16 May 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a time of hope, abundant in goodness and truth, alive with God's grace, avoid evil, beloved of God, better late than never, between friends, Bob Colaresi, clean out hearts, cleanse, concentrate on good, consequences, death and resurrection of Jesus, deceits, dying, forgiveness of sin, forgiving iniquity, freedom, friend of Jesus, glory hallelujah, God of hope, God's will, goodness, grace, gracious, hope, human drama, iniquity, Jesus Christ, junk, kindness, lies, long-suffering, merciful, mercy, Moses, new beginnings, new future, new possibilities, prince of darkness, raised us up, reflection, renewal, renewed life, rich in mercy, right relationship with God, rising, selfless sacrifice, shining brightly in our hearts, Society of the Little Flower, spring, spring thinking, St. Therese, the goodness of God, the gospel, the Lord God, the Lord passed by, transgressions, trust, truth, Tuesday Mantra
Exodus 34:6. And the Lord passed by before him (Moses), and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.
Aye mih people, my sincerest apologies for the Bit’s tardiness today, (smile) but I had one of those real late early mornings, and the ole bod simply refused to get up when I asked it to. But as they say, better late than never.
And though a light drizzle is falling in my area, making it a somewhat grey morning, we know that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is shining brightly in our hearts, minds, bodies and souls! Glory Hallelujah!
And today, I want to share with us some exciting and reassuring words from Father Bob Colaresi’s opening remarks in the Spring Edition of ‘Between Friends,’ the newsletter of the Friends of the Society of the Little Flower (St. Therese of Liseux).
He is talking about hope and renewal: ‘Spring is a time of HOPE. God is our God of HOPE. The Gospel is about HOPE – Renewed Life. The celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus speaks to the human drama of dying and rising – always rising to new possibilities, sometimes beyond our imagining.’
And isn’t that the indisputable truth my fellow followers of Christ? It surely is! For it was HOPE that our glorious Lord and Saviour was born, died and rose from the grave for us to have; so that we can embrace a new future filled with good things.
And as the article in the Between Friends Newsletter also says: ‘Spring is a time to reflect on what we need to let go of so we can be alive with God’s grace, possibilities and freedom.’
Oh what a profound and true statement my brethren! Spring is not only the time to clean our homes and garages and get rid of unnecessary junk, but it’s also a time to clean our hearts, bodies and souls of the worthless stuff that’s gathered there, and is keeping us from having the true and right relationship with our heavenly Father that we so desperately need to have.
So I invite us to day to have what we shall call ‘spring thinking,’ where we endeavour to cleanse ourselves of anything that’s not moving us towards God’s will for our lives.
And one of the ways we can do that is simply by concentrating on the goodness of our God, as enshrined in our Bit. ‘And the Lord passed by before him (Moses), and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.’
Yeh friends, one of the easiest ways to avoid evil, is to concentrate on good; so that the mind has no place for the lies and deceits of the prince of darkness. But listen to what the Lord told Moses after our Bit.
‘Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and fourth generation.’ (Ex.34:7)
Now the end of that statement sounds somewhat harsh, but with the coming of Jesus that was somewhat mitigated, for everybody now has to bear the consequences for their own transgressions.
But Glory to God, there’s still mercy and forgiveness of sin! And nowhere is God’s goodness spelled out more succinctly than in Bruh Paul’s words to the Ephesians on the terms of grace and faith.
‘But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great LOVE wherewith he LOVED us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us (made us alive) together with Christ, (by grace ye are (have been) saved;)
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might show his grace in his kindness toward us through (in) Christ Jesus.’ (Eph.2:4-7)
How magnanimous is that eh my precious people! Our wonderful God LOVED us so much, that even when we were dead in our transgressions, He gave us an option to be lifted out of the mire, to rise godly and righteous, through the selfless sacrifice of His most adorable Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
Wow! I can’t help saying it friends: ‘What a wonderful God we serve and worship! There’s NONE else like Him in all the world! Praise and Bless His Holy Name!’
Now let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra, extolling who and whose we are. With strong conviction now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
So if that’s what we are about my brethren, then let’s go out now and share it with the rest of the world, as our friend Jesus desires of us. Much LOVE!
…spring…the time of resurrection…of cleansing…of new beginnings…
15 May 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a shelter, abundant in goodness and truth, antidote, appreciation, attributes, aura of love, condemn self, confidence, cup of java, earthly pilgrimage, enthusiasm, expectant faith, faith, fear, friends, glorious kingdom, goodness, gospel truth, grace, gracious, gratitude, hoarded, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, hungry hope, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, joy, judging others, lies, long-suffering, LOVE, meet the enemy, merciful, mercy, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Moses, Mother's Day, peace, plots of man, Praise the Lord, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, repentance, rest, righteousness., spiritual armour, steadfast faith, sure conquerors, taunts, the goodness of God, the land of the living, the Lord God, the Lord passed by, the state of our livers, the strife of tongues, the Ten Commandments, throughout the year, trust, truth, ungodly world, wiles, wisdom, work
Exodus 34:6. And the Lord passed by before him (Moses), and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.
Well mih breddren, the Mother’s Day celebrations over now! Hope we celebrated our mothers in fine style, but that we’ll also show them a greater level of appreciation and gratitude all throughout the year, rather than on just this one day. I know they like the fuss and bother on their special day, but I’m sure they’ll prefer to have a li’l of that each and every day where possible.
Anyway, it’s time to get back to the common grind and daily task, the humdrum aspects of a working life, so that we can enjoy the fruits of our labour. And I know that many of us are suffering from too much celebrating, and it’s difficult to get up and face the very idea of going to work, but get up and go, we must.
