05 Mar 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Ash Wednesday, beat up ourselves, bewail our misery, by faith, come of age, compromise our godly beliefs, corroded silver and gold, deceitful, demons, displeasure, divine blessings, ears of the Lord of hosts, eat your flesh, Egypt, enjoying life, eschew pleasure, face the problem squarely, faith, fattened hearts, fire, for a season, forgiven, forgiveness, forgotten, foundational faith, fraud, generous, graceful aplomb, gratifying, grounding belief, haunt us all our lives, he that loves pleasure, he that loves wine and oil, hearsay, indulgence, indulgent, jehovah god, Jesus fasted, Lent, less than stellar perfomance, LOVETH, Lucifer, Lucifer tempted Jesus, luxurious living, man-made idol, merciful, Moses, moth-eaten garments, partying, passing pleasures, personal experience, physically alive, pleasure, pleasure centres, poor, pull up our breeches, pursuit of fleeting pleasure, reap displeasure, recompense, reproach of Christ, reward, rich, rotted riches, sanctity, satisfying, serve only Him, serve pleasure, sin, sincere repentance, sinful nature, sinful pleasures, sinful world, son of Pharaoh's daughter, spiritually dead, stand our bounce, suffer affliction, take responsibility, temptations, the last days, treasure, true reflection, truth, ultimate in wisdom, wanton, warning, well deserved break, witness, worship the Lord thy God, worth
Proverbs 21:17. He that LOVETH pleasure shall be a poor man: he that LOVETH wine and oil shall not be rich
ASH WEDNESDAY !
Well Friends, the partying done now! Yes, it’s Ash Wednesday morning, the first day of Lent, so I hope that you exercised and exorcised all your pleasure demons over the last few days of serious partying. (smile) That’s because now is a time to settle down, a time for serious reflection on our relationships, especially between God and us.
Lent is the time to look deep into our souls and examine what we truly believe, and consequently how we live our lives, based on our grounding belief, our foundational faith, for all of us have faith in something, hopefully Jehovah God, and not man or some man-made idol.
Anyway, this season of Lent is a serious time, and we ought to seriously consider how we live our lives, giving the pleasure centres of our bodies and souls a well-deserved break. Hn, hn!
Now that doesn’t mean we ought to stop enjoying life, or eschew all pleasure, but rather not let the pleasures of life be all that important. Instead, let’s contemplate on how Jesus fasted for forty days in the wilderness and how Lucifer tempted Him, tried his very best to get Him to go against God’s will.
And in light of that, let’s see what temptations have been coming against us, and how we’ve been handling them, hopefully with graceful aplomb like Jesus, telling the deceitful fool Lucifer: ‘Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.’ (Matt.4:10)
And we all know my brethren, that that’s truth of the highest order! But that doesn’t stop the ole scoundrel from continually snapping at our heels, especially in one soft and weak area of our sinful nature, that of pleasure.
That’s why Cousin Sol declared so profoundly unto us, the words of our Bit. ‘He that LOVETH pleasure shall be a poor man: he that LOVETH wine and oil shall not be rich.’
And unfortunately, I know that Lucifer has a wide grin on his evil, devilish face this Ash Wednesday morning, because over the last few days, he’s managed to get many of us to compromise our godly beliefs in the pursuit of fleeting worldly pleasure.
But please remember that ALL of it can be forgiven, though only some forgotten, and a lot of it will haunt us for the remainder of our lives. There will always be some reminder of our less than stellar performance during that period.
The important thing though is not to beat up ourselves and continually bewail our misery over it, since that portion of our lives cannot be relived, and our mistake(s) be undone. And this wisdom comes from personal experience, not hearsay. We need to come to God in sincere repentance, ask for His merciful and generous forgiveness, then face the problem squarely; stand our bounce.
That’s one thing I’ve always tried to drive into my children’s head from they were young, and try to practice it myself. If you’ve done something wrong, be man or woman enough to take the responsibility for it.
And after all that ‘sermonizing’, (smile) let’s look at some scriptures that uphold the truth of our Bit. And we’ll begin with some instructive words of Bruh Paul to Timothy, re widows. ‘But she that liveth in pleasure (indulgence) is dead while she liveth.’ (1 Tim.5:6)
And the scholars’ note says: ‘5:6. This may be paraphrased, “But the widow who indulges in luxurious living, though physically alive, is spiritually dead.”
And I just want to point out here my people, that that statement also applies to widowers, in fact to all and sundry, because once we’ve allowed earthly indulgences to control our lives, we do become spiritually dead.
Then in Hebrews 11, that great chapter on faith, in talking about Moses, the author proclaims: ‘By faith, Moses, when he was come to years (came of age), refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures (passing pleasures) of sin for a season;
Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasure in Egypt: for he had respect unto (looked at) the recompense of the reward.’ (Heb.11:24-26)
Yes my brethren, likewise, we are to shun the calling of the pleasures of sin, and esteem the reproach of Christ of greater sanctity and worth than that of the world.
And we’ll let James take us home with his very voluble and valuable warning to the rich. ‘Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted (have rotted), and your garments are moth-eaten.
Your gold and silver is cankered (corroded): and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for (in) the last days.
Behold, the hire (wages) of the labourers who have reaped (mowed) down your fields, which is of you (you kept back) by fraud, crieth (cry out): and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth (Hosts).
Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton (indulgent); ye have nourished (fattened) your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.’ (James 5:1-6)
Yeh Friends, that’s the way it goes! All our riches, garnered on the backs of those unfairly treated will eventually rot and be of no use to us. We who have lived to serve pleasure, will in the end reap displeasure!
So please, as true believers, let’s wake up and see unrestrained pleasure for what it really is nuh – an unwise and foolish means of moving away from Jehovah God to the sinful camp of Beelzebub.
Now is that what we really and truly want to do? I sincerely doubt it. So please, let’s pull up our ‘britches’ (breeches) nuh, and stop allowing the sinful pleasures of our sinful world to control our lives. Now that’s the ultimate in wisdom! Much LOVE!
…Cousin Sol had it all…wisdom, wealth and time…but found no satisfying, gratifying, or long lasting pleasure…in the worldly pleasures his divine blessings afforded him…
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!
17 Feb 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abundant life, aura of love, awesome, blessed, blessings, bombarded, brave, brilliant strategist, Bruh Paul, buffeted, Chirst's army, christ jesus, Christ's Church, compassionate, confidence, courageous, cross at Calvary, earthly purpose, enthusiasm, faithful saying, Family day, follow the leader, forgiving, frame of mind, God's mercies, gracious, holy spirit, humble servants, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, keeping lives and families together, Leader Jesus, life everlasting, long-suffering, lost in sin, LOVE to hate, merciful, mighty force, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, not afraid, Oh Lord God Almighty, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, one true God, personal relationship with Jesus, Pharisees, renewed vitality and enthusiasm, right mood, right perspective, road to Damascus, salvation, saw the light, sins, slave for Massa, soldiers, Son of man, soulful choir, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, sure conquerors, surrender our all to you, thankfulness, the enemy's wiles and lies, to save the lost, to seek, ungodly world, useful purpose, wicked taunts, wisdom, worst sinner, zeal, zealous for Christ
Luke 19:10. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday – the day we all seem to LOVE to hate, but which we truly LOVE deep down inside! And I hear a lot of venom coming forth per that statement. (smile)
I guess we have a LOVE hate relationship with Mondays because on one hand, it means our free time is over, we have to get up and go out and labour. On the other hand though, it opens up interesting and unknown doors for us in the outside world. It offers us new and untold opportunities, gives us a different perspective on life, compared to if we just stayed cloistered up at home.
Anyway Friends, Monday is like every other day the Lord has made, so if we’re smart, we’ll also be glad and enjoy it like we do the weekends. And luckily for some of us in good, ole Canada, we don’t have to go to work today because it’s a holiday! Bless the Lord, O my soul! In Ontario it’s called Family Day, ostensibly a day to spend with family. In other provinces it’s know by other names.
However, many of us around the world aren’t so blessed, we have to go out and slave for Massa. So let’s join with those unlucky ones and sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to help us all get in the right mood and frame of mind. As one, vibrant, sweet sounding, soulful choir now, 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!’
Hopefully that put some pep in your step, got the adrenalin running. Please remember that we are all soldiers in Christ’s army, and for armies to win battles, their soldiers must be brave, courageous, positive and truly desirous of following their leader… And oh mih breddren, mih breddren, we have the BEST Leader in all the world!
He’s not only a brilliant strategist, but is also beautiful, LOVING, compassionate, thoughtful, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, merciful, forgiving, gracious and upstanding: He’s a God-man called Jesus Christ!
Wow! And He’s so wonderful, so selfless and giving, that two thousand years ago He left His comfortable abode in heaven and came to earth in human form so that we could have a better and more abundant life. Now which other supposed deity has even considered such a wonderful deed, much less to put it into practical operation eh?
None whatsoever! Because they are all false, dead gods. For there is ONLY ONE TRUE GOD; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the ONLY ONE who is alive and kicking, the ONE who sent His ONLY Son, Jesus Christ to earth to be sacrificed on the cross at Calvary to pay for our sins. As Jesus so simply and straightforwardly puts it in our Bit: ‘For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.’
And all God’s people loudly and joyously declared: ‘Thank You Jesus, for saving us when we were lost in sin!’
Oh Friends, what an amazing and mighty force is our Leader Jesus! But you’ll never know that from His simplicity and humility. And it’s not until you develop a true and fast personal relationship with Him, that you’ll realize how truly awesome He is.
Now the last couple of days we’ve been looking at scriptures where He describes His earthly purpose, or where others commented on it. Today we’ll continue doing the same, but for brevity’s sake (smile) we’ll only look at Bruh Paul’s words to his young protégé Timothy, re his thankfulness for God’s many mercies.
‘This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am the chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.’ (1 Tim.1:16-17)
Yes my fellow believers, Bruh Paul considered himself the worst sinner in the world because of how he had tried to destroy Christ’s church in his more youthful days. But after Christ waylaid him on the road to Damascus, he saw the light, both literally and figuratively.
Through Christ’s mercy he was saved, to be used as an example to other sinners. If he had saved the worst one, then it would not be a problem to save the less sinful ones. And in all fairness, once Bruh Paul turned his life around, he used the same zeal in building Christ’s church as he had hitherto used to destroy it.
