08 Feb 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: and have good success, answer our prayers, as I was with Moses, be strong and of a good courage, be thou strong and very courageous, but of power love and a sound mind, day and night, divided, ease their suffering, fear not, forgive us, God has not given us a spirit of fear, grace and mercy, have I not commanded thee, heal our land, hear our prayer, I will not fail thee nor forsake thee, Jehovah Rapha, mass confusion, Monday Morniing Battle Hymn, more evil than the evil one, more hateful than the unbelievers, more interested in the things of the world, omnipotent god, our Father who art in heaven, resentful, shall not depart out of thy mouth, sincere repentance, sincerely living for God, so will I be with thee, standing in faith, the basic necessities are in short supply, the God who heals, the Lord thy God goeth before thee, the Lord thy God is with thee, the Lord's faithfulness, the weekly work cycle, then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, this book of the law, thou shalt meditate therein, to do according to all the law, to the right hand or to the left, turn not from it, turned everything topsy-turvy, when we humble ourselves, when will the pandemic end, wise guidance and direction
Joshua 1:5. As I was with Moses, so will I be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
And the weekly work cycle begins again…for those who have jobs that is, and are not sick from the Covid-19 virus. What a way Monday has changed in the last year eh? Back then we would wake up grouchy and miserable, annoyed that we had to go to work in the cold, winter morning. But today, although we are still waking up miserable and grouchy on a Monday morning, (smile) it’s for very different reasons.
Now we’re wondering when the pandemic will end, do we still have a job, will we be able to work from home so we can escape the virus? On top of all that, money, food, clothing and the basic necessities are in short supply, so many of us are also very anxious about how we will get through this day. Yeh friends, what a difference a year makes! The pandemic has turned everything topsy-turvy, upside down, and many of us don’t know if we’re coming or going.
But we believers in Christ Jesus ought to know that, for from way back when, our wonderful and omnipotent God has promised never to leave nor forsake us. And if you don’t believe me, then listen to His word. When Moses was about to die, he spoke these encouraging and reassuring words to the people of Israel. ‘Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them (your enemies): for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.’ (Deut. 31:6)
And Moses commissioned Joshua to be the new leader, calling him in front of all the people, and saying unto him. ‘Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit. 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. 31:7-8)
Yes friends, Joshua and the people were encouraged by Moses of the Lord’s faithfulness towards His chosen people. And so should we be also encouraged in the Lord, because we are His children through adoption because we believe in His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. What amuses me though, but also encourages me, is how the Lord also spoke to Joshua after Moses died, promising that He would be with him just like he was with Moses, and nobody would stand up against him all his life. ‘As I was with Moses, so will I be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.’ (Josh. 1:5)
That just shows how important the situation was to the Lord. But then He issued some direct warnings to Joshua, amongst them this reiterated one: ‘Be strong and of a good courage…Only be thou strong and very courageous to do according to all the law…turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of (be constantly in) thy mouth: but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written there: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.’ (Josh. 1:6-8)
Oh my people, that is the basic foundation of our faith: meditating on God’s word and obeying it! That’s how we become successful and prosperous. But just like the Israelites back then, we’re not obeying God’s command, so no wonder we’re not prosperous and successful. And just for good measure, the Lord pounded it Joshua’s head one more time. ‘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 withersoever thou goest.’ (Josh. 1:9)
Oh friends, oh friends, how often must the Lord pound it into our heads too, before we begin to follow His commands eh? Look at the state of Christianity nuh! We’re more evil than the evil one, if that’s possible, more divided, resentful and hateful than the unbelievers. Not reading and meditating on the Good Book sufficiently, more interested in the things of the world than the things of God! Yet we expect to be successful. Steups! Now here’s this scripture that puts it in a nutshell. The words of Bruh Paul to Timothy. ‘For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound mind.’ (2 Tim. 1:7)
Yes my fellow saints, that’s what our wonderful God has given us; power, LOVE, and discipline, the basic things we need to be victorious, along with knowing and keeping His word. So let’s wise up nuh, bring our ways and lives into agreement with His word and will, so that we can be successful and prosperous. And the first step in doing that is turning to God in sincere prayer, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, sincerely pouring out our hearts, seeking grace and mercy.
So altogether, in confident voice: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You that this Monday morning we’re alive and standing in faith despite the mass confusion that’s currently prevailing in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems; the pandemic of Covid -19, the racial, political, and religious strife that’s ignited worldwide, plus the many natural disasters that now seem more prevalent than ever.
Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously come short in obedience and compliance to Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, and You have faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us, ordinary folks, as well as our leaders, employers and medical personnel, wise guidance and direction to bring our problems under control.
And for those who are currently suffering from the many negative situations, we pray that You will ease their suffering and heal them. Father, please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again we say: Amen!’
Now we have to seriously read, meditate and live according to God’s word, if we want to be successful and prosperous. Much LOVE!
…real success and prosperity…only come from sincerely living for God…
06 Jul 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a merciful, answer me, answer the tolling bells of work, be of good courage, believers in Christ, breathe out cruelty, causing havoc, complexities involved, earnest expectation, evil world, faith, false witnesses, forgiging, God must be our first refuge, gracious God, he shall strengthen thine heart, heal our land, hide not thy face, humble servants, I won't be here, in the land of the living, Jehovah Rapha, lead me in a plain path, leave me not, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, my mother and father forsake me, need your help, neither forsake me, omnipotent god, Our Father, pandemic, peaceful consensus, people die from starvation, prayer, quell the strife, scourges, see the goodness of God, seek your face, sincere repentance, Spirit of life, teach me thy way, the breath of life, the God who heals, the Lord is my light, the lord will take me up, troubled times, turn not thy servant away in anger, unity, unprecedented times, virus, wait on the Lord, who art in heaven, wise guidance and direction, work never kill anybody
Psalm 27:14. Wait (in faith) on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait (in faith), I say, on the Lord.
Oh my people, please sing this soulful ditty with me: ‘One Monday morning, I won’t be around to answer the call. Ohhh…One Monday morning, I won’t be here, to answer the tolling bells of work. (Repeat) But while I’m here…while God’s awesome breath of life, still surges through my body and soul, I’ll do my best, to answer the call, of those tolling work bells, on as many Monday mornings as I can.’
