17 May 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a more conveninet time, abundance, Agag, Amalekites, Behold, better than sacrifice, courage, creativity, cried unto the Lord, curse, disobedience, divination, divine promotion, doing what god says, epitome of wisdom, grief, Hawaiian volcano, hearken, heartache, help, idolatry, iniquity, negative word, obedience, obeyed the voice of the Lord, off kilter, penultimate day, perfect reason, plead extenuating circumstances, prayers, prosper, rebellion, rejected the word, sacrifice unto the Lord, Saul, shift the blame, storm in U.S, stubbornness, succeed, success, talent, the edge of the sword, the fat of rams, the Lord's bidding, the people, the price of disobedience, the sin of witchcraft, the wisest decision, Thursday's Blessings, to obey, turned from following me, utterly destroyed, what we think is right, when and how he says
1 Samuel 15:22b. Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
And then it was Thursday; the penultimate day of the workweek… And there were some shouts of ‘Glory be!’ to that announcement. (smile) And it also looks like it’s going to be another glorious day in my neighbourhood…Thank You Lord!
Unfortunately though, the people living under the influence of the volcano in Hawaii aren’t seeing any relief from it. In fact it’s getting worse.
Likewise those people involved in the deadly storm in the U.S. Northeast a couple of days ago. Their lives have not returned to normal as yet, and who knows when it will? Our prayers and any other help we can offer will be welcome.
And today I’m going to offer a li’l something on obedience. ‘Obedience is doing what God says, how He says to do it, and when He says to do it.’ Anything other than that is disobedience. That means a lot of us are more disobedient than we might think we are. Why?
Because we don’t always do what God says, or how He says to do it, or when He says to do it. We like to either put off God’s directives until a more convenient time, or just do what we think is right or sufficient to meet His directives. But friends, God doesn’t tell us to do anything unless He has a perfect reason and plan for it.
So if we don’t do it, when and how He says, that means we’re throwing that perfect plan off kilter and not accomplishing the purpose He intended. And we all know that the price of disobedience doesn’t come cheap.
So unless we want to pay some exorbitant prices for disobedience, I’m asking us today to spend some more time looking at whatever God asks us to do, and do it when and how He says.
Look at what happened to Saul, when he disobeyed God’s directives to totally wipe out the Amalekites. ‘And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
But Saul and the people spared Agag (the king), and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but everything that was vile and refuse (despised and worthless) that they utterly destroyed.’ (1 Sam.15:8-9)
Yeh friends, Saul thought He had done the Lord’s bidding, but he obviously did not understand the words ‘destroy all and everything utterly.’ And what happened then?
‘Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel saying, It repenteth me (I greatly regret) that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the Lord all night.’ (1 Sam.15:11)
But that made no difference to the Lord’s decision, especially when Samuel confronted Saul about his disobedience: ‘And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag, the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
But the people took of the spoil (plunder), sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed to sacrifice unto the Lord in Gilgal.’ (1 Sam.15:20-21)
And once again Saul attempts to shift the blame to others, as he had done in Chapter 13:11-12, after he had usurped the priest’s office, and plead extenuating circumstances. But then who was the king eh? Who made the final decisions eh? King Saul!
Thus Samuel, whose heart was already breaking for Saul’s demise, had to rebuke him. ‘And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft (divination), and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.’ (1 Sam.15:22-23)
And that’s what a lot of us do friends; we pick and choose what we’ll do, instead of following the Lord’s directives to the ‘T’. We behave like we know the Lord’s plans better than Him.
But my brethren that only causes us grief and heartache, and we foolishly lose the Lord’s blessings. Please, I once more implore us to take very seriously whatever the Lord asks us to do, and do it when and how He says. It is the epitome of wisdom.
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings, which the Lord has showered down on us, despite our not deserving them. All together now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And please remember one of the Lord’s directives is to share those blessings with others, so let’s be obedient and go out and do that nuh. Much LOVE!
…it’s not always easy to obey God to the fullest…but it’s always the wisest decision…
10 May 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better person, a compassionate heart, a different person, a majority, a proven winner, a worse person, adversity, affirmation, almighty god, angry, as the brightness of the firmament, bat of an eyelash, bitter, build my faith, closer to God, common sense, courage, creativity, curse, cynical, disaster, disillusioned, divine protection, dr robert h schuller, drive me away from God, emblazon, end times, faith, faithfulness, good friends, good health, gospel truth, Hawaiian people, hope, Hosea, Hour of Power Devotional, imprisoned by hope, keep on praying, keep trucking on, lead you to God, left out, Let your problem, LOVE, loving-kindness, mental billboards, mercy, more patient, my attitude, negative attitude, negative word, never give up, pouts, prisoners of hope, prosper, rebuked by God, restore double, run away and hide, shatter my faith, shine, showers, sins, sour, stars for ever, stronger, succeed, success, take it to God, talent, the wise, this problem is past, Thursday's Blessings, turn many to righteousness, turn to God, turn to the stronghold, untapped resources, vision of Daniel, volcanic activity, wait on God., wisdom, wiser, you and god, Zechariah
Zechariah 9:12. Turn ye to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope: even today do I declare that I will render (restore) double unto thee.
Well mih people, we might not have as nice a day as the last few, because they’ve called for showers, and we did have a small thunder squall earlier in the morning, but yuh know what? Right now, though it’s somewhat cloudy, the Sun is fighting valiantly to come out and shine, shine, shine! Yeh it does look hopeful out there. And yuh know the SON is always out there doing His thing! So no need to worry on that side of the ledger. (smile)
Unfortunately however, those people in Hawaii are experiencing more volcanic activity, so let’s keep up our prayers for them, that the whole thing will soon settle down without further disruption and disaster.
Now here is something from Gramps Schuler’s (Dr. Robert H Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional. It gives us a very good insight into problems, and is appropriately titled: ‘Let Your Problem Lead You to God.’
Gramps Schuller writes: ‘No problem leaves you where it found you. Read this affirmation out loud: “I will be a different person when this problem is past. I will be a wiser, stronger, more patient person; or I will be sour, cynical, bitter, disillusioned, and angry. It all depends on what I do with this problem.
