23 Jan 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a precious message, act of Love, believe, beloved of God, blessed, cast not away your confidence, Christ-like, come to our rescue, confidence, Controller, courage fails, delay, doing right, done the will of god, draw back, exceeding glad, fears, fears become overwhelming, feeling, for my sake, friend of Jesus, God is never late, God's economy, God's promises, God's timing, growing in faith, habakkuk, have no pleasure, His own sweet time, in the dark, in the light, increasing joy, late, listen, lost faith, mature Christians, need of patience, negative circumstances, One Year Book of Bible promises, Oswald Chambers, palavering, persecute, persecuted, perseverance, personal testimony, promise, prove our faith, receive the promise, recompense, rejoice, rely on God's immutable Word, revile, reward, reward in heaven, right on time, Ruth Harms Calkin, saving of the soul, sees the big picture, Sermon on the Mount, share jesus' love, stands firm, stood the test of time, the Beatitudes, the Creator, the LOVE of Jesus, the prophets, times of questioning, trial, trust, trusting, truth, Tuesday Mantra, wait on God., waiting patiently, will not tarry, wisdom, wrongs things, yet a little while
Hebrews 10:35. Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.
Oh friends, we late! Yuh like how I included you all in that, even though you all are not to blame? (smile) That’s what they call ‘author’s convenience.’ I guess the ole bod was just more tired than I realized, and when I did open my eyes it was already minutes to nine.
Well no palavering, let’s get right down to business, which begins with something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings By Ruth Harms Calkin. This one’s titled ‘God’s Promises.’
Please read with me. ‘With increasing joy I am discovering that God’s promises do not suddenly disappear when our courage fails and our fears become overwhelming. Feeling or no feeling, when God gives a promise that speaks directly to our need, it stands firm regardless of negative circumstances.
There may be times of questioning, and we may not understand God’s timing, but His promise remains certain through our deepest trial. If we consistently rely on His immutable Word, we can disregard the darkness.
Oswald Chambers says, “Are you in the dark right now regarding your circumstances? Then listen, and God will give you a very precious message for someone else when you are in the light.” God waits for us to trust Him when trusting seems the most difficult thing of all.’
And isn’t that the awesome truth my people? For sure! When times are good, it’s easy to trust God, but it’s in those dark and difficult times that God wants to see us sincerely trusting Him and waiting patiently for His timing, because that’s when He knows that we are growing in faith, we are becoming more Christ-like, mature Christians.
Yeh friends, trusting God when the circumstances are negative and you don’t understand what’s happening; you’re doing right, but wrong things proliferate, is indeed difficult. But we have to learn that with God, a promise is a promise, regardless of the circumstances that surround it.
And it’s only by undergoing such tests that we will ever be truly able to trust God and wait on His impeccable timing. One thing’s for sure; He is NEVER late! We might think so, but if you check out the facts of the situation, you’ll discover that He is ALWAYS right on time. I can tell you that from personal testimony.
Anyway, the Bible Promise for the story above is also our Bit for today. ‘Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.’ And that is more awesome truth my fellow believers! Too many of us have lost faith in the Almighty because it seems like He was taking His own sweet time to come to our rescue.
But He is the Creator and the Controller, He sees the big picture and knows what He is doing. That’s why the verse after our Bit explains: ‘For ye have need of patience (endurance), that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.’ (Heb.10:36)
Yeh friends, it’s usually after we’ve done God’s will, that we receive the promise, and nowhere does He say that it comes immediately after. In God’s economy, we usually have to wait for things to prove our faith. And furthermore, as the author paraphrases what the Lord told Habakkuk in Hab.2:3-4.
‘For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry (delay). Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But ye are not of them who draw back unto perdition (destruction); but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.’ (Heb.10:37-39)
Oh my people, let’s hope that that is true of all of us! Let’s hope that we learn to wait on God to fulfill the promises He’s made us, in spite of how long it takes, or how dark and dangerous it might seem. And what did Jesus say about all that in the Beatitudes, in the famous Sermon on the Mount?
‘Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.’ (Matt.5:11-12)
Ah mih breddren, Jesus never promised that it would be easy, but He did promise that those who faithfully stood the test of time would be faithfully rewarded. Now would you like to be amongst that lot or not? I’d suggest that that’s where we should all be actively heading for, since that’s wisdom personified.
Now let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know without a doubt, just who and whose we are. In loud voice and 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!’
And, if that’s true, then let’s go out and share our friend Jesus and His awesome LOVE with the world, for there’s nothing He desires more than that! Much LOVE!
…there’s no bigger act of LOVE…than sharing the LOVE of JESUS…
04 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: A game, a great day, a positive approach, a positive light, a very present help, agile, allow more than we can bear, almighty god, annoyed, Anselm, atone for our sins, attitude, available help, bad, begotten Son, believers, Christ's gospel, Christians, create a problem, David, deadly turmoil, desperate, dwelling within you, fear, fear God, for a better tomorrow, glory hallelujah, god, God is our refuge and strength, good, good news, helpless, highest Being, holy spirit, hope, in God's world, inspire us, Jesus Christ, Job, Joseph, little things, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, mindset, miserable, negative circumstances, omnipotent force, over think, Paul, personal testimony, problem free, prominent in our thoughts, rattle us, refuge, rejection, resources, right places, roar, Saturday, sleeping in, spreading love, strength, supple, surrender, test, the earth be removed, the Good Book, the heart of the sea, the mountains, think too much, this too shall pass, trouble, trust, understanding, walking with, wisdom, wrong choices
Psalm 46:1. God is our refuge and strength, a very present (abundantly available) help in trouble.
Saturday, oh Saturday; what a great day! Oh, let me take that back…no embellish it. Saturday is a great day -good for sleeping in, like I just did – (smile), but the real truth is that EVERY day is a great day in God’s world!
How could they not be when you have the Holy Spirit of your Creator constantly walking with and dwelling within you eh? Oh, we ought to know that just because we call ourselves Christians and have Jesus beside us all the time, that all our days will not be worry and problem free.
Unfortunately many of us supposed believers seem to think so, but if you look through the Good Book you’ll notice that some of the men and women of greatest faith and holiness, like Bruh Joseph, Bruh David, Uncle Job and Bruh Paul had more problems than some of their lesser peers, with the most important being our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
And what makes every day a great day is basically our mindset and attitude. A positive approach to life is the best. Obviously there will be some negative circumstances, but the trick is to try and consider them in a positive light; like the Lord is testing us, and this too shall pass, and He won’t allow more than we can bear.
Our God must always be prominent in our thoughts whether we are experiencing good or bad circumstances. As Job said when his whole life crumbled in mere moments, we can’t always expect good and not some bad. That’s just how life is in our fallen and sinful world.
And I have personal testimony to that this morning. And before giving it, I have to exhale a ‘Steups!’ and an ‘Ah Lord eh!’ Why? Because I just came down to my office to write the Bit, and lo and behold I saw that one of the panels in the ceiling of the office had come apart.
