16 Mar 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's wisdom, abundance, adore, affection, all that glitters is not gold, blessings, boredom, cold and cough, Colossians, compassionate heart, corrupt, curse, details, exalt, forgiveness, friends, glamorous, glitzy, glory to God, grace, heaven, illnesses, intensity, it is well with my soul, Jehovah, LOVE, lusts, mea culpas, mercy, moody, moth and rust, negative word, opinions, patience, praise, prayer, promotion, prosper, rewards, risen with Christ, ruin, saint, senior citizens, success, talent, talkative, the right hand of God, thieves, things above, things of the world, thoughtful, treasures, vices, wisdom, work of the devil
Matthew 6:19. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves break through and steal.
Aye mih friends, as the old people would say, if it’s not one thing, it’s something else yes! (smile) So let’s make our mea culpas right up front nuh.
Over the last few days I’ve been dogged by a stubborn and lousy cold and cough, which unfortunately has led to even more erratic hours of waking and sleeping than before. I didn’t think that was possible. (smile)
And having to be out and about some in the beastly cold weather didn’t help matters either. Oh friends, the sun’s been shining as brightly as ever in a blue sky, but it’s been beastly cold, with the wind and the ice from the earlier snowstorm making it even worse.
And this Thursday morning is no different. But the amazing thing is that though my physical self is been battered somewhat by a host of illnesses, as our God would have it said, it is well with my soul. Glory to God my precious people!
That is what comes from worshipping and serving the mighty God Jehovah, whom we praise, adore and exalt. That’s the wonderful benefit we derive from His magnanimous grace, mercy, forgiveness and LOVE! Oh give Him the great praise and thanks that He so rightfully deserves!
And this morning I want to share something called ‘A Prayer for Later Years,’ which apparently comes from a Blog called ‘Mary’s Musings.’
Now I don’t remember where, when or how I came by it, but I found it amongst some other papers on my desk yesterday, and it seemed so appropriate for some of us senior citizens, that I just had to share it. (smile)
So please pray with me. ‘Lord, thou knowest that I am growing older. Keep me from becoming too talkative, and particularly keep me from falling into the tiresome habit of expressing an opinion on every subject. Release me from the craving to straighten out everybody’s affairs.
Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details. Give me wings to get to the point. Give me the grace, dear Lord, to listen to others describe their aches and pains.
Help me to endure the boredom with patience and keep my lips sealed, for my own aches and pains are increasing in number and intensity, and the pleasure of discussing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by.
Teach me the glorious lesson that, occasionally, I might be mistaken. Keep me reasonably sweet. I do not wish to be a saint (saints are so hard to live with), but a sour old person is the work of the devil.
Make me thoughtful, but not moody; helpful, but not pushy; independent; yet able to accept with graciousness favours that others wish to bestow on me. Free me of the notion that simply because I have a lived a long time, I am wiser that those who have not lived so long.
If I do not approve of some of the changes that have taken place in recent years, give me the wisdom to keep my mouth shut. Lord knows that when the end comes, I would like to have a friend or two left. Amen.’
Isn’t that wonderful my brethren! It describes many of us to a ‘T’!
And the paper continues. ‘The author is unknown but I wish I had written it. I think it is appropriate for those of us of a “certain age.” And is it ever! (smile)
Now let’s continue with our Bit, some powerful and wise words of admonition from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. ‘Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves break through and steal.’
Ah my people, we all know that is somewhat difficult to accomplish, especially when we are constantly bombarded with the glitzy and supposedly worthwhile and glamorous things of the world. But please remember that all that glitters is not gold. So though the world’s treasures may look wonderful, and entice us to accumulate them, that’s a fool’s wisdom.
Listen to how Bruh Paul puts it to the Colossians. ‘If then ye be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection (mind) on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.’ (Col.3:1-3)
Yes friends, that means our life is tied up with Christ, through His death and resurrection, consequently we ought to concern our selves with spiritual and heavenly things, not the vices and lusts of the world.
And sadly, we’ve run out of time and space, so let’s go home now declaring our Thursday Blessings. And remember that a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone.
So 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!’
And having declared those awesome blessings over ourselves, let’s go out now and declare them over others, as Jesus would have us do. Much LOVE!
…why store up earth’s worthless wealth eh…when we can accumulate heaven’s much more worthwhile rewards…
09 Mar 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, all or nothing at all, allegiance, anger, anxiety, at the helm, batting an eyelash, better off, blanketing our world, bless others, blessed, bring us out safely, broken, challenge, consequences, contentment, creativity, curse, day of temptation, disgusted, divine protection, enter into my rest, err, family, favour, foolishness of men, forty years, friends, go astray, God is working for our good, grieved, halfway measures, harden not your heart, health, I was glad, if ye will hear his voice, in my wrath, in the name of Jesus, in the wilderness, Jesus Christ, joy, let us go into the house of the Lord, let us kneel before the Lord, LOVE, negative emotions, negative word, o come let us worship and bow down, our Lord and Saviour, our Maker, our souls, pain, Paradise, peace, promotion, prosper, provocation, rebellion, resentment, saw my work, self-control, self-discipline, stress, succeed, success, supernatural, surrender, the existence of God, the fool hath said in his heart, the Lord's strength, the people of his pasture, the sheep of his hand, there is no god, Thursday Blessings, trials, tribulations, trust, unbelievers, wisdom
Psalm 95:6. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.
Ah well mih people, it’s another beautiful day in paradise…
And some of you look at me as though I’m crazy. Paradise, you ask? Can this world ever be paradise? Why not eh? It was once before, why can’t it be so again eh?
For our information friends, with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ at the helm anywhere can be paradise! In fact wherever He is, it’s paradise! And the mere fact that He dwells within us, makes our souls paradise.
