11 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bonanza, a Christian life, a golden platter, abominable sins, all praise be to, an integral part of our lives, antidote, anxious, are ashamed of, be careful fro nothing, belief, blessings, busying ourselves, call upon his name, children of God, common task, convicts, cower, enthusiasm, eternal life, favour, first fruits, give thanks, Glory be, god the father, godly faith, good report, graciousness, guard your hearts and minds, harvest, honest, hurry, Jesus, King of Kings, life, Lord of Lords, LOVE, make known his deeds, meditate, moderation, motto for Christian success, noble, occupying our minds, passeth all understanding, Philippians, praise, prayer, pure, reconciliation with the Father, refuse to acknowledge Jesus, rejoice, Rejoice in the Lord always, responsibility, salvation, sense of purpose, share His love, shirk our responsibility, smorgasbord, supplication, thanksgiving, the Alpha, the beginning, the beloved of God, the daily grind, the end, the good news, the heathen, the Holy Spirit, the Lamb, the Lord is at hand, the Messiah, the Omega, the peace of God, the Prince of Peace, the right activities, the SON, the Son of God, them's the breaks, think, through Christ, tranquility of mind, true, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, unto the Lord, virtue, work, worry
Psalm 105:1. O Give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.
Aye friends, it’s Tuesday; Thanksgiving weekend finish now, which means you have to get up and go back to the daily grind and common task; something called work. Hn!
And I know that many of us are feeling like we usually do on a Monday morning, possibly worse, because of all the Thanksgiving celebrations, but as the man says, them’s the breaks! As the Good Book says, if you want to eat, you have to work. (2 Thess.3:10)
But don’t worry my fellow believers, just as we have an antidote for Monday’s problems, we also have one for Tuesday’s. So without further ado, let’s declare our Tuesday Mantra with the enthusiasm, belief and sense of purpose that it deserves.
As one now: ‘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!’
Glory be, my people! What a bonanza of godly faith, favour and blessings! Just imagine nuh, we are beloved children of Almighty God, the Creator and Controller of this great and magnificent universe! Mama Mia!
You’d think it couldn’t get any better than that. But it does get better. We are also not defined by what the evil, ungodly world says and/or thinks of us.
And now here’s the crowning glory: we are friends of the ONE and ONLY Son of God; Jesus, the Messiah, the Prince of Peace, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End!
And that’s not all: He’a also the Lamb that was led to the slaughter for our abominable sins, who once and for all paid the sin debt in full for all those who believe in Him, thus making reconciliation with our heavenly Father possible!
Now when we put all of that together, there’s indeed nothing better on the face of God’s great planet earth!
And all of God’s people loudly, proudly and gratefully declared: ‘All praise be to the name of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; the Holy Trinity, who blesses and looks after us with everlasting care, compassion and LOVE!’
Yes my faithful brethren, we are indeed the cat’s pajamas! (smile) But we also need to remember that there are two parts to everything; the blessing and then the responsibility. We have already received the blessing; God’s favour and grace, now we need to accept the responsibility which those awesome blessings bring.
And what’s that responsibility you ask? It’s simple, just like our Messiah, our Friend Jesus; go out and share His LOVE with the rest of humankind. Tell others about Him, the good news of salvation and eternal life that He has bought for us with His sinless sacrifice on the cross at Calvary.
Now that’s certainly not too much to ask eh, after all that He has done for us? So why then do so many of us cower, are ashamed of and refuse to acknowledge our Friend and Saviour Jesus before the heathen eh?
I don’t know all the reasons why, but I do know that we’re not keeping our part of the bargain, shirking our responsibility, when we don’t spread the wonderful news of Jesus’ gospel.
And I do hope that the Holy Spirit, which dwells within us, convicts us each and every time we shirk that responsibility, until we are mature and faithful enough to stand strong and steadfast, proud and true in the name of Jesus.
Now here is how the psalmist quotes that responsibility in our Bit. ‘O Give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.’
Yes friends, it’s all one big smorgasbord that’s termed life; giving thanks for our blessings, calling upon Him for faith and favour in a wonderful relationship, and letting others know about His mighty deeds down throughout the ages!
Ah mih people, as we said yesterday, thanksgiving is not a one time thing; simply the act of bringing the first fruits of our harvest to God on a particular day, but something that should be an integral part of our lives, each and every day.
And I don’t think anyone puts it better than Bruh Paul in his missive to the Philippians. He declares: ‘Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation (graciousness) be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. (His return is imminent).
Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God (the tranquility of mind) which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ.
Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest (noble), what soever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise (anything praiseworthy), think (meditate) on these things.’ (Phil.4:4-8)
Oh my fellow believers, Bruh Paul has laid it all out on a golden platter for us! It’s not always easy to live a Christian life, but we can certainly try by occupying our minds with the right things and busying ourselves with the right activities. That’s the motto for Christian success. Much LOVE!
…if we truly want to know and LOVE Jesus…then we first have to get to know Him…by studying and meditating on His Word…
26 Aug 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abominable mistake, abundantly pardon, balance, burned to ashes, Christians, condemned, convicted, day and night, deterioration of society, disobedience, do our own thing, encouraging, fell from grace, fellowship, forsake his ways, forsook God, free, freedom, freedom revoked, Friday chant, fun, fun and games, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, God is number one, God's chosen people, God's fold, God's free offer of mercy, God's Word, godly people, godly times, grace, gratifying, have mercy, idols, in Jesus' name, Isaiah, Israel, jehovah god, Jesus, Joshua, life, LOVE Revolution, lustful desires, magnanimous god, meditate, mercy, number one priority, obedience, our own efforts, pagan gods, perform as Jesus desires, pleasures, pray, prosperity, prosperous, punishment, reassuring scripture, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, repent of our sins, repentance, repented, rest, reurn unto the Lord, righteous return, running the show, seek him with all thy heart, seek the Lord thy God, sense of balance, sinful, sins, slave labour, soul body and mind, success, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the freedom paper, the Holy Spirit, the unrighteous man, the weekend, the wicked, thick skulls, this book of the law, thou shalt find him, ungodly way, week of work, welcomed back, welcoming arms, wisdom
Deuteronomy 4:29. But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
Oh friends, the freedom paper for the weekend has been signed… Thank God! And it’s only a matter of a few hours and we’ll be free; free to do our own thing. But please remember that come Monday morning, that freedom will be revoked, the freedom paper burned to ashes, and we’ll return to being slave labour. Hn, hn!
