07 Jun 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a light shined, a praying friend, abundance, affirmation, appreciation, basic means, being sick and tired, big bang, Big Island, blessed, chains, Colorado, communicating with God, courage, creativity, curse, Daily Bread Devotional, departed from him, faithfulness, follow me, funk, generously bestowed, God's goodness, godly day, guard posts, Guatemala, Hawaii, iron gate, James, Jews, kept in prison, late morning, late night, lava, miracles, miraculous hand of God, more sleep, negative word, New Mexico, of the church, on our behalf, opened of his own accord, Passover, perform to the level, Peter, power of prayer, prayer was made, problems pale, prosper, razing homes, saw a vision, self-control, self-discipline, share with others, sleep, slow passing of time, succeed, talent, talk to God, the angel of the Lord, the best kind of friend, the expectation of, the Good Book, the Jewish bigwigs, this too shall pass, Thursday Blessings, true believers, unto God, upstanding, volcanic situations, wildfires, wisdom, without ceasing
Acts 12:5. Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.
Ah friends, an unusually late night produced and unusually late morning. It’s as simple as that! Oh, I was up at a fairly decent hour, but the ole bod screamed shrilly at me: ‘Sleep! I need more sleep!’ So what was I to do eh? Nothing but go back to bed and give the ole bod what it desired. Sometimes it’s wisest to do that, else it will not perform up to the level you need or want it to.
And having said all of that, I do hope that you all are having a fine, upstanding, godly day. As for me, I’m not doing too badly, still caught up somewhat in the funk of being sick and tired a lot of the time. Oh, I know that this too shall pass with the passing of time, and I’m not overly worried about it, but it’s just handling the apparent slow passing of time. (smile)
However when I think about the volcanic situations on Big Island in Hawaii, where the lava is slowly taking over, just razing homes to ash and rubble, and that in Guatemala, where the big bang happened all at once and many lives and much property have been lost, I consider myself blessed, in spite of my many problems; problems which pale before theirs.
And those wildfires in Colorado and New Mexico seem to be still blazing away. So, please, let’s keep all these unfortunate people going through these unfortunate circumstances in our prayers. It’s the least we can do, as true believers.
And in appropriate conjunction with that, here is a li’l tidbit from one of the Daily Bread Devotionals: ‘The best kind of friend is a praying friend.’ And is that ever so true my people! For since prayers are our basic means of communicating with God, it’s of the utmost importance to have someone else to talk to God on our behalf, especially when we don’t know or understand what’s happening in our own lives.
And we have an excellent example of that in our Bit. ‘Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.’
Yeh friends, Herod killed James, the brother of John, and when he saw that that pleased the Jewish bigwigs, he then locked up Peter, intending to kill him after the Passover. But he did not reckon with the awesome and outstanding power of prayer, which the church unceasingly kept up on Peter’s behalf.
The Good Book tells it thus: ‘And when Herod would have brought (was about to bring) him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers (guards) before the door kept the prison. And behold, the angel of the Lord came upon (stood) by him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly.
And his chains fell off from his hands. And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him. Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. And he went out, and followed him; and wist (knew) not that it was true (real) which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision.’ (Acts 12:6-9)
Hn, hn! Imagine that nuh, Peter didn’t even realize what was really happening, he thought that he was seeing a vision, when he was actually walking out of the jail. And the Good Book continues: ‘When they were past the first and second ward (guard posts), they came unto the iron gate that leadeth into the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.’ (Acts 2:10)
Now the scholars offer an interesting explanation of that verse. ‘12:10. The text implies that the guards themselves unwittingly opened the first two gates for Peter, and then through the miraculous hand of God the last gate opened of its own accord (Gr. ‘automate’) or “automatically.” And who says our God is not mighty, powerful and faithful eh?
And the story continues: ‘And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety (for certain), that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.’ (Acts 12:11)
Yeh friends, Peter eventually realized that a great miracle had taken place, and no doubt such faithfulness of God raised his own faithfulness to an even higher level. What I want us to realize though fellow believers, is that God still does miracles in our lives today, everyday. Please look for, and pay attention to them.
They might not be as big and spectacular as Peter’s, but miracles are miracles, be they big or small, and we need to notice them when they happen in our own lives, for they truly raise our faith and appreciation of God’s goodness to us. Now let’s go home giving thanks for the miracles of our Thursday Blessings, which God has so generously bestowed on us.
With sincere thanks and powerful affirmation now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And if you truly believe all of that, then the next move is to go out and share it with others, as Jesus so greatly desires. Much LOVE!