Oh Friends, are we being more zealous for Christ since we’ve been saved? I surely hope so. Anyway, that’s enough for us to ponder on today. I know you are all very busy people, so I don’t want to take up too much of your valuable time talking about God. I hope you detect the note of sarcasm there. (smile)
So until tomorrow, God in favour, please walk safely with Him, and let His Holy Spirit guide and keep you in all that you do. For that’s wisdom of the highest order. Much LOVE!
…unfortunately…those who don’t think they need saving…are the ones who need it the most…like the Pharisees…
14 Feb 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a great day, angry, arduous labour, badly needed, best intentions, bless, body, bounden duty, celebrate Love, Christian, condemnation, day of Love, dissolute, emotionally, exercise judgement, fellow believers, fellowship, forgiving, Friday, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, genuine caring, godly act, godly wisdom, gracious, greedy, Happy Valentine's Day, help, help each other, hope, human vocabulary, in short supply, individuals, inner motives, it takes two to tango, jesus name, judge not, judgement of God, just, keep our promise, life's dark winding and lonely road, littered with, Lord God Jehovah, loving, mentally, merciful, mercy, mind, needy, no man is an island, one hand can't wash itself, oppressed, physically, prejudicial information, prosper, reach out and touch, relaxation, renewed and refreshed, replenish strength, resentful, respite, rest, right perspective, riotous living, self-supporting, selfish, shall cry himself, shall not be heard, showing some kind of Love, soul, sovereign God, standard of judgement, stop his ears, succeed, Thank God is Friday, the cry of the poor, the law and the prophets, the poor, the rich and famous, the sick, the suffering, tit for tat, True LOVE, two hands to clap, unfortunate, ungodly world, universal principle, Valentine's day, valuable weekend, week of work, workers, worthwhile followers
Proverbs 21:13. Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!
Oh Friends, it’s Friday, it’s Friday! Thank God it’s Friday! And the lucky workers around the world, though not always with the best intentions, are thanking God that it’s Friday, and they’re going to have a brief respite from their arduous labours.
Now that is all well and good, but what we do with the brief respite from work is also important. We cannot just waste it on riotous and dissolute living, but need to use it to replenish our strength; mentally, physically and emotionally.
So let’s chant our Friday Chant, which gives us the right perspective on how to use our oh so valuable weekend. All together now, in full voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Now that’s a much better and wiser way to use our days off! And on another important note Friends, today is not only Friday, but also VALENTINE’S DAY; a day on which we celebrate LOVE!
And though it’s been highly commercialized, like almost every other important day, and is more or less viewed as a day for romantic LOVE, it’s still a day when we reach out and touch others.
And any day we do that is indeed a great day! For reaching out and touching others, showing some kind of LOVE is so badly needed and in such short supply in our greedy, angry, resentful and ungodly world!
And it really doesn’t matter all that much what kind of LOVE we touch others with nuh, once it’s TRUE LOVE, it goes a long way towards bringing peace, justice and equal rights to our unjust, war-like and oppressive times.
So today my brethren, when we think of LOVE and giving, let’s not only remember those nearest and dearest to us, with flowers, chocolates and whatever else the commerce peddlers throw at us, but more importantly, let’s stop for a moment and consider our Bit.
‘Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.’
Oh Friends, that is just another angle of the universal principle on which our just, merciful, gracious, forgiving, LOVING and sovereign God built His universe; whatever you sow, the same shall you reap. That means, generally speaking, whatever we do, will be done back to us.
So if the poor cries out to us for help and mercy, and we ignore them, at some future date, when we too cry out for help and mercy, we will not be heard, but also ignored. It’s a simple principle – tit for tat.
And our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ made it quite clear to us when He declared: ‘Judge (condemn) not, that ye be not judged (condemned). For with what judgement (condemnation) ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete (use), it shall be measured to you again.’ (Matt.7:1-2)
And as the scholars explain: ‘7:1-4. Judge not refers to an unfavourable and condemnatory judgement. This does not mean that a Christian should never exercise judgement of any kind under any circumstances. The point being made here is that we are not to judge the inner motives of another.
We are not to render a verdict based on prejudicial information. Nor are we to use ourselves as the standard of judgement for with what…ye mete (measure) you shall be judged. That ye be not judged refers to the ultimate judgement of God rather than our own judgement.’
Oh mih breddren, what’s so hard to understand about all that eh? Nothing at all! It’s like we say: it takes two to tango; two hands to clap; one hand can’t wash itself.
Yes my fellow believers, one of the most important words in our human vocabulary, regardless of the language, is ‘help.’ And one of the most important phrases is ‘help each other,’ for without somebody’s help, NONE of us can ever hope to prosper and succeed. That’s why the phrase ‘no man is an island,’ has also been coined.
The Lord God Jehovah didn’t make this world merely as a bunch of selfish, self-supporting individuals, but as a group of people who are supposed to work together, to help each other along life’s dark, winding and lonely road.
Unfortunately though my fellow believers, our world is littered with the poor, needy and oppressed, and it’s our bounden duty to help them however and whenever we can.
Remember it was the poor, the needy, the lost, the sick, the suffering and the oppressed that Jesus came to save, and it was those types that He hung out with, much more than the rich and famous. And if we’re to be His true and worthwhile followers, we need to do the same things He did.
So today, on Valentine’s Day, this Day of LOVE, I’m asking us all to remember those who are not as fortunate as us. Pray for them, as well as try to help at least ONE unfortunate person. Bless them with something, or in some way that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ can interpret as genuine caring and LOVE.
