anthem, what a time it going to be, will God withhold
Psalm 84:11. For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
Ah friends, thankfully my area did not get the heavy precipitation of snow that some other areas apparently received overnight. There is a smattering of the white stuff here and there in disparate patches on the ground, but nothing to be concerned about.
We did get lots of rain and brutal winds though. You could hear the wind howling outside and rattling stuff. Hopefully it didn’t do any serious damage to any buildings.
The cold of morning, which seems bright and quiet enough, obviously did not stop the workingman from getting out on the street and lustily declaring his weekend anthem. ‘TGIF! Thank the Lord Friday come! The weekend finally here! What a time it going to be, with all sorts of riotous goings ons.
Mama Yo! Is party fuh so! Party and more party! As the song says: ‘Party, party, party!’ Yeh mih breddren, we have to thank the Lord for Fridays and weekends oui, otherwise the slave driver would kill we with work everyday!’
And as always, there is some truth to the workingman’s song. It’s just that he is carried away by his exuberance. (smile) No doubt many of us Christians might feel the same way, but we know that we can’t just let it all hang, out otherwise we’re going to get in trouble with the enemy.
That’s why our Friday Chant differs from that of the ordinary workingman. We set some boundaries and restrictions to our leggo beast tendencies, (smile) so that the evil, always lurking enemy cannot get a foothold in our business. And believe me, it’s very easy to go overboard and allow him in, when you are tired after a difficult week of work.
So let’s declare our anthem with as much gusto and purpose as the workingman declared his nuh. As one now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Ah mih fellow saints of Jesus, that’s how we operate! We try to stay within the lanes of common sense as the values and directives of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ dictates. And when we call upon our great God for help, He helps us to stay within those parameters which are dear to His will.
As our Bit so explicitly and graciously declares: ‘For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.’
Now yesterday we saw what Isaiah and Revelations had to say about the Lord being our sun. Hear now how Malachi puts it as he talks about the coming day of the Lord. ‘But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall (grow fat like stall fed calves)
And ye shall tread (trample) down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts. Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgements.’ (Mal.4:2-4)
Yeh friends, another great promise of our awesome God, but we also need to remember to live by His statutes and His law. It’s not going to happen regardless of our behaviour.
Now hear this most significant promise of the Lord to Abram. ‘After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and they exceeding great reward.’ (Gen.15:10 )
And the scholars have this to say re that verse. ‘15”1. Thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward: This chapter introduces the Abrahamic covenant by which God promises him an heir and eventual descendants who will one day possess the land of Canaan.
The word “shield” is translated in other passages as “believed.” Thus, God is the object of Abram’s faith and thereby the source of his confidence. The promise of reward is especially significant in view of the fact that Abram had just refused a reward from the king of Sodom (Gen.14:21-24). God Himself would be Abram’s true reward (cf. Ps.127:3).’
And we all know that God fulfilled that promise to Abram in magnificent and miraculous fashion! Just ponder it for a moment nuh; having a child around a hundred years old… That’s only possible with our omnipotent God, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
So let’s cling with genuine faith to the many promises He’s made in His word, as we live in His will, for He who has promised is faithful to deliver. Much LOVE!
…Lo…children are a heritage of the Lord…and the fruit of the womb…is his reward… (Ps.127:3).
20 Jul 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a great God, a positive idea, a positive outlook on life, alive and kicking, be joyful, believe in Jesus, Christians, curse, death, divine promotion, dr robert h schuller, eternal life, faith, favour, fear, financial support, generous, generously share, glorify thy name, glory to God, God's largesse, God's Word, great is thy mercy, guidance, hoard, Hour of Power Devotional, hypocrites, in the mind of a believer, in the name of Jesus, Jesus Christ, judgement, justice, kind, leading, loving, loving-kindness, Malachi, matters of the law, mercy, Moses, My walk, negative word, not enough room, open the windows of heaven, outward show, pour out a blessing, praise thee, precepts of God's word, prosper, rejoice, resurrection, reverential awe, salvation, self-control, self-discipline, sincerity, singleness of purpose, succeed, success, teach me thy way, the depths of hell, the law of tithes, the most powerful force, the obits, the Pharisees, this is the day the Lord has made, Thursday Blessings, tithe, truth, unite my heart, walk in god's will, walk in thy truth, walking in God's will, we will rejoice and be glad in it, woe unto you, you reap what you sow
Psalm 86:11. Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart (give me singleness of purpose) to fear (have reverential awe for) thy name.
