27 Mar 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adding fuel to the enemy's fire, As God for christ's sake forgave you, be ye kind one to another, Christ died to pay for our sins, Christian actions, Christian talk, draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, Easter Sunday, endure to the end, enquired early after God, eternal life, eyes fixed straight ahead, faith, for all this they still sinned, forgiving one another, gave them their own desire, glad to be alive, God was their rock, greed, grieve not the holy Spirit of God, halfway home, hands on the plough, holy spirit, Holy Week, honoureth me with their lips, Jesus Christ, LOVE, make the Spirit sad, not looking back, quench not the Spirit, resurrection, sacrifice, sealed until the day of redemption, selfishness, talk is cheap, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men, tenderhearted, thank God, the breath of life, the high god their redeemer, the wrath of God came upon them, their days did he consume in vanity, their heart is far from me, their years in trouble, to a glorious future with Jesus, Wednesday Wail, while their meat was yet in their mouth, wisdom, ye hypocrites
Matthew 15:8. This people draweth nigh (near) unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
And Holy Week keeps rolling along. It’s Wednesday; only two more days before the sadness and pain. But as we all know the good goes with the bad, and if we don’t have the negative, we won’t appreciate the positive; in other words, if we didn’t have the Good Friday ‘sufferation’ we would be able to have the triumphant Easter Sunday resurrection! And believe me, in most cases, especially this one, the good far outweighs the bad. For Jesus’ death and resurrection are the very foundation of our Christian faith! He died to pay for our sins, then rose from the dead so that we could have eternal life! And all God’s people said a loud and grateful ‘Thank You Jesus!’
The problem though is that we mostly talk the gratitude but don’t walk it as we ought. And that’s why our world is in such a dreadful state of strife, hatred and all the negative attributes; there’s not enough true Christian ministry to repel the evil. As Jesus said to the Pharisees: ‘Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias (Isaiah) prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh (near) unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.’ (Matt. 15:7-10)
Yes friends, Isaiah prophesied about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees in Is. 29:13, where the religious leaders only worshipped with their mouths but not their actions, and merely taught the rules and traditions of men and not of God. Unfortunately, life hasn’t changed that much and today we’re doing the very same thing; we talk a good Christian talk, but our hearts and our walk are far from God, more set on the cares and material things of the world. There is still so much poverty and insincerity in our world, with more than enough to satisfy everybody’s needs, but the greed and selfishness, jealousy and envy of our current society, prevent the haves from sharing God’s provision with the have nots.
The result being all sorts of strife, sickness, despair, economic uncertainty and poverty. And in Asaph’s great Maschil or Contemplation, Psalm 78, titled, ‘Teach the Children God’s Law,’ he recounts the words of Isaiah, and Jesus. The Jews were ungrateful for God’s provisions of water and food in the wilderness and turned away from God. And speaking of the quail avalanche they received for their desire for meat, (Num. 11), Asaph writes: ‘So they did eat, and were well filled: for he gave them their own desire; They were not estranged from their lust (deprived of their craving). But while their meat was yet in their mouths, The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest (stoutest) of them, and smote down the chosen (choice) men of Israel.
For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works. Therefore their days did he consume in vanity (futility), and their years in trouble (sudden terror). When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and enquired early (sought diligently) after God. And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer. Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues. For their heart was not right (steadfast) with him, neither were they steadfast (faithful) in his covenant.’ (Ps. 78:29-37)
Ah friends, as supposed believers in Christ Jesus we are doing the same thing right now, we’re guilty of supreme hypocrisy in our Christian walk, merely talking the Christian talk, but not walking the Christian walk. And we all know what we’re guilty of, but we harden our hearts and move on in our unchristian way, despite the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit that indwells us, and desires to lead us to do the good works of the Lord. As Bruh Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus: ‘And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed -unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph. 4:30-32)
And what do we mean by grieving the Holy Spirit? Basically it means making the Holy Spirit feel grief and sorrow by doing what He tells us not to do. As this commentary explains: ‘In short, believers can make the Spirit sad by our sinful actions. This ties together several critical ideas. First, it means saved Christians are still capable of sin. Second, it means that God does, in fact, care about how we live our lives once we are saved.’ This brings up another question concerning the Holy Spirit; quenching it, which Bruh Paul talks about in 1 Thess. 5:19: ‘Quench not the Sprit.’
And what does that mean? This commentary gives us an example of quenching the Holy Spirit. ‘One way to quench the Spirit is to treat with contempt the message that the Spirit delivers to us, either through people or the Scripture. Treating that message with contempt would essentially be to reject it. To say that it was not from the Spirit. Or by choosing to ignore it.’ And what’s the difference between grieving and quenching the Holy Spirit? ‘We grieve the Spirit by what we do to Him. We quench the Holy Spirit by what we refuse to let Him do through us.’
Oh my fellow believers, sadly, in this evil age, we are both grieving and quenching the Holy Spirit by our ungodly talk and behaviour, and that’s just adding fuel to the enemy’s fire. So please let’s stop it nuh. Let’s return to a true covenant relationship with our heavenly Father, for that’s the only way for us to see good days and long life. Now, let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus!
As one 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!’
And if we desire to see an even more glorious future than we can ever think or imagine, then we need to endure right down to the end with Christ. It’s truly going to be marvellously splendiferous (smile) when Jesus comes in all His glory and splendour! Let’s hope we’ll be there to see it together. Much LOVE!
…talk is cheap…but Christian actions require sacrifice…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
13 Mar 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a stubborn streak of disbelief, believe it when I see it, Bible, cast him into prison, climate change, debtor's prison, do also unto you, downfall of our society, endure to the very end, eyes fixed straight ahead, faith, forgive not everyone his brother their trespasses, forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, forgiveness, forgiveness breeds forgiveness, God's total forgiveness, hands on the plough, have had compassion on thy fellow servant, have patience with me, hold our heads and bawl, if ye forgive not men their trespasses, if ye from your hearts, Jesus, Jesus Christ, likewise shall my heavenly Father, LOVE, mercy, not looking back, our sin debts' been paid by Christ, set free for sin forever, spring has sprung, sunshine lollipops and roses, thank God, Thank You Jesus!, the breath of life is still flowing through me, the parable of the unforgiving servant, the principle of forgiveness, the sins of the individual sinner, to a glorious future with Jesus, unforgiveness, Wednesday Wail, wisdom, your heavenly Father will not forgive you your trespasses
Matthew 18:35. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
‘Sunshine, lollipops and roses…!’ Well, we haven’t really reached the roses part as yet, but we’re certainly having sunshine and lollipops! Ah friends, they’re trying hard to make me believe that spring has actually sprung, and on this 13th day of March with temps already around 15 degrees Celsius, and bright sunshine splays it’s warmth and glorious light all over the neighbourhood, I am getting closer to believing. And yes, during the course of my many years in this climate, I’ve seen strange things happen at strange times, like snow in June, but I’m not quite ready to believe that spring has truly sprung at this early stage of the year.
