26 May 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a balanced approach, a pittance, a sign, all the days of thy life, attentive to duties, barricade, blame, blessing the land, diligence, due diligence, eaves-troughs, fear, fellowship, flooding, Friday chant, frontlets, fun, generous help, gentle rain, glorious kingdom, grin and bear it, heart, in Jesus' name, industrious character, Israel, LOVE, Love the Lord, lying down, might, milk and honey, Moses, multiply greatly, not too late, obedience, parents, partying, persistent effort, proportion, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rest, riddim of the falling rain, rising up, satisfaction, siiting at home, soul, stand in awe, statutes, talk of the, taught our children, teach them diligently, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the bane of my existence, the great commandment, The Lord our God is one Lord, the Promised Land, the things of God, the things of the world, the weekend, the workingman's story, to thy children, walking in the street, week of work, wisdom, words of wisdom
Deuteronomy 6:7. And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children…
Ah friends, remember that gentle rain that I spoke about yesterday that was blessing the land? Well it might have blessed the land but it certainly didn’t bless me, because it fell all day… even into the evening, and consequently caused flooding in the laundry room in my basement.
Steups! So instead of it being a peaceful day listening to the riddim of the falling rain, (smile) it was a tad hectic trying to mop up and barricade the water running down in my basement. And it wasn’t just one rivulet, that would have been easy to handle, but several pouring down the inside wall.
I believe the source of the problem is my eaves troughs – they seem to be leaking in several places thus allowing the water to run down the outside wall and find its way inside. But I just had them repaired last year!
And then there are the leaves…the bane of my existence! Everything that blows in my lane, ends up in my driveway, both snow and leaves. Thus the gutters are filled with leaves, which make them overflow rather easily.
Ah Lord eh! But what to do? Just grin and bear it and have them fixed again. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it! (smile) The workingman’s story though is a whole lot different. He’s simply focused on it being Friday, which allows him to joyfully declare:
‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend’s here at last! Is my time now to do as I please! No more labouring for a measly pittance, but partying for days! And who says we shouldn’t thank the Lord for Fridays and weekends eh!’
We should indeed friends, but constant partying will never give us sincere satisfaction. We need a more balanced approach to the weekend if we are to live successful lives, and I believe our Friday Chant provides it.
So let’s chant it out loud and proud nuh. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen!’
Yes friends, that’s more like what we need, if we are to do Jesus’ work with sincerity, diligence and excellence! And today we’ll talk a little about diligence, see what the Bible has to say about it.
But before we get to that, let’s look at the dictionary’s definition of diligence. It’s characterized as being ‘Persistent effort or work: industrious character.’
Meanwhile diligent is seen as being ‘hard-working, steady in application, industrious, attentive to duties.’ So we have the basic idea of what we mean when we speak of diligence or diligent; a serious effort to do what one has to do.
Now hear these immortal words of wisdom that Moses spoke unto the people of Israel when he gave them the great commandment. These are the major things they should do when they entered the Promised Land.
‘That thou mightest fear (stand in awe of) the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.
Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it (be careful to observe it); that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily (multiply greatly), as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.
Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is ONE Lord: and thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.’ (Deut.6:2-9)
And there we have it friends, the basics of the Great Commandment: LOVE the Lord thy God, and keep all His commandments, and above all, teach them diligently to thy children!
And when the Israelites obeyed, they prospered, and suffered when they didn’t. And it’s the same with us in these trying times.
Oh my people, we are also very guilty of not doing what the Lord commanded. We haven’t been repeating the Lord’s commandments in the ears of our children or meditating on them ourselves as we walk and talk and lie down, etc.
No wonder our society and our world is in such a mess, with a large number of our children having no idea of God, or simply not caring about God and putting the things of the world first in their lives.
Now who do think is to blame for this current state of affairs eh? We the current parents obviously! Our parents taught us the right way, so why haven’t we taught our children eh? I guess we ourselves were also a little too taken up with the things of the world.
But it’s not too late my brethren, if we get serious and do our due diligence, as they say in legal circles, that means paying attention to our godly duties, putting in the hard work necessary, we can still save ourselves and our children from the clutches of the evil one.
Today, I implore us, sincerely plead with us to seek the things of God first, and point our children in that direction, that it may go well with them and us. That’s wisdom for the ages! Much LOVE!
…a society prospers in direct proportion to its obedience to God…
17 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: above every name, almighty god, at the name of Jesus, aura of love, confidence, Drunk or sober mind yuh business, Easter Monday, enthusiasm, every knee should bow, every tongue should confess, faith, fire water, fleshly realities, friends, given him a name, glorious kingdom, gluttonous, God hath highly exalted him, Granny's advice, He is faithful that promised, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, humility, invincible, Jesus Christ, Jesus christ is Lord, Jesus' resurrection, jobs, joy, keeping families together, let this mind be in you, lies, LOVE, love to hate day, loving kindness, mercy, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, no reputation, obedience, obedient unto death, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, rewards, salvation, sing up a storm, sins, spiritual armour, spiritual implications, steadfast faith, taunts, Thank You Lord, the form of a servant, to the glory of God, trust, ungodly world, uplift their spirits, wiles, wisdom
Philippians 2:9. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name.
Well mih people, it’s Monday, our favourite LOVE to hate day! (smile) But since today is Easter Monday, and a holiday for many of us, I am only hearing moaning and groaning and other unprintable remarks from a small portion of the populace. The majority of us are just rolling over with a big smile and saying ‘Thank You Lord!’ and going back to sleep.
But before you do that, we need to sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with our less fortunate brethren, those who have to go out and labour today, help uplift their spirits and dampen their jealousy. (smile) You know there’s comfort in fellowship and all that…Hn, hn! And I hear even more negative stuff coming from the unfortunate throng.
