18 Jul 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a change of attitude towards God and sin, a change of conduct, a change of mind, a fearful heart, a sense of sorrow, abundance, be thankful, Bible, born again, clear direction for my life, confirm the feeble knees, courage, curse, divine protection, god, God will come and save you, God will come with vengeance, God's goodness, God's supernatural wisdom, gospel, Jesus, Jesus Christ, LOVE, making preparations, mercy, negative word, promotion, rejecting the world's folly, repent, repentance, salvation, streams in the desert, strengthen ye the weak hands, talent, the abundant life, the church age, the ears of the deaf unstopped, the eyes of the blind, the Great tribulation, the grim reaper, the kingdom of God is within you, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, the lame man leap as a hart, the last days, the Rapture, the result of God's mercy, the tongue of the dumb sing, Thursday Blessings, torrential rain, truth, wisdom
Matthew 4:17. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (near).
So it’s Thursday, a couple of days after the torrential rain we had in the Southern Ontario area. Clean up is still underway though, and some people are still without power, but I believe most, if not all of the earlier flooded roads are now open to traffic. Ah friends, one never knows what can happen at any given time, so one should try to be prepared for anything. And I know that’s not always possible, for who believed that we would be flooded out…and so quickly last Tuesday morning eh? I don’t think even the meteorologists thought we would have such a deluge. But let’s be thankful, for it could have been worse, as many others have recently experienced.
And talking about preparations for possible disasters, we might not be able to prepare for the physical ones, but we can surely prepare for the spiritual ones…like the grim reaper suddenly showing up and calling your name. With all the natural disasters and man-made strife currently happening in our world, it’s time that we seriously do what John the Baptist preached to the people of Israel. ‘Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ (Matt. 3:2)
Yes friends, the experts say that there are lots of signs pointing to the last days of the church age, and if that’s true, and you haven’t repented and accepted Christ as Lord and Saviour, then things will be real bad with you. When the Rapture happens, you won’t go home with Him to heaven, but remain here on earth to face the Great Tribulation. And believe me, if what the Bible says is true of that period, and I believe it is, then you’re in for one helluva of a rough time here on earth, more terrible than what we’ve ever seen. That’s why it’s so important to know that you wont’ be here for that ghastly period of time.
And John was not the only one to call for repentance. No. Jesus did too, when He began His ministry. The Bible tells us that once Jesus heard of John the Baptist’s imprisonment, and possibly after the attempt on His life in His hometown of Nazareth, He moved to Capernaum and there set up His ministry. And ‘From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of God is at hand (near).’ (Matt. 4:17)
And what does repentance mean? The scholars explain: ‘Repent means a change of mind that results in a change of conduct. Repentance is not merely sorrow. It involves a complete change of attitude regarding God and sin and is often accompanied by a sense of sorrow and a corresponding change in conduct. Such repentance does not arise within man himself, but it is the result of God’s mercy in leading man to it. (cf. Acts 5:31; Rom. 2:4; 2 Tim. 2:25). Thus repentance involves the very process of conversion whereby men are born again (of the Spirit). John’s and Jesus’ message was necessary in order to prepare people for the kingdom of heaven which was at hand (near).’
And it basically means the renouncing of one’s sins that one be united more closely to God and all His ways. As Bruh Paul writes: ‘Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?’ (Rom. 2:4) Yes my people, when we see the truth of God’s goodness, grace and mercy, it leads us to repentance, to rejecting the foolishness and folly of this evil world. We can’t help but repent and acknowledge Christ as Lord and Saviour.
Now what does the kingdom of heaven or of God mean? First, why does Matthew say ‘kingdom of heaven,’ while Mark and Luke say ‘kingdom of God.?’ The scholars theorize that Matthew substituted the word ‘heaven’ for ‘God,’ because of his Jewish emphasis, for many Jews regarded it as blasphemous to refer to God by name. Mark and Luke had no such problems because they were writing predominantly to Greeks and Romans. And when Jesus talks about the kingdom of heaven (God) is at hand, He’s not talking of some future date, but of right then, for His presence on earth, His coming as the Messiah has introduced the kingdom of God to men as the prophets proclaimed, especially this scripture from Isaiah.
‘Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm (make firm) the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart (deer), and the tongue of the dumb (mute) sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.’ (Is. 35:3-6)
Ah mih bredrin, Isaiah there promised the salvation of the Lord and Jesus came to fulfil that promise. He paid the price for all of our sins and gave us a chance to begin anew with the Father, to return to a right relationship with Him, thus allowing us to enjoy heavenly benefits down here on earth. No, we don’t need to get to heaven to live the blessed life, it’s available to us as soon as we sincerely accept Christ as Lord and Saviour. As Jesus said: ‘I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ (John 10:10)
And when answering the Pharisees question about when will the kingdom of God come, Jesus says more clearly: ‘The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! Or, lo there! For behold the kingdom of God is within you (or in your midst). (Luke 17:20-21) No friends, the kingdom of God cannot be seen or placed in a particular spot, for it’s a spiritual movement. And as the scholars suggest: ‘If the Pharisees cared to look around , it was clear that with John the Baptist and Jesus the kingdom was in fact already at hand.’
They were too blind to see that, too full of their own importance to recognize the changes that were taking place right around them. But we know the truth, and have been bestowed with undeserved blessings, we call our Thursday Blessings to help it along. So let’s declare them now so that they can be activated in our lives.
Altogether: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection!
I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
And having activated those blessings, we are now duty bound to go out and use them for the benefit of others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us. Much LOVE!
…without true repentance…one will never enjoy the wonderful kingdom of God…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
15 Jul 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a position of strength, above and not beneath, be of good cheer, Bible, christianity, concrete jungle, divine aid, faith, faith as a grain of mustard seed, faith in Christ, freely give us all things, frustration. physical and emotional strain, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good, god, God walks with us through adversity, grace and mercy, head knowledge, heart action, his mercy endureth for ever, humble ourselves, i have overcome the world, if god be for us who can be against us, in me ye might have peace, in the world ye shall have tribulation, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus, Jesus Christ, LOVE, mercy, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, more than conquerors, negative circumstances, nothing can separate us from God's love, nothing shall be impossible to you, observe and do the Lord's commandments, pray, prosper us, sincere repentance, sincerely seek your face, sinned and disobeyed your Word, strong faith in Christ, the God who heals, the head and not the tail, the throne of grace, through him that loved us, to alleviate our problems, traffic jams, tribulation, turn from our evil ways, wisdom, wise guidance
Psalm 107:1. Oh give thanks unto the Lord for he is good: for his mercy (LOVING-kindness) endureth for ever.