Yes my brethren, as true believers in Christ Jesus that should be our heart’s desire. (smile) Not the opposite reaction, hardening our hearts to the tolling work bells, as so many of us practice in these crazy times. As the ole people would say, ‘work never kill anybody yet nuh…. But plenty people die from starvation when they don’t work!’
But be that as it may, in these unprecedented times, when many of us are mired in anxiety and want because of all the stuff that’s happening, and some can’t work even though they want to, we have to look at the situation in an entirely different light. Nothing that’s happened before has prepared us for the complexities involved, so we have to come up with entirely new ways of handling it. And we know that this too shall eventually pass, the problem though is how and when is it going to pass, and what will be the resultant situation when it does?
Unfortunately, there’s only one Being right now who knows the answers to those questions, our omnipotent God, but in His infinite wisdom, He’s not telling. So our best shot is to bow down, surrender our hearts and lives to the Creator and Controller of our great universe; the Supreme Being who created us from the dust of the earth, then breathed His Spirit of life into us, and earnestly pray that He will extend a helping hand to our troubled world. He has said that when problems overwhelm our finite minds, we should turn to Him to get His supreme wisdom and guidance.
So as one strong voice, with sincere hearts, let’s invoke our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, asking for His mercy, grace and divine guidance in the worldwide problems that we’re now facing. ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You that this Monday morning we’re alive, and hopefully haven’t contracted the virus that’s causing havoc around our world. And our anxieties have been recently deepened because some restrictions have been lifted in the lockdown, so more of us are going out to work now without any guarantees of safety.
Then to complicate matters Father, suddenly, and unexpectedly, just like the virus, worldwide strife and protests have also struck us in this sad time of pandemic, and we don’t have a clue how to handle either situation properly. Mass confusion is currently prevailing in our world, and we desperately need your help to solve both problems, as You are the ONLY One with the power and insight to successfully handle them.
Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously come short in obedience and compliance to Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, and You have faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us, ordinary folks, as well as our leaders, employers and medical personnel, wise guidance and direction.
Please show us how to successfully handle these scourges that are currently plaguing Your beautiful earth. Please help our leaders to wisely quell the strife and protests, thus bringing unity, peaceful consensus and real improvement in the areas that are now sadly lacking. Please help the scientists to also find a positive solution, a sure antidote to the virus as quickly as possible. And for those who have already contracted the virus, or been injured in the strife, we pray that You will ease their suffering and heal them.
Father, please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again we say: Amen!’
Yes friends, we’ve done the first part of our task; pray. The next part is to do whatever is in our power to help the situation, with faith and earnest expectation that our prayer will be positively answered in the near future. That brings to mind Bruh David’s prayer from Psalm 27 – The Lord is my light and my salvation.
‘Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek. Hide not thy face far from me; put (turn) not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up (take care of me).
Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain (smooth) path, because of mine enemies. Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty (violence). I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait (in faith) on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait (in faith), I say, on the Lord.’ (Ps. 27:7-14)
Unfortunately, I can’t give any better advice than Bruh David’s my fellow saints in Christ. And it certainly worked for him, so I don’t see why it won’t work for us too. Much LOVE!
…in troubled times…God must be our FIRST refuge…
25 May 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: anxieties, blatantly denying God's promise, come short in obedience, compliance to your word, death, denigrate Mondays, disobedient, dust thou art, eat to your heart's content, faithfully promised, fearful, forgive us, good news, heal our land, hear our prayer, holding us to ransom, humble servants, irresponsible behaviour, Jehovah Rapha, know evil but couldn't resist it, know good but couldn't do it, Mamas and Papas, Monday Monday, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, omnipotent god, pray, restrictions lifted, Satan, scourge plaguing the earth, seek your face, subtle assertion, terrible backlash, the day that thou eatest it, the devil day of the week, the God who heals, the knowledge of good and evil, the tree of, the virus, their eyes were opened, thou shalt not eat it, thou shalt surely die, to dust thou shalt return, Trinity Bellwoods park, wake up crying, we have all sinned, wise guidance and direction
Genesis 2:17. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
‘Monday, Monday…Oh how I hate that day!…Come Monday morning, I’d wake up crying…Monday Monday!’ Ah friends, many of us older folks, please note I said older, not old folks, (smile) will remember those words, or some facsimile thereof (smile) from the hit song by the Mamas and Papas released in 1966, and which has become something of an institution over the years to denigrate Mondays. Thus to this day, some six decades later, Monday is looked upon as an outcast, as the poor relation, the devil day of the week, simply because it heralds the start of our work week, cuts into the good times we’ve been having over the weekend.
But if we want to eat, some of us have to work. It’s as simple as that. And in these uncertain and turbulent times, when life is so fragile, we need a lot of help just to make it through each day. But the good news is that we have powerful help, reassuring help, our omnipotent God! So let’s communicate with Him nuh, through what we call our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, letting Him know that we desperately need His divine favour and succour.
As one strong voice: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You that this Monday morning we’re alive, and hopefully haven’t contracted the virus that’s causing havoc around our world. Despite the crucial lockdown, those of us considered essential, still have go to work, and we’re somewhat fearful, because we have no idea, how, when and where the virus might strike. Our anxieties have even deepened in the last few days because some restrictions have been lifted, and more of us have to go to work now.
Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously come short in obedience and compliance to Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, and You have faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us, ordinary folks, as well as our leaders, employers and medical personnel, wise guidance and direction.
Please show us how to successfully handle this scourge that’s plaguing the earth, and help the scientists to find a positive solution, a sure antidote to it as quickly as possible. And for those who have already contracted the virus, we pray that You will ease their suffering and heal them Father. Show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again we say: Amen!’
Now all of that sounds good and proper, but yuh know what friends, we are our own worst enemy. And why do I say that? Because of the gross irresponsibility a lot of us are showing in these dangerous and unpredictable times. Good example; yesterday, Sunday, with the recent lifting of some park restrictions, and with the wonderful weather and temperature conditions, the small Trinity Bellwoods Park in the south western part of the city of Toronto saw several thousands of people picnicking and partying there, with no regard whatsoever to the terrible backlash their irresponsible behaviour could provoke, as we still don’t have a proper handle on the virus that’s holding us to ransom.
