19 Dec 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new flock of believers, always more loving, an intolerant attitude, and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, anger, anxiety and confusion, As God for christ's sake forgave you, at the pinnacle of our growth, be better witnesses for Christ, be responsible and stay safe, be ye kind one to another, by the example, celebrate the incarnate birth of Christ, crying out for your help, defeat the simmering unrest in our land, discontent, dissatisfaction, evil speaking, faith, forgiving one another, Friday chant, grieve that my attitude is so often intolerant, hold Jesus near and dear in our hearts, holy spirit, how long you've waited for me, hypocritical actions, ideal time, impatient society, impress me, Jesus Christ, keep fresh the imprint, learn from past mistakes, let all bitterness, LOVE, make me more flexible, me myself and I, mentally enlightened, mercy, more understanding, my fretful impatience, my own need to grow, my own slow progress, no longer a spring chicken, often inclined to ask, omnipotent help, One Year Book of Bible promises, our motto for Christmas, our sinful world, problems are escalating, restoring faith in you, return backsliders to your fold, Ruth Harms Calkin, Slow Growth, stand strong and steadfast, stretched patience, superficial kindness, technologically advanced, tenderhearted, the error of their ways, the essence of selfishness, the poor are getting poorer, the rich are getting richer, the throne of grace, think and act like God, to turn things around, trusting faith, truth, unexpected storms, ungodly times, wake up and smell the coffee, why can't she change, why is he always so slow, wisdom, wise guidance, with all malice, wrath clamour anger be put away from you, ye are sealed unto the day of redemption
Ephesians 4:32. And be ye kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
It’s down to six my people… six days before the big celebration of Christmas Day when all the world will ring out with joyful song, celebrating the miraculous, incarnate birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Yes, it’s that marvellous fact that has us busy with all sorts of preparations, but let’s make sure that the most important preparation takes place in our hearts, as we hold Jesus near and dear, and remember all that He’s done for us.
Sadly though friends, today we’re on an even later bus than yesterday, because I had to go out early for some tests and then run an errand that I could not do yesterday, so by the time I got back home, I had to rest, remember the ole fella is no longer a spring chicken, (smile) but today for sure, we’re going to be shorter than ever. So let’s get to this interesting and most appropriate poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin titled ‘Slow Growth.’ Who knows if I’ve ever shared it before, but I know that it relates to many of us in this greedy, busy and impatient society.
Please read with me. ‘In my fretful impatience I am so often inclined to ask “Why can’t she change?” “Why is he always so slow?” “Will they ever learn from past mistakes?” And then You begin to impress me With my own slow progress upward. I see your stretched patience. I remember how long You’ve waited for me. And I grieve that my attitude Is so often intolerant. O God, keep fresh the imprint Of my own need to grow And make me more flexible More understanding And always more LOVING.’
Yes my brethren, all of us can learn from those few words about the intolerant society we now live in. We’ve possibly never been this intolerant, although we are at the pinnacle of our growth; the richest, as well as the most technologically advanced, and mentally enlightened. And you’d think that that would guide us to share more of all that our new world has provided. However, that’s not true, for the rich are getting richer as they get greedier, the poor are getting poorer as they have what little they possess taken away from them, and rich nor poor seem to care about their fellow brethren as much as they ought.
The essence of selfishness, the picture of Me, Myself and I, has unfortunately taken over our world. There’s so much in our world that nobody ought to be starving or suffering from serious want, as so many are today, even in the supposedly rich and generous countries. That’s why this Christmas season is the ideal time to try and turn things around, as there’s so much giving and kindness, although a lot of it is hypocritical and superficial.
And the best way to begin is by following this wonderful advice from Bruh Paul to the Ephesians. ‘And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you with all malice: And be ye kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph. 4:30 -32) And for your information, that last verse is the Bible Promise of our poem ‘Slow Growth.’
So please, let’s use those words as our motto for this Christmas season nuh, opening our arms and hearts to others with the kindness and forgiveness that God has so generously bestowed on us through the sacrifices of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Now let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant to ask for divine help to do just that.
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 with all the confusion and wrongdoing in our world, it’s now time for us to wake up and be better witnesses for Christ… if we desire His help. Much LOVE!
…let’s think and act like God….showing…LOVE, peace, forgiveness, kindness, mercy and justice…to each other…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
31 Oct 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a flaw in our prayer, a new flock of believers, acclamation of our faith, all things work together for good, be content with such things as ye have, be of good cheer, be reminded of our previous struggles, be responsible, be strong and of a good courage, by the example we faithful believers set, can wake up and smell the coffee, carry them in his bosom, comfort ye my people, crying out for your help, defeat the simmering unrest in our land, discontent, dissatisfaction, divine help, drag us back into medieval times, embrace your love and compassion, faith, fear not, feed his flock like a shepherd, fellowship, Friday chant, gather the lambs with his arm, gently lead those that are with young, God will continue empowering us, God's omnipotent help, Halloween Day, his arm shall rule for him, his reward is with him, his work before him, holy spirit, I am the good shepherd, I am with you, i have overcome the world, I know my sheep and are known of mine, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee, I will not fear what man can do to me, improve our witness, in me you might have peace, in the world ye shall have tribulation, Jesus Christ, keep you in all places you go, let your conduct be without covetousness, life is not a bed of roses, LOVE, mercy, no rights or privileges, nor be afraid of them, on the late bus, our Christian witness is not good enough, our sinful world, our walk with christ is a two way street, prayer time with the Father, problems escalating, restoring faith in God, return backsliders to your fold, revert to such an inhumane situation, salvation, shining our bright lights in the darkness, smell it sweet and strong, spreading our salty flavour, stand strong and steadfast, stay safe, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the daily grind and common task, the enemy comes against us in christ's name, the error of their ways, the evil spirits come out to play, the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep, the gospel truth, The Lord is my helper, the Lord tests us, the Lord will come with strong hand, the shedding of innocent blood, the throne of grace, the trick or treat game, the unexpected storms, the way of life, these things I have spoken unto you, to shower down blessings on us, to stand up and fight the evil enemy, to them that love God, tribulation, trusting faith, truth, unexpected storms, waiting with bated breath, walking with the Lord, we may boldly say, who are called according to His purpose, wisdom, wise guidance
Isaiah 40:1. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
Ah friends, the ole fella had a rather late night, thus he also had a rather late morning. (smile) Consequently, we are on the late bus this Friday October 31, or Halloween Day, when all the evil spirits and people come out to play the trick or treat game. But that’s a topic for another day, not this wet, cloudy, windy Friday, where we’ve offered up our acclamation of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ which means the weekend is upon us, those two short days we have for ourselves; to rest, recuperate and have some fun, before getting back to the daily grind and common task.