Aye mih people, this is an exceedingly good day to rejoice and be joyful! Why you ask? Well I’ll just give you two reasons. The first is that you haven’t seen your name in the obits this morning, (smile) that means you are alive and kicking. Glory to God!
And the second is that we serve a great God who’s so kind and LOVING and generous to us to grant us salvation and eternal life when we believe in His Son, our Lord And Saviour Jesus Christ, and walk in His will. Consequently, we just can’t help but LOVE Him back with all our hearts, minds, bodies and souls.
Now, I think those are two excellent reasons to rejoice. So let’s declare it nuh, in the words of the psalmist: ‘This is the day which the Lord hath made; we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’ (Ps.118:24)
Ah friends, we Christians are the most joyful people on planet earth! And to help us stay that way, here is some encouragement from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional, titled ‘My Walk.’ I believe I’ve shared it before, possibly a year ago, but these prayers never get old or stale and can be shared again and again.
Please declare it with me. ‘O God, I’m inspired. For you have just impressed this truth into my mind. The most powerful force in the world is a positive idea in the mind of a believer who is walking in your will! I now reach forth my life and say; “God, put my life into the centre of your will.” Amen.’
Oh my faithful brethren, there isn’t a wiser move we can ever make in this ungodly and evil world than to put our life in the centre of God’s will! He is the Creator of this universe and all therein, the fountainhead of all power and energy, so with whom else should we align ourselves eh? NOBODY else…if we are wise!
And what I LOVE about our heavenly Father is, not only does He desire us to come to Him in EACH and EVERY circumstance, but He also helps us to do so through the leading and guidance of His word.
As Bruh David puts it in our Bit. ‘Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart (give me singleness of purpose) to fear (have reverential awe for) thy name.’ Yeh friends, without the Lord’s help, we cannot draw near to Him the way He desires.
And I like what Bruh David says after our Bit. ‘I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore. For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest (the depths of) hell.’ (Ps.86:12-13) And that is certainly the right response to the Lord’s LOVING-kindness and mercy!
Oh supposed saints of God, the Lord has also bestowed great mercy on us, and taken us from the depths of hell by the death and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ, are we grateful and thankful, and praising and glorifying and exalting Him with all of our faculties?
I certainly do hope so, otherwise we’d just be a bunch of ungrateful hypocrites like the overly religious, but heartless Pharisees in Jesus’ time. What did Jesus say to them? In Matthew 23 He thoroughly denounces them, and you can read it for yourselves, but now listen to this one verse
‘Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted (neglected) the weightier matters of the law, judgement (justice), mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.’ (Matt.23:23)
Ah friends, unfortunately a lot of us Christians do the same things nowadays; conveniently comply with the small matters, which include outward show, but neglect the more important precepts of God’s word and will.
On a point of interest here, most of us don’t even tithe, for sadly it is not preached in many of our churches, but it is a most important aspect of God’s word. That’s why so many churches are going under for lack of financial support. Moses declared the law of the tithes to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 14:22-29. Please take a few minutes and read it sometime soon.
In the meanwhile, listen to what the prophet Malachi declared on God’s behalf: ‘Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat (food) in mine house, and prove (test) me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.’ (Mal.3:10)
Oh my brethren, God’s house cannot survive and do His work on stingy offerings. Remember the basic principle of God’s economy is you reap what you sow. So if we only sow a little, we’ll also reap a little.
And I have to chuckle at the unintended direction this Bit has taken. But I guess that’s where the Lord wanted me to go. And now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings in strong voice and heartfelt sincerity.
‘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!’
Now let’s go out and bless others, including God’s church, with the prosperity that He’s bestowed on us. That’s biblical wisdom! Much LOVE!
…God’s largesse isn’t bestowed on us to store or hoard it… but to generously share with others…
P.S. Yes friends, it’s a li’l bit late and a li’l bit long….but still beautiful! (smile) Much LOVE!
