The Overwhelming Importance of Christians Understanding How Badly They Need God Every Moment of Their Lives!

26 Jul 2026 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Today’s Scrip-Bit   26 July 2026   Matthew 11:28.

Matthew 11:28.        Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

It’s the first day of the week my fellow believers! Sunday! The day we congregate in the Lord’s sanctuary to celebrate His sovereignty as one joyful body, to offer up praise and thanksgiving for His mercy and goodness to us undeserving children of men. For without His largesse, we’d have no chance whatsoever of escaping eternal death.

And today’s song of worship is one that shows our total reliance on our Creator. It’s a 2011 contemporary Christian song by Matt Maher, most appropriately titled `Lord I Need You. So, without further ado, let’s offer up our sweet sacrifices of praise in a soulful, heartfelt, lively and uplifting version, as per the Brookly Tabernacle Choir. 

Singing: ‘Lord I come, I confess Bowing here, I find my rest Without You, I fall apart You’re the one that guides my heart (Chorus: Lord, I need You, oh I need You Every hour, I need You My one defense, my righteousness Oh God, how I need You) Where sin runs deep, Your grace is more Where grace is found is where You are And where You are, Lord I am free Holiness is Christ in me (Chorus)

So teach my song to rise to You When temptation comes my way And when I cannot stand, I’ll fall on You Jesus, You’re my hope and stay (Chorus. Lord, I need You, oh I need You Every hour, I need You My one defense, my righteousness Oh God, how I need You You’re my one defense, my righteousness Oh God, how I need You My one defense, my righteousness Oh God, how I need You!’

And isn’t that the delicious truth! We desperately need the Lord’s saving grace, mercy, salvation, and all the other good things He has to offer, for we simply cannot make it on our own! But before we get into the specifics of the song, I think we should clarify what we mean by a need. And this commentary gives us a good basis on which to begin.

It says: ‘A need is something that is necessary for an organism to live a healthy life. Needs are distinguished from wants in that, in the case of a need, a deficiency causes a clear adverse outcome: a dysfunction or death. In other words, a need is something required for a safe, stable and healthy life (e.g. food, water, shelter), while a want is a desire, wish, or aspiration.’

From that explanation, we can deduce that needs are ever so necessary in a human’s life, and most, if not all of them can only be met by or obtained through God’s goodness, grace and mercy! Just look at the first verse: ‘‘Lord I come, I confess Bowing here, I find my rest Without You, I fall apart You’re the one that guides my heart.’ Now where else can you find true rest and direction for an unsure or misguided heart eh? Nowhere else but in and through Jesus! 

As He says in His Great Invitation: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble): and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt. 11: 28-30) Now that’s Jesus satisfying a couple of our most basic needs; rest and relief from heavy burdens. No one else can do that like He does.

Then look at the chorus: ‘Lord, I need You, oh I need You Every hour, I need You My one defense, my righteousness Oh God, how I need You).’ And if that isn’t the gospel truth, then I don’t know what is! And in this evil and ungodly society that seems to be getting worse with each passing day, do we ever need the Lord. Not only every hour but also every minute, because life is passing by so swiftly, if He isn’t with us all the time then all fall down.

And the chorus most rightly terms the Lord, ‘our one defense,’ which Bruh David clearly states in Psalm 18 – A Call for God’s Deliverance, when he confidently declares: ‘I will LOVE thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength (rock), in whom I will trust; my buckler (shield), and the horn (strength) of my salvation, and my high tower (stronghold). I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.’ (Ps. 18:1-3)

It could not be said more clearly than that my people! And we know that Bruh David was talking there from personal experience and not simple hearsay. Then this verse tells us: ‘Where sin runs deep, Your grace is more Where grace is found is where You are And where You are, Lord I am free Holiness is Christ in me.’

And where do we find grace, but at the throne of grace! As the author of Hebrews so rightly informs us: ‘Let us therefore come boldly (confidently) unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.’ (Heb. 4:16) And if we find grace where Jesus is, then Jesus must in heaven, as Peter says: ‘Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.’ (1 Pet. 3:22)

Yes my fellow believers, as I keep on saying, Jesus is our End All and Be All; without Him we’re completely lost, headed straight for hell fire and damnation, but with Him in our lives, we don’t need anything or anyone else, for He is more than sufficient for all our needs! 

