23 Aug 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all the days of his life, as long as he liveth, barren womb, be responsible, being in agony, Bible, christianity, desperate prayers, different levels of intensity, divine aid, even unto death, faith, Friday chant, give unto thine handmaid a man child, god, Hannah's Prayer, Hannak kept her vow to God, he prayed more earnestly, he shall be lent to the Lord, his sweat as it were great drops of blood, I have lent him to the Lord, I will give him unto the Lord, if it be possible, if this cup may not pass from me except I drink it I, improve our Christian witness, introduce a new flock of believers, Jesus agonized over separation from the Father, Jesus Christ, let this cup pass from me, look on the affliction of thine hand maid, LOVE, My God my God, my soul is exceeding sorrowful, no razor shall come upon his head, not as I will but as thou wilt, O thou that hearest prayer, omnipotent help, return backsliders to your fold, show them the error of their ways, simmering unrest, strengthening him, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the example your faithful believers set, the Garden of Gethsemane, the sin-bearer for all mankind, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, thy will be done, unexpecte storms, ungodly times, vowed a vow unto God, wake up and smell the coffee, watch and pray, why hast thou forsaken me, ye enter not into temptation
Psalm 65:2. O thou that hearest prayer…unto thee shall all flesh come…
And so it’s Friday; with the shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ reaching up to heaven with different levels of intensity and sincerity, according to our particular circumstances. (smile) Yes, in times of dire need our intensity level does ramp up, while in good times our prayers have a greater calm and peace to them. We don’t need God or His help as quickly and desperately, so we’re much more relaxed. And that’s only human, as we can see in the Bible, where many great people of faith prayed desperate prayers. Let’s look at a couple of them.
Now, the first one that comes to mind is that of Jesus Himself, where on the night before His crucifixion, after the Passover meal, His disciples and himself went to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. There, He took His three favourites, Peter, James, and John aside, and began to be sorrowful (grieved) and very heavy (deeply distressed). Then He told them: ‘My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: Tarry (stay) ye here, and watch with me. 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.
And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing , but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except (unless) I drink it, thy will be done.’ (Matt. 26:38-42) After that second prayer, Jesus came back to the three disciples and again found them asleep, but left them alone and went back by Himself and prayed the same prayer.
Then we pick up the story from Luke: Jesus prayed: ‘Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.’ (Luke 22:42-44) Yes friends, three times Jesus prayed asking the Father to abandon the crucifixion, and He was in so much agony that His sweat seemed like drops of blood. And as the Lord is won’t to do when we are in need, He sends an angel to strengthen Christ.
Oh, Jesus knew that the cross was the reason for His coming to earth, and according to the Scholars, ‘He wrestles, not so much with death itself, but with His own destiny to be made the sin-bearer for all mankind for all the ages. The punishment that had to be borne for our sins brings Jesus to His knees in anguish.’ And so it should, with the mighty weight of all sins placed on one person’s shoulders.
It should also be noted that Jesus was agonized by the coming separation from His Father, for they had never been separated before, and since the Father could not tolerate sin, when He became the world’s sin bearer, He’d become accursed of God, and the Father would automatically turn away. Thus His plea the next day on the cross: ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ (Matt. 27:46)
And sadly we have time for only more one example of desperate prayers from people of great faith; that’s Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel. She was the barren second wife of Elkanah, a prosperous man who LOVED her deeply. But she was constantly laughed at and scorned by the other very fruitful wife for her barrenness. One time when the family went up to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice to the Lord, Hannah couldn’t take it anymore and went into the temple.
The Bible tells us: ‘And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, wand wept sore (in anguish). And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine hand maid, and remember me, and forget not thine hand maid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.’ (1 Sam. 1:10-1)
And we all know that eventually the Lord answered her desperate prayer with the birth of the prophet Samuel. But most important of all, Hannah kept her vow to the Lord. When Samuel was of age she took him up to the temple in Shiloh and feasted and sacrificed to the Lord before the priest Eli, who, had seen her praying that day for the child but thought her drunk and accused her thus, but found our differently after their conversation. (1 Sam. 1: 12-18)
‘And she (Hannah) said, Oh my lord, (referring to Eli) as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by here, praying unto the Lord. For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him: Therefore also I have lent (granted) him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord. And he worshipped the Lord there.’ (1 Sam. 1:26-28)
Oh friends, our God does answer prayers, especially sincere and desperate ones. (smile) Now, let’s offer up our sincere and desperate prayer for help through our Friday Chant. Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times.
We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And do we ever need to improve our Christian witness in these very troubled times… if we expect to receive divine aid! Much LOVE!
…O thou that hearest prayer…unto thee shall all flesh come… (Ps. 65:2)
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
16 Aug 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a man of knowledge increaseth strength, a means of restoring faith in you, better examples of Christian living, carnality of the flesh, Christ died for us to have life more abundantly, compassion, dare to die, deeply grieves God, distress, faith, famine was in the land of Canaan, fast fading away, for thy sake, Friday chant, God commendeth his own love toward us, God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son, hold a dearer place in our hearts, hope, I am persuaded, in all these things we are more than conquerors, in the last days, introduce a new flock of believers, Jesus Christ, joy, LOVE, love of the first order, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God, men shall be lovers of their own selves, mercy, my kindness shall not depart from thee, nakedness, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nothing shall separate us from the love of God, omnipotent help, our hope resides in Jesus, peril, perilous times shall come, persecution, return backsliders to your fold, salvation, should not perish but have everlasting life, steadfast love, summer season, sword, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, that neither death nor life nor angels, the covenant of my peace, the error of their ways, the foolish way of the ungodly world, the gospel truth, the Lord that hath mercy, the simmering unrest, tribulation, truth, wake up and and smell the coffee, we are killed all the day long, while we were yet sinners, who shall separate us from the Love of Christ, whosoever believeth in him, wisdom, wise guidance
John 3:16. For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
And just in case you don’t realize it friends, on this sunny Friday morning, we’ve just entered the second half of August 2024! And yes, it’s nice to shout ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ but at the same time the month, and thus our summer season is fading fast away! And you know what comes after August? (smile) Why is it though, that the winter season takes so long to finish, while the summer one just seems to rush by?
Because we enjoy the summer but not the winter. And whatever we enjoy, tends to move along more quickly than things we don’t enjoy. That’s just a simple fact of life. But it doesn’t have to affect us that much if all of our hope and joy and strength resides in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. No friends, with God’s LOVE living in and through us, we don’t have to worry about what seems to be quickly fading away.