Remember the rich and powerful don’t give two expletives deleted about the poor and downtrodden, so it’s up to us believers to help them out of their misery.
Please, let’s make a serious, sincere and generous effort to help someone today. That’s not only godly wisdom, as well as our bounden duty, but also a godly act, which we’ve all committed and promised to make our life’s work.
So please, let’s start keeping our promise nuh, for it’s not wise or healthy to make promises and then not keep them. Much LOVE!
…therefore all things…whatsoever ye would that men should do to you…do ye even so to them…for this is the law and the prophets… (Matt.7:12)
12 Feb 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: above the heavens, acknowledgement of God's power, appreciate God's awesome power, arch-enemy, arrows, assistance, awesome wisdom, base purposes, be above all the earth, bewtween a rock and a hard place, biography of souls, Bruh David, calamities, cherish, cold weather, Comforter, confidence in God, contemplation, cry unto god, danger, Daniel in the lion's den, David Thomas, daytime temps, difficulties, exalted, feel the pain, forgive, furnace of blazing fire, glory, god, God's goodness and mercy, good things, gospel truth, hard times, Healer, hear my plea Lord, heartfelt words, hiding in a cave, hounds me, human frailties, inopportune times, Jesus, living example, maturity, merciful, mercy, nature of the beast, need a break, our end all and be all, personal well-being, prayer for deliverance, precipitation, predicament, promotion, propitiation for our sins, Psalm 57, radiant pages, refuge, remembering God's goodness, reprieve, reproach, sacrifice, Saul, save me, selfishly using God, shadow of thy wings, shallow, sharp sword, snaps at, snowfall, spears, strengthen our faith, suffer, the sons of men, tongue, trials, tribulations, trust, truth, unselfish and noble actions, wilderness, with Jesus' help
Psalm 57:5. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.
And the extremely cold weather rolls on my Friends! Thankfully though, without any further precipitation, for there’s nowhere left to pile it. It’s already piled high everywhere since the last snowfall.
But these constant daytime temps of minus double digits are a bit much. We can understand it at nights, but for heaven’s sake, in the daytime we need a break Lord! Hopefully the Lord will hear my plea and answer with some reprieve from this unusually cold weather.
Anyway Friends, I got up sort of early this morning, but just could not get out of bed, so the Bit will be a tad late, not as late as yesterday though. (smile) You all have to feel the ole fella’s pain and give him a bligh, a break.
As this quote, attributed to one of our many David Thomas’ so eloquently states: ‘Unselfish and noble actions are the most radiant pages in the biography of souls.’
Oh yes my people, that is the gospel truth! It’s exactly what Jesus did when He unselfishly and very nobly gave His sinless life as a sacrifice, as propitiation for our disgusting sins. And that’s exactly how He wants all His followers to behave; noble and unselfish.
It’s not always easy to do, but with Jesus’ help we can certainly do more than we’re currently doing. And here’s and easy one to begin your day right; forgive the ole fella for his human frailties. (smile)
However, we also have a wonderful Bit – sorry, all of them are wonderful! ‘Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.’
Oh my brethren, those heartfelt words come from Bruh David’s Michtam (Contemplation) while hiding in a cave in the wilderness from his arch-enemy Saul. And I guess he had lots of time for contemplation.
Psalm 57 is a prayer for deliverance. And please note my fellow believers, as always, Bruh David begins his prayers with acknowledgement of God’s power, His goodness and mercy and his own trust and confidence in the Almighty.
‘Be merciful unto me O God, be merciful unto me; for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast (passed by). I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me. He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up (snaps at or hounds me). Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.’ (Ps.57:1-3)
Oh my people, is that the way we begin our prayers, by acknowledging the power and majesty of our heavenly Father, by remembering the good things He’s done for us in the past and letting them strengthen our faith and trust that He will continue to look after us in the future?
Well if we don’t, then we ought to. That shows God that we are truly trusting, we’re not shallow and only interested in our personal well-being, we know and appreciate His awesome power and capabilities.
And just as a living example, how would you feel if one of your children, or anybody you cherish continually came asking for help without some admission of your previous assistance and goodness to them eh?
Would you be pleased if they just jumped right in and said they wanted this and needed that? I doubt it. The same way our heavenly Father needs to see that we’re not just selfishly using him for our base purposes.
And although Bruh David is in serious danger, it’s only after he acknowledges the God of his forefathers, that he states his predicament in the verse before our Bit: ‘My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.’ (Ps.57:4)
Then he proclaims our Bit: ‘Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.’
Yuh see Friends, even though Bruh David’s life is on the line, he’s between a rock and a hard place, he still trusts and exalts the name of the God of his fathers.
Chuh! I was just further delayed for almost ten minutes by my security company wanting to update some stuff, then needing to shut down and restart the computer so that the updates could take effect. These things always seem to happen at such inopportune times, but that’s the nature of the beast.
Anyhow, like we trust our security companies to get it right with our computers, do we trust and exalt our great God when difficulties and hard times come against us, like Bruh David did?
We ought to, because He’s the ONLY ONE who can truly bring us out of our troubles, unscathed, the way we like to come out of them, like He did Daniel in the lion’s den, (Dan.6:14-28) and his buddies in the furnace of blazing fire. (Dan.3:8-30)
But we must remember that that’s not always possible, for some of these trials and tribulations are tests to see if we can hold up under the strain of life, if our maturity is such that we’re ready for another level of promotion.