So as one voice, let’s sing up a storm this Monday morning nuh. ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Oh friends, that was surely loud, but also raucous and not very harmonious. And as usual, the loudest and most raucous voices came from those who don’t have to work today. Jesus, our choirmaster, just had to shake His head in frustration and understanding.
And for those of us who are home today, please don’t use the Easter celebrations as an excuse to imbibe too much fire water, or become gluttonous, with the wide array of food and drink available, and thus give the deceitful Lucifer any loopholes to enter our souls. Consider the spiritual implications of Jesus’ wonderful work more than the fleshly realities. (smile) And please remember Granny’s words of wisdom: ‘Sonny boy, drunk or sober, please mind yuh business.’ Those are words that will always stand us in good stead my brethren.
And since we are still in the Resurrection celebration mode, it’s useful to see what the Father did after Jesus rose from the grave. But before we get to that, let’s check up on Jesus’ earthly attitude.
Bruh Paul advises the Philippians thus: ‘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. And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death on the cross.’ (Phil.2:5-8)
Yuh see friends, though Jesus was God incarnate, when He became man, He didn’t abuse His godly powers, but focused on His human nature and was obedient to the Father’s every will, even going to the cross to die for our abominable sins. Hn! The strange thing is that none of us have His godly powers, but yet plenty of us are bombastic enough to act like God unto our fellow man.
Now we’ll see how God rewarded Him for His obedience and faithfulness. Our Bit tells us: ‘Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name.’ Yes my people, the heavenly Father rewarded Jesus by exalting His name to the highest available position; second only to His!
And furthermore: ‘That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of (those) things in heaven, and (those) things in earth, and (those) things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil.2:10-11) Ah my brethren, what a wonderful God we serve and worship! He is indeed a rewarder of those who sincerely seek and obey Him.
As the author of Hebrews reminds us: ‘Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our faith (hope) without wavering;) for he is faithful that promised;) (Heb.10:23) That simply means, that as believers, we need to remain steadfast, humble and obedient to the will of God, and in due time He will reward us with such a multiplicity of rewards, both down here on earth and in heaven, that we won’t know what to do with them!
Wow! Now, I don’t know about you all, but that surely sounds like perfect wisdom to me, and I will surely do my best to be eligible for as many rewards as possible. Why don’t you join me? Much LOVE!
…there’s nothing like humility and obedience…to win God’s favour…
16 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a positive idea, a strong will, abundance, abuse of authority, admonition, advice, as to the Lord, be obedient to your masters, blessings, broken, burning the candle at both ends, but as thou wilt, Christian, courage, creativity, curse, dr robert h schuller, Ephesians, eyeservice, faith, family, fathers, favour, fear, fell on his face, forbearing threatening, friends, from the heart, glory to God, god moves in mysterious ways, good thing, health, if it be possible, in the mind of a believer, in the name of Jesus, insomnia, judge, let this cup pass from me, LOVE, Master in heaven, men pleasers, mental disposition, most powerful force, My walk, negative word, not as I will, not unto men, number one priority, nurture of the Lord, o my father, obedience, prayed, promotion, prosper, provoke not your children to wrath, recompensed, respect of persons, rest, reverential respect, self-control, self-discipline, servants, sincerity, singleness of your heart, strength, succeed, success, talent, the rough side, Thursday Blessings, trembling, truth, valid point, walking in God's will, without partiality
Matthew 26:39. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
Ah mih breddren, the ole fella’s a bit on the rough side this morning. I sincerely tried to get up earlier, but the body rebelled, declaring that it needed more rest. Hn!
And I must say that it had a very valid point, because over the last few days I have indeed been trying to burn the candle at both ends. And the body cannot sustain that for very long, especially with my current state of medication induced insomnia.
Anyway, I’m finally up, (smile) and we’ll begin with this prayer titled ‘My Walk,’ which I know I’ve shared before, and I believe comes from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr, Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional. But as always, these prayers are very worthy of being repeated time and time again.
Please pray with me. ‘O God, I’m inspired. For you have just impressed this truth in to my mind: The most powerful force in the world is a positive idea in the mind of a believer who is walking in your will. I now reach forth my life and say, “God, put my life in the centre of your will.” Amen!’
And there’s absolutely no doubt that there’s anything more powerful than a Christian with positive ideas walking in God’s will! Glory to God!
And to tell the truth people, I didn’t even know what the end of the prayer said. I just wanted a prayer to put there, and that was the first one that came to hand. I knew it was good and worthwhile though, otherwise it would not be amongst the others.
Imagine my surprise when I reached the end and saw that it dealt with doing God’s will; the very topic we’re talking about in our Bit. And who says our God does not move in mysterious ways eh! Chuh! They definitely don’t know what they are talking about.
So here’s our Bit. ‘And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.’
Yeh friends, in the last few days we’ve been checking out some of Jesus’ statements on doing the will of our heavenly Father. To Him, it was always the number one priority, and should likewise be to us.
Today, I want share some of the words and sentiments of other saints on the subject. We already have Gramps Schuller’s opinion in our prayer above, now listen to Bruh Paul in his admonition to the Ephesians, re advice to children and servants.
‘And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture (training) and admonition of the Lord. Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart (sincerity), as unto Christ;
Not with eyeservice, as men pleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not unto men. Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond (slave) or free.
And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing (giving up) threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.’ (Eph.6:4-9)
Oh friends, what a wonderful piece of scripture! Bruh Paul details how we should all work together in pursuing the will of God, because that’s the most important thing in our lives!
Now hear some of the explanations from the scholars. ‘6:4. Fathers can provoke their children to wrath by injustice, loss of temper, undue severity, cruelty, favouritism, suppression, sarcasm, ridicule, and misuse or abuse of authority. Nurture basically means “training,” here denoting spiritual education.
Admonition is instruction that points out one’s responsibilities and duties. Of the Lord is in Greek a subjective genitive. (smile) This indicates that behind the parents rearing and instruction of their children stands the Lord as the chief teacher in child education. Parents do not rear children alone.’
