30 Jan 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: be nor proud, be ye also ready, blasphemy, blessed, blessed is he that watcheth, children of the Most High God, coming like a thief in the night, corona pandemic, cursing, darkness of national catastrophe, divine warning, dropped off the face of the earth, for in such an hour as ye think not, for the Lord hath spoken, found sadly wanting, free choice, Give glory to the Lord your God, God's top exhibition, he turn it into the shadow of death, hear ye and give ear, if ye will not hear, in the last days, lest he walk naked, like a mighty child of God, LOVE, mankind, mine eye shall weep sore, moaning and begroaning our circumstances, my soul shall weep in secret places, our friend Anselm, plenty to be thankful for, precious gifts, revelling in disobedience, rulers of the universe, run down with tears, the fateful words of god, the Son of man cometh, they see his shame, this too will pass, to test our true love for Him, too proud to ask for help, ungodliness, waste this day, watch ye and pray, while ye look for light, wisdom at its zenith, without God we're nothing, your feet stumble upon the dark mountains
Jeremiah 13:15. Hear ye, and give ear, be not proud for the Lord hath spoken.
Oh mih people, it’s Saturday! Wow! Already? And if you’re reading this, then it means that you have opened two of the most precious gifts man can ever receive; we talking about your eyes. (smile)
Oh friends, what a beautiful universe our great God has created, with mankind as its top exhibition! And if yuh believe that, then shout a loud, proud and grateful ‘Amen!’ Yes my brethren, let’s give thanks and praise to Almighty God for all the wonderful things He’s done, is doing and has promised to do for us nuh, for without Him we’re nothing!
And as they say, if you’re alive, you have plenty to be thankful for. And if you have food, clothing and shelter, then you’re more blessed than most of the world. And if you also have a LOVING family and good friends, then you’re blessed like a mighty child of God! Glory be!
So let’s not waste any time this day moaning and begroaning whatever unfortunate circumstance(s) that might have come our way nuh, for if we’re children of the Most High God then we know that they have not come to stay, that they too will eventually pass away and leave us stronger in body, soul, spirit and mind, for that’s the way our heavenly Father has set it up. Give Him a much deserved round of applause nuh mih bredrin!
And I guess, by now you have deduced that there are still no quotes from our friend Anselm. Sorry to say it, but that’s the truth. Don’t know what’s happened to him, like he just dropped off the face of the earth. Hope that he’s all right though. Please say a word of prayer for him, just in case he’s in trouble.
And while we’re doing that, let’s also remember these fateful words of the Lord to His people of Judah through the prophet Jeremiah, when they were revelling in disobedience and ungodliness, just like our society is doing right now.
‘Hear ye, and give ear, be not proud for the Lord hath spoken. Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.’ (Jer. 13:15-16)
Oh friends, that warning is so apropos for us in these trying and troubled times that we need to pay instant heed to it. For many of us are already stumbling in the darkness of sin, disobedience and doubt, and many are going through the valley of the shadow of death because of it. The corona pandemic isn’t helping us any either, just adding to our concerns.
So why aren’t we listening to the voice, the divine warning of our heavenly Father eh? Is it because we’re too proud to ask for help, or because we think we are the rulers of the universe and we know what we’re doing and nobody must tell us anything? Hn! What foolishness!
Why would we think such a stupid thing eh? Can any of us define our times or do anything to stop them? No! So why do we still insist on thinking of ourselves more highly than we truly are eh?
Now hear how Jeremiah continues with the Lord’s words. ‘But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock is carried away captive.’ (Jer. 13:17)
Yes, the Lord will weep and be sorrowful for our demise, but being a God of justice and righteousness, He must band His belly and punish sin, like He had to do when Jesus died for us. And oh my people, are we ever proud and haughty in these days of the modern technological revolution!
We think we’re the cat’s pajamas! But in fact we’re not. We’re still God’s creation, and still beholden to Him for everything we have, receive or do! So listen to this explanation from the scholars on those verses above.
‘13:15-17. A third illustration (in the series of God’s warnings to Judah) concerns a weary traveller in danger of being overtaken by the falling darkness of night. Such was Judah. It must renounce all pride and give God His rightful glory before the final darkness of national catastrophe engulfs it.’
Oh my people, my people, what’s wrong with our minds eh? We claim to be the wisest civilization ever, but still, we turn away from our Creator with blasphemy, vehemence and downright cursing, and we yet expect to prosper forever? Hn! What fools we are my friends!
The Lord LOVES us like a real Father, but also, like a real father He’s not going to let us get away with sin and willful disobedience forever. Remember, He’s given us free choice for a reason, to test our true LOVE for Him. And believe me, we have been tested and found sadly wanting.
Now a lot of people are claiming that we’re in the last days, the days before Jesus’ return, and they just might be, because many of the signs He spoke about that would herald His Second coming are currently playing out. But who knows just when that will be? Only the Father Himself! (Matt. 24:36)
But be assured that the last days are much closer than they have ever been. (smile) Remember too, Jesus’ warning about Him coming like a thief in the night. (Matt. 24:43) And in Revelation: ‘Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.’ (Rev. 16:15)
Yes friends, Jesus’ Second Coming will be an unexpected affair, therefore we must take His warning very seriously. ‘Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.’ (Matt. 24:44)
Oh my fellow believers, I think those are very fitting words to leave us with this Saturday morning in this troubled year of 2021. Please, let’s ponder them seriously and make the appropriate decisions nuh. That’s wisdom at its zenith! Much LOVE!
…watch ye…watch ye and pray…watch ye and pray…
19 Apr 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a party animal, a shout of triumph, assurance, at the beginning, behest of the Father, believers in Christ, breathtaking dawn, carousing, cross on calvary, crucifixion, disobedient, drink the cup, Easter, Easter Sunday, Eli Eli lama sabachthani, enthusiasm, evil enemy, fellowship, for they know not what they do, forgive them, forgiveness, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's kingdom, generous help, go to extremes, Good Friday, heart-rending words, home, I made it through, in paradise, Jesus Christ, Jesus cried, killing we self, LOVE, mankind, modus operandi, My God my God, obedience, rebellious creation, refreshed, rest renewed, Satan, sin-bearer, sincerity, sompassion, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, thankfulness, the curse of sin, the darkest hour, the ninth hour, times of trouble, unbeliever, unjust situation, vacationing, week of work, why hast thou forsaken me, with a loud voice, workingman's song
Matthew 27:46. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, eli, lama sabachthani? That is to say, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Home…Home…Home at last! But home sick! Steups! Ah friends, it’s great to be home, but when you come home from vacation sick with an annoying cold it doesn’t help matters at all. You’re already tired from all the vacationing, (smile) and you just want to rest, to put sickness on top of it isn’t the greatest feeling in the world.
