19 Mar 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: added unto you, all these things, backbone, belly, beloved of God, destroy, doth corrupt, eternal damnation, fall evil angel, free will, friend of Jesus, future destination, genius mentality, God will provide all our needs, have it more abundantly, have life, headed for hell, heavenly places, I am come, in communion with Jesus, in god's eyes, in the land of the living, kill, lay not up, live for eternity, live for Jesus, lustful things, moth, needy, poor, righteousness, rust, Satan, see the goodness of God, seek ye first, sense of purpose, share His love, sinful nature, steal, the kingdom of God, there will your heart be, thieves, things of the world, through His riches in glory, treasures in heaven, treasures on earth, trust, Tuesday Mantra, what I do, what I have, where your treasure is, worldly treasures
Matthew 6:19. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves break through and steal:
Ah friends, what a shock it is to the system when one gets up and sees your whole area clothed in white! Hn! Especially after the warm weather of the past week has conditioned one’s mind – falsely it would seem – to believe that all that white stuff business was a thing of the past and the distant future of next winter! But obviously that’s not so!
And though it’s not a great amount of snow, no amount of snow at all is welcome! (smile) But since we’re such sturdy people, especially we believers, with plenty backbone and belly, we’ll just grin and move along as normal, what with the Lord providing ALL our needs through His riches in glory, through Jesus Christ our wonderful Lord and Saviour!
And all God’s children loudly, proudly and gratefully declared (right ho): ‘All praise to the name of Jesus, the innocent Lamb of God who was slaughtered to pay for our abominable sins! Bless His holy name and worship sincerely at His cross!’
Oh my people, what would we have done without Jesus eh? I shudder at the very thought of not having all the wonderful stuff He has made available to us, and greatly desire to be able to make others understand what it all means; how if they don’t have Him in their lives, they’re totally lost, headed for hell and eternal damnation with the fallen evil angel Satan, and what that would mean for their eternal livelihood.
But since the Lord in His eternal wisdom gave us free will, free will to choose whatever kind of life we want to live, it is an uphill battle to convince others to accept Jesus and leave the flashy, but empty and hell bent things of the world alone.
Oh, it’s not that Jesus doesn’t want us to have nice things and to be prosperous, otherwise He wouldn’t have made this telling statement: ‘The thief cometh not but for (except) to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ (John 10:10)
Yes friends, Jesus died so that we could have life, a full and prosperous one, wisely living it in full communion with Him. Otherwise, what would be the purpose of His dying eh? The problem though, is that with our natural sinful nature, we tend to gravitate to the sinful, lustful things and treasures of the world.
But hear how Jesus classified that stuff nuh: ‘Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves break through and steal:’
Ah mih people, truer and more sensible words were never spoken! And it doesn’t take a genius mentality to see that. All the things of the earth that we treasure at some stage either rot or can be destroyed, or stolen, and to make matters worse, when we die we can’t carry any of them with us. So why spend our earthly lives foolishly trying to amass treasures of the world eh?
Instead, as Jesus so wisely proclaims: ‘But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:’ (Matt.6:20) Glory be my people! The treasures we need to accumulate are the ones that will not rot or be destroyed by insects or stolen…and the only treasures of that kind are found in heavenly places!
That means to be wise, we have to concentrate on accumulating the heavenly kind of treasure, for as Jesus also mentioned: ‘For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ Matt.6:21) And that’s the gospel truth my fellow believers! If we are concentrating on earthly treasures, then our hearts will be here on earth with them, but if heaven is our future destination, then out thoughts and efforts will be aligned with heavenly things.
And it’s not like when we live for Jesus that we become poor and needy, but on the other hand all our needs are fulfilled. Listen to Jesus again: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt.6:33)
Oh my people, our wise and wonderful God knows that we need food, clothes, money and houses to live and He has faithfully promised that if we live for Him, keep Him first place in our lives, that all those things will be provided for us. As Bruh David so rightly says in Psalm 27 – The Lord is my light and my salvation. ‘I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.’ (Ps.27:13)
Yeh friends, what’s the purpose of believing in the Lord if you don’t expect to see the things He’s promised eh? None whatsoever! And if you still don’t believe that you can get all things through Christ, then please remember who is still regarded as the richest and wisest man who ever lived… Cousin Sol!
And why and how? Because he believed sincerely in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and asked for wisdom to rule his people, not wealth and long life, but our God is so wonderful and so magnanimous, that He also gave him those things in abundance, just like how Jesus died so that we can have life in abundance.
Wow! I just hope all this makes a difference to somebody today! (smile) But for those of us who already sincerely believe, let’s go home declaring (right ho) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know who and whose we are! In strong voice and deep sense of purpose:
‘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!’
Now let’s go out and share it all with those who don’t believe for that’s what Jesus desires of us! Much LOVE!
…when you live for Jesus…you live for eternity in heaven with Him…
14 Jun 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a sheep before shearers, afflicted, as a lamb to the slaughter, atonement, charitable organizations, Christ's sacrifice, church, come unto me, compassionate heart, complaint, courage, creativity, curse, Daily Bread Devotionals, damage, disasters, do God's will, down and out, dumb, electricity, faithful believers, floods, Florida Keys, for the sake of another, generously, give, give God thanks, given unto you, giving up, glory hallelujah, God's economics, good measure, government, great invitation, greatest sacrifice, greedy, heavy laden, hoard, humility, hurricanes, I will give you rest, in a positive manner, labour, measured to you again, money, motivates us, nature of man, needy, negative circumstances, negative stuff, negative word, no one understands like Jesus, opened not his mouth, oppressed, personally testify, pressed down, Puerto Rico, running over, sacrifice, sacrifice ourselves for others, same measure you mete, self-control, self-discipline, selfish, shaken together, share with others, stingily, succour, sunny days, supposed neighbours, talents, the living truth, the Love of Christ, thunderstorm, Thursday's Blessings, time, tornadoes, trailer parks, trials, tribulations, trying conditions, urgent, volcanoes, wildfires, windstorm, wisdom
Isaiah 53:7. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
‘Sunny days are here again! Glory Hallelujah!’ Yeh friends, it’s sunny and beautiful once again, although yesterday did turn out nicely, except that in the afternoon a mild thunderstorm swept through the area leaving a devastating windstorm in its wake.
Ah Lord eh! The thunderstorm wasn’t bad, but the wind provoked the region all evening, late into the night, blowing down stuff and causing a fair amount of damage. Thankfully my property didn’t seem to suffer any damage this time, as the last windstorm we had blew down a part of my fence.