I just wish that more of today’s parents, including the supposedly Christian ones, were aware of these stipulations.
‘6:5. Your masters according to the flesh means “your human masters.” Servants are to carry out their slave duties with fear and trembling, that is, with careful concern to do a good job and with reverential respect for their masters.
Singleness of your heart refers to a mental disposition, an attitude that renders obedience out of sincerity, not hypocrisy. As unto Christ explains why servants should obey masters in the manner prescribed here: obedience rendered to their masters is obedience rendered to Christ.’
‘6:6. “Singleness of heart” or sincere disposition excludes eyeservice, that is duty performed only when the master is watching; but it includes doing the will of God from the heart, that is, enthusiastic service coming from within and not having to be coerced by external pressure.’
‘6:7. Good will means “good intention.” The Christian servant (employee) seeks the best interest of his master (employer).’ Hn! How often does that happen eh?
‘6:8. The basis for the servant’s “good intention” (v.7) toward his master is his being recompensed by the Lord – both in this life and in the one to come – the same good he has performed in his servant duties.’
‘6:9. Earthly masters are to behave in a reciprocal manner toward their slaves (i.e. with respect, sincerity, and careful concern). For earthly masters have a heavenly Master who will judge them without partiality.’
Ah mih people, if only we could put one iota of those things into operation in our current world, what a wonderful world it would be eh! That doesn’t mean we must stop trying, but instead try harder.
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings over our blessed lives. And remember a blessing isn’t a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone.
In loud voice and strong belief: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Now let’s share those blessings all over the world, as our Lord and Saviour Jesus desires. Much LOVE!
…what were we created for…to do God’s will…
P.S. It’s long and late, but ever so good! (smile) Much LOVE!
06 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a righteous standard, Adonai, aura of love, blossom, Christians, confidence, doom and gloom, ease, enthusiasm, eternal life, evil, faith, fear, fellowship, food, friends, fruit in the vines, fun, God's deliverance, God's great earth, goodness, habakkuk, holy spirit, humble servants, I will joy in the God of my salvation, I will rejoice in the Lord, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, labour of the olive, lead and guide, leisure, lies, LOVE, LOVE to hate, luxuries, magnanimous god, make my feet like hinds feet, mantle, mercy, motors running, neck of the woods, no meat, obedience, Old Testament, oxymoron, praise, preservation in the wilderness, rejoice, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, righteousness., salvation, sincerity, slave labour, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, thanksgiving, the enemy's ranks, the Exodus, the gig tree, the Promised Land, trust, truth, ungodly world, wisdom, Yahweh
Habakkuk 3:18. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
And then it was Monday, that day we all LOVE to hate! Now isn’t that akin to an oxymoron? We can’t have hate and LOVE working together. It’s either one or the other. It’s like fear and faith; two different sides of the same coin.
Anyway, very few people like Mondays, because they have to get up and go to work, and the chilly weather in my neck of the woods doesn’t enhance the situation any. But get up and go to work we have to, if we want to survive, so let’s get rid of that mantle of doom and gloom and get ourselves together to enjoy another wonderful day on God’s great earth. All the slave labour in the world can’t take that away from us! (smile)
And to help us get our motors running, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with sincerity and all the exuberance we can muster. As one now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Ah mih people, we certainly didn’t muster much exuberance there! You could see that our choirmaster, Jesus, wasn’t very happy with that performance. But thankfully, He’s an understanding and forgiving Being and won’t hold it against us. Instead, He will go out of His way to shower us with goodness and mercy, so that we can go out and do a good job in His awesome name. That’s the kind of Lord and Saviour we have.
That brings us to our Bit of praise and thanksgiving. ‘Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.’
Oh friends, that should not be an option for Christians, it must be a righteous standard for all believers! For there’s absolutely no reason not to rejoice in the awesome, the magnificent and magnanimous God we serve and worship, who also provided us with salvation and eternal life through the sacrificial death, triumphant resurrection and glorious ascension of His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
Now the Old Testament followers didn’t have all the good news of Christ’s gospel that we possess today, but the prophets of God kept them attuned to God’s word. Our Bit comes at the end of a prayer of Habakkuk, which according to the scholars ‘contains two poems (vs.3-7 and 8-15) recounting God’s deliverance of His people in the days of the Exodus. The poems emphasize His preservation in the wilderness and His triumphal leading into the Promised Land.’
And listen to this verse before our Bit. ‘Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat (food); the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.’ (Hab.3:17-18)
Oh friends, yuh see the kind of faith those old timers displayed – at least some of the time. (smile) We can’t even exhibit a decent faith with all the luxuries we have. Hn! That’s possibly because we have too many luxuries and have become accustomed to too much ease and leisure. Yuh think many, or any of us would declare such a statement today, if we fell into such disaster? I doubt it.
We can’t, or won’t even produce a strong enough faith to resist the enemy now, when we have Jesus and all the good stuff that goes with Him, imagine if we didn’t have Him. Ah Lord eh!
Now let’s end as Habakkuk did. ‘The Lord God (Yahweh, Adonai) is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds (deer’s) feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments. ’ (Hab.3:19)
And per the scholars: ‘3:16-19. The instructions in the postscript indicate that this psalm (Bruh David’s Prayer of deliverance – 2 Sam.22; Ps.18 [edited]) was used as a part of the temple liturgy. It is a great psalm expressing obedience and praise to God, and trust in Him.’
All I can add to that my fellow believers is that we go out today, dressed in our spiritual armour, be obedient to our omnipotent God, trust Him and praise Him with all sincerity and truth, for that is the wisdom of the ages. Much LOVE!
