17 Mar 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a great reason, a merciful forgiving and gracious God, a new day's dawned, alleviate our problems, annoyances, as a fruitful vine, back to work, believers, blameless, bless the LOrd o my soul, blessed are the undefiled, blessed is every one that feareth the Lord, christianity, Christians, commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently, consider it in thine heart, converting the soul, covenant stipulations, crowns thee with lovingkindness, decisions of a judge, disappointments, disobeyed your word, divine aid, ease the pain, eat the labour of thy hands, enduring for ever, enlightening the eyes, faith, faithfully promised to hear our prayers, fools despise wisdom and instruction, forget not all his benefits, forgives thine iniquities, frustrations, Godf's plan of creation, going to church, grace, handles whatever comes against us, happiness, happy shalt thou be, have good things, heals thy diseases, his tender mercies are over all his works, holy spirit, humble ourselves, humble servants, in heaven above, in keeping of them is great reward, it may go well with thee, it shall be well with thee, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, judgements, keep his commandments, keep his statutes, keep his testimonies, keep your promise to prosper us, know therefore this day, LOVE, making wise the simple, mass confusion, mercy, more to be desired than gold, negative situations, partner with God, petty resentments, pray, prolong thy days upon the earth, redeems thy life from destruction, rejoicing the heart, relationship, renewing our faith, salvation, satisfies thy mouth with good things, seek him with the whole heart, sincere repentance, sincerely reverence the Lord, sincerely seek your face, statutes, strong faith in Christ, sufficient rest, sweeter than honey, testimonies, that walketh in his ways, the BIBLE, the commandment of the Lord is pure, the earth beneath, the fear of the Lord is clean, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, the fruit of thy labour, the God who heals, the judgements of the Lord, the law of the Lord is perfect, the Lord he is God, the pitfalls of life, the testimony of the Lord is sure, the throne of grace, the weekend here, there is none else, they warn thy servant, this evil world, thy children like olive plants, thy wife shall be fruitful, thy youth is restored as the eagle's, to make Jesus our Lord and Saviour, to turn from our evil ways, true and righteous, truth, walk in God's ways, walk in the law of the Lord, we have all sinned, wisdom, wise guidance, with thy children after thee, written laws
Psalm 128:1. Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways.
And in accordance with God’s great plan of creation, another new day has dawned, thankfully not rainy like the last two, and we have also opened our eyes to see it, another part of God’s great plan. (smile) Unfortunately though, that new day is called Monday, which means getting back to work after the quiet and restful weekend and once again experiencing all the frustrations, annoyances, irritations, disappointments and resentments that will undoubtedly crop up during the day.
But if we have made good use of the weekend, by getting sufficient rest, going to church and renewing our faith and confidence, then we will be able to handle whatever comes against us in Jesus’ name, with the awesome help of His Holy Spirit. Now, isn’t that alone a great reason to make Jesus our Lord and Saviour eh? For sure! And when you add all the other benefits we receive by making Him the Lord of our lives, it’s inconceivable that anyone could ever refuse to accept Him as the Number One Person in their lives.
And we all know what Psalm 103 says about the Lord’s benefits: ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with LOVING-KINDNESS and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.’ (Ps. 103:2-5)
Yes Friends, that’s some of the wonderful benefits we receive when we partner with Almighty God, through His Son, Jesus Christ. And we’ve got to pay close attention to that word partner, because it doesn’t all happen automatically, but is dependent on us playing our part in the relationship. And I believe Psalm 128 gives us a good idea of how that works.
It says: ‘Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands (the fruit of thy labour): happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of (in the heart of) thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord.’ (Ps. 128:1-4)
Now we all want to have those good things; happiness, eating the fruit of our labour, a fruitful wife and many responsible children. But it only comes when we sincerely reverence the Lord, walk in his ways and keep his commandments. And the opening verses of Psalm 119, agree with that, as they say: ‘Blessed are the undefiled (blameless) in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways. Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.’ (Ps. 119:1-4)
There again, we see the responsibility expected us of from God, basically to keep His commandments, obey and revere Him, seeking Him with our whole hearts, not a part of them. But Moses possibly says it best, or rather more explicitly, when he told the Israelites as he reminded them of their responsibilities.
‘Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else. Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee (you may prosper), and with thy children after thee, and thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth (live long in the land) which the Lord thy God giveth thee for ever.’ (Deut. 4:39- 40)
Now there’s no mistaking what the Israelites and consequently we modern day believers need to do to see the Lord’s blessings on our lives. And for our information, the scholars explain that ‘The law is identified as testimonies…statutes…judgements. The “testimonies” denoted the covenant stipulations; the “statutes” were laws written down or inscribed on some suitable medium; and the “judgements” were the decisions of a judge (cf. Ps. 19:7-9).’
And those are also some very interesting verses from the pen of Bruh David, as he writes about God’s Law is Perfect. Please read with me: ‘The law of the Lord is perfect, converting (restoring) the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgements of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb (the drippings of the honeycomb). Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.’ (Ps. 19:7-11)
Oh my people, what a great and happy world we would have if many more of us kept the Lord’s law instead of Satan’s lawlessness! Bruh David explains it so excellently; it makes wise the simple, restores our soul, rejoices our hearts, it’s true and righteous, more desirable that gold, sweeter than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb, it warns us about the pitfalls of this life and last but not least it brings great rewards to those who revere the Lord and keep His law!
It could not get any better than that my fellow believers! However, the Lord’s law is not always easy to keep in this sinful and ungodly world, but being the wise and compassionate Sovereign He is, He’s also provided a way for us to get His help; that’s by going to the throne of grace in times of need. So let’s do that right now nuh, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn.
Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face.
So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
And even in our own prayer, we voice the same things God expects of us; prayer, sincerely seeking His face, and turning from our evil ways. So how do we expect to get help if we don’t put those important things in place eh? Much LOVE!
