The Overwhelming Importance of LOVE in Our World!

26 Oct 2024 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 22:37.        Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

Oh, it’s another sunshiny day in my area, though somewhat blustery, with seasonal temperatures, and the leaves are now truly beginning to fall. But that’s what fall is all about; blowing wind and falling colourful leaves with some rain. And though it’s all good when the sun shines, we haven’t seen the other part of the equation, that’s rain, for almost a couple of weeks now, although it’s been promised several times by the weather people. 

And until such time as the rain decides to bless us, we’ll just have to grin and painfully bear the sunshine. (smile) And I did have a nice li’l lazy day Saturday reprieve, as I went to bed rather late this morning. But enough with the unimportant stuff, let’s get to our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer and offer it up with all sincerity and truth. 

As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’ 

Ah friends, there’s’ nothing better than achieving more intimacy with God, of going deeper and deeper into His presence! And that’s only possible when we sincerely seek Him, as Jesus explains. ‘Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 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. 22:37-40) 

Yes my fellow believers, the abiding principle in the law of God, is LOVE! That’s His greatest attribute, and what should be the prevailing sentiments and emotions on His earth. But it certainly is not. For hate, anger, resentment, strife, greed, jealousy and all the other negative sentiments and emotions are currently ruling the world. LOVE is a forgotten word, and even when remembered, it’s merely bandied about trivially, with no real respect for it’s true meaning. 

And with the negative emotions in prominence, there’s no wonder that our world is in a state of chaos, and fading fast away as the negatives become even more prevalent, and LOVE recedes even further into the background. And the scriptures warn us about the very bad effects of those negative attitudes. 

Listen to this one from that famous Psalm 37 – Trust in the Lord. Bruh David spells it out loud and clear. ‘Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil (for it only causes harm). For evildoers shall be cut off (destroyed): but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.’ (Ps. 37:8-9) 

And Jesus said it thus in the Sermon on the Mount, as He taught the Beatitudes: ‘Blessed are the meek, for thy shall inherit the earth.’ (Matt. 5:5) Yes, my brethren, the meek are those that have humbled themselves before God, have strength and power, but don’t abuse it, they can control their sinful urges, and instead wait on God’s direction to use His gifts for the good purposes He desires. 

Meanwhile, Bruh Paul had this to say to the Colossians. ‘If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection (mind) on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore (put to death) your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection (passion), evil concupiscence (desire), and covetousness, which is idolatry: 

For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:’ (Col. 3:1-10) 

And that’s how it ought to be when we receive Christ as Saviour! We put away the sinful things of our old life and take up the new and LOVING things of God! Looking more unto the incorruptible things of heaven, than the corruptible things of the earth. Unfortunately though, too many supposed Christians are still indulging too much in the things of the world and not enough in the things of heaven. We are allowing the things of the world to influence us too much. 

Remember what Jesus said in His prayer for the disciples? ‘They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them (set them apart) through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.’ (John 17:16-19) 

Yes my fellow believers, Jesus sent us into the world to continue His task of bringing sinners to repentance, and like Him, we are NOT supposed to allow the world to instill their worldly thoughts into us, because we know the truth, which is God’s Word. We do have to dwell IN the world to be able to do His work, but we don’t have to be OF the world. And that’s where many of us are falling down in our Christian walk. We’re allowing the ungodly and sinful things of the world to seep into our souls and spirits, thus negating the work we should be doing for Christ. 

Thus Satan is winning the battle over us, as John says in his first epistle. ‘For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh (physical desires), and the lust of the eyes (personal desires), and the pride of life (self-interests), is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.’ (1 John 2:16-17) 

Oh my fellow  saints, our world is going through a very rough time right now, and consequently we are suffering more than is necessary, but we only have ourselves to blame for the terrible state of God’s great earth. For, if all the supposed Christians would get up and live more of the true Christian life, we would not be in such a dire state of tremendous trials and tribulations. And, only as we seriously stand up and fight the good fight for Christ, will things ever improve. Let’s go home considering that today nuh, in light of what it will mean for our children’s children and their children. Much LOVE!

…only as true LOVE comes back into our world…will it ever improve…

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

Believers are the Light-Bearing Representatives of Jesus – the Light of the World!

08 Sep 2024 Leave a comment

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

Ephesians 5:8.       ‘For ye were sometimes (once) darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

Then it was Sunday once again… and all roads lead to the Lord’s house to spend the most pleasurable time in a believer’s week, that of celebrating in worship and fellowship with other believers, giving praise to God and  encouragement to the saints, while receiving blessings and renewed strength and confidence in our faith from our heavenly Father. 

