01 May 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Afghanistan, all things are possible with God, America, Beelzebub, blessings, bounden duty, bring the heathen to their knees, can't make the grade, compassion, creative advertising, decline in standards, desensitized, destruction, disobedient, done worse than our fathers, egotistical, empathy, equal rights, evil, evil and ungodly world, evil cohorts, eye candy, fathers have forsaken God, forsaken, giant of the land, God's chosen people, God's Word, gospel truth, grace, greed, guardianship of God's people, heathen, immortal and everlasting truth, iniquity, Iraq, Israel, Jeremiah, justice, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, Lucifer, lusts of the flesh, materialism, mercy, mere shadow of themselves, mighty war machine, money loving, natural disasters, no one to blame but ourselves, omnipotent, omnipresent God, omniscient, one truth fron the Bible is worth more than all the wisdom of man, priority in our lives, proud, read your Bible, read your guidebook, real realities of life, reconciled to God, right this evil world, righteousness., sin, sinful, societies fall apart when they abandon God's Word, standards, stimulating our fleshly senses, success, the BIBLE, the Bible is God's word to us, the Bible is our everyday guide to life, the created can't become wiser than the creator, the Good Book, the Lord our god, the most sinful land, the world owes them a living, top of the heap, tornadoes, trials and tribulations, truth, U.S. of A., undeniable truth, ungodly, Vietnam, virtual reality, walked after other gods, we walk after the stubbornness of our evil hearts, we'll find God's wisdom on the Bible's pages, wisdom of a fool
Jeremiah 16:12. And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination (stubbornness) of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me.
Oh Friends, on this rainy Thursday morning, the first day of May 2014, I’ve been guided to remind us of two very important matters of immortal and everlasting truth! I’ve shared them before, but they belong to that group of sayings which need to be repeated every so often for us to get them fully centred in our consciousness.
The first statement of undeniable truth is this: ‘The Bible is God’s Word to us – still fresh through all the ages. And if we read it, we will find God’s wisdom on its pages!’ And the second statement follows from the first: ‘One truth from the Bible is worth more than all the wisdom of man!’
And there we have it my people! The Good Book is our everyday guide to life on this planet earth, but unfortunately, too many of us are too lazy to read it, or simply refuse to read it, for whatever reason, then we wonder why our individual lives and those of the majority of the world are in such a sad, disgraceful and disgusting mess.
Friends, the answer is simple; read your guidebook!
When we’re going on vacations and stuff, we’re always quick to read the brochures though, for they are done up in lots of colour and attractive styles giving us eye candy, stimulating our fleshly senses. However, the Bible, because it ‘s old and not as dazzling to the eyes and our fleshly senses, we find it difficult, even reprehensible to read!
Ah mih brethren, that is the most foolish thought we could ever have! It’s the wisdom of a fool! But sadly, it is the wisdom that predominates our evil and ungodly today!
How sad eh. And it’s not like there isn’t a long history of societies falling apart when they abandon God’s Word. There is! But man has become so proud and egotistical because of our supposed inventions and technologies, that we now consider ourselves wiser and more know it all than the omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God who created us.
Steups! How foolish and ignorant that is my brethren! The created cannot become wiser and more powerful than the Creator! That’s more of Beelzebub’s creative advertising to which we’re falling, or rather, to which we have fallen victims.
Note the serious and numerous amounts of natural disasters that are taking place all around the world today. Check out the recent killer tornadoes that have just passed through the most sinful land in the world; the U.S. of A!
And I know some of you will take umbrage at that remark, but it is the gospel truth! If you truly check out the evil stuff that’s going on in America today, it will blow your mind away!
Remember, once upon America was the giant of the land! They were the Lord’s chosen people in the New World. Everything they touched turned to gold! Now they are a mere shadow of their former selves.
Oh yes, they still have their mighty war machine, but when last have they won a war eh? Not since the Second World War. Think of Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. Despite all their firepower they can’t bring the supposed heathen to their knees. Why? Because they have become too sinful and ungodly.
Now listen to the Word of our God, just before our Bit, in the time of Jeremiah when His Chosen People, Israel were being disobedient to His Law.
‘And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt show this people all these words, (the disaster He planned to bring upon them and their land; vs.5-9) and they shalt say unto thee, Wherefore hath the Lord pronounced all this great evil (disaster) against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?
Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the Lord, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law.
And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination (stubbornness) of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me.’ (Jer.16:10-12)
And Friends, I’m ashamed to say that that’s the gospel, gospel, gospel truth! Our Fathers had their faults, but at least they paid plenty more attention to God’s Word than our generations has done… And may the Lord have mercy, but this generation we’re currently raising, they are even worse than us.
And we have no one to blame but ourselves, because we have raised them without the proper attention to God’s Word. We have not instilled the importance of the Good Book and its place of priority in their lives. Instead we have allowed Lucifer and His evil cohorts to indoctrinate them into the lusts of the flesh and the materialism of the world.
No wonder they don’t have a clue about the real realities of life, but constantly dwell in the unreal realm of virtual reality. The purveyors of greed, materialism and money LOVING have desensitized them to godly things like grace, mercy, truth, equal rights, justice, compassion, empathy, righteousness, wisdom, and all the other things we once held as priorities.
But they do know about blessings though, and expect to be blessed abundantly! They believe that the world owes them a living, and they don’t have to work or suffer any trials and tribulations to get to the top of the heap.
And sadly too Friends, along the way all our standards have fallen, fallen so low that now it’s much easier to make the grade. But even sadder my people, is that many aren’t able, can’t even make this low grade. It doesn’t say very much for our guardianship of God’s people and His other creations.
But the good news my brethren is that it’s not too late for us to turn this ship around! It’s not going to be easy, but as we all know, with God’s help, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE! That means we’ve got to get the Lord deeply involved in our situations if we want to have any success.
And what’s the most important word in the whole process? LOVE!
Yes my fellow believers, it’s LOVE that caused us to be created, it’s LOVE that caused us to be reconciled to God, and it’s LOVE that will help us right this evil world!
We all know what we have to do. So please, let’s get serious about our bounden duty nuh, let’s get the LOVE REVOLUTION truly ramped up and rolling, for we don’t have much time before Jesus returns, and once He comes again, it will be too late. Let’s get going in Jesus’ Name! Much LOVE!