Another Monday…another day of work, bordered by morning and evening traffic jams! Yes, unfortunately that’s the sad reality in many big cities nowadays; not enough roads to handle the large volume of vehicular traffic. And don’t talk about that concrete jungle called Toronto! Right now, it’s even worse than normal with the daytime repairing of two lanes of the Gardener Expressway which leads into the heart of the city. Then to make matters worse, almost every street is barricaded due to building construction or street repairs.
Sometimes the confusion of construction and repairs in the summer months, makes you long for the relative peace of winter. (smile) But that’s how our world is set up; cram vehicles and people into the cities in the morning for work, then watch them try to rush out in the evening, without much success. And sadly the process contributes to the loss of a great number of man hours, severe frustration, physical and emotional strain.
One would have thought that with the magnitude of wisdom supposedly entrenched in our society, a more efficient, less stressful system would be employed. However, that’s the way it currently is, and it won’t change for the foreseeable future, so let’s just say thank you we have a job to go to, despite all the frustration involved, for many of our fellow humans don’t have jobs and are facing much more severe hardship than us.
That brings us to these most encouraging words from Psalm 107: ‘Oh give thanks unto the Lord for he is good: for his mercy (LOVING-kindness) endureth for ever.’ (Ps. 107:1) And that’s as it should be my fellow believers! For although we will encounter unforeseen negative circumstances in this rough and tumble life, our faith in Christ Jesus will enable us to face them from a position of strength rather than one of weakness.
As Moses said to the Israelites: ‘And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken (heed) unto the commandments of the Lord thy God which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them (be careful to observe them).’ (Deut, 28:13) And what does that mean? Exactly what it says. If you obey the Lord’s commands you will never be inferior or the tail, but always superior or the head.
And that leads us to this prayer based on Deuteronomy 28:3-14. ‘In the Name of Jesus, I declare…. I am blessed in the city and blessed in the country. I am the head and not the tail in my finances, my family, my health, my job and my ministry—not just sometimes, but all the time. Every day, in every way, I am the head and not the tail.’ Now that’s an interesting prayer we should offer up everyday.
Then let us not forget these marvellously encouraging words of Bruh Paul to the church at Rome. ‘What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spareth not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?…Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.’ (Rom. 8:31-32, 37)
Yes friends, if our great God, who willingly broke His own heart, gave up His most treasured relationship by crucifying His Son Jesus Christ for our benefit, why wouldn’t He give us lesser things than that eh? No reason whatsoever!
And as this commentary further explains: ‘Nothing that enters our life is able or sufficient to separate us from God’s LOVE demonstrated at the cross. God’s LOVE allows the believer to be a conqueror in adversity. God walks with us through every adversity and hardship. We do not merely survive or squeak by. We do not just succeed.’
No my brethren, with God in our corner, we don’t just succeed, we overcome with flying colours. As Jesus says: ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33) And if we are His true disciples, then we too can overcome the world.
Friends, it’s all a matter of faith, of belief. For as Jesus also says: ‘If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove (move); and nothing shall be impossible to you.’ (Matt. 17:20) Oh my people, Jesus was just highlighting that it doesn’t take much faith for God to work in a person, but the disciples needed to believe it, and so do we.
Yes, we can know the Bible verbatim from cover to cover and don’t believe what it says, and then put it into action, then all our effort to learn it was a waste of time. The Bible is only useful when we believe it, then action it. Now let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking help with out many earthly problems.
Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face.
So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
And if we truly desire divine aid, then we need to turn from our evil ways and sincerely seeks God’s face. Much LOVE!
…head knowledge is of no use…unless it’s accompanied by heart action
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
13 Jul 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Bible, Christian maturity, colour creed and race, deepen my breath, faith, god, God cares for the heathen, God prepared a vehement east wind, God prepared a worm, God will spare no extreme to get His message out, grew fait, hatred, heartfelt truth, I may know you all the more, increase my awareness of you, infiltrate our souls, it is better for me to die than to live, it smote the gourd, it withered, Jesus Christ, Jonah, laziness, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, LOVE, love is the law of the Lord, mercy, Nineveh, of a different race and creed, Peace and Love, persons that cannot discern between their right and left hands, procrastination, relax my muscles, repentance, selfishness, sincerity, slow my thoughts, spiritually ignorant, the message of God, the peace and calm of God's presence, the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, there is no new thing under the sun, truth, under the shade of the gourd, when the sun arose, wished to die, you can't be contained
Jonah 4:7. But God prepared a worm when the next morning rose (dawned), and it smote (damaged) the gourd (shade tree) that it withered.
Oh, what a lazy-day Saturday is in the offing…warm weather, plenty sunshine, and lots of outdoor activities, or simply lazing around the homestead, whatever your preference! But in whatever you do, please remember the modicum of circumspection aspect. (smile) And can you believe it’s already the middle of July, when we just recently celebrated Canada Day.
Brother these days and months are really hopping by quickly, waiting for no one or nothing! That means we have to get with it, no laziness and procrastination, or else life will just pass us by and we won’t even know it. And to help us avoid such a catastrophe, let’s offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer with much sincerity and heart-felt truth.
As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
And as always, when such a sincere and heartfelt prayer reaches the Lord’s ears, He’s helpless to refuse, that’s why we can now feel the peace and calm of His presence floating around us, as He answers our prayer. Now, let’s keep our promise of yesterday, that if the breath of life was still flowing in us today, which it gratefully is, to continue looking at Jonah’s ministry. And yesterday, we left Jonah exceedingly glad, sitting under the shade of the gourd (shade tree of unknown identity) that the Lord had caused to grow for that purpose.
So let’s pick up the scripture from there. It says: ‘But God prepared a worm when the next morning rose (dawned), and it smote (damaged) the gourd (shade tree) that it withered. And it came to pass when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind, and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted (grew faint), and wished himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.’ (Jon. 4:7-8)
Ah friends, you see how our circumstances can change drastically from one day to the next. Yet as true believers in Christ, we have to try and remain calm and bear the consequences, whether they be of our making, or Satan’s, or the Lord’s. It’s not easy to do so, and it all depends on the stage of our Christian maturity. Now Jonah, as a prophet of God, should have been able to handle all that came against him, but because of his hatred and selfishness, he preferred to die.
And we can see it from the following conversation. The Bible relates it thus: ‘And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry (is it right to be angry) for (over) the gourd? And He (Jonah) said, I do well (it is right for me) to be angry. Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd (shade tree) for which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it to grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night. And should I not spare (have pity on) Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than six score thousand (one hundred and twenty thousand) persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle (livestock)?’ (Jon. 4:9-11)
It’s interesting that Jonah felt pity for the withered plant, but not for the great number of unsaved heathen in Nineveh. And with those somewhat harsh words between the Lord and Jonah, the Book of Jonah ends. We don’t what happened after to Jonah, but according to the scholars: ‘The message of Jonah rings out loud and clear: God cares for the heathen! God will spare no extreme to get His message to them, even when the messenger is deliberately disobedient. God will marshal His animate and inanimate creation to bring correction to His messenger and fulfil His purpose for the world.’