But if we are bruised and battered, please remember that our God is also the greatest Comforter and Healer there is, ever was, and ever will be. And He WILL NEVER leave us to suffer unnecessarily.
And with those words of awesome wisdom, (smile) we’ll end today’s message. Much LOVE!
…the God of heaven and earth…our Creator and Provider…is our end all and be all…we need no one else but Him…
07 Jan 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: almighty god, amusing story, believers in Jesus, big chill, big freeze, blessed, blowing snow, come to repentance, confession, Cousin Sol, covenant, deliverer, despised of soul, disintegrate, dress warmly, ever-LOVING God, faith, faithful, faithful God, faithful is He that calls you, faithfulness, faithfulness to God, families, father in heaven, fellowship, forgiving, gospel truth, grin and bear it, hallmark of God, harassed, hope, howling winds, immortal truth, in Jesus' name, inclement weather, Isaiah, Israel, Jesus Christ, judgement, kings shall see, land, litmus test, long-suffering, LOVE, merciful, North America, North country, perish, persecuted, princes shall worship, proclamation, promise, prophesied, proud, query, record freezing temps, Redeemer of Israel, relationship, righteous, servants of rulers, slackness, societies, stand in true faithfulness, steadfast and strong, stranglehold, talk, testimonies, thank you, the Boss, the Holy One of Israel, the Lord, two way street, upright, walk, wasps, win-win situation, winter, wisdom for all time
Isaiah 49:7. Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his (its) Holy One, to him whom man despiseth (the despised of soul), to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose (has chosen) thee.
Oh Friends, welcome to the Big Freeze, the Big Chill, for the winter weather seems to have most of North America in a stranglehold! What with record freezing temps, howling winds, creating blowing snow, whiteouts, accidents, more ice storms and what else have you!
The high in my area today is supposed to be minus 15 Celsius. Hn! And that’s good, some other places will be worse than that. But it’s winter, and we’re in the North Country, so we just have to grin and bear it. (smile) However, if you’re going out today, please dress as warmly as you can; coat, hats, gloves, scarves, boots, etc. etc.
But here’s an interesting and amusing story I’ve been meaning to tell along, but keep forgetting. During the summer a wasp (jack spaniard) nest appeared on a branch on a maple tree outside my kitchen window, it hung very close to the sidewalk, so there was some consternation from passersby.
My wife was delegated to look after it, because she’s the horticulturist in the family. I never heard anything more about the situation, so I forgot about it. But lo and behold, a few days ago, I looked out the window and there was said jack spaniard nest still hanging quite comfortably on the end of a tree branch half the width of a noodle.
I had to laugh, because during all the snow, wind and ice storms, it remained steadfast and strong. Other bigger and supposedly stronger branches than that broke off the tree, but not the one with the nest. It’s still standing there, dark grey and proud.
I wondered if the wasps were still in it. But my wife told me that the nest had been sprayed. So why didn’t they take down the nest then, I asked? It was suppose to disintegrate, was the answer I received. Disintegrate my eye! I checked it out just now, and as I said before, it’s still standing out there, with some snow at the top, but otherwise, dark grey and proud!
And Friends, though we be harassed and persecuted, that’s how we believers in Jesus Christ ought to be standing; strong, steadfast, faithful and proud! And talking about faithful, here’s a little prayer I found in my Mother’s Bible, which is very appropriate for this Bit and this time.
It says: ‘Father in heaven, we thank You for Your faithfulness during the past year. Help us to remember that Your faithfulness will go with us into the New Year. In Jesus’ Name. Amen!’
Oh my brethren, that’s something we desperately need to remember! But let’s not forget either, that our faithfulness to God, also needs to run into the New Year, because it’s a two-way street, a covenant relationship. We know that the Lord’s always faithful, since He can’t be anything else but.
However, when we are faithful too, it becomes a win-win situation, the best kind of relationship that there could ever be. So please let’s seriously concentrate on our faithfulness to our wonderful, merciful, forgiving and ever-LOVING God, as this New Year opens nuh.
And having said all of that, let me go and see if I can find an appropriate Bit. (smile)
Aye Friends, it took me a little longer than I expected, because I had to make sure that the Duchess was properly attired for the weather, and got off to work safely. (smile) I feel sorry for her, having to go out in this inclement weather, but them’s the breaks. She left earlier than usual, so she should be okay with our faithful God watching over her for me.
Now let’s get right to our Bit from Isaiah, concerning the Lord’s servant, Israel. ‘Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his (its) Holy One, to him whom man despiseth (the despised of soul), to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose (has chosen) thee.’
Oh my people, remember how many centuries before Christ, our Messiah came, that Isaiah prophesied the Lord’s promise of a deliverer, of a Holy One? I believe it’s like four hundred years before. But despite the length of time it took, it was still faithfully fulfilled!
And that’s the hallmark of our great God; faithfulness! Remember too, that He is the undisputed BOSS and He runs the show, everything runs according to His plan and timing. Plus His timeline, and the nature of His heart, are completely different to ours.
For as Peter says: ‘But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness, but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.’ (2 Pet.3:8-9)
Yes Friends, our God views time and promises in a much more mature and faithful way than mankind does. So let’s get in a few more scriptures on His faithfulness before we close nuh, beginning with words of immortal truth from that great Psalm, 119.