09 Sep 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a faithful man, abound with blessings, adds no sorrow, adversity, all nations shall call you blessed, barking orders, blasphemous, blessings, calamity, Christ-like, cursed, disasters, disobedience, fellowship, food in mine house, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, glorifying our heavenly Father, glory to God, God's mandate, gone crazy, good balance of activities, gross stupidity, harmony, he that makes haste, I change not, in Jesus' name, innocent, looking over mih shoulder, loyalty, lustful, makes rich, Malachi, not enough room, obedience, offerings, open the windows of heaven, ordinances, ponder, pour out a blessing, promise, refreshed, rejection of God, relaxation, renewed, rest, Return unto me, righteous, rot, sensory pleasures, shall not go unpunished, soul body and mind, test me, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the blessing of the Lord, the devourer, the enemy's trap, the head of the just, the mouth of the wicked, the name of the wicked, the things of heaven, the things of the world, the weekend, tithes, to be rich, unison, violence, wedded to, week of work, will a man rob God
Proverbs 28:20. A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent (go unpunished).
And then it was Friday – the day that we all LOVE and anxiously look forward to all week, because it heralds the beginning of the weekend.
Then we can all joyfully declare ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend’s here at last! Glory to God! If I had to go to that so and so work one more day…Steups! I would certainly have gone crazy! I need sometime for mihself, to do what I want to do, without any foolish supervisor constantly looking over mih shoulder and barking orders! Thank God for Fridays and the weekend yes!’
Yeh friends, we all need a break from work, but the problem stems from how we use that break. If we use it just to satisfy our lustful and sensory pleasures then we’re not helping ourselves or fulfilling God’s mandate. But sadly, that’s what too many of us do and consequently we fall into the enemy’s trap.
So with that in mind, let’s chant our Friday Chant nuh, which gives us a better perspective on how to use the weekend. Chanting as one, in harmony and unison: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Now that’s a much better way to handle the weekend – with a good balance of activities and one that will also glorify our heavenly Father! And remember, glorifying Him is one of our main duties on this planet earth.
So let’s have a look at our Bit, the same one as yesterday. ‘A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent (go unpunished).’
Ah mih breddren, our great and wonderful God has spelled it out as simply as possible – if you are obedient to His word, He will bless you abundantly, otherwise you and yours will be cursed forever. Now what is so difficult to understand about that eh?
I really don’t know nuh, but we still are too closely wedded to the things of the world and not to those of heaven. And then we wonder why blessings are not flowing down upon us like rain, instead of the serious calamity and disasters that are currently flooding our lives and our world.
Oh friends, a lot of it has to do with our continual and blasphemous rejection of Almighty God, the awesome Creator of heaven and earth and all therein. Our intentional desire to drive Him out of our society will not endear us to Him, so why do we do the sinful things we do, then try to call upon Him when adversity hits eh? That makes absolutely no sense my people.
Now let’s check out a couple scriptures that point out the gross stupidity of our behaviour, starting with these words of wisdom from Cousin Sol. ‘Blessings are upon the head of the just (righteous): but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked. The memory of the just (righteous) is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot… The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.’ (Prov.10: 6-7, 22)
Oh brother, it just boggles my imagination when we do some of the stuff we do that is totally repugnant to our God and His word, then expect Him to bless us and make us prosper, when it’s so clear that that will never happen.
Listen here now to one of the great promises of blessings in the Good Book. It concerns tithes, where the Jewish people were disobedient, just like we are today.
The Lord’s speaking through the prophet Malachi. ‘For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein (in what way) shall we return?
Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat (food) in mine house, and prove (test) me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be enough room to receive it.
And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome (delightful) land, saith the Lord of hosts.’ (Mal.3:6-12)
Oh friends, what could be simpler than that eh? We follow God’s law of tithing, giving ten percent of our earnings to Him, so that His priests and the widows and orphans and strangers can have food, and He’ll bless us so greatly that we won’t even have room to store it!
Mama Mia! What an awesome promise! And we know that our God is ever faithful to keeping His promises. But I guess most of us don’t appreciate the promise, that’s why we don’t tithe. But please remember friends, that not tithing is disobedience, for the Lord has made it a sure and serious condition of our loyalty to Him.
