21 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a great family, a positive effect, a positive outlook on life, a smile costs nothing, abundance, as a man chastens his son, blessed day, blessings, bound, brighten someone's day, broken, chastening, clear direction, commandments, consequences, consequences of disobedience, corporal punishment, courage, creativity, crying, curse, discipline, disobedience, divine protection, enjoy a day, everyone smiles in the same language, face muscles, faith, faithfulness, favour, fearful, foolishness, for the present, frown, fruit, fulfillment, full moon, get us down, glory hallelujah, gnarled branches, God's development programme, God's supernatural wisdom, good friends, good health, grace, grievous, grin and bear it, hope, I am blessed, in the heart of a child, in the name of Jesus, Israelites, joyous, loving kindness, magnanimous, magnificent, mercy, Moses, nature, negative stuff, negative word, our heavenly Father, peace, peaceful fruit of righteousness, problems, promotion, prosper, put my hands to, quiet, righteouness, self-control, self-discipline, selfish, smile, spare for his crying, strong will, succeed, success, supernatural strength, talent, the Lord thy god chastens you, the Old Testament, this is the day the Lord has made, Thursday's Blessings, truth, unfriendly, walk in his ways, we will be glad and rejoice in it, wisdom
Hebrews 12:11. Now no chastening (discipline) for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised (trained) thereby.
Ah mih people, another beautiful day has begun! The Lord in His awesome grace and mercy has decreed that His servants will enjoy another blessed day! Glory Hallelujah!
And in spite of any negative stuff that’s coming against us, God’s children are able to proudly, truthfully and enthusiastically declare: ‘This is the day which the Lord hath made; we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’
Yes friends, it doesn’t make any sense to let our problems get us so down that we can’t enjoy a day in the mercy and LOVING-kindness of our heavenly Father, for He will give us the wherewithal to do it if we sincerely ask Him.
And please don’t think that only the days are beautiful, because the nights are too. This morning at 3.30 I was sitting on my porch enjoying the peace and quiet of nature. I was most surprised when I first sat down, raised my head and saw a big, bright, beautiful full moon shining down on me, through an open space between two gnarled branches of the dying ash tree in my front yard. That’s one of the reasons for my late start this morning. (smile)
Anyhow, here’s a li’l something from a plaque I have in my office. It says: ‘Everyone smiles in the same language.’ And isn’t that the glorious and indisputable truth! It certainly is!
That’s why it’s so hard to understand why we don’t smile at each other more often. In fact we smile at each other much less than we previously did. Today’s world has become so selfish, fearful and unfriendly that we find it difficult to share even a simple, easy thing like a smile, which could brighten someone’s day, and have a positive effect on him or her.
A smile costs nothing my people; just the moving of a few face muscles, and less than a frown to boot. So let’s promises ourselves to do some more smiling at each other nuh, cause it’s a language we all understand and appreciate.
And to help us keep that promise let’s lift up our spirits by declaring our Thursday Blessings, for remember, a blessing’s not a blessing until it’s declared. So as one now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Awright mih breddren, let’s go out and enjoy those blessings now, doing God’s work, smiling and sharing with those less fortunate than us, for that’s what our magnanimous and magnificent God desires of us. But remember also to keep the possible consequences of disobedience in the back of one’s mind, as our Bit informs us.
‘Now no chastening (discipline) for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised (trained) thereby.’
Ah friends, none of us like to hear those words, chastening, and discipline, much less experience them. (smile) But the fact is they are a big part of our everyday lives; a major aspect of God’s development program. (smile)
‘Hn!’ many of us sadly mutter as we contemplate that statement and some of the chastening that we’ve recently been through, or are currently going through. Unfortunately though my people that’s God’s way, and there’s not much we can do about it, except try to have as few reasons as possible for Him to chasten us.
Now let’s delve into some scriptures that show how important chastening is in God’s world. And we’ll go all the way back to the Old Testament for our first scripture. Here Moses is warning the Israelites about their future behaviour.
‘Thou shalt also consider (know) in thine heart, that as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee. Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.’ (Deut.8:5-6) It couldn’t be any plainer than that friends.
