The Importance of the Believer Readily Acknowledging God’s Call to Do His Bidding!

28 Aug 2025 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jeremiah 1:8.        Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.

Now, this last Thursday of August, the penultimate day of our work week, is definitely a cloudy one. No sign whatsoever of the morning sun. But that’s okay, cause it might mean we will finally receive some showers of blessing. And we do need it because the earth, at least in my area, is desperately calling out for refreshment. (smile) 

So, what’s on the agenda for today? Well I just opened the Good Library and it fell open at the first chapter of Jeremiah, where the Lord called him to be a prophet. Therefore, I guess that’s what the Lord wants us to talk about today. (smile) And it’s a very interesting situation, so applicable to many of our own lives. It seems, as the book opens Jeremiah prophesied under three kings, Josiah, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah. That means he had a long prophetic career. 

But getting to God’s call on Jeremiah. He writes: ‘Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly (womb) I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee (set thee apart), and I ordained (appointed) thee a prophet unto the nations.’ (Jer. 1:4-5) Yes friends, that’s how the Lord operates. He calls some of us even before we are formed in our mother’s womb. 

As Bruh David so eloquently writes in Psalm 139: ‘For thou hast possessed my reins (formed my inward parts): thou hast covered (weaved) me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee: for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right (very) well. My substance (frame, bones), was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously (skillfully) wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect (unformed); and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned (the days fashioned for me), when as yet was none of them.’ (Ps. 139:13-16) 

Oh my people, you see the majesty and wonderful works of our great God. He knows everything about us, has a plan for our lives before we’re even formed in our mother’s womb. It’s also like Bruh Paul wrote to the Romans. ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and who he justified, them he also glorified.’ (Rom. 8:28-30) 

Wow mih bredrin! Our God is so good and great, that when He calls us to do his work, He gives us all we need. But we often respond to His call in a negative manner. We behave similarly to Jeremiah, who after the Lord called him, responded thus. ‘Then said I, Ah Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child (youth). (Jer. 1:6) Now, many of us have behaved the very same way eh, finding some foolish excuse to refuse the Lord’s call. 

It’s like when Moses tried to refuse the Lord’s call to lead the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt. ‘And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore (before), nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant; but I am slow of speech, and of a slow (heavy, dull, stuttering) tongue.  And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.’ (Ex. 4:10-12) But Moses persisted in asking for help, then the Lord in His anger finally promised to send Aaron his brother with him as the spokesperson. (Ex. 4:13-16) 

And I’m chuckling here because I know exactly how both Jeremiah and Moses felt, for when the Lord initiated a conversation with me, some eighteen years ago, about writing what turned out to be the Scrip-Bits Blog, I also excused myself by saying I didn’t know enough scripture to write such a thing. But just like Moses and Jeremiah, I found out that the Lord does not give up when He wants us to do stuff for Him. Consequently, He kept after me, making my life so difficult, that final I had no choice but to relent and do it. And you’d notice, the first few Bits are merely pieces of scripture, without anything much added. 

Now, it wasn’t easy, very time consuming and ofttimes frustrating, and several times I wanted to give up. However, as the years went by, with the Lord’s help, I got more involved with the Word, until now I’ve reached the stage where I write too much. (smile) But through it all, I can certainly testify to the Lord’s goodness and faithfulness in helping me do what He desired. 

Thus, when Jeremiah claimed to be a child and unable to do the Lord’s bidding, he writes: ‘But the Lord said unto me, Say not I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. Then the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down (tear down), and to destroy, and to throw down, to build and to plant.’ (Jer. 1:7-10) 

And we all know that Jeremiah’s life was not an easy one, but the Lord stuck with him through all the tough times, just like He will stick with whoever He calls to do a job for Him. Meanwhile, let’s not forget God’s general goodness in generously bestowing our undeserved Thursday Blessings on us, so that we may do His earthly work. So, let’s declare and thus activate them right now. 

As one strong and sincere voice: ‘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 made those declarations (yesss!!!), it now behooves us to go out and use those underserved blessings to help others, just as generously as the Lord bestowed then on us. Much LOVE!

…when the Lord says jump…it’s wisest to quickly say…Yes Lord…how high…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit 17 April 2021 Psalm 139:14a.

17 Apr 2021 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 139:14a.     ​I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:

Saturday, Saturday! Thank God that lazy day called Saturday is here! Yes friends, Saturday has arrived…and we’re happy, despite the tighter lockdown restrictions we were handed in our province of Ontario yesterday. Ah Lord eh! When will it all end? The vaccines don’t seem to me making much of a difference, because every day we’re hitting record highs in new cases of the covid virus, be they the regular one or the variants. And no one seems to understand why this is happening. So, the only recourse is to lock down tighter. 