…the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge…but fools despise wisdom and instruction… (Prov. 1:7)
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
10 Mar 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a free will, a great voice out of heaven, accept all the promises in God's word, alleviate our problems, and he said unto me write, answer our prayers, anxious for people to love, be their God, behaving like, believe in Jesus Christ, conflagrations, daily grind and common task, dismay, disobeyed your word, divine aid, egotistic leaders, enjoy what at the end, even our faith, faith, God himself shall be with them, greedy, he that believes Jesus is the Son of God, he that sat upon the throne, hold your head and bawl, holy spirit, humble ourselves, humble servants, hungry, I make all things new, in all these things, inane populations, individual frustrations, inflammatory rhetoric, invest the time and energy, it's all madness, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, keep us going forward, keep your promise to prosper us, like a bride adorned for her husband, live the way Christ desires, LOVE, mass confusion, mental illness, mercy, more than conquerors, negative situations, neither sorrow, New Jerusalem, no more death, no more pain, nor crying, nothing shall separate us from the love of God, popular in our court system, power hungry, progressive times, put it into practice, salvation, seek your face, sensible term for it, shake your head, sheep being led to the slaughter, stranglehold, strong faith in Christ, thank you for life, the eventual outcome, the faithfulness of God, the former things are passed away, the God who heals, the power to solve our problems, the pristine state, the rigmarole, the rigours of this world, the tabernacle of god is with men, these words are faithful and true, they shall be his people, this evil world, this is the victory that overcometh the world, to learn God's word, traffic jams, truth, turn from our evil ways, upheavals, we have all sinned, whatsoever overcometh the world is born of God, who is he that overcomes the world, wipe away all tears, wisdom, wise guidance
1 John 5:5. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God.
One more Monday friends, one more week of work! One more week of the daily grind and common tasks, handling our individual frustrations, like taking children to school or the babysitter, then facing the horrific traffic jams morning and evening, getting to work tired, then getting home in even worse shape, only to have chores to do there before you can finally rest for the day, only to get up a few hours later and begin the whole trying rigmarole all over again. (smile)
Yes my people, life can be rather hectic in these modern, progressive times, and when we add the many conflagrations, upheavals and inflammatory rhetoric that currently has our world in a stranglehold, you can only shake your head in dismay, or even hold it and bawl, as you cry out to Almighty God for help. Who would have thought that our world could get any worse a few months ago eh? But it seems that it’s getting worse everyday with all the power hungry, greedy and egotistic leaders and inane populations behaving like sheep being led to the slaughter.
And the answer to it all is very simple; like one calypsonian so wisely said sometime ago, it’s all madness. Yes, it’s all madness friends. And truthfully, that can be the only sensible term to encompass it, because everyone’s gone so crazy these days, doing whatever they want, with no respect to the rights and privileges of others, putting mental illness high on our list of illnesses, as well as being very popular now in our court system, where no one is guilty of anything because they are suffering from mental illness.
Ah Lord eh! And I’m sure sometimes when the Lord sits on His throne and looks down at the awful mess we’ve made of His beautiful universe, He too must shake His head and sadly ask Himself, why He created mankind, and with a free will to boot? And it’s not like He didn’t know what was going to be the eventual outcome, but He was apparently hungry or anxious for people to LOVE, and to LOVE Him back. That’s why from the very beginning, He made plans to clean it all up in the end, and return His universe to its original pristine state, with LOVING and compassionate citizens living under His rule.
Thus, the hope of this scripture from Revelation, where John sees the new Jerusalem coming out of heaven, to earth, prepared like a bride for her husband: ‘And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all the tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are faithful and true.’ (Rev. 21:2-5)
Now, that’s the kind of life we have to look forward to my faithful brethren, when this old heaven and earth are passed away. And I know it doesn’t do us a whole lot of good right now, when earthly life looks so gloomy and hopeless, but it’s the very faithfulness of God that must keep us going forward despite the many negative situations we will face. We have to wholeheartedly and faithfully accept all the promises found in the Lord’s Word as truth and use them to help us overcome.
Remember how Bruh Paul describes us in Romans 8? ‘Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us… and NOTHING shall be able to separate us from the LOVE of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Rom. 8:37, 39b) And if that doesn’t get your spirit rising and filled with faith, then try these similar words of John in his first epistle, where he proudly and truthfully proclaims: ‘For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God.’ (1 John 5:4-5)
It could not be any more explicit than that my brethren. If you believe in Jesus Christ, then you have the power to overcome the world and all its evil and ungodly people and practices. But it doesn’t happen automatically. No! You have to invest the time and energy to learn and meditate on God’s Word, then put it into practice in your life. That’s the ONLY WAY you will ever overcome the world!
However, because we’re only human, we still need God’s help to handle worldly stuff that comes against us. So, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, let’s go to the throne of grace and ask for divine aid in these turbulent times. Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems.
Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.
Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
And according to our prayer, we must do certain things, like humble ourselves before God, pray, sincerely seek His face etc. etc. Then and only then, will we receive the divine aid we desire! Much LOVE!
…if you want to survive the rigours of this world…and enjoy what’s at the end…then you must sincerely believe in Jesus Christ…and live the way He desires…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
17 Feb 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a day to spend with families, a merciful forgiving and gracious God, act accordingly, awesome grace, be not deceived, Bible, Christians, deluge of snow, divine aid, do mind the things of the flesh, earthly problems, ease the pain, faith, faithfully promised to hear our prayers, Family Day Holiday, God is good, God is not mocked, God looks at our hearts not our outward appearances, God shall destroy him, Good Book, Good Library, he that sows to his flesh, he that sows to the Spirit, holy spirit, humble ourselves, humble servants, if a man defile the temple of God, if ye have not the Spirit of Christ, in accordance with God's will, in the Spirit, Jesus Christ, keep your promise to prosper us, know ye not, LOVE, make changes in our lives, mass confusion, mercy, mind the things of the Spirit, negative situations, not subject to the law of God, of the flesh reap corruption, of the many suffering from negative situations, our cordial relationship with God, pray, righteousness, salvation, shall of the Spirit reap everlasting life, show this evil world, sincerely seek your face, sinned and disobeyed your Word, strong faith in Christ, thank you for life, the body is dead because of sin, the busyness of society, the carnal mind is enmity against God, the God who heals, the many distractions we encounter, the Spirit is life because of righteousness, The Spirit of God dwells in you, the Spirit of God dwells within you, the temple of God is holy, the third Monday in February, the throne of grace, they that after the Spirit, they that are after the flesh, they that are in the flesh cannot please God, to be carnally minded is death, to be spiritually minded is life and peace, truth, turn from our evil ways, undeserving mercy, what a man sows he reaps, wisdom, You are Jehovah Rapha, you are not Christ's, you are not in the flesh, you are the temple of God
1 Corinthians 3:16. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
And the great deluge of snow has finally stopped. It did so sometime during the evening hours…and now it’s clean up time! And to enable us to do that in a somewhat easy manner, the Lord has seen fit to gift us with a bright and sunshiny Family Day Provincial Holiday Monday! Isn’t He a good God? For sure He is! Remember too that after the last snowstorm on Thursday, we also had a bright and sunshiny Friday to clean up. (smile) The problem today though is that there’s a strong wind that’s causing some havoc, blowing the snow all about the place, so that as soon as you’ve finished cleaning one spot, it’s very likely for the wind to blow more snow back there. But it’s a matter of simply pressing forward, until you’ve done all you can.