The only way we can control it right now is by physical distancing, which obviously wasn’t being practiced in that park yesterday. And in the U.S. on their Memorial Day weekend, there have already been numerous incidents of crowds on beaches and in parties in parks and elsewhere causing controversies with the authorities. And no doubt there’ll be more on the holiday today.
So what’s a body to say to that kind of irresponsible behaviour eh? Yes, it’s hard been locked down for a long while, but which do we prefer, to be safe and somewhat stir crazy, or free and easy and dead eh? And it’s not like people aren’t dying in large numbers from the Covid-19 disease. So why this crazy reaction? We really shouldn’t be surprised nuh, because flouting rules and regulations seems to be the natural nature of man. Look at how our forefather’s Adam and Eve screwed it up in the Garden of Eden when they had it so good.
Yuh know is one, ONE simple rule the Lord gave them: ‘And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest eat freely: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.’ (Gen. 2:16-17) Oh friends, according to the scholars, ‘2:16. The Hebrew words expressly emphasize, ‘you may eat to your heart’s content, of every other tree but that one in the middle.’
But as they say further: ‘Note Satan’s subtle assertion in 3:1. As he focused on the “one” tree they could not eat from. In so doing, he excluded the abundance in this verse.’ Yuh see how the ole serpent smart; he teased them with the one thing they couldn’t have, ignoring the abundance of all the other things they could have. And that’s the exact way we are still behaving to this day. We ‘re never satisfied with what we do have, but are always in search of what we don’t have, but think we ought to.
It’s simply a combination of greed and stupidity. But when we suffer the necessary consequences, then we hold our heads and bawl; ‘If I’d only known eh…’ But you did know because it was spelt out in spades, but you chose to disobey it. And with Adam and Eve, death was a sure thing if they disobeyed. But Satan again weaved his deceitful web around them by blatantly denying God’s promise and saying to Eve: ‘Ye shall not surely die. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods (God), knowing good and evil.’ (Gen. 3:4-5)
And yes technically speaking, their eyes were opened. ‘But the problem was that their eyes were opened to behold all things in the light of their own sinfulness. They would have a fixed moral nature like God; but it was fixed in sin, not righteousness. They knew good, but were unable to do it; and they knew evil, but were unable to resist it. There has always been the temptation to be like God. Here it suggests that God is holding something back from Adam and Eve.’
Yuh see how Satan could tie us up with unsaid suggestions or intimations. And today, unfortunately, we still falling for his deceitfulness, just like Adam and Eve. Nothing’s really changed nuh friends, we’re still disobedient to the rules and regulations of both our heavenly Father and our earthly leaders. And yuh know what? The same thing, certain death is forecasted for many of us if we insist on being disobedient! Much LOVE!
…for dust thou art…and unto dust shalt thou return… (Gen. 3:19b)
22 May 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a creature of habit, according to His righteousness, add our two cents worth, anything is possible, back to your fold, backsliders, burned the midnight oil, can't run from your wrong doings, come back to haunt you, confusion, Covid-19, daily they increase, enthusiasm, Esther, fallen into the ditch, free choice, free will, Friday chant, had it real rough, Haman, hanged Haman, havoc, havoce, he that rolleth a stone, hoist on his own petard, introduce a whole new flock, it will roll back on him, lifting of some restrictions, live like parasites, lockdown, modus operandi, Mordecai, no hugs, no shaking hands, omnipotent god, on the gallows, pandemic, physical distancing, Praise the Lord, Psalm 7, restoring faith in you, second wave of illness, shall fall therein, sing praise, smell the coffee, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, the error of their ways, the real value of real work, the workingman's song, their just comeuppance, to the name of the Lord Most high, twiddle our thumbs, wake up, when you least expect them, whoso diggeth a pit, wonders never cease
Today’s Scrip-Bit 22 May 2020 Proverbs 26:27.
Proverbs 26:27. Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon (roll back on) him.
Well, well, well! Wonders never cease, but daily they increase! Yes friends, the ole fella actually went to bed early last night, before midnight, and thus got up fairly early this morning! Hn! Strange, but true! And I must admit I definitely don’t feel as tired as in the past few days when I burned the midnight oil. But as a creature of habit, it’s hard to change your modus operandi in mid-stream. (smile) But I won’t say never, because when you’re working with and for our omnipotent God, anything is possible.
Now it’s Friday, and another beautiful summer-like day seems to be in the offing, so let’s see what the ordinary workingman has to say for himself nuh. And he does cry our with some of his old enthusiasm: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday oui! It was good to go back to work…though ah tired like ah dog now, because I haven’t worked in such a long time. The body’s no longer accustomed to that kind of hard work. And it’s a good thing it was a short week too, with the Queen Vic holiday on Monday. Don’t know what I’d do if I really had to work the whole five days nuh.
And yuh know what, although we complain when we have to work, this week everybody was happy to come back to work. And I think my lockdown was tough…Hn! Some single fellas had it real rough because they had nobody to talk to, and some of them middle aged and doh have no real computer skills either, so like it was lonely as hell for them. Even the slave master was happy and somewhat pleasant! But it just shows you the real value of real work for our human race. We wasn’t made to just sit around and twiddle we thumbs and live like parasites off of others.
And after so long apart, the physical distancing and no shaking hands or hugs was somewhat hard, but for the safety of all, we managed. Leh we hope that people stay responsible and we don’t have to go through another lockdown nuh! I couldn’t stand it! Oh brother, you’ll never hear me curse work again nuh! Thank God for Fridays and weekends yes!’
And that’s what I like about the ordinary workingman; he always tells it like it is, no setta B.S. and beating about the bush, but straightforward and to the point. And I do hope and pray that we stay responsible with the lifting of some of the restrictions, because that’s the only way we’ll avoid a second wave of illness and another lockdown. And having said all of that friends, let’s now add our two cents worth of hope and encouragement to the ordinary workingman’s as we humbly, but confidently come before our merciful Creator with our Friday Chant.
As one now, in strong voice, with sincere hearts: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. It’s been pretty rough…some from work, as some of us went back out this week, but a lot still from all the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus still causing. We not accustomed to that Lord, and it really telling on us. But with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat this virus. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the sure and wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible.