So to help us with the Monday morning wake up, we have this antidote, this prayer called the Monday Morning Battle Hymn that jolts us awake even better than a hot, strong cup of java. (smile) So let’s sing it now with lots of enthusiasm, expectant faith and hungry hope nuh.
‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
That was pretty good friends, considering the state of our livers! (smile) Jesus, our choirmaster smiled knowingly at some of the harshness, but He respected and acknowledged our enthusiastic effort. So with the adrenaline bubbling in our veins, let’s go out now and take the battle to the heathen, this Monday morning in Jesus’ name, for the glory of God the Father!
And all God’s people declared a loud and proud: ‘Praise the Lord! His goodness reigns forever!’
And that it surely does, as the Lord Himself proclaimed to Moses when he went up the mountain the second time for the tables of stone containing the Ten Commandments. ‘And the Lord passed by before him (Moses), and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.’
Now that’s our great God Himself, extolling some of His many wonderful attributes, goodness being one of them. And since we know that he cannot lie, then we must accept His words as gospel truth. Now, let’s just look at a few scriptures, from the human perspective, which prove the point.
And one of the most well-known is that verse from Psalm 27 – The Lord is my light and my salvation, where Bruh David ardently proclaims: ‘I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.’ (Ps.27:13)
So true friends, so true! What’s the purpose of having this good God eh, if we can’t experience some of His goodness in our earthly pilgrimage?
Now hear another mighty man of God, Bruh Paul, as he admonishes the Romans re judging others is to condemn self. ‘And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgement of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?’ (Rom.2:3-4)
Ah mih people, so wonderful is God’s goodness that it leads us to repentance! Praise his Holy Name!
And listen to Bruh David again, this time from Psalm 31 – In thee O Lord, do I put my trust. ‘Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! Thou shalt hide them in the secret (places) of thy presence from the pride (plots) of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion (shelter) from the strife of tongues.’ (Ps.31:19-20)
Oh friends, we can’t ask any more than that from God! He’s got all those who believe in Him covered on all fronts. And what’s the purpose of all that goodness eh? So that we can go forth here on earth and proclaim it, as well as show it through the way we live our daily lives. The Lord’s goodness is meant to be shared my people, not merely hoarded for one’s own good!
Now let’s go out today and show it in spades nuh; let’s broadcast it to all and sundry: the Lord is GOOD! He is GOOD INDEED! Much LOVE!
…true goodness can only beget goodness…
06 May 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a believer in Jesus Christ, a victim, anger, blatantly flouting, bring you flowers, bullied, calamity, caveat, circumstances, companionable silence, decorate your own soul, disaster, disobedience, Don Valley Parkway, earth, enemies, God's wise help, grace, heaven, high places, Hosea, I shall not want, judges, liars, manipulate, mercy, Moses, my help comes from the Lord, negative consequences, obedient to God's law, our help, our shield, our soul waits for the Lord, pagan worship, plant your garden, proviso, rains, reap what we sow, riding with Jesus, silence., talking to God, the Don River, the Lord gives, The Lord is my shepherd, the Lord takes, the tribes of Israel, wisdom, with God in attendance, wrath
Psalm 121:2. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
And then it was Saturday… and the rains have stopped…though for how long, no one knows. Yes friends Friday was a wonderful rainy day! (smile) I left home to go to my appointment in the city around eleven in the morning, but did not get back home until four thirty in the afternoon, and all throughout that time it rained steadily.
At one stage they were even talking about closing the main north south highway, Don Valley Parkway because it runs near to the Don River which overflows its banks and floods the highway when there is a lot of rain. And strangely enough there wasn’t as much traffic as I expected going into the city yesterday. It was harder traversing the downtown roads than the highway. I guess the rain kept a lot of people away.
So Jesus and I just rode in companionable silence, looking out at the bleak and dreary landscape, listening to the variety of beautiful tunes emanating from the stereo system, smiling at each other when a particular tune that we liked blared forth. Oh my brethren, it’s such a pleasure riding with Jesus, I just wish more of us would consider it. You’d never go back to riding alone.
Anyway it’s Saturday, which means we have to check out some of this week’s quotes from our friend Anselm, whose avowed aspiration is to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Listen to this first one: ‘Plant your garden and decorate your own soul, instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.’ Yeh, we ought to have a big hand in building our own lives, not merely waiting for others to boost us…with God in attendance though.
And that leads to this: ‘Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself.’ Oh so true my people! We should NEVER allow ourselves to be bullied period! And again, I would add, define yourself…but with God’s wise help. (smile)
Now hear this last quote: ‘People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.’
Now I agree that we should not allow our circumstances to control us, but we must also be very careful in trying to manipulate circumstances to fit our agenda, for they can very often run contrary to God’s plans for us. So again I will have to add a caveat to the quote: do nothing without talking to God first. That’s wisdom 101 my faithful breddren!
That brings us to our Bit, which espouses that very wisdom. ‘My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.’
Yes friends, we saw that in yesterday’s reading of Psalm 121. And if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, then that should be the overriding factor in every one of your decisions. For if the Lord made the heaven and the earth, then whom else would you logically turn to for help eh? Obviously the great Creator! God should always be our FIRST counsellor, not our LAST, as so many of us unfortunately tend to make Him.