Ah well, that’s just the way life is, for once up a time, and it’s not so long ago that many people worked seven days a week, with a day off once in a while. Thankfully our situation has improved some, although the greedy employers would like nothing better, and indeed are trying their best to drag us back into the medieval times where we had absolutely no rights nor privileges. But we won’t ever allow that to happen, for too much innocent blood has ben shed to get us to where we are today, to ever revert to such an inhumane and ungodly situation. And all God’s children said a loud and proud, ‘Amen!’
And I’m chuckling here, because I don’t know where that all came from because it’s not Labour Day or anything of the sort, but I guess the Good Lord just wanted us to be reminded of our previous struggles and have us understand that He will continue empowering us to stand up and fight the aggressive and evil enemy. It’s like Isaiah promised on the Lord’s behalf. ‘Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God…Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand (in strength), and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work (wage) before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.’ (Is. 40:1;10-11)
Yes friends, that’s one of the many promises of our God to be with us at all times and look after us. And Jesus embodied that promise in Himself when He subsequently declared: ‘I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep…I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.’ (John 10:11;14) It’s like the author of Hebrews also reminds us: ‘Let your conversation (conduct) be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall (can) do unto me.’ (Heb. 13:5)
Now that’s a most powerful acclamation of our faith, and hopefully we all will stand strong in it, because our God is ever-faithful to keep His promises. As he said to Jacob, when he dreamed that famous, mind-boggling, but life changing dream (Gen. 28:10-14) ‘And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.’ (Gen. 28:15) And we all know that the Lord kept His promise to Jacob.
It’s also like Moses said to the Israelites on God’s behalf: ‘Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.’ (Deut. 31:6) And that promise was also kept, except for the times when Israel rebelled against the Lord and suffered the dire consequences of such rebellion and disobedience. But all in all, Israel had it pretty good. For as Bruh Paul warns us in his letter to the Romans: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are called according to his purpose.’ (Rom. 8:28)
And that’s one of the most important scriptures for Christians to know and understand. The Lord will keep His promises and look after us, and eventually all things will work out for our good. But we need to thoroughly understand that life, especially the Christian life is not a bed of roses, but can often be a tough slog, especially when the enemy comes against us in Christ’s name, or when the Lord Himself tests us. So it’s ever so necessary to keep in mind these most reassuring and encouraging words of Jesus. ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33)
And all that’s the gospel truth, my fellow believers, but it’s not easy to put into practice. That’s why we need to keep on growing in our faith, through reading and meditating on the Word, through fellowship with other believers and sincere prayer time with the Father. And our God is so wonderful, that through Jesus’ sacrifice, we can now go directly to the throne of grace seeking divine help. So let’s do that right now nuh, through our Friday Chant.
All together: ‘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 we’ve prayed a good prayer, but there’s one flaw in it; if the new flock of believers are like us, then they won’t be of much use, because our current Christian witness is not up to scratch. That means we have to improve, if we truly desire divine aid! So let’s get to it nuh. The Lord is waiting with bated breath to shower down blessings on us…when we improve our witness, by spreading our highly flavoured salt far and wide, and shining our lights much brighter in the many dark places of the earth. Much LOVE!
…walking with the Lord is a two way street…He’s kept all His promises…now we need to do our part…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
24 Oct 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a break is in the offing, a chance to do our own thing, a man hath joy by the answer of his mouth, a means of restoring faith in you, a refined character, a reflection of a pure and truthful heart, a word fitly spoken, a word spoken in due season, amidst all the anxiety and confusion, ask the Lord to open our ears, boosts our weary and broken spirits, by the example we faithful believers set, can never overstate, can wake up and smell the coffee, crying out for your help, defeat the simmering unrest in our land, developed through experience, divine aid, don't speak deceit and falsehood, embrace your love and compassion, faith, fellowship, Friday chant, guard our lips, he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth my ear to hear as the learned, help the rest of us to be responsible, holy spirit, how good is it, improve our Christian witness, in settings of silver, in the correct circumstances, insecure bosses, introduce a new flock of believers, Jesus Christ, know how to speak a word in season, let every man be swift to hear, like apples of gold in pictures of sliver, LOVE, make us better listeners, mercy, of these ungodly times, omnipotent help, our little nemesis the tongue, our sinful world, reduce our talking, reignites our senses, return backsliders to your fold, salvation, serious problems are escalating, show them the error of their ways, slow to speak, slow to wrath, smell it sweet and strong, speaking the right thing at the right time, spirits at a low ebb, spoken at the right time, spoken with wisdom, stand strong and steadfast, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the anger and venom we spew every day, the importance of a good word at the right time, the Lord hath given me, the throne of grace, the tongue is extremely important in our lives, the tongue of the learned, the value of words is maximised, timing is key, to handle these unexpected storms properly, to him that is weary, to stay safe, took umbrage to it, truth, use the discontent and dissatisfaction, voices filled with anger and venom, well-timed words are beautiful, wisdom, wise guidance, with the right motives, without any bosses looking over our shoulders, words have great power
Proverbs 25:11. A word fitly spoken (spoken at the right time) is like apples of gold in pictures (settings) of silver.
Glory be! It’s Friday! The weekend is here! Consequently, we shout; ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ Ah friends, we are so happy to see Friday appear on our radar screens because it’s reignites our senses by letting us know that a break from all the frustrations, problems and heartaches involved with work is in the offing. That finally gives us a chance to do our own thing without any bosses looking over our shoulders. And that fact alone, often lifts us up.
That reminds me of working at a big company years ago, where the fellow sitting behind me and I would laugh and talk while working. The work did not require a lot of concentration, and besides, our immediate boss knew that we were diligently working. But an upper boss who sat further away from us could only see us talking and laughing, and took umbrage to it and directed our immediate boss to stop it. But I guess that’s the mentality of bosses who are afraid for, and insecure in their own positions, and don’t trust their subordinates enough to make good decisions.
Anyway, today we are going to continue talking about our little nemesis, the tongue, and it’s surprising how much scripture has been devoted to it, but that’s because of it’s extreme importance in the entirety of our lives. And we’ll begin with these wise words from Cousin Sol in Proverbs, where he declares: ‘A word fitly spoken (spoken at the right time) is like apples of gold in pictures (settings) of silver.’ (Prov. 25:11. And is that ever the wonderful truth!
And I just like how this commentary explains it. ‘”A word fitly spoken” means speaking the right thing at the right time, a concept from Proverbs 25:11. The phrase is compared to “apples of gold in pictures of silver,” symbolizing that well-timed, appropriate words are precious and beautiful. It suggests that words have great power and their value is maximized when they are spoken with wisdom, in the correct circumstances, and with the right motive.’