…the reason we exist…is to be in fellowship with God… (from the Daily Bread Devotional)
02 Jan 2017
by randyobrien50
in Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living
Tags: 24/7 society, adrenaline, aura of love, blood, bloodshed, confidence, Creator of the universe, dangerous, David, delight in burnt offerings, difficult, disobedience, dracula lady, enthusiasm, evil, faith, further your glorious kingdom, give the Lord thanks and praise, hypocritical, incense, lies, like clockwork, Monday Morniing Battle Hymn, obedience, obey the Lord's command, peace, rejuvenation of spirit, religion, renewed vitality, sacrifices, Saul, serve a useful purpose, short of breath, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, taunts, test, the Holy Spirit, the long weekend, the Lord weighs the hearts, to obey is better than to sacrifice, truth, unfair, ungodly world, vegetating, wiles, work
1 Samuel 15:22. And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
Well mih people, the ole fella is writing from his hospital room once again on this Monday morning, the first of the new year of 2017, looking out over the roof of the first floor and a small parking lot in front of it. Wow! What beautiful scenery!
Oh, before I go any further let me apologize for that typo at the end of yesterday’s Bit, where I wrote 2107 instead of 2017. I guess I must expect to be around till then. (smile)
Anyhow, I can’t tell you much of anything because nothing’s happened. I’m still short of breath, waiting to go for some tests, but I figure the long weekend is holding them up, as all the appropriate staff are not yet back to work. We’ll see what happens today.
In the meantime, I’m just here vegetating, trying to keep my peace and giving the Lord the thanks and praise He so rightfully deserves, hoping that sometime soon I’ll find out the problem, get it fixed and leave the hospital. And by the way, the Dracula lady just came for her draught of blood. (smile) They are here like clockwork early every morning.
But enough about me. I’m where I’m supposed to be, but others must go out and labour this holiday Monday, because of our 24/7 society. So let’s join them in singing a rousing rendition of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn and send them off with the adrenaline flowing powerfully through their bodies to do a good job on Jesus’ behalf.
As one now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Now that was pretty good, but as usual led by the loud voices of those who don’t have to go to work. So let’s turn to our Bit, the same as yesterday:
‘And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.’
Ah friends, obedience is so important in the Lord’s realm that Saul lost his kingdom and his children’s inheritance because he refused to obey the Lord’s command. And I guess the same thing happens with us in these modern times, though on a smaller scale, when we are disobedient to God’s word.
I’m sure many of us can look back now at certain circumstances and see where certain things happened because we did not do what the Lord wanted, at the time He designated. Now don’t think that you’re being obedient when you do what the Lord wants today instead of yesterday as He asked. You’re not. The timing is also important, and being outside of God’s timing, counts as disobedience.
And the scriptures call now. Hear Bruh David from Psalm 40 – Praise for answered prayer. ‘Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. It Then said I, Lo, I come in the volume of the book (scroll) it is written of me. I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.’ (Ps.40:6-8)
Oh friends, like Bruh David, do we delight to do the Lord’s will, is His law within our hearts? I certainly hope so, otherwise we’ll be lost in disobedience and pay the price.
Now hear Cousin Sol. ‘Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth (weighs) the hearts. To do justice and judgement (righteousness and justice) is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.’ (Prov.21:2-3)
And Isaiah in his call to repentance, solemnly declared: ‘To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread (trample) my courts?
Bring me no more vain (futile sacrifices) oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with (endure it); it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting… And when you spread forth your hands (pray), I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood (bloodshed).
Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil. Learn to do well; seek judgement (justice) relieve the oppressed, judge (vindicate, defend) the fatherless, plead for the widow.’ (Is.1:11-13,15-17)
Ah friends, the olden Israelites were so hypocritical in their religion, that he condemned them before the Lord. The sacrificial system that the Lord had set up was fine, but the people were merely going through the motions with no real heart for God.
Sadly, a lot of that still exists today, and until we begin to truly LOVE, worship and obey the Lord, our lives won’t be as rich and smooth as they can be. Much LOVE!
…obedience is the number one rule in God’s book.
P.S. Please excuse the lateness of the Bit, and any mistakes, but the hospital people had me jumping through hoops once the day shift came on. (smile) Hopefully, I’ll know better next time. Much LOVE!
13 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adventure, adversities, affection, believers in Jesus Christ, blood, by water, charter of salvation, Christ-like, Christians, church, conforming to God's will, consummation of peace, correctness, encouragement, enthusiasm, equipped, eternal life, face the upcoming week, faith, fellowship, fight the good fight of faith, flee these things, for her life he died, fruit of our lips, furnished, God's guidebook, God's inspired Word, godliness, good works, grace, hardships, heresies, his holy bride, inspiration of God, Jesus Christ, lay hold on eternal life, live eternally, LOVE, lowly, man of God, material wealth, maturity, measure up, meek, meekness, ministry, money, new creation, obedience, passion, patience, perfect, perseverance, phenomenal, praise, progress, relaxation, Remembrance Day, rent asunder, rest, reverence, rewards, righteousness, sacrifice of praise, saints, salvation, schisms, standards of righteousness, steadfastness, strength, sweet communion, thanksgiving, the Book of answers, the church's one foundation, the Lord's Sabbath, the man of God, the morn of song, the Word, toil, tribulation, trust in God, tumult, union with God, victorious, war, weeping, woes, worship
2 Timothy 3:17. That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.
Ah friends, that wonderful day called Sunday, the Lord’s Sabbath, has rolled around once more! It’s a day of rest and relaxation, but more importantly one also of worship and fellowship amongst Christians.
That means, if we are able, we ought to get together with other believers in Jesus Christ to sing and offer praise and thanksgiving for His goodness to us, to listen to His word, as well as receive encouragement and strength to face the upcoming week.
Now let’s begin with a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of our lips, by singing the inspirational hymn, ‘The Church is One Foundation.’ With sincere enthusiasm and passion friends: ‘The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord; she is his new creation by water and the Word. From heaven he came and sought her to be his holy bride; with his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died.