Now listen to Cousin Sol, who had a lot to say on the subject. ‘Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying (don’t allow yourself to be distracted by his crying).’ (Prov.19:18) Yes my people, too many of us allow our children’s crying to dissuade us when we are chastening them.
More Cousin Sol: ‘Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.’ (Prov.22:15) Hn! And the scholars explain that verse thus: ’22:15. Corporal punishment is necessary for children due to inherent foolishness.’
Now we won’t get into any arguments about that particular scripture here. We’ll close with some words from Ethan the Ezrahite from Psalm 89 – God’s sure promises to David.
‘If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgements; If they break (profane) my statutes, and keep not (obey) my commandments; Then will I visit (attend to) their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless my LOVING-kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail (to be false).’ (Ps.89:30-33)
That’s the way it is my people, we just have to learn to grin and bear it. So let’s go out today and smile and be obedient to God’s word, for that is the ultimate test of wisdom. Much LOVE!
… three ways to avoid chastening…obedience…obedience…obedience…
P.S. I want to apologize for a typo I made yesterday. I gave the scripture reference for a Proverb as 13:12; it ought to have been 3:12. Now let’s go and see what games Outlook has to play with me today. They played some yesterday, but not as much as the day before. Ah Lord eh! Much LOVE!
11 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's wisdom, aura of love, beast of the field, bright and bubbly, bright and early, chirpy, complaining, confidence, conquerors, Creator of the universe, disobedient, do unto Jesus, earthly life, endureth through all generations, enthusiasm. joy, everlasting kingdom, evil, faith, fellowship, fools, friends, give drink, glorious kingdom, goodness, groaning, holy spirit, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, kudos, lethargic, lies, LOVE, love that day, loving kindness, make his face shine, makes glad, meat in due season, meet the enemy, method to my madness, miserable complaining, moaning, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Moses, oil, open thine hand, peace, prosperity, quench their thirst, reap corn, rebellious, reconciliation, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, repentance, rest, salvation, satisfies the desires, sour, sow peas, springs, steadfast faith, surrender, tailspin, taunts, TGIM! Thank God it's Monday!, the eyes of all, the heart of man, the Promised Land, tired, truth, ungodly world, ungrateful, valleys, victory, wait upon thee, wake up and smell the coffee, weary souls, week of work, weekend, wiles, wine and roses, wisdom
Psalm 145:15. The eyes of all wait upon thee (look expectantly to you); and thou givest them their meat (food) in due season.
‘Monday, Monday! Oh how I just LOVE that day! Monday, Monday! Don’t you ever go away! TGIM! Thank God it’s Monday!’
Yes friends, there is method to my madness. (smile) I’m figuring that if we hear that often enough, Monday’s might just grow on us like Friday did. So in future, when Mondays roll around, as indeed they will, we won’t’ be so sour and miserable and complaining, but greet it with great enthusiasm and a sincere joy to get out there and do whatever we have to do unto Jesus, and not unto man!
Ah mih people, the ole fella has to keep on trying to get us out bright and early and chirpy and chippy, so we can truly enjoy this earthly life, while diligently working on Jesus’ behalf.
Now I know some of you are tired and lethargic, moaning and groaning and complaining about my li’l chat because you did not do as you should have over the weekend. But not to worry, we have something that will brighten your spirit and raise your adrenalin level so that you can go out bright and bubbly, expecting victory. It’s called our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. Let’s sing it as thought we truly mean it nuh.
As one harmonious choir now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Good going friends, good going! Our choirmaster Jesus was pleased! Yuh see what happens when you put your all into something! So now with our motors up and running, let’s go out into the crazy, wicked world and do whatever Jesus has called us to do nuh.
That brings us to our Bit which verily supports all of our contentions above. (smile) But before we get to it, let’s check out the two verses before it.
‘Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. The eyes of all wait upon thee (look expectantly to you); and thou givest them their meat (food) in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfies the desire of every living thing.’ (Psalm 145:13-16)
Yes my brethren, Bruh David said it, so there must be a whole lot of truth to it! He extols the Lord’s graciousness in this most excellent psalm of praise! And if you don’t believe that, then listen to this from Psalm 104 – God’s preservation of nature.