So this Friday morning let’s look at a few scripture verses that encourage us in the LOVE of God and our Lord Jesus Christ. And there’s no better verse to begin with than this one that sets the stage for everything. The immortal and indisputable words of Jesus: ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ (John 3:16)
Wow mih people! What an encouraging verse of scripture showing how great God’s LOVE is, was, and will always be for us, His most important creation. That’s why it hurts His heart, deeply grieves Him when we turn away to the selfish and foolish way of the ungodly world.
Now here’s this other scripture, one of my favourites, which shows just how much God desires us to have fellowship with Him. From the pen of Bruh Paul to the church at Rome: ‘For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure (perhaps) for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his LOVE (demonstrated his own LOVE) toward us , in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:7-8)
That calls for another ‘Wow!’ my brethren! Imagine that nuh. Our Creator caring about us so much, that He sent His One Son to die for us while we were yet mired in our sinful ways, instead of calling on us to change our evil ways before offering any help. Now if that isn’t LOVE of the first order, then I don’t know what is!
And what about this moving and rather encouraging verse from the Old Testament, as spoken through the prophet Isaiah. ‘For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness (steadfast LOVE) shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy (compassion) on thee.’ (Is. 54:10)
Oh my fellow believers, I don’t know how much more we need from God to show His awesome LOVE for us nuh, because He gives it all in His promises and shows it in His marvellous and miraculous actions. And if we would only listen and walk in His holy will and ways, then we’d surely see it all and it would boost our hope, our spirits and our joy to high heaven!
But the carnality of the flesh and the world, seem to hold a dearer place in our hearts, as Bruh Paul said to Timothy: ‘This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves…lovers of pleasures more (rather) than lovers of God.’ (2 Tim. 3:1-2a, 4b) And that’s the gospel truth in these reckless and riotous days!
However, wise and sensible people will turn to God’s Word with His many wonderful promises and words of LOVE to raise their faith in these terrible times. And although there are many scriptures showing God’s unconditional, undying LOVE for us, we’ll end with these further words of Bruh Paul to the church at Rome, words of truth that grip the believer’s heart so firmly that it’s useless to turn away.
Please read and inwardly digest with me, these awesome words of caring and compassion. ‘Who shall separate us from the LOVE of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us. for I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the LOVE of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Rom. 8:35-39)
And my fellow saints, if reading that scripture doesn’t refresh and renew your LOVE for our Triune God, then I don’t know what will! But thankfully, through God’s grace and mercy, we have the option of going to Him in prayer for help, so let’s do that right now, through our Friday Chant, seeking His divine aid in these treacherous and turbulent times.
Altogether: Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough … because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land.
We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways.
And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And friends, if we truly desire divine aid, then we have to begin by setting better examples of Christian living than we’re currently doing! Much LOVE!
…God has already shown His LOVE…now He’s waiting for us to reciprocate…to show our LOVE…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
09 Aug 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a just man falleth seven times and riseth up again, a new flock of believers, Bible, catch up on rest, christianity, consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners, defeat the simmering unrest in our land, divine aid, endured the cross, espising the shame, faint in the day of adversity, faith, faith to stand the disappointment, falling is not a sin, find the grace and energy to rebuild, flooded areas, for the joy that was set before him, Friday chant, give us hope, god, hurricane flora, imbibe fire water, Jesus, Jesus Christ, just my imagination, keep us strong in times of trouble, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds, looking unto Jesus, LOVE, many are the afflictions of the righteous, men ought always to pray and not lose heart, moments of fear and uncertainty, omnipotent help, our sinful world, playing tricks on me, problems escalating, return backsliders to your fold, set down at the right hand of the throne of God, show them the error of their ways, strength in the face of adversity, stumble into calamity, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the author and finisher of our faith, the brown girl in the bottle, the example we faithful believers set, the Lord delivereth him out of them all, the purpose of scripture, the wicked shall fall into mischief, thy strength is small, Tropical Storm Debby, trusting faith, truth, wake up and smell the coffee, wisdom, wise guidance, write these sciptured deep in our hearts
Proverbs 24:10. If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.
So it’s Friday, and all the shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ have gone up to high heaven, possibly though with not that much energy from some of us who had a hectic Caribana weekend and have just been barely hanging on during the work week. (smile) Now, you’ll have a chance to catch up on your rest as the weekend unfolds. And it seems like it might be a wet and cloudy weekend, as we are forecasted to get some of the overflow rain from Tropical Storm Debby, some of which we might be currently seeing as the rain’s been falling in serious fashion this Friday morning.
Let’s hope and pray that we don’t get a recurrence of what happened a few weeks ago, as some people are still trying to clean up their basements and flooded areas. Let’s also pray for those unfortunate people in the Southern U.S. who have been struck by Debby with her high winds, tornadoes and floods. It hasn’t been an easy time for many of them. And I can empathize, because I have personal experience as a young boy when Hurricane Flora blew down Tobago in 1963. Flora was forecasted to hit Tobago at about five in the evening, but believe me, by 2.30 she had already made a shambles of God’s Little Acre.
I remember being in school around mid-day and seeing the roof of a lady’s house close by, after a couple of futile attempts, finally just blow away in the wind. And when they sent us home from school, a group of us who didn’t think the hurricane would cause much damage went to a snackette, a place that sold alcohol and food, to imbibe some fire water. Suddenly though, while we were enjoying the benefits of the brown girl in the bottle, the front of the snackette began falling down under Flora’s early and vicious assault.
About a dozen people ended up sheltering in the kitchen of the snackette, while hearing the front of the building crumpling like paper, and seeing through the kitchen window, galvanize and other parts of the owner’s house been blown away. I can laugh now, but in those moments of fear and uncertainty, I saw people who hadn’t uttered a prayer in ages, praying for divine help.
And I’ll never forget finally going home, after Flora had made a mess of the island, and finding my living room flooded with a couple inches of water, with the book ‘My Early Life’ which chronicled Winston Churchill’s early days, that I had been reading the night before and left on a chair, floating sedately in the pool of water. We spent that night at a friend’s place further up the road who had not sustained much damage. One of the things that amazed me though, is with all of the rain bestowed on us by Flora, the next day, the place looked brown and dry, as though we had suffered a drought instead of a rain storm.