And so they do! That’s why kind words in tough situations comfort and encourage us, while unkind ones do the exact opposite. And as the commentary continues: ‘Timing is key: The word “fitly” emphasizes that the appropriateness of a word depends on the situation, making the timing crucial.’ That’s for sure! Meanwhile, ‘The imagery of “apples of gold in pictures of silver” highlights the immense value of a wise and timely word, much like a valuable piece of jewelry.’ And some days when our spirits are at a low ebb, are we ever thankful for that timely word of gold in settings of silver, because it just boosts our weary and broken spirit.
Then the commentary talks about ‘Wisdom and motive: It implies the speaker uses wisdom and has a good motive, such as to edify, comfort, or give necessary guidance, rather than to cause harm or show off.’ Wow! Oh how we wish, or rather hope and pray that many more of us would be wise with good motives when we open our mouths, instead of the caterwauling (shrill voices) filled with anger and venom that is so prevalent today.
Also, as the commentary further suggests, our words are ‘A reflection of the speaker: The phrase can also suggest that the words spoken are a reflection of a pure and truthful heart, or the result of a refined character developed through experience.’ Oh Brother! The Lord would certainly be pleased, and our world would be much better off, if that could be said of many more of us! But unfortunately, right now that is not the case. Our tongues are working overtime with lies, deceits and all sorts of evil doings.
And that brings us to some more wise words from Cousin Sol on the tongue. He says: ‘A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season (in its time), how good is it!’ (Prov. 15:23) More absolute truth my brethren! We do feel good when we talk wisely, and we can never overstate the importance of a good word at the right time.
Now here is another interesting scripture on our words, this from the prophet Isaiah. He declares: ‘The Lord hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.’ (Is. 50:4)
And that’s something we all need, and should perhaps make it our daily prayer. Before getting out of bed ask the Lord to open our ears to hear as the wise and considerate, as well as guard our lips so that we don’t speak deceit and falsehood. And I’m serious about that my fellow believers. For it would certainly cut down the amount of talking we do, as well as the anger and venom we spew every day, and make us better listeners.
But now it’s time to go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking divine help to improve our Christian witness. 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 that’s a good prayer, but there’s one thing wrong with it; the new flock of believers would not be good witnesses if they follow our example, because we have not been very good witnesses either! So, if we truly desire divine aid, let’s get busy and improve things nuh! Much LOVE!
…let every man…be swift to hear…slow to speak…slow to wrath… (James 1:19)
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
03 Oct 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a little while I am with you, a means of restoring faith in you, a new flock of believers, all ye that are upright in heart, amidst all the anxiety and confusion, an everlasting promise of God, be glad in God's loving-kindness, be glad in the Lord, be responsible, be ye not as the horse or mule, by the example we faithful believers set, call ye upon him while he is near, crying out for your help, defeat the simmering unrest in our land, discontent, dissatisfaction and discouragement, divine intervention, embrace your love and compassion, faith, Friday chant, God's omnipotent help, have no understanding, he that trusts in the Lord, he will abundantly pardon, he will have mercy upon him, heard you in an accepted time, holy spirit, I acknowledged my sin, I have heard thee in a time accepted, I will confess my transgressions, in the day of salvation, in the way thou shalt go, instruct and teach thee, Jesus Christ, Jesus is seated at the Father's right hand, let him return unto the Lord, let the wicked forsake his way, LOVE, many sorrows shall be to the wicked, mercy, mercy shall compass him about, mine iniquity have I not hid, now is the accepted time, our sinful world, persecution, plagued by hatred anger and greed, preserve me from trouble, receive not the grace of God in vain, rejoice ye righteous, return backsliders to your fold, running rampant in our world, salvation, seek ye the Lord while he may be found, seeking God, Selah, serious problems are escalating, shall not come near unto him, shout for joy, show them the error of their ways, stand strong and steadfast, stay safe, strife-filled, stubborn horses, surround me with songs of deliverance, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the abundant pardoning of God, the Great tribulation, the most important concern, the simmering unrest, the unrighteous man his thoughts, thou art my hiding place, thou forgavest me mine iniquity, to our God, trusting faith, truth, turbulent times, uncertain times, unexpected storms, ungodly times, unsatisfactory, upright in heart, violence, whose mouth must be held with bit and bridle, wisdom, wise advice, wise guidance, ye shall seek me and shall not find me, you forgave my iniquity
Isaiah 55:6. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
And then, finally, it was Friday! That much beloved last day of our work week, where we offer up shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend is here at last!’ And we ought not to give thanks for only Fridays, but for every day we are granted the amazing and most wonderful grace of God to see a new one, especially a nice, bright and sunshiny, fairly warm day like today, early in the month of October. (smile)
Now, we’re on the late bus, because the ole fella went to bed late, and thus got up late, so there’s no time to lose, (smile) let’s get straight into the scripture passage we want to look at today. It comes from the Book of Isaiah, where he’s telling the people about the abundant pardoning of the Lord. He therefore advises: ‘Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.’ (Is. 55:6-7)
Yes friends, those words are also very applicable to the evil and ungodly situation we have running rampant in our world today! It would be oh so awesome if many of the unrighteous and ungodly would take that wise advice, then our world would not be as strife-filled and plagued by hatred, anger, greed and deceit as it currently is.
That reminds us of Jesus telling the Pharisees: ‘Yet a little while I am (shall be) with you, and then I go unto him that sent me. Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come.’ (John 7:33-34) Obviously the Pharisees did not understand His words, and they still apply to us today, for the wicked and ungodly cannot go to heaven where Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father.
It’s also as Bruh Paul said to the Corinthians, re the Day of Salvation. ‘We then as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured (helped) thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) (2 Cor. 6:1-2)
Now, Bruh Paul is there quoting from Is. 49:8, but the important matter is that today, right now, there’s a dire need for salvation, for Jesus can return to take us home at any time on any day, and if we’re not prepared, having accepted him as Lord and Saviour, then crapaud smoke we pipe! We’re remaining here to face enormous hardship, violence and persecution in the seven years of Tribulation, that comes after the Rapture. So it only makes sense to call on Jesus right now, while He is near and may be found.
It’s like Bruh David says in Psalm 32, titled Confession and Forgiveness. ‘I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh (near) unto him. Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about (surround) me with songs of deliverance. Selah.’ (Ps. 32:5-7)
Oh my people, these turbulent and uncertain times are when we should all concentrate on turning to God Almighty for succour and relief, for He is the ONLY ONE who can truly and sincerely offer us that. It’s like Bruh David continues in Psalm 32 about God’s plans and desires. He says: ‘I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.’ Ps. 32:8-9)
Yes my brethren that’s an everlasting promise of God! If we turn to Him He will show us how to go about this life in a successful manner. And He sent His Holy Spirit to help us do just that! However, too many of us are still behaving like stubborn horses and mules, as though we have no understanding of godly things. But please remember, as Bruh David further warns: ‘Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass (surround) him about. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.’ (Ps. 32:10-11)
Oh my fellow believers, there could be no better advice than that! So please, let’s take it to heart nuh. Let’s turn from our evil ways back to the Lord of our forefathers, so that He can lead and guide us safely, through His Holy Spirit, and we can rejoice and be glad in His LOVING-KINDNESS! Now, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking divine aid to help us do what we need to do!