Elect from every nation, yet one o’er all the earth; her charter of salvation: one Lord, one faith, one birth. One holy name she blesses, partakes one holy food, and to one hope she presses, with every grace endued. Though with a scornful wonder the world sees her oppressed, by schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed, yet saints their watch are keeping; their cry goes up: “How long?” and soon the night of weeping shall be the morn of song.
Mid toil and tribulation, and tumult of her war, she waits the consummation of peace forevermore, till with the vision glorious her longing eyes are blest, and the great church victorious shall be the church at rest. Yet she on earth hath union with God the Three in One, and mystic sweet communion with those whose rest is won: O happy ones and holy! Lord, give us grace that we like them, the meek and lowly, may live eternally.’
Glory to God my people for such a wonderful worship song, written way back at the end of the 19th century by the British pastor Samuel J. Stone! And over a century later, it’s still a worship favourite. I wonder if the songs we’ve recently penned will be sung so victoriously a century from now eh? Who knows? That’s even if the world is still around the way we know it.
But regardless of what exists then, right now we have to go back to our Bit of a few days ago. I fully intended to continue it on Friday, but that was Remembrance Day, and the other Bit about a man laying down his life for his friend, just fit better. Then yesterday, the scripture about the true light, also seemed to be a better fit, per the direction in which I was being led. (smile)
So let’s refresh our memories a tad with the verse before our Bit. ‘All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.’ (2 Tim.3:16) And we said that the Bible was God’s guidebook to us for earthly righteous living, and though it was physically written by men, it was authored by God, through His divine inspiration.
And our Bit tells us of the very important reason why the Lord authored it. ‘That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.’ And the scholars told us that ‘God’s inspired Word, properly used and applied provides all we need for life and ministry.’
Glory Hallelujah my people! We don’t need anything else to live this life proficiently, capably, righteously than God’s Book of Answers!
Now let’s check out some scriptures on the subject. Listen to Bruh Paul admonish Timothy in his earlier letter. After talking about the LOVE of money being the root of all kinds of evil, and how some have ruined themselves through covetousness, Bruh Paul tells him.
‘But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, LOVE, patience, meekness. Fight the Good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art called, and hast professed (confessed) a good profession (confession) before many witnesses.’ (1 Tim.6:11-12)
Oh friends, all of that also applies to us today, if we want to be considered a man or woman of God!
And the scholars offer these interesting explanations. ‘6:11. Flee these things means shun a LOVE for money (v.10) and the striving for material wealth (v.9) with all its resulting woes. Follow after means pursue. Righteousness is practical correctness, conforming to God’s will in one’s thinking and acting.
Godliness is proper reverence for, and obedience to, God. Faith is a trust in God that grows stronger. LOVE is a maturing affection for God and man. Patience is perseverance or steadfastness in life and service. Meekness is gentleness.’
There we have it my brethren; a chart against which we can measure our progress and success in being a true man, or woman of God.
And the scholars continue: ‘6:12. The good fight concerns the daily struggle with sin in the Christian life, and the hardships and adversities in the ministry. A genuine believer demonstrates the reality of his faith by being engaged in this warfare. Lay hold on eternal life does not negate the fact that a believer now possesses spiritual life (John 3:36); rather, it speaks of fully realizing or appropriating salvation as the believer matures.’
Yes friends, those few words do say a lot about our Christian faith, and I think it’s a good time for us to take stock of our personal faith, or maturity, whether we’re making any progress or not. So let’s take a few moments sometime today, find a quiet spot and see how we measure up against those standards of righteousness nuh.
Let’s see if we are truly fighting the good fight, really involved in the spiritual warfare; see how we doing with shunning the LOVE of money and the material things of the world. Let’s check to see if our faith is as strong as it ought to be, if we’re persevering and steadfast and gentle…and all the other righteous attitudes and capabilities we need to live a Christ-like life, for that’s supposed to be our earthly goal.
And as always, wherever we find ourselves lacking, let’s turn to our heavenly Father and confidently ask for His always available help. Much LOVE!
…a Christian’s life is not an easy go…but the adventure involved is worth it…and the rewards at the end are truly phenomenal…
21 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a present help in trouble, a shield around me, a sincere heart, all or nothing at all, all them that love him, an integral part, balance, bet yuh bottom dollar, Bless His Holy Name, burn out, Creator, despair, direction, disgrace, fellowship, Friday chant, from one extreme, fulfill the desire, fun, furthering God's kingdom, generous help, give God the glory, glory hallelujah, God is our refuge and strength, help, illness, in black and white, in Jesus' name, in truth, Israel, judgements, live it up, LOVE, Moses, never to leave nor forsake us, no help in God, obedience, praise God, problems, provider, refreshed, refuge, relaxation, renewed, rest, righteous, Selah, shame, statutes, strength, stress, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the affairs of men, the Lord sustained me, the right mix, the weekend, the workweek, trouble
Psalm 46:1. God is our refuge and strength, a very present (an abundantly available) help in trouble.
So how do we begin this morning eh friends? I don’t have a clue as to how to engage your attention on this cloudy Friday morning in the fall of 2016, except to say: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the workweek is almost done! The weekend is here…
Give God the glory for that, because if the slave master had his way, we’d work seven days a week. Steups! The greedy fool! But thanks be to God for the weekend where we can do as we please… And am I going to live it up? You could bet yuh bottom dollar on that! Just watch me!’
Ah mih people, just like us eh? We go from one extreme to the other, from working too hard to partying too hard. But that only causes undue stress, burn out and eventually illness. What we need is some kind of balance in our lives, and our Friday Chant gives us direction on that.
So let’s chant it nuh. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes friends, rest, relaxation, fellowship and play are all necessary for us to live full and godly lives, but we need to mix them in the right proportion, don’t over do any of them. And if we find it difficult to get the right mix, the right balance, there is always our great God to turn to for advice and help.