‘Righteous art thou, O Lord, and upright are thy judgements. Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous and very faithful.’ (Ps.110:137-138) We certainly can’t query that!
And moving right along, listen to Bruh Paul from his first missive to the church at Corinth. ‘God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (1 Cor.1:9) No room for queries there either!
Now hear how he puts it to the Thessalonians. ‘Faithful is he that calleth you, who will also do it.’ (1 Thess.5:24) Gospel truth my brethren, gospel truth!
And we’ll end with this bold, true and very moving proclamation from Hebrews, which we all know and LOVE, but which we don’t practice as faithfully as we should.
‘Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our faith (hope) without wavering: (for he is faithful that promised;)’ (Heb.10:24) Now my people, that says it all! It’s the litmus test of our faith.
So please, let’s all go out today, and everyday hence, and walk, talk, and stand in true faithfulness to Almighty God, to ensure that our land, our families and our societies can be blessed. Cousin Sol would surely call that the wisdom for all time! Much LOVE!
…the Lord doesn’t need to prove His faithfulness to us…because He’s already done so…but we need to prove our faithfulness to Him…
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)
22 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: absent from the body, administer justice, aspire, awesome gift, be glad, birth of Jesus, Bruh Paul, Christmas Season, church at Corinth, comfort, conclusion, condemnation, confident, deeds understand, duty of man, earthly pilgrimage, epic proportions, ever-loving kindness, every work, evil, fateful day, fear God, friends, gift of grace, God's mercies, God's Word, good, grace, Guide, hampering Christmas shopping, haphazard weather, heavenly Father, holy, immortal truth, immortal words, important event, integrity, judgement, judgement day, judgement seat of Christ, just Deity, justice, keep God's commandments, labour, LOVE, man's history, merciful, ministers of reconciliation, not by sight, potent wisdom, Praise the Lord, precious gift, present with the Lord, problems, psalmist, reconciliation, rejoice, Roman magistrates, secret thing, the Preacher, things of the world, this is the day, trial, trouble, walk by faith, warning, wisdom, wreaking havoc
Ecclesiastes 12:14. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
And the weather follies continue! (smile) Yes Friends, there’s been rain, freezing rain, wet snow, dry snow (smile) and all sorts of haphazard weather in my neck of the woods this weekend. And it’s not done yet! The weather people are still calling for more uncertain weather over the next few days.
Steups! And it has certainly been wreaking havoc on the roads, pavements, driveways, keeping people in, and thus hampering the Christmas shopping too.
But you know what Friends? That might just be a warning to us that we’re paying too much attention to what the world considers important – shopping, food, gifts, etc – and not enough to the true reason for the Christmas season – the birth of Jesus.
The precious gift that God the Father gave us to begin the process of the most wonderful and important event in man’s history, since his creation, reconciliation with our heavenly Father.
Wow Friends! That surely was an awesome gift! And along with it came grace; grace to live through each and every trial and trouble in our lives… And that grace is still coming every single day my people!
So today, regardless of the weather, or any other problems we might be undergoing, let’s loudly declare, believe and live out these immortal words of that wise psalmist: ‘This is the day which the Lord hath made; WE WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!
Yes my brethren, every day we’re granted on planet earth is a special day, a day for rejoicing in our God’s great mercies and ever-LOVING kindness, for every day is a gift of grace from Him.
However mih people, in the midst of all that rejoicing, grace, mercy and LOVING-kindness, we need to also pay close attention to the evil that’s in the world; how it affects us, and how we interact with the world, consciously remembering the immortal truth of our Bit.
‘For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’
We absolutely cannot forget that Friends, else come the judgement day, we’ll certainly be in for some tough LOVE and justice. So let’s never forget that our God is a holy and just Deity, and though He’s also merciful, to retain His integrity, He must see that justice is done.
And speaking of reconciliation, as we did earlier on, listen to these words of epic proportions contained in Bruh Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth. Here he’s telling them, and us, about being ministers of reconciliation.
‘(For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour (make it our aim), that whether present or absent, we may be accepted of (well pleasing to) him.
For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.’ (2 Cor.5:7-10)
Now here is some info from the scholars on that last verse. ‘5:10. The judgement seat of Christ: The judgement seat (Gr. bema) was an elevated seat in the square of Corinth where Roman magistrates sat to administer justice, and where the athletes who distinguished themselves in the arena received their reward.
The judgement in view here is not of the unbeliever but of the believer (cf. 1 Cor.4:5; Col.3:4). While it is true that for the Christian there is “no condemnation” (Rom.8:1), it is not correct to assume that God will not hold him responsible for deeds done in the body. Paul has already stated this truth in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15.’
Please read those references Friends, as they are most valuable in helping us to understand God’s Word.
And we’ll end this series of messages on God’s judgement, with some very appropriate and extremely potent wisdom from the Preacher. ‘Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.’ (Eccl. 12:13) Don’t ever forget that Friends, because it’s wisdom at its zenith!
And now may the Lord comfort and guide us safely and wisely, as we traverse the paths of our earthly pilgrimage, so that when we come to stand before Him on that fateful day, He’ll say to each of us: ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant!’
There’s no better judgement that that my people, so let’s all be wise and aspire to it nuh! Much LOVE!