The psalmist unequivocally declares: ‘He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills. They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses (donkeys) quench their thirst. By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches.
He watereth the hills from his (upper) chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works, He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb (vegetation) for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth; and wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man’s heart. ‘ (Ps.104: 10-15)
Oh my brethren, with all of that – and there’s much more if you want to read all of Psalm 104 – how can we ever doubt the goodness, the LOVING-kindness, the wisdom of our wonderful God eh? Only a fool would dare to do that!
Unfortunately though, currently there are way too many fools in the Lord’s great universe. We’re trying our very best to take him out of our society, which is a fool’s wisdom, and then when our world goes into a serious tailspin, with disasters, wars and all kinds of negative happenings across the globe, we sit back and foolishly wonder why.
Steups! Oh friends, if we insist on removing the Creator of the universe and all therein from His universe, which is really impossible, what do we expect eh? Do we expect to get wine and roses and song and heartwarming kudos for removing Him from our society?
Not on your life! We’ll get what we justly deserve, what He’s promised from day one to those who are disobedient to His Word and Will; negative happenings! Yuh see what He did to the rebellious, ungrateful Jews in the wilderness; earthquakes, snakebites and wandering around for forty years, till all of those who had come out of Egypt had died.
Not even Moses made it over to the Promised Land because he angered the Lord. So friends how can we expect anything else but negative consequences for our foolish rebellion eh? We might get away with it for a while, but eventually it’s all going to catch up to us. Remember our God is patient and longsuffering, but He’s not a patsy, a walkover.
Please, let’s wake up and smell the coffee nuh, and realize the error of our ways and wisely return to His fold through repentance and reconciliation based on Jesus’ work at the cross. For that is indeed wisdom of the highest order! Much LOVE!
…you can’t sow peas…and expect to reap corn…likewise you can’t be blatantly disobedient…and expect to receive prosperity…
08 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a family to feed, adventurous, awe-inspiring, backbone, be of good cheer, believe also in me, belly, bring all things, Christian, come again, economy falters, effort, ever-LOVING God, evil ungodly days, faith, faith in action, faithful believers, fellowship, Friday chant, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, generous help, get by, getting me through another week, hard times, i have overcome the world, I leave with you, if it were not so, in Jesus' name, In my Father's house, in my name, Jesus Christ, lead and guide, let not your heart be troubled, many mansions, merciful, middle ground, moderation, monetary incentive, mortgage to pay, my peace I give unto you, negative emotions, not as the world giveth, Oral Roberts, party, peace, permeate our souls, perspective, preaching, prepare a place for you, promise, prosper, purpose of faith, raise the level of our faith, receive you unto myself, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, resentment, rest, satisfying, sinful world, soul body mind, sow, stand strong against the enemy, staring you in the face, steadfast, stress, stressful, stressful week, take up the slack, teach you all things, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, thanks, the Blessing of the Holy spirit, the bottom line, the christian motto, the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, the pull of partying, the weekend, there ye may be also, think on them, to your remebrance, tribulation, trust, trust in jesus, truth, unchristian behaviour, unemployment, weekend activities, where I am, wicked ways, wisdom, ye believe in God
John 14:1. Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
And then it was Friday! And obviously there is joy in the work place at the upcoming weekend; the couple of days off from work.
And all around the workers are joyfully declaring: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and slave work done! It done like dinner! The weekend party starting from this evening and going straight through! The weekend is the greatest time! Thank You Lord for Fridays and weekends!’
Ah mih people, it’s understandable how the workers long for the weekend after a stressful week of work, but that doesn’t mean we have to go to the other extreme, where we party the whole weekend away. There needs to be some moderation, some middle ground in our weekend activities. So let’s chant our Friday Chant which gives us a much better perspective on the situation.
Chanting: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes friends, that’s a much better, much more reliable and sensible way to use those two precious days off. But I guess I will have to be preaching that until I die, (smile) because the pull of the partying is getting stronger and stronger as the days get more stressful.
And believe me, they are getting more difficult as the economy continues to falter and people lose their jobs, all to the glory of the bottom line, and the remaining ones are expected to take up the slack for no monetary incentive. That type of situation will obviously cause resentment and stress!