Obviously I was annoyed, and further annoyed when I tried to put it back together and found that I couldn’t do it by myself. I couldn’t raise my hands above my head and hold all the stuff together at the same time. Some years ago I could have done it, although it has always been a finicky job; as you fix one side, the other tends to drop out etc.
And believe me, I can’t see any reason why that particular panel fell out, except to test my resources. (smile) But am I going to let it spoil my day? Obviously not! It’s relatively a small, unimportant thing, which can stay as it is until I can get someone to help me put it back together again.
Yeh friends, too many of us allow little things to rattle us and get us off of our ‘A game’ and spoil the rest of our day. That brings us to the quotes from our friend Anselm, who aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. I only got two from him this week, don’t know what happened.
But anyway, this first one segues in quite nicely to what we’ve been talking about. ‘Don’t think too much…. you’ll create a problem that wasn’t even there in the first place.’ And that’s quite possible.
When problems befall us we tend to over think them, wondering why, what, when, wherefore and all the other questions, which only makes the current problem bigger than it ought to be.
I could have done that with the fallen bit of ceiling, but it wouldn’t have gotten me anywhere, except miserable. And it at least brought home the knowledge that I’m not as agile and supple as I used to be. (smile)
And the next quote says: ‘Sometimes the wrong choices bring us to the right places.’ I really don’t know how to view that nuh, except to think that when we make wrong choices we can end up in places so desperate and helpless, that we are forced to turn to God for help to extricate us.
And that’s why our Bit tells it like it is. ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present (abundantly available) help in trouble.’
And all God’s people shouted a loud and grateful ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ because they know that that statement is the ultimate in truth. Yeh friends, when you belong to the most omnipotent force, the highest Being in the universe, you have no reason to fear what man can do to you.
And as the sons of Korah continue to sing their song of praise and tribute: ‘Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst (the heart) of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.’ (Ps.46:2-3)
Yeh mih people, though the earth and all therein erupt in deadly turmoil, yet we who believe in Almighty God will not be afraid. Glory to God! So total is our surrender, so strong is our faith, hope and trust in Him, that nothing will move us, except His rejection.
And we know that will NEVER happen! Not after He showed His undying LOVE and sacrificed His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ to atone for our abominable sins.
So let us go forward this Saturday morning, filled with the strength, wisdom and understanding granted us through His Holy Spirit and make it a great day, spreading LOVE and the good news of Christ’s gospel to all and sundry. That’s the way our Lord and Saviour, Jesus, desires it. Much LOVE!
…don’t fear man…but certainly fear God…
10 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: anything productive for Jesus, broken down, celebrations, colour commentary, compassion, debtor's prison, enthusiasm, even as Christ forgave you, forbearing one another, forgive, forgive not every one his brother their trespasses, forgiving one another, Friday chant, friends, from your hearts, fun, generous help, give thanks, glorious kingdom, he hwo has ears to hear, he will certainly feel, how oft shall my brother sin against me, if any man have a quarrel against any, inspiring, let him hear, LOVE, negative circumstances, party hearty, quarrel, repair the situation, sensible, seven times, seventy times seven, so also do ye, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the power of forgiveness, the weekend, tired, unlimited forgiveness, wicked servant, wisdom
Colossians 3:13. Forbearing (bearing with) one another and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
Ah mih people, yuh hear the Friday celebrations going on? The working man is overjoyed at two days off work and he plans to fully enjoy it in his own way.
That’s why he’s singing ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday and the weekend’s here at long last! Steups! Thought it would never come yes! This week’s surely been a rough one! The slave driver was at his nasty best.
But Hallelujah! He can’t stop the weekend, and we going to party hearty; party right through it. That’s why we have to give thanks for Fridays and the weekend. TGIF! Thank God is Friday!’
Yeh friends, I know some of us would agree with all that, especially after a rough week at work, but the truth is, it just does not repair the situation, it only makes it worse, because then you have to go back out to work the following week all broken down and tired, and unable to do anything productive for Jesus under those negative circumstances.
Much better our simple but renewing Friday Chant. So let’s chant it now nuh, with the same enthusiasm that the working man sang his Friday song. ‘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 sounds much more inspiring and sensible. At least when you go back out to work you’re not more tired than when you left. And here now is our Bit; possibly the last day for it. But who knows eh? (smile) Only the Good Lord!
‘Forbearing (bearing with) one another and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.’
Oh friends, those words are so important to both our earthly and heavenly lives, that if we truly understood the power of forgiveness, we’d just run quickly and forgive everybody that ever hurt us.
And if you don’t believe me, listen to Peter and Jesus’ conversation on the subject. Jesus had been telling them about praying while having a brother trespass against them, and how they should go and straighten out the situation first. (Matt.18:15-20)
‘Then came Peter to him (Jesus), and said, Lord, how oft (often) shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.’ (Matt.18:21-22)
Yes my fellow believers, seven times just won’t do! Here’s how the scholars explain it. ’18:21-22. All this teaching on forgiveness seemed overwhelming to the disciples, thus prompting Peter’s question: Lord how oft (often) shall my brother sin against me? Peter wrongly assumes that seven times are ample to forgive anyone.
Jesus responds that seven is not only insufficient but that one should forgive seventy times seven, in other words, unlimited forgiveness must characterize the true disciple.’
Wow mih breddren! Even forgiving 490 times is not enough in Jesus’ kingdom! Forgiveness must always keep flowing, just like God’s forgiveness keeps flowing down to us!
Then Jesus told them the parable of the king who took account of what his servants owed him. This one servant owed him oodles of money, but he begged for forgiveness and the king forgave him.
Meanwhile, that same servant accosted another servant who owed him a pittance in comparison to what he had owed the king. However, when his fellow servant pleaded for forgiveness, he instead threw him into debtors prison until he could pay the pittance that he owed.
Obviously the other servants brought the mater to the king’s attention. ‘Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst (begged) me:
Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth (angry), and delivered him to the tormentors (torturers), till he should pay all that was due unto him.’ (Matt.18:32-34)
Oh my fellow believers please pay very close attention to that story, because this is how Jesus concludes the parable. ‘So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.’ (Matt.18:35)
That’s as plain and straightforward as it can get my brethren. And please note the words ‘from your hearts.’ They are not there just to provide colour commentary, but to specify that our motives must also be right.
And that’s it for today. Please, let’s seriously ponder all that we’ve learned about forgiveness over the last few days nuh, and realize just how important it is in our very lives. That’s wisdom of untold reckoning! Much LOVE!