In this case, I’m running with the world; I’ll believe it when I see it. (smile) And though I may be able to sit on my porch this afternoon for the first time this year, and watch people pass by, for the walkers will certainly be out today, a stubborn streak of disbelief keeps floating around in me. But I guess them’s the breaks. And I’ll just have to learn to handle it, all the while hoping that climate change proves me wrong (smile) In the meantime let’s see what the Bible has to offer this spring-like Wednesday morning. And it opened unto the parable of the unforgiving servant in the gospel of Matthew.
Now, unforgiveness is one of the biggest downfalls of our modern society. And in this parable Jesus expands on His teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, after He taught them the Lord’s Prayer, which has this seminal statement smack dab in the middle of it. ‘And forgive us our debts (trespasses), as we forgive our debtors (those who trespass against us.’ (Matt. 6:12) Then Jesus follows that up with these memorable words. ‘For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive your trespasses.’ (Matt. 6:14-15)
Oh my people, that is so plain and without any subterfuge, that even a fool ought to be able to understand it! If we don’t forgive others their trespasses, the Lord will not forgive us our trespasses. That’s so straightforward, yet so many of us supposed believers still hold unforgiveness, and all that it entails, in our hearts against others, yet go to God and ask for forgiveness of our sins! How foolish and hypocritical is that eh! And in order to reinforce the power and importance of the principle of forgiveness Jesus told the parable of the unforgiving servant.
This servant, one who handled the Lord’s money, owed him some ten thousand talents, which amounts to millions of dollars in today’s money, and when the Lord called for payment, the servant was unable to pay, so the Lord ordered him and his family and all he had to be sold until payment was made. The Bible tells us then, that ‘The servant therefore fell down and worshipped him (prostrated himself), saying Lord have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him (released him), and forgave him the debt.’ (Matt. 18:26-27)
Now that’s what you call forgiveness! Forgiving millions of dollars’! Wow! That sure was a big-hearted lord! However, the story continues thus: ‘But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence (approx.10 dollars): and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that (what) thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought (begged) him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.’ (Matt. 18:28-30)
Now that ought to make us hold our heads and bawl, although it’s exactly what happens in our selfish and unforgiving world today. But before we get further into the story, I want to raise one question of my own, one that has me shaking my head every time I hear about debtor’s prison. To my way of thinking, if you throw the debtor into prison until he pays the debt, how can he pay it locked up in jail, if he couldn’t pay it when he was outside? If you’re locked up you can’t work, there’s no way of making money, at least in the jails they had back then. Wouldn’t it be wiser to leave them out and allow them to work and so earn the money to repay the debt? But that’s just my crazy, eccentric way of thinking. (smile)
Anyway, when the other servants saw the unforgiving attitude of their fellowman, they went and told it to the Lord. Then the Lord called him and said: ‘O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst (begged) me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth (angry), and delivered him to the tormentors (torturers), till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.’ (Matt. 18:32-35)
Oh friends, that’s what happens when we are forgiven, and don’t forgive! And the moral of the story? The One to whom the insurmountable debt is owed is our heavenly Father. The debts are the sins of the individual sinner, which none of us can ever repay. But instead of placing us in debtor’s prison, the Lord shows great compassion and forgives or cancels our debts, our sins. And per the scholars: ‘The picture illustrates God’s total forgiveness when dealing with our sins at the point of salvation. The debt has been paid by Christ and we are set free from it forever.’
And all God’s people gave a loud and grateful shout of ‘Thank You Jesus! We LOVE and worship Your Holy Name!’ And if that’s really true, then let’s see us be more forgiving than we currently are nuh. Let’s be big of heart like our heavenly Father. For remember, if you don’t forgive, He won’t forgive you either. Now let’s go home declaring (yesss!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our marvelous 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!’
Then there’s this proviso, the promise that if we endure right down to the very end with Jesus, that future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine. So let’s plan to be there at the very end nuh! Much LOVE!
…forgiveness breeds forgiveness…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
06 Mar 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a man after God's heart, be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, Bible, blessed is the man, bringeth forth its fruit in his season, catch our second wind, choose life, christianity, confident trust, endure to the end, eternal death and damnation, eternal live, eyes fixed straight ahead, faith, fulfill my will, god, halfway home, hands on the plough, his delight is in the law of the Lord, Jesus, Jesus Christ, keep God first place in our lives, like the chaff which the wind driveth away, LOVE, meditate day and night, not looking back, obedience will bring blessings, obey God's Word, places future in God's hands, psalms, regardless of the cost, remain steadfast in God, sit on the fence, sitteth in the seat of the scornful, standeth in the way of sinners, the breath of life, the congregation of the righteous, the man God honours, the ungodly shall persih, to a glorious future with Jesus, totally committed to God, walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, Wednesday Wail, wisdom
Psalm 1:1. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly (wicked), nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
Ah mih people, unfortunately, this middle day of our work week, Wednesday, has opened somewhat dark and damp. But please don’t allow the gloomy weather to stop us from catching our second wind, as we must, if we want to get through the rest of the week in good shape. Sadly too, the Bit will be somewhat late today, because I soon have to leave and go to church for our Wednesday morning small gathering, but then I also have a church meeting after that, so it will be awhile before I get back to finish my early work. But don’t worry, it’s all in the Lord’s service! (smile) And as always, He will reward us with some excellent words of wisdom when we continue. Soon come!
Well we’re finally back two and a half hours later… but with a good word, as it relates to ‘The Man (& Woman) God Honours.’ That’s a poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. Now, it specifically talks about men, but I’ve also included women, because all the things men do these days women do it too, and we wouldn’t want to be labelled sexist. (smile) And to make it more concise and more easily read, I’ve also taken the liberty of changing the pronouns ‘He and His,’ to ‘They and Theirs.’ Furthermore, I don’t know if I’ve shared this one before, because it doesn’t sound familiar, but if I have, it’s certainly interesting enough to share again. (smile)
So please read with me: ‘There are thousands of men and women in the world. Men and women come in assorted sizes – tall and short, wide and lean. There are bankers, salesmen, politicians, mechanics, lawyers, teachers. But the man or woman that God honours is marked by at least five characteristics: FIRST: They are totally committed to God, and their concern is that they will obey God’s Word, whatever the cost. SECOND: They are persons whose faith can be defined as confident trust. Their high priority is prayer, knowing that a supernatural God works in supernatural ways.
THIRD: They rest their past, present, and future in the hands of an ALL-LOVING God, even in times of turbulence, uncertainty, agony, misunderstanding, and pain, assured that their times are in God’s hands. FOURTH: They believe with all their heart that, as they keep steadily traveling along God’s pathway, God will honour them with every blessing. FIFTH: They have one consistent desire: “God, make me a person after your own heart.”