But friends, as faithful believers in Jesus Christ, we must not allow those two negative emotions to permeate our souls and drag us down to unchristian behaviour. Now that’s not easy to do when unemployment and other hard times are staring you in the face.
You’ve got a family to feed and clothe, a mortgage to pay, car payments to make, and all the other numerous things we need to do to just get by in this society. Note, we not even talking about prospering, but merely getting by. So you can imagine the effort and faith it takes for one to prosper as a Christian in these evil and ungodly days.
That’s why our Bit today is so important in a believer’s life. ‘Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.’
Oh my people, these days we badly need to raise the level of our faith, our trust in Jesus, so that we can stand strong against the enemy and his wicked ways. But we also need to see that faith in action.
As Oral Roberts is reputed to have said: ‘I don’t care how much faith you have, I care about how much faith you release.’
And friends, that’s the basic purpose of faith: having it doesn’t mean much unless you release it. Faith in action is the Christian motto. So if the world is stressing you out today, please take hope and raise the level of your faith by seriously trusting in the words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Hear how He continues after our Bit. ‘In my Father’s house are many mansions (dwellings): if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.’ (John 14:2-3)
Oh what a wonderful promise my brethren! Our Leader has gone to prepare a place for us in heaven, then come back and take us to live with Him! Hn! It’s promises like these my faithful believers that we need to sow deep down in our souls and think on them when times and things come against us.
Now listen to what Jesus says later on in that same chapter, as He promises the blessing of the Holy Spirit. ‘But the Comforter (Helper), which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye LOVED me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.’ (John 14:26-28)
Oh my brethren, I know all of that is easier said than done, how difficult it is to raise up the necessary faith when the evil world is banging on your door. But that’s what we need to do, and besides, we also have the wherewithal to do it.
Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would remind the apostles of all that He spoke to them about, and it’s also the same way He operates in our lives, leading and guiding us in wisdom and truth. It is therefore very essential that we pay special attention to what the Holy Spirit says to us.
Nothing’s easy in this life friends, but we already have all that we need to conquer it planted deep down in our souls, we just need to ask the Lord to raise up whatever we need to overcome our negative circumstances. And you know our merciful and ever-LOVING God will answer our prayers if we come to Him in humility and sincerity.
Now let’s close with another faithful and awe-inspiring promise of our Lord and Saviour. ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33)
Please believe Jesus’ promises my people, because that’s what gives us the belly and backbone to stand strong and steadfast against the enemy in this wicked and sinful world! Much LOVE!
…living for, and following Jesus is not easy…but it sure is satisfying and adventurous…
05 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 4th of July, Absalom, asps, battle to the death, binds man to man, bitterness, Canada Day, Christian feelings, come up higher, common grind, confidence, counteracting, courageous, cursing, daily task, death, deceit, defeat the enemy, destroy religion, destruction, did eat my bread, diligent, double heart, drive the dark of doubt away, encouraging, falsehood, fear, fill us with the light of day, flattering lips, flattery, giver of immortal gladness, God of glory, gospel truth, grave, havoc, hearts unfold, hell, Henry J. van Dyke, hope, hurry, hymns, I am the beloved of god, I trusted, I will not be afraid, inconsistent mind, Jesus Christ, Jesus has defeated, joy, joyful joyful, lackadaisical, lifted up his heel, like flowers before thee, Lord of love, loss, LOVE, mine own familiar friend, misery, must not suffer loss, no fear of God, ode to joy, open sepulchre, opening to the sun above, our Lord and Saviour, overthrow the kingdom of heaven, overwhelming our world, peace, petitions, poison, reassuring, rejoice, revolution, Romans, royal banner, salvation, set themselves against me, set up banners, share His love, shed blood, soldiers of the cross, song of life, stand up for Jesus, steadfast, stronghold, teach us, the joy of living, the name of our God, the thought of the age, the triumph, the way of peace, tongues, traitor, trust, trust my friend Jesus, truth of science, Tuesday Mantra, ungodly activity, vanity, warriors for Christ, we adore thee, wishy-washy, worry
Psalm 12:2. They speak vanity (idly, falsely) every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with double heart (an inconsistent mind) do they speak.