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!’
Ah friends, we talk a good talk, but our Chrisitan witness is unsatisfactory, and we badly need to improve it, for only then, will we receive divine intervention! Much LOVE!
…seeking God…right now…is the most important concern in today’s world
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
26 Sep 2025
by randyobrien50
in Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new flock of believers, Abraham prayed for Ahimelech, Abraham wavered not from God's command, Abram did not learn his lesson, Abram twice claimed Sarai was his sister, Abram's behaviour, be not afraid of them that kill the body, because of the Pharisees, by the example we faithful believers set, can do no more after that, Christians often live by fear not faith, crying out for God's help, defeat the simmering unrest in our land, discontent, dissatisfaction, divine aid, embrace your love and compassion, escalating problems, faith, favourite day of our work week, fear God who can kill both body and soul, fear him who after killing, Friday chant, give our leaders wise guidance, God commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, God made the women of Ahimelech's household barren, God's omnipotent help, God's amazing grace, hath power to cast into hell, him will I also deny before my Father in heaven, him will I confess before my Father in heaven, holy spirit, improved witness for Christ, in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, lest they be put out of the synagogue, LOVE, many believed on Jesus, mercy, more than the praise of God, our sinful world, refused to publicly acknowledge Jesus, restoring faith in you, return backsliders to your fold, safe in the protection of God, salvation, show them the error of their ways, slay me for my wife's sake, stand strong and steadfast, standard of witness for Christ, stop fearing man, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the anxiety and confusion, the fear of God is not in this place, the fear of man bringeth a snare, the last weekend of September, the Lord healed the women's barrenness, the Lord plagued Pharaoh, the Lord provided a ram for the sacrifice, the promised child Isaac, the throne of grace, these ungodly times, they loved the praise of men, trusting faith, truth, unexpected storms, wake up and smell the coffee, we of little faith, whoso puts their trust in the Lord shall be safe, whosoever shall confess me before men, wisdom, wise guidance
Proverbs 29:25. The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe (secure).
And then, it was that favourite day of our work week, Friday! And all kinds of shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ obviously rose to high heaven, especially since Friday has turned out to be bright and sunny, not cloudy and damp like the last few days have been. Now, would you believe that we’re also getting into the last weekend of September and we haven’t seen one truly chilly day as yet. That’s certainly unusual, but we’ll take it, and say the Lord be praised. (smile)
Now today, we want to continue along the same path as yesterday, talking about being safe in the protection of Almighty God. And once more, we want to put forward this marvellous advice from Cousin Sol. ‘The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe (secure).’ (Prov. 29:25) And we see the truth of that statement right from the very beginning, when Abram went down to Egypt due to a famine in his land, and feared for his life because his wife Sarai was beautiful, and convinced her to say that she was his sister.
And so it was. The Egyptians indeed saw her as beautiful and Pharaoh took her into his house and paid Abram well for the privilege. (Gen. 12:10-16) But soon thereafter, the Bible tells us: ‘Then the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram’s wife.’ (Gen. 12:17) When Pharaoh realized what had happened, he called Abram, upbraided him, and sent him away with Sarai and all his possessions.
But he still did not learn his lesson, for later on when he became Abraham and sojourned in Gerar, he again said that Sarah was his sister. This time to king Abimelech, who obviously took her into his household. But thankfully, the Lord appeared to the king and threatened him to give Sarah back to her husband. (Gen. 20:1-10) And when Abimelech rebuked Abraham, his excuse was: ‘Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife’s sake (on account of my wife).’ (Gen. 20:11)
And thus again, through God’s amazing grace, he was sent away with more riches. But the interesting scenario is that God had closed up all the wombs of the women in Ahimelech’s household because he took Sarah into his house. However, when all was said and done, Abraham prayed for Ahimelech and his household, and the Lord healed the women’s barrenness. Obviously friends, up to that time, our patriarch, both as Abram and Abraham, did not truly put his complete trust in the God whom he claimed to believe in.
But all of that was greatly improved by the time that Abraham received the promised child of Isaac and then the Lord told him to go and sacrifice the child. Abraham did not waiver, but went and did as the Lord commanded,. And we all know that the Lord provided a ram for the sacrifice instead of Issac. (Gen. 22:1-14) Now that’s the level of trust and faith to which we should all aspire, simply doing whatever God tells us to do, without querying it, knowing that He will eventually work it all out for our good.
Oh my brethren, it’s like Jesus warns in the gospel of Luke: ‘And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kil the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea,, I say unto you, Fear him.’ (Luke 12:4-5) And that’s the best advice we can ever receive; stop fearing man, who can only kill the body, but fear God, who can kill both the body and soul.
And we see that fear of man persisting even amongst the Jewish rulers of Jesus’ time. As John writes about people refusing to believe in Jesus despite all that he had done. ‘Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess (publicly acknowledge) him, lest they be put out of the synagogue. For they LOVED the praise of men more than the praise of God.’ (John 12:42-43)
And to this day, nothing much has changed in that respect. Many of us still refuse to confess Jesus publicly because we’re afraid of what mankind would do. Ah we of little faith! But let’s go home remembering these most important words of Jesus on the subject. ‘Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt. 10:32-33) Yes friends, those are good words for us to ponder on today, as we go to the throne of grace through our Friday Chant, seeking divine aid in these terrible 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!’
Oh my people, we pray good prayers, but unfortunately our Christian witness is not up to standard, so our prayers are not answered. Therefore, let’s concentrate on lifting the standard of witness for Christ nuh, for then, and only then will we receive divine aid! Much LOVE!