…unless Western Society turns back to the God of their forefathers…they will suffer the same fate…as all the other heathen and disobedient societies…DESTRUCTION…
27 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Abram, adversity, all things are possible, almighty god, as your heavenly Father is perfect, assurance, be perfect, blameless, child of God, complete, El Shaddai, Epaphras, exhortations, expectant faith, faith, faith and humility, fully assured in God's will, furthering God's kingdom, God uses trouble to mature us, God's glorification, God-like characteristics, godly love, goodness, heavenly presence of God, holy spirit, hungry hope, hypocrites, labouring fervently, lacking nothing, let patience have her perfect work, lukewarm faith, mercy, mirror image of Jesus, morally perfect state, negative assessment, new creation in Christ, perfect in Christ Jesus, Pharisees, progressive maturity, satiate, satisfy, scribes, servant of Christ, sinless, stand perfect and complete, strong, talk our talk, the will of God, triune God-head, true reflection of God, trusting in God's goodness and mercy, vibrant, walk our talk, warning
Matthew 5:48. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’
Oh Friends, today is one of those days when I don’t have a clue as to how to get the Bit going. (smile) But nonetheless, trusting in our wonderful God’s goodness and mercy, I am putting pen to paper, believing, having hungry hope and expectant faith that He will lead and guide me by His Holy Spirit to write something worthwhile. Something that will eventually lead to His glorification and the furtherance of His everlasting kingdom.
And if, perchance, He chooses not to run around today in a preamble, (smile) then we’ll just get straight into our Bit, because there are several scriptures which corroborate it, that need to be shared.
Anyway, I just want to say here that I dearly LOVE those two phrases I used above; hungry hope and expectant faith. I don’t remember where I first read them, but they certainly resonated, made a huge impact on me. The imagery seems so perfect – a hope that’s hungry, and a faith that’s expectant. They just seem to be made for each other!
And from here on in, that’s exactly how I want us to feel and behave. Let’s try to have a sense of hope that’s so strong and vibrant, reflecting the way we feel when we are dying from hunger and want food in the worst way, to satisfy and satiate our growling stomachs.
Likewise, with faith, let’s endeavour to have real great expectations of whatsoever we’re believing in and for, because passive, wishy-washy, lukewarm faith just doesn’t cut it. Moreover, if we truly want to attain to the level of our Bit, we desperately need a hope that’s truly hungry and a faith that’s really expectant, for how else can we become perfect like our heavenly Father eh?
‘Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’
And remember, yesterday the scholars explained being perfect doesn’t mean ‘sinless,’ but rather ‘complete,’ having a passionate, godly LOVE, burning within us for both those who LOVE us and those who don’t. In other words, my people, a true reflection of our Creator.
And in fact Friends, from the earliest days, our God has been trying to get us to be perfect and complete. Listen to the words He spoke to Abram. ‘And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God (El Shaddai), walk before me, and be thou perfect (blameless).’ (Gen.17:1)
Then back in the New Testament, we have Bruh Paul, re his service for Christ, writing thus to the Colossians: ‘(Christ) Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.’ (Col.1:28-29)
Then in his closing exhortations in Chapter 4, he writes: ‘Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth (greets) you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete (filled) in all the will of God.’ (Col.4:12)
And the scholars explain that verse thus: ‘4:12. That ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God means that “you may appear perfect and fully assured in all His will.” Like 1:23, 29, this refers to the Colossians being ushered into God’s heavenly presence in a morally perfect state. When this someday occurs, their experience of progressive maturity and assurance will have preceded it.’
Meanwhile, James, in talking of faith and humility encourages us: ‘But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire (complete), wanting (lacking) nothing.’ (James 1:4)
And per the scholars: ‘1:4. The natural response to adversity is to escape it. But God uses trouble to mature His people.’
Ah mih people, to be a true child of God, a new creation in Jesus Christ, we definitely do need to improve our God-like characteristics. Otherwise we’ll end up being big hypocrites, just like the scribes and Pharisees in Jesus’ time – looking good on the outside, but terrible on the inside.
So please, let’s talk our talk, and then walk that talk big time, so that that negative assessment Jesus made of the Pharisees and them, will never be made against us.
If we want to walk in Jesus’ footsteps, we have to work at being like Him and our heavenly Father – perfect and complete in every way. It’s not easy to do in this godless and wicked world, but with the help of our triune God-head, remember that ALL THINGS ARE INDEED POSSIBLE!
That’s the wisdom of the ages! Much LOVE!
…as believers…in all our words and deeds…the world ought to see reflected in us…a mirror image of Jesus…so that they can come to know Him too…
24 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Spiritual Living
Tags: abominable transgressions, abounding in the work of god, appreciation, Beelzebub, believers in Jesus Christ, blessings, bounden duty, Calvary's cross, Christ defeated death and the grave, Christ triumphantly rose from the dead, cold spring wind, confident in the glory and victory of Jesus, damnation, death, death is swallowed up in victory, Easter Season, eternal death, eternal life, ever-faithul, ever-Loving, everlasting victory, faithful, first Easter Sunday, forgiveness, furthering God's glorious kingdom, futile, give thanks and praise, give you much thanks and praise, glorifying God's name, glory hallelujah, grace, grateful, Hades, heavenly Father, holy character of Jesus, holy spirit, Jesus Christ, joy, lord jesus christ, LOVE, loving, Lucifer, magnify Your Holy Name, mercy, o death where is thy sting, o grave where is thy victory, oodles of optimism, optimism, our labour is not in vain, pardon sin, praise, prince of darkness, reconciliation, repay, right standing, righteous God, sacrifice, saviour jesus, set us free, sincerely worship and adore you, sinful undeserving children, sinless soul, sins, Son Jesus, song of praise, spring has sprung, stark naked, steadfast, thankful Lord and Saviour, thanks, Thanks be to God, the birds are singing praises to God, the blood of Jesus, the gift of God is eternal life, the Good Book, the LOVE of God, the price of sin, the shedding of blood, the sinless One, the sting of death is sin, the strength of sin is the law, the wages of sin is death, trials and tribulations, unconditional LOVE, unmovable, victory, wallowing in the misery of our sins, we truly Love you, wonderful news of Easter
1 Corinthians 15:57. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Oh Friends, it seems like spring has finally decided to stay sprung! Glory Hallelujah!
And I say that because there’s finally some green colour appearing in the previously dead looking brown grass, the temps are staying fairly standard between 7 and 12 degrees Celsius, and when I got up just now I heard some birds singing their early morning praises to their Maker!
How wonderful eh! It’s so refreshing and revitalizing to hear the birds singing praises, because they are ever so faithful in it. Sometimes I think the Lord should have made us like the birds, without a mind of our own, for then we would have been much more faithful than we currently are.
Unfortunately though, the trees don’t seem to be buying into this optimism that spring is finally getting serious about coming, for there is not one single green bud on any of them. They all still dancing stark naked in the oftimes brisk and cold spring wind.
We believer in Jesus Christ however, are filled with oodles of optimism, through, and for the LOVE of God! We are so filled with it that it’s overflowing, and consequently filling others with the wonderful news of this Easter Season, where Christ so triumphantly rose from the dead – Mama Mia! – and in the process defeated the twin evils of death and the grave, and therefore the ruler of Hades, Lucifer.