And I believe we ought to pay close attention to those words. For though we might be disobedient to God, He will succeed in His purpose, and we will pay for our disobedience, one way or the other. And Jonah’s situation is a very good example of that. The Lord gave him the task of going to Nineveh and proclaiming repentance, but because of his hatred for the people of Nineveh, he refused and foolishly went in the opposite direction.
But the Lord caught up with Him, as He does with all who are disobedient, and instead of killing him, made him first suffer torment in the stormy sea, then spend three days and nights in the belly of a large fish, where he finally regained his senses and prayed to the Lord, who in His great mercy had the fish spit him out on dry land.
Then it’s very important to note that the Lord did not change Jonah’s assignment. No. He told him the same thing; go to Nineveh and preach repentance of sin. This time Jonah went but still in a sour and surly frame of mind, and he did the job, which seemed quite easy. But still he was not happy and wanted to die rather than see the Ninevites saved. Even when the Lord punished him for his anger, he still insisted on dying. He could have pity for the withered shade plant, but none for his fellow humans, who were spiritually ignorant, because they were of a different race and creed.
It’s sad to see what hatred and anger can do to us, when we allow them to infiltrate our souls and spirits to such an extent, that we’d prefer to die than to see others blessed. But as Cousin Sol so wisely says: ‘there is no new thing under the sun.’ (Eccl. 1:9) For hatred and anger over colour, creed and race have existed from the earliest days and have continued right down through the ages, and is still going stronger than ever! That’s why the world is filled with so much strife and negative actions.
And until we seriously and sincerely enact the basic commandments of God, to LOVE Him with all of our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, as well as to LOVE ourselves and our neighbours, hatred and ager over our differences will always exist and make our world a very difficult place in which to live. And it’s now up to us believers, the ones who claim to LOVE like Christ says, to make a sincere effort to turn things around. Much LOVE!
…LOVE is all there is to the law of God…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
12 Jul 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a modicum of circumspection, a new flock of believers, anxiety, be responsible, Bible, Christian faith, christianity, confusion, crying out for your help, divine aid, embrace your love and compassion, faith, foremost avenue of strife, Friday chant, god, God repented of the evil He promised, God saw their works, God will have all men to be saved. to come unto the knowledge of truth, God's offer of salvation, hatred because of colour creed and race, hatred of all non-Jews, he was angry, I knew that thou art a gracious God, it displeased Jonah exceedingly, it is better for me to die than to live, Jesus Christ, Jewish natiaonalism, Jonah, Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd, LOVE, love is the answer, merciful, mercy, Nineveh, of great kindness, one God, one mediator between God and men: Jesus Christ, one who relents from doing harm, repentest thess of the evil, return backsliders, selfishness, simmering unrest, slow to anger, stay safe, take my life from me, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the error of their ways, the example we faithful believers set, the man Christ Jesus, the message of repentance, to deliver him from his grief, trusting faith, turned from their evil way, unexpected storms, wake up and smell the coffee, whitewashed sepulchres, wisdom, wise guidance
Jonah 4:1. But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.
So that long awaited day, Friday, has finally arrived…and rather quickly too! (smile) That means a loud shout of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ was heard all around God ‘s great earth. But let’s remember that all important warning for the weekend’s activities… a modicum of circumspection. And since we’re overjoyed to be alive today, to enjoy all the new and wonderful things God has in store for us, let’s keep our promise to continue looking at Jonah’s story.
Yesterday, we saw where he finally listened to God’s demand the second time and went to Nineveh and preached the message of repentance. And surprisingly the people repented. So what happened after that eh? The Bible tells us: ‘And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil (relented from the disaster), that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.’ (Jon. 3:10) As always, God kept His promise; the people, repented from their evil ways, and He did not destroy them.
So everybody should have been happy. Surprisingly though, the Bible informs us: ‘But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying (what I said), when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before (previously) unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness (LOVING- kindness), and repentest thee of the evil (one who relents from doing harm). Therefore now, O Lord, take I beseech thee, my life from me: for it is better for me to die than to live. Then said the Lord, Doest thou well (is it right ) to be angry?’ (Jon. 4:1-4)
Ah Lord eh! One would have thought that a prophet of the Lord would be glad to see so many heathen come to repentance, but the Assyrian repentance in Nineveh obviously didn’t thrill Jonah. And why is that eh? The scholars give us this simple, but oh so foolish reason. ‘Jonah still maintains a false Jewish nationalism and hatred of all non-Jews, especially Assyrians.’ That’s why he did not obey God’s command the first time.
And please don’t laugh or despise Jonah, for that very same thing is still quite rampant in this supposed modern era of our supposedly enlightened civilization. Hatred because of colour, creed and race is still the foremost avenue of strife in this angry and strife-filled world. There are a lot of people exactly like Jonah, who don’t want to see anyone from a different race, country etc. saved by God’s grace and mercy, which only means that they are not true believers in Christ, but mere hypocrites outwardly parading as Christians. Or as Jesus called the Pharisees, whitewashed sepulchres or tombs. (Matt. 23:27)
For true believers, like God, wants everyone to come to salvation. As Bruh Paul wrote to Timothy: ‘For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;’ (1 Tim. 2:3-5)
Yes friends, God desire is for all of His creation to be saved. And I like how this commentary explains it: ‘God’s offer of salvation goes out to all people, Jesus died for all people, and God LOVES the whole world and desires the salvation of all people; nevertheless, only some will choose to respond to God’s saving grace and be saved.’ And that’s the truth, as we very well know, not everyone will choose to hold Jesus as Lord and Saviour, but that doesn’t mean the Lord doesn’t want them to.
Anyway, getting back to Jonah. The Bible says after his conversation with the Lord: ‘So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth (shelter), and sat under it in the shadow (shade), till he might see what would become of the city. And the Lord God prepared a gourd (a plant of unknown identity), and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow (shade) over his head, to deliver him from his grief (misery). So Jonah was exceeding glad (rejoiced with great joy) of the gourd (tree covering).’ (Jon. 4:5-6)
Yes Jonah was glad when the Lord protected him with the tree, but was angry when He saved the Assyrians. Oh how selfish and hypocritical we are! Anyhow, we’ll stop there for today because the Bit will get too long if we continue to the end of Jonah’s ministry. So don’t say I never try to keep it short. (smile) Instead, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking divine aid in these troubled times.
Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly.
And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And I’ll have us know that we won’t get a whiff of divine aid until we start being much better examples of Christian faith in this ungodly world! Much LOVE!