And today’s song of worship is none other than the Christopher Rice authored song of 2004, so appropriately titled for these trying and troubled times, ‘Go Light Your World’ as performed by Kathy Troccoli. We’ll do a spirited, scintillating, encouraging version that will have the saints, just bursting with excitement and enthusiasm to get out into the cruel world and light their candles to show the unbeliever the way to Jesus. 

Singing: ‘There is a candle in every soul Some brightly burning, some dark and cold There is a Spirit who brings a fire Ignites a candle and makes His home. (Chorus: So carry your candle, run to the darkness Seek out the helpless, confused and torn Hold out your candle for all to see it Take your candle, and go light your world Take your candle, and go light your world.) Frustrated brother, see how he’s tried to Light his own candle some other way See now your sister, she’s been robbed and lied to Still holds a candle without a flame 

(Chorus:…Carry your candle…) ‘Cause we are a family whose hearts are blazing So let’s raise our candles and light up the sky Praying to our Father, in the name of Jesus Make us a beacon in darkest times. (Chorus: So carry your candle, run to the darkness Seek out the hopeless, deceived and poor Hold out your candle for all to see it Take your candle, and go light your world… Repeat… Take your candle, and go light your world…Take your candle, and go light your world.’ 

Ah friends, that’s exactly what our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ expects of us! And we all know how dark and dreary our world has become, with all the strife, resentment and all the other negative sentiments and evil deeds that currently abound, and only candle or light carrying believers in Jesus can penetrate that darkness to bring some much-needed relief to a world drowning in the mire of Satan. 

And it’s not like we don’t know that Jesus is the light bearer to Satan’s darkness, for He said it Himself, when He was down here on earth. ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’ (John 8:12) 

And how is Jesus the light of your life? This commentary tells us: “Jesus is the light of life and the life of light. He embodies all that we know spiritual light is and does.” Jesus is the light of life (John 8:12) and the life of light (John 1:4).’ Yes, John spells it out right at the beginning of his gospel. ‘In him (Jesus) was life; and the life was in the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended (apprehended) it not.’ (John 1:4-5) 

And the scholars explain those verses thus: ‘In John’s writings, life represents salvation and deliverance through Christ, and light denotes Jesus’ revelation of God which calls men to accountability.’ Therefore, in Jesus there is both life or salvation and also enlightenment about God and what He expects of us. And to put it in its most basic context, according to this commentary, Jesus is called the light of the world ‘because he is the source of the light that quickens our understanding, because his teachings and his example illuminate our path, and because his power persuades us to do good.’ 

As the famous verse from Psalm 119 describes the Lord’s Word: ‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’ (Ps. 119:105) Walking in darkness is therefore walking in sin, living by the dictates of Satan and this evil world, without Christ and without the benefit of God’s Word in our lives. Obviously then, we must trip and fall often when we cannot see where we’re going. But with Jesus in our lives, and the benefit of God’s word there is a light that guides us on the straight and narrow path. 

However, before Jesus went back to heaven, He made a great pronouncement about the subject of light in this world. Namely: ‘Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle (lamp), and put it under a bushel (basket), but on a candlestick (lampstand); and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is heaven.’ (Matt. 5:14-16) 

In other words, my fellow believers, once Christ left the earth, we were the light bearers, and we were supposed to go out into the world do as the song says: ‘Seek out the helpless, confused and torn Hold out your candle for all to see it…Cause we are a family whose hearts are blazing…’ 

But that’s obviously not the truth, because the world is so badly clothed in darkness that most of its inhabitants cannot even see their hands right in front of their faces, for Satan has so blinded them with sin, and we supposed believers in Christ Jesus; the light bearers, have for whatever reason(s) been hiding our lights under a bushel, the very opposite of what Jesus desires of us. So if the presence of Jesus is not far flung, to all nations, what else can we expect but a dark, disgusting, sinful world. 

Now here is another encouraging scripture to go home to. This one from Bruh Paul to the Ephesians. ‘For ye were sometimes (once) darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove (expose) them. 

For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved (exposed) are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.’ (Eph. 5:8-14) 

Ah my fellow saints, it’s indeed time for us to awake from our slumber and acknowledge the great darkness that’s enveloped our world, because of too many ‘dark and cold candles’ and do something to turn things around, because it all depends on us. And the song says it best: ‘So let’s raise our candles and light up the sky Praying to our Father, in the name of Jesus Make us a beacon in darkest times.’ Much LOVE!