I guess that’s what motivates us to pack as much pleasure as we can into the two days of freedom. And it’s all well and good to shout ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday, and the weekend is here! Thank God for Fridays and the weekend!’
But we also need to remember that life is not all fun and games, not strictly the fulfilling of lustful desires and pleasures, there needs to be mixed into it some serious and godly times to balance it all out. And to help us better understand that, let’s chant our Friday Chant which gives us some decent direction.
Altogether 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 friends, a sense of balance is what we need on the weekends if we’re to do ourselves any good. If we don’t have that, then come Monday, we’ll just be tired and miserable and won’t be able to go out and perform properly, perform as Jesus desires. And you know that is our Number ONE priority. So let’s get smart and godly and use our two days off as we ought to nuh. (smile)
Now let’s turn to our Bit: ‘But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.’
Ah mih people, what an encouraging and reassuring piece of scripture! If we repent of our sins and seek the Lord our God with all our heart and soul, we WILL find Him!
Now how gratifying is that eh, especially in these times of hardship and uncertainty? Very gratifying friends, because we know that whenever we sincerely turn to God, He will be there for us, regardless of the circumstance(s) or our behaviour. Here’s how the prophet Isaiah put it in his declaration of God’s free offer of mercy to all.
‘Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.’ (Is.55:6-7)
What a magnanimous God we serve and worship my people! And my fellow believers, it’s not only talk, for we’ve seen how often God’s chosen people, Israel, fell from grace because they forsook God and turned to worshipping idols and other pagan gods.
Yet when the enormity and foolishness of their behaviour, when the punishment for their disobedience finally sunk in to their thick skulls, they repented and were welcomed back into God’s fold.
Now why can’t our society realize that eh my brethren and change our wicked, sinful, disobedient ways and sincerely repent and return to worshipping Almighty God, the ONE who made us and is still running the show?
I guess many of us don’t even realize that we’re living wrong, since they don’t know Jesus. But enough of us do know Him and realize that a lot of the negative stuff that’s happening to us nowadays has a correlation to the sinful and ungodly way we’re living.
Instead of running away from God, as so many of us are currently doing, we should be running back to Him, right back into His wonderful, safe and welcoming arms! It’s more of Jehovah God we need, not less!
Remember how God drilled it into Joshua’s head after the death of Moses, and He made him leader of the Israelites? ‘This book of the law shall not depart out of (be constantly in) thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.’ (Josh.1:8)
And if we look back to our prosperous times, barely a generation ago, we’ll discover that we were a much more godly people. However, as we began moving away from God, our prosperity also began deserting us.
Remember friends, it’s only through obedience to God’s word that a society can truly become prosperous and remain that way for any length of time. Obviously we have forgotten that, or simply choose to believe that it’s through our own efforts that we become prosperous. What an abominable mistake!
Anyway, my fellow Christians, we are the ONLY ones who appear concerned with the deterioration of our society, and are therefore the ONLY ones who can cause us to be convicted, not condemned, by the Holy Spirit, and thus bring about repentance and a righteous return to worshipping the ONE TRUE and LIVING God, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
That’s the wisdom we so desperately need today, as our world is falling apart. So please, let’s pray, as individuals, as well as collectively, the church, and then, with God’s help, do our best to make the LOVE Revolution of Jesus a successful one. Much LOVE!
…only when God is NUMBER ONE….can a society be truly prosperous…
05 May 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a light unto my path, a positive outlook on life, abundance, almighty god, Beelzebub, blessed, blessings, break free, commandment, compassionate heart, corrupt, courage, creativity, darkness, earthly pilgrimage, enlightening the eyes, everlasting light of Jesus, evil, evil minions, eyes of faith, faith, family, favour, find time, flattery, frauds, friends, fulfillment, glory to God, God's supernatural wisdom, health, I am blessed, illuminating our souls, Jesus Christ, lift up, lift up your soul, light of the world, make time, making wise the simple, material world, meditate, mercies, more to be desired than gold, our Lord and Saviour, prayer, promotion, prosper, protection, receive clear direction, reggae ditty, rejoicing the heart, reproofs of instruction, reward, righteousness, Scrip-Bit, self-control, self-discipline, shamans, shine bright, strife-filled world, strong will, study, succeed, success, supernatural strength, sweeter than hony, talent, testimony, the BIBLE, the Book of Life, the fear of the Lord, the Guide Book of Life, the judgements of the Lord, the law, the secret of life, the way of life, the Word of god, Thursday's Blessings, thy word is a lamp unto my feet, ungodly world
Psalm 119:105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Morning mih Scrip-Bit breddren! Another new day has dawned, and we are alive to see it…Glory to God!
And though it’s somewhat cloudy, with rain in the forecast, there’s no need for believers to be overly concerned, since we ALWAYS have the bright, shining everlasting light of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ illuminating our souls, to lead and guide us safely through the darkness of this evil and ungodly world.
And all God’s children declared a loud and grateful: ‘Praise the Lord!’
And talking about shining, I heard this li’l reggae ditty last night titled ‘Lift up your soul,’ by Kaisha Lee.
It contained a wonderful chorus that went something like this: ‘Shine bright, lift your heart up; lift your soul up; lift your smile up. Shine bright, lift your heart up; lift your soul up; lift yourself up. Why don’t you break free and lift your heart up; lift your soul up, lift your smile up. You know that you want to. You know that you got to… Shine bright…’
Yes friends, we’re supposed to shine bright because Jesus considers us the light of the world, and we do need to break free from the chains of this corrupt and material world and lift up our hearts, our souls and our basic selves to a standard that’s approved by our Leader Jesus Christ.
And since today is Thursday, let’s prepare ourselves to receive the new mercies and blessing our great and gracious God is getting ready to send our way, by declaring our Thursday’s Blessings, because, remember, a blessing is not a blessing until it’s spoken over someone.
As one 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!’
Ah mih people, how can Beelzebub ever hope to defeat us when we are so well surrounded and bolstered by all those blessings of Almighty God, the Creator and Controller of this universe eh? No way Jose!
The only problem now is that have to believe it, see the blessings coming to pass through our eyes of faith. That brings us to our Bit, which rather appropriately has to do with light and guidance. ‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’
What a wonderful and true bit of scripture my fellow believers. The Word of our God is indeed a lamp and a light to guide us safely through this world. The Bible is the Guide Book of Life and Living in this crazy and strife-filled world. It contains answers to every question and every situation that we can face in this earthly pilgrimage. But we won’t know those answers unless we read it my brethren.