Yes friends, those are the five basic characteristics a believer ought to have. And we surely can’t find fault with any of them, since that’s the way the Lord has outlined His plan for mankind. Being totally committed and obedient, regardless of the cost; with strong faith and belief in the efficacy of prayer; placing their whole lives in God’s hands, surrendering their all to Him, in spite of the circumstances; assured that if they follow God’s plan, He will eventually honour them with blessings untold; and above all, to be called a man or a woman after God’s own heart.
Now that is one of the most important honours God can bestow on us. And we don’t have to be perfect to get it, but our hearts have to be right with God, like Bruh David’s was, although he was by no means perfect, but very fallible like all of us. As it says in Acts 13:22: ‘And when he had removed him (Saul), he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom he also gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill my will.’ And the original scripture can be found in 1 Sam. 13:14.
‘A man after mine own heart’ relates to two things; first that Bruh David was God’s choice for king, and not the people’s, and secondly that at first Bruh David’s character morally was exceptional, and though He faltered with his murder of Uriah and adultery with Uriah’s wife Bathsheba, he never moved away from God, like so many others. His faith and trust always remains steadfast in the God of his forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And I believe that’s what the Lord wants to see from His people, more than anything; despite our shortcomings, we never move away from Him, always keep Him first place in our hearts and lives, always trying to do His holy will.
And some of us must be wandering what’s the Bible verse for today’s writing? Well here it is finally. It comes from our well known Psalm 1. And reads thus: ‘Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly (wicked), nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate (ponder) day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers (channels) of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. for the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.’ (Ps. 1:1-6)
Ah friends, that first Psalm says it all in a very neat and concise form. If you follow the Lord’s dictates, learn His law and obey it, you will live a blessed life. If you don’t, then your life will be miserable and eventually you will perish. It’s simple math’s, not rocket science; obey and live eternal life, disobey and die eternal death. And it’s up to each of us to decide which option we’ll choose…and we have to choose one or the other, for trying to sit on the fence is counted as disobedience. (smile)
And for those of us who are endeavouring to live right, let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our marvellous position in Christ Jesus! As one 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!’
And there’s a further promise to look forward to: if we endure with Jesus right to the very end, then that future will be even more glorious than we can ask or imagine. So please, let’s make plans to meet at the very end and together enjoy that more than glorious future nuh! That’s wisdom at its zenith! Much LOVE!
…we’ve been offered life or death…let’s be wise and choose life…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
24 Jan 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a major source of worry, a man after His own heart, and he delivered me from all my fears, be careful for nothing, be strong and of a good courage, but of power love and a sound mind, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, endure to the end, eyes fixed straight ahead, faith, fanning the flame, fear, fog, glad to be alive, God has not given us the spirit of fear, halfway home, hands on the plough, he will not fail thee nor forsake thee, holy spirit, I sought the Lord and he heard me, in everything, Jesus Christ, keep and guard your hearts and mind through Christ Jesus, LOVE, neither be thou dismayed, not looking back, rain, snow, stir up the gift of God, thank God, the breath of life is still flowing through me, the Lord is my light and my salvation, the Lord thy God is with thee wherever you go, the peace of God which passeth all understading, the promises of God will never fail, to a glorious future with Jesus, Wednesday Wail, whom shall I fear
Psalm 34:4. I sought the Lord, and he heard me and delivered me from all my fears.
And after the snow, comes the rain. Yes friends, yesterday it snowed all day in my area, but thankfully the white stuff only trickled down from heaven, like a drizzling rain, so we only ended up with an inch or so when it stopped. However, during the early morning hours, the fog came in and it’s still out there fairly thick, you can only see about fifty yards ahead properly, and yet some people are still driving without their lights on, as well as several of them only have one working headlight.
But the snow is melting and the rain is beginning to slowly drizzle down. So by day’s end we should not be too badly off, unless the temperature decides to freeze up again and thus cause ice problems. But there’s no need to fear, for Jesus is with us, guiding our every step, that is, if we’re listening to Him. (smile) And talking about fear, I decided to continue today with some scripture verses that promote faith over fear, since fear is a very real and troublesome problem in our current society.
What with the unfortunate fallout from the pandemic and all the strife and anger that’s proliferating out there, fear has become a major source of worry, and the only way to stop it, or even lessen it is by believing and proclaiming powerful scripture verses of faith. And brother, I’ve found so many that I don’t know which to choose, or really where to begin. (smile) But begin we must, so let’s check out this famous scripture on fear and faith, from Bruh Paul’s second letter to Timothy, where he admonishes Timothy thus: ‘Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting (laying) on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind.’ (2 Tim. 1:6-7)
And I like how this commentator in the abide and seek.com website adds verse 6 to the mix, because it adds a li’l something to the next verse, the fanning of the flame of faith, that we don’t usually get when we quote that verse by itself. As the commentator writes. ‘I just LOVE this scripture! The Spirit which dwells within us believers holds the same power that raised Jesus from the dead! The Holy Spirit is there to empower us to places where we could not tread without it! We are called to entrust and to call on the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us, thus fanning that small flame into a powerful fire! To allow the fear of anything that lies ahead to dissipate and allow that light to shine in these dark times.’
Yes friends, that’s surely the job of the Holy Spirit, but it only makes a difference if we listen and obey it’s commands. Then there’s this verse from Psalm 34, as Bruh David testifies: ‘I sought the Lord, and he heard me and delivered me from all my fears.’ (Ps, 34:4) Ah mih people, when we’re afraid, the first and best thing to do is turn to the God of our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, because He is the Creator and Controller of the universe, and our very heavenly Father, who has such great compassion for us, His most precious creation.
And we all know that’s what Bruh David did throughout his life, and despite his many faults and mistakes, the Lord still considered him His friend and a man after His own heart. That means there’s forgiveness and LOVE for us too, when we open our hearts to Almighty God. And I can’t do scriptures on fear and faith and not include one of my favourites from Joshua, when the Lord made Joshua the leader of the Israelites after the death of Moses. In his last statement to Joshua on how He would be with him like He was with Moses, the Lord said: ‘Have I not commanded thee? be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whither thou goest.’ (Josh. 1:9)
Now isn’t that a marvellous verse of encouragement? It surely is! Especially if it’s the Lord Himself speaking to you! Just like God was with Moses, He would be with Joshua, and also with us. As this commentary says: ‘God’s promises are never broken and that is what God was pointing out to Joshua as he was taking on this calling of leading His people. He was frightened and unsure yet God’s promises and LOVE can never fail!’ And that’s what we need to believe in spades my fellow saints! The promises and LOVE of our great and faithful God will never fail!
And He’s made that declaration (chuh!!!) a thousand times in His Word, as these two verses of Deuteronomy ascertain. This first one, Moses speaks to the people of Israel: ‘Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.’ (Deut. 31:6) Then Moses called Joshua before all the people and reassured him with the same basic words. ‘And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.’ (Deut. 31:8) You can’t get any better encouragement than that my people!