…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…else he will certainly feel…
18 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a food man, a right heart, Abraham Isaac and Jacob, adventure, afraid, all weekend, among the heathen, another week of work, at the forefront of our lives, blessed be my Rock, bombarding heaven, confidence, dealt bountifully, deliverance, diligently, discretion, drinking, enjoyment, esteem, evil tidings, exalted, fallacy, favour, fellowship, fete, frail minds and bodies, Friday chant, friends, from dusk to dawn, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, generous help, Gentiles, give thanks, given to the poor, gnash with his teeth, God avenges me, guide his affairs, honour, horn, I am helped, I will praise him, in Jesus' name, jamming, licentious, LOVE, loving kindness, melt away, mercy, move mountains, my heart rejoices, my heart trusted in him, my shield, my song, negative circumstances, pleasure seeking attitude, prayers, refreshed, rejoice in thy salvation, relaxation, remembrance, renewed, rewards, righteousness, salvation, seek the Lord first, spiritual strength, strain, stress, testify, tests, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, thanksgiving, the desire of the wicked, The Lord is my strength, the Lord liveth, the one and only true living God, the righteous, the weekend, trials, trust, trusting in the Lord, ungodly ways, who vex loss, wine women and song, with God's help
Psalm 28:7. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.
And then it was Friday… And mama yo, I couldn’t stand the noise in mih ears, the raucous singing of ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday! We going to be jamming all weekend! Is fete and more fete! We drinking…drinking from dusk till dawn! We doh care who vex… For as they say, who vex loss. Thank God is Friday yes! Thank God for the weekend oui!’
Oh friends, sadly, that is the pleasure seeking attitude of a large portion of our society towards the weekend.
Ah Lord eh! They think it’s okay to waste it in wine, women and song, but that’s a serious fallacy. The weekend is for some enjoyment yes, but not totally. But try as we can, we can’t get that segment of our population to give up their licentious and ungodly ways on the weekend.
Anyhow, we have a different song we sing; our Friday Chant, which shows a better and godlier way to use the weekend. Let’s chant it in all sincerity now nuh. In unison: ‘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 people, that is indeed the better way to celebrate the weekend! We need to refresh ourselves for another week of work, not continue to stress and strain our already frail minds and bodies.
But we can only do those kinds of things when we have a sincere faith and trust in the ONE and ONLY TRUE and LIVING God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
Where we can confidently say like Bruh David does in our Bit: ‘The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.’
Oh my people, my people, when that kind of confidence dwells in us, then our spiritual strength is so strong, that we can certainly move mountains with the Lord’s help!
Look at the amount of negative circumstances Bruh David overcame, not because he was a saint, but because he held God in the greatest esteem possible and always communicated with Him, regardless of the circumstances.
That’s how we need to live in these uncertain and confusing times my brethren! Without God at the forefront of our lives, we stand little chance of getting through this life successfully.
But enough of me, (smile) let’s get to some scripture which emphasizes what we’re talking about; trust and confidence in Almighty God. Listen to Bruh David from Psalm 13 – How long, O Lord, how long?
‘But I have trusted in thy mercy (LOVING-kindness); my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.’(Ps.13:5-6)
Oh friends, I can certainly testify to that, because the Lord has indeed dealt bountifully with me. Glory to God! It doesn’t mean you have an easy life – in fact it’s often more difficult as the Lord tests you, but the rewards, the adventure and pleasure involved, are certainly worth the trials He might put you through.
Now hear Bruh David again, this time from Psalm 112 – Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord. ‘A good man showeth favour (is gracious), and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.
Surely he shall not be moved (shaken) for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed (steadfast), trusting in the Lord. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.
He hath dispersed (distributed abroad), he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever, his horn (strength) shall be exalted with honour. The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.’ (Ps.112:5-10)
That is what happens my brethren when we seek the Lord first in everything that we do. Now let’s end with some more confident words from Bruh David from Psalm 18 – Thanksgiving for deliverance.
‘The Lord liveth; and blessed be my Rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me. He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.
Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen (Gentiles), and sing praises unto thy name. Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and showeth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed (descendants) for evermore.’ (Ps.18:46-50)
Ah friends, I do hope that all that positive scripture raised our confidence level and trust in Almighty God this Friday morning, and will allow us to rise to any occasion that comes our way, for that’s its purpose. Much LOVE!
…the Lord God works diligently on our behalf…when we diligently seek Him with a right heart…
P.S. Let’s remember to keep on praying for Scotty, our Scrip-Bit family member who is currently in the hospital. I hear he’s doing a li’l better. So please, let’s keep bombarding heaven with our prayers for him. Much LOVE!
25 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: almighty god, Anselm, appreciation, awe, Be All, celebrate, celebrity, change, Comforter, control, craving, Creator, end all, enthusiasm, evil, faithful brethren, forgiveness, Giver of Salvation, guaranteed, Healer, help, hope in his mercy, mercy, negative circumstances, our heart shall rejoice, pour our your heart, power, precious people, provider, refrain his tongue, rejoice, reverence, rewards, shield, slavtion, the eye of the Lord, the face of the Lord, them that fear him, this is the day the Lord has made, trusting God, truth, understanding, we will rejoice and be glad in it
Psalm 33:18. Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy.
Aye precious people of God, it’s a bright and beautiful Saturday morning, please rise and greet it with enthusiasm and reverence for our Creator who so graciously granted it to us!
Many others would have liked to see it, but they didn’t get that opportunity, their names are highlighted in the obits. We are the blessed ones, so let’s rejoice and celebrate by declaring that awesome verse from Psalm 118 nuh: ‘This is the day which the Lord hath made; we WILL rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Ps. 118:24)
Yes friends, it doesn’t make sense living life if there’s no enthusiasm and sincere appreciation for Almighty God, because He is our BE ALL and our END ALL, our Creator, Comforter, Provider, Healer and Giver of Salvation! And all God’s people declared a loud and grateful ‘Amen!’
So what’s happening in your lives today eh my faithful brethren? I do hope it’s something good. But even if your current circumstances are not the greatest, you definitely need to reach out to our heavenly Father, because that’s what He’s there for, and what He desires of us.
He doesn’t want us to go through negative circumstances by ourselves, when He’s always right there to help us. So please look up today and pour out your heart to Him, let it all hang out, don’t withhold anything, and in His time, He will make it right. That’s guaranteed by His faithful Word.
Now let’s hear a couple quotes from our buddy Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us. First of all he says that ‘Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you do have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t.’ And isn’t that the incredible truth my people? It surely is!
Human nature is always to crave what you don’t have, and ignore what you do have. That’s why our world is such a greedy, craven, deceitful, strife-filled, war-like and corrupt place. We’re never satisfied with what is in our realm or sphere, with what we can handle, but are always looking elsewhere for more.
And Anselm’s second quote simply says: ‘It doesn’t take a lot of strength to hang on. It takes a lot of strength to let go.’ Now that too is gospel truth my people! Just look at all our bad habits, it’s much easier to stick to them than let them go. Even the craven nature we talk about above, it’s much easier to be its slave than to try to get out from under it.