…many Christians claim to have faith…but too often it’s fear they live by…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
19 Sep 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a means of restoring faith in you, a new flock of believers, all for our benefit, amidst all the anxiety and confusion, as the shining light, be responible, brighten our lives with God's Word, by the example your faithful believers set, cause someone to fall, centres us out for destruction, confusion of these ungodly times, criminals, crying out for your help, defeat the simmering unrest in our land, discontent, dissatisfaction, divine aid, do something about our very evil society, drink the wine of violence, eat the bread of wickedness, embrace your love and compassion, enter not into the path of the wicked, faith, fight valiantly against demonic desires, fill our houses with spoil, find precious substance, find wealth, Friday chant, go not in the way of evil men, God's omnipotent help, holy spirit, if sinners entice thee consent not, improve our Christian witness, Jesus Christ, lack of responsibility, lay wait for blood, live righteously, LOVE, lurk privily for the innocent, make haste to shed blood, making a mockery of Christ, mercy, not live the lives of unbelievers, our sinful world, our trusting faith, plunder, problems are escalating, propagate violence, refrain thy foot from their path, return backsliders to your fold, robbed of sleep, robbery with violence, salvation, show them the error of their ways, smell it sweet and strong, stand strong and steadfast, stand up and live the righteous life, stay safe, swallow them up alive, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, that shineth more and more, the blessings of the righteous, the enemy tries to dim our light, the first step is always prayer, the job of Christians, the latest rage, the lawlessness of our society, the path of the just, the perishing of the unrighteous, the throne of grace, the weekend is here at last, the young taking advantage of the old, their feet run to evil, their sleep is taken away, they sleep not unless they've done evil, to live lives others desire, toothless and worthless laws, truth, turbulent times, unexpected storms, unto the perfect day, victims of crime, wake up and smell the coffee, walk not in the way with them, wisdom, wise guidance
Proverbs 4:18. But the path of the just is as the shining (bright) light, that shineth more and more (ever brighter) unto the perfect day.
And then it was finally Friday, and thus all the voices rose to heaven saying: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday, and the weekend is here at last!’ Yes friends the weekend is indeed on the horizon and we just can’t wait for this day to be over, so we don’t have to worry about getting up early and rushing out to work. And thankfully too, today is another wonderful summer’s day, with the sun valiantly fighting off the bit of cloud cover that is trying to hide its light. It’s like the enemy tries to dim our lights when we try to brighten them with the Word of God and live righteously. But like the sun, we also need to fight valiantly against that demonic desire. (smile)
Now, yesterday we looked at Psalm 1, which explained very simply and precisely about the blessings of the righteous and the perishing of the unrighteous. Today, I want to continue looking at some other scriptures that admonish us with the same words of wisdom. And who better to get them from than Cousin Sol, the wisest man ever. Right in the beginning of Proverbs, he issues this warning.
‘My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for (to shed) blood, let us lurk privily (secretly) for the innocent without cause: Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: We shall all find precious substance (wealth), we shall fill our houses with spoil (plunder): My son, walk not in the way with them; refrain (keep) thy foot from their path: For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.’ (Prov. 1:10:16)
Oh my people, it sems as though Cousin Sol is speaking of one of today’s major problems; robbery with great violence. Every day we hear of some other violent robbery in the news media, and it’s certainly getting out of hand. And the sad part is that many of the crimes are being committed by young people on elderly folk. The young taking advantage of the old. That’s not the way it’s supposed to be. The young are supposed to help and look after the old, not rob them of their livelihood and/or lives. But with lawlessness of our society and the lack of responsibility of the young, that’s the latest rage.
When will the government wake up and do something concrete about the situation eh, for many of these criminals are either out on bail, parole, or already have long criminal records, while many of them are being encouraged by older criminals because they know the current Young Offender Laws are toothless and worthless. When you can violently kill other humans and only receive a three year sentence because you’re under the age of 17 or 18, and neither your name or picture can be mentioned in the news, as well as your criminal file is closed forever, but the victim’s name and picture can be spread all over the news, why won’t the young be enticed to commit violent crimes eh?
The problem with those who make these laws and thus propagate the violence, is that they don’t actually feel the hurt and grief because none of their LOVED ones are usually victims of these terrible situations. And it’s only when they actually feel the hurt and grief that they ever tend to do something serious about it. But that’s a sad way for a society to conduct its business. Anyhow, enough of my admonishment, let’s get back to some more scripture on the blessedness of righteousness, and the destruction of the unrighteous.
Listen to Cousin Sol one more time. ‘Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it (do not travel on it), turn from it, and pass away. For they sleep not, except (unless) they have done mischief (evil); and their sleep is taken away (they are robbed of sleep) unless they cause some to fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. But the path of the just is as the shining (bright) light, that shineth more and more (ever brighter) unto the perfect day.’ (Prov. 4:14-18)
Oh my fellow believers, I could not have put it any better than Cousin Sol has. So please, let’s wake up and do something serious about our less than righteous or rather very evil society nuh! It’s our job, that of Christians, to live the kind of life that will cause others to desire what we have, but unfortunately it seems that we are living the lives that the unbelievers desire. And that’s simply not kosher! No mih bredrin, it’s certainly not acceptable, for in doing so we’re just making a mockery of Christ and our Christian faith, which makes us unrighteous just like the unbelievers and therefore, like them, also centres us out for destruction.
Ah Lord eh! I don’t know what it will take for us supposed believers in Jesus Christ to really stand up and live the righteous life that He desires of us nuh, but I do know that our first step is always prayer. So let’s do that by going to the throne of grace through our Friday Chant, seeking divine aid in these 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!’
Unfortunately though friends, it’s nothing but a joke when we talk about the new believers following our example, because our current example is certainly not good enough. That means we have to improve our Christian witness before we can receive any divine aid. It’s as simple as that! So please, let’s get to seriously working on it nuh, for it’s all for our benefit! Much LOVE!
…Christians know what we ought to do…so why aren’t we doing it eh…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
12 Sep 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a master builder, a means of restoring faith in you, a new flock of believers, a word to the wise is sufficient, another buildeth thereupon, anxiety and confusion, as by fire, as sheep having no shepherd, be responsible and stay safe, bring glad tidings of good things, but he himself shall be saved, by the example your faithful believers set, can wake up and smell the coffee, combustible materials, crying out for your help, defeat the simmering unrest in our land, discontent, dissatisfaction, do our part, embrace your love and compassion, every man's work shall be made manifest, faith, faith cometh by hearing, faith must be preceded by hearing, for other foundation can no man lay than Jesus, Friday chant, God gives the increase, he shall receive a reward, he shall suffer loss, hearing by the word of God, hearing requires a preacher, holy spirit, how beautiful are the feet, how shall they believe, how shall they hear without a preacher, how shall they preach except they be sent, how then shall they call on him, I am the good shepherd, if any man's work endures, if any man's work shall be burned, improving our witness for Christ, in whom they have not believed, incombustible materials, Isaiah saith Lord who hath believed our report, it shall be revealed by fire, Jesus Christ, Jesus is the Good Shepherd, Jesus was moved with compassion, Jesus' sacrificial death, knowledge is essential to belief, laid the foundation, LOVE, mercy, mundane work, of them that preach the gospel of peace, omnipotent help, one plants and one waters, our sinful world, paid for our sins, pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, preaching to a disobedient people, problems are escalating, return backsliders to your fold, salvation, salvation is completely from God, same old week of work, send forth labourers into his harvest, sending out missionaries, smell it sweet and strong, spread the gospel all over the world, stand strong and steadfast, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the error of their ways, the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep, the grace of God, the Great Commission, the harvest truly is plenteous, the judgement day, the labourers are few, the saving faith of the gospel, the throne of grace, these ungodly times, they fainted and were scattered abroad, trusting faith, truth, unexpected storms, universal proclamation of the gospel, wisdom, wise guidance
Matthew 9:37-38. The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.