But again, that will only work if people responsibly adhere to the rules, which they have not been doing in the past, and why the virus has been proliferating for so long, until it had a chance to rework itself and become even more dangerous. But friends, the one constant in it all is the amazing presence of Christ Jesus in our lives! That has not changed, so as the song says, let’s keep Jesus shining through us, and together with Him, we’ll shine over the whole world, and let His glory fill the land. 

And since it’s Saturday, we need to check out the quotes that our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Now they all seem to be centred around personal image and improvement, so obviously they will have some overlap. And the first one says: ‘Be yourself. An original is so much better than a copy.’ And is that ever the awesome truth! Have you ever noticed when you make a copy of something, it’s never as good as the original? 

Well that also applies to our lives. We come off much better when we let our real selves show and not try to be a copy of someone else. And that’s all the Lord is asking of us – to be who He created us to be, not try to be someone else. That’s why He made each of as a unique specimen and not copies or clones. As Bruh David says in Psalm 139: ‘I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right (very) well.’ (Ps. 139:14) 

Consequently, this next quote speaks very well to the first. ‘Above all, be true to yourself, and if you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it.’ Truer words were never spoken my people! We must be true to what God made us, and whatever we do, make sure we put our very heart and soul in it, because our heavenly Father always expects the best of us. And if we find that we can’t put our hearts sincerely in something, then we should not get involved in it. As Bruh Paul told the church at Colossae, re Christian virtues and advice for domestic life. ‘And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.’ (Col. 3:17) 

And the scholars offer this explanation on that verse. ‘3:17. The beneficial influence produced by the indwelling word of Christ is not only to affect public and private worship (vs. 16), (where he admonishes them to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with grace in their hearts to the Lord), but it is also to control all areas of a Christian’s life.’ 

And later on, Bruh Paul advises the slaves and servants thus: ‘And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.’ (Col. 3:23-24) Yes friends, even slaves and servants were to perform their menial tasks wholeheartedly, doing their best, because they were not doing it so much for their earthly master but for the heavenly One, who promised them the reward of salvation in their Christian faith. 

That brings us to this quote: ‘If you’re searching for that one person that will change your life, take a look in the mirror.’ Now that’s something we should do everyday friends. Take a good look in the mirror and try to discern who or whom we really are! Everything in our lives begins and ends with us. We can’t expect others to improve our lives if we don’t first put in the effort and energy to do it. As the old saying goes; no one can make you happy but yourself. 

Just look at all the toys and conveniences we have in today’s modern world, but so many of us are still bored and miserable. That’s partly because we are expecting, looking for other things and people to make and/or keep us happy. But if we can’t first find happiness within ourselves, then we’ll never find it anywhere else. 

And the next quote fits nicely into the framework. ‘You can’t pour from an empty cup. Take care of yourself first.’ That should be obvious my brethren. We can’t give away something we don’t have, be it money, time, talent or LOVE! That means we first have look after ourselves, to grow in us, or our lives, whatever it is we want to share with others. So if it’s money; then we have to work to get some. With time, we must arrange our schedule so that we have some to spare. And for talent, we have to learn, or improve ourselves in whatever area we desire to help others. 

But you know the amazing thing about wanting to share LOVE: you need to do all of the above, especially spending time with the Master of LOVE, Jesus, and learning from Him and His word! Oh glory be mih people! As Jesus says, the two most important things in this world are to LOVE God with everything you have, and to LOVE your neighbour as yourself. (Matt. 22:37-40) And as we were just saying, if you don’t have LOVE for yourself, how can you give it to anybody else? But Jesus can teach us! 

And the last quote tells us: ‘Be proud of who you are, and not ashamed of how someone else sees you.’ Now that’s the gospel truth friends! Far too many of us are ashamed of ourselves for stupid, worldly reasons! God might be disappointed in us, but He’s never ashamed of us. So why do we allow mortal men like ourselves, to make us feel ashamed eh? Granted, some of us may be down on our luck, for whatever reason, but that’s no reason to be ashamed. Remember what Bruh David said; we’re ALL fearfully and wonderfully made, unique creatures of God’s sophisticated engineering, so there’s no need to be ashamed. 

We can always turn to God for His faithful help. Just look at Bruh Paul’s life, how he turned from destroying believers to lifting them up, with Christ’s help obviously, to the point where he could boast. ‘I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.’ (Rom. 1:16) 

And what better scripture to close with than this one from Christ Himself. ‘For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.’ (Luke 9:26). Yes friends, Jesus, as always, puts it in plain language. If we refuse to stand up for Him now, then, when He comes in all His glory, He won’t bother with us either. That just seems fair, doesn’t it?Much LOVE!

…human beings are God’s greatest creation…let’s truly reflect it in our earthly lives nuh…

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 August 2020 Psalm 139:14a.