Look at all the hangers on that we see in celebrity entourages today. It’s much easier for them to stick to the celebrity than leave and be responsible for themselves. So it’s truly not easy to let go, especially when you have become very comfortable or addicted to something, or some way of life.
But friends, I am here today to tell us that there is indeed a way to let go of all the worldly lusts and craven desires. How do you do that, you ask? By turning to Almighty God and sincerely asking for His help. Listen to our Bit. ‘Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy.’
Yes friends, if you turn to God in reverence and awe, hoping in His gracious mercy, He will look down on you with godly favour. And why is the Lord’s eye upon those who truly revere and worship Him?
‘To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.’ (Ps.33:19) You couldn’t want better reasons than those my fellow believers; to keep our bodies alive with food and our souls alive with salvation!
Hear how Bruh David puts it in Psalm 32 – The blessedness of forgiveness. ‘I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way in which thou shalt go. I will guide thee with mine eye. Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.
Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about (surround him). Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.’ (Ps. 32:8-11)
Yes friends, that’s the only wise and sensible way to go. And Peter declares in agreement: ‘For he that will LOVE life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile (deceit).
Let him eschew (turn away from) evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue (pursue) it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.’ (1 Pet.3:10-12)
Ah mih people, more words of awesome wisdom from Peter! Now why people choose to ignore all these wise words from these staunch and faithful men of God, I don’t know, but unfortunately too many of us do. Anyway, let’s close with the last three verses of Psalm 33 – Praise the Lord for His creation – from which our Bit is taken.
‘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) More awesome wisdom friends!
So please, as the true believers we’re supposed to be, let’s embrace it all nuh, and just live our lives for our God, as we were intended to, leaning on Him, trusting Him with all our hearts, minds, souls and bodies, so that He can graciously bestow on us His mercy, forgiveness and salvation. Now that’s telling it like it is! Much LOVE!
…to those who live sensibly…that is righteously…godly blessings and rewards will overtake them…
13 Jan 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: agape, anger, battlefield, believers in Christ, blessings, body of Christ, Christian maturity, Christians, come together, common cold, dire straits, glory hallelujah, glory to God, goodness, grin and bear it, growth, hatred, I am halfway home, I'm not looking back, I'm not turning back, I'm so glad to be alive, Israelites, keep looking to the future, lean on God's strength, LOVE, Love conquers all, LOVE Revolution, love thy neightbour as thyself, Moses, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my hands are on the plough, negative circumstances, plummeting down to the bottom, practice what I preach, progress, rising to the top, strife, teach us to love, thank God, the breath of life, the gospel truth, the great commandment, the straight and narrow path, thepower of your spirit, thou shalt love the Lord thy God, to a glorious future with Jesus, walk our walk, Wednesday Wail, wisdom, with all thy heart, with all thy might, with all thy mind, with all thy soul, yoke of Jesus
Matthew 22:37. Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Oh Friends, I’m getting better! Glory to God! Yeh mih people, on this cold, snowy, Wednesday, winter morn, the ole fella’s getting over this flu bug, but just not as quickly as I would like. (smile)
I managed to nip most of the sneezing, runny nose and coughing in the bud, but the ole cold instead took a toll on me in the form of bodily weariness and a constant desire to sleep.
It always amuses and annoys me that we can cure so many serious maladies, but not the simple, common cold. We just have to allow it to run it’s course. And in this case I have to practice what I preach, just grin and bear it.
I don’t understand God’s reason(s) for allowing it – we never want to get sick – but since our’s is not to question why, just do and hopefully not to die, I’ll put my best foot forward and lean on God’s strength and goodness. Glory Hallelujah!
Now let’s wail our Wednesday Wail as though we truly mean it. ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Oh yes my brethren, that’s where our focus ought to lie; straight ahead, under the light and easy yoke of Jesus! It couldn’t get any better than that my people. Looking back at the past, as so many of us are wont to do, only stifles and retards our progress, growth and maturity in Christ. And that, we definitely don’t want to happen.
So please, let us just keep looking to the future, where God has wonderful plans for each of our lives, filled with blessings and goodness untold. And the best way I know to do that is by following Jesus’ command in our Bit. ‘Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.’
Yes Friends, when we focus our thoughts and plans and everything else on God, then we are able to stay on the straight and narrow path. Now Jesus declared that statement after some smart-alec Pharisee lawyer tried to trap Him by asking: ‘Master, which is the great commandment in the law?’ (Matt.22:36)
And we have the first part of Jesus’ reply above. But then He continued. ‘This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ (Matt.22:38-40)
And my fellow believers, Jesus was quite right! If we’d only focus and concentrate on those two things, our lives would be way better and our world would not be filled with so much hatred, anger and strife. But obviously we are not taking those commandments to heart.
And strangely enough, a prayer I read at the back of my mother’s Bible last night brought about this Bit. I know I’ve shared it before, but last night it just touched a concerned chord in my heart and made me want to bring it up again.
It says: ‘Father, we confess that we do not always respond to your LOVE as we should. By the power of your spirit living in us, teach us to LOVE you as we ought to LOVE. In Christ. Amen.’
And isn’t that first line the gospel truth friends? It surely is! LOVE, the ‘agape,’ brotherly, caring kind is almost non-existent in our world today! And that’s why we’re in such dire straits, plummeting down to the bottom, rather than rising to the top.
I heard someone say recently that at least 27 nations are at war in our world right now. Hn! How could that ever amount to LOVING and caring for God and each other as Jesus has directed us to eh? Under those negative circumstances it’s just impossible my people.
So what are we going to do about it eh? There’s only ONE right and sensible thing to do; that’s start LOVING God, ourselves and our neighbours more! That’s the only thing that will turn our negative, resentful, cantankerous world around!
Oh my people, what kind of world are we going to bequeath to our descendants eh? I do hope it’s not the one we’re currently living in. But that can only be avoided if all of us Christians, supposed believers in Christ, were to seriously come together, take up the banner of Christ’s LOVE Revolution and seriously and sincerely fight to make it come true!
Remember our Bit: it’s LOVE that conquers all! And not the lustful, romantic type either.
Oh Friends, I don’t know what else to say to get us worked up enough to truly fight the LOVE Revolution nuh, but in ending I want to point out one distinction that Jesus made in His declaration.
Moses told the Israelites: ‘And thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.’ (Deut.6:5)
However Jesus changed the last part to ‘with all thy mind.’ He recognized that it all begins in our minds with our thoughts and ulterior motives.
Yes my precious people, the major battlefield is right there in our minds, and until we start thinking right and LOVING thoughts, the enemy will continue to have a stranglehold on us.
So please, let’s wake up and smell whatever it is we need to smell nuh, so that we can come together as the ONE body that Christ desires and fight for the LOVE Revolution tooth and nail, to provide a better day and life for our offspring. That’s what true wisdom is all about. Much LOVE!