… selfishness does not become true believers in Christ…LOVE is the answer…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
09 Jul 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new commandment I give unto you, as I have loved you, Bible, bounden duty, by this shall all men know, by this shall men know that ye are my disciples, christianity, Christians, compassion, divisions and dissensions within Christ's church, every good and every perfect gift is from above, faith, fanfare, first fruits, forgiving, god, God is the source of all light, God never changes, God's mercies and compassions are new every day, God's wrath, human kindness, hurry, hypocrites, if any man will come after me, in god's eyes, in the world but not of the world, Jesus, Jesus Christ, let him deny himself, lock stock and barrel, long-suffering, LOVE, mercy, no variableness, of the world, petty jealousies, shadow of turning, share His love with my neighbours, slow to anger, take up his cross daily and follow me, talk the talk, the beloved of God, the Father of lights, the way the truth and the life, there's no darkness in God, this is the day the Lord has made, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Manrta, walk the walk, we will rejoice and be glad in it, wisdom, worry, ye love one another
James 1:17a. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights,
O.K! Tuesday is here in all its summer glory; sunshiny and warm, and we’ve forgotten Monday, forgotten all the frustrations and concerns it might have caused us, because Tuesday is a new day! And what do we say when a new day dawns? ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it!’ (Ps. 118:24) Yes friends, that’s exactly why the Lord gave us a new day, so that we could enjoy it with all of His mercies and compassions that are brand new every day! (Lam. 3:22-23)
Wow! What an awesome God we serve my brethren! Good and faithful is He from the beginning right down to the very end. As James so rightly says in his epistle: ‘Do not err (be deceived) my brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness (variation), neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.’ (James 1:16-18)
What reassuring scriptures my faithful believers. But what does it all mean? These two commentaries spread some light on the situation. The first one says: ‘So, if “there is no shadow of turning,” that means there is no darkness in Him. He is light and He doesn’t change. As we move in and out of the light and the earth moves, our shadow shifts. Not true for God. He is the source of light – there is no shadow because there is no movement (turning) in Him.’
And the second tells us: ‘James is encouraging believers in Christ to tell themselves the truth: God gave you every single good thing in your life. He is the source of all the good you have and all the good you crave. Who God is does not change when our circumstances change.’ And that’s the gospel truth my people! Our God never changes, from day one to the end of time, He has been, He is, and will be the same; merciful, forgiving, LOVING, compassionate, long-suffering, slow to anger, etc. etc. God.
But don’t forget that though He is longsuffering and slow to anger, He will not put up with our foolish, ungodly ways for ever, and we certainly don’t want to feel His wrath. Remember how the Israelites felt it when they refused to live the way He desired and chose to worship man-made idols instead. And remember too how He destroyed the world by flood when the world was so sinful and ungodly. So, although He’s good and LOVING and all those other marvellous things, His wrath can be very destructive.
Now that means we should be careful of how we live, but it’s exactly what we’re not doing, for the world is more sinful and ungodly than its ever been! And sadly, many of us supposed believers are helping it along by being OF it, rather than simply living IN it as Jesus desires. So who knows where our world is headed? We’re sure of only one thing, that it’s going through a rather tragic and disastrous time with all sorts of man made strife and natural disasters like we’ve never seen before.
Some say it’s a sign of the end times, while others say no. But whatever it is, we can only work on the premise that Jesus is the answer…the way the truth and the life, and no man gets to see the Father’s face unless we go through Jesus. (John 14:6) That means sincerely living for Jesus is the wisest decision and best action we can ever take. Being good agents, ambassadors and disciples for His kingdom. And let’s remember what that means in Jesus own words. ‘If any man will (desires to) come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’ (Luke 9:23)
That says it all friends! To follow Jesus we have to be much more like Him than we currently are! We have to stop allowing the world to control us as much as it’s doing, and live sacrificially for Him, like He did for us, while LOVING each other, the way He LOVED us. Remember these poignant words of His. ‘A new commandment I give unto you, That ye LOVE one another; as I have LOVED you, that ye also LOVE one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one to another.’ (John 13:34-35)
Now, can we truly say that the members of Christ’s church, truly LOVE one another? Definitely not! With the amount of divisions, dissensions, the serious infighting and petty jealousies that cause much strife in the body of Christ, truly LOVING each other is far from being a reality! And that’s why the heathen don’t see us as true disciples of Christ, and don’t show us any respect. In fact many of them laugh at us and call us hypocrites, because we’re so good at talking the talk, but terrible at walking the walk.
And until we change our hypocritical, two-faced ways like the Pharisees of old, we will never climb to the standard that Jesus desires of us, and one that will make others believe us and want what we claim to have. So, if we are truly desiring to live for Jesus, then we know what we all have to do; stop being as hypocritical as we currently are, reduce the divisions, dissensions and infighting in the church, and start sincerely LOVING each other! And that only means being good to each other, treating each other with courtesy and respect, helping each other in times of need. In other words, basic human kindness. And if we can’t show basic human kindness to those around us, then we have no claim to be called Christians. End of Sermon!
Now, for those of us who are sincerely trying to live for Jesus, let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel. As one voice: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’
And having made that declaration (yesss!) it’s now our bounden duty to go out and share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…true believers ought to live like Jesus did…without much fanfare…but with much kindness and compassion…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
06 Jul 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: cast their crowns before the throne, eternal death, eternal life, faith, find our true selves, god, God is worthy because of What he is, God is worthy because of Who He is, great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, He is worthy to be praised, he that is slow to anger is better than the mighty, his greatness is unsearchable, his tender mercies are over all his works, I will extol thee, increase my awareness of you today, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus is valuable, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, LOVE, mercy, of great mercy, one generation shall praise thy works to another, Praise the Lord, psalms, sincerity and truth, slow my thoughts, the glorious splendour of thy majesty, the Lord is good to all, The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, the most valuable thing life has to offer, the straight and narrow path that leads to heaven, the wide and destructive path that leads to hell, thou art worthy to receive honour and glory, thou hast created all things, tickles his fancy, warms the cockles of God's heart, when we give glory to the living God, wisdom, worship, worship worthless idols, your unceasing nearness
Psalm 145:3. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.
Ah friends, it’s a beautiful lazy-day Saturday in my neighborhood! And yuh better believe I made the most of it…not so much because I was lazily inclined, (smile) but because the ole body was crying out for more rest, since, even by my standards, I went to bed at a fairly late hour this morning. And it was certainly worth it, for I’m now feeling much refreshed in soul, body and mind, ready to face whatever the day and the cray, ungodly world has to offer. So let’s get the ball rolling by offering up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, with all sincerity and truth.
As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
Oh my people, of all of our Scrip-Bit Prayers, I think that’s certainly my favourite, because we’re not asking God for anything material, which can sometimes feel sort of selfish, but asking for His personal presence deeper and richer in our lives. And we all know He never fails to answer that kind of prayer because it just tickles His fancy and warms the cockles of His heart when we ask for Him to be a major figure in our broken earthly existence.