Oh Friends, this Easter Thursday morning, let’s put a big smile on our faces, and release the immense joy that’s in our hearts and souls with a song of praise to our Maker nuh!
Like the birds, let’s show Him our great appreciation for designing, putting into action and successfully carrying out His incredible plan of reconciliation, which so LOVINGLY brought us back into right standing with Him.
Please pray with me now: ‘Dear heavenly Father, You are so wonderful to Your sinful, undeserving children! We continually make You sad and mad at our misdoings, but You just keep on LOVING us! You keep on granting us Your awesome forgiveness, mercy and grace, blessing us with stuff we definitely don’t deserve.
Oh Father, this morning we’re here to tell You that we truly LOVE You! We sincerely worship and adore You! We do magnify Your Holy Name and give You much thanks and praise!
Oh gracious Father in heaven, we are especially grateful and thankful for Your most wonderful Son Jesus, who became our Lord and Saviour on that first Easter Sunday two millennia ago, by sacrificing His holy life to pay for our abominable transgressions.
Oh Father, we are truly sorry that You had to put such trials and tribulations on Jesus for our sakes, but we know that You are a just and righteous God and cannot just pardon sin; a price, including death and the shedding of blood must be paid for it.
And You LOVED us so much, considered us so worthy, that You gave Your Only son, Jesus Christ, the ONLY sinless soul beside Yourself, to pay for our sins!
Oh heavenly Father, You know that we can NEVER repay You for that awesome, unconditional LOVE, but we will try our best to live lives down here on earth that will magnify You. Lives that will continue to grow in the holy character of our Saviour Jesus, thus glorifying Your great Name and furthering Your glorious kingdom. We pray this on the blood of Jesus that was shed for us on Calvary’s cross. Amen!’
Oh mih people, mih people! What the Holy Spirit can do in your soul eh! I have to chuckle here, because I never intended to even have a prayer, much less such a long one. But as usual, the Holy Spirit guided me there. In any case, it is right, and also our bounden duty to pray and give thanks and praise to our heavenly Father, especially at this Easter season, when He so faithfully caused us to be reconciled to Him!
And believe me Friends, that is no small undertaking or unimportant event! In fact it’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened to mankind! If our wonderful, ever-faithful and ever-LOVING Creator didn’t care so much for us, we’d still be wallowing in the misery of our dreadful sins, headed for eternal death and damnation in the foul and vile company of the prince of darkness, Beelzebub.
For remember, as the Good Book so pointedly states: ‘For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through (in) Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (Rom.6:23)
But then Bruh Paul further clarifies the situation to the Corinthians, and consequently us: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave (Hades), where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (1 Cor. 15:54b-57)
Yes my fellow believers, don’t ever forget those memorable, momentous and most important words of our Bit! Let’s plant them deep, deep, deep in the inner recesses of our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, because that is indeed why we are able to laugh, sing and shout ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ this Thursday morning two thousand years after Jesus gave us that everlasting victory!
Wow! What a mighty God we serve and worship my brethren!
So as we prayed above, and Bruh Paul so timely reminds us: ‘Therefore my BELOVED brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain (futile) in the Lord.’ (1 Cor.15:58)
Absolutely not my fellow believers! So please, let’s stand steadfast and strong this morning, and all the remaining days of our lives, confident in the glory and victory of Jesus Christ! Much LOVE!
…oh how could we not LOVE Jesus…the sinless One…who made our sins His own…and LOVINGLY set us free…to some day dwell with Him in heaven…and always faithful be…
22 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a man of understanding, a wise man will hear, act in an appropriate manner, action, adore, Amen, an ornament of grace, awesome God, beauty of the universe, beginning of knowledge, benefits, better late than never, black up, blood of jesus, boggles my imagination, book of proverbs, Buccoo, Buccoo reef, christianity, controlling principle of wisdom, Cousin Sol, crown of glory, Easter celebration, Easter Season, Easter Tuesday, eternal life, everlasting truth, exalt wisdom, favour, fear, fellowship, foolish disobedience, fools despise wisdom, forgiveness, foundation of our faith, friends and neighbours, get understanding, get wisdom, Goat races, God's might and power, good communication with God, gospel truth, grace, healthy fear, heavenly wisdom, inebriated, instruction, it's all good, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, joy, joy in our hearts, lack of wisdom, LOVE, loving kindness, magnify, majesty, mercy, most important aspect of Christianity, Nylon Pool, partying, peace, put it inot practice, reject Jesus Christ, resurrection, reverence, reverential awe, salvation, saved-through the blood of Jesus, serve, sins, straight and narrow path, submission to god, the fear of God, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the Good Book, the living God, the most meaningful things in this life, Tobago, transgressions, truth, understanding, understanding is better than silver, undeserving favour, venerate, walk with a spring in our steps, wisdom, wisdom is better than gold, wisdom is the principal thing, wise counsels, worship
Proverbs 16:16. How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!
Oh Friends and neighbours, it’s Easter Tuesday, time to get ready for the races!
What races, you say? Steups! How yuh mean what races eh? The goat and crab races down Buccoo in Tobago of course! Down by the famous Buccoo Reef and Nylon Pool!
That’s a celebration that’s been going on for as long as I can remember. Can’t remember much of the last one I went to long ago though, for I was so inebriated, so black up with fire-water it wasn’t funny. Hn, hn! All I can vaguely remember is a friend’s sister and I partying down the place in one of the many house parties they use to have back then. Ah Lord eh!
But the celebration seems to have grown so much now, that when I was in Tobago earlier this year, I discovered that they had built a stadium just for those races. Only in T&T you say! (smile)
Anyway my people, it’s oh so necessary that we keep the peace, LOVE, joy and fellowship of this Easter Season going on for as long as possible – at least till Jesus returns – for as we’ve been saying, it’s the most important aspect of Christianity – the foundation on which our faith is built!
It is where we derive all our benefits from – benefits like resurrection, salvation and eternal life. It is only the spilled blood of Jesus, which paid for our abominable transgressions that made it all possible. So please let’s remember that, keep it at the forefront of our minds, and consequently walk with a spring in our steps, and a joy in our hearts that declares: ‘Saved – through the blood of Jesus Christ!’
And that’s why our Bit is so important in the overall scheme of things my brethren. It points out to us the most meaningful things in this life – wisdom and understanding! ‘How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!’
And that’s an everlasting truth my fellow believers, because those are the things which keep us wisely, sincerely and securely joined to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Creator and Controller of this great universe and all therein! Now just think how foolish it would be if we didn’t have good communication with our great God and Maker eh!
That’s why Cousin Sol informs us right at the very beginning of Proverbs: ‘A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto (acquire) wise counsels.’ (Prov.1:5)
And as the scholars so rightly explain: ‘1:5. The wise as well as the untaught can learn from this book.’