And please help those of us who have to go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, so that we can avoid any more serious setbacks. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to also bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. It’s also a good opportunity to introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion because of the way we, your faithful believers, handle the situation. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Ah mih people, what a wonderful world this would be if we’d just stop being selfish and greedy and trust wholeheartedly in the Lord God Jehovah, our Creator and Provider! But we have free will, free choice, so we can do whatever we want. The trouble is that we like to do as we please, but can’t stand to pay the resulting consequences, because friends, there are always consequences to our every action. As Cousin Sol wisely points out: ‘Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon (roll back on) him.’
And when we do, or plot to do evil, it usually ricochets or boomerangs back on us. That’s why the Jamaican saying, when yuh dig a pit, yuh should dig two, one for yourself too. And we have an exceptionally good example of this from the Good Book, in the story of Esther. ‘So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king’s wrath pacified (subdued).’ (Esth. 7:10) As they say in, it’s Hamlet, I believe: ‘He was hoist with his own petard (small bomb)’ Yeh, he was hurt by the very thing he made to hurt someone else!
And Bruh David says it so plainly of the wicked in Psalm 7. ‘Behold, he travaileth with iniquity (walks in sinful ways), and hath conceived mischief (trouble), and brought forth falsehood (encouraged lies). He made (dug) a pit, and digged it (dug it out), and is fallen into the ditch which he made. His mischief (wicked scheme) shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate (the crown of his own head).’ (Ps. 7:14-16) Fear not my brethren, the wicked will receive their just comeuppance in due time, the Lord has promised it, and we all know He’s a stickler when it comes to keeping His promises.
That’s why Bruh David ended Psalm 7 with these wise and awesome words. ‘I will praise the Lord according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the Lord most high.’ (Ps. 7:17) Yeh friends, wisdom decrees that we do the same in these turbulent and troubling times! Much LOVE!
…you can’t run from your wrong doings…for they usually come back to haunt you…at some stage of life…and when you least expect them…
14 Apr 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all things, be a partaker of, be not ashamed, beloved of God, bring it to pass, Buccoo, called according to His purpose, came to an end, cease from anger, clutching fear, Coronavirus, cur down like grass, delight thyself in the Lord, discipline, do good, Easter Tuesday, eternal life, evildoers, forsake wrath, fret not thyself, friend of Jesus, friendship of Jesus, ghastly destruction, give thee, Goat races, hearsya, holy spirit, hurry, I expect, I wait, I watch, in god's eyes, inherit the earth, LOVE, My personal rainbow, of power, omnipotent god, personal experience, pot of gold, Ruth Harms Calkin, salvation, share His love, sound mind, sweet Tobago, the afflictions of the gospel, the desires of thine heart, the divine perspective, the evildoers, the human perspective, the longest storm, the Lord God Almighty, the One Year Book of Bible Promises, the spirit of fear, the testimony of our Lord, those that wait upon the Lord, to them that love God, true state of the wicked, trust in the Lord, Tuesday Mantra, waves of agony, work together for good, worry, You are my God
Romans 8:28. And we know that ALL things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are called according to his purpose.
Well just imagine that nuh; no goat races this Easter Tuesday in Buccoo in sweet Tobago! It almost amounts to sacrilege! (smile) I don’t think that those races have been cancelled more than a handful of times ever since I was growing up there in Tobago. But today, the stadium – the only one in the world I believe that was built specifically for goat races will be empty, and no setta parties with loud music and plenty dancing will grace the beautiful seaside village of Buccoo, on this the most important day of their year.
But what to do eh? Coronavirus has spoken: ‘thou shalt be locked down, if thou wantest to prevent my worldwide spread and ghastly destruction!’ And so, what worldwide war has not been able to do; a tiny, but rather deadly and virulent virus has succeeded in doing; shutting down the world! But friends, let us never forget that the Creator and Controller of this wonderful universe is still sitting on His heavenly throne running things, and thus this virus business will end eventually, but in His time, because He has a purpose for allowing it.
So we just have to believe and have faith and carry on as necessary until then, for this too shall pass, as so many other disasters have, it’s just a matter of time. And to help us do that, here is an encouraging poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, titled, ‘My Personal Rainbow!’
Please pray with me: ‘Lord, right now I struggle with clutching fear. Waves of agony pour over me as I face the darkest moments In my life’s history. But my conviction still stands firm: You are my God!’ (Glory Hallelujah my people!) ‘And though I cannot predict my future Or even tomorrow I am sustained by the reminder That the longest storm The world has ever known… And the worst… Came to an end one clear-sky morning. It was true for Noah It will be true for me. Though as yet I see no deliverance I watch I wait I expect My personal rainbow!’
Mama oh Mama! And do we ever believe and expect to see that beautiful rainbow with it’s wonderful pot of gold at its end! Why, you ask? The answer’s simple: because the Lord God Almighty promised it, and He does not renege on His promises. They have ALL been faithfully executed since the beginning of time and will continue to be faithfully executed… until the end of time! And there’s no doubt about that because He has said so unequivocally in His Word. ‘And we know that ALL things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are called according to his purpose.’
And if you don’t believe that, then you don’t LOVE God, and you’re not called according to His purpose! Simple as that! And the scholars offer these explanations: ‘8:28. To them that LOVE God is the human perspective. God is working ALL things together for good, but those who LOVE God are best able to appreciate that fact because they LOVE Him no matter what (cf. Job 13:15). To them who are the called is the divine perspective. Scripture often refers to believers as “the called” or “the elect.”
That’s why, as true believers, in these most trying and fearful times, we are not afraid. Yes, we are concerned, and we do pay strict attention to the rules, but fear does not take us over and make us like jelly – flapping and flubbing around uselessly. And that’s also because our great ‘God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power (His Holy Spirit), and of LOVE (His most significant attribute), and of a sound mind (discipline and self-control).’ (2 Tim. 1:7)
And with all of that solidly planted and growing in us friends, we need not be afraid of what will and can happen to us, but are able to take it all in stride as we lean and depend on the Lord, our omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present God to defend and protect us as He’s faithfully promised to do. Consequently, as Bruh Paul continued to Timothy: ‘Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou (a) partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began (before time).’ (2 Tim. 1:8-9)
Yes friends, God has called and saved us with a salvation through Christ that we definitely did not deserve, but did it for His own purpose; basically, His endearing, unconditional and everlasting LOVE for us! So if we truly believe, then we need to take up our cross and follow Christ, unashamedly, through all the afflictions of this life, knowing the wonderful reward of eternal life that awaits us. And if all of that doesn’t move you, or reduce your fears and anxiety, (smile) then listen to these other most reassuring verses from Psalm 37; Bruh David’s declaration on The true state of the wicked.