And what about this other magnificent scripture of faith from Psalm 27, where Bruh David joyfully and faithfully proclaims: ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? ‘ (Ps, 27:1) Yes mih bredrin, we are certainly maturing when we too can make such a positive declaration (yesss!!!) of faith! And we’ll conclude today’s faith incentive scriptures with these two verses which we have been seeing a lot of recently (smile)
It’s these most reassuring words of Bruh Paul to the church at Philippi. ‘Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:6-7) Truer words were never written my brethren, so please, let’s take them to heart and sincerely practice them if we truly want to receive that wonderful peace of God which man’s finite brain cannot understand.
Now let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. Altogether now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And please remember that if we endure with Jesus right down to the very end, then that future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine! Much LOVE!
…if fear knocks at your door…just send faith to answer it…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
03 Jan 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: became obedient unto death, by the things he suffered, Christianity is all about obedience, endure to the end, even the death of the cross, experience the abundant life, eyes fixed straight ahead, faith, guide us in the right way, hands on the plough, he learned obedience, holy spirit, humbled himself, if ye love me keep my commandments, Jesus Christ, listen to the Holy spirit's guidance then follow it, live for Jesus, LOVE, love calls for sacrifice, made himself of no reputation, moaning and groaning, not looking back, passed from untested to fully tested obedience, pay the bills, pay the Piper, safe and secure in the arms of Jesus, salvation, thank God, the breath of life is still flowing through me, the nature of love, the reality of real life, them's the breaks, to a glorious future with Jesus, truth, Wednesday Wail, wisdom
John 14:15. If ye LOVE me, keep my commandments.
Well, at long last all the holiday celebrations are over and we can get back to reality; the reality of real life, of mundane, same old, same old days of working! And furthermore of working to pay all the bills we’ve incurred during the long time of festivities. (smile) I’m sure some of us will be moaning and groaning when we see the credit cards bills come in later this month, somewhat belatedly asking ourselves why we had to buy all that unnecessary stuff. But them’s the breaks my brethren, if you dance to the piper, then you’ve got to pay for his tunes. (smile)
But not to worry, this is the year that we will all get wise and sensible, because we will all buckle down and live for Jesus. Yes, friends, we’ll put all of our efforts into living for Jesus, just getting more intimate with Him day by day. And that way we won’t be worried about our bills or any of the other things that might come against us, for in Jesus’ arms we’ll be safe and secure! He will guide us in the right way, through His Holy Spirit that dwells within us to be our Guide, Leader and Comforter.
However, to accomplish that, we need to LISTEN to His guidance and then FOLLOW it! That’s what’s been holding us back all this time, for even when we hear the Spirit’s guidance most of us don’t follow it. So how do we expect to experience the abundant life that Christ died for us to have eh? Remember this whole Christian business is basically about obedience! You can believe, but if you don’t obey, then you’re rebellious and thus sinful! Remember Jesus’ warning words? ‘If ye LOVE me, keep my commandments.’ (John 14:15)
That’s oh so plain and straight forward my people! LOVE demands certain obligations! Even in our human relationships, when we claim to LOVE someone, there are things we must do for and to them. LOVE calls for sacrifice! Sacrifice like Jesus made on our behalf. And talking about obedience, Jesus again showed us the way.
Listen to Bruh Paul in his letter to the Philippians ‘Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, (emptied himself of all his godly privileges): And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’ (Phil. 2:5-8)
Yes my fellow believers, Jesus came to earth as man, but didn’t invoke all His divine privileges, instead he gave them up and lived like the human being he’d become, like us, and was completely obedient to the Father, even to going to the cross that He had no real desire to do. but the Father required it of Him, and His great LOVE for the Father caused Him to do it. It’s the same way that He expects our great LOVE for Him to cause us to obey His desires.
And furthermore, on the topic of Jesus’ obedience, hear how the author of Hebrews puts it. ‘Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.’ (Heb. 5:8-9) Yuh see that my fellow saints, though Jesus was God’s Son, He still learned the reality of the hard human way by the suffering He underwent, even to His sacrificial atoning death on the cross of Calvary, which gave Him the authority to become our Saviour and our giver of eternal life.
And I like this explanation re Jesus’ suffering and obedience put forward by John Piper. “He learned obedience” means that Jesus moved from untested obedience into suffering, and then through suffering into tested and proven obedience. If you think about it, if you are good enough, you can learn a new task without failing. And the new task that Jesus had to learn every hour, especially at the end of his life was: Can I endure this suffering that I have never experienced before, this new obedience that I have never performed before in the history of the universe? Can I learn and do this perfectly without failing, without falling into unbelief and murmuring?
And the answer of Hebrews is yes. He could and he did. He learned obedience in what he suffered, and he never, never, never failed once in the process of perfect learning, proven, tested obedience. In all of Jesus’s suffering, he was being tested. Would he add obedience to obedience until he had grown into the complete, perfect, tested man, that is, the man who had been fully and completely proven and who had responded with perfect obedience, so that he could be described as fully perfected, not meaning that he passed from sinfulness to sinlessness, but that he passed from untested obedience to fully tested obedience?
And I think the answer to Chris’s question about what Jesus was moving toward is not merely that he was moving toward a completed, tested perfection, but that he was moving toward fulfilling a perfect salvation for us sinners. Remember Hebrews 2:10 goes like this: “It was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.”
Yes sir! Jesus became the perfect person to be the author of our salvation through His suffering and obedience though being sinless. And if there’s one thing we cannot say about Jesus is that He came to earth and lived the easy life that His godly privileges entitled Him to! No way! He abrogated, revoked, rescinded those things that would have given Him the easy life and chose to see the true reality of life on earth through His own eyes and servanthood.
That’s why when we say we LOVE Him we shouldn’t be just paying lip service, but actually following His example of LOVE for the Father, doing what was required of Him. And please remember that Jesus will NEVER ask us to do more than He did, or not help us to do whatever He asks of us! That’s the very foundation of our Christian faith! and until we truly believe that and act upon it, our faith will be really worthless.
Now, let’s go home declaring (steups!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. Altogether now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And if we endure to the very end with Jesus, then it’s been promised that that future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask of imagine! So let’s plan to be there right at the very end nuh! That’s eternal wisdom! Much LOVE!
…LOVE is the greatest attribute…but it also calls for great sacrifice and total obedience…that’s just the nature of LOVE…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
13 Dec 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: believing God's promises, endure to the end, eyes straight ahead, faith, frailties and weaknesses, God knows our hearts, guiding through the Holy Spirit, head knowledge alone is a waste of time, holy spirit, Jesus Christ, let my heart be sound, LOVE, mercy, not always a bed of roses, not looking back, obedience, obey me, One Year Book of Bible promises, revernce, Ruth Harms Calkin, thank God, that I be not ashamed, the attributes of Jesus, the breath of life, the choice to obey is always mine, the multifaceted character of God's word, Three Unalterable Truths, to a glorious future with Jesus, truth, walking hand in hand, Wednesday Wail, worahip
Psalm 119:80. Let my heart be sound (blameless) in thy statutes; that I be not ashamed.