And that’s gospel truth Friends! Whatever the state of your learning, your academic standing, you can always learn even more from the Book of Proverbs and the Good Book as a whole!
Then a few lines later, Cousin Sol solemnly warns us: ‘The fear (reverential awe) of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.’ (Prov.1:7)
And how very true that is my brethren! The fools of this world utterly despise wisdom and instruction! That’s why they reject Jesus Christ and Jehovah God and will eventually perish for their lack of wisdom and foolish disobedience.
And the scholars explain that verse thus: ‘1:7. The fear of the Lord means submission to the Lord and His revelation. When one is afraid of something, he either runs from it or submits to it. The latter idea is in view here. It is a healthy fear, like the fear of electricity or the fear of one’s parents, which causes one to act in an appropriate manner.
The beginning does not mean that “the fear of the Lord” is left behind in the course of acquiring wisdom, but that it is the controlling principle of wisdom.’
Yes Friends, we’ll certainly be wise to look upon the greatness, the majesty of Jehovah God with reverential awe, for He is ever so much mightier and wiser than us, but His LOVE and magnanimity towards His faithful children know no bounds!
Wow! What an awesome God we serve and worship my people! It always boggles my imagination when I sit and contemplate His might and power, His mercy, grace, forgiveness, LOVING-kindness and the beauty of this universe He created!
Therefore, how can I not LOVE, adore and magnify Him eh? It’s just impossible my brethren, especially after having experienced so much of His undeserving favour throughout my earthly life.
And we’ll conclude today’s message with these wonderful, wise and uplifting verses from Proverbs Chapter 4. Cousin Sol declares in living colour, the importance of wisdom and understanding.
‘Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to (place on) thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.’ (Prov.4:7-9)
Oh my fellow believers, all I can say to that is a loud, positive and glorious ‘AMEN!’
Now let’s go out and put it all into practice and action today my brethren, because that is what will keep us on the straight and narrow path, in close communication with Almighty God! And doing that, is certainly heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!
…oh how good and pleasant it is…to learn about the living God…then reverence and venerate Him with all our life-blood…
P.S. Please excuse the tardiness of the Bit. I guess I celebrated too much last night, thus got up late this morning. Then there were a couple of things I had to do, which took up more time than I bargained for. But as a friend of mine likes to say: ‘It’s all good!’ And it’s also better late than never. Brother, it really short today too! (smile) Much LOVE!
10 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Acts of the Apostles, answered prayer, Archimedes, awesome God, calamitous winter, christianity, commitment to prayer, communal, confession, confusing times, covenant, Daniel, divine judgement, Elementary my dear Watson, Eureka, evening sacrifices, faithful and loving God, faithful life, fool's wisdom, friends, glorify God, glory hallelujah, God has heard my supplications, God has heard my voice, great man of faith, Greek imperfect tense, heavenly wisdom, Holy Ghost, honest report, hot day, hour of prayer, humble, humility, I Love the Lord, I will call upon god as long as I live, John, joy, judgement, justice, life, LOVE, loving kindness, meek, meekness, mercy, ministry of the word, new mercies, ninth hour, offering of incense, outdoor activities, personally experienced, Peter, praise and glory to God, pray, prayer, prayer is the best form of communication with god, praying, rightousness, seek the Lord, Sherlock Holmes, sincere heartfelt prayers, spreading the gospel, testimony, the gospel, the Lord's anger, the voice, those that keep god's commandments, those that Love God, troubled times, whopping hot, wisdom, Zephaniah
Psalm 66:19. But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
All praise and glory to our wonderful God this Thursday morning my people! And that’s not just for life and new mercies, but also for what promises to be a whopping hot day, with temps in the mid teens! Glory Hallelujah!
Oh, I know to you folks down south that’s cold, but to us Northerners, that’s almost like a summer’s day, especially after the crazy and calamitous winter we’ve had. And I’m sure that there’ll be lot’s of folks out and about half-naked, running, walking, bicycling, playing games, and trying to do all the things we do come the summer time.
Good for them yes! But I doubt that I’ll be joining in any outdoor activities just yet, for I’m still trying to get rid of this nagging cough and cold. Let’s just hope that the temperature stays high from now on. And no doubt a whole lot of people are praying for that. Why?
Because as we’ve been saying for the last few days, prayer is the best form of communication with our Maker! And if we sincerely believe that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob created us, then it is only logical to pray to Him for whatever we desire. As Sherlock Holmes would undoubtedly tell his sidekick: ‘Elementary my dear Watson!’
And also, as we’ve seen from our Bit, our faithful and LOVING God does answer prayer. ‘But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.’
Oh Friends, I don’t see how we can doubt the awesome power of prayer nuh, especially if you claim to be a true believer in Jesus Christ! Therefore, today we will continue to show scriptures that deal with the mighty workings of prayer.
Hopefully something there will cause something in us to go off like the ‘Eureka’ effect that the Greek scientist Archimedes experienced when taking a bath, discovering that the level of the water rose when he got into it. That helped him to solve a scientific problem he was then working on.
First off, listen to the psalmist as he opens Psalm 116; praise for deliverance from death. ‘I LOVE the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me (hath listened to me), therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.’ (Ps.116:1-2)
Oh what a beautiful testimony my brethren! That’s how ALL God’s people should be declaring their never-ending commitment to prayer!
Now hear how that great man of faith, Daniel, began his prayer for his people. ‘And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful (awesome) God, keeping the covenant and mercy (LOVING-kindness) to them that LOVE Him, and to them that keep his commandments.’ (Dan.9:3-4)
Oh Friends, we all know the wonders the Lord worked in Daniel’s long and faithful life – and it was all done through sincere and heartfelt prayer! Now there’s no reason why the Lord cannot work wonders in our lives too, wonders that glorify Him, if we also turn to Him in serious prayer.
And the prophet Zephaniah, in talking about the scope of divine judgement, declared to Israel, and consequently to ALL OF US: ‘Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgement (upheld his justice); seek righteousness, seek meekness (humility): it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger.’ (Zeph.2:3)
And how do we seek the Lord? First and foremost through PRAYER, my brethren!
And we’ll end with a couple of instances of prayer being ultra important from the Acts of the Apostles. Chapter 3 of Acts begins thus: ‘Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.’ (Acts 3:1)
Now if two of the most important apostles could be involved in regular prayer, why shouldn’t we be too eh?
And the scholars explain that verse thus: ‘3:1. According to Jewish reckoning, the day began at 6.a.m. Hence, the ninth hour is 3 p.m.. The Jewish prayer time was held in conjunction with the evening sacrifices and offering of incense (cf. Luke 1:8; Rev.8:3-4). Peter and John commonly went to the temple to pray at this hour. The Greek imperfect tense could well be translated “used to go up.’