‘Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (feed on His faithfulness). Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass…
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices (schemes) to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil (it only causes harm). For evildoers shall be cut off (destroyed): but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.’ (Ps. 37:1-5; 7-9)
Brother! What wonderful advice! And the good thing about it all, is that Bruh David is not speaking from hearsay, but from personal experience! So for those of us who truly believe, let’s go home now declaring (yeahhh!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know who and whose we are.
All together now, in strong voice, with sincere hearts: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
The natural next step is now for us to go out and do just that – share the LOVE and friendship of Jesus. Much LOVE!
…man was made by God…to LOVE…and be LOVED…
02 Mar 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new work week, all bets off, ambassadors, aura of love, avoids evil influences, blessed, chaff, confident manner, contrite, cries out for righteousness, day and night, delight in the law, destiny, disciples, enthusiasm, eternal damnation, fateful day, further your glorious kingdom, humble, incredible God we serve, invincible, jobs, keeping lives and families together, labour for our daily bread, makes evil its master, meditate, Monday blues, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, omnipotent god, people worse off than you, perish in darkness, ponder, renewed vitality, see his face in heaven, sitteth in the seat of the scornful, spiritual armour, stand in judgement, standeth in the way of sinners, steadfast faith, stupidity, sure conquerors, the counself of the ungodly, the enemy's ranks, the grim reaper, the man that walketh not, the righteous man, what He says goes, wisdom, worthwhile inroads
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.
Get on up children…get on up! That fateful day called Monday has come around once more, and thus it’s time for us to go on out and labour for our daily bread. And yuh better believe that those of you who have the weekend off every week are quite blessed, because the workers in the hotel where I’m staying work six days a week, with only one day off, and not necessarily on the weekend…and most likely for a pittance too.
The only redeeming feature seems to be that they apparently work 7 hours a day and not eight. So please stop complaining about how much you have to work, for there are always people worse off than you. Matter fix!
And yes that won’t stop many of us from being mean, grouchy and miserable on a Monday morning when the alarm goes off, heralding a new week of work, which means we’ll always have need or our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, that wonderful antidote for whatever ails us on a Monday morning. (smile) So let’s get to it without further ado nuh. In humble, contrite but confident manner, as one strong voice:
‘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 my, my! I can feel the awesome power of the Holy Spirit working in me already! My mind is more alert and receptive and my emotional wellbeing has improved immeasurably! No more Monday morning blues, for they have been driven away, in answer to our prayer. Wow! What an incredible God we serve my fellow believers; one who answers prayer as quickly as it’s needed, once it’s in His will! Yeh, His timing is always right; He’s never too early or late, but always right there on the button! Give Him some much deserved thanks and praise nuh.
And I just got the feeling in my spirit, that because this is the first day of the work week, we need a reminder of how we should behave out in the ungodly world as ambassadors of Christ. And this psalm just shot into my mind. Oh friends, there is no better reminder than this amazing psalm of wonderful advice and constant hope. ‘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.’
Yes my people, that’s what we ought not to do when we claim to be representing Jesus! But now, here is the right and better side of the equation; what we ought to do: ‘But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate (ponder) day and night.’ (Ps.1:2) Now that’s how a good ambassador of Christ behaves! He studies Christ’s Word so that he can go out and dutifully, kindly and generously replicate them.
Remember we’re disciples of the Great Rabbi, which means we’ve got to follow as closely as possible in His footsteps, in each and every area of our lives. Apparently the disciples of the early rabbis had to walk and talk and behave exactly like their teacher did, even walk in his physical footsteps. (smile) But that’s what discipleship is all about; doing what your teacher does.
And if you think that’s too hard, then see if this wonderful reward won’t change your mind. ‘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.’ (Ps.1:3) Mama Yo! What a great reward that my breddren! Yes friends, when we do what Jesus desires of us in the right spirit, with the right motives and attitudes, He plentifully rewards us with a prosperous and blessed life.
And according to the scholars: ‘Psalm 1: The key word in the psalm is the word blessed. It serves here as a pronouncement upon a man – but a certain kind of man. In essence, the psalm is teaching that the blessed or happy man is the righteous man. The happy man avoids evil influences, deeds, and attitudes (vs.1); he delights in God’s Word (vs.2); therefore God causes him to prosper.’
Words of a future and a hope my people. But hear the other side of the coin nuh. ‘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.’ (Ps.1:4-5) Yuh see friends, the ungodly are not worth anything but the chaff, the husk of the wheat or whatever seed you choose, which the wind blows away, and his destiny is judgement.
And then we come to the final verse. ‘For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.’ (Ps.1:6) Oh my people, our omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God knows both sides of the coin, because He is the eternal God who created and still controls everything, and has determined that the ungodly shall not see His face in heaven, but perish in the darkness of eternal damnation, and whatever He says, goes!
Please remember that, as it’s ever so important in where you end up. And we’ll close with some encouraging and enlightening words from the scholars. ‘The psalm forms an appropriate introduction to the Psalter (Book of Psalms) since it sets before the readers the three characters who will figure mostly in the psalms: the righteous, the ungodly, and God.’
But it all depends on the individual, into which group he or she falls. So please, let’s be wise and seriously consider our beliefs and actions, starting right now nuh, because we know not when the grim reaper will come a calling, or Jesus will come again, and once either situation occurs, all bets are over. Much LOVE!
…wisdom cries out for righteousness…but stupidity makes evil its master…
10 Jan 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a homemaker, a wake up call to repentance, be not afraid, be thankful, by knowledge, by understandingm established the heavens, climate change, corrupt leaders, dissatisfied God, dog eat dog world, extinction, fear not, fellowship, founded the earth, Friday chant, from being taken, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, grace to thy neck, had enough of war, hardworking wives, having a field day, heightened tensions, incompetent, indiscriminate bombings, keep sound wisdom and discretion, keep thy foot, lie down to sleep, life unto thy soul, natural disasters, negative world affairs, omnipotent god, precipice of war, Proverbs, relaxation, rest, rhetoric, social media, stand strong, sudden fear, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, the depths are broken up, the desolation of the wicked, thy confidence, trouble, warmongers, will not be afraid, wisdon, wonderful shepherd
Proverbs 3:25. Be not afraid of sudden fear (terror), neither of the desolation of (trouble from) the wicked, when it cometh.