What does paradise mean eh? In this context, simply joy and peace and contentment at a level that keeps away anxiety, stress, resentment, anger and all the many other negative emotions that are currently blanketing our world.
It’s the peace that passes all understanding, the joy that comes from the Lord’s strength, and the ability to go through trials and tribulations without batting an eyelash. (smile)
Oh we do feel the pain and other negative stuff, but it does not affect us the way it does unbelievers. We know that our wonderful God will bring us out safely, and better off too, on the other side.
That’s what we have over unbelievers; the knowledge that our magnificent and magnanimous God is working everything out for out good. And once we surrender our souls to Him, place our sincere trust in Him, we can ride out any storm, for He is always there to lead and guide us.
But therein lies the rub; mankind does not easily trust and surrender, especially to an invisible, non-physical Being. And even some of those who do submit to Almighty God, don’t submit everything, they keep some stuff back for them to control.
But friends, our God does not delight in halfway or partway measures. He wants it ALL or NOTHING at all! And unfortunately too many of us refuse to give it all up to Him. Some have even gone as far as to challenge the existence of God.
As Bruh David claims in Psalms 14 and 53 – The foolishness of men. ‘The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God…’ (Ps.14, 53:1)
But friends, I’m here to tell us an entirely different story. I’m here to invite us to do as our Bit says: ‘O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.’
My brethren, that is one of the best invitations you can ever receive! No wonder Bruh David solemnly declared in Psalm 122: ‘I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.’ (Ps.122:1)
And why is it so great and important to bow down and worship Almighty God eh? Listen up closely: ‘For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand (under His care).’ (Ps.95:7a)
What better reason can there be eh friends? The Most High God Jehovah is our Maker, Our God, Our Controller and our Provider. So whom else should we pay allegiance to eh? NO ONE! That is if we are wise.
And the psalmist continues with these words of wisdom. ‘Today if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your heart, as in the provocation (rebellion), and as in the day of temptation (trial, testing) in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted (tried) me, proved me, and saw my work.’ (Ps.95:7b-9)
Yeh friends, the Israelites tested and tried the Lord’s patience in the wilderness after He had so graciously and mercifully brought them out of four hundred years of bondage in Egypt.
And as the psalmist continues: ‘Forty years long was I grieved (I was disgusted) with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err (go astray) in their heart, and they have not known my ways: Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.’ (Ps.95:10-11)
Oh my people there is no better example of rebellion against Almighty God and the consequences that follow than the Israelites journey through the wilderness! Because they refused to obey His commandments they wandered for forty years until all those who had come out of Egypt died. None of them entered the Promised Land except Joshua and Caleb.
So friends, regardless of what mankind says, there is a God, a mighty One too! And if we don’t obey His dictates, we are going to pay some serious consequences, just like the Israelites.
So with those wise words of warning, let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings. And please remember that a blessing is not a blessing until it has been spoken over someone.
In full 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!’
Now if you believe it all, let’s go out and bless others! Much LOVE!
…if Jesus calls today…please answer respectfully…and listen wisely…
02 Mar 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a feeling of love, a light unto my path, a positive outlook, A prayer for change, a ruined life, a wasted day, after thee O god, blessings, broad highway, Christians, cleanse, commandments, compassionate heart, confession, courage, covenant, creativity, curse, depressing, destruction, disconsolate mood, divine favour, dr robert h schuller, dreary, entrance of thy words, forty days, freedom, give light, glowing sunshine, God's LOVE, God's Word, godly, good stuff, holy, hope, Hour of Power Devotional, introspective, Jesus, joy moves in, judgement, laughing, Lent, magnanimous god, magnificent, mental dial, mercies, moment of prayer, moods, morning mist, negative feelings, negative word, parted clouds, promotion, redemption, repentance, responsible, reverend, richly blessed, righteous lives, rise and shine, self-control, self-discipline, self-pity, selfishly indulge, so panteth my soul, spiritual improvement, springtime, stand fast for ever, success, temptation, testimonies, the hart panteth after the water brooks, the sun breaks through, the works of his hands are verity, Thursday Blessings, thy word is a lamp unto my feet, truth, understanding to the simple, unproductive thoughts, unprofitable, wasting God's goodness, winter, worldly stuff
Psalm 119:105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Oh my precious people, it’s Thursday, rise and shine and greet the brand new day filled with new mercies and blessings, courtesy of our magnificent and magnanimous God!
Oh, I know some of you have been up a long while ago, but have you invoked the new blessings and mercies provided especially for today? I do hope you have, otherwise you’re missing out on a whole lot of good stuff, and wasting God’s goodness.
Anyway, it’s the second day of Lent, that time when Christians become especially introspective, giving up worldly stuff, concentrating on confession and repentance, seeking to cleanse their souls, bodies and minds. It’s a time about spiritual improvement and upliftment that coincides with Jesus’ forty days of temptation in the wilderness.
Now here is ‘A Prayer for Change,’ from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional, which I believe can be of much benefit to us today.
Please pray with me. ‘O God, when a life has been so richly blessed as mine has been, it’s not right for me not to be laughing! I confess that I am responsible for my moods. I have no right to selfishly indulge in negative feelings of self-pity. It’s time for me to change my mental dial, Lord.
You are helping me. This will be the moment when the sun breaks through the parted clouds, and springtime returns after winter. Thank you, Lord!
The dreary, depressing, disconsolate mood disappears like the morning mist in the glowing sunshine of your LOVE. And joy moves in! And hope begins to build up within me! And a beautiful feeling of LOVE starts to surround me!
Thank you, God, for the great things you are doing within me now in this moment of prayer. Amen.’