Well friends, the celebrations finally over! Canada Day and 4th of July done for another year! It’s time to get back to the common grind and daily task. And we’ll begin that by singing this favourite ode to Joy.
In harmony now: ‘Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love; Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above. Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away; Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!
All Thy works with joy surround Thee, earth and heaven reflect Thy rays, Stars and angels sing around Thee, center of unbroken praise.Field and forest, vale and mountain, flowery meadow, flashing sea, Singing bird and flowing fountain call us to rejoice in Thee.
Thou art giving and forgiving, ever blessing, ever blessed, Wellspring of the joy of living, ocean depth of happy rest! Thou our Father, Christ our Brother, all who live in LOVE are Thine; Teach us how to LOVE each other, lift us to the joy divine.
Mortals, join the happy chorus, which the morning stars began; Father LOVE is reigning o’er us, brother LOVE binds man to man. Ever singing, march we onward, victors in the midst of strife, Joyful music leads us Sunward in the triumph song of life.‘
Good show friends, good show! Hope that joy stays with us all day as we focus on doing Christ’s work.
Oh, and here’s a little story about that hymn. Apparently one Henry J. van Dyke wrote it in 1907. He wrote it while staying at the home of Harry A. Garfield at Williams College, Massachusetts. It was first published in the Presbyterian Hymnal in 1911. It also appeared in the Poems of Henry van Dyke, 1911.
Van Dyke wrote: “These verses are simple expressions of common Christian feelings and desires in this present time—hymns of today that may be sung together by people who know the thought of the age, and are not afraid that any truth of science will destroy religion, or any revolution on earth overthrow the kingdom of heaven. Therefore this is a hymn of trust and joy and hope.’
And it surely is my people! So let’s continue to hold on securely to that trust and joy and hope we find in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, because it’s what keeps us truly grounded in this earthly life. It is our sure foundation.
And to further build on that sure foundation, let’s declare our Tuesday Mantra like we truly believe it. As one voice now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
Oh glory to God my believing brethren! More solid and indisputable truth about the goodness and LOVING-kindness of our wonderful God! How reassuring and encouraging to know that we are His beloved children, and also the friend of Jesus! Nothing can be better than those two things!
Now it’s our duty to go out and share the LOVE of our Lord and friend with the remainder of this our lost and quickly sinking world. But we can’t do it unless we’re very serious and diligent about counteracting the words and actions of our Bit. ‘They speak vanity (idly, falsely) every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with double heart (an inconsistent mind) do they speak.’
Yes precious people, that kind of ungodly activity is currently overwhelming our world, and obviously making it a place of hate and evil instead of one of peace and LOVE like our God and Saviour desire. These days one can hardly trust the words and actions of friends, much less strangers.
Falsehood and flattery seem to be the name of the today’s game and they’re causing such havoc in the lives of so many people who are unfortunately coming under their spell. Bruh David declares in Psalm 41 –Abuse and assurance: ‘Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me (acted as a traitor against me). (Ps.41:9)
No doubt a lot of us can attest to such traitorous treatment. That’s why we have to be ever so careful as to whom we let into our confidence. Meanwhile, in Bruh Paul’s epistle to the Romans, he quotes various scripture passages to prove the presence and extent of the problem back then.
‘Their throat is an open sepulchre (grave); with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.’ (Rom.3:13-18)
And that’s the gospel truth friends! The enemy right now is the driver’s seat, but it is our job to dislodge him and replace him with Jesus. But again, as I said earlier on, we need to be very serious and diligent about that duty if we want to be successful.
We can’t afford to be lackadaisical and wishy-washy in our words and actions. We need to come up higher than the enemy if we want to defeat him. We need to be able to sincerely declare like Bruh David when he fled from his son Absalom’s rebellion. ‘I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.’ (Ps.3:6)
Yes my fellow warriors for Christ, until we can utter true words like those, until we can cast out our fear of the enemy, we won’t be able to break his stronghold on us and on the world. Remember, Jesus has already defeated hell, death and the grave, which means the enemy has no power over us unless we allow him to.