Each problem can make me a better person or a worse person. It can bring me closer to God, or it can drive me away from God. It can build my faith or it can shatter my faith. It all depends on my attitude. I intend to be a better person when this problem leaves me than I was when it met me.” There are vast untapped resources of faith and talent that can only be discovered in adversity.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth my brethren! It’s unfortunate, but the fact is that only through adversity can we build or discover true faith. And when adversity comes, the way we handle it will indeed make us a better or worse person. If we try to run away from it and hide, or adopt a completely negative attitude, then it will eat us up faster than the bat of an eyelash.
But if we keep our peace and recognize that the problem is bigger than us and take it to God, then we’re already in the driver’s seat! Glory to God! Remember friends that you and God are a majority in EVERY situation, and with Him by your side, you can win every battle.
If you are a wise believer, then taking your problems to God is a no-brainer, because that’s what He has asked us to do. He wants to be involved in EVERY situation in our lives, big, small or otherwise! And if we don’t involve Him in everything, He feels left out and pouts, just like we do, when we’re not invited in. (smile)
Oh friends, we cannot pick and choose which situations in our life to allow God into, that’s why I’ve chosen this encouraging scripture from the prophet Zechariah, as he talks about Zion’s future king, to be our Bit today. ‘Turn ye to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope: even today do I declare that I will render (restore) double unto thee.’
Oh my people, what wonderful advice! And though it was given thousands of years ago, it’s still as pertinent today as it was back then. It only makes sense to turn to whatever is strong in our lives, not what is weak. And the strongest thing there is, is Almighty God, so why wouldn’t we turn to Him in all wisdom eh?
But what I like most about that passage of scripture is the phrase, ‘prisoners of hope!’ Wow! It sounds like the perfect name for believers. Imprisoned by hope in Jesus Christ, we just keep trucking on in faith and never give up! I think it’s high time we emblazon that phrase on our mental billboards, and truly begin considering ourselves as prisoners of hope. We can never go wrong if we do.
And yuh see what happens when we do behave as prisoners of hope? The Lord renders double unto us. He blesses us even more than He has already. So why not become a true prisoner of hope then eh my people? Wisdom and common sense demand it!
And now, I just want to add a couple of obscure scriptures that most of us might not know, but which encourage us to turn to God. Listen to Hosea, as he talks about Ephraim’s sins being rebuked by God. ‘Even the Lord God of hosts; the Lord is his memorial. Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy (LOVING-kindness, faithfulness) and judgement (justice), and wait on thy God continually.’ (Hos.12:5-6) Now that’s a proven winner!
And lastly, these most encouraging words from the vision of Daniel re the time of the end. ‘And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.’ (Dan. 12:3)
Oh my brethren, what a wonderful promise! And since we consider these times, the end times, what better way to go than by being wise and shining brightly and turning others to Christ! Mama Mia! That verse surely excited me! (smile)
Now, since we are wise, and are prisoners of hope, let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings, all that the Lord has given us for being so smart. Hn, hn! Altogether now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life!
I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection!
I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
What a wonderful God we serve and worship! But remember people, that’s not all for us, but also to share with the less fortunate. So let’s go and do that now nuh. Much LOVE!
…if you’ve got to be a prisoner…there’s none better…than being one of hope in Almighty God…
03 May 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's wisdom, abundance, among the stars, as the eagle, charles stanley, compassionate heart, courage, creativity, curse, disobedient, divine protection, doh-care times, doom, drcisions, dwell in the clfts of the rock, Edom, egoistic, Esau, every area of life, everything we do, exalt thyself, faithful followers, full benefit, get too full of myself, God;s magnanimity, has deceived thee, haughty, hope, humbled me, I will bring thee down, in our relationships, in the midst of our entire being, Jacob, join with God, Judah, keep god at the centre of our universe, like puppets, LOVE, mountain stronghold, negative word, no respect, Obadiah, our finances, our planse, pick and choose, positive outlook, pride, prideful, prophecy, prosperity, proud, proud perches, pulls our strings, puny efforts, renewal of nature, rough, saith the Lord, say, security, selfish, set thy nest, share the blessing, smell the roses, spring time, stop trying to box God out, talent, that says in his heart, the God of their forefathers, the land of the living, the Lord God Almighty, the pride of thine heart, think, Thursday Blessings, upgrading our walk with God, wake up, welcome Him wholeheartedly, who shall bring me down, whose haitation is high, winter slumber, wisdom
Obadiah 1:3. The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?
Ah friends, one more day in the land of the living! Hope today though will be better than yesterday. We won’t get into the ramifications, but yesterday was rough, to put it mildly. I guess the Lord figured I had come through the operation too smoothly, without any real pain or such, and He didn’t want me to get too full of myself, so He humbled me in a way that only He can do. (smile)
And now that I’m completely humbled, it’s time to move on with getting better. And how do we do that? By upgrading our walk with God. And here are some tips from Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) on how to do that. He strongly advises that we keep God at the centre of our universe, of our thinking: in everything we do, everything we say, everything we think, in our relationships, our finances, our plans, and EVERY area of life.
Yes, faithful followers of God, the Almighty MUST be in the midst of our entire being. Nothing else is acceptable in His sight. We can’t pick and choose what areas we’ll allow Him into, as we are wont to do. He wants to be involved in EVERYTHING! Even the smallest and most inconspicuous decisions.
So it’s time we stop trying to box Him out of certain areas and things of our lives, and just welcome Him wholeheartedly into every area. That’s the ONLY way we will ever get the full benefit of His magnanimity!
That brings us to our Bit for today, a rather appropriate scripture from the prophet Obadiah, for these proud, egotistic, selfish and doh-care times. It was originally meant for the people of Edom (Esau) because of his actions against his brother Judah (Jacob).
The theme of the prophecy is the doom of Edom, and consequently, our doom, if we keep going the way we currently are. ‘The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?’