And then it was Friday, that day we so revere and look forward to, because it means we’re about to get a much needed break from work. Many of us, however, are today more concerned about the serious state of negative affairs in our world in this short space of ten days of the new year. The anger and concern in our world hasn’t been this high in a long while. What with the natural disasters of fires, famines and whatnot, we also have the heightened tensions caused by indiscriminate bombings and killings and heated words and arguments of imminent international war being thrown around by incompetent and corrupt leaders.
Steups! Haven’t we had enough of war? Are we still so stupid and short sighted to think that war solves anything? We must be, since the warmongers are having a field day with rhetoric of unbelievable proportions! But friends, the long and short of the story is that most of us can’t do anything about the tenuous situations currently facing our world, so we have to stop the worrying. Remember, worrying fixes nothing, just causes things to get worse. If you can fix it, why worry about it, just fix it! And if you can’t fix it, then why worry about it eh?
Our main solution to the problem is simply prayer; turning to God with sincere hearts minds bodies and souls. And what amazes me is that we’ve turned away so far from God, that with all the negative stuff happening, our religious leaders aren’t even thinking that it might possibly be all a wake up call from our dissatisfied God, and all He’s seeking is for us to return to His wonderful fold. It’s been documented in the Good Book all down through it’s history, so why should these perilous times be any different eh?
Friends, I don’t know the answers either, but I do know that this ought to be a time of serious prayer and repentance because that is the only thing that can bring us back from the overhanging precipice of war and possible extinction on which we’re currently precipitously balancing! Anyway, it’s Friday and the workingman is just dying to have his say. So what say we let him eh? (smile)
‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday oui! It wasn’t a bad week at work nuh, though the weather could have been more consistent; instead of one minute snow, one minute rain…yuh never know what to expect. Just look at all the snow we had fall yesterday. Today there’s hardly a trace of it; either washed away by the rain, or melted in the warmer temps. I guess that’s all about climate change. But don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, for generally speaking, the less snow I have to encounter in my everyday life, the happier I am!
And with the children back to school now, contented with all their toys and stuff, for the time being that is, the wife was able to get some much needed rest and do some stuff for herself. Brother, it’s so busy and draining being a homemaker these days, even with all the helpful tools that are supposed to make it easier! Don’t know how women long ago handled it nuh. We just got to be thankful for sensible, hardworking wives, Fridays and weekend yes!’
And all the men said a loud and grateful ‘Amen!’ (smile) Ah mih people, life might have been somewhat harder physically long ago, but it certainly wasn’t as stressful and busy like it is today. And one would think that with all the technological inventions etc. etc. we’d be able to slow down. But the truth is all those inventions are just making us become busier and want things in even shorter time periods.
But for those of us who sincerely believe in and trust the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, we don’t need to rush around like a chicken with it’s head cut off – have you ever seen that – (smile) we ought to be well grounded, calm and not anxious or fearful. And to help us do that, let’s give out with our Friday Chant 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, ours is a more cautious though still amazingly more enjoyable life than that of the ordinary workingman.
And you’ll notice that in his song he didn’t mention anything about the current turmoil in our world. That’s because a lot of the ordinary working people, don’t have the time to worry about such stuff, even though they might hear it on their televisions or radios or social media. Why? Because they’re too busy trying to make a half decent life in this crazy, dog-eat-dog world in which we now live!
And I believe this passage from Proverbs will help us today, if we seriously embrace it. ‘The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. By his knowledge the depths (deeps) are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew. My son, let not them (wisdom, understanding, knowledge) depart from thine eyes; keep sound wisdom and discretion:
So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace (favour) to thy neck. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. Be not afraid of sudden fear (terror), neither of the desolation of (trouble from) the wicked, when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.’ (Prov. 3:19-26)
Oh my people, as true believers, let us not fear in these troubling times, but instead stand strong and sincerely turn to our omnipotent God, Creator and wonderful Shepherd! That will certainly stand us in good stead when negative things come against us! Much LOVE!
…the most used words of Jesus…FEAR NOT…
06 May 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a roof over our heads, all things you ask in prayer, almighty god, antidote, ask, aura of love, believing, confidence, eat, enthusiasm, evil, faithfulness of God, false promises, finicky weather, for good measure, for my love, friends, frivolous, greedy, holy fire, holy hands, holy spirit, humble servants, I give myself unto prayer, in Jesus name, in return, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, knock, knock the door will open, lagniappe, lose heart, LOVE, mature in faith, men ought to pray, men pray every where, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, music to my ears, my adversaries, nectar for our souls, not faint, omnipotent god, our bread is buttered, power of prayer, pray without ceasing, prayer, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, salvation, seek, selfish prayers, sincere prayer, sincerity, sinful mask, sinful mortals, spake a parable, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, stumbling block, sweet music, the enemy's ranks, the Son of God, thou that hearest prayer, trust, truth, ungodly world, victorious battle, wisdom, without wrath or doubting, you shall find
Psalm 109:4. For (in return for) my LOVE they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.
Well at long , last, yesterday we had a sunny and dry day from begin to end! Glory Be! Let’s hope today will be the same. But who knows what the finicky weather will do these days eh? Anyway it’s Monday… and you know what that means – to labour, to labour, and yet to labour!
Yes, it’s unfortunate that we need to labour, and labour so much and so often, (smile) but the truth of the matter is if we don’t labour, we won’t eat, nor have a roof over our heads. And having settled the question of labouring, (smile) let’s get on with life, get ourselves together and go out and labour, in Jesus’ glorious name.
And yes, some of us will always have problems on a Monday morning, but thankfully we have this wonderful antidote for all of Monday’s ills, called our Monday Morning Battle Hymn; a crying out in prayer, in confidence, to our heavenly Father, who’s faithfully promised to hear and answer us whenever we come to Him humbly and reverently outlining our needs.
So let’s do just that right now nuh; call on Him as one: ‘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!’
And as always, our heavenly Father answers by getting the Holy Spirit, which dwells within us, to ramp up His efforts of positive production in our souls so that we can step higher and lighter, throw our shoulders back with confidence and enthusiasm, while a holy fire lights up our eyes! Yes friends, we’re now ready to go out and do victorious battle against the enemy, all in Jesus’ name!
