God’s Free Gift of Eternal Life!

16 Oct 2024 Leave a comment

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

Hebrews 9:12.        Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

And it’s surprising how quickly Wednesday shows up when Monday is a holiday. (smile) But we’ll take Wednesday any time, because it’s our second-wind opportunity day, and just like the recent few days it’s bright and sunshiny but chilly. From here on in though, for the next several months, the days will be chilly. You won’t hear me talk about a warn day unless we’re blessed to have a few days of Indian summer; that’s some warm days in the midst of autumn. 

So please dress warm from now on, because the dangerous thing about the cold weather is that it can come upon you without warning. The mid-morning hours might seem warm, but by the time you’re ready to leave work, it can be freezing. The motto; it’s better to have on too much than not enough, is one we ought to follow in the cold months. We can always take off the outer layers if we’re too warm, but you cannot put on anything when it gets cold, if you don’t have it handy. I can certainly testify to that! (smile) 

So what are we going to talk about today eh? I recently found a tract in my mother’s old Bible from the Leviticus Church in Jamaica New York, which has some very interesting information, some of which I want to share today. It seems the church is still going strong and I’m glad for that, because the demise of any church is sad news for all believers. Anyway, the title of the tract is ‘Did you know? ETERNAL LIFE IS A “FREE” GIFT.’ Now, that’s a very good question, because despite all the necessary information at hand, a lot of people still have trouble believing it, or simply have a contrary belief. 

And after that bold heading, the tract continues thus: ‘The Lord Jesus Christ paid the FULL PRICE for the salvation of your soul. He gave himself for our sins.’ And they quote Galatians 1:4a as a scripture reference to that statement. I will however expand on that, so that we can get the full context of the scripture. Bruh Paul wrote in his opening verses of the epistle to the church at Galatia: ‘Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ. Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world (age), according to the will of God and our Father: To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (Gal. 1:3-5) 

Now that gives us the full context of the reference. And I guess having those last words ‘He gave himself for our sins,’ highlighted is a means of driving home the truth that Jesus gave His Life for us, it wasn’t taken from Him. And He made that quite clear when He says: ‘Therefore doth my Father LOVE me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.’ (John 10:17-18) 

That ought to make it quite clear my fellow believers that Jesus was not forced to give up His life, but He did it willingly because of his great LOVE for us. And in being able to give His life then take it up again, He once again asserts His deity; that He was both God and man. Then the tract continues: ‘JESUS, the Son of God, LOVED me, and gave himself for me.’ 

And there they reference Galatians 2:20b, but I will quote the entire verse for the sake of getting the full context. Bruh Paul writes: ‘I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of (in) the Son of God, who LOVED me, and gave himself for me.’ (Gal. 2:20) Awesome truth my people! 

And the tract goes on: ‘Now because  by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. (Heb. 9:12b), there remains no price for us to pay! And that’s the gospel truth. But for our information, the whole of that verse reads: ‘Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.’ (Heb. 9:12) 

Yes friends, it wasn’t the blood of any ordinary animal that paid our sin debt in full, because they could not. Only the sinless blood of the Son of God could ever achieve such a magnanimous outcome. Therefore as the tract tells us: ‘It is finished.’ That comes from this verse on Jesus’ crucifixion. ‘When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar (sour wine), he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost (His spirit, died).’ (John 19:30) 

And we’ll stop there for today, because the rest of the stuff the tract has to offer will run on too long, and in any case, we have quite enough marvellous and enlightening scripture for us to contemplate today. It’s good to contemplate and meditate on the scriptures, but I believe that too much all at once detracts from the task of contemplation and meditation, and we lose economies of scale, which says the more you try to learn at once, the less you will learn, or the more you will forget. So like in all things, lets have a modicum of circumspection, (smile) or just enough for us to do a good job. 

Now let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

Now my fellow saints, if we endure right to the very end with Jesus, then He’s promised that that future will be even more glorious than we can ask or imagine! And I sincerely hope to see you there, so that we can enjoy it together! Much LOVE!

…eternal life is free…if you accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 3 October 2020 John 10:17.

03 Oct 2020 Leave a comment

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

John 10:17.     ​Therefore doth my Father LOVE me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.

Break open Saturday…wide and free…sunny and bright, but somewhat chilly, as most of the days henceforth will be! (smile) But that’s just how life is, how it was made to unfurl in the northern climes, and we just have to make the best of it with the tools we’ve been given. And believe me, we can do so successfully, if we just settle down and concentrate on the Lord for He’s already given us all the tools we need to be successful. He wouldn’t create us and then leave us in the lurch. That’s definitely not His style. 