Before we get into the Bit though, here is some background info to help us. ‘1 Edom refers to the territory settled by Esau’s descendants. It is a mountainous desert extending for about one hundred miles from the wadi Zered to the Gulf of Aqaba. The Edomites enjoyed the security of their mountain stronghold and the prosperity obtained by taxing caravans travelling through their territory.’
So now we know the setting for Obadiah’s statement. The Edomites figured they were safe and secure in their mountainous lairs, so their prosperity and pride turned them away from the God of their forefathers, just like those things are doing to us today. So many of us today are prideful and haughty and have no respect for man nor God, foolishly figuring that no one can bring us down from our proud perches.
But friends, that’s a fool’s wisdom. There is always some man or woman who can bring us down from our haughty heights. And if a fellow human being isn’t able to do it, then the Lord God Almighty, our Creator can, and will certainly do so, whenever He is ready.
And as always, He clearly and plainly states His intentions, but like the fools we are, we never seem to take Him seriously. Hear the verse after our Bit. ‘Though thou exalt thyself as (high as) the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord.’ (Obad.1:4)
And the scholars explain: ‘4. Though thou set thy nest among the stars: This figure of speech emphasizes the inaccessibility and natural security of their city. However their natural security is no match for God’s determination.’ And that is what we have to realize my people. Our puny efforts at security and safety are no match for our Creator’s ability. Yet we still try to foolishly disregard Him and His laws.
Oh friends, oh friends, the only thing that makes any sense is to join with God, not turn or run away from Him, since He is both wiser and more powerful than any or all of us together. We keep forgetting that He created us, and still pulls our strings. In His hands we can be like puppets, if He so desires.
So let’s wake up and smell the roses nuh, in this most appropriate time for such activity, the renewal of nature, spring time. Let’s awaken from our winter slumber and call on the name of God in all wisdom and truth nuh, for that’s what our plagued world desperately needs.
And yuh see friends, though we are so disobedient, our wonderful God still blesses us with abundant blessings as set out in our Thursday Blessings. Let’s shout them out: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And having all of that, let’s go out now and share it with the less fortunate nuh, for that is what Jesus desires of us, why He blessed us so abundantly in the first place. Much LOVE!
…the first rule of a blessing…is to share it…
26 Apr 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a gift from God, a servant of Christ, abundance, bad luck, be multiplied to you, be obedient, belief in Jesus christ, charles stanley, Commit thy way to the Lord, courage, creativity, curse, delight thyself in the Lord, divine power, do goo, dwell in the land, escaped the corruption, eternal life, evil world, expect something for nothing, faith, faithfulness, fruit of the Spirit, given to us, given us all things, glory, God's unmerited favour, godliness, good examples, grace, great and precious promises, holy spirit, Holy Trinity, is in the world, judgement, justice, licentious behaviour, light, lustful, mercy, negative situations, negative word, noonday, partakers of the divine nature, peace, personally testify, Peter, precious faith, promises, prosper, prosperous life, reward, righteousness, salt, salutation, salvation, self-control, self-discipline, share God's blessings, Standing on the promises of God, succeed, talent, testify, that pertain unto life, the desires of thine heart, the gift of God, the knowledge of god, the Lord's faithfulness, the wages of sin is death, third person, thou shalt be fed, through lust, Thursday Blessings, trust in the Lord, virtue, wisdom, you reap what you sow
2 Peter 1:4. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Oh friends, this salutation seemed like the best way to begin today’s message, as it runs with our Bit. And if it was good enough for Peter, it’s good enough for me. (smile) Randy O’Brien, ‘a servant of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like (the same kind of) precious faith with us through the righteousness of (our) God and Saviour Jesus Christ. Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through (in) the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to (by) glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.’ (2 Peter 1:1-4)
Oh my fellow believers, you all hear that? Through our belief in Jesus Christ, we’ve been given ALL things that pertain to life and godliness, accompanied by ‘great and precious promises’ which help us get away, and stay away from the lustful and licentious behaviour of this evil world. Wow! What could be better than that eh friends? NOTHING REALLY!
The Lord has implanted His Holy Spirit to dwell in ALL believers, and the power of the third person of the Holy Trinity provides ALL that we need, or will ever need to be successful in this life. Please remember that, and seriously take hold of it nuh.
The fruit of the Spirit has already been planted in us, all we have to do now is ask the Lord to help us water and nurture them so that they can grow and show up in our lives, so that we can be good examples to the world, salt and light, and glorify and exalt His most precious and Holy Name! Glory be my brethren!
And we going to continue looking at some of God’s promises today. And this is one of my favourite, because I am currently living it. The immortal and oh so true words of Bruh David. ‘Trust in the Lord and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (feed on his faithfulness).
Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgement (justice) as the noonday.’ (Ps.37:3-6)
Oh friends, if it’s one thing I can testify to is the Lord’s faithfulness. Although I’ve been going through a rough time medically this past year and a half, with no real relief in sight, you wouldn’t believe how the Lord has been blessing me during this time, surprisingly making some of the desires of my heart come to pass. Brother! Is he ever a wonderful God!
The problem with most of us is that we expect something for nothing – both from man and God. But that’s not real life my people! Generally speaking, you get back when and what you give. As Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) likes to say; ‘You reap what you sow, more than you sow, and later than you sow.’ That’s just a fact of nature!
That brings us to this awesome but also frightening promise: ‘For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (Romans 6:23) Yeh mih breddren, if you insist on following the sinful, lustful world, death will be your eventual reward.
However, if you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour and do your best to be obedient to His rules and principles, then you will receive the most wonderful gift there is; that of salvation and everlasting life with Christ. As the scholars tell us: ‘6:23. Wages: Emphasizes what we deserve. Gift of God: Emphasizes God’s unmerited favour.’
Yuh see the difference friends? One is what you deserve; the other is mercy, giving you something good that you don’t deserve. And please remember that salvation is indeed a gift from God, we can’t do anything to deserve it. All the good works we do mean nothing unless we believe in Christ as Lord and Saviour, for that’s the way the Lord set it up, so that none of us could boast about our good works.