And if that’s the extent of our disasters, then let us give God much thanks and plenty glory yes, because so many others are undergoing much worse disasters, like floods, volcanoes and wildfires, and the tornado and hurricane seasons will soon be upon us in full force, so we have a lot of negative stuff to look forward to.
And I was just reading that a lot of people in Puerto Rico and the Florida Keys are still living in very trying conditions, without electricity, in rundown trailer parks etc, nine months after the last hurricane devastated their areas. How sad is that eh friends? Where is the government…and the church…and we, the supposed neighbours… and the many charitable organizations that are constantly collecting money from us eh?
I don’t know the answers nuh friends, but I do know that in the LOVE of Christ, our fellow men and women should not be living in such trying conditions through no fault of their own. And to help alleviate our concerns, I have two seminal quotes from the Daily Bread Devotionals. The first says ‘No one understands like Jesus.’
And isn’t that the living truth my people! Nobody understands our trials and tribulations like Jesus because He experienced them too in His earthly sojourn. So in times when our small, finite understanding fails us, He is the One we need to go to and just lay all our burdens before Him.
Remember what He said in His Great Invitation: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ (Matt.11:28) And He was not joking my brethren, but being very serious. There’s no other Being in man’s history who has ever made such a declaration! That’s because no other has ever had the parts to fulfill it. But Jesus does my people.
So whenever we’re down and out and don’t know what to do, please turn to Him, that’s the wisest thing to do, and He will give you succour. I can personally testify to that. He might not drive away the negative circumstances, but He will certainly give you the wherewithal to bear them in a positive manner. And sometimes that’s all we really need if we are true and faithful believers.
And the second quote is: ‘Christ’s sacrifice of Himself, motivates us to sacrifice ourselves for others.’ Or at least it ought to. Unfortunately though in too many cases it does not. In fact, the word ‘sacrifice’ is not one that’s used much in our everyday lives. Some people don’t even know it, or know what it means.
And for our information, here is how the dictionary defines it. ‘Sacrifice: Giving up of thing for the sake of another that is higher or more urgent, thing thus given up, loss thus entailed.’ Yeh friends, it means giving up something, losing something for somebody else’s sake, because their need is more urgent than ours.
And what’s the greatest sacrifice ever made on the face of this earth? That of Jesus giving up His sinless, holy life for our sinful, disgusting one, so that atonement could be made for our sorrowful, sinful state. The Good Book declares: ‘He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.’
Yeh friends, that’s how Jesus died on our behalf; without a word of murmur or complaint. So why is it so difficult for us to give up much simpler stuff for others eh? Why are we so greedy and like to hoard stuff for ourselves, even when we sometimes have no use for them?
I guess that’s the natural nature of man, especially in today’s selfish and greedy world, and the LOVE and sacrifice of Jesus have not yet truly infiltrated our hearts and souls so that we can become more like Him, generous to a fault. But we LOVE to get, to receive. Oh brother do we ever!
But please remember these immortal words of Jesus: ‘Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give unto your bosom (pocket). For with the same measure that you mete (use to give) withal it shall be measured to you again.’ (Luke 6:38)
Yeh friends, that means if you give stingily, you will be given back stingily. However if you give generously, you will receive generously. That’s just the law of God’s economics. So please let us start giving generously nuh, of our time, talents and money, so that we can receive generously from God and man too. It’s only wisdom friends.
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings, that the Lord has so generously bestowed on us, although we don’t deserve many of them. But that’s the kind of God He is! So all together now: ‘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 everyday! Amen!’
Now please note that the Lord didn’t give us all of that to hoard for ourselves, but to go out and share with the less fortunate. So let’s do His will on that nuh, so that He can bless us even more. Much LOVE!
…it is so much better…to give than to receive…but we must also learn how to receive…in humility…
09 Jan 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new day, a quick wave, a sigh of relief, a stranger, abuse, action, afflict my soul, Another new year, arrive so quickly, beloved of God, between errands, blame, books, broken resolves, cause me to hear, cause me to know, Christ's kingdom, clothed me, clothes, cluttered, coffee with my neighbours, cupboards, do thy will, drawers, drink, exhausted, failures, faith, first working day, followers of Christ, food, for thy name's sake, forgiveness, friends, God's power, good intentions, heartwarming, helping the poor, humbly, hungry, hurry, I am thy servant, I lift up my soul to thee, in prison, in the morning, in thee do I trust, January of last year, land of uprightness, letters unwritten, loving-kindness, Monday, motives, my friend Jesus, naked, needy, never invited, never read, notes, one more request, one of the least, One Year Book of Bible promises, procrastination, revive me, right hearts, Ruth Harms Calkin, save, servant-hood, servants of god, serve, share His love, sick, steal in so sliently, the goats, the most, the sheep, the way I should walk, thirsty, thou art my God, thy spirit is good, trust, Tuesday Mantra, we don't rest, worry, year of love
Psalm 143:8. Cause me to hear thy LOVING-kindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.
Awright friends, it’s Tuesday…and we happy! Why? Because we’ve gotten past Monday. (smile) Poor Monday takes so much blame and abuse in our society because it is the first working day of the week, and everybody breathes a sigh of relief after it’s over.
But we have the whole thing wrong yes. Monday is supposed to be the best and easiest day of the week because we’re coming off of two days rest. Every day after that is supposed to get harder rather than easier. The problem is that we don’t rest over the weekend, therefore it’s difficult to get the body and spirit moving for work on Monday, and we end up blaming it for all our many woes. (smile)
But be that as it may, listen to this take from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin that admirably describes so many of us. It’s titled ‘Another Year.’
Please read with me. ‘Another new year! How did it steal in so silently? How did it arrive so quickly? So many things I determined to do in January of last year are still completely undone. So many notes and letters still unwritten. Friends I planned to entertain were never invited.
The books I planned to read haven’t been opened. The cupboards and drawers I hoped to clean are still cluttered with things I don’t need or use. Clothes I no longer wear still crowd my closet. I planned to have coffee with our neighbours, but often I managed no more than a quick wave between errands.
If only I could have held on to the old year a little longer! But the old year is gone. I must put it away with all its failures and broken resolves. There is no way I can reclaim even one week of last year. I see that the road to good intentions is wide and circular. I’ve walked around it until I am utterly exhausted.
I confess my failures, my procrastination. I know God, in his graciousness will forgive me. I have one more request. I pray for God’s power to keep my forgiveness up-to-date.’