After the long flight and the hassle to get through the airport, I got home around eleven and expected to have a good night’s rest…Hn! What a pipe dream! I was up several times during the night bringing up stuff, my throat was raw, still is, making swallowing a tad difficult. But if one has to be sick, I guess the best place for that to happen is home.
Home where the heart is! Home where you’re most comfortable and relaxed, be it a humble hovel or a majestic mansion! Something about home just gives one a li’l more assurance in times of trouble or illness. But enough about my woes, (smile) it’s Friday and the workingman is waiting to sing his song.
‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday oui! Good Friday…that means the long Easter weekend! Mama Yo! Party fuh so! And the weather should be good! Good thing that Easter fall so late this year yes, so it happen in springtime and not in winter! So many things to do, and places to go, and people to see! Chuh! Don’t know where to start nuh! But as they say, the best place to start is at the beginning! So ah guess we going to start with some eating and drinking and carousing!
Brother! Who knows whether we going to be alive come next week Tuesday when we have to go back to the slave master slave labour? One thing ah know though; when we go back, we not killing we self over the work nuh. Leh him fire we, see how long his business going last nuh! But forget he now yes! Is time for me to do my own thing! Thank God for Fridays and weekends yes!’
Yes mih people, the workingman is a party animal if nothing else! But unfortunately, or should I say fortunately, as believers in Christ Jesus, we can’t afford to let our hair down like he can for fear of allowing the evil enemy to invade our righteous souls. But as I keep saying, that doesn’t preclude us from having a good time, we just don’t go to the extremes that the ordinary workingman does.
And we have our own Friday Chant, which chronicles our thankfulness and wishes. So please, let’s chant it now nuh, in true sincerity and mucho enthusiasm. ‘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, to the unbeliever, that might not sound like much, but to us believers, it’s short, sweet and to the point! (smile) And today, Good Friday, our hearts are heavy, filled with sadness as we commemorate the crucifixion of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And some will ask why call it Good Friday when such a heinous, illegal crime was committed against an innocent person?
That’s a good question my brethren. But the long and short of the story is that if Jesus had not died in place of us, our sins would not have been paid for, and we would not have been forgiven, redeemed, made clean and washed white as snow! Yes, it was a rough, unjust situation, but from the beginning of time the Father had decreed it to be the Son’s job to die for the abominable sins of His disobedient and rebellious creation called mankind.
And yuh better believe it was no easy job that! The pain and agony, the ‘sufferation’ He had to endure was immense, seemingly unbearable, but He withstood it, all for our sakes, at the behest of the Father, who LOVED us so much that He didn’t want to lose even one of us to the evil enemy, Satan.
That’s the most beautiful and compelling picture of LOVE that exists; sacrificing your only Son for a bunch of ingrates! Some people will call it crazy or stupid, but our heavenly Father called it LOVE! And since He’s the eternal Creator, He should know what He’s talking about.
But I don’t know how Jesus handled all that unjust ‘sufferation’ nuh, without much complaining too. I guess He knew His role, and could not even consider disobedience to the Father’s wishes. As He told Peter on the night of His arrest, after Peter had cut off the high priest’s right ear. ‘Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?’ (John 18:11) Yes friends, I wonder how many of us put such a high priority on being obedient to the Father’s wishes eh?
And what I greatly admire about Jesus are some statements He made from His painful and agonizing perch on the cross. The first one is ‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.’ (Luke 23:34) Even on the cross, His modus operandi was LOVE and forgiveness!
Note His words to the criminal crucified with Him, who saw the light and sincerely pleaded: ‘Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.’ (Luke 23:42-43)
But the most touching and heart-rending words of Jesus on the cross are contained in this verse. ‘And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, eli, lama sabachthani? That is to say, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?’
Yes friends, what seemed to hurt Jesus the most was not the physical pain inflicted on His body, but the spiritual separation from His Father, the first time that had ever happened. And it had to be so since He was then the sin-bearer of the world, and the Father could not associate with sin. As the scholars explain: ‘Here we have the high cost to Christ of His atonement for our sins, who was accursed of God as our sin-bearer (cf. 2 Cor.5:21; Gal.3:13) and suffered the agony of spiritual death for us.’
And finally, the Good Book tells us: ‘And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost (breathed his last).’ (Luke 23:46) And the scholars explain: ‘He cried with a loud voice, as a shout of triumph, and yielded up His Spirit. In other words, having borne the wrath of God’s judgement against sin, He knew He had triumphed over Satan and the curse of sin.’
Oh what a blessed day that was for us my people, as Jesus gave us such a wonderful example to follow, showing LOVE and compassion and obedience even in His last agonizing moments on that old wooden cross on Calvary! Please, please, I implore us to do a better job, to improve in our own showing of LOVE, compassion and obedience, because that’s all He asks of us! Much LOVE!
…Good Friday…the darkest hour…just before the breathtaking dawn…of Easter Sunday…
21 Jul 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a burden, a huge sigh of relief, Andrew, Anselm, aspires, backbones, baggage, crowded sidewalks, current situations, dearly bought experiences, derive useful lessons, don't look back, dwellers in the past, energy, fatigue, fit for the kingdom of heaven, font of wisdom, forward looking, forward thinking, friend, God's work, Gomorrah, great thinking machine, greater priority, he who has ears to hear, History, inspire, James, Jesus recuited, Jesus said to him, John, lack of incentive, learn from our mistakes, like beached whales, live in the past, looking back, lordship of Christ, Lot, mankind, moving forward, negative stuff, no man, obedience, past errors, Peter, pillar of salt, productive system, profiting, Public transportation, pushing, put His hand to the plough, rehashing, romanticize, rushing, Saturday, Sodom, solution to the problem, sons of Zebedee, surely feel, tests of discipleship, the good old days, the past is dead and gone, time, tiredness, to and from work, traffic jams, waste, wisdom, workers for Jesus
Luke 9:62. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
And so we come to Saturday; a day when so many of us breathe a huge sigh of relief, like a great burden has been lifted off our shoulders. And a great burden has indeed been lifted off of many shoulders, and I’m not simply talking about having to go to work, but the effort it takes to get to and from work.
We’re talking about the endless traffic jams, morning and evening, the hustling along the crowded sidewalks, the rushing and pushing to catch Public Transportation, and then being packed like sardines in the subways and buses. Hn! No wonder so much fatigue, tiredness and lack of incentive exists in our society, and people are prone to do just as much as they can get by with.
And then, come Saturday, they just lie around like beached whales, too tired to do much of anything but eat and sleep. I don’t know the solution to the problem nuh, but I do know that we waste a lot, too much time and energy just getting to and from work.