By the way, here’s another reason that our God is good: He chose the Family Day long weekend to aggravate our souls bodies and minds. Can you imagine if this was a regular Monday and everybody needed to go to work. There would be even more chaos than we already have. But the Lord in His LOVING-KINDNESS chose a day when most of us would be at home celebrating Family Day, which is a public holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February, that gives people a day off to spend with their families. It was introduced in 2008 to give provincially regulated workers a long weekend in February and most provincially regulated employees receive the day off with pay.
Many of the other Provinces have the same holiday, but not all call it Family Day. For example in Manitoba it’s Louis Riel Day, named after a Métis (Indigenous) leader who fought to protect French and aboriginal rights. Meanwhile, in the Province of Nova Scotia, it’s called Heritage Day. Unfortunately, Family Day is not a federally mandated holiday, so federal workers, such as post office employees and public servants, work on Family Day. So please don’t say our God is not good, for even in the midst of chaos and disaster, He still eases our path with His awesome grace and undeserving mercy.
And having said all of that, what shall we talk about scripturally today eh? (smile) Soon come. Let me check the Good Library…. And we’re back, a minute later. The Good Book opened to 1 Corinthians Chapter 3, where we find these interesting and rather appropriate words for these decadent and sinful times. Bruh Paul writes: ‘Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile (destroys) the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.’ (1 Cor. 3:16-17)
And truthfully, many of us know that we are supposed to be God’s temple, because His Holy Spirit dwells within us, therefore we ought to keep our bodies as holy and clean from sin and it’s associates. However, with the busyness of our society and the many distractions steadily hurled at us, it becomes somewhat difficult to do, even if we remember it. But remember it we must my faithful brethren, for it affects our very lives, our cordial relationship with Almighty God.
Now, Bruh Paul also wrote something similar to the Roman church, where he proclaims: ‘For they that are after the flesh do mind (set their minds on) the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.’ (Rom. 8:5-8)
And that’s the gospel truth my people! If we’re living carnally, for and in our flesh, then we certainly cannot please God. However, here’s the good news as Bruh Paul continues: ‘But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit if life because of righteousness.’ (Rom. 8:9-10) Yes friends, let’s praise the Lord that the Spirit of His Son Jesus Christ does dwell in us, and we are going to do our best to live by it’s guidance.
But here’s one more interesting scripture we ought to pay attention to today, that’s this one from Bruh Paul to the Galatians: ‘Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.’ (Gal. 6:7-8) Now that’s a scripture we should always keep front and centre in our lives: God sees it all because He looks at our hearts and not our outward doings, therefore we cannot fool Him, by saying one thing while doing another, as so many of us still foolishly try to do.
So, let’s go now to the throne of grace in confident humility, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking divine aid to help us with our many earthly problems. Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems.
Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.
Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
And it’s all well and good to pray, but if we do not make changes in our lives in accordance with God’s will, then no divine aid will be forthcoming. Let’s remember that and act accordingly. Much LOVE!
…the Spirit of God lives in His temple…our bodies…therefore we need to keep them as clean and holy as possible…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
20 Jan 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a constant attitude of prayer, alleviate our problems, anxiety, anxious, be careful for nothing, be of good cheer, be prayerful about everything, Bible, by prayer and supplication, catch your fancy, christianity, Christians, concerning you, death, divine aid, divinely bestowed peace, ease the pain, faith, faith in Christ, give thanks to god, he who has ears to hear let him hear, hear our requests, hell, holy spirit, humble servants, i have overcome the world, in every event or circumstance, in every thing give thanks, in me ye shall have peace, in the face of adversity, irresposibility, Jehovah Rapha, legitimate concern, let not your heart be troubled, let your moderation be known unto all men, let your requests be made known unto God, LOVE, maintain gratitude, mass confusion in our world, mercy, moderation, my peace I give unto you, my thoughts are higher than your thoughts, my thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways are higher than your ways, my ways are not your ways, negative situations, neither let it be afraid, not as the world gives, obedience, passes all understanding, Peace i leave with you, pray without ceasing, propser us, protection, repentance, sacrifice, salvation, seeking God's face, the God who heals, the grave, the heavens are higher than the earth, the Lord is at hand, the peace of God, the promises of Christ, the tools of Christ, the will of God, this is the will of God in Christ, throne of grace, time of need, tranquility of mind, tribulation, truth, turn from our evil ways, wisdom, wise guidance, with thanksgiving
1 Thessalonians 5:18. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
Come on down Monday, we’re ready and waiting for you! Hit us with your best shot! But it won’t work, for we have all the tools and promises of Jesus, at the ready, waiting to shoot you down. Therefore, we have taken this scripture from the pen of Bruh Paul to heart. ‘In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.’ (1 Thess. 5:18)
Ah friends, that’s a tough scripture, but one we definitely need to know and totally embrace. And what does it mean? The scholars say that ‘In every event or circumstance (thing) the Christian is to give thanks to God for the good He can bring out of the event, even should the event be unpleasant. The constant attitude of prayer, mentioned in verse 17 – ‘Pray without ceasing,’ will help the believer to maintain gratitude in the face of adversity.’
And if that scripture doesn’t catch your fancy, (smile) then try this one from Bruh Paul’s missive to the Philippians. ‘Let your moderation (gentleness) be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:5-7)
And I must admit that one seems a tad easier than the first one, although they both basically mean the same thing. Instead of worrying about anything, we are to take every situation, be it pleasant or unpleasant and present it to God through prayer, supplication and thanksgiving.
The scholars advise: ‘The Lord’s nearness (vs. 5b) leads Paul to forbid his readers from worrying. This is no summons to irresponsibility or an invitation to dismiss legitimate concern. The solution to undue anxiety is prayer in every thing, “in any matter of life.” The way to be free of anxiety is to be prayerful about everything. While God is eager to hear our requests, they are to be accompanied by thanksgiving.’
Now, that seems easier said than done, but like all things we need to get good at, it requires continuous practice until it becomes a habit. And what’s the benefit of that exercise, you ask? ‘The peace of God which passes all understanding.’ Wow! Isn’t that important enough to make the effort worthwhile? It surely is!