And believe me, you really cannot appreciate the violence of that wind and rain in a hurricane until you’ve personally experienced it. Sometimes I tell myself that I saw the wind that day, so raging and violent it was. But most likely that was just my imagination playing tricks on me. (smile) Anyhow, these storms and tornadoes that seem to have recently escalated in both intensity and frequency, probably because of climate change, must be taken seriously as they can, and are causing lots of death and destruction.
And it’s in cases like these that our faith in Almighty God needs to show up in spades, so that we can stand the disappointment and find the grace and energy to rebuild and keep moving forward. Moving forward with scriptures like this one from Hebrews. ‘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. For consider him that endured such contradiction (hostility) of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint (discouraged) in your minds (souls).’ (Heb. 12:2-3)
Yes friends, remember the purpose of scripture is to keep us strong, to build us up, give us hope that although we’re embroiled in serious struggles, while we’re alive, all things are possible. And another tough scripture that we need to hold on to in tough times is this bit of wisdom from Cousin Sol found in Proverbs. ‘If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.’ (Prov. 24:10) Oh my people as children of the Most High God, we cannot afford to faint and grow weary when things get tough. For as the scholars say: ‘Strength in the face of adversity is the true test of one’s endurance.’
Let’s also remember Christ’s advice: ‘And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint (lose heart).’ (Luke 18:1) And since we are His disciples, His ardent and true followers, then we need to live up to His dictates. Then there’s this ever-encouraging scripture from Cousin Sol. ‘For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief (stumble into calamity).’ (Prov. 24:16) Yes my fellow believers, the righteous man always recovers. For with the strength of Christ behind him, he gets up and begins again, no matter the cost.
And there are many other scriptures that encourage us in difficult times like this one from the wisdom of Bruh David. ‘Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.’ (Ps. 34:19-20) Oh friends, let’s write those scriptures we quoted today deep in our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, so that in the time of adversity we can resurrect them and keep moving forward with Christ! Now lets go to the throne of grace through our Friday Chant seeking divine aid.
Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly.
And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Now let’s acknowledge the fact that our example as faithful believers is not great, and until we improve it, we will not get any divine aid. Much LOVE!
…falling is not a sin…not getting back up…is where the problem lies…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
26 Jul 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new flock of believers, all have sinned, Bible, carnal desires, Christ died for us, Christ's atoning death, christianity, clean up our act, come short of the glory of God, compassion, crying out for help, divine aid, eternal life through Jesus Christ, every good and perfect gift is from above, faith, fellowship, firstfruits of his creatures, Friday chant, god, God commendeth his own love toward us, God is the same yesterday today and forever, grace, gratitude, in whom I will trust, Jesus, Jesus Christ, LOVE, mercy, my deliverer, my strength, no shadow of turning, omnipotent help, reciprocate God's love, return backsliders to your fold, salvation, set free from bondage to sin, simmering unrest, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the earth is the Lord's, the error of their ways, the Father of lights, the fulness thereof, the gift of God, the horn of my salvation, The Lord is my rock, the throne of grace, the wages of sin is death, the weekend, the word of truth, trusting faith, truth, ungodly times, wake up and smell the coffee, while we were yet sinners, wisdom, with whom is no variableness, worthwhile examples of Christian living
Romans 6:23. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through (in) Jesus Christ our Lord.
And then it was Friday, that magical day, where much of the world joyfully shouts ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend is here at long last! No more dreary and dreadful work for a couple of days! Thank The Lord!’ Then we go off for the weekend, do our own carnal and lustful thing and entirely forget about the Lord who granted us the weekend away from the dreary and dreadful work! Now that’s gratitude for you! Forgetting about the One who has given you all good things!
Remember what James, Jesus’ brother says about that? ‘Do not err (be deceived) my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness (variation), neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.’ (James 1:16-18)
Yes friends, God is the creator and owner of everything in this universe, as Bruh David so rightly informs us in Psalm 24: ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods (rivers).’ (Ps. 24:1-2) And as James tells us above, He’s good and faithful and all good things originate and emanate from Him.
Then He’s also stable, solid as a rock, He doesn’t change! He’s the same yesterday, today and forever! And there could be no more appropriate scripture to show that attribute than these words of Bruh David from psalm 18: ‘I will LOVE thee. O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler (shield), and the horn (strength) of my salvation, and my high tower (stronghold).’ (Ps. 18:1-2)
And furthermore, on top of all of that, God has redeemed us to be the first step or first fruits in His redemption of all creation! And isn’t that the most wonderful fact ever! It most certainly is! For if God didn’t LOVE us with an immeasurable passion, we would all be headed straight for hellfire and eternal damnation. But because of His great LOVE, as Bruh Paul wrote to the church at Rome: ‘But God commendeth (demonstrated) his great LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:8)
Wow mih bredrin! Can you imagine a Creator LOVING His creation so much that He would move heaven and earth to give them a chance to survive their sinful and rebellious nature and be reconciled back to Him? Well that’s exactly what our great God did! He put a plan in place that we could have a second chance; that we could repent, believe on His Son, Jesus Christ and be set free from our bondage to sin and live in eternity with Him. Now, if that isn’t the greatest and most unselfish gift ever, then I don’t know what is!
Remember friends, the Lord broke His own heart on our behalf, by pinning all our abominable sins on His sinless and selfless Son, and having Him die the death we were supposed to die. And let’s not forget what the Good Library says on that subject. ‘For all have sinned, and come (fallen) short of the glory of God.’ (Rom. 3:23) Consequently the scriptures say: ‘For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through (in) Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (Rom. 6:23)
So, my fellow believers, you can see that Jesus death on the cross of Calvary had the greatest impact in this world, since its original creation! It was an atoning death! A death in our stead! Imagine a father condemning his only son to death to pay for a bunch of ungrateful, rebellious people nuh. Very few fathers, if any, would make that great sacrifice. But our God did it on our behalf! That just goes to show how much He LOVES us!
That then raises the question, why can’t we reciprocate that LOVE, which is only good and proper, compassionate, longsuffering, filled with grace and mercy, amongst many other attributes. It just boggles the imagination that after the Lord did so much for us, that we still have the ‘boldfaceness,’ the audacity to refuse His LOVING attentions and turn to the sinful and death bearing things of the evil one, Satan, the ex-archangel Lucifer, who got kicked out of heaven for having the audacity, the foolish pride, to try to overthrow God’s kingdom!