…and the supreme call is…for Christians to come together…right now…in Jesus’ name…and walk our walk…
P.S. Please excuse the Bit’s tardiness, but between the cold and my usual late night shenanigans, it does make getting up early a tad difficult. (smile) But as they say: better late than never. Much LOVE!
12 Sep 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a blessed day, a guide book to earthly life, against spiritual wickedness in high places, anxious, appreciative, bringing into captivity every thought, calamity, Casting down imaginations, Christians, disobedience, eagerness, economic downturn, exalted above God, fearful, forgiveness, God's blessings, God's promised never to leave nor forsake us, grace, greed, holy character, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, Jesus Christ, joyful, lack for nothing, LOVE, mercy, moral conduct, mouth scriptures, negative, negative circumstances, obedience to God's word, our Lord and Saviour, our weapons of warfare are not carnal, peace, powers, praying always, principalities, righteousness., spiritual warfare, stand strong and faithful, take the fight to the devil, the breastplate of righteousness, the Good Book, the gospel of peace, the helmet of salvation, the hope of salvation, the knowledge of god, the pulling down of strongholds, the righteousness of God, the rulers of darkness, the saints, the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit, the whole armour of God, theoretical tome, this is the day the Lord has made, though we walk in the flesh, time with God in prayer, to the obedience of Christ, truth, warfare, we do not war after the flesh, we will rejoice and be glad in it, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, willingness
Ephesians 6:12. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world (age), against spiritual (hosts of ) wickedness in high places.
Greetings mih breddren! All the saints greet you in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour, and wish you a most blessed day! A day where all your needs are met by our heavenly Father, where peace, LOVE, forgiveness, mercy and grace reign supreme in your household. And as such you can sincerely say: ‘This is the day which the Lord hath made; we (my whole household and I) will rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Ps.118:24)
Oh Friends, if only the majority of Christians would sincerely declare that statement, then actually rejoice and be glad during the day, what a wonderful world this would truly be. But unfortunately, a lot of us just mouth these scriptures and don’t actually put them into practice. How can we call down God’s blessings if we are not joyful and appreciative of them eh?
And sadly, with the disastrous state of warfare, greed and economic downturn in our current world, more and more people, including Christians, are becoming negative, fearful and anxious, just waiting for calamity to hit.
But Friends, with Jesus as our guide and leader we ought not to fear what the world can do, or what happens therein. For Jesus promised never to leave nor forsake us, as well as if our first priority is seeking the righteousness of God, then all that we need will be provided.
We might not get an abundance of earthly riches, but we will certainly lack for nothing that’s necessary. So this Saturday morning, as we spend some quiet time with God in prayer, let’s ask Him to show us how to be joyful and appreciative of all that He’s done for us nuh, and how to stand strong and faithful despite any negative circumstances that may be overwhelming us.
I know it’s not easy to do, but with the help of Almighty God, we believers can most certainly do it. Remember this other scripture that we all mouth. ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.’ (Phil.4:13)
Well let’s truly believe it nuh, and allow God to help us put into practice. The Good Book is not just a theoretical tome yuh know, but a very practical and applicable guide book to earthly life. Let’s begin using it as such nuh, because that’s the only way we will ever get its full benefits.
And all of that ties into our Bit rather nicely. ‘For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world (age), against spiritual (hosts of) wickedness in high places.’ Yes my fellow believers, a lot of the fear and anxiety and negative emotions we experience stem from the actions of the evil one and his disgusting cronies.
Note Bruh Paul’s admonition to the Corinthians in his second letter. ‘For though we walk (live) in the flesh (in a body), we do not war (fight) after (according to) the flesh (human standards): (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal (of the flesh), but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;)
Casting down imaginations (arguments) and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. And having in a readiness to revenge (punish) all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.’ (2 Cor.10:3- 6)
Yes Friends, we fight the spiritual warfare by destroying all the arguments, anything that we think or is brought to us which tends to be exalted above Jehovah God, and then making sure that all our thoughts are in obedience to God’s word, and not that of the world. And we obviously cannot do that in our own strength. The only way for us to protect ourselves from the barbs of the enemy is by putting on the whole armour of God. And we promised to delve into that armour a bit more, so here goes.
The scholars explain: ‘14-17. The whole armour of God consists of six pieces. (1) Truth (v.14a) is a knowledge of the truth of God’s Word (cf.4:21). The ancient soldier’s loins (waist) were girt about with a leather belt which held most of the other pieces of his armour in place. Similarly, the other pieces of the Christian’s armour depend on, and are held in place by his spiritual “belt” or his knowledge of the “truth” of Scripture.
(2) The breastplate of righteousness (v.14b) may be read, “the breastplate which is righteousness.” It represents a holy character and moral conduct. Obedience to the “truth” known produces a godly life (“righteousness”)
(3) Preparation of the gospel of peace (v.15) means “eagerness that comes from the gospel of peace.” That is, as the Roman soldier wore special shoes called ‘caligae’ on his feet, enabling him to advance against his enemy, so the Christian must have on his feet (possess) a sense of “eagerness” or willingness” to advance against the Devil and take the fight to him.
Such “eagerness” to contend with Satan “comes from the gospel of peace.” The gospel gives peace to the believer, freeing him from anxiety though he advances against such a powerful opponent.
(4) The shield of (which is) faith (v.16) means taking God at His word by believing His promises. Such trust will protect one from doubts induced by Satan. (5) The helmet of salvation (v.17a): Since the readers are already Christians (2:8), they are not here urged to be saved. First Thessalonians 5:8 describes the helmet as “the hope of salvation” that is the certainty (assurance) of salvation.
(6) The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (v.17b): The Greek term rendered “word” is not ‘logos’, referring to the whole Word of God, but ‘rhema’, referring to certain portions or selected verses of Scripture.’
Oh Friends, I do hope that that brings greater understanding of the armour of God, and also gives us a strong foundation to build upon. However, there is one postscript to all that, ‘Praying always…’ (v.18) for without prayer my people, the armour of God is not fail-safe.
As the scholars say: ‘Without prayer God’s armour is inadequate to achieve victory. Prayer is indispensable.’ Please remember that. So until we meet tomorrow, God willing, let’s all make sure we are totally dressed in God’s armour at all times nuh… And keep praying, for that is heavenly wisdom. Much LOVE!