So, by now, if our requests were sincere, we should all be feeling lighter and more refreshed in mind, body and soul as the Lord enlivens us with His awesome presence. And all God’s children said: ‘Praise the Lord! For He is indeed worthy to be praised!’ Now that’s an interesting angle, God’s worthiness to be praised, for us to pursue this morning…or almost early afternoon (smile)
And Bruh David’s words In Psalm 145 – God’s Unsearchable Greatness – says a lot about it. He proclaims his awesome wonder and gratitude thus: ‘I will extol (praise) thee, My God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. I will speak of the glorious honour (splendour) of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.
And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible (awesome) acts: and I will declare thy greatness. They shall abundantly (eagerly) utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness. The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.’ (Ps. 145:1-9)
Oh my fellow believers, Bruh David surely sings God’s praises, and a lot of it is from personal experience with His heavenly Father. But some of us still cannot fathom God’s greatness and continue asking, why is worthy of our praise? This commentary breaks it down for us quite handily. ‘He is worthy because of WHO He is: (1) He is God; (2) He is our Maker; (3) He is our Shepherd. He is worthy because of WHAT He is: (1) He is good; (2) He is merciful; (3) He is truthful.’ And as Bruh David says in the psalm: ‘The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.’ (Ps. 145:8)
Yes friends, just for those last four attributes alone our God deserves very much praise and thanksgiving, for if He wasn’t those things, we would not be alive to tell the tale, as our sinful souls don’t truly deserve anything that He’s done, is doing or will do for us. It all stems from Hs great LOVE and compassion for His most marvellous and magnificent creation – mankind! And we’d better believe it, appreciate it, and give Him the thanks, praise and glory He so richly deserves!
And some also ask, why is Jesus worthy to be praised? This other commentary gives us a simple but oh so true answer. ‘Jesus is valuable. We worship Jesus because we have discovered Him to be the most valuable thing that life has to offer. He ransomed us from sin. He restored us to the Father. He satisfies every longing of our hearts.’ Oh my people, do we need more reason than that to worship and praise the holy name of our Lord and Saviour?
Absolutely not! For without Him we’d right now be trodding the wide and destructive path that leads directly to hellfire and damnation. But with His timely intervention, we’ve been redeemed, reconciled, justified, sanctified, and so many other things, that now we’re heaven bound on the straight and narrow path that leads there, and which not many people find and/or follow. For my money that’s more than enough for me to LOVE, praise and worship Jesus Christ!
However, throughout the Bible there are numerous passages and reasons for worshipping God and giving Him glory. Let’s check out a couple more. This one from 1 Chronicles which says in no uncertain terms: ‘For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared (held in reverential awe) above all gods. For all the gods of the people are idols (worthless things): but the Lord made the heavens.’ (1 Chr. 16:25-26)
But you know what friends, we should also be physically scared of the Lord and the awesome power He has over us, His creation. As Jesus so wisely says: ‘And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.’ (Matt. 10:28) And that my friends is God Almighty! So we’d better wise up and look to ourselves, if we truly desire to see eternal life in heaven and not eternal death in hell.
Then there’s this wonderful picture of praise in heaven found in the Book of Revelation. It says: ‘The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat upon the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created (by your will they exist).’ (Rev. 4:10-11)
What more is there to say eh my fellow believers? Just these wise and wonderful words of this commentary: ‘So, why give God our praise and worship? Because we only find our true selves when we give glory to the living and true God—the one who has revealed the fullness of his glory in his Son, Jesus Christ (Revelation 5:13). Now, please take a moment on this lazy-day Saturday and read that verse for yourselves and wisely acknowledge that all our praise and worship belongs to NO ONE ELSE but Almighty God! Much LOVE!
…why worship worthless idols…when there’s a worthwhile God
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
30 Jun 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Annie sherwood hawks, as the hart panteth after the water brooks, bankruptcy of any inherent righteousness, be not far from me, Bible, bless me now my Saviour, christianity, come quickly and abide, come unto me all ye that labour, early will I seek thee, faith, fellowship, filled with the sense of nearness, god, God rested on the seventh day, hallowed it, holy spirit, how one could live without christ, I need thee every hour, I need thee oh I need thee, I will give you rest, in a dry and thirsty land, in joy or pain, in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, Jesus, Jesus Christ, life is vain, LOVE, make haste to help me, make me thine indeed, mercy, my flesh longeth for thee, my hour of sweet serenity and peace, my soul thirsteth for god, my tears have been my meat, no tender voice like thine, oh God my strength, our inconsolable loneliness, our utter poverty without Christ, out of fellowship with God, remember the sabbath to keep it holy, rest from our toil, Robert Lowry, six day shalt thou labour, so panteth my soul after thee O God, stay thou nearby, sweet sacrifices of praise, teach me thy will, temptations lose their power, the colossal truth, the comforting power, the great invitation, the hollow emptiness, the impotence of our own strength, the living God, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, the need for Jesus is undeniable, the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God, the shadow fell over my way, the world's godless gain, thou blessed Son, touched the great throbbing heart of humanity, trouble is near, truth, uplifting words, When shall I come and appear before God, when thou art nigh, where is thy God, wisdom
Psalm 42:1. As the hart (deer) panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
And then it was Sunday, the day on which we rest from our toil and labour, and instead go to the Lord’s sanctuary to praise and worship Him in the company of other believers. Now that was His idea not ours, as He said to the children of Israel when He gave them the law. ‘Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work… For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it (made it holy). (Ex. 20: 9-11)
That’s why we’re in the Lord’s house on a Sunday to offer thanks and praise and receive His awesome blessings for the upcoming week. And as always, we begin the day’s proceedings with a song of praise, which today is one we all know and LOVE, one that’s ever so timely. It’s titled, ‘I Need Thee Every Hour.’ Now that’s the gospel truth friends! We need Jesus Christ…and badly too…every hour of every single day. The lyrics of the song were written in 1872 by American poet and gospel hymnist Annie Sherwood Hawks with her Pastor Robert Lowry adding the music.
Mrs. Hawks described the song and its origins thus: ‘One day as a young wife and mother of 37 years of age, I was busy with my regular household tasks. Suddenly, I became so filled with the sense of nearness to the Master that, wondering how one could live without Him, either in joy or pain, these words, I Need Thee Every Hour, were ushered into my mind, the thought at once taking full possession of me…
I did not understand at first why this hymn had touched the great throbbing heart of humanity. It was not until long after, when the shadow fell over my way, the shadow of a great loss, that I understood something of the comforting power in the words which I had been permitted to give out to others in my hour of sweet serenity and peace.’