…it’s high time for all believers to set their candles aflame…so that the light of Jesus…can erupt in this sin darkened world…

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

The overwhelming importance of LOVE rather than Strife in our lives!

28 Jun 2024 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 133:1.        Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.

And at last it was Friday… so the joyful shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ obviously were heard all around the world, but not as much as in this fair and flourishing land of Canada, where today heralds the beginning of our long, Canada Day weekend. Yes friends, on Monday we celebrate our national day, the anniversary of Canadian Confederation, the final coming together of all the disparate sections of this great land on July 1, 1867. So you can just picture the height and intensity of the celebrations this upcoming weekend. 

However my fellow believers, please, let’s enjoy the time, but let’s not go overboard as we are sometimes won’t to do. And with the summer season and it’s many activities now in full swing, we definitely need the gentle reminder of these words as we get off work today… a modicum of circumspection. (smile) Yes, it’s time to celebrate and enjoy the benefits of our good country, but it’s also necessary to keep God first place, as we do so. End of Sermon. 

And today we’re just going to have a refresher  look at the very important sentiments of Bruh David’s words in Psalm 133; the dwelling in unity, or harmony, something that unfortunately no longer exists in this turbulent and ungodly world. The psalm opens by telling us in no uncertain terms: ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.’ (Ps. 133:1) 

Now that’s such a simple and very important truth; one with which we’d all concur, if asked. But in the actual doing of it, we just seem to lose the very essence of the sentiment and instead live in strife with each other. And we just have to look around our world today and see that STRIFE, rather than LOVE is what’s making it go round! How sad! 

But that’s one of the great failings of mankind; we often know to do the right thing, yet end up doing the wrong thing. It’s like we know we should be serving Almighty God with our whole hearts, souls, bodies and minds, but instead we embrace Beelzebub and his lustful desires for the perishable things of this world, reducing the things of heaven to a distant second place. How foolish! But we know it, and still do it! No wonder James tells us: ‘Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.’ (James 4:17) 

Sadly though, man’s folly and disobedience has been his downfall from the beginning of time. Our forefathers, Adam and Eve, were told in no uncertain terms not to eat of the fruit of the tree of Knowledge, for they would surely die. But they allowed the wily devil to introduce doubt into their minds by deceptively saying, that all the stuff about dying wasn’t true. God just knew that if they ate of the forbidden fruit, their eyes would be opened, and they would be like God, knowing good and evil. (Gen. 3:1-8)  

And unfortunately, it’s still the same way today; the devil is still beguiling us into ungodly acts, which are only causing strife and torment all over God’s great earth. But if our world is to survive, we’ve got to stop the constant strife and concentrate instead on harmony. It’s like when there was strife between Abraham and his nephew Lot’s people. Abraham wisely came to Lot and said to him: ‘Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.’ (Gen. 13:8) And they settled the matter peacefully. 

But today, so many actual brothers and sisters, fellow country men and women, as well as different nations, can’t seem to settle the strife that exists between them. The same goes for Christ’s church, where strife is ever so rampant! Some of us are even allowing the devil to eagerly exacerbate it! But that should not be so my brethren. As the author of Hebrews so wisely reminds us: ‘Let brotherly LOVE continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.’ (Heb. 13:1-2) 

And that’s the gospel truth! None of us know with whom we’ll come into contact on any given day. That’s why it’s so important to treat people with LOVE and kindness. Remember one of Jesus’ directives is for us to LOVE our enemies. (Matt. 5:44) Unfortunately though, nowadays, with all the anger, hatred, resentment and the many other negative sentiments overflowing our world, we don’t even seem to LOVE our friends and families, much less our enemies. Oh my fellow saints, all I can do is to try and encourage us to turn back to the imperishable things of God, and leave the perishable things of the world and Satan alone, for they do not show who we really are: the children of God. 

Now let’s go to the throne of grace through our Friday Chant, seeking divine aid, to help with our many earthly problems. Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough…  because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. 

And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

And if we truly want and expect to see divine aid, it would do us well to remember these words of our prayer: ‘by the example, we, your faithful believers set.’ Much LOVE!

…strife is the work of the devil…unity is the work of God…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   6 April 2022 Matthew 6:24b.

06 Apr 2022 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 6:24b.      Ye cannot serve God and mammon (earthly wealth).