…to wage successful spiritual warfare against Lucifer…one must always be dressed from head to toe in God’s armour… accompanied by the awesome power of prayer…
22 Jan 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fight to the death, a fresh cold, a high priest, after the order of Melchizedek, an intense longing for god, ascended into heaven, atone for our sins, breakthrough, Bruh David, Bruh Paul, cast not away your confidence, courage, cure a simple cold, disregard the darkness, don't give up, done the will of god, endurance, eternal life, eternal separation from God, faith, feel miserable, feeling, fight against them that fight against me, fighting tooth and nail, future, God's plans for us are all for good, God's promises, God's promises stand firm, God's ways are higher than ours, going down to the wire, gospel truth, hang in there, hope, hope thou in God, I am thy salvation, I shall yet praise him, jehovah god, Jesus is the answer, joy, keep hoping in God, lie down and rest, lost, malaise in my spirit, Mars, negative circumstances, obedience, omnipotence, One Year Book of Bible promises, patience, perseverance, Plead my cause, put a man on the moon, receive the promise, recompense of reward, rely on God's immutable Word, reward, run its course, salvation, Salvation belongeth unto the Lord, salvation comes from God, Selah, selfless acts, shed blood, sinful souls, stand in faith, stand up for mine help, stop those who pursue me, Thank you Jesus, the author of eternal salvation, the darkest hour is the one before the dawn, the help of his countenance, the right medication, the sons of Korah, them's the breaks, thursday morning, thy blessing is upon thy people, times of questioning, trial, trust, trust God, ungodly world, unsaved, Venus, Why art thou cast down o my soul, why art thou disquieted within me
Psalm 3:8. Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.
Aye mih people, is Thursday morning, another chilly one, and the ole fella fighting this cold tooth and nail! (smile) We going down to the wire with it, we not giving up! It’s a fight to the death!
Oh I know that it has to run its course, but while it’s doing its thing, I’m also doing my own, trying not to let it make me feel too terrible, because you know that nothing in this world makes you feel as miserable as a simple fresh cold.
Ah Lord eh! We can put man on the moon and voyage out to Venus and Mars, but we can’t cure a simple cold! Steups! But I guess them’s the breaks! And believe me, it was difficult to get up this morning, although I wasn’t sleeping. But a certain malaise in my spirit just said lie down and rest. (smile)
And I did for a short while. But knowing that the Bit had to go out, I eventually forced myself out of the bed. And I believe I have the right medication for whatever is ailing us this morning, in the words of The One Year Book of Promises, with writings from Ruth Harms Calkin.
This passage is titled ‘God’s Promises,’ and it says: ‘With increasing joy I am discovering that God’s promises do not suddenly disappear when our courage fails and our fears become overwhelming. Feeling or no feeling, when God gives a promise that speaks directly to our need, it stands firm regardless of negative circumstances.
There may be times of questioning, and we may not understand God’s timing, but His promise remains certain during our deepest trial. If we consistently rely on His immutable Word, we can disregard the darkness.
Oswald Chambers says, “Are you in the dark right now regarding your circumstances? Then listen, and God will give you a very precious message for someone else when you are in the light.” God waits for us to trust Him when trusting seems the most difficult thing to do.’
Ah Friends, the cruel, evil and ungodly world that we’re currently living in, is certainly making it hard for us to trust God and rely on His promises. But if we want to succeed, we have to truly stand in faith on His word, even though we may seem completely surrounded by darkness.
And as the Bible promise for that passage so truthfully declares: ‘Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience (endurance, perseverance), that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.’ (Heb.10:35-36)
Yes mih breddren, the one thing we CAN’T DO, is GIVE UP! And it’s when life seems the darkest that we need to hold on to God’s promises the strongest. For as the saying goes; the darkest hour is the one just before the dawn. And that’s no lie! We experience the roughest times just before we experience our breakthrough.
So please, let’s hang in there with Jehovah God, for He knows what He’s doing. His thoughts and ways are so much higher than ours that we don’t, and can’t always understand what He’s about. In His omnipotence He created us, and still controls the universe, and sincerely promised that all His plans for us were all for good, for peace, with hope for a bright future. (Jer.29:11)
And as our Bit so wisely and rightly declares: ‘Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.’ And of that my people, there is absolutely no doubt! That’s why so many people of great faith in the Bible declared it.
Now let’s look at a few more of those scripture passages that declare salvation comes from God, as we’ve been doing for the last few days. And we’ll begin with words of Bruh David, who called out to God so often and so seriously in his writings. Listen to how he begins Psalm 35 – A prayer for rescue from enemies.
‘Plead my cause (contend for me), O Lord, with them that strive (contend) with me: fight against them that fight against me. Take hold of shield and buckler (a 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.’ (Ps.35:1-3)
And we all know the turbulent and tumultuous life that Bruh David lived, but he never forgot or gave up on the God of his fathers, who faithfully saved him from his enemies whenever he cried out for help.
Now hear the author of Hebrews, whom I can’t help but think is Bruh Paul, with all the similarities of speech and mannerisms.
‘Though he (Jesus) were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. Called of God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.’ (Heb.5:8-10)
And isn’t that the gospel truth Friends! Jesus died, rose from the grave and ascended into heaven so that we could have eternal salvation! Without those wonderful, selfless acts of His, there would be no general salvation. Many of us would stay lost and unsaved.
So let’s give Him a big shout of praise and thanks for saving our sinful souls from eternal separation from Almighty God, the worst fate that can befall a human being.
And all God’s people declared a loud and heartfelt: ‘Thank You Jesus! Thank You ever so much for sacrificing Your holy, sinless life on the cross, so that Your shed blood, precious as it was, could pay for, atone for our abominable sins. We praise You, bless and glorify Your holy name! Amen.’
And now Friends, we’ll end with this well known verse from Psalm 42 – An intense longing for God – a contemplation from the sons of Korah.
And it simply says: ‘Why art thou cast (bowed) down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him for the help of his countenance (presence).’ (Ps.42:5)
Yes my people, I implore us to keep hoping in God, though our souls might not feel like doing it, for regardless of what anyone else says, only from Him is true salvation and eternal life possible. Much LOVE!
…to EVERY problem in our lives…Jesus IS the answer…
02 Jul 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: accomplish, anxious, awesome truth, Beauty for Ashes, blessed is he who trusts in the Lord, body of Christ, body rebelled, boss, Canada Day, celebrations, choose life, christianity, cliques, collaborate, collaboration, console those who mourn, cursed is he who trusts in man, death, deceitful intentions, decent and fulfilling life, deeds, denominations, divisions, divisive, dock pay, drive us apart, drought, explosion, forgiving, fractured, glorify God, glory hallelujah, heart departs from the Lord, Heartsongs, Jeremiah, life, long weekend, LOVE, Mattie Stepanek, merciful, muscular dystrophy, negative circumstances, no man is an island, obedient, One Body, one God, one message, one truth, peace, peacemaker, philosopher, planted by the waters, poet, Praise the Lord, predicament, quietness, religions, righteousness., risen Christ, salvation, smile, teamwork, the best of families, the garment of praise, the heart is deceitful, the Holy Trinity, the oil of joy for mourning, the planting of the Lord, the spirit of heaviness, the things of God, the things of the world, the wilderness, trees of righteousness, understanding, unity, unity is strength, upcoming death, what a life, wisdom, yielding fruit
Isaiah 61:3. To appoint unto (console) them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.