Yes friends, good intentions are great, if we put them into action, otherwise we just keep aimlessly going round the same mountain, like the Israelites in the wilderness. And way too many of us are guilty of all those things we read above, basically a combination of laziness, procrastination and busyness. And it’s not hard to do in the extra busy society in which we now live, where everything is go, go, go.
But the only way we’re going to overcome those failures and disappointments is by sincerely turning to God and putting the leading of our lives in His most capable hands. For once He is in control of our lives, we won’t be as busy-oriented as the world wants us to be, and He definitely won’t put more on our plate than we can handle. And whatever He puts there, we are assured we can handle it, because He gives us the wherewithal to do so! Glory Be!
That’s the beauty of sincerely partnering with Almighty God; He controls it all! And the Bible Promise for that writing is also our Bit for today. ‘Cause me to hear thy LOVING-kindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.’
Oh my people, what beautiful words of prayer from Bruh David! Just right for every time we open our eyes to a new day. What better decision is there to start a day than to ask God for His LOVING-kindness and direction so we can do His will, because we have placed our entire trust in Him? None my brethren! None!
And Bruh David continues: ‘Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me (I take cover in thee) Teach me to do thy will: for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. Quicken (revive) me, O Lord, for thy name’s sake: for thy righteousness sake bring my soul out of trouble. And of thy mercy cut off (put an end to) mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul; for I am thy servant.’ (Ps.143:9-12)
Yeh friends, excellent words, but of no use unless we show the action that comes with that last, all important line: ‘for I am thy servant.’ Until we are involved in real servant hood to Christ, all our words are useless, for that’s where the truth of our faith shows up.
That’s how and why Jesus came the first time: to save and to serve. He came humbly, helping the poor and downtrodden, the sick and needy, and until we begin doing the same, with right hearts and motives, we won’t be classified as servants of God.
Remember what Jesus said about separating the sheep and the goats: ‘For I was an hungered (hungry), and ye gave me meat (food): I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in. Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me:
I was in prison, and ye came unto me…And the king shall say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.’ (Matt.25:35-36,40)
Yes my faithful followers of Christ, until we begin helping the least, we will never be the most in Christ’s kingdom. And there are a whole lot of needy out there to be helped, so please let’s make this Year of LOVE, also one of servant hood nuh, for you can’t truly have one without the other.
Now let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting the world know who and whose we are. In sincerity and strong voice: ‘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!’
Now let’s go out and action those statements. Much LOVE!
…oh how beautiful…how heartwarming it is…to share Christ’s LOVE with others…
28 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a helping hand, a light unto my path, adultery, Ash Wednesday, bacchanal time, backyards, befriend, believers in Christ, best of health, bind, Brazil, broad highway, caring, carnality, Carnival, christianity, Christians, commandment, destruction, dire need, direction for our lives, Eva Rose York, finding the time, foolish way to live, forsake not the law, foundation, friend of Jesus, helping those who need help, human nature, I shall not pass this way again, kindness, lamp, lay, Lent, lewd behaviour, lewdness, light, lighten someone's heavy load, LOVE, making the time, Mardi gras, meditating, misfortune, nakedness, needy, New Orleans, path, peosperity, Proverbs, put God first, putting into action, reading, reciprocate, relieve some pain, remove some barrier from the road, reproofs of instruction, Scarborough, share His love, straight and narrow path, studying, the beloeved of god, the Good Book, the law, the way of life, the Word of god, them's the breaks, thy word is a lamp unto my feet, to this one lend, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuesday Mantra, utmost importance, while there's life there's hope
Psalm 119:105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Well friends, it’s bacchanal time in several places in the Western Hemisphere today! Most noticeably, there’s Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and Carnival in Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago. The people are supposedly letting off the last of their carnality before immersing themselves in the seriousness of Lent, which begins tomorrow on Ash Wednesday.
And recently I read that in a few parts of Brazil, the church has gotten them to tone down the lewdness and carnality of the festival. All power to them, because the festivals have really gotten out of hand with the amount of nakedness and lewd behaviour being displayed.
Usually I’d be in T&T, watching the proceedings on the tube, as well as going into the big city of Scarborough (smile) to watch some in person. But since I’ve been grounded here on account of my medical situation, I’ll just have to imagine it in my mind. But them’s the breaks.
Hopefully by next year, I will be strong and healthy enough to not only watch, but also participate in some of the activities. (smile) While there’s life, there’s certainly hope my people!
But there’s also stuff that we can and should do, even though we’re not in the best of health. And today I want to share a quote from Eva Rose York (b Fitch), (1858-1935) organist, editor, teacher and one of the earliest female composers in Canada. This comes from her symphony titled ‘I shall not pass this way again.’
And it says: ‘I shall not pass this way again; Then let me now relieve some pain, Remove some barrier from the road, Or lighten someone’s heavy load; a helping hand to this one lend, Then turn some other to befriend.’
Yes my fellow believers in Christ, those are the kinds of things we should be concentrating on in our own little areas, in our backyards; in some form and fashion, helping those who need help.
Remember, that’s what Jesus came to earth to do; to save and to help us in our desperate time of need. Consequently, as Christians, we need to reciprocate His caring and kindness to the needy.
And believe me, ironically, in a world that is so full of prosperity, it is also full of people in dire need and want. So let’s try and see whom and how we can help in our little way nuh. It’s all a part of our Christian Manifesto.
And to help us do that, we also need to consider our Bit.‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’
Yeh friends, it’s of the utmost importance that we take the Word of God seriously and let it lead and guide us on our earthly journey, because that’s exactly what it is meant to be; a guide book, a manual for earthly living, written by our Creator and Provider for our benefit.
The Lord doesn’t need it, since He penned it, but we miserable sinners do, and if we don’t allow it to set the direction for our lives, along the straight and narrow path, then we’ll eventually get lost, confused and blinded on the broad highway that leads to destruction.
Now we wouldn’t want such misfortune to befall us eh? No siree! So why aren’t we more into God’s Word eh mih people? Why do so many of us complain that we can’t find the time to immerse ourselves in the Good Book?
It’s not a matter of finding the time, it’s a matter of making the time to stay in touch with our heavenly Father and His godly desires for us. It’s easy for us to make time for the foolish pleasures of the world, but making time for God is a hard task and it usually takes second place.
But friends, that’s a very foolish way to live. God should always be in first place in our lives, no matter what the circumstances! If you put Him second, then most likely, He’ll also put you second, and I’m sure you won’t like that.
As the old people, would say, ‘do so, ent like so.’ Meaning that you don’t like others doing to you, what you did to them. I guess that’s just human nature though.