That makes it a habit Friends! One that we all should adopt!
And finally, from Acts 6, where the number of believers and disciples had multiplied and Christianity had become so communal, it created a problem for the disciples to serve everybody’s needs and still continue with their own duties of prayer and spreading the gospel.
‘Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason (desirable) that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore brethren, look ye out (seek from) among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word,’ (Acts 6:2-4)
Oh Friends, yuh see that prayer and spreading the Word were so important that the original 12 disciples desired to devote their time to do just that. So how can we, especially in these very troubled and confusing times, not turn to prayer and the Word in like manner eh? It’s a fool’s wisdom, if we don’t my brethren!
So please, let’s get right on the prayer scene and into the Word nuh, and thus show our heavenly wisdom. Much LOVE!
…there’s a joy that comes from praying…and then having those prayers answered…a joy which words cannot fully explain… but must be personally experienced to understand it…
09 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: as we forgive our debtors, ask, asking for help, believer in Jesus Christ, blessings, bounden duty, communicating with God, communion, crying out to God in prayer, daily bread, deliver us from evil, despising shame, do unto others as you want them to do to you, don't give in to negative circumstances, endured the cross, factual data, faithful, forgive our debts, forgiveness, fundamental importance of prayer, God has heard my prayer, God has promised, God in the flesh, God's people, greetings, hallowed be thy name, heartfelt prayer, hold on to the Lord's faithful promises, in faith, in trust, it's good to be alive, Jesus, Jesus went out into a mountain to pray, joy, knock, lay aside every weight, lead us not into temptation, LOVE, loving kindness, magnanimous god, mercy, new mercies, Our Father which art in heaven, patience, perfecter of our faith, perseverance, prayer, prayer to god, promises, right hand of God, run with patience, salutations, seek, something joyful to look forward to, son of god, stand strong and steadfast, surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, teach us to pray, the author, the Father's help, the golden rule, the number one means of communicating with God, the power and the glory, the sin which ensnares us, thine is the kingdom, thy will be done, to work all things out for our good, trials and tribulation, trumped up situation, we shun it to our detriment
Psalm 66:1. But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
Oh Friends, blessings and greetings and salutations this Wednesday morning! It’s certainly good to be alive, although all might not be right with us.
And remember that new mercies and LOVING-kindness from our magnanimous God will be filtering down to us all day, so that’s something joyful to look forward to.
Therefore, let us not give in to any negative circumstances that are coming against us. Instead, let us stand strong and steadfast in faith and trust, for we know not what the end of the day will bring, for the Lord has promised to work all things out for the benefit of His people.
So if you consider yourself to be one of God’s people, then it’s your bounden duty to hold on to the Lord’s faithful promises. And if that is proving difficult to do, then there is always the option of crying out to Him in prayer, asking for help to handle the situation until He is ready to deal with it.
Remember, prayer is the NUMBER ONE means of communicating with our heavenly Father, and we shun it to our own detriment. And that’s not a trumped up situation, but one established by thousands of years of factual data.
That’s why the author of Hebrews could say with much conviction: ‘Wherefore seeing (since) we are compassed about with (surrounded by) so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset (ensnare) us, and let us run with patience (perseverance) the race that is set before us.
Looking unto Jesus the author (originator) and finisher (perfecter) of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.’ (Heb.12:1-2)
Oh my people, do you think the ‘cloud of witnesses’ went through all of their trials and tribulations for nothing? Or that the Father sent Jesus to die for us with no great plan envisioned?
Obviously not! The Lord made us in the first place so that he could have communion with us, which came about through prayer and answer. And even though we fell and became sinful, it was still the Lord’s intention to have meaningful communion with us.
Therefore He sent Jesus to pay the price needed for us to come before Him…again in prayer. Communicating with God has always been, and will always be first and foremost through prayer my people!
That’s why the psalmist could say in our Bit with such utter conviction, even before Jesus came to earth to save us: ‘But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.’
That Friends, is also why I’m trying to drive home to us the fundamental importance of prayer in believers lives! For it surely is surprising the number of supposed believers who don’t engage in serious prayer. But how can you call yourself a sincere believer in Jesus Christ and don’t indulge in serious and sincere communication with Him eh?
For how do you think Jesus managed to bear His trials and tribulations on earth? By prayer! Although he was God in the flesh, He still needed the Father’s help to bear the painful tasks set out for Him.
Hear the Good Book on the subject: ‘And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.’ (Luke 6:12)
Oh my brethren, if the Son of God needed prayer down here on earth to help Him, why do we mere mortals think that we don’t eh, and don’t seriously consider it?
And the importance of prayer is further highlighted my people by this episode: ‘And it came to pass, that as he (Jesus) was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.’ (Luke 11:1)
Yuh see Friends, knowing the importance of prayer in their lives, John must have thought his disciples to pray. And according to the scholars: ’11:1. Religious communities of the time customarily had their own distinctive prayers. Perhaps the disciples wanted theirs.’
But whatever the reason, Jesus granted their request, giving them this prayer as an example. ‘After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.’ (Matt.6:9-15)
Ah mih breddren, yuh see how important Jesus considered forgiveness that after the basic prayer, He went on to talk about it?
That should tell us all something, basically we ought to obey the golden rule: do unto others as you would that they do unto you, for as you do to others God will do to you. And that’s all I have to say for today. (smile)
Now may the Lord bless us and keep us safely under the protection of His powerful presence, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Much LOVE!
…the best way to ask, seek and knock…is through heartfelt prayer…
08 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abide by God's rules, adversaries, afraid, almighty god, anger, ashamed, awesome God, awesome truth, blessed be God, blessing from heaven, bold, Bruh David, close contact with God, complaint, deceitful lips, destiny, disasters, dry and parched land, early rains, enemy, evil, evil for good, examined, faith, fear, floods, found nothing evil, fundamental importance of prayer, give myself unto prayer, God answers prayers, God controls our destiny, God has heard my prayer, God of his fathers, God's good graces, God's help, God's never late, God's own way and time, God's timing is always right, good, harassment, hatred, hatred for Love, hear my cry, heartfelt prayers, hope and pray, humble manner, in Jesus' name, jehovah god, lay bare his soul, LOVE, loving kindness, meditation, men of great faith, mercy, mountains of snow, nemesis, plentiful harvest, Praise the Lord, prayer, psalms, raindrops falling on the rooftop, rebellion, Saul, secret counsel of the wicked, sincere heartfelt prayers, sincere prayer, solid foundation, sub-par lives, tender age, tested, transgress, tried, truth, upright, vindication, voice of my weeping, weeping, well watered, wicked, without fear, workers of iniquity
Psalm 66:19. But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
Oh Friends, how good and pleasant it is to hear the refreshing sound of raindrops falling on the rooftop, as has been happening intermittently in my area for the last fifteen or so hours! At last the early rains! The blessings from heaven to saturate the dry and parched land, and cause the harvest to be plentiful.