And that, I think, brings us to the end of these messages on the promises of God. I implore us to study them and take them to heart, because as Peter says, they’ve been given to us so that we can lead a good and prosperous life here on earth. Please don’t let them go to waste, and then complain about your bad luck and other negative situations. Then you only have yourself to blame.
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings which have been showered down on us because we have tried to be obedient to God’s law and have taken up and held on to His many generous promises. All together now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life!
I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection!
I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And one of God’s most important laws is for us to now go out and share those blessings with the less fortunate! Much LOVE!
…promises…promises…I’m standing on the promises of Christ my God…
19 Apr 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a clean heart, accumulate, affluence of the wicked, asaph, boastful, bring us joy, Christ is Lord, Christians, compassionate heart, courage, creativity, curse, cut off, disgusting situations, dreary looking day, envious, every knee must bow, every tongue confess, evil doers, God is good, God is the strength of my heart, God's sanctuary, great commission, great invitation, Hallelujah, happiness, I had stumbled, important aspects, inherit the earth, light, live for Jesus, Love of Jesus, my feet were almost gone, my flesh and my heart fails, negative word, no words, our faith, peace, positive outlook, power, prosper, prosperous wickedness, relationship with god, repented, self-control, self-discipline, seriously enough, sold their souls, succeed, talent, thank the Lord for Jesus, the foolish, the name above every other, the prosperity, the things of the world, the wicked, Thursday Blessings, to do Christ justice, to the glory of God, ungodliness, wait upon the Lord, wealth of the world, wisdom
Psalm 73:3. For I was envious at the foolish (boastful), when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
Ah mih people, it’s a good thing that we have the light, the power, peace and LOVE of Jesus residing within us yes, otherwise when we look outside all we’d see is the beginning of another cold, damp and dreary looking day. Steups!
Thank the Lord for Jesus oui! Shout ‘Hallelujah!’ and praise His most wonderful and holy name. The name that’s above every other name and to which every knee must bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord, to the glory of our heavenly Father.
Mama Mia! How beautiful is our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ eh? There are no words in the human vocabulary to do Him justice! And when we add all the sad and disgusting situations existing in our current world and it’s exceeding ungodliness, it just makes us want to LOVE and live for Jesus even more.
Now over the last two days we have spoken about Jesus’ Great Commission and His Great Invitation, but yuh know what friends, too many of us Christians are not taking those very important aspects of our faith seriously enough.
Unfortunately we are turning to the things of the world to bring us joy, peace and happiness; seeking to accumulate the wealth of the world, so that we can leave lots of it behind for our families and lawyers to fight over when we depart this life.
Oh my breddren, too many of us are behaving like the psalmist Asaph when he wrote Psalm 73 – The mystery of prosperous wickedness. Hear how he opens it: ‘Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean (pure) heart. But as for me, my feet were almost gone (I had almost stumbled); my steps had well-nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish (boastful), when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.’ (Ps.73:1-3)
Yeh friends, just like Asaph, many, too many of us are looking at the prosperity of the wicked and are being envious and jealous of them and trying to be like them. But that’s not our calling my people. We are called to be righteous and to do good in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour!
And if we do that, we’ll end up as Jesus promised: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt.6:33) Yes, if we look to God first, He will provide all that we need. As Bruh Paul said to the Philippians: ‘But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by (through) Christ Jesus.’ (Phil.4:19)
It’s obvious though that many of us either don’t know those promises or don’t believe or adhere to them since we are so busily seeking the things of the world, which eventually perish and we have to leave behind anyway. We seem to think like Asaph did, even though he was a highly spiritual man, as he continues after our Bit.
‘For there are no bands (pangs or pain) in their death: but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men. Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain (serves as a necklace); violence covereth them as a garment. Their eyes stand out with fatness (bulge with abundance): they have more than heart could wish.’ (Ps.73:4-7)
Yeh friends, the ungodly and wicked are currently prospering in this evil world, but it won’t be forever. Listen as Bruh David tells about the true state of the wicked. ‘Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.’ (Ps.37:3)
And the scholars explain: ‘Psalm 73: This psalm is another dealing with the problem of the prosperity of the wicked. Unlike Psalm 37, however, it does not emphasize the brevity of that prosperity. The author observes that sometimes the bounty achieved by the wicked does in fact last throughout life (v.4).
He emphasizes every believer’s need to test his own personal relationship with God. That alone provides the ultimate satisfaction available to the believer who witnesses the affluence of the wicked. That’s a fact that almost caused him to stumble spiritually and lose his faith.’
Ah mih people, I know that we suffer from the same problem, but like Asaph, we can also overcome it. And how did he do so? Hear him: ‘Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.’ (Ps.73:17)
Yes my fellow believers, as the scholars further explain: ‘Not until the psalmist entered God’s sanctuary and received a divine perspective on the wicked’s prosperity did he find his answer to the problem (vs.17-28) He saw the destiny of the wicked (vs.17-20); therefore he repented of his foolishness (vs.21-22) and found his happiness solely in a warm and growing relationship with God (vs.23-28).’
And so can we my brethren, if we look solely to God for our earthly sustenance and not be envious of those who seem to have it all, for who knows if they sold their souls to achieve that power and abundance. And eventually, like Asaph, we will also be able to declare: ‘My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength (rock) of my heart, and my portion for ever.’ (Ps.73:26)
And having said that, let’s go home now declaring our Thursday Blessings, those wonderful attributes the Lord pours down on those sincerely believe and stand steadfast with Him. All together now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And the corollary to that, is to now go out and generously share those blessings with the less fortunate, as Jesus intends for us to do. Much LOVE!