Oh friends, this mid-week Wednesday morning is bright and sunshiny! Exactly what the doctor ordered for the dark and cloudy times the winter season so often coughs up. One proviso though, it’s windy and cold. But once the sun’s shining brightly, I don’t care about the cold. The sunshine brings out the attributes of Jesus in me, and allows me to handle the cold with a good attitude! (smile) And with that good attitude in mind, this poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin titled ‘Three Unalterable Truths’ is definitely an appropriate reading for today’s Bit.
So please read with me: ‘Lord, through the years Of walking hand in hand with You I have learned three unalterable truths: First, what You command me to do You consistently expect me to do. Never do You say, “Give the command a fair try.” Nor do You say, “Consider and then decide.” My natural weakness is never An acceptable excuse. Nor is my inability To reach unreachable standards. Rather, You tell me to seek And then to keep Your commands.
Second, all of Your commands Are always for my ultimate good. “Obey me.” Your Word says “So that I can do for you All the wonderful things I promised…” “In the keeping of My Word There is great reward.” Third, whatever You command me to do You fully enable me to do. As You give light to reveal a command So You give grace to fulfill it. Your divine energy is always at my disposal. The choice to obey is always mine. The power to obey is always Yours.’
Mama Mia! What glorious truths those are my faithful brethren! The Lord expects us to do exactly as He asks, and those commandments are always for our benefit, not His, for He desires nothing of us but our faithful reverence, worship and obedience! And furthermore, whatever He asks us to do, He always gives us the strength, energy and anointing to do it. So, it’s not like our great and wonderful God ask us to do things we can’t do then leaves us in the lurch figuring out how to do it. No! he enables us to do EVERYTHING He asks of us! And until we sincerely believe that, we’ll always be wandering around like lost sheep.
The problem with the whole matter though, might be we refuse or are afraid to begin doing whatever God asks us to do, figuring that we can’t do it, so it’s no use to try. But friends, that’s exactly what the Lord expects of us; to at least sincerely try to do what He asks before giving up on it entirely. And I can certainly testify to that. When the Lord first broached the subject of the Bit with me, I laughed and said I couldn’t do it, because my scriptural knowledge was insufficient for such an important project. However, He kept badgering me in the way that only He can do, and eventually broke down my defenses.
But the truth of the matter is that my scriptural knowledge was somewhat spotty and insignificant, so at the beginning it was merely a verse or two of scripture without any knowledgeable comments. But as time went along the Lord helped me to improve. He was ALWAYS there with me, leading and guiding me through His Holy Spirit. And the more I wrote, the better informed I became, until now, some sixteen years later, instead of having a problem with writing too little, I have one with writing too much, as Today’s Bit exemplifies! (smile)
And believe me, over those years my obedience has improved a whole lot, and so have His rewards for it! Don’t get me wrong, I don’t do everything He asks me to do, or do it well, but He knows my imperfections and as we said with Zacharias yesterday, He knows my heart, that it’s for Him and not for Satan. And that’s all the Lord expects of us my people, to have a soft and tender heart towards Him and to do the best we can with what He’s given us. Nobody knows our frailties and weaknesses better than Almighty God, because He made us and put in everything that was necessary for the individual plan that He drew up for each of us.
So our foibles aren’t a surprise to Him, but He expects us to come to Him and ask for grace and mercy to do His holy will. And believe me, I discovered that in the early years of writing the Bit. When I didn’t know what to write, I simply turned to the Lord and cried out that fact, and He always helped me, though not necessarily right away. Sometimes when I opened the Good Library it opened right unto a suitable scripture. But at other times I had to go searching through the Word, until something appeared that I could get my head around. So it was not always a bed of roses; I had to work at it.
And today, when I don’t know what to write, I still cry out for divine help. And from past experience, I know that He will eventually show me something, because it’s His Word I’m trying to promote and He’s promised to ALWAYS help those who do that. How did Jesus put it after giving the disciples and us the Great Commission? ‘…and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt. 28:20b) The important thing my brethren is to first know the word of God, and then put it into practice. Having head knowledge alone is a waste of time. The word must sink into your hearts and soul then be manifested in your life for it be of any real use.
And that’s why the Bible verse for our poem comes from that long, but magnificent Psalm on the value of God’s Word, or as the scholars put it: ‘its multifaceted character.’ And it most definitely is multi-faceted or versatile, having a variety of different and important features or elements. Anyway the Bibe verse for the poem as quoted by the book from the New Living Translation is: ‘ May I be blameless in keeping your principles, then I will never have to be ashamed.’ (Ps. 119:80) Meanwhile the King James Version, my favourite, says it thus: ‘Let my heart be sound (blameless) in thy statutes; that I be not ashamed.’
Oh friends, the only way we can do that is by sincerely reading and studying God’s Word, and then putting it into practice in our everyday lives. But then again, that takes time and practice and personal experience with God. However, as I’ve testified, if you turn to God when you don’t know how to proceed, He will always show you how to go. That’s His faithful promise. And that’s another ever important aspect of walking with Lord, believing His promises, which again only comes with time and practice. So the long and short of the story is to walk sincerely with the Lord, study His word, obey His commands as best you can in your own strength, then cry out to Him for help and believe His promises.
Now, let’s go home declaring (chuh!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. As one 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!’
And there’s a li’l codicil at the end that says if we endure with Jesus right down to the very end, then that future will be even more glorious than we can ask or imagine. So, hoping to see you there! Much LOVE!
…our God is faithful, strong and true…and if you are true to him…He will be true to you…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
01 Nov 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a son is given, all things were made by him, be prepared for anything, by him all things consist, Christ is the image of the invisible God, dwell in the land of the shadow of death, endure to the end, eyes fixed straight ahead, get ready for winter, God in these last days, halfway home, hands on the plough, has spoken unto us by his Son, have seen a great light, he hath appointed heir of all things, he is before all things, His name shall be called Wonderful, In the beginning was the Word, It's sunny so I'm happy, Jesus Christ, LOVE, not looking back, prince of peace, repent ye therefore and be converted, so glad to be alive, thank God, that your sins may be blotted out, the breath of life is still flowing through me, the full divinity of Christ, the government shall be upon his shoulder, the people that walked in darkness, the perfect fellowship between Father and Son, the Word was God, the Word was with God, to a glorious future with Jesus, truth, unto us a child is born, upon them the light hath shined, Wednesday Wail
John 1:1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
And on this first day of November 2023…imagine that nuh, it’s already November! Anyway, it seems like the chilly weather is finally here to stay. We knew it would come eventually, and we really can’t complain because we’ve had some whopping high unseasonal temps in the last few weeks. So it’s time gear up for those low temps and the type of weather they bring. In other words, it’s time to get ready for winter! (smile) But, as I keep saying, once it’s sunny, I’m happy, and it’s quite sunny this Wednesday morning, therefore I am happy!