One would think that mankind, as this great thinking machine, as this great font of wisdom, would be able to devise a better, more productive system. Unfortunately though, I don’t see it happening any time soon, so we’d better look about strengthening our backbones and our minds so that we can bear it. Sermon done! (smile)
And since it’s Saturday, let’s turn to the quotes of our friend Anselm, who sincerely aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. I don’t know what happened, but I only got one quote from him this week, but it’s a good one. ‘We should not look back unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dearly bought experience.’
What words of absolute wisdom my brethren! Looking back is not something we ought to do too often because it keeps us from moving forward. As Anselm says, we should only look back to learn from our mistakes and use them to make our future more productive.
Unfortunately though, many of us live in the past. We keep rehashing the things that have happened and keep bringing all that baggage to our current situations. Therefore we can never get ahead with all that negative stuff weighing us down. Please remember my brethren that the past is dead and gone, it’s history, and we can never get it back no matter how we romanticize it, talking about the good old days.
Now here is the definitive word on the subject, from none other than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. ‘And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.’
That’s one of the tests of discipleship, and what Jesus told the man who wanted to follow Him, but first desired to go and tell his family farewell. Ah mih people, it sounds like a rough, unfeeling statement, but workers for Jesus must be forward looking, forward thinking people, not dwellers in the past.
Hear the scholars’ explanation. ‘9:62. Fit, occurring elsewhere only in 14:35 and Hebrews 6:7, means “suitable” or “usable.” One who makes life’s lesser matters of greater priority than God’s work is of little use to Him.’
Remember how Jesus recruited Peter and Andrew and James and John, the sons of Zebedee? He just passed by the seashore and saw Peter and Andrew casting their nets: ‘And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets and followed him.
And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.’ (Matt.4:19-22) What obedience my people! Can you imagine Zebedee’s consternation; his sons’ just walking away with a total stranger?
And the scholars tell us: ‘The statement in verse 22 that they immediately responded to His call gives us a perfect picture of true obedience to the lordship of Christ.’
And we also have the perfect example of how looking back can affect us negatively in the story of Lot when the Lord warned him to flee from the area of Sodom and Gomorrah where he lived. The angels took him and his family out to the city limits. ‘And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad (outside), that he (they) said, Escape for thy life, look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain, escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.’ (Gen.19:17)
But Lot begged them to let him escape to a small city nearby, called Zoar, and they agreed. (Gen.19:18-23) Then the Lord rained down fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah. ’But his (Lot’s) wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.’(Gen.19:26)
And the scholars explain: ‘She became a pillar of salt: Jesus used this incident as a warning to others not to look back (Luke 17:21-33). Lot’s wife apparently lingered behind, continually and longingly looking back on her beloved possessions, and was buried by the explosion that resulted from the destruction of the city. Brimstone and fire may refer to a meteorite shower that literally burned up the whole area.’
Nuff said my people. Much LOVE!
…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…else he will surely feel…
23 Sep 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a high calling, a quarrel, almighty god, arrived spiritually, at odds, autumn, believers, bowels of mercies, Christ forgave you, Christians, colours, compassion, concord, deficiencies, doesn't have a clue, faithfulness, fellowship, flaws, footseps of Christ, forbearing, forgiving, Friday chant, fun, generous help, giving thanks to god, glorious kingdom, God's help, God's universe, guidance, harmony, humbleness of mind, image of Christ, in one body, in the name of the Lord Jesus, in word or deed, kindness, know by instinct, like the ants, long-suffering, LOVE, mankind, meekness, metaphorically, perseverance, put on charity, qualities, reflection of Christ, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rest, safely through, sincerity, soul body and mind, spiritual maturity, tender mercies, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, thank God, thankfulness, the beautiful season, the bond of perfectness, the crowning grace, the elect of god, the peace of God, the thinking machine, the weekend, truth, understanding, unity, virtues, weaknesses, whatsoever ye do, winter preparations, wisdom
Colossians 3:17. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
Ah friends, welcome to the second day of the 2016 autumn season! Autumn is the beautiful season, where the leaves turn all sorts of red and gold and brown and many different colours in between.
And would you believe that the tops of a couple of trees in my neighbour’s backyard are already quite yellow and a few others are already turning brown, even though we haven’t had a cold day as yet.
I guess the trees know something that we don’t, so like the ants, which are busy in the summer gathering their winter victuals, the trees are also making early winter preparations.
And who says God’s universe isn’t great eh? The trees and the other living things know by instinct when to do what, meanwhile, mankind, the supposed great thinking machine, oftimes doesn’t have a clue.
Anyway, I know many of you couldn’t care less about how nature operates naturally (smile), all you’re interested in is today’s Friday and you can joyfully shout: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday! The weekend’s upon us at long last! It’ll soon be playtime! Thank God for Fridays and the weekends oui!’
Oh friends, the weekend will continue to be the bane of our existence until we learn to use it properly, with moderation in all aspects of our doings. Now let’s chant our Friday Chant which gives us good guidance on how to apply ourselves over the next couple of days.
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.’
Yes my brethren, that is the better way! And it ties in very nicely with our Bit. ‘And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.’
Words of awesome truth and wisdom, my people! ALL we do and say, ought to reflect the characteristics and virtues of Christ, in thankfulness to Almighty God!
In other words, we must try to always walk in the footsteps of Jesus! Oh, I know those are exceedingly big steps for us to fill, but with Gods help and our faithfulness and sincerity and perseverance, we can accomplish a sufficiently high calling.
And today we’ll check out the Christian virtues that Bruh Paul spoke of before our Bit. ‘Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies (tender mercies), kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering;
Forbearing (bearing with) one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
And above all these things put on charity (LOVE), which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.’ (Col.3:12-15)
Oh my people, those things are so important in a Christian’s life that Bruh Paul included them in almost all of his epistles. Now here are some explanations from the scholars on those verses.
‘3”12. Put on literally means to “dress oneself” (with clothes); here, used metaphorically, it means to take on or assume certain virtues and qualities. Bowels of mercies means heartfelt compassion.’
‘3:13. The fact of believers being urged to assume the virtues of verse 12 signifies that none has yet “arrived” spiritually. As the believer is developing these virtues, he must be forbearing and forgiving toward his fellow church member.
For his Christian brother is also in the process of acquiring the virtues of verse 12 and therefore retains some flaws, deficiencies, and weaknesses. Hence the need of forbearance and forgiveness.’
‘3:14. Charity is LOVE, here called the bond of perfectness. LOVE is the crowning grace completing the list of virtues required for perfectness or spiritual maturity. As a “bond” it binds all other virtues together in harmony and unity.’