He forgot that he was only a creation of God, and how can the created overthrow the Creator eh? But, unfortunately, it’s the same thing that so many of us are doing right now; thumbing our noses at God and blatantly fulfilling the carnal desires of our flesh, devilishly and selfishly encouraged by Satan. Oh friends, it’s time for us to get wise to the devil’s shenanigans. He doesn’t care one iota for us. He’s just looking for company in eternal separation from God. Meanwhile Almighty God cares so much for us, as He’s proven through Jesus Christ.
Now, let’s go to His throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, and ask for His help to handle our earthly problems in these desperate times of need. Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times.
We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Let’s be aware though, that no divine aid will be forthcoming, until we clean up our act and show ourselves to be worthwhile examples of Christian living. Much LOVE!
…God has done all He can to win our LOVE… the rest is up to us…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
05 Jul 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a means of restoring faith in you, anixety, asleep on a pillow, Bible, break every fetter, but of power love and a sound mind, catastrophe, Christian living, confusion, crying out for help, divine aid, don't you even yet have confidence in me, Even God doesn't care, even the wind and the sea obey him, Even This, failure, faith, faith is from God, fear, fear is from the enemy, For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, Friday chant, god, God's love never changes, God's presence never leaves us, how is it that ye have no faith, introduce a new flock of believers, Jesus, Jesus Christ, LOVE, Master carest not thou that we perish, obscured your sense of God's presence, omnipotent help, One Year Book of Bible promises, our sinful world, pages of tear-stained script, pay the price for our folly, peace be still, rebuked the wind, return backsliders to your fold, Ruth Harms Calkin, send faith to answer it, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, that habit that chains you, the error of their ways, the fear that paralyzes you, the frightened disciples, the loss that numbs you, trusting faith, unexpected storms, ungodly times, wake up and smell the coffee, when fear knocks, why are ye so fearful, wisdom, wise guidance
Mark 4:40. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
And at last it was Friday. But after last weekend’s partying and this week’s tough sledding at work, some of us didn’t have the energy to shout: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ but merely mouthed it. (smile) Yes friends, that’s what happens when we get greedy and overdo it; we pay the price for our folly later on. And sometimes it’s a high price too, one we can barely afford. So let’s allow wisdom to prevail this weekend and concentrate on getting some rest nuh. End of Sermon. (smile)
Now, today, we’re going to look at something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin; a reading that’s oh so appropriate for these catastrophic times in which we live. It’s simply titled, ‘Even This.’ Please read with me: ‘It was a long letter – pages of tear-stained script. “Even God doesn’t care…” she wrote. Perhaps you haven’t put it in a letter, but has some overwhelming failure or fear obscured your sense of God’s presence? That was the catastrophe of the frightened disciples. The wind was boisterous, they had lost control… and Jesus went on sleeping. We quickly identify with the shouting: “Don’t you even care if we go under?” We’ve all shouted it, at least in attitude.
Jesus quieted the sea that night, but his piercing question hits the target of our hearts: ‘Don’t you even yet have confidence in me?” The awe filled disciples said among themselves, “Even the winds and seas obey him.” “How wonderful,” we say. Then suddenly, often without warning, the winds of adversity beat against our personal lives, and we cry “Lord, don’t you even care?” Again he asks, “Don’t you even yet have confidence in me? That habit that chains you. That fear that paralyzes you. That loss than numbs you… even this – all of this you may fling upon me!” But it means more than half-heartedly singing, “He will break every fetter.” It means surrendering to him completely. He knows your every need – even this.’
Ah friends, how very descriptive that is of us! We talk the talk, but can’t walk the walk. We claim such strong belief and understanding, but when the forces of adversity lash us, we cry out panic stricken, wondering, where is God, and if He doesn’t LOVE and care for us anymore. But God’s LOVE NEVER changes… and His presence NEVER strays from us. It’s our weak faith and/or unbelief that drives us crazy. If we were truly surrendered to Him, then we would know that He’s always there with us, LOVING us, like no other.
We behave like the disciples on the boat. Yes, the winds and the waves were threatening to swamp the boat, but they had been with Jesus for some time and had seen all the miracles He did, yet, they were scared out of their wits. It’s the very same way with us. We’ve seen Jesus do wonderful things in our lives, but when the next problem arises, we still become overly scared. It’s okay to be afraid when the disaster strikes unexpectedly, but soon thereafter that fear ought to be reduced to concern, because we know that the Lord is on our side and is looking out for us.
Oh my people, it’s all a matter of faith and sincere belief, of truly surrendering our souls, hearts, minds and bodies to Christ. Let’s keep remembering these memorable words of Bruh Paul to Timothy: ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE and of a sound (disciplined) mind.’ (1 Tim. 1:7) And that’s the bottom line on which we should always be operating, the basic foundation of our earthly walk. For fear is from the enemy; it’s one of his most useful tools. However faith is from God, and it will overcome fear any ole day. No wonder the saying: ‘When fear knocks, send faith to answer it.’
And the Bible Promise for today’s story comes from the gospel of Mark, and is a very useful one to refresh our memories. (smile) Jesus and His disciples were crossing over the Sea of Galilee along with other small boats. ‘And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full (filling with water). And he (Jesus) was in the hinder part (stern) of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master (Teacher), carest thou not that we perish?
And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they (the disciples) feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this (who can this be), that even the wind and the sea obey him?’ (Mark 4:37-41)
And that friends is the same Jesus to whom we’ve supposedly surrendered our lives, the One who can do any and everything, who controls the universe, and is in our corner, and who we know much more about than the disciples did back then. So why is He still asking us even today, ‘how is it that ye have no faith?’ And that’s a question we should certainly ponder, because we will each have to answer it for ourselves. But it’s certainly not one that Christ ought to be asking after all this time.
Anyway, let’s go to the throne of grace through our Friday Chant, asking for divine aid to help us with our many problems. Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly.
And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And for divine aid to be forthcoming, our behaviour has to improve, we must become better examples of true Christian living. Much LOVE!