Yes friends, with God’s amazing help, we can all change for the better! But as Gramps Schuller states early on in the prayer, we need to change our mental dial to bring about that improvement. Remember it all begins in the mind, with our thoughts. And if our mind and our thoughts aren’t right, then our lives will never be right.
And this is what the Lenten season is all about, changing our mental dial; looking deep inside, with God’s help obviously, to weed out the unprofitable and unproductive thoughts and replace them with God-centred ones that enrich our lives.
And to help us do that, we desperately need to delve into the truth of God’s Word, so that it becomes as the psalmist says in our Bit: ‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’
Ah mih people, until and unless, we allow God’s Word to lead and guide us in this earthly life, we’ll most likely go astray and end up on the broad highway that leads to destruction. And believe me, that’s not a very nice place to be.
Yes it looks good, and there’s lots of freedom, but the end of it all is just a ruined life. So let’s look now at some scripture that corroborates our Bit and encourages us to get into the Word like never before.
This first piece, like our Bit, comes from Psalm 119. ‘Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them. The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple. I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.’ (Ps.119:129-131)
Oh friends, is that the way we feel about God’s Word? Do we long for it? Do we pant for it? And do we keep it? Now if we are serious believers, then we should be doing all those things.
As the Sons of Korah put it in Psalm 42 – An intense longing for God: ‘As the hart panteth after (the deer longs for) the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.’ (Ps.42:1)
Yes my brethren, that’s how we ought to feel about our God: long for Him in our souls like the thirsty deer longs for a drink of cold, sweet water! And believe me friends, when we find Him, a joy comes into our souls just like when the deer drinks that thirst quenching water.
And this last bit of scripture reinforces all that we’ve said so far. ‘The works of his hands are verity (truth) and judgement; all his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness. He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.’ (Ps.111:7-9)
And those are all facts, not alternative ones (smile) but facts of gospel truth! So please let’s take them to heart nuh, so that we can live godly and righteous lives.
And finally, it’s time to declare our Thursday Blessings. Remember a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone.
So with sincere enthusiasm and belief let’s declare them: ‘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 bless others! Much LOVE!
…a day that’s not filled with God…is indeed a wasted day…
16 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a positive idea, a strong will, abundance, abuse of authority, admonition, advice, as to the Lord, be obedient to your masters, blessings, broken, burning the candle at both ends, but as thou wilt, Christian, courage, creativity, curse, dr robert h schuller, Ephesians, eyeservice, faith, family, fathers, favour, fear, fell on his face, forbearing threatening, friends, from the heart, glory to God, god moves in mysterious ways, good thing, health, if it be possible, in the mind of a believer, in the name of Jesus, insomnia, judge, let this cup pass from me, LOVE, Master in heaven, men pleasers, mental disposition, most powerful force, My walk, negative word, not as I will, not unto men, number one priority, nurture of the Lord, o my father, obedience, prayed, promotion, prosper, provoke not your children to wrath, recompensed, respect of persons, rest, reverential respect, self-control, self-discipline, servants, sincerity, singleness of your heart, strength, succeed, success, talent, the rough side, Thursday Blessings, trembling, truth, valid point, walking in God's will, without partiality
Matthew 26:39. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
Ah mih breddren, the ole fella’s a bit on the rough side this morning. I sincerely tried to get up earlier, but the body rebelled, declaring that it needed more rest. Hn!
And I must say that it had a very valid point, because over the last few days I have indeed been trying to burn the candle at both ends. And the body cannot sustain that for very long, especially with my current state of medication induced insomnia.
Anyway, I’m finally up, (smile) and we’ll begin with this prayer titled ‘My Walk,’ which I know I’ve shared before, and I believe comes from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr, Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional. But as always, these prayers are very worthy of being repeated time and time again.
Please pray with me. ‘O God, I’m inspired. For you have just impressed this truth in to my mind: The most powerful force in the world is a positive idea in the mind of a believer who is walking in your will. I now reach forth my life and say, “God, put my life in the centre of your will.” Amen!’
And there’s absolutely no doubt that there’s anything more powerful than a Christian with positive ideas walking in God’s will! Glory to God!
And to tell the truth people, I didn’t even know what the end of the prayer said. I just wanted a prayer to put there, and that was the first one that came to hand. I knew it was good and worthwhile though, otherwise it would not be amongst the others.
Imagine my surprise when I reached the end and saw that it dealt with doing God’s will; the very topic we’re talking about in our Bit. And who says our God does not move in mysterious ways eh! Chuh! They definitely don’t know what they are talking about.
So here’s our Bit. ‘And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.’
Yeh friends, in the last few days we’ve been checking out some of Jesus’ statements on doing the will of our heavenly Father. To Him, it was always the number one priority, and should likewise be to us.
Today, I want share some of the words and sentiments of other saints on the subject. We already have Gramps Schuller’s opinion in our prayer above, now listen to Bruh Paul in his admonition to the Ephesians, re advice to children and servants.
‘And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture (training) and admonition of the Lord. Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart (sincerity), as unto Christ;
Not with eyeservice, as men pleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not unto men. Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond (slave) or free.
And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing (giving up) threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.’ (Eph.6:4-9)
Oh friends, what a wonderful piece of scripture! Bruh Paul details how we should all work together in pursuing the will of God, because that’s the most important thing in our lives!
Now hear some of the explanations from the scholars. ‘6:4. Fathers can provoke their children to wrath by injustice, loss of temper, undue severity, cruelty, favouritism, suppression, sarcasm, ridicule, and misuse or abuse of authority. Nurture basically means “training,” here denoting spiritual education.
Admonition is instruction that points out one’s responsibilities and duties. Of the Lord is in Greek a subjective genitive. (smile) This indicates that behind the parents rearing and instruction of their children stands the Lord as the chief teacher in child education. Parents do not rear children alone.’