Ah mih people, life moves in such strange and eccentric ways that we need to be prepared for anything whatsoever, and the only way to truly accomplish that is by having Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. Having the One who created the world and all therein, then came to earth to experience our life in person and to save us from the evil devil, Satan. As Isaiah prophesied so long before Christ’s coming. ‘The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them the light hath shined…
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, The Prince of peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgement and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.’ (Is. 9:2, 6-7) And the zeal of the Lord of hosts did perform it my fellow believers, with the coming of Christ to earth in the form of a man.
As John so wisely and famously puts it: ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.’ (John 1:1) Yes friends, Jesus Christ was and still is the Word! And He was with God the Father, and still is with Him! And He was also God, and He still is God! What a marvellous Being, what an incomparable Deity! And as the scholars add: ‘in the beginning…with God’ signifies the perfect fellowship between God the Father and God the Son in eternity.
And per The Word was God: Just as the previous expression (the Word was with God) emphasizes distinction in the Godhead, this phrase stresses the essential unity. In the Greek text of this verse, God is a predicate adjective, appearing without article and preceding the Word, thus emphasizing Jesus’ divinity. John could not have expressed the full divinity of Christ more completely.’ Now I don’t know anything about the Greek language, (smile) but I will certainly accept the full divinity of Christ!
And John continues with his stunning word portrait of Christ. ‘The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.’ (John 1:2-3) There we have it in black and white! Jesus, the Word, was with the Father from the beginning of time and was involved in the making of everything that was ever made! Wow! What a magnificent personage! And if you don’t believe John on that matter, then you can turn to Colossians 1:16, and Hebrews 1:2, and find the perfect comparisons. Ah Lord eh! I might as well spoon feed us, because not many will turn to those scriptures. (smile)
Listen as Bruh Paul writes to the Colossians of the preeminence of Christ. ‘Who (Christ) is the image of the invisible God, the first born of every creature (the first in rank). For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers (different angelic beings): all things were created by him, and for him. And he is before all things, and by him all things consist (are held together).’ (Col. 1:15-17) Yes my people, Christ created it all, and He now holds all of His creation together!
And the author of Hebrews, introduces Christ thus: ‘God, who at sundry times (in many portions) and in divers manners (many ways) spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets. Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds (ages).’ (Heb, 1:1-2) There we have it again, the indisputable message that Christ was divinely involved in the creation. And furthermore, He was also used as the true and finite revelation!
The scholars tells us that ‘the author of Hebrews immediately shows that Jesus Christ, as the agent of God’s revelation, is far superior to the Old Testament prophets. Their message was fragmentary and incomplete. It came bit by bit through visions, dreams , events, and direct communication as men were ready and able to receive it. Christ’s revelation is climactic and complete because He is the Son and because His is the message for the last days. His incarnation initiated the end time, and it will be fulfilled when He returns to earth to reconcile and restore all things. (cf. Acts 2:16-17; 3:19-21; 1 Pet. 1:20).
Now mih bredrin, I know that you won’t look up those scriptures, (smile) but we don’t have time nor space for all. So let’s see what we can fit in, without having you complain that the Bit is too long. (smile) Listen to Peter, as he admonishes the onlookers, after he and John had healed the lame man at the temple doors. ‘But those things, which God before had showed (foretold) by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should (would) suffer, he hath so fulfilled. Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins my be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. and he shall send Jesus Christ which was preached unto you:
Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution (restoration) of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me: him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which shall not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.’ (Acts 2:18-23)
And there’s no better way to end, although I got sidetracked from my original intentions. (smile) And refreshing our spiritual selves with any scripture whatsoever, is always beneficial. Now let’s go home declaring (yesss!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our marvellous position in Christ Jesus.
Altogether now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And believe me, if we endure with Jesus right down to the very end, it’s guaranteed that that future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine. So, please, let’s make plans to see it together nuh. Much LOVE!
…listen to the Word…from the Word…and thus…be enveloped in the Word…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
25 Oct 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fertile killing ground, a misnomer, a rainy morning, a state of continual turmoil, baptizing them in the name of the Father, conundrum, curiosity, dwelling on differences, empathy, empower me to abide in you always, endure to the end, evangelistically aggressive, find ways to respect differences, go ye therefore and teach all nations, halfway home, hands on the plough, heaven on earth, help me to be understanding, hold Satan in higher regard than Christ, holy spirit, humility, I need your help Lord, In Touch Devotional, Jesus Christ, keep arrogance and judgement from my heart, lack of focus on similarities, LOVE, made in God's image, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, not looking back, of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, quandary, ramp up our evangelism of the world, salvation, spiritually militant, teach me to focus on similarities, thank God, that your love flows through me, the all-encompassing love of God, the breath of life is still flowing through me, the Great Commission, to a glorious future with Jesus, truth, Wednesday Wail
Matthew 28:19a. Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations,
It’s a rainy, cloudy Wednesday morning in my area, but the temperature is supposed to be above seasonal, all week, so we can’t complain. But I’m here chuckling because when I say it’s a rainy morning I’m being somewhat facetious, for if what I heard falling this morning was the only rain that fell, then a rainy morning is certainly a misnomer.
I was lying in my bed awake, around seven thirty a.m. when I heard the rain coming down. If I heard it, then it must have been a good shower for my windows were closed. However, by the time I could mentally say, ‘some rain at last,’ the rain was done. I don’t know if it even lasted for a minute. Hn, hn! I guess though, that the important thing is not how long the rain fell, but that some rain fell and watered the land, and since outside still seems wet, then some rain did fall. And that’s my conundrum, my quandary or difficult question for this 25th day of October 2023! (smile)
But let’s turn to a place where there’s no conundrum or quandary whatsoever; that’s to prayer! And I want to share the prayer in this month’s In Touch Devotional. So please pray with me: ‘Father, help me to be understanding – to approach everyone with empathy, humility, and curiosity. Please keep arrogance and judgement far from my heart and lips. Teach me to focus on similarities and find ways to respect differences. Lord, I want to practice this kindness and grace in the world, but I need Your help. Empower me to abide in You always, so that Your LOVE flows through me. Amen!’
Oh my people, if we could ever truly live that prayer then our world would certainly be heaven on earth! Can we ever learn to focus on similarities and respect differences? That would be awesome because it’s exactly what is causing all the upheaval in our world today, the total opposite; that of dwelling on differences and lack of focus on similarities. We’re all alike, made in God’s image, with hands, feet, arms, legs, mouth, ears, etc. etc. The only variations being in the colours of our skin and some facial differences. However those two differences plus the differences in culture and creed have made our world a fertile killing ground down through the ages.