What does our Bit say: ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present (an abundantly available) help in trouble.’ And that’s the living truth in a nutshell!
Our Creator and Provider is always there for us. In times of trouble we only need to call upon Him with a sincere heart and He will guide us to victory. Remember, He promises never to leave nor forsake us, and He stands by His promises.
And my brethren, we all have problems that we can’t solve, or handle, so there is no shame or disgrace in turning to the Lord for help. In fact, that’s what He wants us to do; come to Him for every purpose in life, be they big or small. The Lord wants to be an integral part of our lives, involved in EVERYTHING that we do.
But foolishly, we only want to allow Him to become involved in certain things, the others we want to deal with ourselves. Unfortunately though precious people, the Lord doesn’t work like that. He wants to be involved in ALL or NOTHING AT ALL!
So please, let’s check our lives and see if there are any areas that we are keeping God out of nuh, and then wisely invite Him to be a part of those areas. Yuh know that might be a part of our problem, why our lives aren’t going right at the moment; God isn’t totally involved in them.
Now let’s check out some scripture which reinforces our Bit. Hear Moses as he exhorts Israel to obedience. ‘For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh (a God so near) unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call him for?
And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgements so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?’ (Deut.4:7-8)
And the answer to both questions friends is NONE! Truly, there is no other God who is so involved, who takes such great interest in the affairs of men! And that’s the way it ought to be. We don’t need a God who is far off, unconcerned about our trials and tribulations, but one who is around when we need help.
Listen to Bruh David from Psalm 3 – A prayer of confidence in God – as he cries out in despair. ‘Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah. But thou, O Lord, art a shield for (around) me; my glory, and the lifter up of (the one who lifts up) mine head.
I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill (mountain). Selah. I laid down and slept; I awaked: for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.’ (Ps.3:2-6)
Oh what a glorious God we serve my people! That’s the kind of confidence He instills in us when we walk obedient to His will! So I really can’t understand why we refuse to walk steadfastly with Him. There is so much to be derived from a genuine walk with Christ, that it would take me a whole day to list them. (smile)
Now let’s go home with these wonderful words of Bruh David echoing in our minds, souls, bodies and hearts. From Psalm 145 – the Lord is gracious – he faithfully proclaims. ‘The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy (gracious) in all his works. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. The Lord preserveth all them that LOVE him: but all the wicked will he destroy. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.’ (Ps.145:17-21)
Wow! Oh my fellow believers right there we have the gospel truth in black and white! Please, please, I implore us, let’s take it heart nuh, so that our lives can be fulfilled! Let’s continually praise our wonderful God and bless His holy name at all times, for that is wisdom at its highest level! Much LOVE!
…praise Him, praise Him…Glory Hallelujah…He is LOVE…He is LOVE…
14 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a blanket promise, a double -minded man, a liar, a rewarder, a wave of the sea, abusing, advice, ask in faith, ask of God, ask permission, balance, burn out, Canada, Christ-like, commandmensts, consequences, cry, cutting off our nose, decisions, dissipate, do as I please, driven with the wind, earthly benefits, echo, fellowship, Friday chant, fun, generous help, gives to all men liberally, glorious kingdom, go to the loo, goal, God used wisdom, God's LOVE, he that comes to God, I love them that love me, I will love him, if ye love me, in Jesus' name, indwelling love of God, keep my commandments, kep his commandments, knowledge of God, life's trials, looking over mih shoulder, LOVE, loved of my father, must believe that he is, not doubting, obedience, obedient, on the right track, party, perspective, relaxation, rest, reveal myself, riotous, schoolboy, seeking wisdom, sitting on the fence, slave driver, steadfast, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, thanksgiving, the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, the weekend, those who seek me early will find me, to spite our face, ungodly living, walk as he walked, waste the weekend, wavering, wisdom, without reproach
Proverbs 8:17. I LOVE them that LOVE me; and those that seek me early (diligently) shall find me.
Well friends, it’s that day we all clamour for; Friday, because it means the end of the workweek and the start of the weekend. And for those of us living in this beautiful country of Canada it was a short week because of our Thanksgiving celebrations.
But yuh know what, whether we work five, four, or even three days a week, we’ll still cry out on a Friday: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! No more slave driver looking over mih shoulder. I can do as I please. Eat and drink what I want, when I want.
Don’t have to ask permission to go to the loo, or have anybody looking to see how often I go and how long I stay, as though I’m some little short pants schoolboy. Chuh!
The weekend is MINE! Mine to do as I please! And the wicked and greedy slave master and them be damned! Thank God for Fridays and the weekend! Let’s go and party now!’
And believe me friends, in this modern day and age, sadly, there are still work places that will cause that kind of cry to be echoed by the employees. But that still doesn’t give us the right to just dissipate and waste the weekend in riotous, ungodly living.
We need balance in our lives if we are to live them successfully. And that’s what our Friday Chant seeks to help us do. So let’s chant it with sincerity and truth now nuh.
All together: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Ah mih people, that is a much better perspective, because if we keep on abusing the weekends, then have to go to work tired and grumpy, we’ll soon burn out and get sick and won’t be able to enjoy the weekends again. We’ll end up cutting off our nose to spite our face.
That’s what happens when we overdo anything. Anyway, all I can do is give advice, we all have to make our own decisions as to how we live our lives, and remember we each have to bear the consequences too.
And our Bit gives us some of the best advice possible in this fallen world. ‘I LOVE them that LOVE me; and those that seek me early (diligently) shall find me.’
Cousin Sol is here talking about seeking wisdom, and we’ve seen in the past couple days the earthly benefits of seeking her, and also how God used her from the very beginning to create the universe.
And we all know the scripture where James declares: ‘If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not (without reproach); and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering (not doubting).