Oh brother! Friday has finally arrived, and in bright sunshiny form too. Praise the Lord! No wonder the many voices raised in that joyful shout of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ Yes, that means the weekend is here, and we have a short break from our mundane work, but please, let’s remember to use those two short days off wisely, so that we come back refreshed to begin another same old, same old week of work. (smile)
And today we’ll continue talking about the problem of getting missionaries out into the world to spread the gospel. That reminds us of Jesus reaction as He went about teaching and preaching the gospel of the kingdom. The Bible says: ‘But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted (were weary), and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.’ (Matt. 9:36-38)
Yes friends, Jesus saw that the multitude of people around him were distressed, lost and not knowing which way to turn, just like so many of us are today. And unfortunately, there is a very large crowd of us wandering lost, like sheep without a shepherd. And do we ever need a shepherd to lead and guide us, if our lives are to improve and be worth anything. And we know that Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He said it Himself: ‘I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.’ (John 10:11) And that’s exactly what He did; paid for our abominable sins with His sacrificial death on the cross.
However, right now we don’t have enough people willing to go out and spread the gospel, the good news of Jesus’ sacrificial death that brings salvation and eternal life. Instead we, Christ’s church is fighting amongst itself over petty matters, and not doing what is necessary to further the kingdom of God. And remember yesterday we talked about Bruh Paul accusing the Corinthians of carnality because of their envying and infighting, talking about who belonged to Paul, and who belonged to Apollos, letting them know that one planted and one watered, but in the long run, it’s God who gives the increase. (1 Cor. 3)
Consequently, we are all fellow workers in God, and it doesn’t matter what we do, once we sincerely help to build the kingdom. Then Bruh Paul makes some interesting comments, that we should all pay attention to. ‘According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation no man can lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.’ (1 Cor. 3:10-11) That’s the first thing we need to know; the only foundation worth building on is that of Christ! No other will make any substantial difference in our lives.
However, as Bruh Paul continues, we do have to be careful what building materials we use. ‘Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble (straw); Every man’s work shall be made manifest (become evident): for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try (test) every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide (endures) which he hath built upon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by (through) fire.’ (1 Cor. 3:12-15)
So friends, we not only need to build upon Christ’s foundation, but also to use good material, incombustible materials like gold, silver and precious stones, and not combustible stuff like wood, hay and straw, for our work will be tested by fire in the judgement day, and if it endures the fire then we will be rewarded, but if it doesn’t, we will lose any possible rewards, though we ourselves will be saved.
So, having seen that lots of us are lost and need Christ, but not enough of us are going out into the field to find them, we come to this final part where we consider how to spread the gospel. And in Bruh Paul’s letter to the Roman Church, where he writes about Preaching to a Disobedient People, we find out how it’s done in a most beautiful interwoven passage of scripture. It shows Bruh Paul’s power as a writer, and it’s one of my favourite passages of scripture.
He theorizes: ‘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? 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! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias (Isaiah) saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.’ (Rom, 10:14-17)
And I just LOVE how Bruh Paul interweaves the different aspects of missionary work. As the scholars explain: ‘In presenting the universal proclamation of the gospel, Paul presents the reasons why that’s necessary. First, because the call must be preceded by faith; second, because faith must preceded by hearing. This shows that knowledge is essential to belief. Faith must have 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.’
Yes my fellow believers, faith comes about by what is heard, the gospel, and to hear the saving faith of the gospel someone must preach it to you. Meaning, if we’re to spread it to all parts of the world, like Jesus desired of us in the Great Commission, then we need people willing to do so. And since we cannot do it on our own, let’s 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, all the prayer and supplication is fine, but we also need to do our part, which means improving our witness for Christ, which right now is not very good! Nuff said! Much LOVE!
…a word to the wise is sufficient…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
05 Sep 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a doting grandfather, a light unto my path, a new flock of believers, a tough nut to crack, a true perspective of your majestic power, adopted children of God, all day long, all seeing and knowing, backsliders, claims you as Maker and master, concentrate on your greatness, crying out for help, dominance, enlarge my narrow vision, error of their ways, fight the evil that's controlling our world, forgive me O God, Friday chant, give me even now, God cares for his creation, God is the Creator and Controller of the Universe, heavenly Father, hegemony, holy spirit, I put my hope in you, I shamefully confess, Jesus Christ, joint heirs with Christ, lead be by your truth, limited comprehension, LOVE, meditating on god's word, mercy, my neck of the woods, my snall concept of you, narrow vision, omnipotent, omnipotent help, omnipresent, omniscient, on the palm of your hand, on thee do I wait all the day, on whom you've set your love, One Year Book of Bible promises, open our eyes, our divine heritage, our God is a great God, our sinful world, our strife-filled world, overcome the enemy, perilous times, point out the right road for me to follow, poor witness for Christ, powerful, problems escalating, puny faith, Ruth Harms Calkin, salvation, sanctified, shew me thy ways O Lord, show me the path where I should walk, simmering unrest in our land, small prayers, somewhere in the wild blue yonder, stimulate my trust, teach me thy paths, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the child, the example we faithful believers set, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, The God of my salvation, the God who saves me, the leading of the Holy spirit, the weekend, thy word is a lamp unto my feet, totally transform, truth, unexpected storms, wake up and small the coffee, whose name is engraved, wisdom, with deep contrition, Your Child God
Psalm 25:4. Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths.
And it’s a cool, windy, cloudy Friday in my neck of the woods, but that doesn’t make a difference when it comes to shouting out ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ Yes friends, the way our work system is set up, the couple of days off at the weekend is sanctified, (smile) and we avidly seek it, regardless of the weather or what’s happening around our strife-filled world.
And today, we will look at an interesting poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, titled ‘Your Child, God.’ And once we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, we all become the adopted children of God, joint heirs with Christ, with a right to our divine heritage, entitled to all our heavenly Father has. (Rom. 8:17) But, sadly, oftentimes we don’t behave like children of God, or even know what He is truly like.
So please read with me: ‘O God With deep contrition I shamefully confess My small concept of You My puny faith My limited comprehension. Forgive me, O God And enlarge my narrow vision. Stimulate my trust As I concentrate on Your greatness. Give me even now A true perspective Of Your majestic power To totally transform the child On whom You have set Your LOVE – The child whose name is engraved On the palm of Your hand The child who claims You As her Maker and Master. Your child, God! Me!’