The differences have been over emphasized in every age, and caused more hate, resentment, anger and wars than we can ever count. The similarities, on the other hand, seem to be non-existent from the way we ignore them. The fact that Almighty God LOVES us all is irrelevant, since many of us do not worship the same God. But until we somehow or the other learn to focus on the similarities and not the differences, our world will be in a state of continual turmoil. And that’s where Christians come in. We’re expected, through the Great Commission to carry the all-encompassing LOVE of Jehovah God to ALL the world, so that the good news of Christ’s salvation can be heard and accepted by all and sundry!
And just in case we’ve forgotten what the Great Commission is, let’s review it right now nuh. (smile) Amongst Jesus’ last remarks to the disciples were these commanding words. ‘All power (authority) is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt. 28:18-20)
Yes my fellow believers, that’s what our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ expects each and everyone of His followers to do; spread the good news of his gospel both in their own neighbourhoods and to all the nations of the earth! But strangely enough, in this time of almost instant communication with technology in its many forms, the spreading of the gospel has not been ramped up as much as it needs to be, else we wouldn’t be having all the wars and rumours of wars that we’re having. In fact, that same increase in technology and information might just be causing the incessant wars that are troubling our world, and the gospel needs to be spread even more now than ever before.
In times gone by, it would take days, weeks, even months for supposed offences and detractions to reach the offended and the world at large. But now, that news is flashed around the world almost the instant it happens, and the angry rebuttal is flashed back just as fast. Thus there’s very little time, if any, for cooler heads to prevail. And that’s a big reason why there’s so much anger and resentment, quarrelling and antagonism existing, both internally and externally, between governments and people today. And the only way for those negative emotions to be lessened, note I didn’t say removed, because I doubt they ever will be completely suffocated until Jesus returns, is for believers, Christ’s church to ramp up our evangelism of the world.
And the scholars give us an interesting note on the Great Commission. They say: ‘Christ’s promise of His presence, I am with you always, guarantees the success of the church’s mission because it is really His mission carried out by His called-out disciples. The phrase unto the end of the world means until the end of the “age.” Therefore Christ’s empowerment of the church to evangelize the world is available in every age, even unto the end of the church age. In comparing the Great Commission with Jesus’ promise to continually build His church (chap. 18), we must conclude that He intended His church always to be spiritually militant and evangelistically aggressive as we take His claims of lordship to the entire world of our generation.’
Now that’s how Christ’s church is supposed to be; spiritually militant and evangelically aggressive! For that’s the only way we can ever pull off the Great Commission! And there’s no doubt whatsoever that the church falls anywhere close in any of those two categories! Rather, we’re more in tune with the desires of the world than with those of God and our evangelizing is running a poor second to many of the other faiths of the world, and consequently too many people hold Satan in higher regard than Christ Jesus.
Now that’s a situation we need to rectify as soon as possible. But we can only do that if we unify and declare (chuh!!!) one gospel, not several different versions, which will only make the heathen more confused than they already are. Thus my fellow believers, we are calling on all the denominations of Christ’s church to get serious and come together so that we can truly do Christ’s bidding and take the Great Commission to all the world! Now let’s go home declaring (steups!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our marvellous 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!’
And then there’s this codicil, this side agreement that assures that if we stick with Jesus right down to the very end, then the future will be even more glorious that we can ask or imagine. And since Jesus doesn’t make empty promises, let’s vow to meet down at the end times with Him nuh! Wow! What a future that will be! Much LOVE!
…we cannot call ourselves true disciples of Christ…if we aren’t sincerely and seriously spreading His gospel…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
04 Oct 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: an abomination, endure to the end, eyes fixed straight ahead, halfway home, hands on the plough, if God is for you nobody can be against you, Indian summer, Israel said unto Joseph, LOVE, not looking back, now let me die, Qumran, since I have seen thy face, thank God, the breath of life, the children of Israel, The Dead Sea Scrolls, the men they are shepherds, the Septuagint, the Torah, thie occupation, thou art yet alive, to a glorious future with Jesus, to feed cattle, Wednesday Wail, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive
Genesis 46:30. And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive.
Summer-time, summer-time, summer-time! Believe it or not, yesterday was hotter than many days during the supposedly real summer season. You could feel the heat of the sun, and it was humid too, not even a cool breeze blowing. It was surely a day for sunscreen, if you were going to be out in it for any length of time. And today seems like it’s going to be along the same lines, because it’s already in the mid-twenties.
And we can’t even call it ‘Indian Summer’ because we haven’t experienced any cold spells as yet. That’s when we get unusual warm temps between cold periods late in the year. So summer-time goes on…enjoy it while it lasts, because it will suddenly disappear one day soon. (smile)
Anyhow, let’s see what’s happening with the story of Bruh Joseph. Well, his family is now on their way down into Egypt. But before we get to what happens when they arrive, the Bible says: ‘And these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons:’ Then it goes on to list the names of Jacob’s twelve sons and their sons. (Gen. 46:8-25)
And finally, it informs us thus: ‘All the souls (people) that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls were three score and six. And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob which came into Egypt, were three score and ten.’ (Gen. 46:26-27)
That means that the nation of Israel began in Egypt with some seventy people total. However, there seems to be some controversy regarding the exact number, as the scholars explain. Per verses 46:8-27: ‘The phrase the children of Israel appears for the first time in reference to the family as a whole. (before that it was just about Jacob’s own children). The grand total of 66 in verse 26 -to which Moses added Jacob, Joseph, and Joseph’s two sons – makes the number 70, as in verse 27.
(And re the reference to Moses, remember he wrote the first five books of the Bible, the Torah). This agrees with Deuteronomy 10:22 and the Hebrew text of Exodus 1:5. Exodus 1:5 in the Septuagint (the early Greek translation of the Bible) however reads 75, which (the apostle) Stephen apparently quotes in his sermon (Acts 7:14) and which the Dead Sea Scrolls support. The number 75 probably includes five later descendants of Joseph.’ But be it 70 or 75, that was the small number of people from which the mighty nation of Israel was born.
And per the Dead Sea Scrolls? ‘They were found in 1947 in the harsh and remote site in the West Bank, known as Qumran – comprising more than 800 documents made of animal skin, papyrus and even forged copper—deepened our understanding of the Bible and shed light on the histories of Judaism and Christianity. Among the texts are parts of every book of the Hebrew canon—what Christians call the Old Testament—except the book of Esther.
The scrolls also contain a collection of previously unknown hymns, prayers, commentaries, mystical formulas and the earliest version of the Ten Commandments. Most were written between 200 B.C. and the period prior to the failed Jewish revolt to gain political and religious independence from Rome that lasted from A.D. 66 to 70—predating by 8 to 11 centuries the oldest previously known Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible.’ And obviously there is controversy over who wrote them and how they came to be hidden in the caves of Qumran. However, they do shed some light on the beliefs and practices of the people of those early times.