…evil doers shall be cut off…but those that wait upon the Lord…shall inherit the earth… (Ps.37:9)
12 Apr 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a comapssionate heart, acknowledge, act of denial, adversity, Alex Boyer, Beelzebub, before men, before my heavenly father, cast men into hell, Christian faith, concrete jungle, confess me, courage, creativity, curse, deny me, destroy both body and soul, doctor's appointments, dying for Christ, everlasting fire, evil spirit, favour, fear him, fear not them, fight with the soul, forgiveness, glory to God, health, hell fire and damnation, hoard, in the thick of it, kill the body, life everlasting, lifelong resistance, LOVE, mercy, mish mash, negative word, not able to kill the soul, of more value, our heavenly Father, physical lives, pot holes, practical impossibility, prosper, public confession, reassurance, resurrection, rough times, Satan, secret discipleship, self-control, self-discipline, shaking it rough, share with others, showering of grace, sold for a farthing, sparrows, spiritual aspect, succeed, the body gets tired, the fight for survival, the hairs of your head, the living truth, the Lord's generosity, Thursday's Blessings, Toronto, traffic jams, victory in Jesus' name
Matthew 10:28. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Well hello there mih Scrip-Bit family! How goes it with you all this rainy day Thursday eh? I hope it goes better with you than with me, because the ole fella is shaking it a tad rough after spending the last two days running around in the concrete jungle called Toronto for doctor’s appointments and tests. That’s why the last two Bits were so early. (smile)
But what a mish mash that place is; the roads are full of potholes, the traffic jams are constant…! Brother! I don’t see how people can handle that ridiculous commute for five days every week nuh. But I guess you have to do what you have to do to make a living.
The good news though my brethren, is that the Lord’s generosity has not stopped flowing…and it never will! His ongoing showering of grace, mercy, LOVE and forgiveness on His people is guaranteed for all time. So though we may occasionally face adversity and rough times, we know for sure that our heavenly Father is right in the thick of it with us, and has promised to bring us out better than before.
Glory to God my brethren! What a wonderful God we serve and worship! Give Him some thanks and praise nuh!
And I just noticed an interesting and rather appropriate quote here amongst the confusion of papers on the desk in front of me. It’s attributed to one Alex Boyer, and it says: ‘When the body gets tired, you fight with your soul.’
And isn’t that the living truth friends! The soul is much stronger than the body, though the body leads in the fight for survival. And when the body fails or falters, it’s the soul’s job, the spiritual aspect of our humanity, to take up the battle and lead us to victory in Jesus’ name.
I guess that’s why Jesus gave His disciples the fateful warning found in Today’s Bit. ‘And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.’ Ah friends, what wise and wonderful advice from our Saviour Himself; advice that is also applicable to us today.
Hear how the scholars explain that section. ‘10:25-31. Beelzebub refers to Satan himself, the ultimate evil spirit. The disciples are told to fear…not. The disciples’ enemies can only take their physical lives, which cannot prevent their blessed resurrection to life everlasting.
In other words, Jesus reminded them that it was more important to fear Him who had authority over the soul as well as over the body and who can bring both to eternal condemnation in hell (Gr. Gehenna). Notice that God is the One who has authority to cast men into hell, and not Satan, who will himself be ultimately cast into everlasting fire.’
Yes my fellow believers, it’s only Almighty God; our Creator, Controller and Provider who can sentence us to a lifetime of hell fire and damnation! And I’m sure none of us want to suffer that terrible fate. Therefore, we need to live a life down here on earth that is subject to His law and will, if we want to see His glorious face at the end of our earthly sojourn.
Listen to how Jesus continues His warning to the disciples. ‘Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing (1/16 of a denarius – a penny)? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.’ (Matt.10:29:-31)
Oh mih breddren, what a glorious reassurance that is from our Master! We are God’s greatest creation; worth more than many sparrows, and even the very hairs on our head are numbered. Wow! The Lord knows it all and is committed to keeping us together, even though we sometimes falter.
However, these next two verses are the ones that will cement His decision. ‘Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.10:32-33) There it is in black and white my people! If you deny Christ, He will deny you before His heavenly Father.
And the scholars offer this good explanation. ’10:32-37. Confess me means “Acknowledge that you belong to me.” In reality, secret discipleship is a practical impossibility. Jesus constantly called for an open confession of Himself by His followers. That our confession is to be before men clearly indicates that a public confession of true Christian faith is a virtual necessity.
The warning whosoever shall deny me is a comprehensive historical aorist tense, (hn!) referring not to one moment of denial (such as Peter’s), but to an entire lifelong resistance to Christ. Therefore a single act of denial does not make one unworthy of being a disciple, but a refusal to confess Christ at all eliminates one from being a true follower of Jesus Christ.’
So all of us who claim to belong to Christ, but refuse to acknowledge Him in public, yuh better had think again! But for those of us who gladly acknowledge Him in public and enjoy His wonderful company, let’s go home now declaring the manifold grace and mercy we enjoy in our Thursday Blessings.
In strong and sincere voice now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Yeh mih people all of that is ours, and not just to hoard for ourselves, but to share generously with the less fortunate. So let’s go out and do that now nuh. Much LOVE!
…a true Christian is one…who is not afraid or ashamed to tell the world…and also show the world…that he is living and dying for Christ…
05 Apr 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a prophetess, abundance, believe in your dreams, benefits, best by date, blessings, brokenhearted, calamity, call out to wisdom, calls aloud in the street, Christians, complacency, consequences, counsel, courage, creativity, curse, delight in scorning, despairing thoughts, despised, destroying, disobedience, do great things, do productive stuff, dr robert h schuller, encouragement, faith, faithful brethren, favour, fear, fools hate knowledge, godly lives, greetings, hopes, Hour of Power Devotional, hurts, in God's name, in the name of Jesus, laugh at your calamity, loud and proud, LOVE, make known my words, naive, naivete, negative word, ole fogies, openings of the gates, peace, peace of mind, pour out my Spirit, rejecting wisdom, reproof, scoffers, scorners, sensible option, set your compass, she raise her voice, simple ones, slain, talent, terror, the elderly, the humble, the poor, the presence of God, the valley of the shadow, the winter of our days, Thursday Blessings, trust, turn you, ways of Jesus, waywardness, wisdom, wisdom cries out, wisdom of God, worldly ways, young uns
Proverbs 1:20. Wisdom crieth without (calls aloud in the street); she uttereth (raises) her voice in the streets (plazas).