…faithfulness to God…brings miracles from God…
03 Jun 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better frame of mind, a brutish man, a fool, a rough morning, bear the negative stuff, beauty of fellowship, best laid plans, boost your spirit, bring forth fruit, clothed in majesty, comings, courts of God, crying out for mercy, doddered our way, don't understand, encouraging words, fellowship, finite minds, flourish, give thanks unto the Lord, Glory be, God laughs, goings, grace, grow strong, handshakes, hell death the grave, how great is our God, Hugs, in old age, intimate gathering, it is a good thing, justice, kisses, lamb, like the palm tree, lion, loved on me, man plans, mercy, might, more than conquerors, mortal words, my heart will sing, my rock, mysterious movements of God, no unrighteousness in God, O most High, old bones and joints, on our behalf, plans of mice and men, power, refresher testimony, sacrifice, sing praises, splendour of a king, the believer's life, the cedar of Lebanon, the Godhead, the importance of fellowship, the Lord God Jehovah, the Lord is upright, the name above all names, Three in one, to church, to thy name, Tomlin, truth, undeserving children of men, very deep, wisest decision, worthy of our praise
Psalm 92:1. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High:
Sorry friends, but it has just been a rough morning. I even went to bed at a decent hour, feeling all right too, intending to get up early and write the Bit before going to church.
Hn! But as they say, ‘the best laid plans of mice and men oftimes go astray,’ as well as, ‘Man plans, but God laughs.’ Hn! And was He ever chuckling this morning because he had a different plan in mind for me.
In the first place I did not get up as early as intended, and then all the old bones and joints were crying out for mercy. Brother! It boggles the imagination to wake up feeling worse than when you went to bed.
Nevertheless, my ailing and aching chariot and I doddered our way to church. And was it ever the wisest decision, for in the small, intimate gathering that characterizes the early service, everybody LOVED on me! Wow! Glory be my people!
That’s the beauty of fellowship! That’s why fellowship is so important in the believer’s life. You get hugs and kisses, handshakes and physical contact which we all need, as well as encouraging words to boost your spirit.
And though the LOVE I received didn’t take away or ease my aches and pains, it certainly lifted my spirit and helped me to bear the negative stuff in a better frame of mind.
And I guess that was God’s plan: He thought I needed a personal refresher testimony to the importance of fellowship that I keep preaching about. Ah Lord eh! The mysterious movements of our God! Who knows His comings or goings? None but Him! (smile)
So in honour of His name and great glory, let’s do as our Bit declares: ‘It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High:’ Yes, let’s sing praises for the Lord’s goodness.
And today we’ll sing some new, contemporary music written by Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash and Jesse Reaves, titled ‘How great is our God!’ You can check out You Tube for Chris Tomlin’s version.
Now let’s raise our voices in praise: ‘The splendor of a King, clothed in majesty Let all the earth rejoice All the earth rejoice He wraps himself in Light, and darkness tries to hide And trembles at His voice Trembles at His voice (Chorus: How great is our God, sing with me How great is our God, and all will see How great, how great is our God)
Age to age He stands And time is in His hands Beginning and the end Beginning and the end The Godhead Three in One Father Spirit Son The Lion and the Lamb The Lion and the Lamb (Chorus) Name above all names Worthy of our praise My heart will sing How great is our God.
Name above all names Worthy of our praise My heart will sing How great is our God. (Chorus: How great is our God, sing with me How great is our God, and all will see How great, how great is our God (2).’
And that’s the gospel, indisputable truth my brethren! Our God is indeed great and worthy to be praised! The song does Him full justice, as full as our mortal words and thoughts can do Him justice.
And the psalmist proclaims later on: ‘O Lord, how great are thy works! And thy thoughts are very deep. A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.’ (Ps.92:5-6) But thankfully my people, we’re neither brutish nor fools, so we understand the might and power of the Lord God Jehovah, as much as our finite minds can understand it!
And furthermore, the psalmist declares: ‘The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow (strong and tall) like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat (plump) and flourishing (green); To show that the Lord is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.’ (Ps.92:12-15)
Oh friends, oh friends, yuh see what happens when we accept the Lord and hold on to His righteous right hand? We grow strong and tall and even flourish and prosper and bear good fruit in our old age! Glory to the Most High for His grace and mercy to the undeserving children of men!
So why are we foolishly looking to other avenues for righteousness and prosperity eh, when only the Lord in His high heaven can do it with any certainty? We’re just letting the enemy lead us astray. And it’s high time we stop doing that. Remember friends, Lucifer only has power over us when we allow him to, for Jesus has already conquered, hell, death and the grave and nothing can stop us.