And we’ll close with a couple of testimonies on the song. The first one says: ‘God is ALL that we need. That’s what He wants from us. For us to run to Him, cling to Him and trust Him with everything we’re going through. Whether it’s painful and hard, or joy filled and exciting! We need Him!’ Don’t we know it!

And the second testimony declares: ‘This is a very beautiful song.it makes me look at God and see how much I need him in every situation in my life. It makes me want to worship every time I sing it. It surely is a blessing.’ What an awesome truth! And with that truth declared, I think we should spend some time today considering all the blessings we have, by having Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour! Much LOVE!

…what a great God we serve…there is no other like Him… 

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit 10 May 2015 Exodus 20:12

10 May 2015 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Exodus 20:12.     Honour thy father and thy MOTHER: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

 HAPPY  MOTHER’S  DAY!

 Well a Happy Mother’s Day to all you wonderful and not so wonderful Mothers out there! That special day of the year, where we specially celebrate Mothers is upon us once again. And you know I’ve been wondering what to write for the last half an hour or so, while researching stuff in the Bible.
 
And I did come up with a few things. But then, the Lord in His wisdom guided me to read last year’s Mother’s Day Bit. And was I ever surprised, and somewhat disappointed, that last year I had already written about all the things I was now considering. Chuh! What a letdown! What bubble-buster!
 
Now I have to think about other stuff to say, because I can’t give exactly the same message as I did last year. And even if I do say so myself, I was rather taken with last year’s Mother’s Day Bit, for it covered a lot of ground, some of which is worth repeating.  
 
But this is a different year, and I’m depending on the Holy Spirit to guide me in a somewhat different direction. Have faith Friends, for it will happen eventually. (smile) The Lord has never let me down yet, so why would He choose a day like today to do it eh?
 
You know it disappoints me some, that today we’ll make a big fuss over our mothers, but what happens to the rest of the year eh? Many of them are forgotten, left to languish as it were by the wayside. That’s certainly not right my people, because mothers are the lifeblood of our society.
 
They physically bear us in their wombs for nine months, then have a hard time getting us to come out. And even though the labour required for that can be quite painful and exhausting, as soon as we’re out, they forget about the pain and just dote on us, the beautiful bundle of joy they’ve just produced.  (smile)
 
And then they spend the rest of their lives raising and nurturing us with LOVE and all the other good things that mothers do.  All of it, for ‘NO CHARGE’ as the Shirley Caesar song I heard on the radio yesterday evening so truthfully declares. So why then don’t we pay more and better attention to our mothers eh?
 
Look at our Bit: ‘Honour thy father and thy MOTHER: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.’
 
Our God taught it of such importance that He placed that directive in one of His ten most important rules to His people. Now if the Lord, in His great wisdom could make such a declaration, who are we to dispute it and not follow through with it eh? And please notice the last part of the commandment: ‘that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.’
 
Yes Friends, our longevity depends to a certain extent on the way we treat our parents. So you godless, unruly, undisciplined children out there, who treat their parents terribly, especially their mothers, I’d very strongly suggest that you smarten up right now and follow that directive of God, otherwise your days may just be short and pitiful on the earth.
 
And what exactly does our Bit mean by ‘HONOUR’ eh? I’ve found a whole lot of synonyms for that word, so let’s hear some of them. ‘HONOUR’ means to cherish, show respect, put on a pedestal, give kudos to, show esteem, favour, recognition, admiration and privilege, to look up to, to appreciate, to adore, revere, and show distinction.
 
Oh my people, there are so many ways to show ‘HONOUR’ to our parents, that we truly have NO excuse whatsoever for not doing so. And that’s one of the reasons why our world is such a mess; ignoring our parents, treating them terribly, especially our mothers, is a sin against Almighty God. 
 
And from the In Touch Devotional message from Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) for today, I picked up these wonderful guidelines for honouring our Mothers.  First off, we should LOVE them unconditionally, just the way God LOVES us. Now that surely makes a lot of sense, because we can’t be truly godly folks if we’re not practicing godly attitudes and actions.
 