…we can’t say we have faith…when fear so easily overtakes us…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
14 Jun 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a barrage of rain, a bolt of lightning, a lullaby, a new flock of believers, backsliders, be children of your Father, Bible, bless them that curse you, cut off the skirt of Saul's robe, David's heart smote him, do good to them that hate you, faith, Friday chant, give lip-service, god, he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, hearing the rain fall on the roof, hold sincerely to God's word, I have not sinned against thee, in the midst of our enemies, Jesus, Jesus Christ, LOVE, Love your enemies, omnipotent help, pray for them which spitefully use you, sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust, setting a good example, simmering unrest, soul searing hatred, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the devil and his evil cronies, the Lord avenge me of thee, the Lord forbid, the Lord had delivered thee into mine hand, the Lord's anointed, there is neither evil not transgression in mine hand, unexpected storms, vengeance is mine saith the Lord, wake up and smell the coffe, wisdom
Matthew 5:44. But I say unto you, LOVE your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully (spitefully) use you, and persecute you;
Oh, it was indeed a glorious shout of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday’! when we awakened to a bright, beautiful, sunshiny and clean Friday. And my area should indeed be fresh and clean after the barrage of rain, wind, lightning and thunder it received just before midnight last evening. We finally received the rain we’d been promised all week, but which the constant high winds had been blowing away. Last night I had to get up and close my bedroom window because the rain was blowing in. And as I closed it, a sudden bolt of lightning flared up outside and I had to also close the blinds.
Oh, there’s no finer feeling than lying in bed, late at night and hearing the rain fall, especially on a galvanized roof. (smile) It often acts like a lullaby and helps you to drift off to sleep. So, now that the weekend is upon us, I hope that our plans are to rest, relax, have a li’l fun and go to church on Sunday. Please don’t overdo it, so that come Monday, you’re too tired to get up and go about Jesus’ business. (smile)
And today we’ll simply read and ponder some interesting scripture from the first Book of Samuel, where the Good Library opened a short while ago. It’s about the time when King Saul was chasing down Bruh David to kill him. The Bible says: ‘And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of En-gedi. Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats.’ (1 Sam. 24:1-2)
Imagine that nuh, Saul was just come back from fighting his country’s greatest enemy, the Philistines, but he was so filled with hatred and jealousy, and so determined to kill Bruh David, that once he heard of his whereabouts, he got up and went to search him out. Let’s hope friends, that none of us are filled with such soul searing hatred.
Then the Bible continues: ‘And he (Saul) came to the sheepcotes by the way, where there was a cave; and Saul went into cover his feet (attend to his needs): and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave. And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good to thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt (a corner of) Saul’s robe privily.’ (1 Sam. 24:3-4)
Yuh see friends, how life can be somewhat traitorous. When we think we’re alone, we might just be in the midst of our enemies. Saul never thought that Bruh David would be in the same cave where he went to relieve himself, but in fact he was completely surrounded by his enemies. Let’s be careful and not forget that our enemy, the devil and his evil cronies are all around us, just waiting for an opportunity to pounce on us.
Samuel then writes: ‘And it came to pass afterward, that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt (the corner of his robe). And he said unto his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord. So David stayed (restrained) his servants with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave, and went his way.’ (1 Sam. 24:5-7)
Contemplate that nuh! Bruh David refusing to harm the man who for years was hunting him down like a wild animal strictly because he was anointed to be the next king of Israel. Saul had no qualms whatsoever about killing the Lord’s anointed, but it seems Bruh David had enough for both of them. (smile) Yuh see the difference friends between the ones who hold sincerely to God’s word, and those who don’t, or only give lip service to it. Bruh David knew deep down that if he harmed Saul, he would be placing his own anointing in jeopardy.
And the story continues thus: ‘David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself. And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men’s words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt? Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the Lord had delivered thee today into mine hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee: but mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my Lord; for he is the Lord’s anointed.
Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt (corner) of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off the skirt (corner) of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression (rebellion) in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul (life) to take it. The Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of (on) thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.’ (1 Sam. 24:8-12)
Oh my people, can we be so magnanimous against our proven enemies? I don’t know nuh, for it takes a man truly imbued with the Spirit of God to forgive, or even lay off one that has done him such a high level of wrong for no just cause. But that’s the way our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ expects us to behave.
As He taught in Hie Sermon on the Mount: ‘Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, LOVE your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully (spitefully) use you, and persecute you; That ye may be children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.’ (Matt. 5:43-45)
Those are not my words friends, but Jesus’, and if you intend to truly follow Him, then you will have to live by them, however distasteful they might seem to you. Now, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, for help to do tough things like what we’ve just read. Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you.
Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And to truly receive divine aid, we must begin by setting a good example, being true and faithful believers! Much LOVE!
…vengeance is mine…I will repay, saith the Lord… (Rom. 12:19)
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
31 May 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a disciplined mind, a moral virtue, a new commandment I give unto you, a new flock of believers, a word to the wise is sufficient, abstain, as I have loved you, asceticism, backsliders, begun a good work in you, behave like Jesus, being confident of this very thing, Bible, binge, but of power love and a sound mind, by this shall all men know, christianity, courteous, error of their ways, faith, faithful believers, fly without any reservations, follow me, For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, free and easy, Friday chant, from glory to glory, gentleness, god, going to the extremes, good examples., hasty decisions, if any man will come after me, indulgence, Jesus, Jesus Christ, kind, let him deny himself, let your moderation be known unto all men, like leggo beasts, LOVE, LOVE one another, moderation, omnipotent help, perform it until the day of jesus, reasonableness, self-control, simmering unrest, sinful world, take up his cross daily, temperance, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the throne of grace, the weekend, tolerant, unexpected storms, wake up and smell the coffee, wisdom, wise guidance, ye are my disciples
Philippians 4:5a. Let your moderation (gentleness) be known unto all men.
And the end of the month of May, could not fall on a better day…Friday! Thus all the glorious shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and another summer weekend is in the offing!’ We get all worked up about our weekends, especially the summer ones, because we can get out there and go where we want, and do whatever we want without the restrictions of the winter weather. We’re free and easy! But please, let’s not go wild and behave like leggo beasts, for that’s exactly how the enemy, his satanic majesty, wants us to behave; to forget God’s warnings, His rules and regulations and just fly without any reservations.
And once in a while, it is good to fly without reservations, although there is usually a price to pay when we do that. (smile) In the meanwhile, let’s remember these most memorable and oh so important words of Bruh Paul to Timothy: ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound mind.’ (2 Tim. 1:7) Now the most important aspect of that statement in this case is the ‘sound or disciplined mind.’ Yes friends, that means we have self-control, which is also a fruit of the Spirit, wherefore we don’t go around flying off the handle or making hasty decisions, and going to the extremes.