Yuh see that my bredrin; the song was technically a prophetic gift from God, rather than one born of Mrs. Hawks own personal experience, and it was only long after, when she finally encountered a great loss, that she fully realized the worth and the magnitude of the hymn. So, knowing all of that, let’s finally raise our voices to heaven in sweet sacrifices of praise, in a mid-tempo, sincere, and heart-felt soulful version of the song.
Singing: ‘I need thee every hour, Most gracious Lord, No tender voice like thine, Can peace afford. (Chorus: I need thee oh I need thee, Every hour I need thee, Oh bless me now my Saviour, I come to thee.) I need thee every hour, Stay thou near by, Temptations lose their power, When thou art nigh (Chorus) I need thee every hour, In joy or pain, Come quickly and abide, or life is vain. (Chorus)
I need thee every hour; teach me thy will, and thy rich promises in me fulfill. (Chorus) I need thee every hour, Most holy one, Oh make me thine indeed Thou blessed Son. (Chorus: I need thee oh I need thee, Every hour I need thee, Oh bless me now my Saviour, I come to thee. I need thee, Oh I need thee, Oh bless me now my Saviour, I come to thee…I come to thee…’
Oh my people, are those ever true and uplifting words! And they echo the heartfelt cries of several psalms. For instance these words of Bruh David from Psalm 22 – A Plea for God’s Presence. When he finds himself alone and in trouble, he cries out: ‘I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother’s belly. Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help…But be thou not far from me, O Lord: O my strength, haste thee to help me.’ (Ps. 22:10-11, 19)
And we all know this heartfelt cry from the Sons of Korah in Psalm 42 – My Soul Thirsts for the Lord. They declare: ‘As the hart (deer) panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my meat (food) day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?’ (Ps. 42:1-3)
Then what about these faithful words of Bruh David from Psalm 63 – A Thirsting Soul, when he was in the wilderness running for his life from King Saul. He cries out: ‘O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.’ (Ps. 63:1) And that’s how badly all of us need God in these angry and strife-filled days, where truth and justice don’t seem to amount to anything, while all the negative actions of Satan and his evil cronies rule the roost.
Now, here’s an excerpt from article on the hymn by Jon Bloom from the desiringGod.org website. He writes: ‘One of the sweetest refrains in English Christian hymnody is this: “I need Thee, O I need Thee; Every hour I need Thee; O bless me now, my Savior, I come to Thee.” Thank God for Annie S. Hawks who wrote these lyrics and her pastor, Robert Lowry, who composed the music. The lyrics could hardly be simpler, and yet they capture one of our heart’s most profound longings and can be prayed in the sweetest, most sorrowful, or most mundane moments in life.
The prosody (the patterns of rhythm and sound) of the music, the way the melody and meter aligns with the wording, could hardly be more perfect. But it is not the skill of the hymn’s construction that makes it so powerful. It is the colossal truth it so beautifully expresses. O I Need Thee!
Yes, We need God. It is not until we feel in the depths of our souls our utter poverty without Christ, our bankruptcy of any inherent righteousness, the impotence of our own strength and self-sufficient planning, our inconsolable loneliness when we are out of fellowship with God, the pathetic pretentiousness of our pathological pride, the hollow emptiness of all the godless gain of the world, our utter helplessness in the face of personal, institutional, cosmic, and molecular evil, that we know just how much we need God.’
Ah my fellow believers, unfortunately it’s not until we are wallowing deep in the mire of sin and Satan, with the slime up to our necks, that we truly realize how much we need Almighty God. And we are certainly blessed to know that if we sincerely cry out Him even at that late stage, He will indeed help us. Because that’s the kind of gracious, merciful, forgiving and LOVING God we serve.
But please, let’s be wise nuh, and don’t wait until we’re drowning to cry out to Him for help. Instead, let’s take the proverbial bull by the horns and go to Him right now, regardless of what state we’re in, for He’s ready and waiting to welcome us. Don’t you hear Him calling: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ (Matt. 11:28) So in wisdom, let’s accept that Great Invitation right now, and thus turn our lives and our world around, because there’s none greater than it! Much LOVE!
…the need for Jesus is undeniable…because that’s how we were created…to need Him…and ONLY Him…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
16 Jun 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Andrae Crouch and the Disciples, be not conformed to this world, be transformed, become unfruitful, Bible, blessed are they, broad is the way, choke the word, christianity, dry my weeping eyes, enter ye in at the strait gate, faith, feel so far from you Lord, fellowship, few there be that find it, fickle and faithless times, fills the hungry soul with goodness, god, he satisfieth the longing soul, holy spirit, I first believed, I first received you, I hear you calling me, I need your help Lord, inner satisfaction, Jesus, Jesus Christ, lost faith in God, LOVE, meditating on god's word, mercy, mirrors the state of Christ's church, my soul'd not satisfied, narrow is the way, renew my faith, restore my joy, sincerely seek God, take me back, that leads to destruction, the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, the good acceptable and perfect will of God, the renewing of your mind, the simple things, thoughts that don't line up with scripture, thy word is truth, to make it home, truth, trying to make it on our own, unhealthy thought patterns, which leads to life, wide is the gate, wisdom
Matthew 5:6. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Hello Sunday! So glad to see you, because you bring the joy of going to the Lord’s sanctuary to worship and fellowship with other believers; a joy that nothing in this world can surpass. For when we worship our sovereign God, when we give Him the thanks and praise He so rightly deserves, then our hearts are opened and refreshed, as His goodness and mercy float into our spirits and raises the levels of our confidence and spiritual maturity, which gives us the strength, wisdom and patience to carry on with the Lord’s work in this evil and ungodly world.
And our opening song of worship this morning is a relatively young one, only about three decades old. (smile) Its that famous gospel soul tune done by the then popular gospel group, Andrae Crouch and the Disciples, titled ‘Take Me Back Dear Lord,’ from the album of the same name. Many of you might not know it, and I only rediscovered it myself a few weeks ago. I’d completely forgotten how sweet and soulful it was, and how the lyrics resonated especially well for these sad times of lessening and lost faith in Almighty God.
So let’s raise our voices in sacrificial praise, in a sweet, soulful, heartfelt and harmonious version of the song. And we begin with a double dose of the haunting chorus: ‘(Chorus: Take me back, take me back dear Lord, To the place where I first received you. Take me back, take me back dear Lord, to where I first believed) (twice) I feel, that I’m so far from you Lord, But still I hear you calling me. Those simple things that I once knew, The memories are drawing me. I must confess, Lord I’ve been blessed, But yet my soul’s not satisfied. Renew my faith, restore my joy, And dry my weeping eyes.
(Chorus ‘Oh Lord, Oh Lord Take me back…) (Bridge:) I tried so hard, To make it all alone. I need your help Lord, Just to make it home. (Chorus: Take me back, dear Lord, Please take me back, to the place where I first received you. Take me back, take me back dear Lord where I first believed. Ohhh Take me back dear Lord, Take me back, I’m pleading dear Lord, I’ve got to get back there, to the place where I first received you! Take me back, dear Lord, Back to the place where I first believed.’