Brother, are these early days of spring ever passing by quickly! Can you believe it was just April Fool’s Day, and now it’s already the sixth day of the month? But the good thing about today, besides that we’re alive and kicking (smile) is that it’s Wednesday, the middle day of the work week, when we catch our second wind, and then blast forth again into the universe, all on the behalf of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! 

What a privilege that is my people; living for the One and Only True Living God Jehovah! Let’s also remember that it’s not only a privilege but even more importantly a duty, a bounden duty; one that we most certainly need to improve upon in these sad and fateful times. If we take a true look at ourselves, we will all find that our efforts on behalf of Jesus have not been as good as they ought to be, otherwise our world would not be in such a state of shambles, flooded with negative sentiments like fear, resentment, hate, war, strife, division, disunity…

And that’s only what we bring to the table! Imagine how our world looks when we add the numerous natural disasters that have been occurring over the last few years, and look likely to continue! It doesn’t look pretty, or even close to what God created several eons ago. And unfortunately, I believe this picture of the spiritually immature Christian, set forth in the poem titled ‘Grow Up,’ found in our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin is a very accurate description of our current Christian walk. 

So, as the poem says: ‘Picture it with me: a piece of gnarled bark tossed to and fro over the crashing breakers. First one direction, then another, back and forth, over and under. Aimless. No set purpose. Drifting…always drifting. What an accurate picture of an immature Christian. Nothing but spiritual puttering. Up and down, in and out. One study group for a few weeks, then another. One church for a while, then another. Undisciplined, unsteady, one day soaring, the next day wading in self-pity. No consistency. 

The apostle Paul tells us to grow up! Not grow older, but grow up in Christ. What we are today is more important to God that what we were yesterday. Our life journey with Jesus is now…this very day, this very hour. Why yearn for change if we’ve made no effort to follow the direction God has already given us? To grow spiritually we must be single-minded. Our one goal? To be conformed to the image of Christ. He longs for our willingness to let Him root us, cultivate us, water us. He will take anything we give Him except second place.’ 

And that’s the God-awesome truth my Christian brethren! Offer whatever you have; God will take it… but He desires…and will accept ONLY FIRST PLACE in our hearts and lives! And sadly, that’s the very thing that we have kept from, not offered Him as supposed believers in His Son, Jesus Christ. We put all sorts of stuff and people before Him, but that’s totally unacceptable. Instead of being in the world, but not of the world, many of us have one foot on either side of the barrier, trying to play both ends against the middle. 

But friends, that’s a fool’s paradise! As Jesus so rightly said, a long time ago: ‘No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and LOVE the other; or else he will hold to (be loyal to) the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (earthly wealth).’ (Matt. 6:24) However, that’s what a lot of us are foolishly trying to do. It won’t work friends. You either have to be all in for the wealth of the world, or all in for God! And I beg to offer that the latter is the wiser and much more beneficial choice. 

But to do that sincerely, we must do like the poem says: ‘GROW UP!’ And how do we do that? Bruh Paul gives the basic advice in Romans 12:2, which is the Bible Promise for our poem. ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.’ Yes friends, to be good and true Christians, we must avoid being poured into the mold of the world’s current thinking! 

And the NLT (New Living Translation) puts it thus: ‘Don’t copy the behaviour of the world, but let God conform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.’ Now, if you can’t understand either one of those versions, then things are really bad with you! 

And if Bruh Paul was amongst us right now, I believe he would have accused us of this very transgression, that he accused the Corinthians of in his first letter. ‘I have fed you with milk, and not with meat (solid food): for hitherto until now ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying and strife, and divisions (dissensions), and ye not carnal (fleshly), and walk as men (according to men)?’ (1 Cor. 3:2-3) 

Now that’s the indisputable truth my fellow saints! All the dissension and disunity amongst us makes us behave like the world; meaning, like babies, we are still in the milk drinking stage of Christianity. We have not grown up enough so that we can be fed with solid food, and consequently that’s why our Christian walk is not good enough. And until we stop conforming to the world and conform instead to the things of God, then we will never grow up, and will keep on drinking milk, much to the dismay of our heavenly Father. 

Anyway, I’m not here to chide, but to encourage us, to make us realize that we have to dramatically change our ways if we want to receive all that our great and wonderful God has to offer. That’s just a fact of life that we cannot escape! And now, for those of us who have woken up and are sincerely trying to grow up, let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our marvellous position in Christ Jesus. 

So, with much gusto and sincerity: ‘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!’ 