Now here is an interesting take on our Bit from Cousin Sol in his warning against adultery in Proverbs. ‘My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: Bind them continually upon thine heart (mind), and tie them about thy neck.
When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is the light; and reproofs of instruction are the way to life.’ (Prov.6:20-23)
Yes my fellow believers, that’s how important God’s word and His instructions are to us living the good life. So please, let’s try and do better nuh, let’s make time for reading, studying, meditating and subsequently putting God’s word into action in our lives. It’s the wisdom of the ages.
Now let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra with all sincerity and truth. 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!’
Glory Be precious people of God! Now let’s do as we declared nuh; go out and share the LOVE of our friend Jesus with others, for there are many who desperately need it. Much LOVE!
…helping others…is a foundation rock of Christianity…
29 Jan 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all I need, blind, broken every barrier, cleanse, Cleanse your hands, come unto me, confidence, conflict, courage, deceitful, deception, detrhone God, doubt, downtrodden, draw nigh to God, evil, face the upcoming week, fears without, fightings within, gather in the Lord's sanctuary, gentle, give you rest, goodness, grace, he who has ears to hear, healing of mind, health, heavy laden, humble, I come, I have put my trust in the Lord, I may declare all his works, inner thoughts, invaluable, it is good for me to draw near to God, James, Jesus Christ, Just as I am, labour, let him hear, lowly, lusteth to envy, meek, my burden is light, needy, O lamb of God, of one dark blot, offer grateful praise, outward deeds, pardon, Praise the Lord, pride, proud, purify your hearts, rascal, receive, relieve, resist the devil, rest unto your souls, rooting for Jesus, sacrifice of our lips, sinners, slow down, smell the rose, strengthen your spirit, submit yourselves to God, Sunday, take my yoke, the first day of the week, the great invitation, the lake of fire, the undeserving children of men, thy blood was shed for me, to rid my soul, to save the poor, understand the Lord's word, wealth, welcome, without one plea, worldliness, worship, wretched
Psalm 73:28. But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.
And then it was Sunday: the first day of the week, where we slow down, take time to smell the roses and gather in the Lord’s sanctuary to offer Him our grateful praise and worship, and in return receive health, wealth and the ability to face the upcoming week with courage and confidence.
Wow! What a mouthful! But a true mouthful! And all God’s people declared a loud and proud: ‘Praise the Lord for His wonderful goodness to the undeserving children of men!’
And on that glorious note, let’s offer up some sacrifice of our lips by sincerely belting out this favourite old hymn, ‘Just as I am.’ So in loud voice and sincere belief, let’s raise our voices to heaven.
‘Just as I am, without one plea, But that Thy blood was shed for me, And that Thou bid’st me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come! I come! Just as I am, and waiting not To rid my soul of one dark blot; To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot, O Lamb of God, I come, I come! Just as I am, though tossed about With many a conflict, many a doubt; Fightings within, and fears without, O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind; Sight, riches, healing of the mind; Yes, all I need, in Thee to find, O Lamb of God, I come, I come! Just as I am, Thou wilt receive, Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve; Because Thy promise I believe, O Lamb of God, I come, I come! Just as I am, Thy love unknown Has broken every barrier down; Now, to be Thine, yea, Thine alone, O Lamb of God, I come, I come!’
Yeh friends, it doesn’t matter what state we are in, our wonderful Saviour will accept us just we are. You know some places you have to clean up before they’ll accept you, but not with the Lord Jesus Christ. He’s looking for you at your worst possible state, because that’s one of the reasons he came to earth, to save the poor and needy, the sick and downtrodden.
He is the ONLY One who declares that you can come to Him just as you are. And believe me, you won’t be wise if you don’t accept His wonderful invitation. ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble): and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt.11:28-30)
Oh my brethren, every time I hear that beautiful piece of scripture, my heart just jumps for joy, knowing that I have such marvellous person to turn to in my troubles and times of need. All glory be to God for Jesus Christ!
Anyway, before we get into our Bit, let me apologize for my typo yesterday. I don’t know how many of you noticed it, but instead of saying ‘you reap what you sow,’ I wrote ‘you sow what you reap.’ Technically speaking it’s the same thing, since you can only reap what you sow. (smile)
And our Bit just reiterates the ideas we have declared in our hymn, and in the Great Invitation of Jesus. ‘But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.’
Now why wouldn’t I put my trust in the Creator and Controller of the universe eh? Why would I put it in the foolish and deceitful rascal who tried to dethrone God and now aimlessly walks the earth backed by a façade of evil and deception, until the Lord is ready to immerse him in the lake of fire? I’m sorry friends, but as for me and mine, we’re rooting for Jesus!
Now hear James, the half-brother of Christ, who like a lot of Christ’s family, did not believe until the end of His earthly ministry. Listen as James talks about worldliness and pride. ‘Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy (yearns jealously)? But he giveth more grace; Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
Submit yourselves therefore to God: Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded. Be afflicted (lament), and mourn and weep: let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:5-10)
Oh my fellow believers, God gives us more grace than any of the world’s attractions or the lusts in our spirits, which means we can withstand both of them.
And the scholars explain the last three verses thus: ‘4:7-10. Therefore: The exhortations that follow logically result from the conditions in verses 1-6. Resist the devil: do not submit to, fear, or flee from Satan, but stand against him (1 Pet.5:8-10). Satan cannot lead (one) into sin against one’s will. Draw nigh: God will not be unmoved; His welcoming response is always near (cf. Deut. 4:7; Lam.3:57; Luke 15:20). Hands and hearts: The cleansing of one’s life must involve both outward deeds and inner thoughts (cf. Ps.24:3-4).’
The only advice I can give after reading all of that friends, is to read those references given in the scholars note. I just did, and believe me they are invaluable, they just strengthen your spirit and help you to better understand the Lord’s word. Much LOVE!
…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…
26 Feb 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool uttereth all his mind, a fool's wrath, a helping hand, a prudent man, a talebearer, a wise man keeps it till afterward, accept responsibility, barrier, bounden duty, Christian faith, defers anger, discretion, Eva Rose York, faithful spirit, fellowship, forgiveness, Friday chant, friends, fun, furthering God's kingdom, generous help, giving, gospel truth, gossipmongers, heartache, heavy load, help others, holy spirit, I shall not pass this way again, ill-will, Jesus Christ, lash out, lime, looking down our noses, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, material possessions, mercy, motives of our hearts, needy, negative images, opposition, party, prideful, receiving, relaxation, relieve pain, renewed and refreshed, rest, run off at the mouth, secular world, selfish nature, slow to anger, strife, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the weekend, transgression, trouble, understanding, vents all his feelings, wearing our emotions on our sleeves, week of work, wisdom, worldly pleasures
Proverbs 29:11. A fool uttereth all his mind (vents all his feelings): but a wise man keepeth it in till afterward (holds it back).