Ah friends, it’s a simple song, but it says oh so much. And right now I believe it mirrors the state of Christ’s church in these fickle and faithless times. It calls, it cries out for a strong renewing of our faith. For us to go back to the time when we first received Christ. How we were excited and overjoyed to be His disciple, to do His work. Not like we currently are, lazy, cynical, and joyless. Yes my people, we need to get back to those times when we truly believed in God. For as the song says, so many of us feel so far from God, but we still hear Him calling us; the memories keep drawing us back to Him.
And to truly find ourselves, we need to get back to the simple things we once knew. For, although we know we’ve been blessed, yet there’s still dissatisfaction in our souls because with all the confusion and temptations in this world, we’ve strayed from the path God set us on. Remember what Jesus said: ‘Enter ye in at the strait (narrow) gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in there at: Because strait (how narrow) is the gate, and narrow (difficult or confined) is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.’ (Matt. 7:13-14)
Yes my people, many of us have unfortunately strayed from that straight and narrow path where life is found, and we desperately need to get back to it, so that our faith can be renewed, our joy restored and our tear-filled eyes dried. We’ve become like Jesus said in the parable of the Sower: ‘He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care (cares) of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.’ (Matt. 13:22)
It’s sad, but true that we’ve fallen prey to the pretty baubles and bangles that the world advertises and we’ve forgotten God and been trying to make it on our own. But that’s a total impossibility. We can NEVER make it on our own. No! Never without the Lord’s help. And how do we get back to where we began? I believe the first thing is to remember these encouraging words of Jesus from the Beatitudes: ‘Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.’ (Matt. 5:6)
Yes friends, we need to regain that deep desire for personal righteousness. We need to realize our spiritual poverty and hunger and thirst for that inner satisfaction which only God can give. As the psalmist so rightly says in Psalm 107: ‘For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.’ (Ps. 107) That’s the gospel truth! And how do we do all of that you ask? I guess we can begin with these words of Bruh Paul to the church at Rome. ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.’ (Rom. 12:2)
And what does renewing your mind mean, and how do we do it in practical terms? This simple commentary explains it in a down to earth manner. ‘Renewing your mind means doing away with unhealthy thought patterns and replacing them with true, godly ones. You take notice of thoughts you have that don’t line up with scripture (truth), and when that thought comes up, choose not to keep thinking that thought.’
But then, to do that means you have to know the truth, for as Jesus said, ‘…thy word is truth.’ Now that in turn means meditating continually on the Word, so that it’s truth can fill you, and you have it right there to use when needed. And believe me, it’s always needed in these turbulent times. So let’s get serious about our faith and turn back to God, hungering for His righteousness, renewing our minds and meditating on His Word, so that we can faithfully walk the straight and narrow path that leads to life eternal! Much LOVE!
…only as we sincerely seek God…will we find Him…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
10 Jun 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: agent of Jesus, answer our prayers, believe me for the works sake, believing, Bible, disobeyed your word, divine help, do good work for Jesus, faith, faith can move mountains, faith like a mustard seed, go ye therefore and teach all nations, god, grace, greater works than these, he that believeth on me, humble servants, I am in the Father, if ye have faith and doubt not, in the name of the Father, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus, Jesus Christ, LOVE, mass confusion, mercy, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, negative situations, of the Holy Ghost, of the Son, put our whole hearts into it, receptive ears, repentnace, salvation, sincerely seek your face, strong faith in Christ, the Father is in me, the Father may be glorified in the Son, the Father that dwelleth in me, the God who heals, the works that I do shall he also do, turn from our evil ways, welcome Monday, whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, wisdom
John 14:12. … he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do;
Welcome Monday! We’re up and about and just dying to greet you, to get out into the evil and ungodly world and so some good work for Jesus! So greetings, as we open this new work week, where things in the world have not really improved, possibly gotten worse, but with Christ in front, behind and beside us we can most definitely make some amazing changes, if we put our whole hearts, bodies, souls and minds into the work.
For as Jesus said to the disciples after Philip asked Him to show them the Father. (John 14:8) ‘Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself (my own authority): but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works sake.’ (John 14:10 -11)
And the scholars explain that last verse thus: ‘Works sake: Jesus reiterates what He had said to the Pharisees (10:38), but here His words fall on receptive ears. The works have evidential value to the unsaved (to convince of the truth), and the saved (to assure them of the truth.’ So even if you refuse to believe Jesus, there is enough evidence of the truth in the works themselves. And just to spoon feed us a bit, (smile) John 10:37-38 says: ‘If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.’
Then Jesus continues to the disciples: ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.’ (John 14:12) Yes friends, we are meant to do greater works than Jesus. That is greater in quantity, but not quality. In the sense that Christ’s ministry was primarily meant for Israel. But His followers were going to spread the gospel to the whole world.
As He said to them in the Great Commission: ‘Go ye therefore and teach (make disciples) of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.’ (Matt. 28:19) That means we are empowered my fellow believers; empowered to take the gospel to all parts of the world, and there’s nothing to stop us but ourselves. Especially after Jesus made these momentous statements. ‘And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.’ (John 14:13-14)
And the scholars explain those verses by saying: ‘In my name means “as My agent.” The promise of answered prayer is based on the disciple acting as the agent of Jesus’ will (cf. 16:23-26). It is also linked here especially in the accomplishment of the “greater works.” The promise is for unlimited resources to do the works of God.’ There we have it friends! That’s why we can confidently claim to have the power to do anything that God wills us to do.
And Jesus tells us that all throughout the gospels. For example, in Matthew, after He had cursed the fig tree that had only leaves but no fruit, and the disciples marvelled at how soon it withered. He said to them: ‘Verily, 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 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. 21:21-22)
So there’s absolutely no reason for us to doubt the amazing and awesome power that resides within us when we have faith, ask in prayer and believe! Let’s remember though that whatever we ask must be in the Father’s will, not just our selfish desires. I rest my case then for saying above that we have everything we need to go out this Monday morning and do whatever is necessary to forward the name of Christ and His Good News Gospel. So let’s get up and go and do our duty nuh. Jesus expects us to be good agents and ambassadors for His kingdom.
And to help us in our endeavours in these tough times, let’s seek divine aid through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. Altogether now: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face.
So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
And please remember that divine help depends to a great extent on us turning from our evil ways, and sincerely seeking the Lord’s face! Much LOVE!