And strangely and sadly, it can be so difficult to get supposed believers to read the Word of God. I don’t know why. We claim to be believers, and that the Bible is important, but for some unholy reason we can’t seem to find the time to read it.
Friends, let me let you into a little secret: you don’t find time to read God’s Word; you MAKE time to read it! Just like you make time for all the other activities in your life, you need to make time to find out how to live this life.
And that’s a simple reason why so many supposed Christians are having untold problems in their lives; they refuse to read the Word to find the answers to their problems, and instead rely on all the frauds, the shamans and all the other ungodly counsellors and directives of the world.
Wake up nuh precious people of God! You can’t know what God has to say unless you communicate with Him through His Word and prayer!
And hear how Cousin Sol puts it in his warning against adultery. ‘For commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman (seductress).’ (Prov.6:23-24)
Truer words were never spoken my fellow believers! Until we have a lamp filled with oil and a clean glass covering so that we can clearly see the way, we will always falter in the consuming darkness of this evil world.
Lucifer and all his evil minions read and study and meditate on their tomes of evil, so that they can become even more evil than they already are. So why can’t we do the same with our directives for righteousness eh?
And we’ll end with Bruh David’s take on the subject from Psalm 19 –The creation and covenants of God. ‘The law of the Lord is perfect, converting (restoring) the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgements of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yes than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the (drippings of) the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in the keeping of them there is great reward.’ (Ps.19:7-12)
Oh my people, I can’t put it any better than that! And Bruh David knew exactly what he was talking about because he lived it. Why are we so presumptuous to think that we know better eh?
Anyway, nuff said for today! I implore us to ponder it all and to make the wise and sensible decision to get seriously involved in God’s Word, for that is the only way to successful living. Much LOVE!
…only in the Book of Life…can one find…the secret to the good life…
04 Mar 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: A prayer for change, adhered, another week of work, balance of life, be in thy mouth, body, calamitous, calamity, chiding, children of Israel, circumstances, contention, day and night, depressing, disconsolate, do whatever I want, doubting, dreary, Egypt, evil, exodus, face challenges, faith, fellowship, Friday chant, frivolity, fun, further your glorious kingdom, generous help, glory hallelujah, glowing sunshine, God's Word, guideline, half-truths, holy spirit, hope, image, indulge, Israelites, Jesus Christ, Joshua, joy, lack of water, laughing, LOVE, Massah, meditate, mental dial, Meribah, mind, miracles firsth hand, moment od prayer, moods, morning mist, negative feelings, omnipotent, partying, Pharaoh, prayer, prosperous, relaxation, remove God from our lives, renewed and refreshed, responsible, rest, richly blessed, second hand, self-pity, slave work, soul, sovereign, springtime returns, success, surrender, tempted the Lord, testing, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, Thank You Lord, the book of the law, the prince of darkness, the Rock, the sanctuary, the sun breaks through, the weekend, thy way O God, time to play, traffic jams, travelling, trust, truth, trying times, turning away from God, understand, ungodly world, who is so great a God, wiles, work diligently
Psalm 77:13. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary (holiness): who is so great a God as our God?
And the day that the working people LOVE so much, Friday, has finally rolled around again. That’s why there are so many glorious and joyous shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday yes! I couldn’t make it even one more day in this slave work nuh! At last the weekend! My time to play and do whatever I want! Oh thank you ever so much Lord for Fridays! Glory Hallelujah!’
And in these trying times of early waking up and much travelling to get back and forth to work with all the traffic jams and otherwise, you can understand the sentiment of the ordinary working man. And though we are entitled to do whatever we want with the weekend, there is a wise and a foolish way to use it; the latter involving excessive partying and frivolity.
But listen to the better and wiser way to use our weekends as we chant our Friday 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.’
Now doesn’t that make much more sense as to how we use our weekends? It surely does! We get a better balance of life, including the strength and refreshed spirit so that we can work diligently the following week.
And today my fellow believers in Christ, I want to share with you a prayer from Gramps Schuller’s (Robert H. Schuller) Hours of Power Devotional. This one is titled, ‘A Prayer for Change.’ And I know that many of us are in dire need of change (s) in our lives. So please pray with me.
‘O God, when a life has been so richly blessed as mine has been, it’s not right for me not to be laughing! I confess that I am responsible for my moods. I have no right to selfishly indulge in negative feelings of self-pity.
It’s time for me to change my mental dial, Lord. You are helping me. This will be the moment when the sun breaks through the parted clouds, and the springtime returns after winter. Thank you, Lord!
The dreary, depressing, disconsolate mood disappears like the morning mist in the glowing sunshine of your LOVE. And joy moves in! And hope begins to build up within me! And a beautiful feeling of LOVE starts to surround me! Thank you, God, for the great things you are doing within me now in this moment of prayer. Amen.’
Oh friends, oh friends, I do hope that depressing mood has lifted and the hope, joy and LOVE of our heavenly Father has once more captured our lives, because it’s definitely what we need to confidently face the challenges and calamitous circumstances of this dangerous and evil world!
Now let’s turn to our Bit, which shows us that that very change in our moods and thinking are quite possible because of the outstanding, magnificent and omnipotent God we serve and worship. ‘Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary (holiness): who is so great a God as our God?’
And I know that some of you are tired hearing about how great our God is, but my brethren, that’s exactly what makes Him our God; His greatness! And until we fully understand just how great and wonderful He is, we will never be fully able to surrender, to give our entire beings into His wonderful care. So just bear with the ole fella nuh, (smile) you know I’ll never lead you astray.
And we’ve seen over the past few days how our God played with Pharaoh until he let the Israelites go, and all the wonders the Lord did during their exodus from Egypt and those in the wilderness too. Now we come to one more marvelous wonder where water was miraculously supplied.
As usual the Israelites were complaining, this time about the lack of water. And as was his wont, Moses cried out to the Lord for guidance and direction. The Lord told him to take his rod and the elders with him and go on before the people.
‘Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shall smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
And he called the name of the place Massah (lit. Tempted), and Meribah (lit. Contention), because of the chiding (contention) of the children of Israel, and because they tempted (tested) the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or not?’ (Ex.17:6-7)
Oh friends, what a foolish and ignorant people! After all the signs and wonders that the Lord had done in their sight, they still doubted His presence and His power! Chuh!
The truth of the matter though is that we can’t be too harsh on the Israelites, because we are doing the exact same thing right now. We are doubting and turning away from God in droves, aided and abetted by the wiles and deceitful half-truths of the prince of darkness, who rules this current evil world.