Because as the scholars tell us, ‘The peace of God is that tranquility of mind freeing the believer from fear and worry. “Peace” which passeth all understanding means (1) peace divinely bestowed in times of anxiety, so wonderful that it exceeds one’s ability to understand it; (2) God’s peace far surpasses one’s own understanding of the problem, and his ability to cope with and solve it.’
That brings to mind this most important scripture from the prophet Isaiah, where he speaks on God’s behalf. ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.’ (Is. 55:8-9) That says it all my people. And so it should be, if He is God!
Therefore, when we take our problems to Him in prayer, with thanksgiving, He gives us His unsurpassable peace that guards our hearts and minds from the enemies attempts to cause us worry and anxiety. And that dovetails very nicely with Jesus words on the subject to the disciples, and consequently to us. ‘Peace, I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ (John 14:27)
Oh my people, what a marvellous gift is the peace of Jesus! It’s unlike any other that the world knows, and surpasses any other kind. It’s the amazing kind of peace that causes us not to worry or be afraid. Where else can you find that kind of peace eh? Only in and from Jesus! Then later on, He tells us again about the kind of peace we can have if we accept Him as Lord and Saviour. ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33)
Wow! What can we say to that most expressive statement eh? Not much really, but accept it for what it is: Jesus’ faithful promise! There’s no doubt whatsoever that in the world we will have trials and tribulations, but since Jesus has already overcome the world, that’s hell, death and the grave, if we stay entwined with Jesus, then we will have His awesome protection against the world and it’s ungodly masses. You can’t ask for anything more than that friends.
However, Jesus has already done His work, it’s now our turn to live up to our promise when we accepted Him as Lord and Saviour. That’s take up our cross daily and follow Him, even if it calls for personal sacrifice. And sometimes that’s difficult to do, but through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving we can do it. So let’s go to the throne of grace right now, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking divine aid to help us in this our great time of need.
Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems.
Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.
Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
In closing though, please remember that divine aid is not doled out willy-nilly, but for obedience, repentance, sincerely seeking God’s face and a change in our evil ways. Much LOVE!
…He who has ears to hear…let Him hear…otherwise…He will feel…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
13 Jan 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a critical position, a fight for life and death, a merciful forgiving and gracious God, a new work week, alleviate our problems, be strong in the Lord, Bible, caught napping, cessation of hostilities, Christian, Christian witness, christianity, crapaud smoke we pipe, demonic onslaughts, departed from him for a season, disobeyed your word, divine aid, eternal death, eternal life, eternal separation from God, eternity, evil weapons, faith, God's guidebook, grace, having done all, holy spirit, in the power of his might, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, LOVE, mass confusion, meditate on God's Word, mercy, mickey mouse affair, negative situations, no cease fire, no quarter given, pain, pay a horrendous price, powers, pray, principalities, put on the whole armour of God, put the word into practice, renewed confidence, resist the enemy, rest, salvation, Satanic assaults, sincerely seek your face, sinned, spiritual foes, spiritual wickedness, stand against the wiles of the devil, strengthened by the Lord, strong faith in Christ, temporary truce, the God who heals, the rulers of darkness, the spiritual battle, to stand, truth, turn from our evil ways, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, wisdom, wise guidance, withstand in the evil day
Ephesians 6:10. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Here we go again with a new work week, hope we are all prepared for it, with sufficient rest and renewed confidence and faith over the weekend, for the enemy is raising the level of spiritual warfare that’s taking place, daily putting more evil weapons and people into the fray. And if we are not aware and alert, we will certainly be caught napping and made to pay a horrendous price.
That’s why it’s ever so important for believers to get down with the Word, be much more acquainted with it; read it, study it, meditate on it, and put it into practice in our lives. For that’s the only way we will ever defeat the enemy. Remember, the Bible is God’s Guidebook for our earthly lives, and if we don’t know what it says, or how to put it into action, then crapaud smoke we pipe!
Friends, the enemy is not joking, this is not a friendly war… No! It’s a fight for life and death! If we lose it, then we’ll be facing eternal death and separation from Almighty God, and if we win, we’ll be spending eternal life with Him. And that’s the most important aspect of this whole earthly life; where we spend eternity!
And at the start of this new year, we cannot go wrong by examining some of the weapons we have to fight this spiritual warfare. Some of which are outlined by Bruh Paul in his epistle to the Ephesians, where he talks about the whole armour of God which is necessary for us to have, if we intend to fight and win the spiritual battle. He begins with this exhortation: ‘Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.’ (Eph. 6:10)
And the scholars explain that verse thus: ‘Finally may be rendered “from now on” or “henceforth.” The spiritual battle Christians are engaged in exists “from now on until the Lord’s return: there is no quarter given, no cease-fire, no temporary truce, no cessation of hostilities, “From now on” till the end there is all-out war. The remainder of the verse may be paraphrased, “Let yourselves constantly be strengthened by the Lord, more precisely, by His mighty power.”
Oh friends, yuh see this is a most serious and deadly affair, not some li’l mickey mouse matter, where we playing childlike games. Bruh Paul then makes another most significant statement. ‘Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.’ (Eph. 6:11)
Now the scholars tell us that the words used for ‘Put on in the Greek language, denotes a sense of urgency, demanding immediate attention,’ and that’s a very crucial fact right now as the battle lines are narrowly drawn. Meanwhile ‘To Stand has military overtones. This verb was used in classical Greek meaning to resist the enemy and hold a critical position in battle.’
That ought to bring home the seriousness of the situation to us. In other words, we cannot stand against the wiles or evil schemes of the enemy unless we’re dressed in the full armour of God. And believe me, Satan carefully crafts schemes and tactics against believers. So please don’t think that He’s just fooling around. He’s more serious about our destruction that ever.
Then Bruh Paul goes on to give us some idea of whom we’re fighting against. ‘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 wickedness (spiritual hosts of wickedness) in high places.’ (Eph. 6:12) So we’re not fighting against flesh and blood, but against spiritual foes.
The scholars explain that ‘Wrestle, used of hand to hand combat emphasizes the personal and individual nature of spiritual warfare waged against each local church and Christian. Flesh and blood refer to humanity. Such is not the church’s adversary. Instead, she opposes principalities (rulers), powers (authorities), rulers (world rulers), spiritual wickedness (wicked spiritual beings), that is, fallen angels, demons, and Lucifer himself.’