And then Uncle Charles says to forgive our mothers compassionately. We seem to forget that mothers are humans too and thus fallible and open to mistakes, and will have some baggage from their earlier days that made them a certain way. We’re no angels ourselves, so we should not judge them too harshly.
 
Then we’re to remember our mothers gratefully, consider all the things she’s done for us over the years; from bearing and raising us to oftimes burying us. And for all she’s done, there’s usually ‘NO CHARGE!’  
 
And finally, we ought to treat our mothers kindly, make them feel LOVED and appreciated, even though in the natural many of them don’t seem to deserve it. But remember we didn’t, and still don’t deserve God’s saving grace, but because of His great LOVE and magnanimity, He bestowed it on us. Thus the least we can do is to also bestow it on others.  
 
Ah Friends, when it comes to mothers, I have a very soft spot in my heart for them, beginning with my biological mother Molly who throughout my whole life showed me what a true mother ought to be like. Aye Molls baby, can you imagine that it’s now four years since you left me an orphan? (smile) But don’t worry sugar, you’ll always have a place of great esteem and respect in my heart and my memory banks. And so too will the five other mothers I’ve had during my lifetime.
 
And I know that some of you are laughing at that, but believe me people, there were several times when I was in dire straits and the Lord, in His mercy and LOVING-kindness, sent those women into my life to assist, to lead and guide me on the right path.  How could I ever forget you eh my six mothers? No way! For without you all I definitely would not be writing these words today. Thank you all so much for showing and showering me with your LOVE and godly guidance.
 
And we’ll end today’s message with a word of advice, instructions concerning widows, from Bruh Paul to Timothy. ‘Honour widows that are widows indeed. But if any widow have children or nephews (grandchildren), let them learn first to show piety at home, and to requite (repay) their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God.’ (1 Tim.5:3-4)
 
Yes Friends, supporting our parents, especially our mothers, is indeed acceptable and wonderful in God’s sight. So please let’s get a move on and do it nuh, for it’s the wisdom of heaven. Much LOVE!
 
…a mother’s responsibilities are so overwhelming…that very few men can carry them out successfully…and her LOVE…ohhh…it is one of the most powerful things on God’s earth…  
 
P.S. Yuh see mih people, the Lord didn’t disapoint me. (smile) He did guide me to write something somewhat different. That’s why I keep saying, what a wonderful God we serve and worship! He is definitely the BEST! Much LOVE!

 

 

 

 
 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 25 February 2015 Romans 12:2

25 Feb 2015 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Romans 12:2. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

And then it was Wednesday – the middle of the work week, and sadly too my pen-ultimate day in Paradise! And I was just about to go for possibly my last morning work along the shoreline, when strong winds and a sudden shower of rain put paid to that little jaunt. So I began writing the Bit before I intended to.

Ah Friends, it’s been a wonderful time in sweet Tobago! I met so many people and went to so many places, places and people I haven’t seen in donkey years. (smile) Several of them that I never even remembered. And now that it’s drawing to a close, there’s an underlying sadness in my spirit.

But I won’t complain, get greedy, resentful or any of those negative things. Instead I’ll thank the Lord for granting me this wonderful reprieve from the cold! In His great wisdom and mercy, He obviously realized that I needed a break from the harsh, unforgiving weather, and from the exceeding busyness of my usual surroundings. And for that I will be most thankful and grateful!

In, and through the vacation, the Lord has certainly raised the level of my hope, faith and trust in Him! The way certain things came together to make it all possible meant only one thing; that His faithful hand and LOVING –kindness were working on my behalf. And all I can say is: ‘Thank You Lord, thank You!’

Ah mih people, as I keep telling us, the more we put our trust and faith in God, and wait on Him in hungry hope and expectant faith, the more we see of His blessings and great favour. But we have to believe, truly believe, and surrender our entire lives to Him. It’s not always easy to do, especially in the negative and ungodly kind of world in which we’re now living.

But it is essential, if we want to enjoy the peace, LOVE and understanding that He brings to those who put their faithful and undying trust in Him. And the beautiful thing about our magnificent, majestic and magnanimous God is that He WILL help us to understand His ways and means when we sincerely ask for His help to do so.