The only difference here my people, is that the Israelites saw God’s miracles first hand, but we only have second hand accounts of them. But nonetheless, we have seen our Christian societies grow and prosper when were a truly Christian people.
So what has happened to change our outlook so drastically eh, that we’re now trying our best to take God completely out of our lives? Oh friends, that is indeed a fool’s wisdom!
How many times during the course of history have we seen societies that have grown great while serving and worshipping the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and when they got too big for their britches, the Lord took away His favour and protection and they eventually wasted away, ignominiously fell into the bowels of history?
We tend to overlook, forget, or simply ignore this seminal bit of scripture, the Lord’s advice to Joshua, when He made him leader of the Israelites after Moses’ death.
‘This book of the law shall not depart out of (shall constantly be in) thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.’ (Josh.1:8)
That my friends, has been, and will always be a society’s guideline to success. We see it in the very behaviour of the Israelites; when they adhered to God’s Word, they prospered; when they didn’t, they suffered serious calamity.
May we today understand this principle and do our best to adhere to the Word of our great, mighty, sovereign and omnipotent God, because that is wisdom to the nth degree. Much LOVE!
…it’s ever so foolish to turn away from the ONE who created you…in His…might, power and image…
01 Dec 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a talkative society, a waste of time, adult food, apocalypse, be wise, bequeath to our children, blessed is he that readeth, Christians, communication of new truth, communication technology, compassion, conveyance of truth, divine revelation, end of the age, exposure, food for thought, God's perspective on time, God's program, godly roots, Hades, have good success, he that hath ears to hear, honour, I am the beloved of god, I can trust my Friends Jesus, I don't have to hurry, I don't have to worry, I'm not what I do, I'm not what I have, I'm not what people say about me, Jesus Love Revolution, John, keep those things which are written therein, legacy, LOVE, make God the focus of our lives, make thy way prosperous, mature in Christ, meditate, mercy, messenger, our first priority, our ungodly society, privilege, prophecies, put it into action, Revelation, share His love with the world, social media, talk, testimony of Jesus Christ, the book of Colossians, the book of the law, the day of the Lord, the Rapture, the revelation of Jesus Christ, the sorry state of our world, the things of heaven, the things of the world, the time is at hand, the Tribulation, the Word of god, they that hear the words of this prophecy, truth, Tuesday Mantra, unveiling, visions
Revelation 1:3. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Oh Friends, what’s there to say on this wet and somewhat chilly December 1st morning eh? Not a lot… and plenty. And what do I mean by that?
Well we’ve become such a talkative society with the flourishing of communication technology and the social media, but a lot of that talk is inane and foolish, a waste of our very valuable time, while there is a lot of meaningful and important stuff that we should be talking about which we’re not doing.
Like for instance about the sorry state of our world and how to fix it, and of God and the ungodly society in which we’re currently living.
Most of us will say that God is the most important element or person in our lives, but when we check out our lives in action, that statement doesn’t hold true, otherwise our world would not be in such a sad state of deterioration. Unfortunately, the things of the world are still our first priority.
Remember yesterday we spoke about Christians concentrating on the things of heaven, rather than those of earth? And I sure hope we did our homework, reading the Book of Colossians, so that now we know what’s really expected of us, and we can go on and put it into action in our lives.
Oh my people, unless and until we truly make God and His Word the focus of our lives, our world will never get better but continue to slide into the murky depths of Hades. And I’m sure that’s not the kind of legacy we want to bequeath to our children and our children’s children.
So it’s completely up to us believers to keep on fomenting Jesus’ LOVE Revolution, so that the world can return to its godly roots. Nuff said! He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
And since it’s Tuesday, let’s confess our Tuesday Mantra like we really believe and mean it. All together now: ‘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.’
Oh my people that’s so refreshing and revitalizing! Just imagine nuh, that we are the BELOVED of God, and the FRIEND of Jesus!
Wow! What an honour and a privilege to be so highly considered! Now let’s make the most of it by going out and sharing the LOVE that they have so graciously and mercifully shown us nuh. A LOVE that our fallen world so desperately needs.
Now let’s turn to our Bit, but we also need to hear what comes before it, so that we can understand its proper context. ‘The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly (quickly, swiftly) come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
Who bare record (bore witness) of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.’ (Rev.1:1-3)
Oh Friends, what powerful and meaningful scripture! And I know that many of us don’t understand what the Book of Revelation is all about, so here is some info from the scholars that will help us to better understand.
‘1.1. The Revelation of Jesus Christ is the title of the book. The revelation is both from Christ and about Christ. Since Christ is the revelation of God Himself (John 1:18), God gave the revelation to Christ to be shown to John by means of an angel (messenger).
The word “revelation” (Gr. apokalypsis) refers to an unveiling or exposure of God’s program for the world through Christ. The prophecies of the book will occur shortly in the sense that the day of the Lord (the end of the age) may begin at any time (following the Rapture). The statement must be understood in accordance with God’s perspective on time (cf. 2 Pet.3:4, 8)
The word signified (Gr. esemanen) refers to the conveyance of truth by means of signs and symbols, and refers to the visions described throughout the book. Symbols must be interpreted either from something in the context or from other scriptures.’
Now let’s rest for a moment after taking in all that heavy stuff. (smile)
Yes friends, it’s time we start eating some adult food, some meat and potatoes, rather than just drinking baby milk all the time. If we want to mature in Christ, then we need to take our understanding of His Word to a higher and deeper level.
And before we go any further, allow me to point out something. Please note that the word ‘apocalypse’, as we see from above, means the unveiling or revelation of what’s going to happen, not the eventual fiery and tumultuous destruction of the world as many of us consider it, although that might be involved in the revelation.
Now let’s continue getting deeper in God’s Word with some more explanations from the scholars. ‘1:2-3. Bare record: John was a witness of what he wrote. He saw the revelation and wrote what he saw. The blessing of verse 3 has a threefold condition: (1) read the book, (2) hear (understand) it, and (3) keep (obey) it.
The essential nature of prophecy was the communication of new truth (divine revelation). God has given it to be obeyed, not simply to be discussed and debated. The time is at hand in the sense that nothing else now has to occur before the Rapture and the beginning of the Tribulation Period.’
Awright mih breddren, that’s enough food for thought for today. But let’s be wise and ponder all the things we’ve read and heard, so that our hearts and minds can be truly filled with the Word of God and the things of heaven.
More on this tomorrow, the Lord willing. Till then though, let’s all try to walk in sincere peace and LOVE, showing mercy and compassion to others, as our wonderful Lord God has shown, and is still showing to us. Much LOVE!