For he that wavereth (doubts) is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.’ (James 1:5-8)
Yes my fellow believers, it’s important that when we come to God we’re not doubting, or sitting on the fence, ‘for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’ (Heb.11:6b)
Now here’s an interesting note from the scholars on verse 5 above, James’ declaration about going to God for wisdom. ‘1.5: This verse is not a blanket promise of wisdom for any situation. In the context of life’s trials, it probably speaks of a believer being granted (1) wisdom as to the reason for his trials and (2) wisdom to endure them.’
So I guess we can’t use this verse as the basis for general but rather particular wisdom. However, there’s also another side to wisdom; the wisdom of seeking Almighty God!
When Jesus promised His disciples the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, He told them in no uncertain words. ‘If ye LOVE me, keep my commandments… He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that LOVETH me: and he that LOVETH me shall be LOVED of my Father, and I will LOVE him, and will manifest, (reveal, show) myself to him.’ (John 14:15,21)
Yeh friends, it’s all about LOVE! And LOVE means being obedient and steadfast. Hear how John puts it in his first epistle.
‘And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the LOVE of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk, even as he walked.’(1 John 2:3-6) John spells it out loud and clear my people!
And the scholars offer these comments. ‘2:3. John writes so that his readers may not sin (v.1). Now he sets forth a characteristic of genuine knowledge of God: obedience to His commandments. This is a major teaching of Jesus.’
‘2:5. Perfected is in the perfect tense. John refers to the decisive and enduring effect of the indwelling LOVE of God. But the test of knowing God’s LOVE is keeping His Word.’
Therefore friends, it all comes down to one word ‘OBEDIENCE!’ We can talk all we want about LOVING God, etc. etc, but it means absolutely nothing, unless we are walking in obedience to His commandments.
So let’s seriously ponder all we’ve said today nuh, let’s search our hearts and see if we are truly walking in obedience to God’s Word. Obviously we won’t be perfect, but we can know if we’re on the right track. And if we’re not, then we certainly can ask the Lord for the strength and wisdom to get on the right track. Much LOVE!
…to be Christ-like…obedient as He was…should be each believer’s sincere goal…
30 Sep 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a name above every name, a rainy day, at the right hand of God's throne, be of good cheer, caring, Christian, compassionate, complaining, dark clouds, despising the shame, doing my own thing, endured the cross, every knee shal bow, every tongue confess, exalted, faith, fellowship, finisher, freedom, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's kingdom, generous help, glorious days, Glory be, glory to God, good and faithful servant, humanity, humbled himself, in Jesus' name, in the form of God, in the likeness of men, ingrates, intercession, Jesus, Jesus christ is Lord, looking unto Jesus, loving kindness, lusts of pleasure, no reputation, obedience, obedience to God's will, originator, overcome the world, peace, perfector of our faith, Philippians, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rest, rewards, sacrificial end, servant, set before him, shame, sinless soul, stalwart resolve, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the author, the death of the cross, the joy, the SON, to the glory of God, trials, tribulations, way of life, we reap what we sow, welcome, when the trump is called
Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author (originator) and finisher (perfector) of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Well my people, it was indeed a rainy day in my area yesterday, and today looks like it’s going to be more of the same. But as always, even when we can’t see the sun, we know it’s somewhere behind the dark clouds hovering overhead.
Likewise, even if we don’t see the Son, we know for sure that He’s around, bright and beautiful, dwelling in our hearts minds, bodies and souls! Glory to God!
Now it’s Friday, and despite the gloomy weather, I’m still hearing joyful shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday, and two glorious days of freedom are on the horizon! Oh, the weekend is mine, to do what I want with it! Glory be! And even though the rain is falling, it’s not going to stop me from doing my own thing! Thank God for Fridays and the weekend yes!’
Ah friends, the lusts of pleasure are rearing their ugly heads, so let’s counteract them with our more sensible way of spending the weekend nuh, by chanting our Friday Chant. In one strong voice now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
And please people, let’s not just chant the chant, but let’s work it too, put it into action, so that we can have a great upcoming workweek, for remember whatever we sow on the weekend we’ll reap during the week. (smile)
And that segues quite nicely into our Bit. ‘Looking unto Jesus the author (originator) and finisher (perfector) of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.’
Yes my fellow believers, to run this race of life successfully, we have to keep looking to Jesus every day, for He is the one who designed the Christian way of life, and faithfully lived it right through to its sacrificial end. We can do no better than emulating Him, for therein lies eternal wisdom.
Now yesterday we continued dissecting our Bit by looking at the statement ‘who for the joy that was set before him.’ And though there was no joy in the real sense of the word, Jesus ‘endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.’
His obedience to the Father’s will was outstanding. The joy came much later; after He had sacrificed His sinless soul for a bunch of ingrates. And these words of Bruh Paul to the Philippians explains it all.
‘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. And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of (those) things in heaven, and (those) things in earth, and (those) things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil.2:5-11)
Yuh see friends, Jesus came to earth as a man for the specific purpose of dying on the cross for our sins. Remember, He was God, but took on our humanity and humbled Himself as a man, without complaining, so that He could do the Father’s will.
And yuh see what happened afterwards? The Father exalted Him; made His name higher than every other, and caused every tongue to declare that Christ is Lord, and He’s now set down at the Father’s right hand, offering intercession for us.
Wow! That’s how the Lord rewards us when we stand in obedience to His word, despite the trials and tribulations involved in our circumstances. It’s not easy, Jesus proved that, and He also promised it. ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33)
Yes mih breddren, though the world will be full of calamity, we can afford to be peaceful and of good cheer, because our Lord and Saviour has already overcome the sinful world. So let’s keep on looking to Jesus nuh, being humble and obedient, caring and compassionate, enduring our trials and troubles with a stalwart resolve, backed by Jesus’ promise never to leave nor forsake us.