Which other supposed deity does that eh; put’s you through tests, then helps you work through them? NONE! And that’s because there is no other true, real and living deity besides the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! All the other stuff that man worships, are either inanimate, dead, or will die someday. Only the Holy One of Israel is alive and kicking; has been from day one, and will still be there till eternity!

Oh Friends, I’m chuckling here because I don’t know where all of this is leading to. But with the Lord leading and guiding me, I know that whatever it turns out to be, it will be helpful and useful to somebody who reads it. And unusually, in this dry season, another shower of rain has just come down. I like how the rain’s been falling during my stay here; fall strong for about ten or fifteen seconds, then let up, no continuous downpour.

But enough of my rambling, let’s turn to our wonderful Bit, chocked full of so much wise and wonderful advice from Bruh Paul. ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.’

Ah mih breddren, those are indeed golden words for us to live by! When we have found God, when Jesus comes to live in our hearts as our personal Lord and Saviour, then we definitely need a do over in our lives, to turn over a new page. New things have to happen in our lives, and some of the old things have to be consciously put aside, because they just don’t fit into the lifestyle of the followers of Jesus.

And don’t worry, the changes won’t happen overnight, for you didn’t become what you are overnight. But the Lord will gradually show you what He wants you to give up, and what He wants you to take up. But to successfully do that, you have to seriously communicate with Him, through prayer, Bible reading and study, and fellowship with other believers.

And what I LOVE about Jesus is that if you don’t understand what’s happening, you can always go to Him and ask about it, and He WILL give you an answer. Not necessarily right away, or in a manner that you like. But an answer will be forthcoming, involving a test of your faith and maturity, dependent on how you react to the answer.

If you react negatively, then it’s your loss. If you react positively, even if you don’t like the answer, then it’s your great gain, it might even be accorded to you as righteousness, as happened with Abraham. But know one thing Friends, our lives in Jesus are one unbroken line of tests.

From the moment we claim to believe, we are entered into a lifelong test; a cycle of ups and downs, zigs and zags, that sometimes seem unnecessary and even painful and unfair.

But fellow believer, if we have put our complete trust in Jesus, we have the faithful promise that in the end, it will all work out for our good. The Lord God is our Creator and Controller, and as such, His thoughts and ways are much higher than ours, and we won’t always understand what He’s all about. In fact we don’t need to understand everything, just trust Him to be our strong fortress, guide and Provider.

That’s where our level of faith comes into play. God deals with us according to the level of our faith, and we must realize that until the day He decides to take us home, our earthly lives will always be bound up in tests, trials and tribulations that we don’t enjoy, or even deserve. But it’s the Lord’s way of remaking us into the image of His Son Jesus!

And that’s what the whole programme is about my brethren – when we look in the mirror, to see Jesus smiling back at us.

And we’ll go home with some words of practical advice on Christian living, on truly living for Jesus from Bruh Paul’s second missive to the Thessalonians. ‘Furthermore then we beseech (urge) you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.

For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication (sexual immorality): That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; Not in the lust of concupiscence (passion of lust), even as the Gentiles, which know not God:

That no man go beyond and defraud (take advantage of ) his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us into uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth (rejects), despiseth (rejects) not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his Holy Spirit.’ (1 Thess.4:1-8)

Yes Friends, those are some practical words of advice in living for Jesus! So please let’s consider them today and try to inculcate them in to our daily lives as required nuh. That’s wisdom at its highest level! Much LOVE!

…living for Christ is no easy matter…but the rewards…both earthly and heavenly…are certainly worth it…

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 6 March 2014 Daniel 2:20

06 Mar 2014 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Daniel 2:20.   Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his. 
 
Ah Friends, this being the season of winter, it’s nothing special to wake up and find a beautiful layer of snow covering the ground. I can’t help remarking how wonderful the snow looks when it lies quietly in the dark, or even in the sunshine, as yet undisturbed, undefiled by human hands and feet. (smile)
 
But you know that once we humans get into anything, or any place, we always cause disturbances and confusion. I guess that such is the nature of the beast. But that doesn’t mean because something’s in our nature that we have to automatically give into it.
 