Oh my fellow believers, that poem is simple but it says a lot, and is very relevant to our uncertain and difficult times, for as the poem says, many of us don’t see or know the true greatness of the wonderful God we claim to serve. Many of us think that He’s either a doting grandfather, or a tough nut to crack, who’s somewhere out there in the wild blue yonder, with little power, not paying much attention to what’s happening down here on Planet Earth. But all of that is totally untrue. Our God is neither a doting grandfather, a hard man to please, or not paying attention to our problems.
In fact He’s the exact opposite of all that! He’s the Creator and Controller of this universe, that means He must have a lot of power to do such an awesome job. And He does care for us, so much so that instead of letting us all go to hellfire and damnation with Satan for our persistent disobedience and rebellion, He sacrificed His only begotten Son to give us another option; that’s salvation and eternal life with Him. So tell me how could anyone who does all those things not be great and majestic, LOVING and compassionate?
Our God is so great that He’s described as Omnipotent, that’s having lots of power; Omniscient, that’s all knowing, all seeing and wise; and Omnipresent, that’s all pervading, being everywhere, universal. And it’s oh so important for believers to know the true scope and greatness of our God, to enlarge our narrow vision, because if we don’t, we’re liable to seek small stuff from Him, offer up small prayers, not understanding the full reach of His awesome might and power.
And in these hate filled and angry times, we desperately need His omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence, to help us fight the evil that’s controlling our world. It’s time for us to open our eyes and begin thinking of our God as the de facto, or in reality, the great and awesome God that He is! And we can only accomplish that feat by concentrating on God, on His Word and the leading of His Holy Spirit.
Now the Bible Promise given for this poem comes from Psalm 25 titled ‘Trust in the Lord.’ The New Living Bible Translation puts it thus: ‘Show me the path where I should walk, O Lord; point out the right road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.’ (Ps. 25:4-5) And to believe that, your God must be big and mighty, fearsome and fearless, LOVING, compassionate, kind and merciful! And that’s exactly what our God, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is! So, thinking small doesn’t’ do our God any favours or give Him any accolades at all.
And for our enlightenment, (smile) here’s how the good ole King James Version puts the verses from our Bible Promise. ‘Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.’ (Ps. 25:4-5)
Yes my brethren, in these perilous times, we do need to turn to the God of our salvation and sincerely ask Him to show us His ways, teach us what He desires us to know, and lead us in His truth. And as we said earlier on, all of that begins with reading and meditating on God’s Word, then with the help of the Holy Spirit, putting it into action in our lives. As Psalm 119 wisely advises: ‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’ (Ps. 119:105)
Now, to help us get our act together, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking grace in desperate time of need. As one voice: ‘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 divine aid is certainly in the offing, but not until we improve our poor witness for Christ, which has given the evil enemy undue hegemony or dominance over our world. Much LOVE!
…until Christians truly believe and act like our God is a great God…we will never overcome the enemy…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
29 Aug 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a means of restoring faith in you, a parable of covetousness and greed, all such rejoicing is evil, amidst all the anxiety and confusion, boast in your arrogance, boast not thyself of tomorrow, buy and sell and make profit, concentrate on the problems of today, contingency plans for tomorrow, continue there a year, defeat the simmering unrest in our land, discontent, dissatisfaction, divine aid, doeth it not, eat drink and be merry, enquire about the wisdom of our intentions, faith, for that ye ought to say, Friday chant, give first thought to God, go to now ye say, greed, holy spirit, honour worker's contribution to the labour scene, humdrum work life, hunger for power, if the Lord will, improve our witness for Christ, inhumane times, intorduce a new flock of believers, is not rich toward God, it is even a vapour, Jesus Christ, labour day weekend, labour unrest and violence, legalization of unions, LOVE, mercy, omnipotent help, our sinful world, rejoicing in boastings is evil, return backsliders to your fold, salvation, say to my soul, show them the error of their ways, so is he that layeth up treasure for himself, Soul thou hast much goods laid up for any years, stand strong and steadfast, stand up strong and fight for what we have, strife-filled times, sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof, take therefore no thought for tomorrow, take thine ease, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, that appeareth for a little time then vanisheth away, the horrific labour scenes, the living truth, the morrow shall take thought for itself, the throne of grace, these ungodly times, this night thy soul shall be required of thee, thou fool, thou knowest not what a day may bring forth, times of lawlessness and uncertainty, to him it is sin, to him that knoweth to do good, today or tomorrow, truth, unexpected storms, wake up and smell the coffee, we shall live and do this or that, we will go into such a city, what is your life, whcih thou hast provided, when anything goes, whose shall those things be, wisdom, wise guidance, workers have little say in working conditions, working conditions, ye know not what shall be on the morrow, ye rejoice in your boastings
Proverbs 27:1. Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
And then it was Friday, a sunny but somewhat chilly day for August. It’s only about 15 degrees Celsius. But that did not stop the many shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ from going up to high heaven. There’s just something about Friday, whether it be hot or cold, that gets the populace in shouting mode. And it’s all because of the upcoming weekend, and the relaxing break from the humdrum work life that it promises.
And this weekend promises to be a big one, as it’s the last long weekend of the summer season, as well as the celebration of Labour Day on Monday. It’s a holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September, dedicated to honour the contribution of workers to the current Labour scene, to remember all the labour unrest and violence that happened in the 19th century, when workers were brutally illtreated by management and had very little, if any legal rights. Those demonstrations, that met with extremely violent reactions by the owners, thankfully led to the eventual legalization of unions in 1894.
Most of us take the current situation for granted, but it certainly wasn’t so in the beginning, and many workers suffered and died at the hands of owners to enshrine the work system we now have. But even today, you can see the owners fighting to get it back to where the workers have very little or no rights or say in their working conditions. Unfortunately, the excessive greed and hunger for power still lives within the ownership class. But let’s hope that today’s workers won’t allow the situation to deteriorate to what it was like a couple of centuries ago, although that would please the owners no end.
So, although this is a weekend for celebration, it’s also one for remembering the horrific labour scenes that took place not that long ago, and pledging to stand up strong and fight for what we now have, and not let those inhumane times ever happen again. End of Sermon. (smile)
And today, our scripture lesson is also very applicable to these greedy, selfish, and strife filled times. The words come from the wise writings of Cousin Sol in Proverbs. He admonishes us thus: ‘Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.’ (Prov. 27:1) And believe me people, those are indeed very wise words, especially in these times of lawlessness and uncertainty.
Remember Jesus warned us to ‘Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil (troubles) thereof.’ (Matt. 6:34) So, although some contingency plans can be made for tomorrow, we should not worry about it, and instead concentrate on the problems and challenges of today, for tomorrow will bring it’s own problems and challenges. And we might not even make it to tomorrow if we don’t handle today’s problems properly.