Let’s keep on keeping on, with no thought whatsoever of giving up, until that day when we come to stand before the Father, and He invites us to live with Him forever, by uttering these wonderful words: ‘Welcome, thou good and faithful servant,’ and hugs us to His breast, the way a caring and compassionate father does his child.
Oh friends, we couldn’t ask for a better welcome than that! So please, let’s get ourselves together and do the things we ought to do nuh – we all know what they are – so that when the trump is called up yonder we’ll be there, getting a heavenly welcome. There’s no better reward than that! Much LOVE!
…true humility and obedience to God’s word on earth…will bring untold rewards and exceeding LOVING-kindness in heaven…
29 Sep 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a glorious deliverer, a marathon race, a positive outlook on life, a strong will, abide by Jesus' word, abundance, agonizing, blessings, broken in the name of Jesus, come to pass, courage, creativity, crucified, curse, dangers, dead in our sins, despising the shame, direction, disbelief, divine necessity, divine protection, endured the cross, eternity, family, favour, finisher, fools, foretold, forgiven, friends, fulfillment, future, glory, glory hallelujah, God's LOVE, good and faithful servant, Hades, health, heaven, History, identity, impediments, in innocence, iniquity, Jesus, joy, leader, look to Jesus, looking unto Jesus, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, Lucifer, Messiah, mindbending, Moses, negative word, New Testament, obedience, of our faith, Old Testament, open the eyes, originator, our heavenly Father, passe, perfector, promotion, prophets, prosper, radiance, reconciled to the Father, Resurrection day, scriptures, self-control, self-discipline, selfless sacrifice, set down at God's right hand, shame, significance of Jesus, sins of the world, slow of heart, succeed, success, successful living, suffering, supernatural strength, talent, thanks and praise, the author, the Father's will, the road to Emmaus, the SON, the true path, Thursday Blessings, trailblazer, transgressions, ungrateful people, welcome
Hebrews 12:2. Looking unto Jesus the author (originator) and finisher (perfector) of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of God.
Well friends, it’s a cloudy morning in my area. The sun is not shining, but thankfully the Son is holding forth as usual in all His wonderful radiance and brilliant glory!
All thanks and praise be to our heavenly Father for giving us Jesus as our Messiah, Leader, Lord and Saviour! Without Him, we’d be certainly dead in our sins, heading for a rough and troubled eternity with Lucifer in Hades.
But thanks to God’s great LOVE and Jesus’ selfless sacrifice, we have been reconciled to the Father and as His beloved children, can now look forward to spending eternity with Him in heaven. Glory Hallelujah!
And on that glorious note, let’s declare out Thursday Blessings, as we remember that a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone. With true belief, sincerity and enthusiasm now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life!
I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection!
I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Glory to God my people! We shall be blessed when we go out and come in, when we sit or lie down… in fact in all aspects of our lives our God will cause us to prosper. Wow! Isn’t that something else? It surely is!
That’s why we have to pay serious attention to our Bit. ‘Looking unto Jesus the author (originator) and finisher (perfector) of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.’
Yes friends, Jesus was the original trailblazer of our faith. He first ran the race and set all the standards for it. Now we need to adhere to those standards so that we can run the race successfully too. It’s not an easy race to run, for it’s a marathon across hill and dale, rivers and streams, one fraught with all sorts of dangers and impediments.
But thankfully Jesus has blazed the trail, shown us the way, lit the path, and if we sincerely abide by His word, then we too will have success, and one day hear the Father declare: ‘Welcome, thou good and faithful servant!’
Oh what a joyful day that will be my people! But first we have to get serious about looking to Jesus and following in His famous footsteps, otherwise we’re just wasting our time and His.
Now let’s look at a couple of interesting parts of our Bit, the first being, ‘who for the joy that was set before him…’
Now I really don’t see the joy in what Jesus was asked to do by the Father nuh – take the sins of the world on His shoulders, be crucified in innocence to pay for the iniquity and transgressions of ungrateful people.
It was joyful for us, because through His actions our sins were forgiven, but it must surely have been mind-bending and agonizing for Him. However, despite the affliction, His obedience to the Father’s will was perfect.
That brings us to Jesus’ words to the two disciples He met on Resurrection Day along the road to Emmaus. He chided them for their disbelief.
‘Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.’ (Luke 24:25-27)
Oh friends, the Lord didn’t send the prophets because He had nothing better to do, but to open the eyes of the people unto the coming of Jesus and what His purpose was going to be.
Hear the scholars. ’24:26. Ought (Gr. dei) bespeaks a divine necessity; what the prophets had foretold (see Is.53; Ps.16; 22) must and did come to pass. The disciples had been ready to see in Jesus a glorious deliverer, but Jesus’ rebuke (v.25) relates to their unwillingness to take seriously the many Old Testament texts that speak not only of the Messiah’s glory, but also of His suffering.’
And unfortunately, today a lot of us are also refusing to understand the importance of the Old Testament in the formation of the New Testament. But the scholars kindly inform us: ‘24:27. The entire Old Testament is indispensable for a grounded grasp of the identity and significance of Jesus.’
That is friends, if we don’t understand Jesus’ role and significance in the Old Testament; His appearances, His status, His doings and the prophesies about Him, we won’t be fully able to comprehend His form and function in the New Testament.
Therefore, please, let’s stop considering the Old Testament as passé, because it isn’t. It’s just as important as the New Testament in that it expounds the nature of our faith; it’s beginnings, its ups and downs, its promises, and above all the great message about our Messiah.
So today, as Almighty God blesses us, and as we bless others, let’s remember where we came from – the Old Testament – because if we don’t know our history and recognize it as being important, we surely won’t know our future; where we’re going, the direction in which we’re headed and how to handle it. Much LOVE!
…only as we look to Jesus…will we see the true path to successful living…
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