‘3:15. The peace of God is the harmony and concord created by God among His people. It is to rule. The Greek verb means to act as an umpire who makes decisions in an athletic contest.
Thus, let the peace of God rule in your hearts means that when believers are at odds with each other, whatever course of action best maintains peace and fosters harmony is the course to be taken.’
There it is my people! And I do hope that we all now have a better understanding of what it means and takes to be a true Christian, and to therefore grow and mature in Christ-like behaviour.
Remember all that we’re going through, is meant to bring us closer to a true reflection of Christ. Our wonderful God desires to see the image and behaviour of Christ in ALL of His people, that is the eternal goal.
So as we go about our business today, please let’s take time to think about what we do and say, be quick to hear and slow to speak, and make sure that all our words and actions positively and LOVINGLY reflect the true image of Christ, for then we’ll be showing true wisdom and Christian behaviour. Much LOVE!
…LOVE…the crowning glory of God…
22 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a disciplined life, a rod of correction, a saving grace, a soulful song, a welcome decision, Amen, beat with a rod, build a house for my name, chastening, christ jesus, correction, covenant, dangerous, deceitful, deliver his soul from hell, discipline, disobedience, do a good job, enormous proportions, evil intent, fellowship, for Jesus, freedom, Friday chant, fruit of righteousness, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, George Elliston, God's great earth, God's greatest creation, gospel truth, grievous, growth, How beautiful a day can be, I will be his father, in Jesus' name, iniquity, invade our souls, joyful cry, joyous, kindness, leggo beast, looking over our shoulders, mankind, massa, maturity, mental, mercy, our benefit, our heavenly Father, out of thy bowels, peaceable, personal expereince, perspective, physical slavery, punishing, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rest, righteousness, safely, set up thy seed, sleep with thy fathers, standard, step out of line, sun, tempo, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the children of men, the enemy, the Good Book, the heart of God, the rod of men, the stripes, the working class, they days be fulfilled, to heaven, topsy-turvy, truth, unkindness, up in arms, weekend, when kindness touches it, wisdom, workweek, wreak havoc
Hebrews 12:11. Now no chastening (discipline) for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised (trained) thereby.
And all over God’s great earth, on this blessed Friday morning in July 2016, the joyful cry of the working class rises like a touching, soulful song to heaven!
‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the workweek is almost over! Thank God that the weekend is upon us, bringing freedom from mental and physical slavery for two big days! We can do whatever we want to do without massa looking over our shoulders! Thank God for Fridays and the weekend!’
Yes friends, it is a viable cry, but we must still be careful about doing what we want over the weekend. We can’t just behave like leggo beast and give the enemy a chance to invade our souls. We need to always be wary of his deceitful tactics to gain entrance to our souls and his evil intent, to wreak havoc there.
Instead, let’s chant our Friday Chant that gives us a better perspective on the use of the weekend. All together 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 people, the way we handle the weekend sets the tempo and standard for our new workweek. Unless we are fresh and reinvigorated, we won’t be able to do a good job for Jesus when the time comes. So please be careful and handle the next couple of days in appropriate godly fashion. (smile)
Now here’s a beautiful quote attributed to one George Elliston (1883-1946), a female American journalist and editor who bequeathed a large sum of money to the University of Cincinnati to open a chair in poetry. At some stage of her life, she reputedly proclaimed: ‘How beautiful a day can be when kindness touches it.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth my brethren! When kindness touches a day, there’s nothing left but for it to indeed be beautiful, because kindness comes from the heart of God! Oh how our world is dying from unkindness and desperately waiting and desiring to experience much more kindness amongst God’s greatest creation, mankind. And until we achieve that experience, our world will continue to be topsy-turvy, dangerous and deceitful.
But my people, thankfully there’s a saving grace, if you can call it that, displayed in the words of our Bit. ‘Now no chastening (discipline) for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised (trained) thereby.’
Yes friends, we can count on our heavenly Father to chasten, to discipline us when we step out of line and follow our own devious devices and plans. Oh, I know from personal experience that it’s not a welcome decision, but it seems to be necessary for our eventual growth and maturity in Christ Jesus.
Anyway, there’s not much we can do about it, except try to give the Lord as few instances as possible to chasten and discipline us. Now let’s continue looking at some scriptural examples of how important chastening is to God. And nobody spoke on it more often than Cousin Sol.
Listen to him. ‘Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with a rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.’ (Prov.23:13-14)
Now I know some of you will be up in arms over those statements, but I’m only quoting the Good Book. And as much as you might dislike punishing your children, yuh better believe that God will punish us, like children, for disobedience. Not necessarily with a rod of correction, but in some manner that He deems suitable.
Now hear what the Lord said to Bruh David when He made His covenant with him. ‘And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.
I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes (strokes) of the children of men: But my mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I put away before thee.’ (2 Sam.7:12-15)
Yes friends the Lord was speaking there about the rise of Cousin Sol. And please note the serious warning about chastening for disobedience, because it hasn’t changed one iota since then.
So my fellow believers, in closing, I just want to remind us that although we don’t like chastening by God, because in the short term it seems a bit on the rough side, be assured that in the long run it will be to our benefit. Our God does NOTHING in our lives that’s not for our benefit.
Now let’s go out and see if we can do as little as possible to deserve His chastening, for that’s wisdom of enormous proportions! Much LOVE!
…to walk this earth successfully…a disciplined life is essential…
P.S. I think I’ve finally gotten the hang of this new Outlook setup. Glory Hallelujah! Much LOVE!
24 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a spring of water, a watered garden, Abraham, abyss, Always there, anger, believers in Christ, blessed be God, comfort, compassion, confusion of face, conviction, cry out, Daniel, deity, despair, dregs, drought, fellowship, fires of Hades, forgiveness, forgiving, Friday chant, fun, generous help, God is ever-faithful, God's glorious kingdom, Hades, helplessness, I call your name, impoverished, iniquity, Jacob, leggo beast, LOVE, loving kindness, mankind, massa, mercies, merciful, mercy, Micah, One Year Book of Bible promises, pardons, partying, perspective, promise, rebelled, rebellion, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, repentance, rescue, rest, rock bottom, Ruth Harms Calkin, satisfy thy soul, self-sufficiency, shame, sinned, slain for our benefit, spotless Lamb, strengthen thy bones, taste the dregs, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the bottom of the abyss, the depths of despair, the depths of the sea, the Father of mercies, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the God of All Comfort, the redemptive work of Christ, the working class, transgression, trials, tribulations, truth, umbrella of love, vanish, work soon done
2 Corinthians 1:3. Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.
And then it was Friday; that day the working class holds so dearly, because it heralds the upcoming weekend, the couple of days off from work when they can do their own thing.