…this book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth…but thou shalt meditate therein…day and night…that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein…for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous…and then thou shalt have good success… (Josh. 1:8)
17 Sep 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new life, all good people go to pray, almighty god, another glorious summer's day, Christian, Christian maturity, Colossian believers, commune with nature, communion with Jesus, confusion, contentment, Crying in the Chapel, debauchery, deeper knowledge of Christ, effective prayer life, Elvis Presley, evil, feeling free and easy, find peace of mind, freed from sin, friends, fruitfulness in witnessing, get down on your kness and pray, glory to God, godly virtues, gospel truth, habits, hand of God, harmony with Christ, I am happy with the Lord, I know the meaning of contentment, I'm happy in the chapel, if ye then be risen with Christ, interests, Jesus Christ, just, leaving behind old ways, LOVE, lovely, meditate, noble, northern climes, of a good report, people are of one accord, praiseworthy, quiet and peaceful times, responsibilities, resurrection power, seek those things which are above, sincere fellowship, sing and praise the Lord, sins, spiritual benefits, stress, take your troubles to the chapel, tears of joy, the Lord in His goodness, think on these things, ungodly world, values, vices, victory over sin, virtue, whatsoever things are true, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God, wisdom, wonderful weather, you'll surely find a way, your burdens will be lighter
Colossians 3:1. If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
And then it was Thursday… shaping up to be another glorious summer’s day too! Oh glory to God! Yes Friends, we folks in the northern climes are ever so grateful for every warm day this late in the year.
I even thought that my sitting out on my porch in the early morning hours had ended at the end of last week when the weather had gotten a bit chilly. But the Lord in His goodness gave us this week of warm and wonderful weather, so I can still go out and commune with Him and nature in those quiet and peaceful times.
And am I ever so grateful, because it just relaxes me, gets rid of all the confusion and stress that the busy day has put into my spirit, and allows me to go to bed feeling free and easy. No, not that kind of free and easy. (smile)
And you know what Friends, this morning as I was sitting on the porch enjoying the peace and silence, I found myself humming a familiar sounding tune, but I just couldn’t figure out what it was. Then a minute or so later, it hit me. It was Elvis Presley’s wonderful ballad, ‘Crying in the Chapel.’
You know I always thought that Elvis was a better balladeer than a rock and roller. (smile) And strangely enough, I found myself singing most of the words to the tune, although I hadn’t heard it for ages, and I thought about sharing it in the Bit today.
Then, as the Lord would have it, when I got up this morning, that’s the tune I began singing, so I guess, I am supposed to share it with you. Please pay careful attention to these words my people, because they can be very important in a believer’s life.
‘You saw me crying in the chapel. The tears I shed were tears of joy. I know the meaning of contentment, I am happy with the Lord. Just a plain and simple chapel, Where all good people go to pray. I prayed the Lord that I’ll grow stronger, As I live from day to day.
I searched and I searched but I couldn’t find, No way on earth to find peace of mind. Now I’m happy in the chapel, Where people are of one accord. Yes, we gather in the chapel, Just to sing and praise the Lord.
You’ll search and you’ll search but you’ll never find, No way on earth to find peace of mind. Take your troubles to the chapel, Get down on your knees and pray. Then your burdens will be lighter, and you’ll surely find a way.’
And that’s all gospel truth my brethren! For the only way to find true peace of mind on this turbulent planet Earth, is through Almighty God. Yes Friends, whenever we sincerely turn to our Creator with our problems, He always shows us a way.
That brings us to our Bit, which talks about our new life in Christ. ‘If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.’
That’s just sound logic my brethren. If we are risen with Christ, and are in sincere fellowship with Him, then we ought to think about the things that are above, where He is seated at God’s right hand.
And the scholars explain our Bit thus: ‘3:1. If ye then be risen (or, therefore, since you were raised”): The word ‘therefore’ infers a corollary truth from 2:20 (“you died with Christ”) – not only have the Colossian believers been freed from sin, they have also turned to a new life, leaving behind old ways, habits, values, vices, interests, and sins.
Seek those things which are above: These “things” include deeper knowledge of Christ, closer fellowship with Him, experience of His resurrection power, victory over sin (vs.5-11); the development of godly virtues (vs.12-17); the fulfillment of domestic and social responsibilities (3:18-4:1); an effective prayer life (4:2); fruitfulness in witnessing (4:3-6) – in a word, the attainment of Christian maturity, and all the spiritual benefits God has for His people during their days on earth. To have been raised with Christ and not to seek these blessings would be a contradiction’
I couldn’t have put it any better Friends. The epistle to the Colossians is just filled with the ways and means that believers ought to live their lives so that they can be in true harmony with Christ. We need to be growing daily in His Word, and we can only do that by seriously concentrating on the things that draw us closer to Him.
And we’ll end with some other things that believers should concentrate on, as Bruh Paul told the Philippians. ‘Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest (noble), whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise (anything praise worthy), think (meditate) on these things.’ (Phil.4:8)
Yes my people, those are the kinds of things followers of Christ should be contemplating and meditating upon, not the nonsense; the evil and debauchery of this ungodly world.
So as true believers, let’s buckle down and begin thinking these kinds of thoughts nuh, that we might mature and grow in Christ, as He desires of us. That’s simply Christian wisdom. Much LOVE!
…one cannot walk sincerely…or grow in Christ…unless one knows what He’s all about…and that only comes from meditating on His word…and being in constant communion with Him…
26 Jun 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a Sunday walk in the park, a witness, accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour, all hail the glory of God, apathy, be of good cheer, blessed, bring forth his fruit, commandments, covenant, debauchery, fellowship, Friday chant, friends, fun, glad to be alive, glorious kingdom, hard times, heavenly goodness, his leaf shall not wither, humble servants, i have overcome the world, in due season, in Jesus' name, Jesus Christ, licentiousness, like a tree planted by the rivers of water, LOVE, meditate, meditiating on God's word, misuse our body, Moses, nothing to lose, obedience, Pentateuch, perspective, ponder, rebellion, rebellious against the Lord, recuperate, relaxation, renewed and refreshed, rest, soul searching, statutes, stiff necked, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the ark of the covenant, the breath of life, the One and Only True God, then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, thou shalt have good success, truth, ungodly living, ungodly world, walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, weekend break, whatever he does shall prosper, wisdom, wise, worship other gods and idols, ye might have peace, ye shall have tribulation, you may prosper
Joshua 1:8b. …for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, although the ole fella didn’t get to bed until four o’clock this morning, hence the lateness of the Bit, he’s still so glad to be alive this last Friday in June 2015, that he doesn’t know what to do with ‘imself! Hn, hn!