Anyway my people, let’s get wise nuh, let’s sit down today and ponder all that we’ve said, and see how we shape up in obedience to God’s word, then sincerely ask Him to help us do better. You know He won’t refuse such a request, because He desires us all to become as Christ-like as possible. Much LOVE!
…promises…promise…promises…oh how faithful and true…rewarding and worthwhile…are the promises of Almighty God…
27 May 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: and will forgive their sin, ashamed, ashes, branch, bubbling up in our hearts, burn as an oven, common sense, copying and pasting, curse, damnation, death, disaster, discipline, easy ways of getting by, Elijah, enter in at the strait gate, ephemeral dream, faithful God, fear my name, foolishness, frame evil, glory hallelujah, glory to God, Gramps Schuller, graven images, grin and bear it, grow fat, hard work, harness our dreams, heal their land, healing in his wings, heavenly citizenship, hope, Horeb, Hour of Power Devotional, identifiable quality, in the spirit and power, Isaiah, Jeremiah, John the Baptist, keep pushing ahead, laziness, leads to destruction, leads to life, live for Jesus, Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, LOVE, make your doings good, Malachi, molten images, my people which are called by my name, patience, perseverance, plain, ploughing for Jesus, pray, promise, prophetic forerunner, return from your evil way, ringing in our ears, root, salvation, seek my face, shall humble themselves, shortcuts, sin, smite the earth, stall fed calves, straightforward, stubble, stubbornness, successful people, suffering, Sun of righteousness, the coming day of the Lord, the destructive path of sin, the Good Book, the Great tribulation, the law of Moses, the Life, the Light, the Lord of hosts, the Messiah, the New testament, the Old Testament, the power of patience, the transfiguration, the Way, then will I hear from heaven, theTruth, trample the wicked, trust in graven images, truth, tunr the hearts of the children, turn away from their wicked ways, turn the hearts of the fathers, ungodliness, walk after our own plans, warning, Wednesday, wisdom
2 Chronicles 7:14. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn away from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Well Friends, it’s a cool, cloudy and windy Wednesday morning in my area…and still no signs of rain. Chuh! Yesterday we definitely needed some showers of blessings to cool the hot and humid day, but since we don’t control the weather we just have to grin and bear it. Hn, hn! Today won’t be as hot and humid though. Glory to God!
So since it’s Wednesday, the mid point of our workweek, it naturally implies that we have to keep pushing ahead, no looking back, for he who looks back is not worthy of ploughing for Jesus. And I come bearing tidings this morning re patience, something a whole lot of us need to learn in this very impatient world.
And I can vouch for that by the different dates on yesterday’s Bit. The top heading was right, the 26th, but the one later on was wrong, the 25th. How many of you noticed that eh? (smile) But that stems from laziness and trying to do it the easy way, by copying and pasting, rather than typing it out again. I obviously forgot to change the second date. Please accept my most humble apologies.
As Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H Schuller) says in his Hour of Power Devotional, patience is the single most identifiable quality of successful people. And that’s no lie Friends! This generation has grown up looking for too many shortcuts and other cheap and easy ways of getting by.
We refuse to adopt the discipline necessary to harness our dreams and see them through to fulfillment. The easy road my people, is certainly no remedy for true success. That ephemeral dream that we’re chasing always demands, patience, perseverance and hard work.
Listen to these words from Gramps Schuller. ‘The people who win in life are the people who have harnessed the power of patience. You can move a mountain, Christ said – but He didn’t say how long it would take.’
And that’s the absolute truth my brethren! Mountains are indeed moveable, but it takes time, patience and hard work to accomplish any dream, be it worthwhile or not.
Now without further ado, let’s get to our Bit, this one for the last time… and I hear relieved shouts of ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ in the background. Yeh Friends, this has indeed been a long standing Bit, but as we said before, it’s a rather important verse of Scripture that determines our eternal salvation or eternal death and damnation.
‘If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn away from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.’ Ah mih breddren, it’s so plain and straightforward… but yet we refuse to accept it, or even consider it.
And we’ll get straight into the scriptures that deal with the last of the four things we need to do to have God act positively on our behalf; ‘and turn away from their wicked ways.’