04 Aug 2020 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 139:14a.     ​I will praise thee: for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:
 

Well it looks like this summer Tuesday has begun on a rainy note. Wonder if we’re going to have a recurrence of yesterday with rotating rain and sunshine? It’s an interesting situation if you have nowhere to go or no weather restricting duties to perform. (smile) And thankfully I don’t have anywhere to go, or any weather restricting duties to perform… Chuh! I just remembered I have a church meeting to attend later, but that’s not until the evening time. So I should be fine with whatever happens during the day. 

And do we ever have some interesting facts apparently on ‘Wholeness’ to share with you this morning. And I say apparently because there is no title to the stuff on the piece of paper and no mention of where I got it from. I just found it in my ever-growing, untidy bits of paper with great info. (smile)  

And today’s info goes like this: ‘Your intelligence can guide the Life Energy in your body – I began to teach my body and got marvellous results. Speaking words of Strength and Power. Raise the life in every part of your body. Pray, asking for strength to think only kind, LOVING and sincere thoughts about your body. Release all thoughts of weakness or disease. In steadfast faith, praise and bless the life energy, the cells of your body and mind. Realize Wholeness!!! See Wholeness!!!’ 

That’s it friends! A teaching moment: one to raise your Life Energy and bring Wholeness to your body! But to grow in Wholeness, just like growing in spiritual faith, we have to not only talk the talk but also walk the walk. It won’t happen on its lonesome, but through our actions. So let’s begin teaching our bodies today nuh: releasing all negative thoughts of weakness and disease, while embracing wholesome ones of health in mind, body and soul. Yes, thinking only kind and LOVING thoughts about our wonderfully and marvellously made bodies!

 How did Bruh David put it in Psalm 139 – The everlasting presence and power of God? ‘For thou hast possessed my reins (formed my inward parts): thou hast covered me (weaved me) in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee: for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right (very) well).’ (Ps. 139:13-14) Yeh friends, the Lord made each one of us to be a unique and different individual! We didn’t roll off an assembly line, all one size or kind or whatever. But we each have different characteristics that line up right well with the specific plan God has for each individual. 

And the web site ‘What Christians want to know,’ per David Peach, says these very true and interesting things about verse 14 above. ‘Verse 14 praises God because God created the psalmist, as well as each one of us, in a wonderful way. God made us the way we are and for a specific purpose. When we understand that, then we can have peace that whatever ailments or perceived problems we have in life are there because God ordained them. Let’s look at some beautiful truths that we can learn from this short verse. 

While these truths apply to everyone, only people who have accepted Christ and have become a child of God can truly appreciate all the meaning in these verses. As you grow more in your Christian life you will probably enjoy this verse even more as you look back and see how the Lord has uniquely made you.  Are you completely happy with your body and mind? What about your mental health? Take comfort in knowing God has created you the way you are for a reason. You don’t have to feel undue pressure to be like other people because God didn’t make you like other people.’ 

And isn’t that an awesome truth! You were made ‘fearfully’ – with reverence and respect for God, and also ‘wonderfully’- distinct or unique, which means we have to be thankful and respectful to God for our bodies as well as look after them. For as Bruh Paul says in talking of purity among believers: ‘What? Know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.’ (1 Cor. 6:19-20) 

Yes mih bredrin! We have been made in the spiritual image of God, so that means our bodies are very important since the Spirit of God lives within them. We don’t even belong to ourselves anymore because we have been bought by the Lord with the precious blood of His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and this ought to have profound significance for all believers. 

As Peter puts it in describing God’s own people: ‘ But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people (God’s own special people); that ye should show forth (proclaim, manifest) the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.’ (1 Pet. 2:9-10) 

Oh my fellow saints in Christ, we are indeed special; in body, soul, spirt and God’s individual as well as corporate plans! We have been sanctified, set aside for God’s special purpose to proclaim His sovereignty and thus we need to keep ourselves, bodies, souls, and minds as clean and healthy as possible, so that we can do the job to which we have been called in a diligent and excellent manner. That means right eating, enough sleep and exercise, right thinking, reading and meditating on the Word, and generally doing good and showing compassion like our leader and example Jesus did. (Acts 10:38) 

So let’s get all of that going on from today nuh, or improve it with God’s ever-available help. Now it’s time to go home, declaring (steups!) our Tuesday Mantra, boldly and confidently telling the world who and whose we are. In strong voice with sincere hearts:  ‘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 the world. Amen!’ 

And the natural consequence of such a bold statement is for us to now go out and share that wonderful and amazing LOVE and friendship of Jesus with those who don’t know or recognize Him as their Lord and Saviour! Much LOVE!

…it’s time to concentrate on wholeness…of body, soul and mind…