And talking about the last Friday in June makes me shake my head in wonder, asking if June is already finished when it just began the other day? (smile)
Ah mih people, the breath of life is so precious that I’m surprised at how so many of us don’t appreciate it and just waste it away in ungodly living or simple apathy.
Anyway, I know you all are waiting for me to say it so that you can shout it out. So here goes. Aye Friends, all yuh know is Friday…?
And the loud shout rises up: ‘But of course! That’s why we’re exclaiming TGIF! Thank God is Friday yes! All hail the glory of God for helping us to see the week through successfully, even though some hard times were involved. Thank God for this weekend break! And furthermore, we going to use it wisely!’
Wow mih brethren, I am proud of you for that tad of wisdom! (smile) But still, since all of us might not feel that way, and consequently want to use the weekend for debauchery and licentiousness, let’s chant our Friday Chant to give us some perspective on the way to truly use it.
As one harmonious chanter 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 Friends, the weekend is not to further tire out and misuse our body with ungodly living, but to rest it, to let it recuperate so that we can go back out next week and further God’s kingdom amongst the heathen and ungodly hordes.
And today we’re going to continue with our wise, soul searching Bit from yesterday. ‘…for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.’
And that’s something we all want to have. But how do we do it eh? By seriously and sincerely meditating on God’s Word and then keeping His commandments and statutes found therein.
Oh it’s definitely not a Sunday walk in the park, but as Jesus so assuredly said to the disciples. ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33)
Those words of assurance still pertain to us today my people, and though being of good cheer in the midst of our troubles is not easy, it is indeed possible when our hearts, minds, bodies and souls are filled with Jesus and His awe inspiring Word. It’s all about the Word, my Friends!
Now let’s look at some scripture which proclaim that sentiment of absolute truth. While Moses was writing the last book of the Pentateuch, (the first five books of the Bible) Deuteronomy, he exhorted the people to obedience, showing them all that the Lord had done for them.
Then he commanded them in no uncertain terms. ‘Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do.’ (Deut. 29:9)
Then when Moses was finished writing Deuteronomy, the Good Book declares: ‘That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying, Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.
For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the Lord; and how much more after my death?’ (Deut.31:25-27)
Ah Friends, Moses knew his people! And was he ever right, for though they had the law of God ensconced in the ark, they still made a mess of their lives, turned from the God of their fathers several times to foolishly worship all sorts of other supposed gods and idols.
And unfortunately my brethren, that is exactly the state that we are in today. Numerous people are foolishly turning away from the ONE AND ONLY TRUE GOD to worship all sorts of other nonsense! Why can’t we understand that it is only when we praise, serve and worship Jehovah God that a land, a society, and a people truly prosper for long periods of time eh?
And we’ll end with these wonderful words of advice and assurance from Psalm 1 – Blessed are the righteous. ‘Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly (wicked), nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate (ponder, by talking to oneself) day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers (channels) of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.’ (Ps.1:1-3)
Ah Friends, what more can I add to that eh? Nothing really, but to advise us to keep walking with the Lord God Jehovah, if we want to be successful in this earthly life and consequently the one hereafter.
And for those of us who have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, then I highly recommend that you give Him a try, for you have absolutely nothing to lose and a whole lot of heavenly goodness and wisdom to gain. Much LOVE!
…to sincerely follow Jesus and His Word…is the wisest…most sensible…and most blessed thing a human being can ever do…
08 Jun 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: aberrant behaviour, aura of love, believers in Christ, confidence, Creator of the universe, do good, ever-faithful God, evil, fellowship, follow peace, glorious kingdom, glory hallelujah, good report, gospel truth, holy spirit, honest, humble servants, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, lay me down in peace, let not your heart be troubled, lies, LOVE, maturing, meditate, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, my peace I give unto you, noble, not as the world giveth, Oh Lord God Almighty, Peace i leave with you, Philippians, praiseworthy, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, reverence, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, the God of peace, trust in God, truth, ungodly world, wiles, wisdom
John 14:27. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Well, well Friends, if it isn’t Monday again; the day we all like to hate! And while I’m expecting that announcement to bring forth some exasperated moaning and groaning and a cuss word or two, am I ever surprised by the shout of ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ that emanates from God’s people.
Wow! Are we growing up, maturing or what? I surely hope so, and this not some kind of aberrant behaviour that will fizzle out next week. (smile)
Ah Friends, I know that getting up to go to work any day is difficult, but it’s especially so on Mondays, after you’ve had a couple days off. But that’s the way our society has been framed, and there’s not much we can do about it, so we might as well get used to it, and rise up over it. And as true believers in Christ, that is exactly what is expected of us.
But since we are not all good at the Monday wake up call, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn which energizes us, gets our adrenalin going. So with one voice, sweet as a heavenly choir, let’s sing:
‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Ah mih people, that rendition wasn’t too bad, but it didn’t get a standing ‘O’ in heaven. (smile) However, I hope it got our motors running and that we’re now fully in tune with Almighty God, so we can get out and perform to the level of excellence that’s expected of us. Yes Friends, we’re now ready to go out into the calamitous world and like Jesus during His earthly sojourn, simply do good. That’s all He asks of us.
And to help us in that most worthwhile endeavour, He granted us strong encouragement and assurance in our Bit. ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’
Oh Friends, without that peace of Jesus we will not be able to successfully navigate this evil and sinful world. We’ll continuously be filled with fear, anxiety, dread and worry; none of which are good stabilizers. But when we embrace Jesus and all that He stands for, then we are supernaturally empowered, through His Holy Spirit to fight the good fight…and win!
Now let’s hear some scripture verses which support our contentions. Listen first to that mighty prophet Isaiah from his hymn of praise. ‘Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on (sustained by) thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength (the Rock of Ages).’ (Is.26:3-4) What beautiful, reassuring and absolutely true sentiments my brethren!
Now hear Bruh David, first from Psalm 4 – An evening prayer of trust in God. He ends with these faithful and powerful words of trust. ‘I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.’ (Ps.4:8) And then, this ending from Psalm 29 – The voice of the Lord in the storm. ‘The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.’ (Ps.29:11)
Oh my people, we all know that Bruh David was no goody-two-shoes, but he had abundant faith and trust in the God of His Fathers, and that magnanimous and ever-faithful God kept him from going under, though he stumbled several times, he never fell. And if we genuinely believe, trust in and reverence the Lord of Hosts, He will undoubtedly do the same for us.