Listen to Isaiah as he declares that suffering is a result of sin. ‘They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.’ (Is.42:17) That’s gospel truth my people! And put in simple, unequivocal language too.
And this next scripture is from Jeremiah, re the lesson from the potter. ‘Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I frame evil (am fashioning a disaster) against you, and devise a device (plan) against you: return ye now everyone from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.
And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices (according to our own plans), and we will everyone do the imagination (stubbornness) of his evil heart.’ (Jer.18:11-12)
Unfortunately Friends, that’s the same foolishness we’re talking today, as we recklessly head down the destructive path of sin and ungodliness!
Now hear the prophet Malachi, re the coming day of the Lord. ‘For behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall (grow fat like stall fed calves). And ye shall tread down (trample) the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.
Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgements. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.’ (Mal. 4:1-6)
Oh my people, what another wonderful promise of our most faithful God, most of which has already been fulfilled with the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
Now hear this excellent explanation from the scholars. ‘4:1-6. The coming day is the day of the Lord (or the Great Tribulation), which is in view of the birth pangs for the millennial kingdom. Sun of righteousness is a figurative representation of the Messiah. Moses represents the law and Elijah represents the prophets. Both of them appeared at the transfiguration of Christ (Matt.17:3).
The Old Testament ends with the promise of the coming of Elijah, which the New Testament identifies as John the Baptist (Matt.3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23). John’s own disclaimer (John 1:21) was simply a denial that he was literally Elijah. Jesus, on the other hand, clearly stated that John the Baptist came “in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Matt.11:14; 17:10-13; Mark 9:11-13).
Malachi’s promise is quoted by the angel in Luke 1:17 as referring to the ministry of John the Baptist as the forerunner of the Messiah. Therefore, the Old Testament ends in anticipation of the coming of the Messiah and His prophetic forerunner, John the Baptist, who appears in the likeness of Elijah.’
Yuh see friends, the Good Book was not, is not, a haphazard concoction by a group of fuddy-duddy old men, but a well laid our plan by the Creator. And for those of you who don’t know, Malachi Chapter 4, is indeed the last chapter in the Old Testament. (smile)
And we’ll end this series of messages quite appropriately with the warning and wisdom of the Messiah. ‘Enter ye in at the strait (narrow) gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. Because strait (how narrow) is the gate, and narrow (difficult or confined) is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.’ (Matt.7:13-14)
Oh my people, my people, please, let’s go out today with those wonderful words of wisdom and warning ringing in our ears, and bubbling up in our hearts, minds and souls, as we continue to live and work diligently and excellently for Jesus! For that’s wisdom at its very highest. Much LOVE!
…wisdom and common sense both cry out loudly…accept Jesus…for He is indeed…the Way, the Truth, the Life and the Light…and no one comes to the Father…achieves heavenly citizenship… but through Him…
P.S. Oh Friends, I know it’s long, but it’s beautiful, (smile) and a special, just for today! Much LOVE!
15 Aug 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's wisdom, almighty god, ancient paths, another week of work, bounden duty, burned incense to vanity, calamity, death, destruction, disobedience, earthly pleasures, Elijah, evil, faith conquers fear, fellowship, find rest for your souls, focus on Almighty God, Friday chant, fun, further God's glorious kingdom, generous help, God's warnings, God-centred, godly focus, godly wisdom, Horeb, Israel, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, Jesus Love Revolution, judgements, Law of Moses, less wise, lethargy, lightens stress, lighter in the head, LOVE, love conquers hate, LOVE Revolution, Malachi, man-made attitudes, old paths, playing with fire, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, relaxed atmosphere, rest, smite us with a curse, stand in the ways and see, statutes, tensions, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the day of the Lord, the good way, the Great tribulation, the Lord never changes, the ways and paths of God, the Word of god, theatre of strife, turn our hearts back to God, turning away from God, ungodly path, weekend, wisdom, worldly lust, worthless idols
Jeremiah 6:16. Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
And this time the joyful shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday!’ hit the roofs of numerous workplaces. You can literally feel the tensions ease as workers turn their minds to the weekend, away from whatever work that might then be frustrating them.
It’s always interesting and amusing to see the relaxed atmosphere in the work place on a Friday. I guess that’s a natural human reaction, looking forward to a day of no work and all the other strenuous activities it brings, lightens the stress.