There’s one problem though; right now our land is not dry and parched, as it has been well watered over the last couple of weeks through the gradually melting mountains of snow that have covered it for most of the winter. That means, although we appreciate the rain, we just don’t want too much, since it’s highly likely to cause flooding.
But all we can do on that front is to hope and pray that our wonderful God will look down on us there with mercy and LOVING-kindness, for we certainly couldn’t afford to have any more nerve-wracking disasters than we’ve already had in the past six months. Remember we had a massive flood just before winter began.
Oh my people, that is why it’s so important to stay in close contact with Almighty God, to remain in His good graces, for He controls our destiny. And the best way to do that is through sincere prayer.
That’s why the psalmist in our Bit, could say with profound conviction: ‘But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.’
And that is such awesome truth Friends! When we try to abide by His rules and regulations, which are not onerous at all, He does listen to and answer our prayers. Though we must realize and accept the fact that they will not necessarily be answered how or when we desire, but in God’s own way and time.
Remember too His timing is ALWAYS right, NEVER late, and ALWAYS in our best interest. That’s why prayer is such an overwhelmingly important aspect of the believer’s life!
And though we keep hammering that idea home, it’s surprising the large number of people, supposed believers included, who refuse to take it seriously. No wonder so many of us are living sub-par lives.
Anyway, today we’ll continue to highlight scriptures that show how men of great faith found prayer to be the solid foundation of their lives.
Yuh know what Friends, and I’m chuckling here, there are so many scriptures, that to make life easy on us all, I’ll just concentrate on Bruh David’s declarations of prayer, because he has so many heartfelt ones in the Psalms, and we know that the Lord heard and answered him.
We gave you a couple on the first day from Psalms 4 and 5, so we’ll now begin with Psalm 6; a prayer for mercy.
Listen to the man after God’s own heart. ‘Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord hath heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer. Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed (greatly troubled): let them return and be ashamed suddenly.’ (Ps.6:8-10)
Then in Psalm 17; a prayer for protection against oppressors, he pleads unto the God of his fathers: ‘Hear the right (a just cause), O Lord, attend unto my cry; give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned (deceitful) lips. Let my sentence (vindication) come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal (upright)
Thou hast proved (tested) mine heart; thou hast visited me (searched me out) in the night; thou hast tried (examined) me, and shalt find nothing (nothing evil): I am purposed that my mouth shalt not transgress.’ (Ps.17:1-3)
And again, in Psalm 28; a prayer for God’s help, Bruh David cries out unashamedly: ‘Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit. Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle (sanctuary).’ (Ps.28:1-2)
Then in Psalm 64; plot and punishment, there is more pleading: ‘Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer (meditation or complaint): preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection (tumult) of the workers of iniquity.’ (Ps.64:1-2)
And we’ll close with this one from Psalm 109; a prayer for the punishment of the wicked. ‘For my LOVE they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer. And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my LOVE.’ (Ps.109: 4-5)
And I particularly like that one, because I can personally relate to it, as no doubt many of you readers can.
Oh my brethren, from all of that it’s impossible not to see how devoted Bruh David was to prayer. He turned to Jehovah God in each and every situation. And even more importantly, he wasn’t afraid or ashamed to cry out, to lay bare his soul to the God of his fathers!
That’s because from a tender age he had seen the Lord’s hand moving in his life. And it was by no means an easy life, for though he was anointed to be king in his mid-teens, he faced many obstacles, much hate, anger and rebellion from within his own family, not to mention the harassment from his nemesis Saul.
But if it’s one thing Bruh David had and bravely showed, was what the old people called ‘stick-to-it-tiveness!’ That’s patience, perseverance and an unshakeable faith in Almighty God, despite all his troubling and dangerous circumstances. He NEVER gave up on God… and consequently, God NEVER left him in the lurch!
Oh my people, we couldn’t want a better example than Bruh David when it comes to prayer. So today I pray that we will all get this message; the fundamental importance of prayer in a believer’s life, and that we will all take it to heart and begin, or continue to call upon our awesome God, without fear, in bold, yet humble manner, through sincere and heartfelt prayers. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
And all God’s children gratefully declared: ‘Praise the Lord!’ Much, much LOVE, my fellow believers in Christ Jesus!
…blessed be God…which hath not turned away my prayer…nor his mercy from me… (Ps.66:20)
06 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new day, an abomination to the Lord, ask in prayer, awesome Creator, believer's life, believing, communicating with God, creative expression, definition of prayer, diligently follow, distress, don't be afraid to pray, don't ever doubt, don't hesitate to call on God, enriched lives, faithfully, fig tree, forgiveness, give ear to my words, God has heard me, God is ready willing and able, God's delight, God's promises, God-given wisdom, gospel truth, grateful children, groaning, Hartley Coolidge, have mercy upon me, hear my prayer, heartfelt thanks and praise, heartfelt words, heavenly truth, I will direct my prayer, I will look up, if you have faith, in Jesus' name, in the morning, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, joy, life's forces, Lord and Saviour, Lord God of heaven, LOVE, loving kindness, man of God, meditation, mercy, my god, my King, omni-present, omnipotent, omniscient, peace, personal satisfaction, plead, praise and bless, praise and thanks, pray, pray with hope, prayer, prayer of the upright, prayer of trust, recociliation, reconciled to God, righteousness., sacrifice, sacrifice of the wicked, simple, sincere prayers, sinful nature, sinless life, spiritual needs, straightforward, testimony to god's faithfulness, to pray is right, voice of my cry, voice of my prayer, words of truth, you shall receive
Psalm 66:19. But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
Oh Friends, it’s a new day! Wow! One filled with joy and LOVE, peace, mercy, forgiveness, grace and all the other wonderful things that our omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present God is famous for! So let’s give Him some warm, heartfelt thanks and praise this Sunday morning nuh, both here and in His sanctuary.
Please pray with me: ‘Lord God of heaven and earth, this Sunday morning Your grateful children praise and bless You for allowing us to see another fabulous day filled with Your LOVING-kindness!
We give you plenty, plenty thanks for it all… especially for Jesus Christ, our BELOVED Lord and Saviour, who sacrificed His sinless life so that we could be reconciled to You! Please accept this, our sacrifice of praise and thanks!
You know deep down that we LOVE You, it’s just that sometimes our sinful nature gets in the way. Please help us to overcome it, so that we can walk in perfect righteousness with You. This we pray, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.’
Yeh mih people, prayer is certainly a wonderful thing!
Consequently, let me remind us of this quote by Hartley Coolidge, which I think I’ve shared before, but is important enough for us to hear again, since most things don’t filter into our souls until we hear them over and over again.