Never doubt the power of prayer…neither the faithfulness of our omnipotent God! That’s why Bruh David made this immortal statement: ‘For (in return for) my LOVE they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.’ Oh friends, we could never go wrong by declaring (steups – wrong again!) that same statement in sincerity and heartfelt truth. For like Bruh David, we ought to know where our bread is buttered…at the throne of the Most High God Jehovah!
And Bruh David reinforced all of that with this other immortal statement: ‘O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.’ (Ps.65:2) Ah mih people, our God does hear prayer! That’s the way He set up communications with us, and we should be wise and knowledgeable, and mature enough in faith to go to Him with ALL problems, because that’s exactly what He desires.
And Jesus, as He is ever wont to do, states it so clearly and plainly: ‘And all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.’ (Matt.21:22) Now that’s not me, but the Son of God making that bold statement! And if anybody should know about prayers and having them answered, it should be Him!
But please note the one stumbling block in His statement; the word ‘believing.’ Yes mih people, when making those prayers to Almighty God, we have to believe that we will receive what we pray for. And Jesus is not talking about, frivolous, greedy, selfish prayers either, but serious stuff that we truly need.
And that wasn’t the end of His wonderful advice either. Listen up, as Luke informs us: ‘And he (Jesus) spake a parable unto this end, that men ought always to pray, and to not faint (lose heart).’ (Luke 18:1) There again friends, if the Son of God makes such a definitive pronouncement, who are we mere sinful mortals to disagree eh?
And we all know Jesus’ other famous pronouncement on prayer: ‘Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.’ (Matt.7:7-8)
I don’t know about you nuh my fellow believers, but that is sweet music to my ears! Just keep on asking and seeking and knocking in prayer and I will be rewarded! I know to some of us it sounds too good to be true, but please remember Jesus is not a man to lie or make false promises, so if He says so, it is so! Matter fix!
And just for good measure, as a lagniappe or brawtha, (not sure about that last spelling) (smile) here are a couple of admonitions from Bruh Paul on the subject. To the Thessalonians he said in no uncertain terms: ‘Pray without ceasing.’ (1 Thess.5:17) And to Timothy, he exhorts: ‘I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.’ (1 Tim.2:8)
So that seals the matter; we ought to keep on praying, anywhere and all the time in true belief, never get tired or give up! Much LOVE!
…sincere prayer…truly nectar for our souls…
04 Feb 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a heart-stopping event, a rushing mighty wind, antidote, aura of love, cloven tongues, communicating with the Father, confidence, Day of Pentecost, dream dreams, enthusiasm, evil, excited to work for Jesus, faith, faithfulness, filled with the Holy Ghost, flood warnings, friends, God's promises, Great Tribulation, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, invincible, it shall come to pass, Jesus Christ, Joel, lies, LOVE, millennial kingdom, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, not drunken, of much repute, old men, omnipotent god, on all flesh, passed the test, peace, Peter, pour out my Spirit, prophecy, prophesy, put a smile on our faces, renewed vitality, rest, roll with the punches, see visions, speak with other tongues, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, taunts, testimony, third hour of the day, trust, truth, ungodly world, up to scratch, wiles, wisdom, work, young men, your sons and daughters
Joel 2:28. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.
And after the snow and the freezing cold, come the rain and the flood! Yeh friends, flood warnings have been issued in these parts for the next couple days due to the quickly melting snow and the rain accompanying it. As they say, when it’s not one thing, it’s another!
But that’s just life, and we have to roll with the punches, and as believers in Christ we are better prepared to do that than most of the population, so there should be no cause for overly serious concern.
Nonetheless, we’re only human and still liable to fall prey to the deceitful whispers of the enemy, which means we’re somewhat less than up to scratch this wet and rainy Monday morning. (smile) But it’s all good, for we have just the right pick-me-up to solve your problem; that’s our Monday Morning Battle Hymn; antidote of much repute!
So without further ado, let’s get seriously, but humbly and confidently communicating with the Father. As one body 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!’
There you go friends, matter fixed! We’re bright and bubbly now as the Holy Spirit works in us to put a smile on our faces, strength and confidence in our hearts and souls and have us excited to go out now and work for Jesus! Wow! What a transformation can take place when the Spirit of the Lord God Jehovah goes to work in His children! There’s nothing else like it in this whole wide world!
And that points us to God’s promise of that future event through the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.’
And then Joel goes on to prophesy about the things that will go on during the Great Tribulation and the establishment of the earthly Davidic millennial kingdom that follows the events of the Great Tribulation. However, we’re only interested here in the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon all flesh, and we all know that happened on the miraculous Day of Pentecost!
What a majestic showing that was mih people! Nobody can put on a show like our omnipotent God nuh! Can you imagine sitting down in that room with the disciples, and all of a sudden you hear this sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind which then proceeded to fill the whole house? (Acts 2:2) I know they were all waiting for and anticipating the coming of the Holy Spirit as Jesus promised, but I doubt that they were expecting it to be so such a heart-stopping event.
And the mighty rushing wind wasn’t all, for as the Good Book tells it: ‘And there appeared unto them cloven (divided) tongues like as of fire. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.’ (Acts 2:3-4)
And can you imagine the confusion when these uneducated men from the surrounding area came out and began speaking in the languages of the different Jews who had come to Jerusalem for the big feast? They were all amazed, some even claimed that they were drunk: ‘Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.’ (Acts 2:13)
But that’s when Peter gave his great speech: ‘ But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said, unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day (9.am). But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;’ (Acts 2:14-16) And then he goes on to specify the words of our Bit and the rest of Joel’s prophecy.
So you see friends, it’s not wise to write off any of God’s promises, especially if He doesn’t give a definite time frame, for remember His thoughts and ways and times are not like ours, so some of those promises could be earmarked for hundreds of years later, like that of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon all believers.
Now I sincerely hope we have all been encouraged some this Monday morning, and that our faith has also been strengthened by this review of one of God’s great promises! So please hang in there and don’t ever give up, even when things seem like they can’t get any worse, because they can always get better when our hope and trust and faith are safely placed in our Triune God! Much LOVE!