Now let’s check out some scripture that wisely advises us to keep God first place in our lives. Listen to Moses as he blesses the tribes of Israel before his death. ‘Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency (majesty)! And thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee (submit to you); and thou shalt tread upon (down) their high places (places of pagan worship). (Deut.33:29)
Ah friends, those same circumstances pertain to us today, provided we are obedient to God’s law. But since we are so blatantly flouting it, what else can we expect but negative consequences; calamity and disaster.
And the psalmist puts it this way. ‘Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.’ (Ps.33:20-22)
And you’ll notice I highlighted that last piece, because there is a rather important proviso contained therein; as we hope and believe in and obey the Lord, He will bless us proportionately. We will only reap what we sow.
And we’ll end with these interesting verses from the prophet Hosea, as he foretold Israel’s destruction. ‘O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help. I will be thy king: where is any other that may save thee in all thy cities? And thy judges of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes? I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath.’ (Hos.13:9-11)
Yuh see friends, the Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh, and His wrath is not something we really want to experience. But if we continue down our current road of disobedience, believe me, we will eventually feel it. So true wisdom dictates that we repent and return to the godly ways we once followed, if we want to enjoy the Lord’s grace and mercy. Much LOVE!
…the Lord is my shepherd…I shall not want…
30 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a pardon receives, atonement for our sins, bacteria, benefits, bitter waters, bless the Lord oh my soul, bondage, borne our griefs, breath of life, by his stripes, chastisement, Christian lives, commandments, confidence, diseases, Easter, Egypt, exodus, Fanny Crosby, forget not his benefits, give ear, give him the glory, God's will, grateful people, gratitude, great things he hath done, hearken to God's voice, iniquities, Israelites, Jesus the Son, let the earth hear his voice, Marah, medical science, Moses, pains, Pharaoh, plagues, Praise the Lord, rebel, redemption, renewal, resurrection, right in his sight, sacrifice of praise, sacrificial offering, saints in Christ, sicknesses, sincerity, sins, smitten, sorrows, statutes, stricken, suffering servant, sweeten the waters, the Great healer, the Great Physician, the life-gate, the people rejoice, the promise of God, the purchase of blood, the suffering of Jesus, the vilest offender, To God be the glory, trust, weather forecasters, who healeth all thy diseases
Psalm 103:2. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.
Aye friends, it’s a wet morning, as promised by the weather forecasters, so please get your hats, brollies and raincoats out for your trip to church today.
And to open our section on praise and worship, we couldn’t do any better than this old Fanny Crosby hymn; ‘To God be the Glory.’ So let’s belt it out with sure confidence and trust, offering up the sacrifice of praise to heaven with our earthly voices.
‘To God be the glory, great things He hath done, So loved He the world that He gave us His Son, Who yielded His life our redemption to win, And opened the life-gate that all may go in.
(Refrain: Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the earth hear His voice; Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the people rejoice; Oh, come to the Father, through Jesus the Son, And give Him the glory; great things He hath done.)
Oh, perfect redemption, the purchase of blood, To every believer the promise of God; The vilest offender who truly believes, That moment from Jesus a pardon receives. (Refrain)
Great things He hath taught us, great things He hath done, And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son; But purer, and higher, and greater will be Our wonder, our transport when Jesus we see.
(Refrain: Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the earth hear His voice; Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the people rejoice; Oh, come to the Father, through Jesus the Son, And give Him the glory; great things He hath done.’
Oh my beautiful saints in Christ, our great God has certainly done great things, both in our individual lives and in the world! None greater though than the sacrificial offering of His sinless Son, Jesus Christ for the atonement of our abominable sins!
Consequently, as grateful people, we ought to praise and thank Him with the very deepest of gratitude and sincerity, each and every moment that we breathe His wonderful and enabling breath of life!
That’s why our Bit is ever so applicable, especially at this Easter Season of renewal and resurrection. ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.’
Now, if we are true believers, then I don’t see how we could ever do that. But unfortunately, there are many, Christians included, who do it. But I won’t get on that horse today, (smile) I’ll just continue to point out scripture that validate our Bit and the benefits proclaimed by Bruh David.
And today we’ll look at the second part of verse 3: ‘who healeth all thy diseases.’ Now isn’t that something else! For our God is known as the Great Physician, the Great Healer! And that, He has certainly proven numerous times down during the ages.
And if you don’t believe me, listen to Moses at the bitter waters of Marah, where the Israelites on their exodus from Egypt, threatened to rebel, until the Lord caused Moses to sweeten the waters.
Then Moses made this rule for the people to test them. ‘If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.’ (Ex.15:26).
Yeh mih people, remember the many plagues that the Lord brought down on Egypt when Pharaoh refused to let them go out of his bondage? Well the Lord promised then, and that promise still stands to this day, that if we are obedient to His will and law, that we won’t be plagued by sickness.
But have you noticed that recently, despite our great advancements in medical science, that we are seeing the comeback of certain diseases that we thought we’d already conquered?
And that there is also a big scare that the current strains of bacteria in our society are getting so powerful that our medicines can no longer kill them?
I wonder why that is eh my people? Can it have something to do with our not following God’s will and law? Selah. Yeh friends, think on that for a moment or two nuh.
And we’ll close today with these immortal verses form Isaiah, re the suffering servant, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. ‘Surely he hath borne our griefs (sicknesses), and carried our sorrows (pains): yet we did esteem (reckon) him stricken, smitten of (struck down by) God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded (pierced through) for our transgressions, he was bruised (crushed) for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes (terrible blows that cut into him) we are healed.’ (Is.53:4-5)
Yeh mih breddren, plenty of us like to rhyme of that last verse without much thought of its true meaning, but today let’s sit down and ponder what it truly means nuh. Let’s consider its real purpose in our Christian lives, and how it is especially important in this Easter Season. Much LOVE!