As the Good Book says: we’re more than conquerors; like Jesus we’ve conquered life and the enemy through His victory. So let’s live like it’s true nuh, otherwise Jesus just wasted His time and life in sacrifice on our behalf. Much LOVE!
…great is our Lord…and of great power…His understanding is infinite…so sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving…sing praise upon the harp to our God… (Ps.147:5,7)
29 Mar 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abundance, as it is written, awesome relationship with God, be sent, belief in Jesus, blessed, bring glad tidings, call on, call upon the name of the Lord, captivity, Christ's cross, Christ's gospel, comapssionate heart, courage, creativity, curse, Daily Bread Devotional, dilemma, essential to belief, expensive price, faith, favour, friends of God, give back, glory to God, God reigns, God sends, God's Holy Will, good news, good things, hear, hearing, Holy Thursday, how beautiful, in the name of Jesus, indisputable truth, iniversal proclamation, Isaiah, knowledge, LOVE, negative word, no better news than the gospel, Old Testament, on our behalf, paid for our freedom, pains my heart, paramount, passe, preach, preach the gospel, proclaims peace, prosperity, sacrifice of Jesus, Salvation is from God, saved, selfless sacrifice, share our blessings, stalwartly endured, success, surrender, tad tardy, take everything for granted, talent, thanks and praise, the bondages of sin, the feet of them, the Son is shining, Thursday Blessings, trust, truth, wisdom, without a preacher, Zion
Romans 10:15. And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
Ah mih people, it’s a somewhat dark and dreary looking Holy Thursday morning, and I’m making my apologies right up front. (smile) I’m a tad tardy today because I went to bed somewhat later than normal last night, or rather this morning.
But not to worry, everything’s in fine shape. The sun might not be shining but the SON definitely is, and no more brighter than on this penultimate day before we celebrate His selfless sacrifice on our behalf some two thousand years ago.
Give Him plenty thanks and praise my fellow believers, for when I think about what He so stalwartly endured for us, it severely pains my heart, although I know that if He hadn’t done it, our lives would not be as wonderful as they are today.
And this quote from a Daily Bread Devotional shows exactly what I’m talking about. ‘Because of Christ’s cross, we can become friends of God.’ Yeh friends, it’s as simple as that. If Christ had not gone to the cross, we would not be able to have the wonderful and awesome relationship we now have with Almighty God!
Mama Mia! How blessed we are but don’t truly recognize or appreciate it! Too many of us just seem to take everything for granted, but that’s not how it ought to be. A serious and most expensive price was paid for our freedom from the bondages of sin, and now we are expected to be grateful and give back something in return.
And we’re talking about things like belief in Jesus, trust, and surrender to His Holy will, living and working diligently for Him. And as another Daily Bread quote tells us: ‘There is no better news than the gospel – spread it.’ Yes my fellow believers, spreading the good news of Christ’s gospel is paramount in our living for and serving Him, because that’s how others will know and understand what He died for and come to also believe in Him.
For as Bruh Paul so plainly wrote in his missive to the church at Rome: ‘For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ (Rom.10:13) But then he puts forth the dilemma inherent in accomplishing that task. ‘How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?’ (Rom.10:14)
Now those are all important questions re the furthering of the gospel: how can people believe and hear and thus call on God if no one tells them about Christ eh? That’s impossible. Thus the next verse in Bruh Paul’s message, which is our Bit for today.
‘And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!’ And that’s the indisputable truth my friends and faithful believers! There’s nothing as beautiful in this whole wide world as the preaching of the good news of Christ’s gospel! Glory to God!
And the scholars offer this explanation: ‘10:14-15. In presenting the universal proclamation of the gospel, Paul presents the reasons why a universal proclamation is necessary: first, because the call must be preceded by faith; second, because faith must be preceded by hearing.
This shows that knowledge is essential to belief. Faith must have a valid content; third, because hearing requires a preacher; fourth, because preaching requires being sent. The One who sends is God. Salvation is completely from God.’
And we all know that indelible truth my brethren! Without God and His great unconditional LOVE and concern for us, there’d be NO salvation whatsoever!
Now here’s a li’l something for those of us who think that the Old Testament is passé, but that’s where Bruh Paul got the basis for his proclamation above. Listen to Isaiah as he reassures his people that the Lord will deliver Zion from captivity.
‘How beautiful upon the mountain are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings (good news), that publisheth (proclaims) peace; that bringeth good tidings of good (good news of good things), that publisheth (proclaims) salvation; that saith unto Zion, thy God reigneth!’ (Is.52:7)
And several thousands of years later my fellow believers in Jesus Christ, that is still the absolute truth! Our God reigns supreme in the universe that He created! And He HAS brought salvation to us through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ! Oh what better news can there be eh? NONE WHATSOEVER! Glory to God my brethren!