In other words, like Jeeves says, we need a modicum of circumspection or moderation in all things. Now, what does moderation in all things mean? And we have a couple of commentaries based on the meaning the world has of it. The first says: “Everything in moderation,” goes the old line, meaning don’t binge, and don’t abstain, but do take it easy on the bad stuff. Between the two poles of asceticism and indulgence, moderation is about never giving up or fully giving in.’
The second one gets more philosophical. (smile) ‘According to Craiutu, Aristotle considered moderation a moral virtue and Plato, in “The Republic”, described moderation as the harmony between reason, spirit, and desire. “It’s the disposition of the soul where reason, spirit, and desire are in agreement,” says Craiutu. “It’s more than just temperance.’ And strangely enough Bruh Paul wrote about it to the Philippians: ‘Let your moderation (gentleness) be known unto all men.’ (Phil. 4:5a) Now what’s this moderation business in the Christian life you ask? Is it the same as in the world? Yes and no.
Here are a couple more commentaries on the Christian explanation of ‘moderation.’ The first tells us: ‘Let your moderation be known unto all men. Let your gentleness be evident to all. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. In any case, Paul’s idea is that don’t be so strict and extreme about the letter of the law; be fair minded, reasonable, and gentle.’ And the second says: ‘This characteristic of the Christian (moderation) must be a conspicuous one; that is, Christians must be well-known for their gentle, kind, courteous and tolerant ways with others. Put another way, behave as Jesus would because this was one thing Jesus was known for.’ Amen!
And that’s basically all that moderation means: behave like Jesus! And yes, you claim that’s not so easy to do, because He was the Son of God, deity, sinless and strong, but we have His power, His Holy Spirit dwelling within us, which gives us the ability to behave in a decent manner…remember the spirit of power, of LOVE, and of a sound or disciplined mind. No, we will never be perfect, but we don’t have to behave like the world behaves. And if we’re seriously intent on behaving like Christ, let’s not forget this scripture that Bruh Paul writes to the Philippians: ‘Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform (complete) it until the day of Jesus Christ.’ (Phil. 1:6)
Yes my brethren, once the Lord has begun a good work in us, meaning making us like Jesus, raising us from glory to glory, He won’t stop until He takes us home, or Jesus returns. So we don’t have to be overly worried about behaving like Jesus if we’re serious about living the Christian life…which in fact is not easy, but very worthwhile. The whole thing boils down to the true state of our hearts, and how much we truly LOVE Jesus and want to serve Him the best way we can. And I believe that if we remember and meditate on these words of His, our lives will become fuller and more satisfactory.
And it’s all about discipleship. ‘If any man will (desires to) come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’ (Luke 9:23) Then there are these most telling words. ‘A new commandment I give unto you. That ye LOVE one another; as I have LOVED you, that ye also LOVE one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one to another.’ (John 13:34-35) Oh my fellow saints, I do believe that if we ponder and think on those words of Jesus, we will come to a positive realization in and of our Christian walk.
Now, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking help to live up to our responsibilities in these trying and troubled times. Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly.
And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And I’d be seriously amiss if I didn’t point out that one of the requirements for getting divine help is setting a good Christian example. Nuff said! Much LOVE!
…a word to the wise is sufficient…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
26 Apr 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new flock of believers, above all these things put on charity, above all things, anger flares in people's eyes, be ye angry and sin not, Bible, charity envieth not, charity is not puffed up, charity suffereth long and is kind, charity vaunteth not itself, christianity, convert the sinner, cover a multitude of sins, crying our for help, err from the truth, evil will continue to rule, faith, Father Time, Friday chant, from the error of his way, god, good examples of Christian living, hatred stirreth up strifes, have fervent charity among yourselves, Jesus, Jesus Christ, let not the sun go down upon your wrath, like there's no tomorrow, LOVE, Love - god's most important attribute, love awakens in the breasts of men, love covereth all sins, love does not brag on itself, Love is kind, love is not jealous, love is patient, loves is not arrogant, neither give place to the devil, omnipotent help, our sinful world can wake up, pull up our bootstraps, return backsliders to your fold, running his race, salvation, save a soul from death, set the ball rolling, simmering unrest, tempres start to rise, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the bond of perfectness, the one who enables us to get wealth, trusting faith, turning from our evil ways, wake up and smell the coffee, wisdom
Colossians 3:14. And above all these things put on charity (LOVE), which is the bond of perfectness.
It’s another bright, sunshiny day, this last Friday in April! But just imagine that nuh; April is almost finished. Father Time is certainly waiting on no one, he’s running his race like there’s no tomorrow. And it would be wise if we copied his example and ran our own race as if there’s no tomorrow, for who knows how many, if any of us will be alive to see tomorrow. But be that as it may, the worldwide shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ have been heard around the world, and thus the weekend, plans and promises for it, has become our focus.
And yes, the weekend is ours to enjoy, but during it, let’s not forget the most important One in our entire lives; Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour, for He’s the One who enables us to get health, wealth strength, salvation and eternal life! And all God’s children said a loud and grateful ‘Thank You Jesus!’ Now, since the Lord spared our lives, meaning his mercies and compassions were new this morning, (smile) let’s keep our promise to continue talking about some of the things that the prayer yesterday from the In Touch Devotional triggered.
And the main thing we found was LOVE, which is God’s most important attribute and has so many appealing and intriguing aspects to it. And above all it was God’s LOVE for us that caused Him to send His only begotten Son Jesus to die for us on the cross of Calvary so that our sins could be forgiven, making reconciliation possible with Him. And, as we saw yesterday, that means we need to reciprocate that LOVE as much as we can. But here are a few other things that that magnificent attribute can and does do.
On the basic nature of LOVE, Bruh Paul writes in 1 Corinthians: ‘Charity (LOVE) suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.’ (1 Cor. 13:4) In other words, ‘LOVE is patient, LOVE is kind, it is not jealous; LOVE does not brag, it is not arrogant.’ In light of that he writes thus to the Colossians: ‘And above all these things put on charity (LOVE), which is the bond of perfectness.’ (Col. 3:14) And the scholars explain that ‘LOVE is the crowning grace completing the list of virtues required for perfectness or spiritual maturity,. As a “bond” it binds all other virtues together in harmony and unity.’