Meanwhile, the author of Hebrews wisely advises us to: ‘Follow (pursue) peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.’ (Heb.12:14) I couldn’t put it any simpler or clearer that that Friends.
And we’ll end with some of Bruh Paul’s advice to the Philippians, re things to think on. ‘Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest (noble), whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise (anything praiseworthy), think (meditate) on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.’ (Phil.4:8-9)
I can’t add anything to that Friends, except to implore us to do exactly what Bruh Paul advised the Philippians, because it is gospel truth, as well as heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!
…mercy unto you…and peace…and LOVE…be multiplied… (Jude 2)
05 Mar 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Abide in me, against all odds, almighty god, because of mine enemies, blessings, bolsters our spirits, breath of life, brings us joy, Bruh David, cherish every moment with those you love, Clark Gable, confidence, destruction, do God's will, faithfulness, followers of Jesus, furthering God's glorious kingdom, gospel truth, gratitude, guidance, guilt, heavenly Father, hope, I am the vine, I lift up my soul to thee, image of Jesus, improvement, in league with the Creator of the universe, in thee do I trust, Jack Layton, jehovah god, lead me in a plain path, learn God's word, Lent, lessen's regrets, LOVE, loving kindness, make thy way straight, meditate, mercies, misleading, moving onward and upward, my help cometh from the Lord, O Lord, omni-present, omnipotent, omnisicient, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, prayer for protection, privilege, read, remakes us into the image of Jesus, righteous and godly life, righteousness., saviour jesus christ, Spread God's Word, strength, study, teach me thy statutes, Teach me thy way O Lord, thanks and praise, the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, the land of uprightness, the potter's wheel, the Spirit of Jesus, the ungodly world, the wonderful God we serve, Thursday, thy spirit is good, unconditional LOVE, walking with Jesus, wickedness, wisdom, without me ye can do nothing, ye are the branches
Psalm 27:11. Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain (smooth) path, because of mine enemies.
Aye Friends, it’s Thursday, and we’re moving onward and upward with our wonderful Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Wow! What a great privilege that is my people! To be in league with the Creator of the universe and all therein is truly something else!
So let’s give Him some thanks and praise this Lenten Thursday morning nuh, for first imbuing us with His awesome breath of life, then for the new mercies and blessings He has specially prepared for us today, and finally ask for strength and guidance to go out into the ungodly world that surrounds us and do His will; that of attracting souls to Him and thus furthering His glorious kingdom. Now that is indeed a mouthful, but not an impossible one. (smile)
Please pray with me: ‘Oh heavenly Father, we sincerely thank You for the breath of life You’ve breathed into each of us at our birth, and has allowed it to continue to this day. We thank You for all the wonderful work You’ve done in us, and are still doing. Being on Your potter’s wheel can sometimes be rough, but we understand the need for it. It’s the only way you can remake us into the image of Jesus.
Lots of thanks are also forthcoming for the many gifts of grace, mercy and forgiveness that You’ve bestowed on us. Your unconditional LOVE also calls for expressions of gratitude. Please help us this day to LOVE You as we ought to, and grant us your undying peace and wisdom, so that we can go out and diligently do Your Will, spread Your Word and Your LOVE! This we pray in the name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen!’
Yeh mih breddren, it’s ALL about Jehovah God! And I found this quote on a piece of scrap paper yesterday. Don’t know if I’ve shared it before, but even if I have, it’s certainly worth sharing again. It’s attributed to Jack Layton (1950-2011) the late leader of the Federal Opposition party, the N.D.P. Jack has been reputed to advise: ‘Cherish every moment with those you LOVE, at every stage of your journey.’
And that is certainly wisdom for the ages my people! LOVING those around us not only bolsters our spirits and brings us joy each day, but it also lessens the regrets when a LOVED one passes away, whether suddenly or after a long illness. We don’t have the guilt and those negative feelings of not having told or shown them how much we LOVED them. And that takes a lot of pressure off of us when circumstances don’t go the way we want them to.
So Friends, starting NOW, let’s truly cherish those around us, as much as we can. Let’s both show and tell them that we LOVE and appreciate them. I’m sure we’ll see a big improvement in all the lives involved. And your luck’s in today Friends. (smile) Here’s another quote, this from Cark Gable (1901-1960), the famous American movie star of yore. Clark says: ‘The things a man has to have are hope and confidence in himself against all odds.’
And I quote this because though there’s some truth in it, those words ‘in himself’ can be quite misleading, for basically our hope and confidence is supposed to come from our union with our omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present God.
As Jesus warned His disciples, and consequently us: ‘Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:5-6)
Now that’s truly telling it like it is! It’s gospel truth my people! Without the Spirit of Jesus working in and walking with us, we can do nothing really worthwhile. That’s why I took issue with Clark’s comment. Only when we’re walking sincerely with Jesus, and only then, does that hope and confidence truly blossom in our souls!
That’s why our Bit is so necessary and so powerful. Bruh David truly lays it on the line. ‘Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain (smooth) path, because of mine enemies.’
Yes my brethren, it’s only by doing it God’s way that we can truly live a righteous and godly life, despite the enmity that surrounds us. And Bruh David knew this from hard experience and used it to his advantage. Listen to him from Psalm 5 – A prayer for protection.
‘Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face. For there is no faithfulness (uprightness) in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness (destruction); their throat is an open sepulcher (an open tomb); they flatter with their tongue.’ (Ps.5:8-9)
Ah mih people, our world is so full of wickedness and flattery, that if we’re not careful, we can fall for some ungodly stuff every minute of every day. And the writer of Psalm 119, in the Daleth section – Make me to understand thy way- prayerfully beseeches God:
‘My soul cleaveth unto (clings to) the dust: quicken (revive) thou me according to thy word. I have declared my ways, and thou heardest (answered) me: teach me thy statutes. Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of (meditate on) thy wondrous works.’ (Ps.119:25-27)
Oh Friends, that’s only logical! We can’t talk about God and His wondrous works if we don’t know anything about Him! That’s why it’s ever so important, necessary and essential that followers of Jesus, read, study, meditate on and learn His Word. And having done that, we can then explain, expound and talk about the wonderful God we serve!
And we’ll end this series of messages on calling out to God for direction and help to learn His statutes, with these fateful, faithful and fruitful words of Bruh David from Psalm 143 – Teach me to do thy will.