And it now behooves us to go out and show the world the wonderful results of holding such a position, by truly living for Christ! Much LOVE!…babies can live on milk…but grownups need solid food to thrive…that’s the Word of God… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8     

Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 October 2016 Psalm 66:4.

04 Oct 2016 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 66:4.  All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name.   Selah. 

Welcome to a glorious Tuesday morning friends! Oh I know it’s still dark outside as I write this, but I’m also sure that the bright light of Jesus is shining through the darkness, both physical and spiritual, bringing light and comfort to our hearts, minds, bodies and souls! What a wonderful Lord and Saviour we have my people. And there’s truly NONE like Him! 

Oh, and what mysterious and fabulous ways He operates! Check out this small, everyday miracle that happened to me yesterday. I was down the street going to get a roti from the recent hot roti shop, Leila’s. But when I got to the little plaza where it’s situated,  I discovered that Leila’s was closed on Mondays. 

However, just across the plaza I saw a place called Papa Joe’s, with roti also on its menu. So I decided to check it out. When I entered, Papa Joe was attending to another customer, so I walked around looking at the décor.

And lo and behold on the wall I saw this black, marble like plaque with white italic writing on it, surrounded by a fancy white border, with a place setting of a fork on the left side and a knife and spoon on the right. 

Obviously it piqued my interest and I went over to read it. And though I had the Duchess take a picture of it with her phone, I still felt the need to write it down. But now I’ve discovered that my description won’t do it justice, so I’m going to try and send an attachment. 

And this is what I read: ‘Daily MENU  Give thanks Fill a vase with fresh flowers Set a beautiful table Use fresh simple ingredients Use your best china and silverware Prepare every meal with LOVE Use fresh herbs Invite someone Practice good manners Wash your hands Use cloth napkins Chew slowly. Savour every morsel Have great conversation Eat desert Wash your own dishes’ 

Oh friends, isn’t that just beautiful! I certainly find so. And I believe the Lord meant me to see it so that I could share it with you today. It’s just a nice, easy, but wonderful way to live our lives!

However, we can’t do that if we don’t have Jesus in our lives, for it is only through Him that we can rise to such simple, but glorious heights. I hope the attachment came out properly and you shared my enthusiasm for it. (smile) 

Now let’s do what we do every Tuesday; declare our Tuesday Mantra with sincerity, faith and mucho enthusiasm.

All together 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, my people! NOTHING can beat being a beloved child of God and a trusted friend of Jesus! Wow! 

Now with all of that goodness and LOVING-kindness, why aren’t’ we Christians the happiest people in the world eh? I certainly don’t know. But we ought to be. 

Sadly though, too many of us walk around with our heads hung down, shoulders drooped, with guilt and whatever in our spirits, behaving like martyrs, believing that we should not be happy, enthusiastic and enjoy life.

But that’s totally wrong my brethren, for Jesus said that He came so that we could have life and have it in abundance! (John 10:10) 

That means we don’t need to go around sad and miserable to be considered a true Christian. In fact, as true believers, we should be doing what our Bit says: ‘All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name.   Selah.’ 

Now that’s how real Christians should behave. And the psalmist was even more specific and enthusiastic before our Bit.

He begins the psalm thus: ‘Make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto God, all ye lands. Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious. Say unto God, How terrible (awesome) art thou in thy works! Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.’ (Ps.66:1-3) 

Yeh friends, that ought to be the everyday behaviour of the true and devout believer, not a sad and morose existence. Now listen to how Isaiah characterizes the day of the Lord.

‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 

And many people shall go and say, come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 

And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks (pruning knives): nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.’ (Is.2:2-4) 

What a blessed day that will be my people! And the scholars tell us: ‘The setting is the millennial age, when the nations of the world will come to the Holy City (Jerusalem) to learn the ways of God.

Christ Himself is pictured as the Judge who will direct the affairs of the nations during His millennial kingdom. Thus the weapons of war will be turned into tools of peace and economic productivity.’ 

Oh friends, how I look forward to that day; that day when war shall be no more! But why do we have to wait till then eh? We can start right now by pursuing peace, by spreading the good news of Jesus and living in LOVE with God and each other! 

So I implore us today, to begin turning our weapons of war, our negative sentiments into tools of peace, LOVE, joy and economic prosperity, for that is indeed wisdom at its zenith! Much LOVE!

…the motto of the true believer…make LOVE…not war…

P.S. Sorry friends, but I could not put the attachment in the Blog, so you will just have to rely on my description. (smile) Much LOVE! 