Meanwhile, Peter says it this way: ‘And above all things have fervent charity (LOVE) among yourselves: for charity (LOVE) shall cover a multitude of sins.’ (1 Pet. 4:8) Now that’s how strong LOVE is my people, when we have it amongst each other, it can help eliminate many sins. Such as James, Jesus’ brother explains. ‘Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth (wander), and one convert him (turns him back); Let him know, that he which converteth (turns) the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide (cover) a multitude of sins.’ (James 5:19-20)
And don’t for one moment think that the wisest one, Cousin Sol didn’t have that covered long before James and Peter came on the scene. (smile) He most certainly did, as he so rightfully warned in Proverbs: ‘Hatred stirreth up strifes: but LOVE covereth all sins.’ (Prov. 10:12) And it most certainly can when it prospers among us my fellow saints. But the problem though is that LOVE, sadly is not as plentiful and prosperous, neither amongst believers, or the world in general, for it to make the big difference it needs to make to set us straight and right with each other and with Almighty God. Thus the heavy price we’re currently paying as hatred, strife, anger and all the negative emotions control our world instead of LOVE.
That brings us to this last scripture, awakened by the words of the prayer: ‘when tempers start to rise…when anger flares in people’s eyes.’ And unfortunately those words so appropriately describe the current state of our world. Ah friends, this noteworthy scripture from Bruh Paul to the Ephesians warns us: ‘Be ye angry and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place (an opportunity) to the devil.’ (Eph. 4:26-27) Yes my fellow believers, we can get angry, but not do anything to give the devil an opportunity to get into our souls, and don’t let that anger last until we go to bed, because most likely it will disturb our sleep and we’ll awaken with it still plaguing our souls and spirts.
And let’s not fool ourselves, it’s going to take a real uphill battle, one of much sacrifice and suffering for us to replace the hatred and anger now enveloping our world with the sincere LOVE of God. But with God on our side friends, we all know we can do it. We just have to make up our minds and pull up our bootstraps and move as one body in Christ Jesus! And to help us do that, let’s go to the throne of grace in the prayerful words of our Friday Chant.
Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly.
And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
But please remember friends, that to gain divine help, WE must set the ball rolling by doing the things the Lord desires, like being good examples of Christian living, and turning from our evil ways. Much LOVE!
…until…and unless the LOVE for God and man…truly awakens in the breasts of men…evil will continue ruling the roost…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
15 Mar 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new flock of believers, agitate a complaining spirit, Bible, blameless and harmless, bless your Holy Name, climate change, compassion, complaining, crying our for help, do all things without murmurings and disputings, do not allow discontentment to fester, faith, Friday chant, give you thanks, god, grace, great is thy faithfulness, handle the unexpected storms, his compassions fail not, I may prove them, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, It is of the Lord's mercies that we're not consumed, Jesus, Jesus Christ, lack of meat, LOVE, mercy, omnipotent help, problems escalating, rain bread from heaven, rain from the skies, restoring faith in you, return backsliders to your fold, stand strong and steadfast, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the example we faithful believers set, the right attitude, the simmering unrest, the sin of complaining, the sons of God, they are new every morning, wake up and smell the coffee, walk in my law, wisdom, wise guidance, without me ye can do nothing, without rebuke, ye shine as lights in the world
Philippians 2:14. Do all things without murmurings (grumbling) and disputings:
Well, we were disappointed in the sun yesterday because it never won the battle with the dark clouds, and instead of blinding sunshine, those dark clouds poured down rain from late afternoon to late night. Now, today, when everyone’s shouting ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ it appears to be another cloudy day, with li’l hope of the sun’s appearance. But as the ole people would say, ‘be thankful for small mercies,’ since it could have been snow and not rain pouring down from the heavenly skies. In fact, without the startling effects of climate change, at this time of the year, it ought to be snow and not rain.
And we’re not really complaining nuh, (smile) we’re saying, ‘Thank You Lord for life and LOVE this Friday morning, be it cloudy, sunshiny, rainy or snowy! As always, we give You Thanks and bless your holy name! Amen’ Now, that’s the proper attitude to display, regardless of our circumstances, although it’s much easier said than done, and we do need the Lord’s help to do it. As Jesus so rightly said, ‘For without me ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:5) At least nothing worthwhile or substantial. And as Bruh Paul wrote to the church at Corinth: ‘Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.’ (2 Cor. 3:5)
And isn’t that the gospel truth my people! It surely is, for without the mercy and grace of God we cannot do anything, and without His awesome breath of life, we won’t even be alive! That just goes to show how much we owe to our wonderful God Jehovah! As Jeremiah so wisely said in his Lamentations: ‘It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.’ (Lam. 3:22-23) Yes friends, every day we get a new batch of grace, mercy and compassion! It’s like how Jesus taught us to pray: ‘Give us this day our daily bread.’ (Matt. 6:11)
And that’s how the Lord dishes out His largesse, just enough for every day. It’s like when the Israelites were complaining about food in the wilderness and the Lord, angered by their complaining, said unto Moses: ‘Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day (only eneough for one day), that I may prove (test) them, whether they will walk in my law. And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.’ (Ex. 16:4-5)
In other words, every day, they would collect just enough for that day, except on the day before the sabbath, when they would collect twice as much, so they wouldn’t have to go and gather any on the sabbath. And for forty long years the Lord provided the Israelites with manna which they abhorred. But although it might not have tasted or looked as good as the food they had back in their bondage in Egypt, that manna kept them going strong and healthy in the wilderness, because it was food from Almighty God. And sadly, it’s the same way so many of us complain today about what we don’t have, forgetting all that we do have.
We could have ninety nine good things, but we’d rather complain about the hundredth thing that we’re lacking, instead of enjoying the ninety and nine that we already have. But I guess that’s the nature of the beast, especially in these selfish and greedy times, where it’s all about ‘Me, Myself, and I.’ And one of Israel’s greatest sins was complaining. Remember what we spoke of yesterday when they complained about the lack of meat, being tired of the tasteless manna. The Lord rained down so much quail flesh on them, that they got sick of it, then He smote them with a great plague. (Num. 11:18-33)
Oh friends, the Lord knows that sometimes things are difficult, and what we’d like, we don’t have, or are not getting, but He expects us to always have a good attitude and not complain as though life were so tough and He wasn’t looking after us. And it’s not that He doesn’t want us to come to Him with our problems, real or perceived, but it’s how we come to Him; not in anger and defiance, casting blame, where it doesn’t belong. Technically speaking, it’s not wrong to complain, but it’s how we do it, and if there’s really something to complain about.