And then it was Friday…
And the working people joyfully declared: ‘Oh Friday, glorious Friday! Thank God for Fridays and the weekend! Imagine nuh, for two whole days, no massa and his economic slavery! We can do whatever we want. Party and lime as much as we want. No wonder we shout, TGIF! Thank God is Friday!’
Oh friends, what can I say, it’s the basic truth. But then doing whatever we want, whenever we want, and as much as we want has never brought us anything but heartache and trouble. And continual partying and liming is definitely not the proper way to spend our weekends, though many of us seem to think so and thus perpetrate all sorts of misery on ourselves by wasting it in idle worldly pleasures.
In total opposition to that way of thinking though is our Friday Chant, so let’s chant it with sincerity and godly understanding nuh. As one now: ‘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 my fellow believers in Christ, that puts the weekend into a much better and wiser perspective!
And today I want to share a few lines of a poem by one of Canada’s early female writers, Eva Rose York. The poem’s titled, ‘I shall not pass this way again.’
And the particular lines tell us. ‘I shall not pass this way again; Then let me now relieve some pain, Remove some barrier from the road, Or lighten someone’s heavy load, A helping hand to this one lend, Then turn to some other to befriend.’
Oh friends, what a telling description of our Christian faith! For that’s exactly what we are supposed to do as believers in Christ Jesus; HELP OTHERS!
And it doesn’t matter whether we’re rich or poor, black or white, or of any particular creed, we all need help at some time or other, and it is our bounden duty to help the needy who come across our paths.
And my One More Day Devotional for People with Chronic Illness, describes that help thus. ‘LOVING help is not prompted by pity or superiority, but by empathy and shared humanness.’
That’s the kind of help Jesus wants us to show and share my brethren, not the kind prompted by looking down our noses at others in worse situations than us. Unfortunately though, too may of us who are fairly well-off, tend to behave in the latter manner.
But friends, I’m here to tell us that the Lord doesn’t welcome or accept that kind of prideful help, and He knows it, because He looks at the motives of our hearts, not our words or outward actions.
So please, let’s stop allowing our pride, our material possessions, our place and power in the secular world from dominating the way we think, and therefore the reason and manner for the help we give to others and also accept, because help doesn’t mean only giving, but also receiving, and receiving in the right manner too.
And that’s my sermon for today! (smile) I know it won’t resonate well with some, but them’s the breaks.
Now let’s turn to our Bit: ‘A fool uttereth all his mind (vents all his feelings): but a wise man keepeth it in till afterward (holds it back).’
Ah mih people, we all know that to be gospel truth, but nonetheless we too often run off at the mouth and/or show our emotions without first thinking about the reactions that they will cause. And sadly it’s a phenomenon that causes a lot of the strife in our world.
It’s ever so important that we, especially Christians, learn to listen and think seriously before we respond since our reactions can impact either negatively or positively for Christ. And remember, whatever we do is all about Jesus, so we definitely don’t need to create any negative images or reactions about Him and his great salvation.
We need to speak words, do things and have reactions that will boost His LOVE Revolution, rather than stuff that will negate it. We already have too much negative stuff re our faith, we certainly don’t need anymore.
And sadly too, in this dangerous and disgusting world, we tend to lash out at others more easily and quickly than we’ve hitherto done. I don’t know if it’s the more selfish nature that now pervades our society that causes it, but it has become a serious problem.
Look at things like road rage, how at the drop of a hat, with very little provocation, someone is ready to pull and use a gun or a knife, plus the amount of verbal, physical and emotional abuse that’s been heaped on others daily. A lot of it stems from selfish behaviour and our refusal to accept responsibility for our actions.
Now let’s check out some more scriptures on the subject from Cousin Sol, who deals with it a lot. Listen up: ‘A fool’s wrath is presently known (known at once): but a prudent man covereth shame.’ (Prov.12:16) Yes friends, wearing our emotions on our sleeves has its proper time and place.
Hear Cousin Sol again: ‘A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.’ (Prov.11:13) Christians ought never to be gossipmongers or congregate too often with them!
It’s all Cousin Sol today friends. ‘Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding: but that which is in the midst of fools is made known.’ (Prov.14:33)
And we’ll end with this gem from the wisest man ever. ‘The discretion of a man deferreth his anger (makes him slow to anger); and it is his glory to pass over (overlook) a transgression.’ (Prov.19:11)
So my fellow brethren in Christ, in conclusion, let’s be wise and go out today being slow to anger and overlook transgressions nuh, just as our God has so often done, and continues to do, in each of our lives. Much LOVE!
…Christians ought to be steeped in LOVE…and LOVE bears no ill-will to another…
01 Mar 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: almighty god, blessed be the Lord, Bruh David, confidence, destruction, disadvantaged, downtrodden, encouraged, evidence, faith, friends, God's help, heavenly Father, Hour of Power Devotional, I am thy salvation, I even I am the Lord, In God is my salvation and my glory, jehovah god, joyful in the Lord, Lent, loggerheads, LOVE, needy, omnipotent, poor, proof, reserve one day in seven for rest and worship, salvation, science, Sunday, the created can never out do the Creator, the Lord is my strength and shield, the Lord's Day, the Most High God, the voice of my supplications, weekly cycle, wisdom, worshipping God
Psalm 62:7. In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.
And the weekly cycle begins again Friends. No way could this… this, constant, consistent, intrepid cycle have been the product of evolution! It had to be thought up, designed, developed and implemented by a brilliant, powerful and imaginative mind, namely that of Jehovah God! And all God’s children declared a loud and proud ‘Praise the Lord!’
This is His day; the day on which He rested after creating the universe and all therein! He obviously wasn’t physically tired, but needed a break from creating to admire His handiwork of the previous six days. And if we are to follow in His awesome footsteps, then we too ought to rest at least one day in every seven, to ponder our deeds and creativity of the past week, and plan for the upcoming one.
And I have a very interesting passage and rather persuasive argument to share on the subject from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional. Listen closely to his reasoning. ‘God knew what He was doing when He ordered the ancient Jews to reserve one day in seven for rest and worship.
The rising tide of emotional problems in our country has escalated with the simultaneous rise in the breakdown of the practice of setting one day aside for quietness, rest, and the refreshment of the spirit. Find a place of religious worship that specializes in positive inspiration, and attend weekly.