So let us go out today, and everyday, with words such as these pouring out of our mouths and hearts. ‘We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: the Lord fulfill all thy petitions.’ (Ps.20:5)
Yes friends, we need to stand up very strong, steadfast and courageous in Jesus’ name, and battle to the death, if we truly want to defeat the enemy. There’s no other way. Much LOVE!
…Stand up stand up for Jesus…Ye soldiers of the cross…Lift high His royal banner…It must not suffer loss…
04 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 4th July, at noon, aura of love, be about Christ's business, be prepared, Beelzebub, believers in Jesus Christ, calls us home, Canada Day, Chicago, Christ's Church, Christians, come up higher, complaining, confidence, cry aloud, dangerous, deceitful, dissension, divisions, does anybody care, Does anybody know what time it is, double heart, Drunk or sober mind yuh business, enemy, enthusiasm, eternal life, evening, ever-faithful God, evil, evil minions, faith, falsely, fellowship, fervent followers, flattering lips, friends, get our houses in order, God's flock, good neighbourly relations, Granny's advice, honesty, hope, humble servants, in splendour and power, inconsistent mind, inner sanctum, invincible, Jesus Christ, Jesus returns, joy, joyful band of Christians, last bastion, lies, lollygagging, LOVE, Lucifer, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, morning, neighbour, peace, planet earth, pray, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, resting on their laurels, salvation, sense of right and wrong, spiritual armour, stand up strong, steadfast faith, stick together, strife filled, the clock's ticking, the end times, the last days, the Lord shall save me, tragic, Trojan horse, trust, truth, unfair, ungodly world, unkind place, vanity, victory, wary, weary souls, wiles, wisdom
Psalm 12:2. They speak vanity (idly, falsely) every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with double heart (an inconsistent mind) do they speak.
HAPPY 4TH OF JULY U. S. OF A!
30 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a positive outlook, a prayer away, a strong will, abundance, advantage, almighty god, backbone, believe in what you cannot see, belly, blessed, boost our spirits, brethren, broken, Calvary's cross, challenge, Christian, circumstances, cleansed, comforting, confidence, confronted, courage, creativity, curse, death, direction, divine protection, embrace, endless, enthusiasm, eternal life, faith, family, favour, fear, fears, friend, friends, fulfillment, give thanks, Glory be, glory hallelujah, grow, guiding light, health, holy spirit, hurt, in the name of Jesus, Jesus Christ, King of Kings, life, Long may He reign, Lord and Saviour, Lord of Lords, mystery, negative experiences, negative word, overtake me, overwhelming, pain, panic, peace, penalyt for sin, pity, play it twice, power, prince of peace, problems, promotion, prosper, reconciliation, Redeemer, rejuvenating, resolved, Robert Nathan, run away, sacrificed, self-control, self-discipline, selfless sacrifice, set free, sins, sorrow, spoken over me, strength, succeed, success, talent, teaches, the bread of life, the Lamb that was slain, the Life, the Light, the Son is shining, the straight and narrow path, the sun is shining, the Truth, the veil, the Way, Thursday Blessings, unbelievers, ungodly world, we face nothing alone, weather, welcome, when it's nice, wine roses and song, wisdom
John 6:48. I am that bread of life.
Well a hearty welcome to you this Thursday morning mih lovelies! The sun is shining in my neck of the woods, and I do hope it’s shining in yours too. But just in case it isn’t, please remember that the Son is ALWAYS shining even in the worst of physical weather and circumstances!
That’s the wonderful advantage we have over the unbelievers; we know that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is there for us ALL the time! He is just a prayer away…
And all God’s children heartily and sincerely exclaimed: ‘Glory be to the Lamb that was slain, that was sacrificed on Calvary’s cross for our sins! Long may He reign in our hearts and souls! Amen!’
Yeh friends, there’s none other like our wonderful Redeemer Jesus Christ! Couldn’t be, for the world only has room for ONE Prince of Peace, ONE Lord of Lords and ONE King of Kings… and that’s our Jesus, our friend and guiding light! Glory Hallelujah!