…ALL healing comes from Almighty God…our Maker and Healer…through the suffering of Jesus…
05 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bind, ambassadors, better you should not vow, bind his soul with a bond, binding agreement, blemish, defer not to pay it, destroy the work of thine hands, favour, fear thou God, fellowship, forsake me never, futility, glory to God, God be angry at thy voice, God hath no pleasure in fools, God's looking at our hearts, grace, great privilege, he shall not break his word, hearsay, His godly character, his helping hand, I'll lean upon, I'll talk with god, I'll walk with God., let thy mouth cause thy flesh to sin, many words, may the Lord be ever with me, medical problems, mercy, Moses, my faith is strong, my humble pleas, my prayer, pain, pay that which thou hast vowed, pay thee my vows, personal testimony, promised to work everything out for my good, renege on our promise, sacrifices of praise, Selah, Sunday, swear an oath, than vow and not pay, The Israelites, the Lord's time, the multitude of dreams, there is no death, though eyes grow dim, uncertainty, vowest a vow unto God, walking with God, will not fail me, wisdom, worship God in all truth
Ecclesiastes 5:4. When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer (delay) not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
Oh friends, we’ve been granted the great privilege of seeing another of the first and best days of the week- Sunday! Glory to God! So let’s gather in sincere fellowship and worship Him in all truth, as we are supposed to on this special day nuh. And we’ll begin the celebrations, the sacrifices of praise by singing this popular Christian song, ‘I’ll Walk with God.’
Now let’s belt it out like we truly mean and believe it my people, because God is looking at our hearts to see if what comes out of mouths is truly what’s buried there. Now with a great outpouring of LOVE, let’s raise the roof of heaven.
‘I’ll Walk with God from this day on. His helping hand I’ll lean upon. This is my prayer, my humble plea, May the Lord be ever with me. There is no death, tho’ eyes grow dim. There is no fear when I’m near to Him. I’ll lean on Him forever And He’ll forsake me never. He will not fail me As long as my faith is strong, Whatever road I may walk along.
I’ll Walk with God, I’ll take His hand. I’ll talk with God, He’ll understand. I’ll pray to Him, each day to Him And He’ll hear the words that I say. His hand will guide my throne and rod And I’ll never walk alone While I walk with God.’
Oh my fellow believers, that was magnificent! And God heard it in His high heaven and was immensely thrilled!
However, let me remind us of what we just did there: we just made a promise, or rather several promises to Almighty God – to walk and talk with Him and hold His hand. So that means we cannot renege on those promises, for as the Preacher tells us in our Bit from Ecclesiastes. ‘When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer (delay) not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.’
And we have good authority for that from way back when in Numbers, when Moses gave the Israelites the law concerning vows. ‘If a man vow a vow unto the Lord, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond (binding himself by some agreement); he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.’ (Num.30:2)
The same applied to women too, unless her father or husband heard her sware the vow and squashed it right then and there. (Num.30:3-8) Meanwhile, the same went of widows and divorcees, unless their vows were made when they were still with their husbands and they said nothing to the contrary. (Num.30.9-15)
So you see friends, vows were taken rather seriously back in those days, and even until recently, with our sudden explosion of irresponsibility and fraudulent behaviour. Therefore it’s not only to God that we shouldn’t make vows and not keep them, but to ALL people. It should be a general way of life amongst believers.
And the keeping of vows was, and still is, so important that the writer of Ecclesiastes solemnly advised us. ‘Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. Suffer not (do not let) thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel (messenger, priest), that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice (excuse), and destroy the work of thine hands.’ (Eccl.5:5-6)
So friends, that just puts us in a beautiful bind; we just have to keep those promises now, and sincerely walk with the Lord. (smile) Believe me though friends, walking with God is not always easy, but the rewards are worth every ounce of pain and/or disappointment. And I am not talking from hearsay, but from personal testimony.
Ah mih breddren, in the last little while I’ve been going through a whole set of medical problems, and though at times I was tired of the pain and uncertainty, I could always see the Lord’s grace and mercy and favour riding along with me. And even though I’m feeling somewhat better now, the fact is that none of my medical problems have been solved or corrected. But at least we know about them and are in the process of doing something about them.
But even then, making things right will still take time, the Lord’s time, so all I can do is stay faithful and walk with God, because He has promised to work everything out for my eventual good. And I know from past experiences that He is ever faithful to His vows. He NEVER reneges on any of them. How yuh think I can write the Bit every day, despite my unfortunate circumstances eh? So why should I get all worried and anxious eh? That’s not going to solve the problem(s), only make me feel worse.
Now listen to the psalmist talk about vows, as he extols the great works of God in Psalm 66. ‘I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows (promised deeds), which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble. I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams: I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah.’ (Ps.66:13-15)
Yuh see friends, that is how we must behave as true believers in Jesus Christ our wonderful Lord and Saviour! Anything else will just place a serious blemish on His godly character. Remember we are His ambassadors down here on earth, and all that we do reflects on Him, for either good or bad.
And we’ll close with another pearl of wisdom from the Preacher. ‘For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities (futility abounds): but fear thou God.’ (Eccl.5:7)
That’s indeed the long and short of the story my people, so let’s pursue it diligently and sincerely nuh. Much LOVE!