I just wish that more of today’s parents, including the supposedly Christian ones, were aware of these stipulations.
‘6:5. Your masters according to the flesh means “your human masters.” Servants are to carry out their slave duties with fear and trembling, that is, with careful concern to do a good job and with reverential respect for their masters.
Singleness of your heart refers to a mental disposition, an attitude that renders obedience out of sincerity, not hypocrisy. As unto Christ explains why servants should obey masters in the manner prescribed here: obedience rendered to their masters is obedience rendered to Christ.’
‘6:6. “Singleness of heart” or sincere disposition excludes eyeservice, that is duty performed only when the master is watching; but it includes doing the will of God from the heart, that is, enthusiastic service coming from within and not having to be coerced by external pressure.’
‘6:7. Good will means “good intention.” The Christian servant (employee) seeks the best interest of his master (employer).’ Hn! How often does that happen eh?
‘6:8. The basis for the servant’s “good intention” (v.7) toward his master is his being recompensed by the Lord – both in this life and in the one to come – the same good he has performed in his servant duties.’
‘6:9. Earthly masters are to behave in a reciprocal manner toward their slaves (i.e. with respect, sincerity, and careful concern). For earthly masters have a heavenly Master who will judge them without partiality.’
Ah mih people, if only we could put one iota of those things into operation in our current world, what a wonderful world it would be eh! That doesn’t mean we must stop trying, but instead try harder.
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings over our blessed lives. And remember a blessing isn’t a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone.
In loud voice 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!’
Now let’s share those blessings all over the world, as our Lord and Saviour Jesus desires. Much LOVE!
…what were we created for…to do God’s will…
P.S. It’s long and late, but ever so good! (smile) Much LOVE!
09 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a house divided cannot stand, abundance, anger, as Christ forgave you, as we forgive our debtors, blessings, bowels of mercies, broken right now, cantankerous, celebrate, choose the best, Christ's Church, Christian brother, commitment, contentment, courage, curse, dazzling light, deficiencies, divided, enthusiasm, ever-faithful, excellence, flaws, forbearance, forbearing one another, forgive us our debts, forgiveness, forgiving one another, gem of a quote, God's basic law, hate, heartfelt compassion, humbleness of mind, if any man have a quarrel against any, in Jesus' name, incredible source of energy, joy, kindness, long-suffering, meekness, negative emotions, negative word, on God's great earth, one more day of life, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, peace, persons of excellence, praise and bless your holy name, privilege, qualities, quarrel, resentment, self-control, self-discipline, shun mediocrity, so also do ye, spoken over someone, talent, tender mercies, Thank You Lord, the elect of god, the Lord's prayer, Thursday Blessings, unity, virtues, weaknesses, you reap what you sow
Colossians 3:13. Forbearing (bearing with) one another and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
Ah friends, it’s time to celebrate one more day of life on God’s great earth! Wow! What a privilege!
Remember, a lot of others did not open their eyes this morning, so there must be a reason we opened ours to the bright and dazzling light of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Glory to God!
Let’s therefore give Him appropriate thanks and praise for all the new mercies and blessings He’s specially prepared for us for today.
And all God’s people loudly, heartily and gratefully declared: ‘Thank You Lord for all You’ve done for us, all You’re doing right now, and all You’ve promised to do in the future. We know You are an ever-faithful Deity, thus we praise and bless Your Holy Name! Amen!’
Now here is a gem of a quote, I found on my desk this morning. I don’t who or where I got it from, or if I ever shared it before, but it surely is worth sharing over and over.
Listen closely. ‘Choose the best; shun mediocrity. Mediocrity has a way of shrivelling up enthusiasm. But commitment to excellence taps an incredible source of energy. Elect the best, no matter what the price tag.’
Words of everlasting wisdom my people! And they are particularly pertinent to believers, because Jesus expects us to be persons of excellence, and you can only be excellent when you reach out for the best.
That brings us to our Bit, but let’s start with the seminal verse before it. ‘Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved bowels of mercies (tender mercies), kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering;
Forbearing (bearing with) one another and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.’ (Col.3:12-13)
Even greater words of wisdom my believing breddren, since it’s based on God’s basic law, of you reap what you sow. And the scholars have this to say about those verses.
‘3:12. Put on literally means to “dress oneself” (with clothes); here, used metaphorically, it means to take on or assume certain virtues and qualities. Bowels of mercies means heartfelt compassion.’
‘3:13. The fact that believers are being urged to assume the virtues of verse 12 signifies that none has yet “arrived” spiritually. As the believer is developing these virtues, he must be forbearing and forgiving toward his fellow church member.
For his Christian brother is also in the process of acquiring the virtues of verse 12 and therefore retains some flaws, deficiencies, and weaknesses. Hence the need of forbearance and forgiveness.’
Ah friends, one more reminder that as believers we must always reach for excellence in all our doings. None of us have become spiritually perfect as yet, therefore we all need to forbear and forgive if there is to be unity in Christ’s church.
And right there you have one of the reasons why Christ’s church is so divided and cantankerous; we refuse to forgive others and instead hold on to the negative emotions of anger, hate and resentment.
Oh my people, please remember these immortal words of Jesus. ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.’ (Matt.12:25)
How do we expect Christ’s church to stand if we are so divided and refuse to forbear and forgive eh? It’s just impossible.
And hear these even more immortal words of Jesus, (smile) which occur in the ‘Lord’s Prayer,’ the sample prayer He gave us, and which most of us pray every day. ‘And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.’ (Matt.6:12)
Oh friends, have we gotten so complacent in praying that prayer that we no longer consider the words we speak and what they truly mean? We ask to be forgiven as we forgive. So what does that tell us eh? Only as we forgive, will the Lord forgive us.