‘Cause me to hear thy LOVING-kindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee. Deliver me O Lord, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me (unto thee I take cover). Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.’ (Ps.143:8-10)
Oh my fellow believers, please let those words lift us up today, and keep us centred and focused on Almighty God as we go out to do His will, for it’s only from Him, can true hope and confidence come. Much LOVE!
…I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills…from whence cometh my help…my help cometh from the Lord…which made heaven and earth… (Ps.121:1-2)
07 Feb 2015
by randyobrien50
in Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a deliberate setting of our will, a fresh beginning, a miracle is performed, apt description, bowels of mercies, Bruh Paul, Carnbee, compassion, comuunications revolution, concentrating on God, consequences of unforgiveness, cruel, elect of God, even as Christ forgave you, expectations, fear, forbearing one another, forgiveness, forgiving one another, fry bake and saltfish, humbleness of mind, hurts, intruder, Jesus Christ, kindness, Lambeau, lending strength, LOVE, meditate, mistaken identity, Mt. Irvine, negative effects, our soul is washed clean, ponder, resentment, Ruth Harms Calkin, Saturday, seaweed, serene, serenity, tender mercies, the One Year Book of Bible Promises, the power of God, the Wild Wild West, tranquil scenery, transformations, truth, unforgiving world, vitality, wisdom
Colossians 3:13. 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.
Well mih people, is Saturday – serene Saturday! And that description didn’t come from me, but from the duchess. We were sitting outside on the verandah this morning having coffee, and I was admiring the beautiful, peaceful, tranquil scenery, when all of a sudden she pops up with the word ‘serene.’ And it is indeed a very apt description. I was trying to send a couple pictures of the serenity, but I couldn’t figure out how to attach them. That just shows my lack of ability in the new communications revolution. (smile) But I’m not annoyed. I’m happy with what I can do.
Now I’m this late because I promised the lady to take her to get some fish this morning between 9 and 10. So we headed out around nine something for Mt. Irvine where the best fish is supposed to be. We went yesterday evening but they didn’t have what the lady wanted, but said that we should come back today.
But as the Lord would have it, this morning there was still none of what the lady wanted – king fish or red snapper – and you couldn’t talk her into anything else. So we decided to go down to another fish place in Lambeau.
On the way through Carnbee though, I decided to stop at an old school friend’s home, knowing that he had been sick with some foot problems when I saw him last year. The foot’s somewhat better this year, but due to his diabetes it’s giving trouble to heal properly.
Anyway, as we were leaving, he began to regale us with the story of a young man coming through his open door late one night some months ago, ostensibly to kill him. The fellow asked if his name was so and so, and he replied no. He refused to tell him his name because it was quite close to the name the fellow was looking for. In fact the three guys in the posse had stopped at the wrong street. The fellow with the name they were looking for lived a couple streets further down the road.
To cut a long story short, after some feeling out words had passed between them, and seeing the gun under the fellow’s jacket, he set aside his fear and grabbed up his grandmother’s long sword-like knife which was near to him, and jumped up and accosted the intruder, fear and the power of God lending strength to his lame feet.
Eventually though, the intruder backed down and backed out, but as he was going down the stairs, my friend said he felt the urge to just stick the knife in his neck, but wisely he didn’t. Meanwhile, one guy was below his house and the other on his back steps, outside the door, guarding any areas of escape.
Ah Lord eh Friends, yuh see what can happen when yuh sitting in yuh own house minding your own business in these evil times! He almost got shot through mistaken identity. Apparently three guys had come up from Trinidad to make the hit. It’s surely getting like the Wild Wild West, like the early lawless days of the last century.
Anyway, after that I went down to the fish market in Lambeau, where again there was nothing the duchess wanted. So we came back home, about eleven, had breakfast, bake and saltfish, then I obviously had to rest a spell after such an energetic morning. (smile)
And Friends, like we’ve been talking about compassion for the last few days, today we’ll talk about forgiveness, another big virtue we desperately need in this evil, cruel, unforgiving world. And after reading this morning’s take on the subject from the One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings from Ruth Harms Calkin, I just couldn’t leave it out.
Listen closely to these words of indisputable truth from the passage titled ‘FORGIVENESS.’ ‘Forgiveness. What does it do for us? In an amazing way it creates a fresh beginning. It lifts us out of the tangled seaweed of resentment. A miracle is performed! It may not happen in a moment or a day. We may have to forgive at six o’clock on Monday and start over again at two o’clock on Tuesday.
There is no magic wand to simplify forgiveness. Forgiveness is a deliberate setting of our will, often with no emotional high whatsoever. But once having genuinely forgiven, our soul is washed clean. We walk in dignity again. We sense a new vitality. We’re no longer concentrating on hurts; we’re concentrating on God.
If we would only forgive, our lives would undergo transformations beyond our highest expectations. Above all, Jesus Christ would be exalted, for it is his forgiveness that makes the difference. Forgiveness is a beautiful word. It is God’s word passed to us to use freely, joyfully. When we ask for the gift of forgiveness, God always says yes. He gave his Son to make us free, and forgiveness is the secret key to freedom.’
Oh Friends, I don’t know if I’ve ever heard a better, more compact exposition on forgiveness. All of it is absolutely true. Forgiveness is not for the other person or persons, but for you, for us the forgiver! You can be bearing unforgiveness in your spirit and the other person doesn’t know about it, or doesn’t care, so you’re not doing them anything.
You’re just hurting yourself, and the unforgiveness, if kept for a long time, will definitely turn into resentment and then bitterness and hatred. Meanwhile the unforgiven is going about their business like nothing’s happened. You are the only one who’s feeling the negative effects of your actions.
Therefore Friends, it’s absolutely necessary that we do as the promise for the above passage from Bruh Paul says in our Bit and the lead up to it, if we want to have peace in our souls. ‘Put on therefore (dress oneself), as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies (tender mercies, heartfelt compassion), 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.’ (Col.3:12-13)
Ah mih people, words of absolute wisdom and truth! And yuh know what? We’re going to stop there for today, so that we can all go and ponder, meditate upon, and consider all that we’ve said today and see how it applies to us.
Please, let’s take this to heart and seriously check out ourselves, for a lot of the negative and unfortunate things in our lives are direct consequences of unforgiveness. Much LOVE!
…unforgiveness only hurts or kills the unforgiver…not the unforgiven…
P.S. Oh Friends, through a little perseverance and godly guidance, I eventually managed to attach some pictures of serenity in Paradise for the people I send the Bit directly to by e-mail. Unfortunately I couldn’t do the same for you who read the blog. Much LOVE!
Previous Older Entries Next Newer Entries
SCRIP-BITS 