For though sinfulness is our natural state, we don’t have to be always or thoroughly sinful, because Christ died and paid for our sins, so that we could be set free and live in holiness and righteousness before Almighty God.
 
And this Lenten season is a time for us to consider who God is, and what He means to us. It’s a time to delve into the Word of God to discover His truth, and also delve into our own souls to see how the contents of both match up. 
 
Then we need to aspire to, and work diligently to bring them into sync. For unless our lives are in sync with God’s Word, we are being disobedient, being rebellious, and will eventually pay a hefty price for that disobedience and rebellion.
 
So Friends, this is the ‘rightest’ time to consider how we’ve done so far in keeping our New Year’s Resolution to improve our walk with Christ this very meaningful year of 2014. Has there been noticeable progress, have we regressed, or have we just stood still? Only you and God can decide the answer to that question.
 
But it’s rather important that we monitor our walk with Christ, to ensure that we are indeed growing and maturing, as we journey along on our earthly pilgrimage. And we can see from the Scriptures that that is what Daniel and his three amigos, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (their Jewish names) were doing, when Daniel blessed the God of heaven and declared in our Bit:
 
‘Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his.’ And there’s not one iota of doubt on that proclamation my brethren!
 
For as Daniel continues: ”And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth (raises) up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know (have) understanding: He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.
 
I thank thee and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king’s matter.’ (Dan.2:21-23)
 
Yes mih people, our omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present God does all those things… and more! And I guess some of you who don’t know the story of Daniel are wondering what all the fuss is about.
 
Well Friends, it was a rather serious matter, one of life and death! The powerful Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, had a dream that deeply disturbed him, and so he called his wise men, his magicians and sorcerers to interpret it for him.
 
But when they asked him to tell them the dream, he refused. He wanted the wise men to both tell him the dream, then its interpretation. On top of that, he threatened to kill them all if they couldn’t do both things. (Dan.2:1-9)
 
In exasperation, the wise men finally told the king: ‘There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king’s matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.
 
And it is a rare (difficult) thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can show it before (no other who can tell it to) the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.’ (Dan.2:10-11)
 
And they were quite right my fellow believers, except for one point; not ‘gods’, but the ONE and ONLY TRUE LIVING GOD, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who is a most mighty and powerful Spirit!
 
Now that answer certainly didn’t sit well with king Neb, and he commanded that all the wise men in Babylon be destroyed. Now Daniel and his buddies were numbered amongst the king’s advisers, but when Daniel heard of the king’s decree from Arioch, the captain in charge of the cleansing, he wondered about the king’s haste, and was told the reason by the captain.
 
Daniel therefore went before the king and asked for some time to consider the matter. (Dan.2:12-16) And the scholars’ note here that ‘Daniel was obviously held in high esteem, as his ready access to the king demonstrates.’
 
And the Good Book declares: ‘Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing (decree) known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions: That they would desire (seek) mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish (be destroyed) with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.’ (Dan.2:17-19)
 
Then our Bit comes in. Oh Friends, oh Friends, I can’t help reminding us every day of the wonderful God we serve and worship!
 
The problem though is that you’ll never see it until you truly believe it! And unfortunately, there are too many of us who don’t believe it, consequently we don’t do the things necessary for God to show up in our lives, that’s why we are sadly plodding along in desperation.
 
But you can see, as the scholars wisely note, that ‘Even though Daniel had special, God-given attributes, he and his friends still had to pray.’
 
And that’s the crux of the problem right there, my people! We’re never too mature, too holy, too righteous, or too anything else that we don’t need to pray. If even, Jesus Christ, the mighty Son of the mighty Jehovah God had to pray, why wouldn’t we, poor mortal minions, His fickle and fallible creation, need to do likewise eh?
 
So Friends, please, let’s note the necessity of prayer in all our lives. For prayer is the method of close and positive communication with our Creator, and without it, we can do NOTHING, NOTHING AT ALL, in our own strength!
 
Please let that bit of wisdom sink deep into our hearts and souls today, so that we can walk a better and truer path to heaven and Father God Himself! Much LOVE!
 
…no prayer…means no communication with our Maker and heavenly Father…truly an unwise deed…for the consequences can be rather painful…