So why are we allowing the nonsense of the world to interfere with our Christian behaviour and beliefs, with our joy, our peace and contentment eh? Let’s wake up and become the people of excellence that the Lord expects of us nuh. That’s the only way we’ll ever defeat the forces of darkness.
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings. Who else has such wonderful favour eh? Nobody but us! So let’s use it nuh friends, while remembering that a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone.
In all sincerity and belief 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 all that, is let’s remember to bless others like we blessed ourselves. Much LOVE!
…to forgive is heavenly…and to be forgiven is even more heavenly…
02 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a positive outlook on life, abundance, against the wiles of the devil, ambassadors, arrows, arsenal, broken right now, Christian witness, clear direction, courage, creativity, curse, demonic onslaughts, divine protection, evil schemes, faith, favour, fight, formidable foe, fulfillment, having done all, in high places, in the name of Jesus, ministry, negative word, one of those days, patience, President Trump, promotion, put on the armour of god, resisting Satan, self-control, self-discipline, slings, soldiers of Christ, spiritual wickedness, stand up, strong will, success, supernatural strength, supernatural wisdom, talent, the devil, the whole armour of God, Thursday Blessings, to stand, to the very end, to withstand in the evil day, withstand, ye may be able to stand
Ephesians 6:11. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.
Oh my beautiful fellow believers, please accept my heartfelt apologies, but it was just one of those days!
Ah Lord eh! I had to go into the big city of T.O. for an early doctor’s appointment, and after handling the traffic and waiting for the doctors and waiting for unscheduled blood tests, I did not get back home until minutes to one.
Obviously by then the ole bod was tired and crying out for rest and I did not get up until minutes to five. And it was only after about half an hour that it struck me that I had not yet written the Bit.
The good thing about it all though is that we did make some headway in the medical realm today. At least the major problems have been sorted out under one team, and hopefully no more running from pillar to post.
Enough about my woes though, let’s get straight to our Bit. ‘Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.’
And I’m chuckling here friends, because I must have had it on today, otherwise I would not have been able to successfully handle the slings and arrows that were thrown against me, especially in the patience realm. (smile)
All praise and thanks be to our great and wonderful God!
Now yesterday we had stopped where Bruh Paul was talking about ‘spiritual (hosts of) wickedness in high places,’ so let’s continue with his admonishment from there. ‘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)
Now this is a very important verse in the whole scenario, so let’s look at what the scholars have to say about it. ‘6:13. Wherefore means “because of this,” that is, 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.’
Yes friends, as a beautiful Christian soul the enemy will NOT stop attacking you, and the only way to resist Him is by being dressed in the total armour of God.
Fellow believers, I can’t stress how important this aspect of our Christian walk is, for without God’s protective armour we don’t stand a chance against the enemy, or as they would say, a snowball’s chance in hell!
So please, please, I’m imploring us to take this very seriously, especially with the crazy state of our world, which is apparently getting crazier everyday under the leadership of President Trump.
Ah mih people, I don’t even pay much attention to his antics these days, but we have to be concerned because everything he does seems to just cause more strife, anger, resentment, fear and anxiety around the globe.
As I said a few days ago, the Lord must have put him there to wake us up from our dreadful complacency. That’s why this message about putting on God’s total armour is so important at this particular period in time when the elements of evil are rising even higher than they were before.
I won’t belabour the situation, but I’ll just remind us that we are Christ’s ambassadors down here on earth. He is depending on us to conduct His affairs with righteousness and justice, but we can’t do that until we wake up and get serious about His LOVE Revolution, and stop all the aimless talking and instead take some positive action.
The enemy should never be where he’s at right now, and wouldn’t have been there without our lack of interest and complacency where we allowed him to remove things like prayer and the Ten Commandments from our schools, and put God on the back burner in most other parts of what was once a mostly godly scene.
But it’s not too late to wrestle it all back from him if we COME TOGETHER and seriously start pushing back, let him know that we’ve finally woken up and now mean business. Yes friends, it’s time to start pushing back, if we ever hope to win this earthly battle for Jesus!
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings. Yuh see, we have so much good stuff in our arsenal, if we would only use them. The Lord’s already given us everything we need to battle the enemy and win, we only have to take them and put them to full use.
Chuh man! What’s wrong with us eh? We’re letting the good earthly life spoil us. So let’s bless ourselves. And remember that a blessing isn’t a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone.
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!’
What more can we ask than all that eh mih people? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! So let’s go out and bless others now nuh. Much LOVE!
…as true soldiers of Christ…we must first be dressed in battle gear…then stand up and fight bravely…right to the very end…
26 Jan 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 2017, a compassionate heart, a positive outlook, a rejoicing church, a strong will, abiding in, abundance, and again I say rejoice, as in a glass, beholding, blessings, bountiful, challenging, changed, clear direction, cloudy day, courage, covenant, creativity, curse, decisions, divine protection, faith, faithfulness, favour, from glory to glory, fulfillment, generous, glory to God, goals, God is able, God's peace, grace, health, heavenly Father, honest, hope, hypocrisy, Jesus Christ, just, King James version, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, lovely, make all things new, make me clean, make me real, meditate, mercy, miraculously, mirror, negative word, New Year, noble, of good report, omnipotent god, open face, praise, praiseworthy, pray, priorities, productive, promises, promotion, prosper, reflect his glory, reflecting, Rejoice in the Lord always, renovate me, revitalized, Ruth Harms Calkin, self-control, self-discipline, self-righteousness, sham, simplistic, strength, strife filled, succeed, success, talent, the face of Moses, the glory of the Lord, the God of peace, the Most High God jehovah, the New Covenant, the One Year Book of Bible Promises, the right activities, the right things, the same image, the SON, the Spirit of God, the spirit of the Lord, the very depth of my being, think, Thursday Blessings, to all and sundry, transform my fears, transformed, true, trust, unveiled, vibrant faith, virtue, whatsoever things, wisdom, work in me
Philippians 4:4. Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.