…walking with God…is the ONLY path of wisdom in this crazy world…
06 Dec 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: be content, be nor dismayed, be strong, beloved children of Almighty God, caring, challenging weekend, Christians, conduct, covetousness, David, encouraging words, ever-present help of God, faith, faith building, fear not, flying colours, friends, grace, grace and mercy of God, he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, Herculean task, hurry, Jesus, magnanimous god, majestic, mercy, Moses, neither forsake thee, of a good courage, praise his holy name, Praise the Lord, promise, share His love, Solomon, the beloved of God, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the Godhead of the Holy Trinity, the Good Book, the Holy Trinity, the Lord goes before thee, The Lord is my helper, the Lord thy God is with thee, trust, trust my friend, Tuesday Mantra, understanding God, weak, what a privilege, whining, wishy-washy, worry
Deuteronomy 31:8. And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.
Ah friends and neighbours, at last there is some decent heat in the ole homestead! Praise the Lord!
It has indeed been a challenging weekend without proper heat. A couple of heat space savers can never replace a central system. But through the good grace and mercy of our wonderful God we made it through. Praise His Holy Name!
You know you always hear about certain situations and imagine what they feel like, but not until you personally go through them do you really appreciate the good side of the equation. Hn! Now I know what it’s like to be without proper heat for a cold weekend. (smile)
But we’ll simply chalk that up to faith building, because that’s exactly what it was; an exercise to see how we’d react under less than perfect conditions. But again, with the ever-present help of our magnanimous, caring and understanding God we came through it all with flying colours! Please give Him the wonderful praise He so rightfully deserves!
And on this chilly Tuesday morning, to further boost our spirits and our faith, let’s declare our Tuesday Mantra with sincere enthusiasm and strong belief, otherwise, we’re simply wasting our time.
In unison now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
Yes my people, that’s indeed who we are; beautiful and beloved children of Almighty God! Wow! What a privilege! And to make our situation even better, we are also friends of our wonderful Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! It certainly couldn’t get any better than that my faithful, believing brethren!
But we’re wrong, it does get better. Listen to our Bit nuh. ‘And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.’
Ah mih people, what a majestic and magnanimous God we serve! He had Moses make that statement to Joshua when he assumed leadership of the Israelites many moons ago, but the excellent thing is that that awesome promise still exists today, and still applies to each and every one of us who proclaims true belief and faith in the Godhead of the Holy Trinity.
No other supposed deity makes such a promise…and faithfully keeps it too. That’s why I find it mind-boggling when others say they don’t believe in the ONE true and LIVING God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Now hear the refreshing and encouraging words of Moses to the people of Israel, before he spoke our Bit to Joshua. ‘Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.’ (Deut.31:6)
Oh friends and faithful believers that ought to resonate deeply within our souls, because it is the gospel truth! And it’s a promise that’s been used, been given several times throughout the Good Book. Let’s look at a few of them, beginning with the Lord’s words to Joshua after Moses died and he took on the Herculean task of leading the Israelites.
‘There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.’ (Josh.1:5) And it’s a promise the Lord faithfully kept.
But in the very next verses, the Lord point out Joshua’s responsibility. ‘Be strong and of a good courage… Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest do all the law which my servant Moses commanded thee… Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.’ (Josh.1:6, 7, 9).
Yes precious people of God, three times in four verses the Lord commanded Joshua to be strong and courageous, and it’s the very same message that He’s sending out to each of us today. We need to believe His promises and stand strong and faithful upon them.
Now hear Bruh David’s words to Cousin Sol re the building of the temple. ‘And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the Lord God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord.’ (1 Chr.28:20)
The same thing applies to us today my brethren: The Lord will be with us all the way in our service to glorify His name. He will not fail nor forsake us, so we have no reason to be afraid and dismayed.
And we’ll end with more encouraging words, this time from Hebrews, re Service well-pleasing to God. ‘Let your conversation (conduct) be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall (can) do unto me.’ (Heb.13:5-6)
Ah mih fellow believers, from the beginning of the Good Book, right through to the end, we’ve been admonished to be strong and courageous because our omnipotent God will never fail not forsake us.
Please let’s take it all to heart and go out and fight the good fight nuh, knowing that the Creator of the universe is always with us. It’s the only way to successfully handle this earthly pilgrimage. Much LOVE!
…weak, whining and wishy washy Christians…cannot do God’s work successfully…
05 Dec 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a pillar of fire, abominable, adrenaline, almighty god, anointed, antidote, aura of love, blessings, by day, by night, Calvary's cross, challenges, choirmaster, Christians, compassion, confidence, dancing around aimlessly, do God's will, don't be afraid, Egypt, energy, enthusiasm, evil, excited, faith, fear not, feeling up to scratch, fellowship, frailties, friends, glorious kingdom, God is faithful, good works, gospel truth, harmony, he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, hesitation, holy spirit, humble servants, in a pillar of cloud, indisputable, invincible, irrevocable, Israel, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Joshua, joy, lies, LOVE, mighty power, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Moses, negative aspects, neither be dismayed, neither forsake thee, new day of life, passion, praise, reconcile, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, salvation, sins, soaring with confidence, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, step out, strong right hand, strong voice, thanks, the angel of God, the enemy, the Lord goes before thee, truth, unconditional LOVE, ungodly world, weaknesses, wilderness, wisdom, without doubt, worship
Deuteronomy 31:8. And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.
Well friends, I hope that our fellowship yesterday, mixed with sincere praise, worship and thanks, has paved the way for us to get this work week off with a bang! That we’re soaring with confidence and energy and a passion to just get out there and do God’s will!
But just in case we did not fellowship yesterday, or for some other reason we’re not feeling up to scratch, not excited by this new day of life, with which we’ve been blessed, we have an instant antidote for you. It’s called our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. So let’s sing it all together now, in strong voice and bubbling harmony, and make our choirmaster, Jesus proud.
‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Now that rendition wasn’t bad at all my people, however it did not light up Jesus eyes and face like last week. But don’t feel badly because He understands our weaknesses and frailties even better than we do. He knows that we can’t put on a magnificent performance every week, but that doesn’t mean we can’t always give a creditable one.
So with the adrenaline that our Battle Hymn has raised in our blood, let’s stop dancing around aimlessly and get ourselves out into the serious fray that awaits us. And to help us do that, we have a most encouraging Bit; the words of Moses when he anointed Joshua, Israel’s leader.
‘And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.’
Oh my fellow believers, we ought to know that those are words of indisputable, irrevocable, gospel truth! As the Lord was with the Israelites so long ago, He is still with us…even under better conditions now that we have Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour!
The Lord our God proved His awesome, unconditional LOVE for us by sending His ONE and ONLY Son to die on Calvary’s cross to redeem us from our abominable sins, so why would He now stop caring for us eh? It simply doesn’t make sense. He broke His own heart to reconcile us to Himself, so simple logic would deduce that His LOVE and compassion for each one of us is still just as strong as it was back then.
And no, it’s not easy to accept this wonderful reassurance when all the fearful negative aspects of the world appear to be coming full speed at us. But with time and the growth of our faith, enabled by the good works God continually does in our lives, we will eventually come to a point where we can accept the words of our Bit without doubt or hesitation.
And just to give us a practical and physical example of the Lord going before us, listen to this scintillating scripture from Exodus. ‘And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light, to go by day and night. He took not away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.’ (Ex.13:21-22)
Yuh see that friends, our God is a FAITHFUL God! What more can we ask for eh? He led His people Israel, out of bondage in Egypt, through the wilderness by pillars of cloud and fire, thus assuring them of His continual presence, and also protection from the Egyptians who were following them.
Now hear this masterful plan of protection from our wise and powerful God. ‘And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them. And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all night.’(Ex.14:19-20)
So though the two camps were fairly close together, darkness completely shrouded the Israelites from the Egyptians. Who else could have devised such a simple but yet masterful plan eh my brethren? NONE but Almighty God!
So as we step out today to face the evil world and all its challenges, please don’t be afraid, for just like the Lord protected the Israelites back then, He still protects EVERY ONE of His children with His strong right hand and mighty power. That’s all we need to know and remember. Much LOVE!
…Fear not…was one of Jesus’ most used statements…believers should therefore take Him at His word…
05 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fearful heart, alive and kicking, Anselm, aspires, awesome God, be counted, be not dismayed, bitter waters, Christ, Christians, comfort me, cynical thoughts, deliverance, destroy both body and soul, dwell in the house of the Lord, Egyptians, evil, faithful, fear not, fear thou not, fearlessly, feckless, fickle, focus on today, for His name's sake, foundation, friends, God's LOVE, good pleasure, goodness, green pastures, I am thy God, I am with thee, I shall not want, I will fear no evil, I will help thee, I will uphold thee, in the presence of mine enemies, information, information intake, inspires, invade our minds and spirits, Isaiah, Israelites, Jesus, kill the body, lies, little flock, LOVE, make each day count, make hay while the sun shines, Marah, mercy, miracle, misinformation, more value than sparrows, Moses, negative, paths of righteousness, personal growth, Pharaoh, positive, positive news, prevarication, promises, recompense, Red Sea, restores my soul, righteousness, salvation, save you, Scrip-Bit family, see the salvation of the Lord, social media, spend more time with God, stand still, steadfast, still waters, television, The Lord is my shepherd, the right hand, the valley of the shadow of death, thy rod and thy staff, Top o' the morn, trusting, truth, vengeance, Zion
Isaiah 41:10. Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Well top o’ the morn to you my Scrip-Bit family! Hope this missive finds you alive and kicking on this lazy, hazy Saturday. (smile) Life is short so we might as well enjoy it. We know not when our time will be up, so here is the first of two quotes from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us to greater heights.
And first off he tells us: ‘Make each day count. We don’t have all the time in the world. So focus on today and do the things you really want to do.’ That’s exactly what I was saying above. It is imperative that we make hay while the sun shines!
And the second quote is also inspiring. ‘Reprogram your information intake. Program out negative and cynical thoughts from the media and society. Reduce your information intake. Then program in positive news and entertainment, more of your own thoughts and useful information such as personal growth tapes and books. Be selective and keep it positive.’
Ah friends, a lot of us certainly need to do that in this age of so much information and misinformation! Our world is going crazy with the wealth of information that’s now available. The problem though is that too much of it is negative and we can’t easily tell what is truth from prevarication to out and out lies. Therefore our minds are filled with lots of unnecessary and unproductive stuff, that’s why Anselm’s advice is so worthwhile.
We desperately need to clean up our minds; purge what’s not useful and negative, and then replace it with only useful, positive, godly stuff. Give the television and social media a break; spend more time with God, your family and yourself. That way we won’t be bombarded with all the nonsense that’s out there, seeking to invade our minds and spirits.
And last but not least, seek to raise our faith and trust in the God of our fathers. Believe what our Bit says: ‘Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.’
Oh my people, why are so many of us supposed Christians still walking in deep fear of the world around us, when we have such awesome promises from our awesome God eh? We know He’s faithful to keep those promises and that He will work out everything for our good in the end, so why are we still so fickle and feckless?
As Job says, we have to learn to take the good with the bad. (Job 2:10) We can’t be fearful of every little hiccup in our lives. And this morning I want to bombard us with some ‘Fear nots’ in the hope that it will encourage us to stand steadfast and strong in the power of God’s Word.