The human being’s inspiration tank needs to be refilled (and refuelled) every seven days. That’s the way God designed us. Often it’s when you don’t feel like going to church that you need it most. Your lack of desire for worship is a sure sign that you need inspiration, just as the unenthusiastic sputtering of a slowing car is a certain sign that it is running out of gas.’
Oh Friends, I couldn’t have put it any better! We do need at least one day a week to refresh and revitalize our frail human bodies and spirits. And to help us do that, we ought to associate and fellowship with other like-minded believers in Jesus Christ. There we praise and worship Almighty God and come away filled with strength, confidence, encouragement and a clearer sense of purpose re God’s will and plan for our lives. Oh my people, nothing could be better than that!
Everything we need can be found in our heavenly Father. That’s why Bruh David proclaimed it so powerfully and wisely in our Bit. ‘In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.’
Oh Friends, there could be no arguments whatsoever against the truth of that statement! But sadly, instead of simply accepting those sentiments, though there’s a whole bundle of solid evidence and proof to back it up, too many humans, with their warped thinking and man’s supposed scientific prowess choose to believe otherwise.
But science and God are not at loggerheads, for science is only a tool, used in trying to figure out how Almighty God created stuff, to lay bare the infinitesimal and complicated workings of nature and mankind. And they still have not figured out how half the stuff works, especially the most ingenious apparatus ever created; the human mind! But enough with the scientists, let’s delve into the Word of God, where there are many more insights and truths.
Listen to Bruh David again, this time from Psalm 28 – A prayer for God’s help. ‘Blessed be the Lord, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusteth in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth, and with my song will I praise him. The Lord is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed one (the Messiah, commissioned one). (Ps.28:6-8)
Yes Friends, our omnipotent God is our great protector. Without Him, we’d be absolutely nothing!
And listen to Bruh David one time, from Psalm 35 – A prayer for recuse from enemies. “Take hold of shield and buckler (small shield), and stand up for mine help. Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me (stop those who pursue me): say unto my soul, I am thy salvation… Let destruction come upon him at unawares (unexpectedly) and let his net that he hath hid catch himself: into that very destruction let him fall.
And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord: it shall rejoice in his salvation. All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth (plunders) him.’ (Ps.35:2-3, 8-10)
Oh Friends, there’s no one else but our wonderful God who picks up, who intercedes for the poor and needy, the downtrodden and disadvantaged! For that alone, He ought to be greatly praised and revered.
And if you didn’t believe Bruh David, then listen to Isaiah as he speaks about the Lord the only redeemer. ‘I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour. I have declared, and have saved; and I have showed (proclaimed), when there was no strange (foreign) god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God. Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it (reverse it)?’ (Is.43:11-13)
Oh my fellow believers in Jesus Christ, the obvious answer to that question is simply NO ONE! No one in this crazy world is as strong, as omnipotent as our heavenly Father. So man is just fooling himself when he thinks that he can outdo and out duel the Most High God.
So Friends this Sunday morning in the solemn period of Lent, let’s get ourselves together and go to the Lord’s sanctuary and praise and worship Him with other believers, so that we can be refreshed, reinforced and encouraged to face the upcoming work week with faith and confidence. Therein lies the beauty of worshipping God! Much LOVE!
…no matter how long and hard he tries…the created can never outdo the Creator…that’s just a natural fact of life…
06 Aug 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a command, as we forgive our debtors, August, believers, body of Christ, Church of Christ, church wardens, clothing, comfort, conditional statement, crapaud smoke we pipe, divesting, elementary priciple, fellow believers, finances, food, for Christ's sake, forgive, forgive our debts, forgiveness, generosity, generous gifts, give voice to, good work, green foliage, grow, harsh reality, harvest, help, holy spirit, if you don't forgive, impartiality, Jesus, Jesus' earthly body, Jesus' kingdom, judgement, July, justice, kind to each other, law of liberty, levels of giving, LOVE, mercy, missions, nakedness, needy, nourishment, orphan, out of luck, outreach, poor, rebuke, repent, special place in God's heart, stranger, succour, summer's almost over, support of parishoners, survive, talent, tenderhearted, the church, the forgiveness hard, the hurt is great, the life of a believer, the Lord's prayer, time, tithes, toe the line, triumph, up the stream, widow, winter, wisdom, without a lifeline, written indelibly in our consciousness, you reap what you sow, your Father won't forgive you
Matthew 6:15. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Oh Friends, do you realize that we’re already in the middle of August, and that just last week it was July? (smile) Yes mih people, the days are certainly rushing ahead fast and furious. The summer’s almost over! Where did it go to eh?
In another few weeks the trees will begin divesting themselves of all their beautiful green foliage, getting ready to face the harsh reality that’s winter in their total nakedness, when food and nourishment become scarce.
Let us hope though, that no human brethren are doing, or planning to put that same strategy into effect, for there is always nourishment and succour available in the body of Christ.
Let me put that in more practical terms; there should always be food, clothing and comfort available to those in need, from Jesus’ earthly body, the church.
That’s one of the basic reasons the Lord instituted tithes; so that His personal storehouse would always have supplies for the poor and needy, for the stranger, the widow and the orphan. Note that God has a very special place in His heart for those people, and has provided for them thus.
Oh my fellow believers, are we tithing to our local church? We should be, for without our generous gifts, Jesus’ church would not be able to function as it ought.
Remember that the church is not merely the building, but even more so the believers who occupy it. And we can’t maintain the buildings, or do the outreach and missions desired by Christ without the generous help of the congregation in terms of talent, time and finances.
Everybody wants to see their church buildings looking spiffy and fine, and want to hear about all the good work that body of Christ is doing in their community and around the world, and that’s a very worthwhile dream and wish, but we also need to be practical and realize that none of it can happen without the generous support of the parishioners.
So I urge us today, to check our individual generosity to our local church, and seriously consider raising our levels of giving, in terms of time, talent and money, for that’s the only way the church, as Christ’s body here on earth, will survive and grow the way He desires it to.
Hn, hn, hn! Yes Friends, I’m here chuckling because I don’t know where all of that came from. I certainly wasn’t intending to write about it. I guess it must have come from the church warden’s meeting I attended last evening, where one of the topics we discussed was finances, and the need to improve, to upgrade ours. And I guess that would be the situation in many other churches too, hence the Holy Spirit’s leading to give voice to it.
Anyway mih breddren, let’s see if we can finish up the message on forgiveness with this Bit today. ‘But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive you.’