And the celebrations went on late into the night! (smile) Well they might very well have, just not at my place. In fact, there were no real celebrations in my yard yesterday. We more or less took Canada Day as a day of quietness and peace, doing stuff around the house that needed to be done. And though I did get to bed rather late, it was certainly not from celebrating.
However, when called upon to arise and get going this morning, the old body totally rebelled. I remember getting up to go to the bathroom sometime after three o’clock and telling the Lord it was way too early to get a move on, especially since I hadn’t been to bed too long before that. But the next time I opened my bleary eyes it was after six o’clock. Hn, hn!
Now I’m sure there are a few of us in that predicament on this morning after. (smile) It’s a good thing though that my boss is such an understanding, forgiving and merciful boss, and He won’t rage on me or dock my pay, as some of the earthly bosses will do to those who are late this morning, especially after what has been an extraordinary long weekend for some.
Praise the Lord! What a life eh Friends! But these things do happen, even in the best of families. (smile)
Anyway, the word from my almanac for today is ‘COLLABORATE.’ And that is a most important word in all aspects of life! For remember that since no man is an island, complete unto himself, we therefore need to collaborate with others to get things done and thus have a decent and fulfilling life.
And the quote for today comes from Mattie Stepanek – Matthew Joseph Thaddeus Stepanek (1990-2004) American poet, peacemaker and philosopher, who published six books of poetry, he called ‘Heartsongs.’
Yes I know he was only fourteen when he died, but apparently his family suffered from a rare form of muscular dystrophy, which took his life and that of three other siblings at rather tender ages. Just goes to show how much we can achieve and accomplish either when pushed by things like upcoming death, or we truly put our minds to it.
Anyway, Mattie tells us this morning that ‘Unity is strength…when there is collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.’
Wow mih breddren! What an awesome truth! And that from a young pup too! It’s true in ALL aspects of life!
But unfortunately, nowhere is it sadly lacking and badly needed more than in the earthly body of Christ Jesus! His church is much too fractured and divisive, with way too many different religions and denominations, all purportedly teaching and celebrating the same risen Christ.
Well if we’re all talking about the same Saviour, and telling the same story, then why are there so many divisions eh? There can be only ONE truth, so there should be only ONE message! I guess it just means that people are seeing the message differently, and thus telling it in different ways.
But Friends, what a beautiful explosion of Christianity there would be in this evil and ungodly world if the true and faithful brethren in Christ would concentrate on collaborating, in getting together, rather than falling apart into small cliques and divisions! Glory Hallelujah! The world would certainly stand up and take significant notice!
Please remember that Christ’s church is supposed to be ONE BODY, just like the Holy Trinity is ONE GOD!
Sadly though, at this juncture in our history, that cannot be said of Christ’s body, when we’re fighting so terribly and frightfully amongst ourselves. How can we expect to hear good tidings of salvation under those negative circumstances eh?
How can we expect the Lord ‘To appoint unto (console) them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.’
It just isn’t realistic my people. The Lord’s seeking teamwork and unity amongst His children. How can we be truthfully called ‘trees of righteousness’ and ‘the planting of the Lord’ when we’re so disjointed and divisive eh, when we’re allowing the things of the world to drive us apart, rather than enjoining the things of God to bring us together?
The prophet Jeremiah spells it out very clearly for us. ‘Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in (the strength of) man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath (a shrub) in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.’ (Jer.17:5-6)
Yes Friends, that’s one side of the equation. Now listen to the other half of it, then tell me which half makes more sense, which one is wiser to follow.
‘Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see (fear) when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful (anxious) in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.’ (Jer.17:7-8)
Yes Friends, those are the two options available to us, and it’s plainly stated what will happen in each. And just in case we hold deceitful intentions, please note that we can’t try to cover up our dark secrets while looking good on the outside, as we can do with men, for Jeremiah continues with the Lord’s declaration.
‘The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked (incurably sick) who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try (test) the reins (the mind, the most secret places), even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings (deeds).’ (Jer.17:9-10)
For sure my brethren, the Lord will judge each individual by his or her actions. So it’s up to each of us to choose the option we think best suits us. But let me add a word of wisdom here; (smile) option two wins the contest hands down!
Oh Friends, we can’t glorify our great and wonderful God by fighting amongst ourselves, so starting today, right now, let’s seriously concentrate on trusting the Most High God Jehovah nuh, and consequently live in unity and collaboration with each other, so that we can reap the blessedness that He has prepared for those who truly LOVE Him and seek to be obedient to His will.
It’s not all that difficult to do, and furthermore, it is truly the wisdom of and for the ages! Much LOVE!
…I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing…therefore choose life…that both thou and thy seed may live… (Deut.30:19)
14 Mar 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new song in my mouth, acknowledge Almighty God, admisnter rewards, almighty god, angry, bitter, blessed, blessings, character witness for Jesus, Christian witness, circumstances, Creator, despair, disobedience, does not respect the proud, enthusiasm, evil, existing circumstances, fear, fellowship, fervour, Friday Morning Chant, fun, generous help, glorious kingdom, godly person, gospel truth, happy, help, hold our heads and bawl, holy spirit, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, joy, joyful, Lent, lights up our lives, live for Christ, Lord and Master of all, LOVE, magnificence, majesty, negative circumstances, negative option, negative reactions, one true God, our Lord and Saviour, peaceful, physical well-being, pleasant, positive outlook, praise and thanks, praise utno our god, provider, rebellion, reclaim His rightful place, relaxation, renewed vitality, resentful person, rest, reverence, righteousness., Scrip-Bit family, sinners, spiritual reaction, strength, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the best way to begin every day, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, this is the day the Lord has made, time to come to true repentance, true sincerity, trust, trusts in the Lord, trying times, turn to lies, unfavourable circumstances, we shall rejoice and be glad in it, week of work, zeal
Psalm 40:3. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.
Aye mih Scrip-Bit family! How all yuh doing this second Friday morning in Lent eh? I surely hope that you all are joyful regardless of the existing circumstances in your lives.
And since is Friday, no doubt you all shouting ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday!’ in great expectations of the end of the work week and a good weekend in sight.
Now the Lord has led me to talk today about how we ought to behave in various circumstances. And since all of us are joyful in good circumstances, we don’t need to talk about that. However, we do need to talk about our response to bad circumstances. And why do we need to understand how to properly respond to unfortunate and less than ideal circumstances?
Why it’s simple. If the circumstances are unfavourable and you get down and in deep despair, that’s not going to change those negative occurrences, but it will most likely change you into a sour, miserable, bitter, angry and resentful person. And you definitely cannot be a good Christian witness for Christ if all those negative emotions are running your life.
However, if you’re joyful in unfavourable circumstances, then in all likelihood, you’ll change to being a pleasant, happy, peaceful and godly person, a true character witness for Jesus.
Now isn’t that wonderful? Doesn’t it sound much better than the negative evil option? It surely does!