But back to Bruh Joseph’s story. After listing the genealogy of Jacob, the Bible then continues: ‘And he (Jacob) sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face (give them directions) to Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen. And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive.’ (Gen. 46:28—30)
That must have been a real poignant reunion between Bruh Joseph and his father, who had thought him to be dead some twenty years earlier. The Good Library then goes on: ‘And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father’s house, I will go up and shew (tell) Pharoah, and say unto him, My brethren, and my father’s house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me; And the men they are shepherds, for their trade (occupation) hath been to feed cattle (livestock); and they have brought their flocks and their herds, and all that they have.
And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation? That ye shall say, Thy servants’ trade hath been about cattle (livestock) from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen: for every shepherd is an abomination (loathsome) unto the Egyptians.’ (Gen. 46:31-34)
Now, I am a tad confused about Bruh Joseph’s use of the word ‘shepherd’ as the occupation of his brethren, although he goes on to claim that shepherds are an abomination to Egyptians. To my way of thinking, a shepherd is one who keeps sheep, but back then it must also have been used for keeping livestock or cattle. (smile) But you see the deception evident there, they can’t let Pharoah or the Egyptians know that they are keepers of sheep. And the words of Sir Walter Scott (1808) certainly ring true here: ‘Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.’
Yes friends, every deception creates another problem and builds a domino structure, that will cause untold disaster when it falls. But that’s what life is all about; you pay for how you live. But for those of us who desire to live for Christ and sincerely try to do so, let’s go home now declaring (chuh!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our wonderful position in Christ.
As one 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!’
And if we keep on enduring to the end with Christ, then it’s promised that the future will be even more glorious than we can even ask or imagine. So please, let’s make solid plans to meet then nuh! Much LOVE!
…if God is for you…who can be against you eh…NOBODY…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
06 Sep 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a coat of many colours, a heat warning, binding sheaves in the field, convert the dreaming energy into action, could not speak peaceably about him, dreams come true, endure to the end, eyes fixed straight ahead, for those who work while they dream, for twenty pieces of silver., grow in favour with both God and man, hands on the plough, his father observed the saying, I must be about my Father's business, Isreal loved Joseph more than all his children, Joseph dreamed a dream and he told it to his brethren, Joseph sold to the Ishmeelites, made obeisance to my sheaf, Mary kept all these sayings in her heart, my sheaf arose and stood upright, not looking back, P.S. I Love You, parents favour one child above the others, shalt thou indeed have dominion over us, stay well hydrated in a cool place, thak God, the breath of life is still flowing through me, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me, they hated him yet more, to a glorious future with Jesus, Wednesday Wail, what profit is it if we slay our brother, your sheaves stood round about
Genesis 37:5. And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren, and they hated him yet more.
Glory be! Another beautiful bright and sunshiny summer’s day in the first week of September! But unfortunately, it too comes with a heat warning. So please be careful when going out in the sun, make sure you have on your sunscreen, your hat and umbrella, if necessary. Stay well hydrated and in a cool place. That’s the price we pay for another hot summer’s day at this time of year. (smile)
And right now, I want to offer a li’l tidbit from a ‘P.S. I LOVE YOU’ Poster my young daughter gave me some years back. It simply, but quite rightly says: ‘Dreams come true for those who work while they dream.’ And there’s no denying that my friends! You can dream all you want, but if you don’t convert some of that dreaming energy into action towards the dream, it will never come to pass. That’s because dreams are only mental, while the actuality of them call for physical action and reaction.
I don’t think we can find a better example of dreams working out in action than the story of Bruh Joseph way back in olden times. And his problems began early in life, around the age of seventeen, through no fault of his own. The scripture says: ‘Now Israel LOVED Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat (tunic) of many colours. And when his brethren saw that their father LOVED him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably about him.’ (Gen. 37:3-4)
Now that’s the unfortunate kind of thing that happens when parents favour one child above the others very overtly. The story continues thus: ‘And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren, and they hated him yet more.’ (Gen. 37:5) That’s another pitfall we often fall into; telling our dreams to people who don’t have our best interests at heart, and sometimes it’s best to just keep our dreams to ourselves and work quietly on them. Especially highfalutin dreams like Bruh Joseph had.
‘And he said unto them (his brothers), Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance (bowed down) to my sheaf. And his brethren said to him, shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.’ (Gen. 37:6-8) Obviously Bruh Joseph didn’t realize how much his brothers hated him, or he was just so full of and cock-sure of himself that he didn’t care.
And as the luck of the draw would have it; ‘He dreamed another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance (bowed down) to me. And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee in the earth? And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.’ (Gen . 37:9-11)
Now Bruh Joseph had the whole family against him. But please note that last verse. Israel ‘observed the matter,’ or kept it in his mind. He obviously didn’t relegate it right away to the rubbish heap. It reminds us of Mary, Jesus’ mother’s behaviour, when she heard all the fine things that were said about Jesus both at his at his eight-day presentation in the temple, and also when he was lost, and they found him arguing with the teachers in the temple at twelve years old and He told them:
‘How is it ye sought me? wist (knew) ye not that I must be about my father’s business? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these saying in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with god and man.’ (Luke 2:40-52)
It’s strange how our parents, though they may not fully believe our spiritual dreams and plans, many of them yet never put them aside completely, knowing, possibly from their own experience the way in which Almighty God operates. And both Jacob and Mary did have significant encounters with God in the spiritual realm, so neither totally wrote of the dreams of their children. The only difference between Bruh Joseph and Jesus, is that the latter did not grow did not grow in favour with both God and man.
Bruh Joseph’s brothers had other ideas about his dreams. And one day when his father sent him to check on them in the fields, ‘they conspired to slay him. And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer (master of dreams) cometh. Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, some evil (wild) beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams. And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him. And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid (deliver) him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father.’ (Gen. 37:18-22)
But we know that did not happen, for after the brothers stripped Joseph of his robe of many colours and threw him into a pit, they sat down to eat, and just then they saw a group of Ishmeelites (traders) going down to Egypt with their wares to sell. ‘And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him: for he is our brother, and our flesh. And his brethren were content (agreed).’ (Gen. 37:26-27)
So they drew Bruh Joseph up out of the pit and sold him to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt. That certainly didn’t seem like Bruh Joseph was having favour with God and man. But unbeknownst to them all, that was only the beginning of the drama. And if God spares life, tomorrow, we’ll continue looking at Bruh Joseph’s story; a most significant one in the annals of the Jewish people, and consequently in our own Chrisitan faith.
Now let’s go home declaring (chuh!!!) 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!’
And friends, we’ve been further promised that if we stick with Jesus right to the very end, then that promise will be even more glorious than we could ever ask or imagine. Wow! So please, let’s make a date to meet right at the very end with Jesus nuh! Much LOVE!
…the Lord puts dreams in our hearts…so that we can serve His glorious purposes…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
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