Oh my people, my people, we can never overestimate the importance of forgiveness in the life of a believer! And it’s simply because we won’t be forgiven, if we don’t forgive. Jesus made that quite clear in the Lord’s Prayer: ‘And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.’ (Matt.6:12)
Please note that it’s a conditional statement; forgive us, AS we forgive. Yes my brethren, only as we forgive, will our heavenly Father forgive us. So we had better get that written indelibly in our consciousness and practice it, otherwise we’re simply out of luck. Well not really luck, but you know what I mean; crapaud smoke we pipe, we up the stream without a lifeline. (smile)
Now let’s look at some scriptures that emphasize forgiveness. In this first passage, Luke has Jesus saying these most meaningful words when He teaches forgiveness.
‘Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent; forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.’ (Luke 17:3-4)
Oh Friends, that means that every time we’re asked for forgiveness, we MUST give it! ‘Thou shalt forgive him,’ is a command, meaning that no flexibility is allowed in our behaviour, even though the hurt is great and the forgiveness hard!
I know that sounds sort of rough and unfair my fellow believers, but that’s just the way it is in Jesus’ kingdom, and if you desire to be His follower, then you need to toe the line. It’s as simple as that.
Every organization has rules, and if you want to be a continual member, then you must abide by their rules. The same goes for the church of Christ!
Now listen to James as he talks about impartiality to all. ‘So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgement without mercy, that hath showed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against (triumphs over) judgement.’ (James 2:12-13)
Yes Friends, it all comes right back to the elementary principle in God’s handling of the universe; you reap what you sow. So if you sow things like mercy, forgiveness, justice and LOVE, those are the things you will eventually reap, in greater amount than what you sowed too.
So please my people, let’s faithfully go out and sow the good things of Jesus today nuh, so that tomorrow, when our harvest comes in, we will reap the wonderful abundance that’s granted to those who sow in LOVE, forgiveness, justice and mercy.
As Cousin Sol would say, ‘that’s the wisdom for each and every age!’ (smile) Much, much LOVE my fellow believers!
…and be ye kind one to another…tenderhearted…forgiving one another…even as God…for Christ’s sake…hath forgiven you… (Eph.4:32)
14 Feb 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a great day, angry, arduous labour, badly needed, best intentions, bless, body, bounden duty, celebrate Love, Christian, condemnation, day of Love, dissolute, emotionally, exercise judgement, fellow believers, fellowship, forgiving, Friday, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, genuine caring, godly act, godly wisdom, gracious, greedy, Happy Valentine's Day, help, help each other, hope, human vocabulary, in short supply, individuals, inner motives, it takes two to tango, jesus name, judge not, judgement of God, just, keep our promise, life's dark winding and lonely road, littered with, Lord God Jehovah, loving, mentally, merciful, mercy, mind, needy, no man is an island, one hand can't wash itself, oppressed, physically, prejudicial information, prosper, reach out and touch, relaxation, renewed and refreshed, replenish strength, resentful, respite, rest, right perspective, riotous living, self-supporting, selfish, shall cry himself, shall not be heard, showing some kind of Love, soul, sovereign God, standard of judgement, stop his ears, succeed, Thank God is Friday, the cry of the poor, the law and the prophets, the poor, the rich and famous, the sick, the suffering, tit for tat, True LOVE, two hands to clap, unfortunate, ungodly world, universal principle, Valentine's day, valuable weekend, week of work, workers, worthwhile followers
Proverbs 21:13. Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!
Oh Friends, it’s Friday, it’s Friday! Thank God it’s Friday! And the lucky workers around the world, though not always with the best intentions, are thanking God that it’s Friday, and they’re going to have a brief respite from their arduous labours.
Now that is all well and good, but what we do with the brief respite from work is also important. We cannot just waste it on riotous and dissolute living, but need to use it to replenish our strength; mentally, physically and emotionally.
So let’s chant our Friday Chant, which gives us the right perspective on how to use our oh so valuable weekend. All together now, in full voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Now that’s a much better and wiser way to use our days off! And on another important note Friends, today is not only Friday, but also VALENTINE’S DAY; a day on which we celebrate LOVE!
And though it’s been highly commercialized, like almost every other important day, and is more or less viewed as a day for romantic LOVE, it’s still a day when we reach out and touch others.
And any day we do that is indeed a great day! For reaching out and touching others, showing some kind of LOVE is so badly needed and in such short supply in our greedy, angry, resentful and ungodly world!
And it really doesn’t matter all that much what kind of LOVE we touch others with nuh, once it’s TRUE LOVE, it goes a long way towards bringing peace, justice and equal rights to our unjust, war-like and oppressive times.
So today my brethren, when we think of LOVE and giving, let’s not only remember those nearest and dearest to us, with flowers, chocolates and whatever else the commerce peddlers throw at us, but more importantly, let’s stop for a moment and consider our Bit.
‘Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.’
Oh Friends, that is just another angle of the universal principle on which our just, merciful, gracious, forgiving, LOVING and sovereign God built His universe; whatever you sow, the same shall you reap. That means, generally speaking, whatever we do, will be done back to us.
So if the poor cries out to us for help and mercy, and we ignore them, at some future date, when we too cry out for help and mercy, we will not be heard, but also ignored. It’s a simple principle – tit for tat.
And our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ made it quite clear to us when He declared: ‘Judge (condemn) not, that ye be not judged (condemned). For with what judgement (condemnation) ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete (use), it shall be measured to you again.’ (Matt.7:1-2)
And as the scholars explain: ‘7:1-4. Judge not refers to an unfavourable and condemnatory judgement. This does not mean that a Christian should never exercise judgement of any kind under any circumstances. The point being made here is that we are not to judge the inner motives of another.
We are not to render a verdict based on prejudicial information. Nor are we to use ourselves as the standard of judgement for with what…ye mete (measure) you shall be judged. That ye be not judged refers to the ultimate judgement of God rather than our own judgement.’
Oh mih breddren, what’s so hard to understand about all that eh? Nothing at all! It’s like we say: it takes two to tango; two hands to clap; one hand can’t wash itself.
Yes my fellow believers, one of the most important words in our human vocabulary, regardless of the language, is ‘help.’ And one of the most important phrases is ‘help each other,’ for without somebody’s help, NONE of us can ever hope to prosper and succeed. That’s why the phrase ‘no man is an island,’ has also been coined.
The Lord God Jehovah didn’t make this world merely as a bunch of selfish, self-supporting individuals, but as a group of people who are supposed to work together, to help each other along life’s dark, winding and lonely road.