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings, that our wonderful God has so magnanimously showered down on us because we believe. With strong conviction now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And if we sincerely believe that, then let’s go out and share those awesome blessings with others as Jesus desires. Much LOVE!
…believers lives and words…ought to be all about sharing the good news of Christ…
08 Feb 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 911 Emergency Number, a compassionate heart, a day of rest, a positive outlook, abundance, all things, angel, aspect of belief, At the cross, believing, blessed, broken, careful path, communication with God, Corville Peters, courage, creativity, curse, delivered, divine protection, dump trucks, excessive rest, expectation, faith, favour, God's willingness, hem and haw, Herod, Higher heights, hope, human arsenal, humble apologies, in a trance, in dream land, in Jesus, in Jesus' name, it is his angel, LOVE, more Christ-like, negative word, nowhere in sight, omnipotent god, on our behalf, overcome God's reluctance, Perter, power, powerful tool, pray, prayer, prayer was made, pregnant, prison, promises, prosper, seeing it, self-control, share with others, snow ploughs, strength, stressed out, succeed, success, talent, the Good Book, the Jews, Thursday Blessings, tired, trust, truth, twist God's arms, unborn child, watched the snow fall, weapon, whatsoever ye ask in prayer, wisdom, without ceasing, you shall receive
Matthew 21:22. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask for in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Ah friends, my most humble apologies for the lateness of today’s Bit. I have absolutely no idea what happened, except that when I was supposed to get up, I was still somewhere far away in dream land. (smile)
And it’s not like I did anything exhaustive yesterday, or went to bed later than normal. In fact yesterday was designated a day of rest, as I watched the snow fall, and then listened to the snow ploughs and dump trucks cart it away later in the evening. So my only conclusion is that I was simply tired from excessive rest! (smile)
But on a serious note, I’m asking us, especially our St. Francis people, to offer up sincere prayers for one of our church members, Abbi, who recently had to trek down to Indianapolis to help look after her very sick mother in the hospital. Some of you might not know her, because she usually comes to the 8.30 a.m service.
Her father doesn’t seem to be doing too well either, as he appears to be stressed out over his wife’s illness. And to complicate matters even further, Abbi is also 6.5 months pregnant, so she also has to look after herself and her unborn child. That means she has to walk a very narrow and careful path in this tremulous situation. There’s not much we can do for the family except pray. So please do that. They would very much appreciate your prayers.
Now here is something appropriate that I just found on one of the many pieces of paper that sit next to my computer. It’s a quote from Corville Peters, host of the Christian call in programme, ‘At the Cross.’ He says: ‘Prayer is not about trying to overcome God’s reluctance, but laying hold of His willingness on your behalf.’
And isn’t that the awesome truth! Prayer is not about trying to twist God’s arms to help us, but to activate His waiting and His willingness to help. I guess it’s something like our 911 Emergency Number. When you call it, you don’t have to beg them to come and help you, because that’s exactly what they are there for.
It’s the same thing with our omnipotent God; He is there to always help us when we call, not hem and haw as to whether He should, or should not. And don’t ever forget friends, that prayer is the most powerful tool or weapon in our human arsenal! Otherwise, Jesus would not have said in our Bit: ‘And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask for in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.’
And it’s very true. But please note the most important word in that sentence: ‘believing.’ Yeh mih people, we have to believe that we will get what we pray for. You’ll notice, that with Jesus, everything is about believing, about having hope and faith, about seeing it when it’s nowhere in sight.
Look at how we believe that Jesus died for us and LOVES us and all those good things, although we never met Him in the flesh. That’s what our faith is all about: when you believe, then you’ll see! And what better example is there than when Peter was imprisoned by Herod.
The Good Book tells us: ‘Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for Him.’ (Acts 12:5) And what happened after that. An angel came and let Peter out of the prison like he was in a trance. (Acts 12:6-10)
The Good Book continues: ‘And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety (for certain), that the Lord had sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.’ (Acts 12:11)
And we all know how when he knocked at the door of Mary’s house, the mother of John Mark, even though they were praying for him, nobody would believe that he was out there, saying nonsense like, ‘It is his angel.’ He had to keep on knocking before they would let him in. (Acts 12:12-17)
So you see friends, even though we pray sincerely, we still lack that ever-important aspect of belief. As Jesus said so plainly before our Bit: ‘Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain; be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.’ (Matt.21:21)
It’s all about faith, and trust and belief in Jesus and His awesome power and promises my brethren! Please, let’s not lose or lessen our faith, but rather build it up, so that we can move to higher heights, become more Christ-like, as the Father desires. And in keeping with all that, let’s go home now, proudly and sincerely declaring out Thursday Blessings.