That’s why they continually declare, ’TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and massa work soon done! The weekend is upon us, and the time will be fine, partying and carrying on like leggo beast! Thank God for Friday and the weekend!’
Ah friends, as we keep on saying, some partying on the weekend is fine, but the overdoing and leggo beast thing is definitely not. The weekend is made for a sensible mixture of rest and otherwise. So let’s chant our Friday Chant nuh, so we that can get a better perspective on how to use the couple days off we have.
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.’
Yes my people, that’s putting the weekend to much better use! The important thing there is that we’re healthy, rested and ready to undertake next week’s work in the proper manner befitting a child of God, so that our work, character and attitude will glorify Him. Anything less than that is not good enough!
Now here is an interesting poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, which many of us can no doubt attest to in our own lives. It’s simply titled ‘Always There.’
And it says, in all sincerity and truth: ‘So often, Lord I reach the bottom of the abyss. So often I taste the dregs Of my own helplessness. Yet it is there, exactly there That you come to my immediate rescue. When I feel totally impoverished Of all self-sufficiency When I want to vanish into nowhere From the depths of despair I call your name And you are always there for me.’
And isn’t that the awesome living truth my fellow believers in Christ? It surely is! For many of us don’t call to God until we reach rock bottom and the searing fires of Hades are burning all around us. But our God is such a wonderful Deity that whenever we do cry out, in sincere conviction and repentance, He will come to us and bring us safely through our trials and tribulations.
Oh, what a majestic, magnanimous and magnificent God we serve my brethren!
And the Bible promise attached to that poem comes from Isaiah. ‘And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought (dry places), and make fat (strengthen) thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.’ (Is.58:11)
Oh what a beautiful promise precious people of God! And we know that God is ever faithful, and will keep every promise that He’s made, so there’s absolutely no need to worry if we’re travelling under His umbrella of LOVE!
And that ties in ever so nicely with our Bit. ‘Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.’
Yes friends, our God is indeed a God of mercy and comfort! He showers us with mercy and comfort so that we can go out and share it with others who desperately need it. So through us, He accomplishes His holy desire.
Now let’s turn to some scriptures which complement our Bit. Listen first to the prophet Daniel. ‘O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face (shame), to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against him.’ (Dan.9:8-9)
Yes my brethren, yuh see the vast difference between our God and us? We are rebellious, but He is merciful and forgiving, in spite of that rebellion! How can we ever want for a better Deity eh?
Now hear Micah, as he extols the wonders of our great and mighty God. ‘Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by (over) the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy (LOVING-kindness)?
He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast their (our) sins into the depths of the sea. Thou wilt perform (give) the truth to Jacob, and the mercy (LOVING-kindness) to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.’ (Mic.7:18-20)
Now what can be more assuring and uplifting that that eh friends? Nothing really! So as we go about doing the Lord’s work today my brethren, let’s remember these promises, keep them throbbing in our hearts, so that we can be confident in all that we do and say.
And let us never forget, as the scholars tell us: ‘7-18. The forgiveness and pardon of a merciful and gracious God toward sinful mankind is declared by the Scriptures to be based on the redemptive work of the Saviour.’
And all Christ’s followers declared a loud, proud and hearty shout of ‘All praise, honour and glory be to the innocent, spotless Lamb that was slain for our benefit, for our forgiveness of sins. May He live and reign forever!’ Much LOVE my people!
…oh, what would we worthless sinners do….without a merciful, forgiving and compassionate God eh…
P.S. Just one of those days. (smile) Much LOVE!
19 Feb 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a Saviour is born, abode in heaven, all right physically, angels, apostles, be foolish, believe not, chief cornerstone, Christ the Lord, Christmas, crummy earth, darkness, depend on, derail, develop a good attitude, disobedient creation, eternal death, eternity, ever-loving Lord and Saviour, every aspect of life, exaggeration, exile, exile in Babylon, faith and trust, faithful God, far-sighted, fear not, fellow believers, fulfill our god-given tasks, giving us the tools to do the job, God's promises, good frame of mind, good tidings, great joy, guiding light, heart-warming, high priest, humanitarian purpose, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, Jewish people, judge not, judge the world, kernel of an idea, kin to lying, latter years, light of the world, like a million dollars, lost, LOVE, love and revere God, mankind, Maytones, merciful, mighty god, modus operandi, mountain goat, navel string is buried, never giving us more than we can bear, never leave or forsake us, no easy task, no stone left unturned, one way, ought to grow, Passover, Peter, physical aspects of the body, physical capabilities, please the Father, positive effect, preaching Christ crucified, promote His Holy Church, read God's word, relationship with heaven, repatriation, responsible, righteousness., rough around the edges, rough row to hoe, sacrifice, salvation, serious effort, shepherds, sinless soul, smile, son of god, stand steadfast and strong, straight from the heart, surrender your will, testimonial, Thanks be to God, the city of David, the Lord's planted us, the mind, tired, to be obedient, to seek and to save, to work in sync., Tobago, under the weather, undergo some sacrifice, ungrateful pagans, unsaved, walk in obedience, wayward, whole spectrum, wonder of wonders, words of truth, work diligently, work out all things for our good, Zion Land
Luke 19:10. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, last night I went to bed feeling somewhat tired and under the weather, but wonder of wonders, I got up this morning feeling like a million dollars! Wow! All thanks be to our great and wonderful God!
Well… let’s not exaggerate nuh, for exaggeration is kin to lying… Let’s say like three quarter million. (smile) But the important thing is that I’m up at a decent hour, in a good frame of mind, and feeling all right physically, though obviously not as good as I felt back in Tobago.
Oh mih breddren, what amazed me most in Tobago was how physically strong and fit I felt after about the first week, as compared to how I feel up here in the cold north country. The sea, the sand, salt, sex and rum does have a most positive effect on the physical aspects of the body, (smile)and we all know that once the body is feeling fine, the mind will operate on a higher level, since they’ve been programmed to work in sync.
To tell how physically strong the ole fella felt, I took my cane with me, because sometimes I need it going up steep inclines, but from the day I put it up against the dressing table in the bedroom, I never touched it until the day I was ready to come home, for I was walking up steps, hills and other steep inclines like a mountain goat. Now now, we’re only talking about the goat’s physical capabilities, not his other characteristics. (smile)
But then again, it’s important for us to realize that wherever the Lord’s currently planted us, that’s where we ought to grow. And though my dreams are focused on spending my latter years in Tobago, where my navel string is buried, I am also determined to do my best up here as an exile in the cold.
The Lord promised the Jewish people that after a sojourn of exile in Babylon, He would return them to Jerusalem, and He did. Now I’m believing for the same thing; after forty something years of exile in the new age Babylon, I’m hoping, praying and believing for repatriation to Tobago. Oh Friends, please pray that the Lord will be merciful unto the ole fella and grant him that wish.