And Hartley says: ‘Be not afraid to pray, to pray is right. Pray, if thou canst with hope, but even pray.’
And that my fellow believers we all know is heavenly truth, but unfortunately, too often we neglect to put it into action and thus prevent ourselves from communicating more fully with Almighty God.
Now here is a definition of prayer, taken from the One More Day Devotional. ‘Prayer is a creative expression of my spiritual needs. It offers me a deep sense of personal satisfaction and continually reminds me of all life’s forces.’
Now that’s how prayer should affect us, my brethren – fulfilling our spiritual needs and bringing us even closer to our awesome Creator!
And all of that build up finally brings us to our Bit: ‘But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.’
Ah mih people, prayer is so important in a believer’s life that every great man of God has enshrined it their lives!
So let’s look at some scripture from some of these godly men that highlight prayer. And with my known bias towards Bruh David (smile) we’ll begin with some of his heartfelt words.
In Psalm 4; an evening prayer of trust in God, he soulfully implores his Maker: ‘Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged (relieved) me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me (be gracious unto me), and hear my prayer.’ (Ps.4:1)
Then in Psalm 5; a prayer for protection, he sincerely pleads: ‘Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my meditation (groaning). Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.’ (Ps.5:1-3)
Oh Friends, you can’t get any clearer or plead more sincerely than that!
Meanwhile Cousin Sol in his God-given wisdom, solidly maintains: ‘The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.’ (Prov.15:3)
And that’s gospel truth my brethren! Our wonderful God takes great delight in hearing the prayers of His servants! Please never forget that! Whatever the problem, Jehovah God is always there ready, willing and able to respond to our sincere prayers and answer them.
That’s one of His many promises, and we know that He keeps them all faithfully. So don’t ever doubt, or hesitate to call on Him, because that’s what He is there for, and it’s also what He greatly desires of us.
And we’ll end, as we like to do, whenever possible, with the best advice from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. He spoke these faithful words after withering up the unfruitful fig tree.
‘And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain; Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.’ (Matt.21:20-22)
Awright mih breddren, awright! Words of truth from our Saviour Himself!
And as always, they are simple and straightforward, so there’s nothing left for me to say, but to plead with us to accept them and diligently follow them, so that our lives will be even more enriched with God’s LOVING-kindness! Much LOVE!
…believe…and ask IN PRAYER…and you shall receive…
P.S. Sorry for the Bit being late Friends, but I’ve been trying to stave off a cold for the last few days, but it stubbornly refused to be staved off (smile) It hit me like a ton of bricks yesterday and reduced my efficiency. But as you can see, though it might make the Bit late, it certainly won’t stop it! And that’s much more a testimony to our heavenly Father’s faithfulness than to my doggedness! Much LOVE!
03 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: after-shocks, almighty god, always and forever, an endless sea, anchor, angels, becalmed, buckle down to our tasks, can never recapture time, caught napping, charge over thee, Chile, Christ's Second Coming, Christian ethic, comfort, crapaud smoke we pipe, deliver, die by the sword, disasters, don't ne lazy, drifitng, earthquake, eternity, evil, fallacy, forever lost, forgiveness, freer use of guns, get serious, glorify the gun, God is a refuge and fortress, God is alive, gospel truth, guide and protect, habitation, healing, heartfelt prayers, heralding, honour, Jesus, just our imagination, killing machines, known my name, lift thee up, live by the sword, long life, loss of life, LOVE, make our way right, mend our fences with God, mercy, natural disaster, nebulous being, no evil shall befall thee, no solid foundation, on the outside looking in, plague, property damage, Psalm 91, pull up our socks, put our lives in God's hands, salvation, set on high, shall not stumble, shooting in fort Hood, spending eternity with Lucifer, spirit is willing, stop fretting, strike thy foot, stumble and fall, take the bull by the horns, the flesh is weak, the Lord's grace, the Most High, the trumpet sounds, Thursday, thy dwelling place, time, trample, tread upon the lion, trouble, tsunamis, unconcerned about mankind, universe, use time fruitfully, use time wisely, walk safely, war zones, waste our God-given time, what have I done for the week, worrying
Proverbs 3:23. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.
And then it was Thursday… ‘Thursday,’ I asked myself? How could it be Thursday already eh? It was just Monday a couple days ago…
And then I ask myself: ‘What have you done for the week?’ And myself truthfully replies: ‘Not a whole lot nuh.’
And that’s the gospel truth Friends, because I can see the load of stuff sitting next to me, either to be read or actioned in some way. And it’s not like I’ve been watching a lot of television, playing computer games, or even sleeping. Hn!
But some how or other, time has gotten away from me. Unfortunately though, time passes so quickly these days – that’s just our imagination yes, time’s been passing at the same speed all along (smile) – and once it’s passed, we can never recapture it. So it therefore behoves us to use it wisely and fruitfully while we have it.
On the other hand though, once it has passed, we need to stop fretting and worrying over it, and just move on with whatever time we have left. Hopefully, I can begin doing that today, because there is a fair amount of stuff to be done. And it’s not difficult stuff either, just time consuming. And though the spirit is often willing, the flesh is too often weak. (smile)
So Friends, let’s all try and pull up our socks today nuh, take the proverbial bull by the horns and simply buckle down to the tasks we need to accomplish. And that is all a part of our Christian ethic too – not to be lazy and waste our God-given time.
And we’ll just quickly mention two of the latest disasters to hit the West; that of the 8.2 level earthquake that hit off Chile’s north coast yesterday. Let’s pray for all those involved and hope that there is no further loss of life or property damage, through tsunamis and after shocks.
Now that natural disaster we can’t do much about, but the shooting in Fort Hood, the U.S. Army Base … Steups! When is the foolish shooting going to stop eh? So many people are killed everyday by guns, outside of war zones, totally unnecessary deaths, yet we still glorify the gun, even allowing it greater and freer use within our society nowadays, as well as making improvements, to make them even better killing machines.
Ah Lord eh! We seem to have conveniently forgotten the old adage that he who lives by the sword, dies by the sword. That pertains to guns too my people.
Anyway, despite all the negatives involved, let us send up heartfelt prayers to heaven, asking for the Lord’s grace, mercy, healing, comfort and forgiveness on all those involved.
That brings us to our Bit: ‘Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.’
Yes Friends, if more of us would put our lives in God’s hands, and try to live the way He desires of us, fewer of us would stumble and fall. But foolishly we seem to consider God as some nebulous being, way out there in the farthest reaches of the universe, either unconcerned about mankind, or simply unable to help him.
Oh my people, that is a fallacy of enormous proportions! Our God is alive, in control, and right here with us – ALWAYS AND FOREVER!
But until we truly believe that and consequently act on it, we’ll be forever lost, becalmed on an endless sea, just drifting, hither, thither and yon, with no solid foundation to anchor us.