…logic dictates…that when you’re at the bottom…the only place left to go is up…and Jesus can…and will reach down and pull you up…
P.S. I’m chuckling here as I just realized that I passed the test, and thus have a testimony! Hear it nuh. The ole fella had a rough night, and so was one of those in the not up to scratch group today, (smile) and was really struggling to write the Bit. But I hung in, didn’t give up, and yuh see how Jesus eventually reached down and pulled me up out of the mire and helped me to write something sensible. (smile) Bless His holy name and His faithfulness! That means He can and will do the same for you too. Much LOVE!
03 Feb 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a song of praise, be glad and rejoice, Bless His Holy Name, burden, call and answer, Calvary, dissatisfied with God, Edwin Hawkins, enemies, every day, exalting his holy name, fear not, fellowship, fight and pray, forgiveness of sins, found liars, giving God glory, gospel music standard, happy art thou, happy is that people, He taught me how, heaven singing and dancing, hindrance, honour, Jesus died on the cross, joyful, live rejoicing, lived up to every promise, LOVE, majesty, Moses blessed, my sins away, Oh Happy Day, omnipotent god, pagan worship, paid our sin debt, pay obeisance, people saved by the Lord, Phillip Doddridge, privilege, righteousness, selflessness, show our thanks, submit to you, Sunday, the Father singing and swaying, the greatest gift, the Lord will do great things, the shield of thy help, the sword of they excellency, the tribes of Israel, their high places, to watch, tread down, unhappy, when Jesus washed, whose God is the Lord, worldly way of life, worship God
Joel 2:21. Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things.
Here it is friends, Sunday, the first and best day of the week! Time to rest as well as time to fellowship with other believers in the house of our omnipotent God! Glory be my people! There’s no greater honour and privilege than giving God glory, praising Him and exalting His holy name with other believers!
Some of us look upon it as work, as an unnecessary burden and a hindrance to our worldly way of life, but for your information my brethren that’s the main reason God created us in the first place; to worship Him, to pay Him obeisance in all that we do. So let’s cut out all the rigmarole nuh, and if we’re physically able, let’s get ourselves to church sometime today and praise and worship and adore and exalt our most wonderful God!
Now let’s get the proceedings going with this wonderful song written by the English clergyman Phillip Doddridge in the latter half of the 18th century. It’s a song we all know and LOVE, especially this gospel arrangement by Edwin Hawkins, recorded by the Edwin Hawkins Singers back in the late 1960’s, eventually becoming an international hit and a gospel music standard.
So friends, let’s lift our voices, our eyes and hands, our hearts and souls to heaven as we worship God with the rather appropriate words and sentiments of ‘Oh Happy Day!’ And don’t forget to make the call and response sweet, for though the words are meaningful they are mostly repetitive, and it’s that back and forth communication that truly livens up the song.
So enough talk, let’s sing: ‘Oh, happy day (Oh, happy day) Oh, happy day (Oh, happy day) When Jesus washed (When Jesus washed) Oh, when He washed (When Jesus washed) When Jesus washed (When Jesus washed) He washed my sins away (Oh, happy day) Oh, happy day (Oh, happy day) (Repeat) He taught me how (He taught me how) To watch and fight and pray Watch and pray And live rejoicing every day Every day
Oh, happy day (Oh, happy day) Oh, happy day (Oh, happy day) When Jesus washed (When Jesus washed) Oh, when He washed (When Jesus washed) When Jesus washed (When Jesus washed) He washed my sins away (Oh, happy day) Oh, happy day (Oh, happy day) He taught me how (He taught me how) To watch and fight and pray Watch and pray And live rejoicing every day (Good God) Every day
Oh, happy day (Oh, happy day) Oh, it’s a happy day (Oh, happy day) Oh, Lord (Oh, happy day) Mmm, good God (Oh, happy day) Oh yeah (Oh, happy day) Mmm, oh (Oh, happy day). Oh, happy happy dayyyy…!”
Oh friends, oh friends, that was wonderful! All heaven was singing and dancing with us! It’s one of those songs that you can’t help feeling in your soul and responding favourably to it. And don’t think that the Father wasn’t swaying and singing too nuh, because there’s nothing He likes better than a good song of praise! Bless His holy name!
And there’s no doubting that the day Jesus died on the cross was indeed a happy day for us, because as the song says, He washed all our sins away, paid our sin debt in full! Wow! And if that isn’t cause to be happy, I don’t know what is nuh! Yes my faithful brethren, forgiveness of sins is the greatest gift that we can ever receive! And Jesus in His amazing LOVE and selflessness provided it for us!
Note He sacrificed His sinless life for us, bore our sins on the cross at Calvary so that we could have His righteousness and be reconciled to our heavenly father, from whom we were then estranged through the partition of sin. Therefore we ought to gratefully and gracefully accept His offer and continuously show our thanks by living sincerely for Him and His cause. How could we do otherwise eh, after all He’s done for us?
He died for us, taught us how to watch and fight and pray and live rejoicing everyday…yes friends every day! Now isn’t all of that stuff to be joyful about? It surely is! And we’d certainly be foolish and unwise if we didn’t accept it as such and be joyful about it all! We have absolutely no reason to be unhappy and dissatisfied with the Lord, for He’s lived up to every promise He’s ever made.
Look at what He promised the Israelites in our Bit through the prophet Joel after they had come back to Him in repentance. ‘Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things.’ And He most certainly did! The greatest being the unconditional LOVE He bore us and expressing it through Jesus, which gave us the forgiveness of sins, and then salvation through His amazing grace! And I’ll say it again; NOTHING can be greater than that friends!
Hear how Moses blessed the tribes of Israel before his death. ‘Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency (majesty)! And thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee (submit to you): and thou shalt tread upon (tread down) their high places (places of pagan worship.’ (Deut.33:29) And that’s exactly what happened to Israel when they were obedient to the Lord.
And we’ll end with Bruh David’s take on the subject from Psalm 144: ‘Happy is that people, that is in such a case (state): yea, happy is that people, whose God is the Lord.’ (Ps.144:15) And if Bruh David was saying that long before Jesus came, can you imagine how much better it got when Jesus came? Oh friends, if I have to read and spell that for you, then you don’t really believe nuh! Much LOVE!
…true believers in Jesus…ought to be constantly rejoicing…and showing it too…simply because of the wonderful gifts He’s given us…
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