…in the day…when God shall judge the secrets of men…by Jesus Christ…according to my gospel… (Rom.2:16)
P.S. It’s so short Friends, that I’m truly amazed. And all God’s people said a loud and thankful: ‘Praise the Lord!’ (smile) Much LOVE my fellow believers in Christ!
13 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: awesome majesty, bear burdens, Bruh David, called to courage, change, Christmas Season, contemplation, covenant, cry in distress, deliver us from sin, descendants, do not be afraid, eternal death, eternal life, Ethan the Ezrahite, ever-faithful God, everlasting faithfulness, faithful, faithful promise, faithfulness, fear, fellowship, Firday 13th, for ever, forgiveness, foundation of the earth, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generations, generous help, God's sure promises, gospel truth, grace, greatest gifts to man, grow old, heaven, Jesus Christ, jesus name, joyfully shouting, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, loving, loving kindness, magnanimous god, make known, merciful, no labour, omnipotent, perseverance, pilgrims, proudly, ravages, refreshed in soul, relaxation, renewed, respect, rest, right track, salvation, seed, smoke, sojourn, stand strong, steadfast faith, superstition, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the Lord's mercies, time to sing, true, true believer, ungodly earth, vanish away, veneration, weekend, wisdom, work of thy hands
Psalm 89:1. I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
Oh Friends, it’s Friday…Friday the 13th! Now does that raise fears in your spirit, re it being an unlucky day? I surely hope not, because there’s absolutely nothing to fear from a Friday that falls on the 13th day of the month.
It’s just a bunch of superstitions dating back to who knows when and where! They can’t even decide where it originally came from. So we’ll repeat, there’s nothing to be afraid of on this Friday 13th December 2013, or any other Friday 13th at all!
And that’s especially so if you’re a true believer in Jesus Christ, our wonderful Lord and Saviour. He’s faithfully promised to save us from any evil, so there’s nothing to be afraid of. And just in case you’re one of those who have difficulty handling a Friday 13th, then you’re probably suffering from ‘Paraskevidekatriaphobics.’
Yes Friends, it’s a big word for a fear that ought not to exist! So please keep joyfully shouting ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ because whether it’s called black, or misfortune, or unlucky Friday, it’s still the day before the weekend, and there’s no labour for two, whole, big, long days! (smile)
And to keep us on the right track, let’s chant our Friday Chant with much affirmation nuh. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Now that’s the right way to view the weekend my people! And in conjunction with our Bit, we shall certainly stand strong this weekend.
Our Bit comes from Psalm 89, which deals with God’s sure promises to Bruh David. It’s a contemplation written by Ethan the Ezrahite, a man of much wisdom, (1 Kin.4:31) and also one of the singers in Bruh David’s band. (1 Chr.15:19)
So he was well qualified to declare in the opening verse: ‘I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.’
And this Christmas season my brethren, is certainly a time to sing of and make known to all and sundry, the great mercies and the everlasting faithfulness of our omnipotent and magnanimous God!
Look, He promised to deliver us from sin and its ravages, death eternal, and in response sent His only Son, Jesus Christ to do it, thus giving us the two greatest gifts ever known to man; salvation and eternal life! Wow! Now how can we not jump and shout for joy at those two life saving and life giving situations eh?
And as the psalmist continues: ‘For I have said, Mercy (LOVING-kindness) shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens. I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.’ (Ps.89:2-4)
And all of that is gospel truth my Friends! And if you don’t believe me, then listen to these scriptures which declare and establish that LOVING-kindness and faithfulness of our eternal God.
Psalm 102, a cry in distress, puts it thus: ‘Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure (continue): yea, all of them shall wax (grow) old like a garment; as a vesture (cloak) shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:
But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed (descendants) shall be established before thee.’ (Ps.102:25-28)
Who says our God isn’t merciful, LOVING, faithful, omnipotent and true eh! He certainly is my people, as all of us can attest to in so many aspects of our lives!
And we’ll end today with this outstanding verse from Isaiah, where the faithful are called to courage. ‘Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax (grow) old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished (broken).’ (Is.51:6)
Oh my people, please hang on tightly to those words of our ever-faithful God, because it’s in His words, His promises, that we find courage, perseverance and steadfast faith to bear our burdens as pilgrims on this evil, ungodly earth!
And we’ll have more corroborative scripture on this topic tomorrow to boost our spirits, provided the Lord’s in favour, of course.
But till then my Friends and fellow believers, please, please, let’s stand steadfast and strong, and sing staunchly and proudly of our God; of His mercies, His LOVING-kindness, His forgiveness, His grace and all the other wonderful stuff that He’s so faithfully and LOVINGLY provided to help us on our short sojourn here on earth. Much LOVE!