Anyway, regardless of the reason or reasons for our lighter Friday attitude, let’s chant our Friday Chant so that we don’t gravitate to the other extreme and spend the weekend in total lethargy on the couch, in front of the tube, or unlimited earthly pleasures that distract our focus from Almighty God. (smile)
As one body in Christ, let’s chant. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes mih people, we need to take a more God-centred than worldly lust attitude towards the weekend, because it’s not there simply for pleasure but even more importantly for the rejuvenation of our spirits.
And on turning to our Bit, we see that godly focus being reiterated and strengthened. ‘Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, we will not walk therein.’
Yes Friends, the paths and ways that our great and wonderful God has laid down for us from the very beginning of time are the ones we ought to follow, not the man-made ones that are steadily leading us down an evil and ungodly path to death and destruction!
Humans these days seem to be getting lighter and lighter in the head, becoming sillier and less wise every day. We insist on trying man-made attitudes and ways that obviously don’t work, given the terrible mess our world is currently in.
But do you think, in light of that, we’ll even consider going back to the ways and paths of God which worked for our forefathers? Hn! Not on yuh life! Instead we foolishly continue to plod further along the unproductive, ungodly man-made paths that will eventually lead to death and total destruction.
Oh Friends, when are going to wake up and see the serious error of our ways eh? Everyday a new theatre of strife seems to open up in our already seriously troubled world, unfortunately without the ending of any of the previous ones, which we conveniently forget, as our focus is trained on the new ones.
Ah mih breddren, there are so many scriptures that warn about turning away from God, let’s look at a couple. The prophet Malachi in talking about the coming day of the Lord (the Great Tribulation), wisely warns us: ‘Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgements.
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.’ (Mal.4:4-6)
Oh my people, what are we waiting for to turn our hearts back to God eh, for Him to come and smite us with a curse? Now that isn’t too bright is it?
And hear the Lord again, this time through Jeremiah: ‘Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity (worthless idols), and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up (and not on a highway);
To make their land desolate, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished and wag (shake) his head. I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will show them the (my) back, and not the (my) face, in the day of their calamity.’ (Jer.18:15-17)
Oh my fellow believers, why do we insist on treating God’s warnings as jokes eh, when we’ve seen them come to pass all throughout history? Why do we think we’re different eh?
Remember the Lord NEVER CHANGES; He’s the same yesterday, today and forever. So whatever He said yesterday still stands as gospel truth today! And if he says He’ll destroy nations for disobedience, then in His own time and manner, He will certainly do it.
My Friends, we’re playing with serious fire here, by so blatantly disobeying the Word of God, even to the point of mocking Him, and trying to remove Him from our society that was founded on His sacred Word. It’s a fool’s wisdom my people!
But sadly, we believers are the ones entrusted with the unenviable and mighty task of turning this foolish, selfish, greedy and evil world back to the paths and ways of Jehovah God. The heathen and the ungodly won’t do it because they are foolishly enthralled with the works and idols of man.
So for our children’s sake, and the sake of all our descendants, I’m pleading with us to get serious about our bounden duty, and start working diligently on Jesus’ LOVE Revolution, which is the only thing that will save our world from total destruction, either through our own self-inflicted efforts, or those of Almighty God.
Please let godly wisdom prevail. Much LOVE!
…only LOVE can conquer hate…only faith can conquer fear…only true believers can turn our evil world around…
08 Aug 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: accoding to their deeds God will repay, adversaries, another week of work, baptizing, brought to Jesus, christianity, communication revolution, contemplative sigh, corrupt ways, corruption, diligently spread God's Word, enemies, enthusiasm, eternal life, even to the end of the world, ever-LOVING God, evil, fear, fear the name of the Lord, fellowship, Friday chant, from the rising of the sun, further God's glorious kingdom, generations, generous help, Glory be, God's children, God's Word, Hallelujah, Holy Ghost, holy spirit, I am with you always, I will make thy name to be remembered, in the name of the Father, incense, Internet, Jesus Christ, lethargy, looking up to heaven, lord of hosts, lost souls, LOVE, loving kindness, loving nature, magnificent, Malachi, mercies, my name shall be great among the heathen, observe all things I have commanded you, omni-present, omnipotent, omniscient, pandemic, praise, praise God, Psalm 45, purpose, recompense, relaxation, renewed and refeshed, rest, salvation, Scrip-Bit, servants of the lord, sincerely live our faith, suffering, teach all nations, Thank God is Friday, thanks, the Great Commission, the Lord's anger, the Lord's decree, the people shall praise thee for ever, the rising of the sun, the SON, the Sprit of the Lord, tired eyes, truly love our God, ungodly world, wisdom, worship
Psalm 45:17. I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.