Listen to Moses on the occasion of the biggest miracle of the time, when the departing Israelites were caught between the army of Pharaoh and the deep Red Sea. ‘And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation (deliverance) of the Lord, which he will show to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever.’ (Ex.14:13)
And as promised, Moses stretched out his hand over the Red Sea which parted and allowed the Israelites to cross over on dry land, but when the Egyptians followed, the two halves came together again and drowned Pharaoh’s army. Now one would think that after such a mighty miracle, the Israelites would have been trusting and steadfast forever. Hn! But in the wilderness, three days later, at the bitter waters of Marah they were complaining, wanting to return to Egypt.
Now hear Isaiah, as he talks about Israel being restored to Zion. ‘Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you.’ (Is.35:4)
And now, listen to these words of Bruh David that we all know and claim to LOVE and believe. ‘The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the day so my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.’ (Ps.23)
Yeh mih people, if we believe all that Bruh David says there, then we should not be afraid of the vicissitudes of life. Then there’s Jesus to his disciples: ‘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 body and soul….Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.’ (Matt.10:28,31)
Yes friends, ONLY the Lord can destroy body and soul, and we are much too valuable in His sight, for Him to destroy us, that’s why He sent Jesus to save us.
And we’ll close with a simple, but powerful statement of Jesus. ‘Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.’ (Luke 12:32)
How much more do we need eh my brethren, before we can truly stand strong and steadfast on the solid foundation of God’s eternal LOVE and ever-faithful promises eh? Steups! God alone knows yes! Much LOVE!
…it’s high time for those of us who call ourselves Christians… to FEARLESSLY stand up and be counted….
21 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a present help in trouble, a shield around me, a sincere heart, all or nothing at all, all them that love him, an integral part, balance, bet yuh bottom dollar, Bless His Holy Name, burn out, Creator, despair, direction, disgrace, fellowship, Friday chant, from one extreme, fulfill the desire, fun, furthering God's kingdom, generous help, give God the glory, glory hallelujah, God is our refuge and strength, help, illness, in black and white, in Jesus' name, in truth, Israel, judgements, live it up, LOVE, Moses, never to leave nor forsake us, no help in God, obedience, praise God, problems, provider, refreshed, refuge, relaxation, renewed, rest, righteous, Selah, shame, statutes, strength, stress, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the affairs of men, the Lord sustained me, the right mix, the weekend, the workweek, trouble
Psalm 46:1. God is our refuge and strength, a very present (an abundantly available) help in trouble.
So how do we begin this morning eh friends? I don’t have a clue as to how to engage your attention on this cloudy Friday morning in the fall of 2016, except to say: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the workweek is almost done! The weekend is here…
Give God the glory for that, because if the slave master had his way, we’d work seven days a week. Steups! The greedy fool! But thanks be to God for the weekend where we can do as we please… And am I going to live it up? You could bet yuh bottom dollar on that! Just watch me!’
Ah mih people, just like us eh? We go from one extreme to the other, from working too hard to partying too hard. But that only causes undue stress, burn out and eventually illness. What we need is some kind of balance in our lives, and our Friday Chant gives us direction on that.
So let’s chant it nuh. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes friends, rest, relaxation, fellowship and play are all necessary for us to live full and godly lives, but we need to mix them in the right proportion, don’t over do any of them. And if we find it difficult to get the right mix, the right balance, there is always our great God to turn to for advice and help.
What does our Bit say: ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present (an abundantly available) help in trouble.’ And that’s the living truth in a nutshell!
Our Creator and Provider is always there for us. In times of trouble we only need to call upon Him with a sincere heart and He will guide us to victory. Remember, He promises never to leave nor forsake us, and He stands by His promises.
And my brethren, we all have problems that we can’t solve, or handle, so there is no shame or disgrace in turning to the Lord for help. In fact, that’s what He wants us to do; come to Him for every purpose in life, be they big or small. The Lord wants to be an integral part of our lives, involved in EVERYTHING that we do.
But foolishly, we only want to allow Him to become involved in certain things, the others we want to deal with ourselves. Unfortunately though precious people, the Lord doesn’t work like that. He wants to be involved in ALL or NOTHING AT ALL!
So please, let’s check our lives and see if there are any areas that we are keeping God out of nuh, and then wisely invite Him to be a part of those areas. Yuh know that might be a part of our problem, why our lives aren’t going right at the moment; God isn’t totally involved in them.
Now let’s check out some scripture which reinforces our Bit. Hear Moses as he exhorts Israel to obedience. ‘For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh (a God so near) unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call him for?
And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgements so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?’ (Deut.4:7-8)
And the answer to both questions friends is NONE! Truly, there is no other God who is so involved, who takes such great interest in the affairs of men! And that’s the way it ought to be. We don’t need a God who is far off, unconcerned about our trials and tribulations, but one who is around when we need help.
Listen to Bruh David from Psalm 3 – A prayer of confidence in God – as he cries out in despair. ‘Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah. But thou, O Lord, art a shield for (around) me; my glory, and the lifter up of (the one who lifts up) mine head.