Aye mih people, I don’t know what has happened to the sun nuh, because we haven’t seen it in my area for about two weeks now. Today seems to be another wet, cloudy day. And even when the days weren’t wet, very few, they were still cloudy.
But yuh know what? We’ve seen the SON every single day! Glory Hallelujah!
Rain or shine He shows up right on time to help guide us through another blessed day that His heavenly Father has granted us on this bountiful, though somewhat strife-filled earth! And for that faithfulness we are eternally grateful!
Now here is something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin that seems rather appropriate ‘For This New Year.’
Please pray with me. ‘O Lord God You are able. Able to make me clean Without self-righteousness and sham. Able to make me real Without hypocrisy. You are able To give me wisdom In all my priorities My decisions, my goals. You are able to transform my fears Into vibrant faith And quiet trust.
You are able To make this present year The most challenging The most productive Of all my life. So for this new year I covenant with You, dear God. Please work in me To the very depth of my being. Renovate me Transform me For You are able – miraculously able To make all things new.’
And that He certainly is my brethren! Our omnipotent God can make all and everything new through His miraculous powers!
And in this new year of 2017, that’s already a month old, we all desperately need cleaning up and being revitalized. And that can only happen through the auspices, the grace and mercy and LOVE of the Most High God Jehovah!
So let’s hope and pray that He does an awesome work of revitalization in us this year of 2017. And the promise of scripture for that poem is 2 Cor, 23:18.
The New Living translation boils it down thus: ‘As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more.’
I’m sorry though, that translation, in my opinion falls way short of the beauty and majesty of the King James Version. ‘But we all, with open (unveiled) face beholding as in a glass (mirror) the glory of the Lord, are changed (being transformed) into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.’
Now friends, that speaks to me much more than the first version. That’s what I don’t like about some of these new translations; they just lose the whole ‘wonderment ‘ of the old language, by making it so simplistic. But that’s just me.
And the scholars tell us this about that verse. ‘3:18. Beholding as in a glass: The term ‘beholding’ can have the sense of “reflecting.” The believer himself “reflects” the glory of the Lord just as the face of Moses reflected the glory of the Lord.
For Moses the glory eventually faded away, but under the New Covenant the believer is changed into the same image. This transformation takes place by the abiding presence of the Spirit of God.’
Now I certainly like that: the longer we live, the more we become like Christ! Glory to God!
And I do hope that we have enough space and time for our Bit, which is enhanced everyday by the promises of the Lord’s Word. ‘Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.’
Yes my fellow believers, a rejoicing church is what our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ wants to see. That’s why He sacrificed His sinless life for us, and if we don’t show our sincere appreciation by being glad and joyful, then all He did was just a waste of time.
Now let’s continue Bruh Paul’s speech to the Philippians, from where we left off yesterday. ‘Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest (noble), whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise (anything praiseworthy), think (meditate) on these things.
Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.’ (Phil4:8-9).
And the scholars explain those verses thus: ‘4:8-9. Finally could be rendered “in this connection,” since verses 6-9 are related: verses 6 and 7 tell how to obtain God’s peace; verses 8 and 9 tell how to keep it. In order to keep God’s peace, the readers must occupy their minds with the right things (v.8) and busy themselves with the right activities (v.9).’
It couldn’t be put any simpler friends, though it’s not always easy to do in this negative, evil and selfish world. However with the untold blessings and promises and help available from our awesome God, we can do it.
Now let’s begin doing it by declaring our Thursday Blessings with much verve, enthusiasm and belief. Remember a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone.
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!’
And having blessed ourselves, let’s go out now and bless the many others in this world of great ‘sufferation’ who desperately need it. Much LOVE!
…Christians must not withhold blessings…but be like Christ…be generous to all and sundry…
19 Jan 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a brand new day, a compassionate heart, a positive outlook, a strong will, abundance, an open sepulchre, appreciative, be in the world, bless, blessings, brothers and sisters in christ, choose Jesus, confirmation, courage, creativity, curse, destruction, divine protection, faith, faithfulness, family, for His name's sake, friends, Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy, glory hallelujah, God is LOVE, greetings, guidance, he restoreth my soul, I choose Christ, I commit my spirit, I shall not want, into thine hand, Jesus Christ, lack, leftovers, LOVE, mercies, my fortress, my rock, my strength, negative word, not of the world, of life and living, paths of righteousness, praise his holy name, prayer for protection, promotion, prosper, Psalm 23, self-discipline, something new everyday, spiritual aid, succeed, talent, thankful, the blue sky is the truth, The Lord is my shepherd, these clouds are lies, Thursday Blessings, tomb, ungodly world, wickedness, wisdom, Woodbine Willie
Psalm 23:1. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want (lack).
Greetings my brothers and sisters in Christ! Welcome to a brand new day of life and living in this wonderful world of Almighty God! Praise His Holy Name!
It’s also another day filled with new mercies and blessings, produced specially for today…Glory Hallelujah!
That’s the wonderful kind of God we serve! He doesn’t give us yesterday’s leftovers, but makes it brand new every day. Consequently we ought to be rather appreciative and thankful for those wonderful things we get that we don’t deserve under the Lord’s mercy programme.
And you know what? We have to choose to believe that, otherwise it’s useless. Listen to this quote from Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy (1883-1929), the Anglican priest and poet who was nicknamed ‘Woodbine Willie’ during the great war, for handing out Woodbine cigarettes along with spiritual aid to injured and dying soldiers.