And we have the perfect scripture to back all of that up. It comes from Psalm 91, appropriately titled, ‘God is a refuge and fortress.’ Please listen closely to the psalmist as he declares his holy case.
‘Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation (dwelling place); There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh (near) thy dwelling.
For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear (lift) thee up in their hands, lest thou dash (strike) thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder (cobra): the young lion and the dragon (serpent) shalt thou trample underfeet.
Because he hath set his LOVE upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life (length of days) will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.’ (Ps.91:9-16)
Oh Friends, what’s more to say eh? NOTHING! For that passage of scripture says it all!
Oh mih breddren, it’s so simple and easy – just like the work I’ve been putting off. (smile) We just need to get serious and do it. If we make our way right with Almighty God, He will guide and protect us. If we don’t, then it’s cleaners for us; crapaud smoke we pipe; we’ll end up on the outside looking in, spending eternity with Lucifer rather than Jesus.
Now that surely doesn’t sound like such a wonderful idea! So please, let’s mend our fences with our Creator as soon as possible nuh; preferably today, RIGHT NOW, so that we won’t be caught napping when the trumpet sounds up yonder, heralding Christ’s Second Coming. Much LOVE!
…God has given us two choices…spend eternity with ME in heaven…or spend it in Hades with Lucifer…the choice is ours…wisdom though, strongly advises we pick the first option…
02 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all the love in your heart, assurances, be not afraid, benefits of following Jesus, Christ, Christ experience, Christ is always with us, clouds, confidence, Cousin Sol, depart from your eyes, desolation, dew, different levels of maturity, discretion, elementary school, embrace Jesus, encouraging, everlasting, everlasting truth, fail tests, failures, faith, favour, fear, focused, focused on Jesus, followers of Jesus, following Christ is ongoing, for His name's sake, forgiveness, glory hallelujah, God's LOVING-kindness, goodness, grace, healing, helping, high school, hope, immature, interesting, Jesus Christ, Jesus will embrace you, journey with Christ, joy, keep on having hope, kindergarten, knowledge, life to thy soul, lifelong journey, like Jesus Christ, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, loving, maturation, mature, maturity, mercy, most awesome expereinces, motivation, never ending experience, not stumble, not to give up, paths of righteousness, personal experience, promises, refuse to accept Jesus, repeat tests, right with Jesus, sleep shall be sweet, something new to learn, sound wisdom, strength, successes, terror, testify, Thank you Jesus, the Lord shall be thy confidence, the path that Jesus trod, through to eternity, trouble, trust, truth, turn to Jesus, unconditional LOVE, understanding, university, walk safely, wisdom, works in progress
Proverbs 3:23. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.
Well hello there mih lovelies! (smile) What have you all got to say for yourselves this blessed Thursday morning in early April 2014 eh? Whatever it is, I do hope it abounds with LOVE, joy hope, faith, mercy, grace and forgiveness, as Jesus desires of His followers.
Now, as I was coming downstairs a short while ago, I began wondering what subject we could preamble with, as we perambulated through life today. (smile) And the Lord, in His wisdom and LOVING-kindness, put this idea in my mind.
You know how we like to talk about things being works in progress? Well how many of us realize that we too are works in progress eh? We are works in progress on the lifelong journey to be like Jesus Christ.
The interesting thing though is that we are all at different stages of completion… Oh, I believe completion might be the wrong word there, because as long as we are alive, we can never be completed in Christ. I guess the better word might be maturity, or even maturation.
Yes my fellow believers, we’re all at different stages or levels of maturity in Christ. It’s just like school. Some of us are in Kindergarten, or Elementary School level, while others have graduated from High School, and moved on to University. It all depends on when we began our journey with Christ and how much effort we’ve put into it.
Again, it’s just like school. Sometimes we fail tests and have to repeat them, or we just don’t put in enough effort, haven’t applied ourselves sufficiently and have to repeat the whole year in the same class.
But the important thing my fellow believers, is that no matter how old or young, mature or immature we are in Christ, there is always something new for us to learn and experience each and every day. That’s because following Christ is an ongoing, never ending experience, right through to eternity!
And the real beauty of the whole Christ experience Friends, is that Christ is ALWAYS with us! Regardless of our failures and successes, Jesus is ALWAYS there, healing, helping, LOVING, encouraging us not to give up, to keep on having hope, courage, faith, strength and trust in Him.
Oh Friends, what a wonderful Lord and Saviour we have in Jesus Christ!
The unfortunate part though is that those who refuse to accept Him and work with Him to come maturity, are missing the most awesome experience(s) this life has to offer!
And I testify to this from personal experience my brethren, because everyday something happens to keep me focused on Jesus. Be it good or bad, whatever it is, it always brings me right back to Jesus. And as I keep saying, it’s not always easy following Jesus, but it surely is always interesting!
So if you want to have the most interesting life available on this great planet earth, then TURN TO JESUS, embrace Him with all the LOVE your heart can produce, and He will in turn, embrace you with His everlasting, unconditional LOVE, and lead you in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
And all God’s children shouted a joyful; ‘Thank You Jesus! We LOVE You, and praise Your Holy Name! Amen!’
Now my brethren, hear these wise words of Cousin Sol on the subject: ‘The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. By his knowledge the depths (deeps) are broken up and the clouds drop down the dew. My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace (favour) to thy neck. (Prov.3:19-22)
Words of everlasting truth, my brethren! And our Bit, smoothly and strongly continues Cousin Sol’s wisdom. ‘Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.’
And all God’s people joyfully shouted: ‘Glory Hallelujah! Praise the Lord for His overwhelming and undeserving goodness to the children of men!’ That’s for sure mih people!
And that’s not all. Cousin Sol continues to lay down the wonderful benefits of following Jesus. ‘When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. Be not afraid of sudden fear (terror), neither of the desolation of (trouble from) the wicked, when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.’ (Prov.3:24-26)
Oh Friends, oh Friends, what blessed and sincere promises and assurances! But they only accrue to us when we sincerely and faithfully try to tread the path that Jesus trod, and we truly aspire to emulate Him. We will never come up to His excellence, but it’s all in the motivation Friends, it all depends on what truly is in our hearts.
So please, let’s try and make our hearts, minds and souls right with Jesus TODAY, so that we can begin to enjoy more of His wonderful blessings. That’s wisdom at its zenith! Much LOVE!
…to know, know, know Him…is to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Him…
P.S. Oh mih people, sorry for the Bit being so late, but Internet Explorer and /or Outlook decided they were going to make changes they thought were better, but which screwed up my writing process. And unfortunately when I tried to fix it, I screwed it up even more and had to go to a different server.
So the whole process took much longer than necessary. Yuh see what I’ve said above is true. Everyday with Jesus brings some new challenge. But with His help I got through it with only a few deleted expletives. (smile) Much LOVE!
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