I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill (mountain). Selah. I laid down and slept; I awaked: for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.’ (Ps.3:2-6)
Oh what a glorious God we serve my people! That’s the kind of confidence He instills in us when we walk obedient to His will! So I really can’t understand why we refuse to walk steadfastly with Him. There is so much to be derived from a genuine walk with Christ, that it would take me a whole day to list them. (smile)
Now let’s go home with these wonderful words of Bruh David echoing in our minds, souls, bodies and hearts. From Psalm 145 – the Lord is gracious – he faithfully proclaims. ‘The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy (gracious) in all his works. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. The Lord preserveth all them that LOVE him: but all the wicked will he destroy. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.’ (Ps.145:17-21)
Wow! Oh my fellow believers right there we have the gospel truth in black and white! Please, please, I implore us, let’s take it heart nuh, so that our lives can be fulfilled! Let’s continually praise our wonderful God and bless His holy name at all times, for that is wisdom at its highest level! Much LOVE!
…praise Him, praise Him…Glory Hallelujah…He is LOVE…He is LOVE…
15 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a brand new day, a faithful saying, a gift, an extra one, Anselm's Quote, apply our hearts unto wisdom, aspires to inspire, be honour, braata, broughta, can, cannot, challenge yourself, Christ came to save sinners, comfort zone, conversion, Damascus, DETERMINATION, determine your life's direction, enabled me, encourages others, eternal life, favour, glory, he counted me faithful, I thank Christ Jesus, immortal, invisible, lagniappe, laughter, lay not this sin, long-suffering, LOVE, mercy, Moses, new opportunities, one day closer to heaven, one day older, patience, Paul, putting me into ministry, satisfaction, Saul, Stephen, teach us to number our days, thankfulness, the best free medicine, the King eternal, the nth degree, the only wise God, Timothy, undeserved favour, waste time, wisdom
1 Timothy 1:12. And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into ministry.
Awright friends, it’s another brand new day! That means that we are one day older and one day closer to heaven! (smile) Therefore we can’t afford to waste any of the finite and limited time God has given us on this earth.
What did Moses say in psalm 91 – From everlasting to everlasting thou art God – the only one he wrote, and therefore the oldest in the Psalter? ‘So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom (gain a heart of wisdom). (Ps.91:12) We don’t know how long we have left, so we’d be wise to make the best use of it.
And on that note, since it’s Saturday, let’s check out some quotes from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And today we have a lagniappe, a broughta or braata; an extra one, a gift, used by vendors to encourage customers to return.
The first is T&T slang, although according to Dictionary.com, it’s used in Southern Louisiana and South East Texas, I guess it comes from French Creole. And the second is a Jamaican term. That means we have three instead of two.
The first one says: ‘The difference between can and cannot are only three letters. Three letters that determine your life’s direction.’ And that surely makes sense. ‘Can’ will take you in one direction, while ‘cannot’ will take you in a completely different one. The choice is up to you.
The second quote from Anselm declares: ‘Challenge yourself! Look for new opportunities, step outside of your “comfort” zone and find new things to do. Do something special, just for you, something you’ve always wanted to do. Meet new people, learn what you need to know… be optimistic!’ That also is good advice, especially in these trying times.
And the last one says: ‘You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.’ And ain’t that gospel truth my people! Even if laziness is your goal, you have to get up determined to be lazy, if you want to go to bed satisfied with your lazy day. (smile) That’s why laughter is the best free medicine available.
But now it’s time to get serious, as we turn to our Bit. ‘And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into ministry.’ Yes friends, those are Bruh Paul’s words of thankfulness for mercy as he wrote to his protégé Timothy. And that’s indisputable truth, for without Christ’s enablement, Bruh Paul would not have been able to fulfill his apostolic duties.
He then continues to explain why. ‘Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious (violent): but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and LOVE which is in Christ Jesus.’ (1Tim.1:13-14)
The scholars explain that last verse thus: ‘1:14. Grace…was exceeding abundant (or, “grace…was more abundant”). Christ’s undeserved favour far outweighed Paul’s previous sinful life. With faith and LOVE: God’s grace brought about faith in Paul, in contrast to his former “unbelief” and it also produced LOVE in him, in contrast to his previous blasphemy, persecution and violence to the church (v.13). Which refers to faith: Paul’s faith or trust is in Christ Jesus.’
Ah mih people, we all know Bruh Paul’s reputation as a terrorizer of the brethren, then known as Saul, before he was called by Christ on the road to Damascus, even as he was on a mission to capture believers and take them back to Jerusalem for punishment. (Acts 9)
And many of us in reading the Good Book might have missed Bruh Paul’s part in the stoning, the martyrdom of Stephen. The brother was giving his testimony ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened; and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they (the masses) cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord.
And cast him out of the city, and stoned him, and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, (as he was) calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus receive my spirit. And he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.’ (Acts 8:56-60)
No friends, Bruh Paul was not a very nice man in his younger days. That’s why he could continue to Timothy with all sincerity. ‘This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.’ (1 Tim.1:15)
He believes that he is the number one sinner, the worst one of the lot. ‘Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.’ (1 Tim.1:16)
Now that’s a very interesting statement, and here is the scholars’ explanation. ‘1:16. We could read the verse thus: “But I obtained mercy for this reason: that in my case as the worst (sinner) Christ Jesus might demonstrate the fullest of patience; as an example for those about to believe on him for eternal life.” Paul’s conversion encourages other sinners; since Christ has already saved the worst sinner, He can save those less sinful.’
And that’s no lie friends! Christ Jesus can save the worst of us if we come to Him in true repentance!
And we’ll end with these beautiful words of praise and thanksgiving of Bruh Paul. ‘Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever.’ (1 Tim.1:17)
That’s one thing about Bruh Paul; he never shies away from giving all the glory to God. May we also do likewise my precious people, for that is wisdom to the nth degree! Much LOVE!
…to our wonderful God…all praise, honour and glory be given…for that is His rightful desert…
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