He reputedly declared: ‘These clouds are lies. They cannot last. The blue sky is the truth, for God is LOVE. Such is my faith, and such my reasons for it, and I find them strong enough. And you? You want to argue? Well I can’t. It’s a choice and I choose the Christ.’
Oh friends, oh friends, I do hope that our faith is strong, strong enough to enable us to unequivocally choose Jesus, for that’s the only thing that makes sense in this ungodly world of today!
And to help us reach that stage of overwhelming faith, we’re going to continue looking at scriptures that offer confirmation and corroboration of the wonders of Psalm 23, as personified by our Bit. ‘The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want (lack).’
Oh I know that some of you are tired with the same Bit and topic day after day, and like the world goes, you want something new everyday. But that’s a foolish way to live friends, because most of the time we have not even understood what we did the previous day.
You can only truly know something if you study it over and over. And remember, we’re supposed to be in the world, not of it, so we don’t have to follow all that it does.
Anyway, let’s turn to verse 3: ‘He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.’ (Ps.23:3)
Ah my fellow believers, how wonderful is that eh! And Bruh David certainly knew about the Lord’s guidance, as he declares from Psalm 5 – A prayer for protection. ‘But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.
Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face. For there is no faithfulness (uprightness) in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness (destruction); their throat is an open sepulchre (tomb); they flatter with their tongue.’ (Ps.5:7-9)
Oh friends, that hasn’t changed since Bruh David’s day, in fact it has probably gotten worse, which means we need to be guided along paths of righteousness by the Lord even more than before.
Now hear Bruh David again, this time from Psalm 31. He confidently proclaims: ‘In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust (take refuge); let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock (rock of refuge), for a house of defense (fortress) to save me.
For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me. Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily (secretly) for me: for thou art my strength. Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.’ (Ps.31:1-5)
And how I do hope that we all have committed our spirits into the hand of the omnipotent God, Creator and Controller of this universe for it’s the only way we’ll ever be peaceful and contented down here on earth, and see His wonderful face in heaven for eternity.
And having said all of that, let’s add to our joy and comfort by declaring our Thursday Blessings over ourselves, for a blessing is not a blessing until its declared over someone.
With much enthusiasm and faith now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Now let’s go out my fellow believers and bless all those we come into contact with, as Jesus desires of us. Much LOVE!
…oh where would we be…without the Lord’s merciful leading and guidance eh…
P.S. Please don’t expect the Bit this early everyday. (smile) I just made a special effort today because I have a cardiology clinic appointment early this morning, and am not sure what time I’ll be back. Much LOVE!
12 Jan 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adopted, At the cross, broken, cantankerous, Christ's body, Christ's death, clear direction, curse, death, dissension, disunity, divine protection, divisions, elders, Ephesus, eternal life, extend your love, family, feed, fellowship, foundation, free, friends, fulfillment, grasping the cross, homage, I bow my knee, injustice, it is done, Jesus, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, made a way, negative word, overcome the grave, overseers, peace, positive impact, promotion, purchased with his own blood, quarrellsome, reconciliation, resentment, sacrifice, salvation, shame, shepherd, sin, sinners, sons of God, success, supernatural strength, take heed, the church, the church of God, the cross of Christ, the focal point, the grave, the Holy Ghost, Thursday Blessings, to all the flock, tore the veil, wisdom
Acts 20:28. Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed (shepherd) the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
And then it was Thursday… and I don’t know what to write about. Hn, hn! It doesn’t happen too often, but when it does, it both amuses and concerns me.
Sometimes I have to wait a while for the Lord to show up and guide me, but today I didn’t have to wait at all. I just happened to look, or rather was guided to look at a sheet of paper in front of me with some quotes that I had written down, and there it was!
It’s titled ‘Grasping the Cross!’ And it says: ‘Lord Jesus, Your cross is the focal point of our lives. Hold us tightly as we cling to Your cross and extend Your LOVE to others.’
And you know friends, we couldn’t want for a more stable and solid foundation to cling to than the cross of Jesus, for that’s where it all came to fruition.
Yeh, it’s at the cross that it was all turned around; sin, death and the grave were defeated; salvation, reconciliation and eternal life were ushered in; our sins were paid for and we became adopted sons of God. Oh glory to the Most High!
And this excerpt from ‘At the Cross’ by the Hillsong Group amplifies it all. ‘At the cross I bow my knee Where Your blood was shed for me There’s no greater LOVE than this, no You have overcome the grave Glory fills the highest praise
What can separate me now You tore the veil, You made a way When You said that it is done You tore the veil, You made a way When You said that it is done.’
Jesus certainly did, my fellow believers! No other act in human history has had such a sensational, fruitful and positive impact as Christ’s death on the cross. And it was all for us my people…all for us worthless sinners.
Now do we truly appreciate that monumental sacrifice of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? And do we pay the appropriate homage that is due to Him by the way we live our lives? I certainly hope so, otherwise we’d be doing Him a most serious injustice.
He died that we could be free…free from sin and shame…free to live forever under His glorious umbrella of eternal life. Have we accepted that fact, and do our lives reflect it? That’s how His body, the church, ought to be portraying His sacrifice.
That brings us to our Bit, the words of Bruh Paul to the elders of the church of Ephesus, whom he called to him at Miletus.
‘Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed (shepherd) the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.’
Unfortunately though friends, in these modern times, I don’t think we are doing a worthwhile job of shepherding God’s body, the church. There are too many divisions, too much dissension and resentment within Christ’s body over miniscule matters. Too much, I an me, instead of we and thou.