Well Friends, at last it’s that fateful day – Friday!
And surprisingly, instead of the usual raucous and joyful shouts, I hear a tired, contemplative sigh and a less than enthusiastic ‘Thank God is Friday yes… Don’t think I could have handled one more day nuh…Thank God is Friday oui…’ tired eyes looking up to heaven.
Yeh mih people, it’s been a short work week for many of us, but the tiredness from the recent Caribana celebrations lingers on. Hopefully then, this weekend we’ll take our Friday Chant a little more seriously than usual.
Let’s chant: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes Friends, some of you will definitely understand this weekend, the need for rest, relaxation and fellowship! (smile)
And our Bit for today comes from the last verse of Psalm 45, a psalm dedicated to and celebrating the king’s marriage, where a powerful affirmation is made. ‘I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.’
Oh my people, I surely hope that we ALL know that that’s the major purpose of all God’s children on planet earth – to make His mighty and glorious name known to all and sundry, throughout each generation, and thus have the people praise and glorify Him right through eternity?
That’s the ‘Great Commission’ Jesus gave to the disciples, and consequently us, before He departed this earth. ‘Go ye therefore, and teach ALL nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe ALL things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.’ (Matt.28:19-20)
And it does us a whole lot of good to remember that every so often, so that we don’t fall into a perpetual state of lethargy and/or fear, and diligently talk to others about our omnipotent, omniscient, omni-present, magnificent and ever-LOVING God!
Now let’s check out a few passages of scripture which corroborate our Bit. Listen first to the prophet Malachi, as the Lord rebukes the priests through him.
‘For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen (Gentile nations), saith the Lord of hosts.’ (Mal.1:11)
Yes Friends, the Lord has decreed that His name, and holy, LOVING nature will be known throughout His universe! And you know that whatever He decrees, it ALWAYS comes to pass, in His time.
And right now we’re witnessing, thankfully experiencing a communication revolution like the world has never seen before, which makes it so much easier to spread God’s Word all over the entire world. And this Scrip-Bit message over the Internet is a perfect example of that.
And all God’s children gave out a joyful shout of ‘Glory be!’
Yes my brethren, God’s name and glory need to go to the ends of the earth, so that He can be magnified and the numerous lost souls out there brought to Jesus, so that they can receive the most wonderful gifts of salvation and eternal life!
Now hear the prophet Isaiah, as he warns Israel on national corruption and the consequent suffering thereof… Oh my, my! Isaiah must have been here checking out our time too, because corruption is so rampant all over the globe that it’s become pandemic.
Anyway, here is what Isaiah promises: ‘According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies; to the islands (coastlands) he will (fully) repay recompense.
So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard (banner) against him.’ (Is.59:18-19)
Oh Friends, I wouldn’t want to experience the Lord’s true anger nuh. But if we persist in our evil, ungodly, corrupt ways, at some stage of the game, we will certainly feel it.
And we’ll end with these wonderful verses from Psalm 113, which deals with the many mercies of our most wonderful God. ‘Praise ye the Lord (shout Hallelujah), Praise, O ye servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and for evermore.
From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised. The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth!’ (Ps.113:1-6)
And the correct answer to that my brethren is NOBODY!
So today, my fellow believers, let’s remember the greatness, the faithfulness, and the LOVING nature of our God and go forth in appropriate praise, thanks, and worship, so that we can bring everlasting glory to His name, as He desires, for that’s our bounden duty. Much LOVE!
…the three do’s of Christianity…truly LOVE our God…sincerely LIVE our Faith…and diligently SPREAD God’s word…
SCRIP-BITS 