Then Bruh Paul reemphasizes the importance of God’s armour in our fight. ‘Wherefore take unto you (take up) the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand.’ (Eph. 6:13) And the scholars explain that means ‘because we face such a formidable foe, we must avail ourselves of God’s provision lest the enemy destroy our Christian witness and ministry. The evil day refers to the periodic demonic onslaughts and Satanic assaults. Having done all includes both dressing oneself in God’s armour and resisting Satan. Having done all these, be ready, for the Devil will attack again and again.’
Now that’s something we have to be very cognizant of; the devil never stops for good. Every so often, he will take a break, especially if he is not getting anywhere with you, possibly to devise new strategy, but he will always come back while we’re alive, it’s his reason for living. We can clearly see that in the scriptures. After Satan unsuccessfully tempts Jesus, the Word says: ‘And when the devil had ended all the temptation (testing), he departed from him for a season (until an opportune time).’ (Luke4:13)
Yes my fellow saints, the devil doesn’t tempt us willy- nilly, but has very deep and deceptive strategies in place to encourage us to fall. However, we will not do that today, because we will go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking divine aid to help us overcome his evil schemes.
Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems.
Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.
Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
But let’s remember that before divine aid can be granted, we need to humble ourselves, pray and sincerely seek God’s face. In other words, turn from our evil ways! Much LOVE!
…to fight God’s fight successfully…one must have His protective armour…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
30 Dec 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a great cloud of witnesses, a merciful forgiving and gracious God, a rain warning, answer our prayers, be conformed to the image of Christ, bet your bottom dollar, Bible, broad is the way, christianity, climate change, constraints on the narrow path, contrary, depend on our faith, despising the shame, discouraged, disobeyed your word, divine aid, ease the pain, endured such hostility of sinners, endured the cross, enter ye in at the strait gate, eternal life, faith, fellowship, few find it, flooding, for the joy that was set before him, galvanizes us, heaven, holy spirit, humble servants, I am the way the truth and the life, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, lay aside every weight, lest ye be wearied and faint, light, living for Christ, looking unto Jesus, LOVE, many go in thereat, mass confusion, mercy, narrow is the way, natural diasters, negative situations, never giving up, New Year's Eve, no man comes to the Father but by me, nothing is guaranteed, perseverance, run with patience, running our race to the end, salt, salvation, sin, sincere repentance, sincerely seek your face, sinned, strait is the gate, strong faith in Christ, take anything for granted, that leads to destruction, that leads to life, that so easily besets us, the author and finisher of our faith, the God who heals, the main priority in your life, the only constant, the only one, the path to salvation, the power to solve our problems, the race set before us, the same yesterday today and for ever, the throne of grace, torubled times, treacherous times, truth, turbulent times, turn from our evil ways, uncertain times, vim and vigour, water damage, white christmas, who can lead us on the right path, wide is the gate, wisdom, wise guidance
Hebrews 13:8. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today and for ever.
Ah friends, can you believe it, on this Monday morning, the eve of New Year’s Eve, the Greater Toronto Area has been handed a rain warning, and not a snow warning. Flooding and all sorts of water damage is expected if the rain continues to fall as it’s been doing since Sunday morning. In fact, the entire Christmas week has been damp, foggy and cloudy, with no sunshine whatsoever. Unfortunately, the purists weren’t blessed with a white Christmas either, and now, whatever little snow was around, has been washed away with the rain and the springlike temperatures.
But that’s the way of climate change! Two decades ago, you could bet your bottom dollar that you would have a white Christmas and also a white New Year’s Eve, but things have changed so much, that today nothing is guaranteed to be the way it was. Those who never had snow, now have it, and those who had it don’t. It’s the same with drought and rainfall. We are also experiencing more natural disasters than ever. It’s sad, but our world has recently become so contrary that it’s not funny, and we can no longer take anything or any situation for granted.
So what does that mean eh? I guess we just have to depend on our faith even more than before; trust the promises of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, like we’ve never hitherto done, because He seems to be the only constant in today’s crazy, chaotic, disaster- filled world. For what does the Bible tell us? ‘Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today and for ever.’ (Heb. 13:8) Now that, you cannot say about any other body or thing. And that’s why it’s of the utmost importance for us to put ALL of our faith and trust in Jesus, because He is the ONLY ONE who can lead us along the right path to that glorious place called heaven.
And if you don’t believe me, then let’s check out some promises of scripture that prove it. And the first one is this very important one about the right path to tread. Jesus strongly advises: ‘Enter ye in at the strait (narrow) gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in there at: Because strait (how narrow) is the gate, and narrow (difficult, confined) is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.’ (Matt. 7:13-14)
In other words friends, Jesus is simply saying that the wide and winding road, where you can do whatever you like, where Beelzebub rules, leads only to destruction, and many people are unfortunately following it. However, the path that leads to salvation and eternal life is straight and narrow, and you cannot do whatever you want whenever you choose to. No, because there are some constraints on the straight and narrow path, constraints placed there to keep us, holy, righteous, justified, sanctified, thus living sincerely for Christ.
But unfortunately, not as many people are walking that path as the wide and dangerous one. And it’s our job to get out into the world, be the salt and light thereof, exuding a powerful flavour and a blinding light to help bring others to the wise, straight and narrow way, where they can encounter Jesus, accept His free gift of salvation, and live the abundant life that He died for us to have.
And what about this other promise eh? Where Jesus declares to the disciple Thomas: ‘I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ (John 14:6) Now that also states it plain and clear that one cannot get to the Father, or heaven, unless Jesus is your Lord and Saviour! That’s an even bigger reason for you to have Him as the main priority in your life!
Then there are these most encouraging words of Hebrews: ‘Wherefore (since) we also are compassed about with (surrounded by) so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset (ensnare) us, and let us run with patience (perseverance) the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher (originator and perfector) of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction (hostility) of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint (be discouraged) in your minds (souls).’ (Heb. 12:1-3)
Oh my fellow believers, what a powerful scripture that is ! Let’s hope that it opens up or refreshes our faith, and thus galvanizes us to do as it says! That’s remember the faithful, the heroes of faith, who have gone before us, running their race with vim and vigour, and attempt to do likewise. However, to do that properly, we have to lay aside anything that’s weighing us down, be it clothing, or excessive body weight, or whatever; then disassociate ourselves from any known sins that are entangling us and preventing us from running our race properly.