Nowadays, most of what we complain about are either petty or nonsensical. As this commentary so wisely advises: ‘The sin of complaining is a sin that God deals with swiftly and severely. The example recorded for us in Numbers 11 reminds us of the awful, wicked sin of complaining in our own lives. Don’t minimize what God has provided for you, and do not allow discontentment to fester and agitate a complaining spirit.’
No my people. That is one of the worst things we can ever do. Instead, let’s remember this memorable advice from Bruh Paul to the Philippians: ‘Do all things without murmurings (grumbling) and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless (innocent), the sons (children) of God, without rebuke (fault), in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation (generation), among whom ye shine as lights in the world.’ (Phil. 2:14-15) Yes my fellow saints, if we heed that wise advice, we will never go wrong…at least where complaining is concerned. (smile)
Now let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant with confidence and humility, to ask for the divine help we so badly need to handle our earthly problems. Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly.
And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ And right there in our prayer, we have the beginning of the answer to it; ‘by the example, we, your faithful believers set.’
Yes friends, we need to set a good example for the unbelievers to see, if we expect God to help us. Much LOVE!
…be careful how you complain…and what you complain about…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
08 Mar 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a form of godliness, a lack of total allegiance to God, a new flock of believers, backsliders, but denying the power thereof, come to the knowledge of the truth, error of their ways, faith, faithful believers, false teaachers, for thy good, Friday chant, has the Lord great delight in burnt offerings and scrifices, Jannes and Jambres, Jesus Christ, keep the commnamdnets of the Lord, LOVE, men of corrupt minds, mercy, omnipotent help, prey upon silly women, rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, religious ritual devoid of spiritual reality, simmering unrest, stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the weekend, to do justly and to love mercy, to fear the Lord thy God, to hearken than the fat of rams, to obey is better than sacrifice, to sacrifice un the Lord, to serve the Lord with all thy heart and soul, to walk humbly with thy God, truth, wake up and smell the coffee, what doth the Lord require of thee, wickedness flourished, wisdom
1 Samuel 22:b. Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
Now, this Friday March morning looks like another beautiful day in my area. And I’m sure when the folks cried out ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ they were overjoyed at the prospect of a sunshiny day and weekend. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case, for there’s been some warnings of bad weather for the next couple of days. But it‘s Friday, and nothing can spoil the weekend’s magnetic appeal! (smile)
And today we’re going to talk about a significant scripture from the prophet Micah, which has tremendous bearings on the kind of lives we live today, just like it had back in the days of old, when it was first spoken. When the children of Israel were involved in a controversy with God about sacrifices and no true heart spirit, Micah said unto them: ‘He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good, and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to LOVE mercy (LOVING-kindness), and to walk humbly with thy God.’ (Mic. 6:8)
Israel was in a state of unjust dealings with both man and God, and wickedness flourished all over the land…just like it is today. And all Micah really did there was remind the Israelites of Moses’ words earlier on. ‘And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear (reverence) the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to LOVE him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul. To keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good (benefit, welfare).’ (Deut. 10:12-13)
Oh my people, please pay particular attention to the last words of Moses; ‘for thy good.’ Yes, all the Lord tells us to do and expects of us is for our good, our benefit, not for His! He already owns and rules the world, He doesn’t need anything from us but our reverence and obedience. And we see this played out in God’s rejection of Saul from being king of Israel after he refused to obey God’s word to the letter. He had been instructed to totally destroy the Amalekites and all their possessions, but he fell short of total obedience and saved Agag the king of the Amalekites, and also allowed the people to take of the spoil.
And when confronted by the prophet Samuel, he confidently declared (yes!!!): ‘Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil (plunder), sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed , to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal.’ (1 Sam. 15:20-21) Oh friends, that is exactly how many of us feel today when we only do half of God’s bidding. God said to Saul destroy EVERYONE and EVERYTHING belonging to the Amalekites, but he saved their king and their animals, ostensibly to sacrifice to God later on.
But this led to Samuel’s famous chastisement. ‘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. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft (divination), and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.’ (1 Sam. 15:22-23) And though Saul repented and asked for forgiveness, the deed was done, and the Lord had already rejected him in favour of Bruh David.
Now, the scholars have an excellent explanation of those last two verses. ‘These verses reinforce the Old Testament viewpoint that religious ritual devoid of spiritual reality and of a life of total allegiance to a sovereign Lord is worthless. (cf. Ps. 40:6-8; Is. 1:10-20; Mic. 6:8).’ And sadly, that is exactly what many of us supposed believers are doing today. We’re full of plenty religious talk, but the walk, the true spiritual connection is lacking, and we only obey the parts of the Lord’s word that are convenient to us.
It also reminds us of Bruh Paul’s words to Timothy about the state of man in the last days. ‘Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts. Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate (disapproved) concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.’ (2 Tim. 3:5-9)
And the scholars explain thus: ‘A form of godliness is mere religion without power or spiritual life. Paul commands Timothy to turn away from these false teachers who prey upon silly women laden with sins, who are especially susceptible to false teachers. Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth condemns not intense study but some esoteric quest for truth apart from God’s Word.’ And that sort of quest is ever so popular today, with everybody searching for their own truth, as though there could ever be more than one truth! ‘Jannes and Jambres, according to Jewish tradition were the two magicians in Pharaoh’s court who attempted to duplicate Moses’ miracles. (cf. Ex. 7:11; 9:11)’
So friends, you see that life hasn’t changed all that much from olden times. We’re still short-changing the Lord and His Word; looking for any excuse to get out of doing His will. But please remember that partial obedience is still disobedience, and thus sin. And instead of taking His Word as perfect truth, we searching all over for what we consider to be truth. How foolish is that eh? No wonder our world is in such a chaotic state. But thankfully there’s a way to turn things around, that’s by going to the Lord in prayer and asking for divine help. So let’s do that right now, through our Friday Chant.
Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly.
And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Remember now friends, we have to set a truly good example if we expect to see any divine help. Much LOVE!
…to do justice and judgement (righteousness and justice)…is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice… (Prov. 21:3)
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
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