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 2 October 2016 Isaiah 53:7.

02 Oct 2016 Leave a comment

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

Isaiah 53:7.   He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought (was led) as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 

Aye mih people, is Sunday, that special day of praise, worship and fellowship, where we raise our hearts and voices to high heaven and glorify our most wonderful God Jehovah! 

And we’re going to start out the right way, with some praise and worship. That’s to soften us up, reduce the fear, tension, anger, resentment, whatever is negative in our stone cold hearts, and thus make us more receptive and amenable to receiving the Word. Remember, hearing of the word is very important in our Christian faith. 

As Bruh Paul told the church at Rome. ‘How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? …So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.’ (Rom.10:14, 17) 

Yes friends, the oral communication of the gospel of Christ is essential in a believer’s life, and there’s nothing I enjoy more than hearing the word preached. 

Anyway, enough talk, we suppose to be offering up sacrifices of thanks and praise with our mouths. So let’s do that nuh, because there’s nothing nicer than getting into some good praise and worship before you hear the word. 

So let’s raise up a storm in the Lord’s house, show Him that we are truly His beloved children, and we sincerely LOVE Him with all of our hearts, minds, bodies and souls. Please sing with me, this wonderful song of faith, ‘The anchor holds.’ 

As one heavenly choir now: ‘I have journeyed through the long dark night, Out on the open sea, by faith alone, Sight unknown; and yet his eyes were watching me. The anchor holds, Though the ship’s been battered. The anchor holds, Though the sails are torn. I have fallen on my knees as I face the raging seas. The anchor holds in spite of the storm. 

I’ve had visions, I’ve had dreams; I’ve even held them in my hand. But I never knew they would slip right through, Like they were only grains of sand. The anchor holds, Though the ship’s been battered. The anchor holds, Though the sails are torn. 

I have fallen on my knees as I face the raging seas. The anchor holds in spite of the storm. I have been young but I’m older now. And there has been beauty these eyes have seen. But it was in the night, through the storms of my life, Oh, that’s where God proved His LOVE for me. 

The anchor holds, Though the ship’s been battered.  The anchor holds, Though the sails are torn. I have fallen on my knees as I face the raging seas. The anchor holds in spite of the storm. I have fallen on my knees as I face the raging seas. The anchor holds in spite of the storm.’ 

Oh my people, my people, truer words have never been spoken! Our omnipotent God, our great anchor, holds us together and keeps us from floundering, from being thrown on the rocky shores, even in the most catastrophic of life’s storms! 

And I like the line where the songwriter declares that it was in the night of the storms of life when God proved His LOVE for Him. And isn’t that the indisputable truth friends? It’s usually in our nights of misery, of fear, of loneliness and of despair, that our wonderful God shows how much He truly LOVES and cares for us, by standing faithful and strong alongside us and bringing us safely through! 

Oh glory to God my people! And why wouldn’t He eh, after sending His beloved Son, Jesus Christ to die for us, suffering such agony, shame and rejection, but forever standing strong in His God-given task as expressed in our Bit. ‘He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought (was led) as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.’ 

What stoicism and strength of purpose my faithful brethren! Now let’s hear the word that precedes our Bit, from Isaiah’s great prophecy, re the suffering servant, Jesus Christ. Hope our hearts are soft enough to joyfully receive it. 

‘Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm (power) of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no (stately) form nor comeliness (splendour); and when we shall see him, there is no beauty (elegance) that we should desire him. 

He is despised and rejected of (forsaken by) men; a man of sorrows (great pains), and acquainted with grief (sickness, injuries): and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs (sickness), and carried our sorrows (pains): yet we did esteem (reckon) him stricken, smitten of (struck down by) God, and afflicted. 

But he was wounded (pierced through) for our transgressions, he was bruised (crushed) for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.’ (Is;53:1-6) 

Yes friends, that’s the scripture lesson for this Sunday morning, and I do hope that it struck a tender and most grateful note in our hearts, as we heard the of the ‘sufferation’ that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ went through for us, so that we could be reconciled to Almighty God and don’t end up in dreaded Hades forevermore with the evil one, Lucifer. 

Please, let’s ponder the goodness of our magnificent and magnanimous God today, so that we can find the strength and wherewithal to handle the storms of life that we all experience, for that is the wisdom of heaven. Much LOVE!

…without the anchor that’s God in our lives…we will certainly be dashed to pieces… on the dreadful and unforgiving rocks of sin…