Unfortunately though my fellow believers, our world is littered with the poor, needy and oppressed, and it’s our bounden duty to help them however and whenever we can.
Remember it was the poor, the needy, the lost, the sick, the suffering and the oppressed that Jesus came to save, and it was those types that He hung out with, much more than the rich and famous. And if we’re to be His true and worthwhile followers, we need to do the same things He did.
So today, on Valentine’s Day, this Day of LOVE, I’m asking us all to remember those who are not as fortunate as us. Pray for them, as well as try to help at least ONE unfortunate person. Bless them with something, or in some way that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ can interpret as genuine caring and LOVE.
Remember the rich and powerful don’t give two expletives deleted about the poor and downtrodden, so it’s up to us believers to help them out of their misery.
Please, let’s make a serious, sincere and generous effort to help someone today. That’s not only godly wisdom, as well as our bounden duty, but also a godly act, which we’ve all committed and promised to make our life’s work.
So please, let’s start keeping our promise nuh, for it’s not wise or healthy to make promises and then not keep them. Much LOVE!
…therefore all things…whatsoever ye would that men should do to you…do ye even so to them…for this is the law and the prophets… (Matt.7:12)
21 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ability, Abraham, admissible evidence, assurance, Athens, authority, balancing act, being fearful, black and white, blatant, boggles the imagination, boldfaced, Bruh Paul, brutality, calamitous state, called to account, Christian, Christmas, confidence, conscience, consitent, corruption, crime, crimes against humanity, culprits, destruction, disobedient, economics, emotional, evil, followers, God-given responsibility, Godhead, good, greed, help, homelessness, hunger, ignorance, incompetence, Jesus, judged, judgement, judgement day, justice, justice of God, letting voices be heard, life, light of the world, loss of jobs, LOVE, marginalization, Mars Hill, mental, mercy, military presence, needy, newspapers, obedient, offspring of God, ordained, parable, pay heed, petty excuses, physcial tiredness, piddling wages, plead, police, politics, poor getting poorer, poverty, prayer, public protests, raised from the dead, relationships, resistance, retribution, rich getting richer, righteousness., rule the roost, rumours of war, salt of the earth, secret thing, selfishness, serious action, Sodom, sorry picture, standards, standing up to wrongdoers, step up to the plate, strife, talents, technological prowess, throw the book, under a bushel, understanding, ungodly, unhappiness, unknown God, walk earhtly paths, wars, wisdom, wrongdoings
Ecclesiastes 12:14. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Oh Friends, the ole fella’s tired and unhappy this Saturday morning before Christmas. It’s not physical tiredness nuh, but mental and emotional unhappiness. But it’s all my fault, for I fell behind in my newspaper reading this week, then unwisely tried to catch up on several days reading, all at once. From now on though, I’m going to try my best to stay current, because the news from one day is bearable, but for several…no way Jose!
And what a sorry picture it all painted. We start of with wars and rumours of war, strife in almost every area. Then we have economic and political incompetence and corruption all over the world. And not only that, but the boldfaced and blatant manner in which these crimes against humanity are being carried out, boggles the imagination, especially when very little, if any retribution is being meted out to the culprits.
At least in earlier times we had the good sense to hide our wrong-doings, but not today. Today the greed and selfishness is all out in the open, nobody seems to have a conscience anymore. And in the balancing act that’s life, it only means that the rich are noticeably getting richer, while the poor are not only getting poorer, but also that their numbers are daily increasing at an alarming rate, what with the great loss of jobs and the piddling wages most of the remaining ones now pay.
And since there’s only one pie to be split up amongst several groups, if one group unilaterally increases their portion, then obviously all the others will have theirs curtailed. And consequently, we end up with astronomical rates of marginalization, abject poverty, homelessness, hunger, escalating crime and public protests, more police and military presence and brutality, etc. etc. And who would ever have expected such a calamitous state in a world that is at the height of its technological prowess eh?
Ah mih people, when and where will it all end eh? I guess the Lord alone knows. But we, His people down here on earth also have a serious, God-given responsibility to help, to do our best not to let matters deteriorate any further. And we can only do this by taking serious action; a combination of prayer, letting our voices be heard publicly, standing up to the wrongdoers, and helping those in need.
That’s what Jesus did, and what He fully expects of anyone who calls him or herself a Christian. But there again my fellow believers, we’re not truly living up to the standards that Jesus desires of His followers, and are allowing the ungodly to rule the roost without much resistance. But Friends, please, let’s listen to, and pay serious heed to the words of our Bit. ‘For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’
Yes my brethren, all our actions will be judged. And when the Lord asks us why we didn’t do better with the talents He gave us like the servants in Jesus’ parable, (Matt.18:23-35) what are we going to tell Him eh? Remember too that ignorance will not be admissible evidence. So it’s full time, or rather overdue time that we get our act together and do something concrete for the world, instead of making petty excuses and being fearful, or being selfish and greedy like the world around us.
Remember we’re supposed to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth, but it seems that in fits of anxiety we’re hiding our lights under a bushel and the salt in us has become seriously diminished and thus useless. But Friends, we need to step up to the plate like so many others have done before us, and we’ll use this example of Bruh Paul in our Bit, as he stood up on Mars hill in Athens, explaining to its citizens about the altar they had erected with the inscription; ‘TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.’ (Acts 17:23)
‘Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead (Divine Nature) is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven (shaped) by art and man’s device (devising). And the times of this ignorance God winked at (overlooked); but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; wherefore he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.’ (Acts 17:29-31)
And we’ll close with some notes from the scholars’ re the Justice of God. ’17:31. The justice of God is the active extension of the holiness of God into matters of decision. It implies that God has the authority and ability to establish the standard for all relationships and that He will be consistent in relating to His obedient and disobedient creatures. The justice of God is both legislative and distributive.
Illustration: When Abraham attempted to prevent the destruction of Sodom, he appealed to God’s justice: he knew that the Judge of all the earth would do right (Gen.18:25). Application: So today, everyone can have confidence that God will deal with him justly, but the believer may additionally plead God’s mercy. (First Ref. Gen.3:14; Primary Ref. Acts 17:31; cf. Mark 10:18)’
There we have it Friends, in black and white! Now we can’t say we didn’t know, and anyway, as we said above, ignorance will not stand as a plausible plea on judgement day. Therefore let’s come together, TODAY, and clean up our acts, so that the just judge, on judgement day, will not have to throw the book at us. Much LOVE my people!
…and may the Lord grant us wisdom and understanding…to walk earthly paths…that will not bring harsh judgement…when He calls us to account…
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