In strong voice now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And if we truly believe it all, then our next step is to go out and share it with others, as Jesus intends for us to do. Much LOVE!
…prayer…that wonderful…and oh so powerful…method of communication with our great God…
16 Oct 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a positive day, Abraham Isaac and Jacob, adrenaline, advocating, aura of love, called by my name, chickens coming home to roost, chosen people, Christian society, Christians, communicate through prayer, confidence, conquerors, disasters, disciples, do God's will, do Jesus' work, doubleminded, draw near to God, embraced by, enthusiasm, evil, expectation, forgive their sin, friends, glorious kingdom, god head, godless, gone astray, grace, heal their land, heretical, holy spirit, hope, humble, humble servants, humble themselves, I will hear from heaven, in our corner, invincible, James, Jesus Christ, lamp for our feet, lies, light for our path, living God, LOVE, mercy, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, my people, not in sync, Old Testament, omnipotence, on our behalf, pray, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, repentant people, resist the devil, rest, salvation, seek my face, servants, sin, spiritual armour, spiritual beings, steadfast faith, strife, submit yourselves, taunts, the enemy's ranks, the Father, the Great Commission, the heathen, the Holy Trinity, the SON, transformative words, truth, turn from their wicked ways, ungodly world, warning, wiles, wisdom
2 Chronicles 7:14. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways: then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Oh friends, who knows what kind of day any of us will have today eh? When we awaken, it’s usually with the expectation of a bright, productive and positive day, but unfortunately, that’s not always the case. But what’s always the case though, is that on each and every day of our lives, we are positively embraced by the Holy Trinity of our God-head. The Father is looking out for us in His wisdom, omnipotence, grace and mercy.
Meanwhile, the Son is advocating to the Father on our behalf, and also shining down brightly on and around us, so that we can have that proverbial lamp for our feet and light for our path. And betwixt and between all that, the Holy Spirit is operating in our spirits, showing us what the Father desires of us, helping us to do His holy will and communicate with Him through prayer.
And regardless of how our day turns out, those three magnificent, powerful and ever-LOVING spiritual Beings are ALWAYS in our corner. Now what could be better than that eh my fellow believers? Nothing really! That’s why on this Monday morning, even if your body, soul and spirit are not in sync, and you don’t feel like getting up to go to work, you know that that feeling can be overcome through the help of our Triune God and the singing of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn.
So let’s belt it out now nuh with as much enthusiasm as we can muster. ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Now feel the Holy Spirit working in you: brightening up your mood, causing the adrenaline to flow as you excitedly and enthusiastically get yourself together to go out amongst the heathen and do Jesus’ work in a most diligent and excellent manner. Glory to God my people! And what work is that, some of you ask?
Well Jesus told His disciples to ‘Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples) of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway(s), even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20)
And that same Great Commission also applies to us, but instead of going elsewhere, right now I believe we need to concentrate on fixing our own society, which has become so godless and evil and heretical, that an alarming number of us have never even heard about Jesus, in what is supposed to be, or at least once was a Christian Society.
And it all begins with us acknowledging our Bit, putting those all-important, transformative words into action. ‘If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways: then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.’
Ah friends, how very encouraging is our God eh? For as the scholars tell us: ‘7:14-15. While this promise was originally given to Solomon regarding the people of Israel, it is certainly applicable to all who will call on the Lord in repentance and faith. These verses stand as a high expression of God’s LOVING readiness to hear the prayers of a repentant people (cf. 6:37-39; James 4:8-10).’
And there’s no doubt that although we call ourselves Christians, too many of our actions aren’t Christian-like: we’re not humble before God; we don’t seek His face or pray like we should…and don’t talk about the wickedness that exists in our ranks. Hn! That’s why I maintain that all the recent natural disasters and physical strife are a serious warning from Almighty God.
And if you figure our Bit comes from the Old Testament so it’s outdated, then listen to James, as he talks about worldliness and pride. ‘Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded. Be afflicted and mourn (lament) and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness (gloom). Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:7-10)
Oh friends, if we want to see brighter days and our land healed, then we’ve got to turn back to the One True and Living God; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, we’ve gone astray for far too long now. So let’s be wise like the Israelites of old nuh; acknowledge the warning…and repent. Much LOVE!
…God punished His chosen people…when they went astray…so why not us eh…the chickens are coming home to roost…
SCRIP-BITS 