…even a little faith…like a mustard seed…can move mountains…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
09 Jun 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a kind of first fruits, a kingdom destination, a refreshed Spirit, acknowledge our gratitude, Ah cyar leave Him, begat us with the word of truth, Bible, christianity, chutney soca, Denyse Plummer, every good gift, every perfect gift is from above, faith, fellowship, for God I go dead, For God man I living, from hell bound to holiness, from revelry to righteousness, from sin to salvation, full of life but so empty, go tell my enemies, god, he is my shelter, He loves me and he cares, He's my King of Kings, holy spirit, I am a light into the world, I am Alpha and Omega, I am the way the truth and the life, I am under the rock, I found the truth, I saw the light, in his arms you'll find me there, in times of storm, Jahovah, Jahovah hides me, Jesu is the best upgrade, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus is the cause, LOVE, mercy, miracle worker, Na Leaving, never condemn or forsaken me, no shadow of turning, no variableness, of his own will, on my way to a fiery end, rose up just like a boss, salvation, should not abide in darkness, sing God's praises, someone told me about a Saviour, Sunday, the amazing transformation Jesus brings, the beginning and the end, the Father of lights, the First and the Last, the greatest decision, the reason I'm still living, the rock is higher than I, truth, wallowing deep in a pig pen, when yuh see me smiling, whosever believeth on me, wisdom, with God all things are possible, worth much more than silver or gold, Yahweh, Yeshua
John 12:46. I am come a light into the world that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
Sunday, oh Sunday! What a blessed day! One for joining in fellowship and worship with other believers in the Lord’s sanctuary, to offer thanks and gratitude and receive a refuelled and refreshed Spirit from our heavenly Father. Or as James puts it: ‘Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness (variation), neither shadow of turning. (Who) Of his own will begat us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.’ (James 1:17-18)
Yes friends, that’s how important we are in the creation of the universe; we rank first! And that’s why it’s also important for us to join other believers at least once a week, if possibly on Sunday, the Lord’s day, to acknowledge our gratitude and sing His praises. And our song of praise and worship today certainly exemplifies how important our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is in our every day lives, for we going down south for the music, some sweet chutney soca from T&T; the beautiful meshing of African and East Indian riddims. It’s title says it all: ‘Ah Cyar Leave Him!’
Oh yes, it’s the reworked soca hit of the late departed Queen of Soca, turned Gospel Chanteuse, Miss Denyse Plummer. The original was titled ‘Na Leaving,’ which celebrated all the good things those who were leaving T&T would miss. Now, ‘Na Leaving’ was always one of my favourite soca songs, both for the lyrics and riddim, so you can imagine when she changed the lyrics to gospel it immediately became one of my favourites. But enough talk, I can’t wait to sing this wonderful song. So, lets raise our sweet voices in a sacrifice of praise in a scintillating, up-tempo down south, passionate version, remembering both Jesus Christ for His life saving work on our behalf, and Miss Plummer for giving us this beautiful piece of music with which to uplift Him.
And as the sweet, easy rocking chutney soca music starts, we hear a couple bars, then we shout out ‘Jesus…Yahweh…Yeshua… Jahovah! From revelry to righteousness…Cyar leave Him. From hell-bound to holiness…Cyar leave Him. From sin to salvation…Cyar leave him. A kingdom destination…Cyar leave Him. There I was, in my glee, wallowing deep in a pig pen, full of life, but so empty, on my way to a fiery end. But someone told me about a Saviour, who said He LOVES me and He cares. In times of storm He is my shelter, so in His arms you’ll find me there.
Yuh see ah cyar live life without Him, He is my King of Kings, He’s the reason I’m still living. Ah cyar leave Him…ah cyar leave Him. Never condemn or forsaken me dread…Ah cyar leave Him…ah cyar leave Him. For God man I living, For God I go dead. There are so few, who made it through, and come from the darkness of this world. But I saw the light, I found the truth. I have more than silver, more than gold. I gave my life over to Jesus, the greatest decision I’ve made. Boy I recommend you try Him, Jesus is the best upgrade.
He came to earth and died on the cross, rose up just like a boss, when yuh see me smiling, He’s the cause. Ah cyar leave Him…ah cyar leave Him. Never condemn or forsaken me dread…Ah cyar leave Him…ah cyar leave Him. For God man I living, For God I go dead. I am under the rock. The rock is higher than I. Jahovah hides me. I am under the rock. Go tell my enemies, that I am under the rock. Jahovah hides me, I am under the rock. I am under the rock.
The rock is higher than I. Jahovah hides me. I am under the rock. Go tell my enemies, that I am under the rock. Jahovah hides me, I am under the rock. From revelry to righteousness…Cyar leave Him. From hell-bound to holiness…Cyar leave Him. From sin to salvation…Cyar leave him. A kingdom destination…Cyar leave Him. Jesus…Yahweh…Yeshua… Jahovah! (And we shout again) Jesus…Yahweh…Yeshua… Jahovah!’
Wow mih bredrin! What sweet worship! And yuh better believe that is the kind of difference, the amazing transformation Jesus performs in our lives when we surrender our all to Him! And yuh know what? Once we get with Him, it’s impossible to leave Him! No, we just cyar leave him at all, at all, at all. Mama Mia! Such is the LOVE and inspiration He inspires in us! And why won’t we be ecstatic eh, when we moving from ‘unholy revelry to righteousness… from hell-bound to holiness…from sin to salvation…a kingdom destination…’ We ought to if we’re wise, because then we’re moving in the right direction.
And yuh see what happens when we tell others about Jesus? They stop wallowing in a pig pen and come to the One who LOVES and truly cares, as He so definitely showed when He gave His sinless life so selflessly on the cross of Calvary to settle our sin debt in full. In times of storm He is definitely our shelter. And glory to God, He never condemns nor forsakes us! What a wonderful Saviour is our Jesus! And when you find Jesus, you indeed find the light and truth of it all, for He is the light of the world, as He says: ‘I am come a light into the world that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.’ (John 12:46)
And as per the truth, He let’s us know in no uncertain terms: ‘I am the way the through and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ (John 14:6) Yes my people, you’ll never see, much less enter through the pearly gates of heaven unless you accept Christ as Lord and Saviour! That’s for sure!
And believe me, when you have Jesus, not only is it the best decision you’ll ever make, but you also have much more than either silver or gold, for seeing that He is the Creator and Controller of the universe, everything in the world belongs to Him, and He’s able to protect you from your enemies. He’s bigger than your biggest problem. What’s impossible for man, is not for God, for with God, all things are possible. (Matt. 19:26) So you have nothing whatsoever to fear when you have Jesus as your Lord and Saviour.
And I like how the song puts it; He’s the best upgrade. And you can’t deny that, for once you have Him on your side you’ll never need to make any other improvements. For as He so rightly says: ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last!’ (Rev. 22:12) Now whom else do you need when you have that amazing, compassionate miracle worker in your life eh? NOBODY! So please, if you haven’t yet chosen Jesus as your be all and end all, I’d strongly advise that you waste no more time and do it today! Much LOVE!
…with Jesus in your corner of the ring…you need no seconds…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
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