Greetings and salutations this glorious Thursday morning in the springtime of our lives my faithful brethren! (smile) Awright, so some of us might have already passed our best by date, but that doesn’t mean we have to be thrown away. In fact we are the kind of people the Lord finds much use for when the world is no longer interested in us. He uses the poor, the elderly, the broken hearted, the humble to do great things in His name.
So though we are actually in the winter of our days, we ought not to give up hope and stop trying to do productive stuff. And saying that, here is some encouragement from Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) from His Hour of Power Devotional as he talks about being in the valley of the shadow.
He says: ‘Peace comes to the person who feels the presence of God…. Don’t trust the clouds – trust the sunshine. Don’t set your compass by the flash of lightning – set it by the stars. Trust the sun – don’t trust the shadow. Believe in your dreams – don’t believe in your despairing thoughts. Have faith in your faith – and doubt your doubts. Trust in your hopes – never trust in your hurts.’ Amen friends, Amen!
And I believe that’s useful not only for the ole fogies, but also for the young uns. The sooner they learn that kind of stuff, the more productive and godly lives they will live. But ALL of us need to pay serious attention to that woman of all women; WISDOM, for without her we are completely lost.
As Cousin Sol says in Proverbs: ‘Wisdom crieth without (calls aloud in the street); she uttereth (raises) her voice in the streets (plazas). She crieth in the chief place of concourse (concourses), in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, How long, ye simple (naïve) ones, will ye LOVE naiveté? And the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?’ (Prov.1:20-22)
Ah mih people, those words are ever so true in these tumultuous times, as real wisdom, that of God, is being trampled down by the falsehood that the world purveys as wisdom. And too many of us, Christians included, are foolishly following that supposed wisdom the world perpetrates. However we need to desperately understand that TRUE wisdom comes ONLY from God; from His word, His statues and His commandments.
As Gramps Schuller says in the passage above: ‘have faith in your faith.’ Otherwise, what’s the purpose of having a faith, if you don’t have faith in it eh? None whatsoever!
And the scholars offer this explanation. ‘1:20-33. Wisdom is personified here as a prophetess calling in public places to everyone to come to her and learn. Three groups are especially singled out in the appeal: ‘the simple ones, or untaught; the scorners or scoffers; and the fools, or morally dull (v.22). The consequences of rejecting wisdom are immense (vs.26-28).’
And sadly my brethren, in this supposedly wise society, there seems to be way more of those three groups who are not interested in true wisdom, than those of us who are. But true and godly wisdom keeps crying out: ‘Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.’ (Prov.1:23)
Yes friends, the wisdom of God is crying out for us to turn back from our sinful, worldly ways and embrace His LOVING-kindness, for that’s the only wise and sensible option open to us. But we don’t seem to be paying any serious attention to His call.
Thus wisdom continues: ‘Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought (disdained) all my counsel, and would (have) none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear (terror) cometh.
When your fear (terror) cometh as desolation (a storm), and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early (diligently), but they shall not find me: For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord.
They would (have) none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. For the turning away (waywardness) of the simple shall slay them, and prosperity (complacency) of fools shall destroy them.’ (Prov.1:24-32)
Ah mih people, yuh see the serious consequences involved in rejecting the wisdom of God! And that’s exactly what’s happening in our society today; we are being slain by our waywardness and disobedience, and our complacency is destroying us.
But it’s not too late to call out to wisdom friends. Please, let’s be wise and do so nuh, that our children and us can benefit from it. ‘But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet (secure, or at ease) from fear of evil.’ (Prov.1:33)
And accompanying that peace of mind will be numerous benefits, like those enshrined in our Thursday Blessings. Let’s declare them out now, loud and proud, so that the unbelievers can see what to expect when they wholly embrace the wisdom and ways of Jesus.
‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Now let’s go out and share some of those many blessings as Jesus intends for us to do. Much LOVE!
…blessings only come with obedience…which is a by-product of wisdom…
29 Mar 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abundance, as it is written, awesome relationship with God, be sent, belief in Jesus, blessed, bring glad tidings, call on, call upon the name of the Lord, captivity, Christ's cross, Christ's gospel, comapssionate heart, courage, creativity, curse, Daily Bread Devotional, dilemma, essential to belief, expensive price, faith, favour, friends of God, give back, glory to God, God reigns, God sends, God's Holy Will, good news, good things, hear, hearing, Holy Thursday, how beautiful, in the name of Jesus, indisputable truth, iniversal proclamation, Isaiah, knowledge, LOVE, negative word, no better news than the gospel, Old Testament, on our behalf, paid for our freedom, pains my heart, paramount, passe, preach, preach the gospel, proclaims peace, prosperity, sacrifice of Jesus, Salvation is from God, saved, selfless sacrifice, share our blessings, stalwartly endured, success, surrender, tad tardy, take everything for granted, talent, thanks and praise, the bondages of sin, the feet of them, the Son is shining, Thursday Blessings, trust, truth, wisdom, without a preacher, Zion
Romans 10:15. And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
Ah mih people, it’s a somewhat dark and dreary looking Holy Thursday morning, and I’m making my apologies right up front. (smile) I’m a tad tardy today because I went to bed somewhat later than normal last night, or rather this morning.
But not to worry, everything’s in fine shape. The sun might not be shining but the SON definitely is, and no more brighter than on this penultimate day before we celebrate His selfless sacrifice on our behalf some two thousand years ago.
Give Him plenty thanks and praise my fellow believers, for when I think about what He so stalwartly endured for us, it severely pains my heart, although I know that if He hadn’t done it, our lives would not be as wonderful as they are today.
And this quote from a Daily Bread Devotional shows exactly what I’m talking about. ‘Because of Christ’s cross, we can become friends of God.’ Yeh friends, it’s as simple as that. If Christ had not gone to the cross, we would not be able to have the wonderful and awesome relationship we now have with Almighty God!