And I know that some of you will beg to disagree, but please show me, even one instance, where negative reactions to negative circumstances have improved those circumstances. I don’t think you can. But when we come up over the circumstances with a more positive outlook, though the circumstances may stay negative, our spiritual reaction, and thus physical well-being will surely be improved.
So I hope that we all are living everyday by the dictum of ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we shall all rejoice and be glad in it!’ (Ps.118:24)
Very wise words indeed my people! And also the best, the most wonderful way to begin each and every day of our earthly lives! We couldn’t be any safer, any richer, any more positive than when we begin each day with Almighty God, our Creator and sure Provider, Help and Strength leading the way.
But unfortunately, we’re so full of rebellion and disobedience, and foolishly insist on trying to prove that we know better than Jehovah God, what is good for us and when. Therefore we just go on in our merry sinful nature and do our own thing.
However, when the Lord hauls us up on the carpet for the wilful disobedience and foolish rebellion, we hold our heads and bawl rather belatedly; ‘I’m sorry Lord! Oh Lord ah so sorry…!’ But then Friends, as we said, it might just be too late then.
So please, it’s time for all of us to come to true repentance and once again acknowledge Almighty God; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It’s time for us to truly acknowledge that He is indeed the Creator of heaven and earth, and all therein; that He is Lord and Master of all that He surveys, since he created everything that exists, and still controls it all!
It’s time to give the ONE TRUE GOD, who’s alive and kicking, and kicking with a mighty force too, the praise and thanks He so richly deserves!
Time to admire His majesty and magnificence, His great undying and unconditional LOVE for us, so magnanimously shown by sending His wonderful Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ to die for us while we were yet sinners! (Rom.5:8)
Now how many of us would do that eh? Not too many, because we like to see change first before we administer rewards.
Anyway Friends, it’s obvious that we’re living in very trying times, most likely caused by our rebellion against Jehovah God, foolishly minimizing Him both in our individual lives and our societies at large. And believe you me, the ONLY THING that’s going to help us is having Him reclaim His rightful place at the HEAD of all our doings, both as individuals and societies.
So please, let’s be smart and do like Bruh David did and still advises in our wonderful and oh so wise Bit: ‘And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.’
And why should we do that? Because, ‘Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.’ (Ps.40:4)
You couldn’t want a better reason than that my fellow believers. So let’s put that advice into effect RIGHT NOW, by chanting our Friday Chant with true sincerity, a sincerity that we’ve never sung it with before, thus making it a new song. (smile)
All together 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.’
That was wonderful my brethren! Now let’s go out and live for Christ with that same enthusiasm and zeal! Much LOVE!
…whenever a new song fills our heart…we sing it with much fervour and joy…it also lights up our lives…and that’s the gospel truth…
Previous Older Entries Next Newer Entries
SCRIP-BITS 
Today’s Scrip-Bit 10 February 2017 Colossians 3:13.
10 Feb 2017 Leave a comment
by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: anything productive for Jesus, broken down, celebrations, colour commentary, compassion, debtor's prison, enthusiasm, even as Christ forgave you, forbearing one another, forgive, forgive not every one his brother their trespasses, forgiving one another, Friday chant, friends, from your hearts, fun, generous help, give thanks, glorious kingdom, he hwo has ears to hear, he will certainly feel, how oft shall my brother sin against me, if any man have a quarrel against any, inspiring, let him hear, LOVE, negative circumstances, party hearty, quarrel, repair the situation, sensible, seven times, seventy times seven, so also do ye, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the power of forgiveness, the weekend, tired, unlimited forgiveness, wicked servant, wisdom
Colossians 3:13. Forbearing (bearing with) one another and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
Ah mih people, yuh hear the Friday celebrations going on? The working man is overjoyed at two days off work and he plans to fully enjoy it in his own way.
That’s why he’s singing ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday and the weekend’s here at long last! Steups! Thought it would never come yes! This week’s surely been a rough one! The slave driver was at his nasty best.
But Hallelujah! He can’t stop the weekend, and we going to party hearty; party right through it. That’s why we have to give thanks for Fridays and the weekend. TGIF! Thank God is Friday!’
Yeh friends, I know some of us would agree with all that, especially after a rough week at work, but the truth is, it just does not repair the situation, it only makes it worse, because then you have to go back out to work the following week all broken down and tired, and unable to do anything productive for Jesus under those negative circumstances.
Much better our simple but renewing Friday Chant. So let’s chant it now nuh, with the same enthusiasm that the working man sang his Friday song. ‘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 sounds much more inspiring and sensible. At least when you go back out to work you’re not more tired than when you left. And here now is our Bit; possibly the last day for it. But who knows eh? (smile) Only the Good Lord!
‘Forbearing (bearing with) one another and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.’
Oh friends, those words are so important to both our earthly and heavenly lives, that if we truly understood the power of forgiveness, we’d just run quickly and forgive everybody that ever hurt us.
And if you don’t believe me, listen to Peter and Jesus’ conversation on the subject. Jesus had been telling them about praying while having a brother trespass against them, and how they should go and straighten out the situation first. (Matt.18:15-20)
‘Then came Peter to him (Jesus), and said, Lord, how oft (often) shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.’ (Matt.18:21-22)
Yes my fellow believers, seven times just won’t do! Here’s how the scholars explain it. ’18:21-22. All this teaching on forgiveness seemed overwhelming to the disciples, thus prompting Peter’s question: Lord how oft (often) shall my brother sin against me? Peter wrongly assumes that seven times are ample to forgive anyone.
Jesus responds that seven is not only insufficient but that one should forgive seventy times seven, in other words, unlimited forgiveness must characterize the true disciple.’
Wow mih breddren! Even forgiving 490 times is not enough in Jesus’ kingdom! Forgiveness must always keep flowing, just like God’s forgiveness keeps flowing down to us!
Then Jesus told them the parable of the king who took account of what his servants owed him. This one servant owed him oodles of money, but he begged for forgiveness and the king forgave him.
Meanwhile, that same servant accosted another servant who owed him a pittance in comparison to what he had owed the king. However, when his fellow servant pleaded for forgiveness, he instead threw him into debtors prison until he could pay the pittance that he owed.
Obviously the other servants brought the mater to the king’s attention. ‘Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst (begged) me:
Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth (angry), and delivered him to the tormentors (torturers), till he should pay all that was due unto him.’ (Matt.18:32-34)
Oh my fellow believers please pay very close attention to that story, because this is how Jesus concludes the parable. ‘So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.’ (Matt.18:35)
That’s as plain and straightforward as it can get my brethren. And please note the words ‘from your hearts.’ They are not there just to provide colour commentary, but to specify that our motives must also be right.
And that’s it for today. Please, let’s seriously ponder all that we’ve learned about forgiveness over the last few days nuh, and realize just how important it is in our very lives. That’s wisdom of untold reckoning! Much LOVE!
…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…else he will certainly feel…