…when God’s people stand strong…in faith…LOVE…and mercy…the whole world takes notice…and stands up in respect, in veneration…of His awesome majesty…
04 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: admonish, admonishment, adultery, all aspects, anointed, Bathsheba, Beelzebub, bitter fruit, blameless, blaspheme, blot out, broken spirit, Bruh David, burnt offerings, circumstances, cleanse, confess, confidence, confronted by sin, contrite heart, cried out to God, death, deny sin, depressed, despise, deterrent to willful sin, disrepute, distraught, emotions, enemies of the Lord, evil, fasted, fat of rams, forefather, forgive, forgiveness, forgiving Deity, God of truth and justice, God's only Son, gracious, house of the Lord, hurt, in thy sight, iniquity, integral part, Jesus, judge, justified, kinsman, life, listen, long and short of the story, loving kindness, lustful desire, merciful, mercy, mourning, necessary adjustments, obey, pain, pleas for help, practical application, prayer for cleansing, price to pay, promise, Psalm 51, punishment, remember our God, repentance, repented, righteousness., sacrifice, scot free, seed of sin, sin, Sin does not pay, sinful traps and snares, sinned abominably, situations, Solomon, sonner the better, sordid manner, sorrow, thanks and praise, tragic liaison, transgressions, tremendous price, ungodly behaviour, unrighteousness, walk with god, wonderful god, worshipped, wrongdoing
1 John 1:9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Oh mih people, the Bit will most likely be late today since I had a late night, and the body wasn’t too thrilled about getting up in the early hours of the morning. (smile) But all thanks to our great and wonderful God, we’re finally here and motoring on. Please give Him some thanks and praise for that.
And today we’ll continue with Bruh David’s story, how his life changed for the worse because of that lustful desire he couldn’t control; sleeping with Bathsheba, and the sordid manner and great lengths he went to, to have her for his own.
However Friends, one of the most important things to notice in that story is that when confronted by his sin, Bruh David admitted it. ‘And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.’ (2 Sam.12:13)
Yuh see God’s reaction to Bruh David’s admission; life… not death, as he deserved. But he wasn’t going to get away easily. For Nathan continued: ‘Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.’ (2 Sam.12:14)
So mih breddren, though Bruh David was allowed to live and continue to reign as king, he didn’t get away scot free from punishment for his ungodly behaviour. In fact he ended up paying a tremendous price. Now here are the scholars’ take on those verses.
’12:13. David genuinely grieved and repented (cf. Ps.32:5; 51:3-14) However, the seed of sin was immediately to bear bitter fruit, for the child born of the adultery became grievously ill and died (vv.15-18).
12:14. David’s sin had brought the name of God into disrepute. Such knowledge ought to serve as a deterrent to willful sin on the part of believers (cf. 1 Tim.5:14; 6:1).’
Please read those references Friends, for they are quite informative. And we all know how Bruh David fasted and prayed and cast himself upon the earth during the child’s sickness, and refused to be comforted. His people were even afraid to tell him when the child died, figuring that he would become even more depressed and distraught.
But Bruh David sees them whispering and figures out that the child has died, and when they confirm it: ‘Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required (requested), they set bread before him, and he did eat.’ (2 Sam.12:20)
Ah Friends, in all of that sorrow, Bruh David still remembered His God, and the first thing he did after cleaning up himself was to go to His house and worship Him. In our times of sorrow we ought also to remember our God.
And please note too his logic when asked by his staff about his strange behaviour; sort of mourning when the child was alive and coming out of mourning when he died.
‘And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether God, will be gracious to me, that the child may live? But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.’ (2 Sam.12:22-23)
The long and short of the story though my people, is that SIN DOES NOT PAY!
And though we will always receive forgiveness for our repentance, the Lord will usually require, or requite some punishment for our transgressions. And usually the sooner we own up to the wrongdoing, the better. The worse thing we can ever do is deny our transgressions.
That’s the beauty of Bruh David’s walk with God; though he sinned abominably, he came clean when confronted with it, and the Lord was merciful and magnanimous enough to not take away everything from him. In fact He even gave him another child from Bathsheba, Cousin Sol (Solomon), the richest and wisest king ever to sit on Israel’s throne, and in the end Bruh David was a kinsman, forefather of God’s only Son, Jesus.
And we’ll end with some passages from one of Bruh David’s greatest psalms, Psalm 51; A prayer for cleansing, something he wrote after His tragic liaison with Bathsheba.
‘Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy LOVING-kindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified (be found just) when thou speakest, and be clear (blameless) when thou judgest…. O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.
For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.’ (Ps.51:1-4, 15-17)
Oh Friends, that’s possibly another reason why the Lord LOVED Bruh David so much and kept blessing him. He never shied away or tried to hide his hurt, his pain, his sin and whatever emotions he was feeling at a particular time. He always cried out to the God of his fathers whether in a good or bad situation with thanks and pleas for help.
And that’s how the Lord wants it with us too, my people. We need to cry out to Him with praise, thanks and pleas for help under any and all circumstances, good, bad and/or indifferent, for the Lord wants to play an integral part in all aspects of our lives.
So let’s remember that, and don’t try to hide or run from Him, but come to Him with confidence with whatever is troubling us, for He has promised to cleanse and forgive us once we confess our wrongdoing. And He is ever-faithful to keep His promises.
But please remember too that there’s usually a price to pay for wrongdoing, for though our God is a great, merciful and forgiving Deity, He is also a God of truth and justice, and disobedience must be paid for if He is to retain His righteousness, as Bruh David notes in the psalm above, (vs.4).
That brings us to the end of this promise Friends. ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’
Let’s hope we learned from it, especially from the practical application of it in Bruh David’s life, and will make the necessary adjustments to our own lives, so that we don’t fall into the same sinful traps and snares of Beelzebub.
For that will only further complicate our lives, bring God’s Word into disrepute and cause Him to admonish us. And if there’s one thing we can certainly do without is His admonishment. Much LOVE!
…to obey is better than sacrifice…and to hearken (listen)…than the fat of rams… (1 Sam.15:22b)
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