Mama Mia! How blessed we are but don’t truly recognize or appreciate it! Too many of us just seem to take everything for granted, but that’s not how it ought to be. A serious and most expensive price was paid for our freedom from the bondages of sin, and now we are expected to be grateful and give back something in return.
And we’re talking about things like belief in Jesus, trust, and surrender to His Holy will, living and working diligently for Him. And as another Daily Bread quote tells us: ‘There is no better news than the gospel – spread it.’ Yes my fellow believers, spreading the good news of Christ’s gospel is paramount in our living for and serving Him, because that’s how others will know and understand what He died for and come to also believe in Him.
For as Bruh Paul so plainly wrote in his missive to the church at Rome: ‘For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ (Rom.10:13) But then he puts forth the dilemma inherent in accomplishing that task. ‘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?’ (Rom.10:14)
Now those are all important questions re the furthering of the gospel: how can people believe and hear and thus call on God if no one tells them about Christ eh? That’s impossible. Thus the next verse in Bruh Paul’s message, which is our Bit for today.
‘And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!’ And that’s the indisputable truth my friends and faithful believers! There’s nothing as beautiful in this whole wide world as the preaching of the good news of Christ’s gospel! Glory to God!
And the scholars offer this explanation: ‘10:14-15. In presenting the universal proclamation of the gospel, Paul presents the reasons why a universal proclamation is necessary: first, because the call must be preceded by faith; second, because faith must be preceded by hearing.
This shows that knowledge is essential to belief. Faith must have a valid content; third, because hearing requires a preacher; fourth, because preaching requires being sent. The One who sends is God. Salvation is completely from God.’
And we all know that indelible truth my brethren! Without God and His great unconditional LOVE and concern for us, there’d be NO salvation whatsoever!
Now here’s a li’l something for those of us who think that the Old Testament is passé, but that’s where Bruh Paul got the basis for his proclamation above. Listen to Isaiah as he reassures his people that the Lord will deliver Zion from captivity.
‘How beautiful upon the mountain are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings (good news), that publisheth (proclaims) peace; that bringeth good tidings of good (good news of good things), that publisheth (proclaims) salvation; that saith unto Zion, thy God reigneth!’ (Is.52:7)
And several thousands of years later my fellow believers in Jesus Christ, that is still the absolute truth! Our God reigns supreme in the universe that He created! And He HAS brought salvation to us through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ! Oh what better news can there be eh? NONE WHATSOEVER! Glory to God my brethren!
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings, that our wonderful God has so magnanimously showered down on us because we believe. With strong conviction now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And if we sincerely believe that, then let’s go out and share those awesome blessings with others as Jesus desires. Much LOVE!
…believers lives and words…ought to be all about sharing the good news of Christ…
22 Mar 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abundance, actions, alive and kicking, behaviour, blessings, blind, brand of Christianity, broken, Christ's Church, Christian attributes, church at Laodicea, compassionate heart, compromise, creativity, curse, diligence, divine protection, excellence, faith, favour, fence sitting, God's great earth, help, I know thy works, in the name of Jesus, kicking butt for Jesus, lack of genuine faith, lackadaisical, lacklustre, lazy, legalistic approach, LOVE Revolution, lukewarm, medicinal qualities, miserable, naked, nausea, need nothing, negative word, neither cold nor hot, no passion, obits, poor, positive outlook, pray, promotion, Revelation, rich, scared, self-control, share our blessings, spew thee out, steadfast, success, talk a good talk, thanks and praise, the things of God, the things of the world, Thursday's Blessings, volunteer, walk a good walk, wealthy, worthless, wretched, zeal
Revelation 3:15. I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert (wish you were) cold or hot.
Awright mih breddren, another wonderful day on God’s great earth is upon us! Give Him thanks and praise! And you know what? I just checked the obits and none of our names or pictures are listed there! Wow! That must mean that we’re alive, alive and kicking, alive and kicking butt for Christ! (smile) I like that.
It sounds like something we were meant to do. But are we doing it? To a certain extent yes, but definitely not as much as we ought to. The problem with our brand of Christianity these days seems to be that we are doing a lot of right things, but we are not doing them sufficiently.
You know, you can give, volunteer, help, pray, whatever, show Christian attributes, but with a lacklustre attitude, no real passion for what you’re doing. It doesn’t seem to come from the heart, but from the mind. Like I’m supposed to do so and so, so I’ll do it, but not with any real zeal; a more legalistic approach than a heart-felt one.
But Jesus calls for excellence, passion, and diligence in His followers. That reminds me of what He said to the church in Laodicea, through John’s vision in Revelation, our Bit for today. ‘I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert (wish you were) cold or hot.’
Ah friends, that’s exactly how Christ’s church is today. The zeal and passion for growing it, for enhancing Christ’s LOVE Revolution doesn’t’ seem to be present in sufficient quantity amongst its believers. We still seem to be too taken up with the matters of the world and not enough with those of heaven.
And as Jesus continues after our Bit: ‘So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew (spit, vomit) thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods (have become wealthy), and have need of nothing: and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.’ (Rev.3:16-17)
Yes my people, if we look at ourselves in truth, we will see that we are still too taken up with the things of the world and not those of God, thus Jesus’ reproach.
Listen to these explanations from the scholars. ‘3:15-16. The church is likened to lukewarm water, or as being virtually worthless. Christ says He will “spew them out,” or eject them from His company. The hot waters of nearby Hierapolis were known for their medicinal qualities, whereas Colossae was known for its cold, pure water.
But Laodicea was forced to receive water by aqueduct from other areas. By the time it arrived at Laodicea it was lukewarm and provoked nausea. The works of the Laodicean church were as worthless as the city’s lukewarm water. The description does not refer to a backslidden condition, but rather to their lack of genuine faith.’
Ah friends, although I don’t think our contributions to Christ’s church are totally useless, I do believe that they are not worthwhile enough because our faith is not strong enough. Too many of us are too scared, lazy and lackadaisical about our faith. We don’t stand up steadfast and strong enough for what we believe in.