I don’t have to specify anything, because we all know of some negative matter affecting the smooth and godly running of our church, something that should not be taking place at all. And sadly, this disunity within the ranks of the church is turning others away in droves, for who wants to be a part of a body that’s cantankerous and quarrelsome eh?
It’s obviously disrupting Jesus’ LOVE Revolution, since LOVE cannot exist under those circumstances. We desperately need to fix the situation my fellow believers, for until there is true peace and sincere fellowship in Christ’s church, we’ll keep going backward instead of forward, and that’s totally unacceptable.
So let’s get serious about Christ’s business nuh, and stop all the petty infighting. Let’s focus on His cross and be as one, the way He desires us to be. That’s the only way we’ll accomplish anything positive.
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings. With such a great variety of blessings, we ought to be able to fund unity in the church. 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!’
Please put them all into action now, by declaring them over others too. Much LOVE!
…at the cross…at the cross… where I first found Jesus…
22 Dec 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a performance, a trumpet player, abundance, action, adore, bits of news, blessed, blessed arth thou among women, blessed is she that believed, blessed is the fruit of thy womb, blessings, blocked toilet, born to proclaim, brethren, broken, Christ's mother, Christian fashion, christianity, clear direction, compassionate heart, confidence, courage, creativity, curse, discredit, divine protection, down to earth, Elisabeth, exuding Christian feeling, faith, favour, filled with the Holy Ghost, for brethren to dwell in unity, friendly manner, fulfillment, genuine, glory to God, good friends, great family, greeting, happy to serve, Healer, health, hill country, how good and pleasant, in the name of Jesus, in true action, influential people, John the Baptist, jumps for joy, leaped in her womb, light, LOVE, LOVE in action, Mary, negative word, pleasant, positive, positive outlook, praise, promotion, prosper, reluctant to discredit, renewed my confidence, running sinks, salt, salutation, she spake out with a loud voice, shoddy job, strength, succeed, success, talent, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the Holy Ghost, the house of Zechariah, the mother of my Lord, Thursday's Blessings, told her of the Lord, travail, upbeat note, walk this earth, wisdom, with haste, worked wonders, workmanship, Zechariah
Luke 1:42. And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
Oh friends, oh friends, the ole fella has two good… no not two good, but two of the most wonderful and exciting bits of news to share!
First of all I was told that our bubba Scotty was back at church last Sunday…Glory to God! And he was looking good too…Give the Lord even more glory!
He still is not a hundred percent, but He is much better than he was. So let’s keep on praying that the wonderful healer, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, will soon restore him to full health. Isn’t our God great? He surely is!
And the second excellent piece of news is that I finally saw Christianity in true action. Wow!
The story goes like this: A few days ago, a plumber, a tall white guy, possibly in his forties, came to check out a couple of slow running sinks and a blocked toilet in my house. He fixed the sinks without a problem, but could not unblock the toilet. Finally he called a different department and got them to send someone else the following day.
This guy had to take down the toilet, and after much travail, (smile) finally removed the object that was blocking it. However, to the duchess and I, he did a somewhat shoddy job of putting the toilet back together. So she called and they sent the first plumber back yesterday.
On viewing what we thought was shoddy workmanship, he declared that the fella had actually done his job, but not as well as he could have. And you could see that in good Christian fashion, he was reluctant to discredit the other plumber.
Now, from his first visit, we had established that he was a Christian, also a trumpet player, and we had spoken some about our faith, but not to a great extent. And much to our surprise, he then began to work on improving the job.
Now he didn’t have to do it, and even though he was still on call and getting paid, a lot of others would have just left it and walked away. His manner was also pleasant and friendly and you could feel the Christian feeling exuding from him.
It was actually LOVE in action, not just talk. And I was really moved by his attitude. I saw the proverbial salt and light in his genuine, happy to serve, down to earth behaviour. And it sort of renewed my confidence in our faith.
Ah mih people, I don’t know if I described it properly, but a genuine caring for his job, and the way he did it enthusiastically, worked wonders on the duchess and I. Oh how good it would be to see more of that kind of attitude amongst our Christian brethren!
Anyway, here’s our Bit for today, don’t know if we have space for all I want to say now. (smile) ‘And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.’
Now that was Elisabeth, John the Baptist’s mother talking as Mary, her relative, Christ’s mother came to visit her.
The Good Book describes the scene thus: ‘And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah; and entered into the house of Zechariah, and saluted (greeted) Elisabeth.
And it came to pass, that when Elisabeth heard the salutation (greeting) of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost.’ (Luke 1:39-41)
That’s when she declared our Bit. And isn’t it amusing, amazing, and mysterious, just like our God, to engineer such a meeting. Mary greets Elisabeth, and John the Baptist jumps for joy in his mother’s womb. He is having his first encounter with the mother of His Lord, whom he will be born to proclaim.
And Elisabeth continues after our Bit. ‘And whence (why) is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.’ (Luke 1:43-44)
Yeh mih people, the Holy Ghost obviously filled in Elisabeth with the enormous task that would befall Mary, and she ends with these powerful and most significant words. ‘And blessed is she that (who) believed: for there shall be a performance (fulfillment) of those things which were told her from the Lord.’ (Luke 1:45)
Elisabeth could only have known those things through the power of the Holy Ghost. What a way our wonderful God, the greatest scriptwriter of all time, tied together the cousins who would bear two of the most important and influential people ever to walk this earth!
How could we not adore, praise and give Him all the glory He deserves eh!
Now let’s go home on a further positive and upbeat note by declaring our Thursday Blessings. Remember, a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been proclaimed over someone.
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!’
Yes mih people, blessings and more blessings! Now let’s go out and bless others and be salt and light in the world as Jesus expects us to be. Much LOVE!
…behold…how good and pleasant it is…for brethren to dwell together in unity… (Ps.133:1)
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