Anyhow, for all you beautiful people who are feeling a little, or even plenty rough around the edges this morning, please take heart, if I can develop a good attitude and stand steadfast and strong with our Creator, then so can you. But you have to make a serious effort to be obedient, to be willing to undergo some sacrifice.
We all talk about becoming like Jesus, but yuh think Jesus had it easy? No way Jose! Yuh think He wanted to leave His comfortable abode in heaven and come down to this crummy earth and sacrifice His sinless soul for a bunch of ungrateful pagans? I very much doubt it.
But the Father asked Him to, because He was the ONLY HOPE, His wayward and disobedient creation called mankind had. And if there was one thing Jesus desired more than anything else was to please the Father!
And Friends, that too should be our guiding light, today and everyday, right down through eternity! Our heavenly Father’s wishes and will must be the all-consuming, engine-driving modus operandi of our lives. And if it isn’t, then something’s wrong somewhere, and it will consequently derail the good and wonderful relationship with heaven that we ought to have.
Now my fellow believers, don’t get me wrong, what I’m advocating is no easy task, rather, it’s a rather difficult row to hoe. But if we depend on, put our faith and trust in God’s promises of never giving us more than we can bear or handle; always giving us the tools to do whatever He’s called us to do; to work out all things for our eventual good; and never to leave or forsake us, then we WILL be able to fulfill our God-given tasks.
And please notice that those promises cover the whole spectrum, every aspect of life, so there’s no stone left unturned, or area left unaccounted for. That’s how responsible and far-sighted is our God!
Oh Friends, I’m chuckling here because I came downstairs to my study just now, not knowing what I’d write about, when suddenly the opening kernel of an idea struck me, and I simply picked up pen and paper and began writing, and the words and ideas just kept flowing!
Mama Mia! So how could I not sincerely LOVE and revere our wonderful and faithful God with all my heart, mind, body and soul eh? Please believe me when I say that He is indeed a mighty and faithful God!
But you’ll never find that out for yourself until you make a serious effort to get to know Him, surrender your will to His, read His Word, then try to walk in obedience to it. You most likely will have to sacrifice something(s), but you’ll eventually notice that what you’ve gained, is much more important than what you’ve sacrificed.
But enough rambling and ‘preambling’, I hadn’t planned on writing a testimonial, but apparently the Lord desired one. And who am I to say Him nay eh?
Now let’s check out our most informative and heart-warming Bit. ‘For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.’ And unfortunately my fellow believers, too many of us are still lost and unsaved.
But as we’ve been doing, let’s turn to some scriptures which truthfully declare and support the purpose of our Bit. And the first one comes from Luke’s gospel, where the angels are talking to the shepherds in the fields, while they watch their flocks by night.
‘And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.’ (Luke 2:10-11) And that’s the basis for our great celebration of Christmas, just passed.
The next scripture comes from Acts, where the apostles are up before the high priest and Jewish council, when they refused to stop preaching Christ crucified.
In one of his powerful moments, Peter declares to the council: ‘This is the stone which was set at nought of (rejected by) you builders, which is become the head of the corner (chief cornerstone). Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.’ (Acts 4:10-11)
Yes my brethren, THERE IS NO OTHER WAY FOR A MAN TO BE SAVED BUT THROUGH JESUS CHRIST! And I had to put that in big, bold letters so that it would resonate and permeate right to the very depths of our being and make us understand what’s truly at stake in this life.
And we’ll end, as I always like to when possible, with some words from Jesus, further acknowledging His earthly purpose. These words come from a session in Jerusalem where some Greeks who had come up for the Passover requested to see Jesus.
Listen to our wonderful Leader once again proclaim His most humanitarian purpose. ‘And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.’ (John 12:45-47)
Oh my people, what faithful words of truth and action! Because He did show us the LIGHT, and saved us from eternal death by dying in our stead. Please note though, that the first time Jesus came, it was to SAVE the world, the next time He comes though will be to JUDGE it!
So today, let’s not be foolish and dispute His testimony, but understand, be wise and accept Him as our true, ever-LOVING Lord and Saviour… the wonderful Son of God, who sacrificed it all for us!
Let’s be thankful and grateful and work diligently to promote His Holy Church here on earth, as He desires of us. Much LOVE!
…as the Maytones sing in their song…there’s only one way to Zion land…only one way…there’s only one way to righteousness…only one way…and that’s through Jesus Christ…
P.S. Oh Friends, I know the Bit’s somewhat long, and a tad late, but it’s what I’ve been guided to write today. Besides it comes straight from the heart, and I rather like it. (smile) Hope you do too. Much LOVE!
25 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: angel Gabriel, annals of history, bad, Bethlehem, birth of our Saviour, blessed, carpenter's family, Christ the Lord, Christmas, conspiracy, Counselor, Everlasting Father, favour, fear not, fellow believers, forgiving, Galilee, glorious night, glory hallelujah, good, good tidings, gospel, grateful appreciation, great joy, hail, Hark the herald angels, heavenly hosts, heavenly song, highly favoured, Holy Ghost, House of David, immaculate conception, Immanuel, incarnate son of god, Isaiah, Jesus Christ, Joseph, Judea, judge, judgement, justice, king, lawgiver, light and life, LOVE, Luke, magnanimous, manger, mankind, Mary, memorable moment, merciful, mercy, Messiah, mighty god, momentous, Nazareth, newborn king, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, peace on earth, ponder, praising God, prince of peace, promise, pronouncement, reason for the season, reconciliation, rejoicing, righteousness., salvation, saviour, second birth, shepherds, sign, singing, son of god, Son of the Highest, throne of David, uproar, virgin, Wonderful, zeal of the Lord
Isaiah 33:22. For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king, he will save us.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
And the congregation raised their voices in heavenly song: ‘Hark! the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King. Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconcile. Joyful all ye nations rise, Join the triumph of the skies; With the angelic host proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem. Hark! the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn king.’
Yes my beautiful fellow believers, on this awesome day, some two thousand years ago, our King, Jesus Christ was born! And all God’s people gave a mighty and grateful shout of ‘Glory Hallelujah!’
What a momentous and memorable moment that was in the annals of history! So momentous, that since then it’s been creating an unbelievable uproar amongst mankind; some bad, but most of it good.
No wonder the prophet Isaiah lustily declared centuries before, in our Bit: ‘For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king, he will save us.’
And today we’ll bypass the ‘lawgiver’ aspect of our God, and instead scan the Good Book for appropriate scriptures that proclaim Him as ‘our king, he will save us.’