There is too much fence sitting and compromise in our behaviour and actions. And both those things lessen the strength of anything. We talk a good talk, but we don’t walk a good enough walk.
That’s why Jesus commanded the church at Laodicea: ‘I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried (refined) in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment (garments), that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear (may not be revealed); and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.’ (Rev.3:18)
I have to chuckle there friends, because nobody can turn a phrase like Jesus, can admonish you the way He does. And the scholars have this to say about that scripture. ‘3:17-19. Laodicea was famous for its wealth, its bankers, its medical school, its popular eyesalve, and its textile industry.
Christ says that spiritually the people of the church are poor, blind, and naked. True wealth is found only in God’s grace. This church had no spiritual value (gold), virtue (white raiment), or vision (eyesalve). He urges the Laodiceans to repent of their lack of genuine faith and of spiritual understanding.’
Fellow believers in Christ, I believe that admonition of Jesus will also stand us in good stead today. Please, I implore us to stop running after the things and wealth of the world, because they will avail us nothing in the time to come. It’s time we raise the level of our faith and actions and concentrate on sincerely growing Christ’s church as personified by His LOVE Revolution. Why do you think He blessed us with our Thursday Blessings eh? So that we can lift Him up.
Now let’s declare those blessings with a sincere heart and strong belief. ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And if we truly believe, it, then let’s go out and share it with others as Christ desires, for a blessing is not a blessing until it’s declared. Much LOVE!
…Christ wants His followers to be either hot or cold…not in between…
15 Mar 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a gift, a present, Abraham Isaac and Jacob, abundance, bring His church to fruition, compassionate heart, courage, curse, died for us, don't walk a good walk, enter the kingdom of heaven, evil associates, evil world, exalt, exceed the righteousness, except your righteousness, faithfully, genuine Christian character, goodness, grow Jesus' church, He deserves our all, hypocrites, I say unto you, inner attitude, interceding for us, Jesus gave His all, Jesus Spirit lives in our souls, Jews, loving kindness, necessity of righteousness, need the warning, negative word, of the scribes and Pharisees, one more day, outward show, penny-pinch, play the scrooge, practical application, Praise the Lord, prosper, put his whole heart and soul, rose from the dead, sacrificed His sinless life, salvation, self-righteousness, spiritual living, succeed, talent, talk a good talk, the gospel in action, the heart God desired, the law, the living truth, the LOVE of Jesus, the One and Only, the present, Thursday Blessings, tomorrow, true living God, unbelievers, undeserving children of men, what a bam bam, work tirelessly, ye shall by no means, yesterday
Matthew 5:20. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case (by no means) enter the kingdom of heaven.
One more day friends! Yes one more day; that’s what we’ve been given, and that’s why it’s called a present, a gift, as well as the present, because it’s all we have to work with.
Yesterday has gone by for ever, and tomorrow has not come as yet, if it ever will. Therefore, we need to do all that we can in this present day to exalt the ONE and ONLY, True, Living God; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as best we can.
And all God’s children said a loud, proud and grateful, ‘Praise the Lord! Thank Him for all His goodness and LOVING-kindness to the undeserving children of men. Amen!
And as the li’l thought from the Daily Bread Devotional tells us: ‘Jesus gave His ALL; He deserves our ALL.’ I couldn’t have put it any better my brethren. Jesus did not penny-pinch and play the scrooge when He sacrificed His sinless life for us. He gave it everything He had, put His whole heart and soul into what He was doing for us.
Now, after He died for us, then rose from the grave, from the dead, so that we too can rise eventually, given us salvation, and is interceding for us at the Father’s right hand in heaven, while His Spirit lives in our souls, leading and guiding us in all truth, don’t you think the least we can do in return is to work tirelessly and faithfully to bring His wonderful church to fruition?
Wow! What a mouthful my people! (smile) But it is the living truth. We’re definitely not doing as much as we ought to grow Jesus’ church. And WE ALL KNOW IT! We’re still letting the evil world and it’s evil associates control too much of our time and our actions. We talk a good talk, but don’t walk a good walk.
That’s why the unbeliever looks at us askance, with a knowing smirk on their faces. They know that many of us are just a bunch of ole hypocrites, like the scribes and Pharisees of bygone days. That’s why Jesus declares so definitely in our Bit: ‘For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case (by no means) enter the kingdom of heaven.’
What a bam bam my people! Imagine that nuh; the most righteous, or supposedly righteous people of Jesus time could not get into heaven. And I know that we’ve used this scripture as our Bit fairly recently, but the Lord just put it on my heart to do it again today, possibly because He knows that we need the warning badly. So don’t get vex with the messenger. (smile)
Now listen to the scholar’s explanation, once again. ‘5:20. Because of the necessity of righteousness as a requirement to enter heaven, Jesus then declares that except their righteousness should exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees they could not enter heaven.
The significance of this is seen in the fact that the Jews of Jesus’ day considered these people to be the most religious in all Israel. However, their religion was largely an outward show of self-righteousness. In communicating the depth of His message, Jesus used a series of contrasts between the outward behaviour demanded by the law and the inner attitude of the heart desired by God.
Here we discover the practical application of genuine Christian character to true spiritual living. Here we see the gospel in action.
Law Spirit
No murder No anger
No adultery No lust
No divorce Commitment
No oath-taking Speak the truth
No retaliation Forgiveness
Hatred for your enemy LOVE for your enemy
(tradition allowed it) (commanded)
And there you have it friends! As Christians we need to come up higher in the spiritual realm than in the law of the world, if we are to be sincere believers. And I’m pleading with us today to stop giving Christ a bad name with our hypocritical behaviour. If we can’t live up to what He expects of us, then let’s stop talking the high talk we talk, and walk whatever low walk we can. Let’s not talk more than we can do.
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings, blessings that the Lord has specially prepared for us who sincerely try to do His will. As one now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Oh friends, doesn’t it make you feel bad when you enjoy all those heavenly blessings and don’t at least try to reciprocate as best we can? It ought to. Much LOVE!
…righteousness is simply…the LOVE of Jesus…in action
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