And finally, running our race with perseverance, getting back up every time we falter or fall, and keep going right until the end, never giving up, using the originator and perfector of our faith, Jesus Christ as the example to be attained, be reached or accomplished! Now, that’s what we believers need to do in these troubled and trying times; look to Jesus because the Father desires us all to be made in His image. The scriptures tell us: ‘For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first born among many brethren.’ (Rom. 8:29)
Yes my fellow saints, the Lord desires all who follow Jesus to be the spitting image of Him, our big Brother. (smile) And to help us work toward that goal, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking divine aid to help in these treacherous and uncertain times.
Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems.
Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.
Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
And before we get too excited (smile) let’s remember that divine aid is only granted when we turn from our evil ways, humble ourselves, pray and sincerely seek God’s face! Much LOVE!
…please remember that…Jesus is the Only One…we can depend on in these turbulent times…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
28 Oct 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abounding in the work of the Lord, ambassadors, another person's bad, answer our prayers, Bible, bite us in the butt, bursting with enthusiasm, christianity, climate change, deliverance is of the Lord, divine aid, do worthwhile things for Jesus, down payment on your salvation, earthly representatives, eternally sealed by the Holy Spirit, faith, forevermore, from this time forth, from whence comes my help, get out into the evil world, god, good spirits, grieve not the holy Spirit of God, holy spirit, humble ourselves, humble servants, I will lift up mine eyes to the hills, in all these things, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, LOVE, mass confusion, mercy, my help cometh from the Lord, negative situations, neither slumber nor sleep, nothing shall separate us from the love of God, one person's good, pray, safety is of the Lord, salvation, sealed unto the day of redemption, sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, seek your face, sincere repentance, steadfast, strong faith in Christ, thanks be to God who gives us the victory, the earnest of our inheritance, the God who heals, the gospel of your salvaion, the Lord is thy keeper, the Lord is thy shade, the Lord shall preserve thee from all evil, the Lord shall preserve thy going out and coming in, The sun shall not smite thee by day, through him that loved us, truth, unexpected storms, unmoveable, unseasonal warm weather, upon thy right hand, we are more than conquerors, which made heaven and earth, wisdom, wise guidance, wreaking havoc, your labour is not in vain
Psalm 121:2. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
Well a good Monday to all you my wonderful Scrip-Bits friends and family! We do hope that this new work week finds you in good spirits, just bursting with enthusiasm and desire to get out into the evil world and do worthwhile things for Jesus, as He expects of us, His ambassadors and earthly representatives.
Now would you believe that this week – the end of October, beginning of November – we’re supposed to see more unseasonal warm weather, with temps getting up into the high teens. Oh, we’re never going to refuse it, but it’s strange to have so much warm weather at this time of year in the northern climes. And although climate change is wreaking havoc elsewhere around the world, I guess we have to say thanks to it for this unseasonal warm weather. But as they say; someone’s good is someone else’s bad.
Let’s hope and pray that it doesn’t turn around and bite us in the butt with a terrible winter. (smile) But that’s why we worship and adore Almighty God through His Son Jesus Christ; He is able to protect us from all harm on this earthly journey. Psalm 116 titled ‘God Neither Slumbers Not Sleeps’ says it perfectly. ‘I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills (mountains), from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved (to slip): he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper (protector): the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve (keep) thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.’ (Ps. 116:1-8)
Oh friends, our God is truly our Protector; the One to whom we ought to cry out to in times of need. He’s promised it, and He always keeps His promises. And the prophet Jeremiah confirms that man’s help does not come from the hills or mountains, as he says to his people Israel: ‘Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.’ (Jer. 3:23) And Cousin Sol totally agrees, when he writes in proverbs: ‘The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety (deliverance) is of the Lord.’ (Prov. 21:31)
Meanwhile, Bruh Paul says it thus to the Corinthians in his first missive: ‘But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain (futile) in the Lord.’ (1 Cor. 15:57-58)
Yes my fellow believers, Christ has given us the victory though His finished work here on earth, and thus we can stand strong and steadfast in it and do what we need to do maintain that victory, for which we will be well rewarded. For as Bruh Paul so eloquently and reassuringly said to the church at Rome, re the trials and tribulations we would face for Jesus’ sake:
‘Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the LOVE of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Rom. 8:37-39)
And that’s an indisputable fact my people! How can anything separate us from the LOVE of God in Christ Jesus when we’ve been eternally sealed by the Holy Spirit eh, as declared by these two scriptures? ‘That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ (Jewish believers). In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest (the down payment or deposit) of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.’ (Eph. 1:12-14)
Oh friends, after we believed, we were sealed by Jesus with the Holy Spirit, as a down payment or guarantee of our salvation. And this next scripture, also from Ephesians simply says it this way: ‘Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption’ (Eph. 4:29-30)
That’s it in a nutshell my fellow saints! We can do all we need to do for Jesus, and we cannot ever be torn away from Him. So with that resounding assurance, let’s get out there and work our fingers to the bone for Him, like He did for us nuh. That’s only fair. And to help us in that cause, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn asking for help in these dire times of need.
Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems.
Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.
Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
And the operative words in that prayer are ‘when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face.’ Yes, that’s when divine aid will come rushing down from heaven. Much LOVE!
…nothing whatsoever…can ever separate us…from the LOVE of God through Christ Jesus
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
21 Oct 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a sound from heaven, a summer-like day, a well of water, all filled with the Holy Ghost, as a mighty rushing wind, as the spirit gave them utterance, be filled with the Spirit, be not drunk with wine, began to speak with other tongues, Bible, buy wine and milk without money, christianity, come ye, come ye to the waters, divine helphumble servants, eternal life, every one that thirsteth, faith, filled the hungry with good things, god, God's free gift of salvation, grieve not the Holy Spirit, he filleth the hungry soul with goodness, he satisfieth the longing soul, he that believeth on me, he that hath no money, his mercy endureth for ever, his wonderful works to the children of men, holy spirit, if any man thirst, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, Jesus was not yet glorified, let him come unto me and drink, let your soul delight in fatness, LOVE, making melody in your heart to the Lord, mass confusion, mercy, negative situations, Oh give thanks unto the Lord for he is good, oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, out of his belly, reach our full potential, salvation, sealed until the day of redemption, shall flow rivers of living water, sincere repentance, sinned and disobeyed your Word, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns, springing up into eternal life, strong faith in Christ, th day of Pentecost, the God who heals, the rich he sent away empty, the spiritually hungry and thirsty, they shall be filled, trun from our evil ways, truth, wise guidance
Matthew 5:6. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Another Monday; another beautiful, sunshiny summer-like day in my neighbourhood! As the Good Book says: ‘Oh give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good: for his mercy endureth forever… Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness (LOVING-kindness), and for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.’ (Ps. 107:1, 8-9)
Yes friends, that’s exactly what our good and LOVING God does for us! When our souls are dissatisfied and frustrated, hungry and lost, He comes and fills us up with His Spirit. The prophet Isaiah wrote it thus a long time ago: ‘Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight in fatness (abundance). (Is. 55:1-2)
Oh my people, as the scholars explain there: ‘God’s free gift of salvation is offered to all who will receive it. Those who are spiritually hungry and thirsty may come and eat and drink without money (freely).’ Now who else offers such freedom spiritual hunger and thirst eh? No one! As Mary, Jesus’ mother says in her song, the Magnificat: ‘He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.’ (Luke 1:53)
That reminds us of Jesus’ own words from the Beatitudes, in particular this one: ‘Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.’ (Matt. 5:6) And the Lord, in His awesome power, made a big showing of just how He can fill hungry souls with His Spirit on that most memorable day of Pentecost when He filled the hundred and twenty souls sitting in the upper room waiting for something to happen.