And what better place to begin than with the everlasting promise of God’s mercy and salvation. Hear Isaiah tell it as it is: ‘For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgement and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.’ (Is.9:6-7)
And the zeal of the Lord did perform it my brethren! As all the other promises of our omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, magnanimous, merciful, and forgiving God, this came to pass on that fateful Christmas night two millennia ago, when the holy, sinless, incarnate Son of God, Jesus Christ, was born to a poor carpenter’s family in Bethlehem of Judea.
But yuh know what Friends, even before that magnificent pronouncement, previous to an Assyrian invasion of Israel, Isaiah had specified the way that our King, our Messiah, would be born. ‘Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (God with us).’ (Is.7:14.)
And did this all come about? OF COURSE! The gospel of Luke tells us that ‘the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused (betrothed, engaged) to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her and said, Hail (Rejoice), thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
And when she saw him she was troubled at his saying, and cast (considered) in her mind what manner of salutation (greeting) this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus (Yahweh Is Salvation).
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest (Most High): and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man (I am a virgin)?
And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest (Most High) shall over-shadow thee: therefore also that holy thing (one) which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.’ (Luke 1:26-35)
And so it was said…and so was it done! We all know the story of how Joseph was told about the immaculate conception in a dream and went on to marry Mary, and how they went up to Bethlehem to register for a census and how Jesus was born that night in a stable, because there was no room in the inn for them.
And what a glorious night that was my brethren in ole Bethlehem, for all the heavenly host of angels were singing and rejoicing over the birth of our Saviour, and joyfully declared to the shepherds who were out watching their flocks: ‘Fear not: for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger (feed trough). And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.’ (Luke 2:10-14)
Ah mih people how mighty and faithful is our God! For all that was prophesied centuries before came together on that first Christmas night to begin the process of our salvation, of our reconciliation to the heavenly Father, through the birth, life, and sacrificial death of His Son Jesus Christ, who rose from the dead on the third day, having defeated the hosts of Hades, to claim His rightful throne, His rightful kingdom, both here on earth and in heaven above. A kingdom that shall NEVER END!
So let’s go home singing His praises nuh. ‘Hail, the heaven-born Prince of Peace! Hail the Son of righteousness! Light and life to all He brings, Risen with healing in his wings. Mild he lays his glory by, Born that man no more may die, Born to raise the sons of earth, Born to give them second birth. Hark! the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King.’
Great and faithful is our God my people, so please, in grateful appreciation, let’s spend some time today pondering on the mighty promises He made, and oh so faithfully fulfilled. That’s the true reason for this exciting Christmas season. Much LOVE!
…blessed is the season…which engages the whole world…in a conspiracy of LOVE!… (Hamilton Wright Mabie – 1846-1916 – American essayist editor, critic, lecturer)
19 Nov 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abominable sins, Abraham, absence of love, actions, all and sundry, ancestral line, appointed time, awesome God, circumcision, close to home, contribute, covenant, dead inanimate objects, deaths, destruction, doubt, eight days old, failures and misgivings, faith, faithful, faithless moments, favoured few, fellow believers, fool says, foolishness, friends, give suck, giving, God's promise, helping, homes, hope, hurting, ignorance, ingrates, insights, is anything too hard for the Lord, Isaac, Jesus, joy, laughter, lives, Living Deity, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, mankind, Messiah, miraculous, natural disaster, needy, one and only true God, power, pray, praying, pure foolishness, Quebec, rebuilding, reminder, sacrifcial giving, sacrifices, set time, shelter, sins, Southern Ontario, surrender, the Lord did unto Sarah as promised, the Lord visited Sarah, the time of life, those in need, thunderstorms, times of joy, tornadoes, true reality of Love, true wisdom, trust, truthfulness of God's Word, U.S. Midwest, unique creation, unselfish, workings of God
Genesis 21:1. And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken.
Oh Friends, what our world needs now is LOVE, sweet LOVE! Not just for some, for a favoured few, but for everyone, for all and sundry! It’s the only thing that there’s too little of.
Most definitely my people! Our world badly, most desperately needs lots more LOVE, as the words of that old song so rightly declare. And if you look closely at our problems, you’ll discover that the majority of them are derived from, or arise from the lack thereof, or absence of LOVE.
And what is this LOVE, you ask? Well according to this definition, which I believe I got from Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley), ‘LOVE is the unselfish, sacrificial giving of oneself.’
And therein lies the rub my brethren; ‘the unselfish, sacrificial giving!’ Hn! Our world is anything but unselfish and sacrificial, more like selfish and non-sacrificial.
And when we think of unselfish and sacrificial giving the first person that comes to mind is obviously our Lord and Saviour Jesus, for He was so unselfish that He sacrificed His sinless life for us; a bunch of ingrates, flagrantly committing abominable sins.
And that’s what true LOVE is all about Friends! We don’t necessarily have to go to the lengths that Jesus did and sacrifice our physical lives for others, but our sacrifices must come from actions like praying for, giving and helping those in need, even though we might also be needy and hurting.
That brings to mind the latest natural disaster to hit our world, and one fairly close to home too. We’re talking about the serious tornadoes and thunderstorms that yesterday lashed the U.S Midwest and parts of Southern Ontario and Quebec. There have been some deaths, lots of destruction, and lots of people without power or shelter.
So please let’s pray for them in their time of need, and also contribute whatever we can to assist them in rebuilding their lives and homes. That’s the true reality of LOVE, my fellow believers!
Now turning to our Bit: ‘And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken.’
Oh my brethren, those are words which ought to build enormous hope and faith in our souls! Remember God’s promise from yesterday? ‘And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son…. Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.’ (Gen 18:10,14)
So now the Lord, faithful as ever, returns as He had promised. And what happens? What else but what He promised? ‘For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac (lit. Laughter).
And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. And Abraham was a hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh (lit. made laughter for me), so that all that hear will laugh with me.
And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck (nurse children)? for I have borne him a son in his old age. And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.’ (Gen.21:2-8)
Ah mih people, what other supposed gods keep their word, their promises, like ours eh? NONE WHATSOEVER! Because they are all dead, inanimate objects, some even man-made. Whereas our God is the ONE AND ONLY TRUE GOD, A LIVING DEITY, faithfully looking over His remarkable creation, our universe, and His unique creation, mankind. What could be better than that eh Friends? Nothing really!
Please note Friends, that Abraham circumcised Isaac eight days after his birth, in keeping with the covenant sign he had made with God.
Now a couple notes from the scholars. The first says: ‘Thou shalt call his name Isaac: The name means “He laughs” and was to serve as a reminder to Abraham of the unlikely means by which he was brought into the world, and his response in 17:17, and Sarah’s reaction in 18:12′
Yuh see Friends, how our God can be sweet but also devious, doing things to remind us of our failures and misgivings. So in the name Isaac, Sarah and Abraham would forever remember their doubt and laughter when the Lord promised them a son in their old age.