And Jesus also gave a wonderful parable that spoke to covetousness and greed, but also highlighted the problems of placing too much interest and trust in tomorrow. He spoke of the rich man whose land produced so much fruit, that he did not have enough room to store it all. But after a moment’s contemplation, he hit upon this wonderful plan.
‘And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow (store) all my fruits (crops) and goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat drink, and be merry. But the Lord said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.’ (Luke 12:18-21)
Yes friends, whatever we do, we must first give thought to God, and enquire about the wisdom of our decisions or intentions, for He might have completely different plans and ideas for us, like He did for that greedy, rich man. And that’s why James also warns us that rejoicing in boastings is evil. He puts it thus: ‘Go to now (come now), ye say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain (profit): Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.’ (James 4:13-14)
And that’s the living truth my fellow believers! Our earthly lives are very short and can be taken away from us at any time by Almighty God, our Creator and Life-giver. So, instead of boasting about what we will do tomorrow or in the distant future, James wisely advises: ‘For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings (boast in your arrogance): all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.’ (James 4:15-17)
Oh my fellow believers, I could not put it any better than that, and it’s something we ought to seriously consider in our daily walk, especially in this season when anything goes. Are there good things we know we ought to do, and are not doing them? If so, we are only building up our sin account, which is not a wise move. So, let’s go right now to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant seeking divine aid in these tough 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!’
Now friends, despite our prayer, we still need to do our part; that’s improve our witness for Christ, because it’s our lack of good, strong and constant witness that’s caused the enemy to become so powerful in our world. And until we improve, divine aid will not be forthcoming. It’s as simple as that! Much LOVE!
…believers know what to do…but for one reason or another…we are not doing it…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
22 Aug 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a divided church, a dysfunctional church, a fraudulent scheme, a lalwless society, a means of restoring faith in you, a new flock of believers, a slap on the wrist, an irresponsible society, as thou Father art in me and i in you, better Christian witnesses, breakdowns, burnouts, change their evil ways, Christ's Church, Christ's church is ineffective, church unity, cliques, crying out for your help, defeat the simmering unrest in our land, denominations, divine help, doh-care attitude, doing our part, embrace your love and compassion, even as we are one, faith, fraudulent schemes targeting older folks, Friday chant, holy spirit, I have given them, improving our lives, information bombardment, Jesus Christ, living in harmony, LOVE, lowering our standards, may be made perfect in one, mercy, neither pray I for these alone, omnipotent help, our sinful world, petty reasons for divisions, problems are escalating, quick money, religions, return backsliders to your fold, salvation, Satan's heyday, scam callers on the telephone, show them the error of their ways, social media, spiritual unity, stand strong and steadfast, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, that they may all be one, that they may be one, the busyness of today's world, the example your faithful believers set, the greatest thing since sliced bread, the importance of being one, the ladder of success, the oneness of the church, the spiritual unity of the church, the throne of grace, the weekend is here at last, the world may believe that thou hast sent me, them which shall believe on me through their word, thous hast loved them as thou hast loved me, time to catch our breath, times of desperate need, to keep Satan at bay, trusting faith, truth, wake up and smell the coffee, wisdom, with the aid of technology
John 17:22. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one.
And that much desired day, Friday, has finally arrived, with all the accompanying shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! The weekend is here at long last!’ Ah Lord eh! We make such a big to do over Friday and the weekend, that one would think it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. (smile) But with the constant busyness of today’s world, that’s the only time many of us have to catch our breath and rest properly. And even then, some of us still have things like young children to look after, grocery shopping and other household chores to perform on the weekend, because we cannot fit them into our busy schedules during the work week.
Now, that eventually leads to burnouts and breakdowns, and we have to every so often take a look at our busy schedules and ask ourselves if it’s worth it? Is what we’re doing really improving our lives, moving us up the so-called ladder of success? Or are we simply wasting time, trying to accomplish things that are not helping us to truly enjoy our lives and the lives of those close to us. because what’s the purpose of life if we can’t enjoy a fair amount of it. And with all the social media stuff and the great influx of information that’s constantly bombarding us, it’s much more difficult to live a peaceful, quiet and joy-filled life today.
And when you add the scam callers on the telephone, sometimes you just want to run away and hide from it all. Like a call that just came through from a number that I don’t know, but everyday they keep calling. And my answer is, if it’s so bloody important then leave a message. Because, even in the way you answer the phone or answer their questions, with the aid of technology, they are able to build fraudulent schemes around those small bits of information. And I ask myself, if you can put all that time, energy and brain power into a fraudulent scheme, why not put into a legal one and thus avoid problems with the law, which you will encounter if you run the fraud long enough.
But no. It seems that we’re all out for quick money, and the fastest way to make it is through illegal means. And the sad part is that so many of us are falling for these fraudulent schemes. It’s also sickening to see that many of them are directly targeted towards older folks to defraud them of their life’s savings. And what happens to these criminals if and when they’re caught eh? Nothing much. More often than not they receive a slap on the wrist and told not to do it again. And do they listen, do they change their evil ways? Of course not! They jump right back into the fraudulent scheme of things.
Ah Lord eh! Our society has become so irresponsible, lawless, and doh-care, with standards dropping lower every day, and no proper consequences to make us change our evil ways. In fact in some cases, by watching the horrible and disgusting ways of our leaders, we are encouraged to persist in evil doing. And there’s not much that we as individuals can do about it, but the church, Christ’s church could stand up and do something about it! Yes, if it was in sync and not in such a terrible dysfunctional state; divided into so many religions, denominations, cliques, whatever, with most of the divisions refusing to communicate with the others.
That’s why Satan is currently having such a heyday in the world…Christ’s church, which was meant to keep Satan at bay, is so ineffective, it might as well not exist. And it can never become effective until it drops all the foolish things, and petty reasons that keeps it divided. Enough of my rant though! (smile) But there are several scriptures that talk about the oneness of the church, its spiritual unity, in particular this one where Jesus prays for the disciples and church unity.
‘Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. That they all may be one; as thou, Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou has sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one. I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast LOVED them, as thou hast LOVED me.’ (John 17:20-23)
Oh my fellow believers, do you see the number of times in those few verses that Jesus specifies the purpose and overwhelming importance of being one. For if we’re not one, we cannot do anything worthwhile, we’ll all be working in different ways towards different goals. It’s as simple as that. Now there are more scriptures on the subject of church unity, but it will make the Bit too long, so we’ll leave that for tomorrow, if God spares life. (smile) So, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking divine help in these times of desperate 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!’
And it’s good and wise to pray, to ask for divine help, but what about the other half of the equation; doing our part, living in harmony and unity, and being better Christian witnesses for Christ? Unfortunately, until we improve our act, the Lord will not offer much divine aid. Let’s remember that and do something to turn it around! Much LOVE!
…until Christ’s church comes together as ONE…Satan will continue to hold sway…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
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