Remember these immortal words of Jesus: ‘The thief cometh not but for (except) to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have live, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ (John 10:10) Wow mih bredrin! What an amazing promise! But as always, we have to go out and receive it, make it come true, through our sincere, godly efforts. Sermon done! (smile) 

Now let’s see what words of wisdom our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Hear this first one: ‘Success is a process that continues, not a status that you reach. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.’ And that is ever so true! Success doesn’t just stop when you reach the top of the hill; it’s a continuous learning curve. What happens if you stop when you’re on top eh? You lose all motivation, you get lazy and apathetic, then you slowly start sliding back down to the bottom. To stay on top, you have to be continuously learning and improving in some area(s). 

As the quote says, once we’re alive, there are always things for us to learn…if we want to stay truly alive. (smile) And that’s why this next one is such good advice. ‘Don’t settle for mediocrity; never let good enough be good enough.’ Oh friends, is that ever gospel truth, especially if you’re a believer in Christ, because Christ does not do mediocrity! In his realm it’s either excellence or nothing at all! But so many of us, beset by the troubles and trials of this world settle for just good enough. That’s wrong my people. The Lord made us to excel, not to come in second, to make it just by the skin of our teeth. That’s the world’s way, not the Christian’s! 

As believers we should always be fighting to reach higher ground as we do Jesus’ work. And that nicely segues us into the next quote. ‘No matter how good you get you can always get better, and that’s the exciting part.’ That’s for certain sure precious people of God! There is always room for improvement. And when we believe that, then learning and growing gets exciting, especially if we’re living for Christ. 

Now, living for Christ is always somewhat difficult, but we know that living for Him is also always interesting and adventurous. So let’s hold on tightly to Him and all that He has and provides nuh, so that we can live the more abundant and excellent life that He expects from us and died for us to have. And the good thing about Jesus is that He does not expect whopping big miracles and deeds from us, but just that we do our daily, mundane tasks with a good attitude, a sense of pride and fulfillment, even though the everyday tasks are often boring and same old, same old. 

And that’s where this next quote comes in: ‘Small daily improvements over time lead to stunning results.’ That’s the magic formula my people! A little every day, eventually adds up to a great amount. As mih Jamaican bredrin would say: ‘One one cocoa full basket.’ And that’s the living truth! The problem with our society these days is that we all want to reach to the top, but too quickly. We don’t realize that if we don’t grow to the top, when we get there we won’t stay there. 

Just look at all the one hit wonders, all those who flew to the top on a jet plane. Hn! And what happened eh? They descended with just the same speed…or even quicker. But those who do their time in the trenches and learn what life is really all about, knowing that it takes a while to reach the top, when they get there, they will know what it takes to stay there. 

Yuh see friends, real life is all about learning and growing. It’s just like planting a seed. You have to wait for it to grow; it doesn’t just grow up overnight. But all the while you have to LOVE and nurture it; water and weed around it. That’s how we ought to treat our lives, LOVING and nurturing them as we patiently grow them. 

And this last quote gives us some invaluable advice on the whole subject. ‘A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better.’ Yeh friends, real leaders help others to grow! Leadership is not about us, but about those who are following us. That’s why Jesus is such a wonderful leader. He cares about those who follow Him more than he cared about Himself. That’s why He sacrificed Himself on the cross at Calvary for a bunch of no good sinners like us. 

Yuh think He really wanted to die such a horrible death? No way! But the Father asked, and there was no other way, so He went obediently like a lamb to the slaughter. That’s what true leaders do; sacrifice themselves for their people, not ask their people to sacrifice themselves while they sit quietly by and enjoy the fruits of that sacrifice. And I believe that’s the best way to judge a leader; by what he or she is willing to sacrifice for the movement. 

And another thing about leaders, they must be able to follow. Yes friends, you can’t truly lead, unless you first know how to follow. Then you know how following feels, and that then enables you to lead properly. Sadly, that means that many leaders today are not real leaders because most of them don’t know how to follow, and are calling on others to sacrifice for them, but they themselves are not willing to sacrifice for the cause. But our Leader, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ did just that! He knew how to follow too. And that’s why He’s the greatest Leader the world has ever, and will ever see! 

These words of His will prove my contention. ‘Therefore doth my Father LOVE me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.’ (John 10:17-18) 

That’s true leadership my people! Jesus had the power, but He did not abuse it, as so many of today’s so-called leaders do. And He was willing to sacrifice for the cause. But He also knew how to follow because He was always obedient to the Father. As the Good Book says: ‘He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’ (Eph. 2:8b) Now that’s the example we need to go out and do our best to follow. We won’t ever perfect it, but we’re certainly expected to try. Much LOVE!

…God’s people… learn and grow…bit by bit…as He moves them…from glory to glory…