However, as the scholars further state: ’21:3: Isaac was the miraculously born son of Abraham and Sarah and was the forefather of the Jews. Both Abraham (17:17) and Sarah (18:12) laughed at the promise of a son in their old age, but later laughed for joy at his birth (vv.1-8). He represented the ancestral line of the promised Messiah.’
That my Friends, is the wonder of our amazing and most awesome God! He always wraps up our doubtful and faithless moments in times of joy! So how and why we don’t truly trust Him, I just can’t understand. That’s simply foolishness, ignorance of the highest order on our part my brethren!
Anyway, it’s time to close. I surely hope that we have gained some good insights into both the workings of our great God and the truthfulness of His Word.
So let’s ponder it all and thereby try to increase our hope, faith and trust in Almighty God to a point of total surrender. For therein lies the ultimate expression of true wisdom, my people! Much LOVE!
…the fool says in his heart…there is no God…pure foolishness that…
09 Oct 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: almighty god, appreciation, Babylon, be acceptable in God's sight, Beelzebub, believe in Jesus, boundary, Calvary, Chaldeans, champion, Charles Spurgeon, chosen people, Christian vocabulary, commit my spirit, confidence, crucifixion, deeds, deliverance, diminish God's mercy, eternal life, faith, faithfulness of God, fatherless, fear, fly right, followers of Christ, fortified wall, fugitives, gifts, glory, Glory Halleujah, God of truth, God's promises, goodness, grateful heart, hand of the wicked, hell, Holy One of Israel, honour, Isaiah, Israel, Jeremiah, Jesus Christ, Jesus-the answer to all problems, Judah, lift up heads hands hearts, Lord God Jehovah, lord of hosts, LOVE, made right from wrong, mankind, meditation of our hearts, mercy, modus operandi, my redeemer, my rock, never-ending wellspring, Old Testament, oppressed, plead their case, prayer, prophecy, ransom, ravages of sin, reassurance, recalcitrant children, rejection, right action, sacrifice, salvation, straighten up, suffering, the property of the needy, tribulation, trust, truth, under the weather, usurp, words of our mouths, worthless sinners
Psalm 19:14. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength (my rock), and my redeemer.
Well a good Wednesday morning to all you beautiful followers of Jesus Christ! I do hope that this message finds you all in good shape. And even though you’re somewhat under the weather, for whatever reason, I encourage you to straighten up and fly right with Jesus, for He’s the answer to ALL our problems.
Lift up your heads, hands, hearts and eyes to heaven and call on Him for relief, for mercy. Then believe you receive it. For as the famous preacher, Charles Spurgeon reputedly said: ‘God’s mercy is so great that you may sooner drain the sea of its water or deprive the sun of its light or make space too narrow, than diminish the great mercy of God.’
And all God’s people declared a loud and joyful, ‘Glory Hallelujah! Praise the Name of our great God!’
Yes Friends, we can never diminish, dilute or use up the mercy of our wonderful God, because it comes from a never-ending wellspring!
Now let’s turn to our memorable and all-encompassing Bit. ‘Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength (my rock), and my redeemer.’
What a simple but glorious prayer my people! Today, the last day for it, I want to focus on the last half. ‘O Lord, my strength (my rock), and my redeemer.’
That word ‘redeemer’ is a very important one in the Christian vocabulary because it envisions a right action, something being bought back, being made right from wrong. And in the believer’s case, it means that the Lord God Jehovah has bought us back from the ravages of sin, where we were once totally lost in the darkness of Beelzebub’s hell, through the atonement made by Jesus’ crucifixion.
But before that happened, the Lord continually told His people Israel, about Him being their redeemer. And today I want to share some scripture from the Old Testament on that, just to show the faithfulness of our great God.
And we’ll begin with Bruh David’s declaration in Psalm 31, superscripted, ‘In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust.’ He confidently states: ‘Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.’ (Ps.31:5)
Have we, or are we able to say that with such confidence my brethren? We should, if we truly believe.
Now hear Cousin Sol: ‘Remove not the old landmark (boundary); and enter not into the fields of the fatherless: for their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with (against) thee.’ (Prov.23:10-11)
Please pay attention to that people. Don’t usurp the property of the needy, because the Lord, their champion will stand up for them.
Moving on to Isaiah. In chapter 43, titled, ‘The Lord, the only Redeemer,’ he boldly declares: ‘But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.’ (Is.43:1)
Yes my brethren, despite Israel’s rejection of their God and king, He still reassures them, as He continues to do with us, even today.
And in verse 14, Isaiah also declares: ‘Thus saith the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For your sake I have sent to Babylon and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans (have brought them all down as fugitives), whose cry is in the (who rejoice in their) ships.’ (Is.43:14)
Yes Friends, the Lord will judge Babylon, after using them to judge His recalcitrant children Israel.
Then in chapter 47, Judgement on Babylon, Isaiah proclaims: ‘As for our redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.’ (Is.47:4) That tells us loud and clear, the name, the identity of our redeemer.
Now let’s move on to Jeremiah. In chapter 15, where the Lord is angry with Judah, and Jeremiah is despondent and desolate because of his lack of success and his tribulation with the people, He nonetheless assures Jeremiah that if he continues his prophetic work, He will save him.
‘And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen (fortified bronze) wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the Lord. And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand (grip) of the terrible.’ (Jer.15:20-21)
Yuh see Friends, the Lord doesn’t leave His servants when they are suffering in His name. And that’s still His modus operandi.
Then in chapter 31, Restoration of Israel, Jeremiah warns: ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles (coastlands) afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock. For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.’ (Jer.31:10-11)
And finally from chapter 50 – prophecy concerning Babylon – Jeremiah declares: ‘Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together: and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go. Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is his name: he shall thoroughly plead their cause (case), that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.’ (Jer.50:33-34)
Oh my people, I do hope that these scripture passages strengthen our faith in the Most High God Jehovah, by showing His faithfulness in keeping His promises to deliver His chosen people Israel back then, and all those who currently believe in Jesus.
He certainly did as promised: redeemed us all by sacrificing His innocent Son on the cross of Calvary, so that we worthless sinners could have salvation and eternal life; the two greatest gifts ever bestowed on mankind.
So I’m asking us today to show our sincere appreciation by going out and living the kind of life that will honour Jesus and bring untold glory to Almighty God!
Let the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts, be acceptable in the Lord’s sight! That’s the least we can do in return for His unconditional LOVE, unending mercy and eternal goodness. Much LOVE!
…a grateful heart will show its appreciation…in the words and deeds it proclaims…
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