The Bible tells us: ‘And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as a mighty rushing wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven (divided) tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.’ (Acts 2:2-4) Oh my fellow believers, when our God desires to put on a show, no one can best Him! And from that day henceforth, every believer has been filled with the Holy Spirit as soon as they believe.
Unlike that first filling though, the Lord doesn’t make a big show of it, but does it quietly, without you even knowing, until sometime later you experience this new and different feeling, of a still small voice, talking to your spirit, trying to lead and guide you in the way Jesus desires. And one of the things that Jesus often spoke about was spiritual hunger and invite us to come to Him to satisfy it.
Listen to Him with the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob. ‘Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again; But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be a well of water (fountain) springing up into eternal life. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.’ (John 4:13-15) She thought that Jesus was talking about real water, but the living water referred to the Holy Spirit, which Jesus again spoke about later on.
The Good Library tells us: ‘In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly (heart) shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because Jesus was not yet glorified.’ (John 7:37-39) And we saw that happen above on the day of Pentecost after Jesus’s resurrection.
But the Holy Spirit is so important that there are several things we are commanded not do to it. First off is to not grieve the Holy Spirit. Bruh Paul instructs us: ‘And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.’ (Eph. 4:30) That’s don’t make the Holy Spirit unhappy by not listening to Him and doing ungodly stuff. Then later on He says: ‘And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.’ (Eph. 5:18-19)
It’s thus necessary to keep the Holy Spirit alive and kicking in our lives. And being filled by it means being “continually filled” with it. It’s a repeated experience, not like the first indwelling which came once and for all time. And the scholars put it quite nicely. ‘God desires that the minds of Christians be controlled by the Holy Spirit so that they will walk in the Spirit, speak on behalf of God, and understand the things of God. Because people are indwelt by the Holy Spirit at salvation, they do not need to get more of the Holy Spirit, but the filling of the Holy Spirit occurs when the Holy Spirit gets more of the believer.’
And that’s the gospel truth my fellow saints! What we need is to be more obedient and open to the workings of the Holy Spirit as the Lord desires of us. Now, that’s just a brief recounting of the importance of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and we hope it perks us up on this first day of our new work week. So, let’s go to the throne of grace through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking divine aid to handle our problems.
Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems.
Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.
Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
But please remember that nothing positive will happen until we begin sincerely seeking God, and turning from our evil ways. Much LOVE!
…unless the Holy Spirit is truly guiding our lives…we’ll never reach our full potential…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
14 Oct 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a blessed country, a high standard of living, a lot to be thankful for, a merciful forgiving and gracious God, a modicum of circumspection, an everyday occurrence, animosities, be careful for nothing, bless the LOrd o my soul, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, christianity, cried unto the Lord, crowns thee with loving-kindness, disobeyed your word, divine aid, do everything with thanksgiving, faith, fills the hungry soul with goodness, for brethren to dwell in unity, for his wonderful works to the children of men, forget not all his benefits, forgives all thine iniquities, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good, go overboard, god, happy is he that keeps the law, Happy Thanksgiving Day, he also is become my salvation, he delivered them out of their distresses, he satisfies the longing soul, heals all thy diseases, his mercy endureth for ever, holy spirit, how good and how pleasant it is, humble ourselves, humble servants, hungry, in everything, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, let your moderation be known unto all men, life to see another new day, LOVE, mercy, moral compass, negative situations, new mercies and compassions, oh that mne would praise the Lord for his goodness, peace, pray, prosper us, redeemed from the hand of the enemy, redeems thy life, Rejoice in the Lord always, salvation, satisfies thy mouth with good things, serenity, sincerely seek your face, sing unto the Lord, spiritual decline, strong faith in Christ, the giving of thanks, the God who heals, the Lord is at hand, the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song, the peace of God which passeth all understading, the redeemed of the Lord, the wells of salvation, thier soul fainted within them, thirsty, thy youth is renewed like the eagle's, tragedy, truth, turn from our evil ways, wandered in the wilderness, we all have sinned, where there is no vision the people perish, wisdom, wise guidance, with joy shall ye draw water
Psalm 107:1. O Give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY CANADA!
And then it was another Monday…but this time, a special one in this great country of Canada! It’s Thanksgiving Day my people! The special day, when, all over the land, we take our normal celebrations of thanks and praise to our great God to a higher level, truly acknowledging His awesome presence in our lives and the numerous blessings He’s bestowed on us in this past year. And yuh better believe that we have a whole lot to be thankful for, especially life and breath to see another new day and experience His new mercies and compassions.
And it’s obviously a holiday, meaning no work for most of us, but plenty celebrations. However, as always, we implore us to have a modicum of circumspection in our celebrations and don’t let them go overboard, because far too often in our festive times we overdo it, and unnecessary tragedy follows. Please, let’s not allow that to happen today. And remember we’re going back to work tomorrow, which means don’t celebrate too intensely, too far into the night. (smile)
Ah friends, despite our many problems, our country is so blessed, that we need to truly appreciate it! Why do you think so many people are trying to flee from other countries to come here? Because we have a standard of living and a peace and serenity that they cannot find in their own countries. That’s something we ought to cherish and try to maintain, by not allowing the old animosities from the old countries to take root here, and thus continue the same old patterns from which we’re trying to flee.
We’re trying to build a new and better life, and that can only be done when we live in unity and not disharmony. As these oh so appropriate words of Bruh David from Psalm 133 stipulate: ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!’ (Ps. 133:1) Yes, my fellow Canadians, if we don’t put aside our old animosities, we’ll never move forward as a nation. Or as Cousin Sol puts it in Proverbs. ‘Where there is no vision (prophetic or divine revelation), the people perish (cast off restraint): but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.’ (Prov. 29:18)
And that’s oh so true! Where we don’t follow God’s law, or moral compass, we will suffer moral and spiritual decline, which will only lead to chaos, as we’re seeing happening in so many countries of the world right now. And before we run out of time and space, let’s have a look at some scriptures that encourage thanksgiving, beginning with these wonderful verses from Psalm 103:
‘Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with LOVING-KINDESS and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.’ (Ps. 103:1-5) Now, what better circumstances do we need to give thanks to our great God eh?
Then Bruh Paul, writing to the Philippians strongly advises us to: ‘Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say rejoice. Let your moderation (gentleness, graciousness) be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:4-7) Yes friends, everything we do unto God, should be with thanksgiving.
Now, listen to these marvellous words from Psalm 107. ‘O Give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south. They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary (desolate) way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses. And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.’ (Ps. 107:1-9) Now, those are all wonderful reasons for thanksgiving my people!
And we’ll close with these awe-inspiring words from words from Isaiah: ‘And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.
Therefore with joy shall we draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings (deeds) among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.’ (Is. 12:1-5)
And that’s no lie my fellow believers, our God has done great things in the earth, the greatest possibly being giving us salvation and eternal life through Jesus Christ! So on this special day of Thanksgiving, let’s go confidently to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking divine aid in these turbulent and strife-filled times.
Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face.
So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
And to get divine aid, we must do exactly what our prayer says: pray and sincerely seek God’s face, while turning from our evil ways. There’s no other way! Much LOVE!
…the giving of thanks…should be a continuous…everyday occurrence…for believers…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
07 Oct 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a crying shame, a disciple of Jesus, a new creation, a nuclear holocaust, accoring to his riches in glory, after the things of the Spirit, all our needs met, all things are become new, as babes in Christ, Bible, cannot please God, carnal, christianity, deny himself, divine aid, enmity against God, excellence, faith, fed you with milk not meat, fervently, forget ourselves, grow in faith, humble servants, if any man be in Christ, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, just laze around, life, LOVE, make a living, mass confusion, mercy, mid the things of the Spirit, mind the things of the flesh, negative situations, old things are passed away, peace, reconciled us to himself, sacrifice, sacrificing for Christ, saints of Christ, salvation, seek God and his righteousness first, sincere repentance, spiritual maturity, strife, strong faith in Christ, take up his cross daily, the carnal mind, the God who heals, the sins of the flesh, the Spirit of God, they athat are after the flesh, those in the flesh, to be carnally minded is death, to be spiritually minded is life and peace, trun from our evil ways, truth, wisdom, wise guidance, work dilgently, ye are yet carnal
Romans 8:6. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
And the roller coaster ride keeps rolling on! Another day, another dollar! Yes my people, it’s another Monday, the start of a new work week and we have to get out into the evil world and make a living. And Jesus did instruct us to seek God and His righteousness first, and all of our needs would be met; (Matt. 6:33) while Bruh Paul also promised that God would provide all our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus; (Philp. 4:19) but all of that implies that we would get up and work diligently, fervently and efficiently, not just laze around, as so many of us are doing, and expecting our needs to be filled.
Being a disciple of Jesus can be hard work. Remember how He described a disciple? ‘If any man will (desires to) come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’ (Luke 9:23) That means we have to take up our cross, every day, and follow Him, wherever He may lead us, sacrificing our own desires for His. And that’s not easy to do, especially in this prosperous and amenity filled society in which we currently live.
The word ‘sacrifice’ doesn’t even register with a large portion of our population, many of whom have no idea what it means, much less know how to put it into practice. But if we desire to be true believers, true disciples of Christ, then we have to learn how to do the job, how to forget ourselves and sacrifice whenever and wherever necessary, so that His desires can be achieved.
And my fellow believers, we can say whatever we want, fool ourselves as much as we desire, but it’s obvious in this last generation, our witness, our sacrifice, diligence, fervency and excellence on Jesus’ behalf have not been very satisfactory. We have allowed the world and all its carnality, it’s fleshly lusts, to lessen our call to righteousness.
That’s why Bruh Paul wrote these words of warning to the Roman church. ‘For they that are after the flesh do mind (set their minds on) the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.’ (Rom. 8:5-10)
Yes friends, we have received the indwelling Spirit of God to help us lead a godly life, not turn back to the sins of the flesh that Christ died to save us from. When we become saints of Christ, we have to kill that old life. As Bruh Paul wrote in his second missive to the Corinthians: ‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given us the ministry of reconciliation.’ (2 Cor. 5:17-18)
Now my people, that change in us to the new man cannot be just for a time… no. When we come into a new relationship with the risen and glorified Lord, we see things in a different light, and that change has to continue for the rest of our lives, so we can sincerely do the work Christ requires of us. And furthermore, we have to grow in faith, in spiritual maturity – from no faith, to little faith, to great faith! Otherwise we’d end up, and have indeed ended up just like Bruh Paul chided the Corinthians in his first letter.
‘And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 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), are ye not carnal (fleshly), and walk as men (according to man’s ways).’ (1 Cor. 3:1-3)
And unfortunately that carnal and fleshly attitude still prevails in Christ’s church today. The majority of the people are not growing in spiritual maturity, they’re not seriously and sincerely studying the Word and living it. At this stage of their development when they should be eating solid food, they still can only drink milk, because there’s too much envying and strife and dissensions amongst the body of Christ.
That’s why the negative attributes of the enemy are currently holding our world hostage, and unless we supposed believers get up and begin fighting back mano a mano, God’s great world is liable to implode with all the strife and talk of strife that’s currently in the air. We’re talking about World War Three, which won’t be fought with ordinary weapons, but will be a nuclear holocaust. So let’s start doing something about it right now nuh, by going to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn seeking divine aid to help in this time of dire need.
Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems.
Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.
Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
But first things first, we have to start changing from our evil ways and becoming true disciples of Christ before any divine aid will start flowing down to us. Much LOVE!
…it’s a crying shame…that Christ’s church…is still so carnally minded…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
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