Now I want to share an interesting and very relevant quote from my One More Day Daily Meditations for People with Chronic Illness. I believe I’ve shared it before, but as we say, when it’s nice, you can play it twice, or even thrice! (smile)
The quote is attributed to one Robert Nathan, but there are so many people out there with that name that I wasn’t able to identify the exact one.
However, the quote says: ‘Give thanks for sorrow that teaches you pity; for pain that teaches you courage – and give exceeding thanks for the mystery which remains a mystery still – the veil that hides you from the infinite, which makes it possible for you to believe in what you cannot see.’
Yes friends, that’s what we call FAITH! And although we don’t like or want to have those negative experiences that cause us hurt and pain, we ought to embrace them because it’s only through experiencing them that we grow in courage and strength, and yes FAITH!
If everyday was strictly wine, roses and song, we’d have no belly and backbone – we already have precious little of that.
As the text says: ‘We cannot run away from problems. Tremendous problems must be confronted and resolved. Fears can be overwhelming. Tasks seem endless, and the challenge seems too great. It is comforting to realize we face nothing alone.’
And is that ever so true my Christian brethren! We’re never alone! The Holy Spirit of Christ, which indwells EVERY believer, is ALWAYS there to lead and guide us, to strengthen and comfort us in our every need!
So Christians ought always to be positive people since we have the greatest power in the universe dwelling within us. Unfortunately that’s not the case with a lot of us. Too many believers are scared and fearful to face the days, the troubles and problems that seem to be always confronting them.
But listen to the energizer at the end of the devotion. ‘I will not allow fear and panic to overtake me today. Courage will open the door to wisdom and peace.’
Yes my precious people, we need to believe that as we step out into the crazy, dangerous and ungodly world that currently surrounds us. And to help boost our spirits, and keep us on the straight and narrow path that leads to Almighty God, let’s declare our Thursday Blessings with premium confidence and glorious enthusiasm.
All together now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Well said my people, well said! Now let’s act it out in real life nuh. And that shouldn’t be a problem, because as our Bit so confidently states, we follow the person, Jesus Christ, who so truthfully declared two thousand years ago: ‘I am that bread of life.’
And indeed He is friends! He gave His physical life for us, so that we could have eternal life, rejuvenating reconciliation with the Father. That’s what He came down from heaven to do.
Without His selfless sacrifice, we’d have no opportunity for life, because the scripture plainly states that the penalty for sin is death, and we were certainly embroiled in sin until His death cleansed us and set us free.
Furthermore, NOBODY can get to the Father but through Him! And a lot of people refuse to belief that. But my faithful brethren, Jesus is truly the LIGHT, the LIFE, the TRUTH, and the WAY!
Let’s never forget that, and keep embracing Him with all our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, for that is indeed wisdom at its zenith! Much LOVE!
…there is power…absolute power…in the holy name of Jesus…
27 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adrenalin, affection, as for me and my house, aura of love, banished, blessed is the man, blessings, choose, Christians, compass, complaining state, condemned, confidence, conquerors, conviction, desolate, encouragement, enthusiasm, envy, eternal life, evil, excellent, falsehood, favour, found guilty, friends, fruit, glorious kingdom, good cheer, gospel truth, grouse, harmoniously, hearsay, holy spirit, human beings, humble, humble servants, in season, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, lies, LOVE, maketh the Lord his trust, mama yo, miserable, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, on the cross, overcome, peace, personal experience, promise, prosper, quagmire, redeems, rejoice, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, resistance, respects not the proud, rest, righteousness., rise and shine, rivers of water, sacrificial death, salvation, sins, slay the wicked, sour, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, surround, the enemy, the right foot, the soul of his servants, trust, truth, truthful, turns aside to lies, ungodly world, we will serve the Lord, whining, whom you will serve, wisdom, wise decision, wither
Psalm 40:4. Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
Well friends, it’s a brand new day called Monday! Mama yo! (smile)
And we all know what means; time to rise and shine and get to work. Now we can either do that in a sour, miserable, complaining state, or we can do it filled with the peace and LOVE and good cheer of Jesus. It’s your choice. But believe me the latter way is the best way.
One way or the other you have to go to work, so who are you hurting if you go there whining and complaining eh? Most likely yourself.
What I don’t understand about human beings is that we have to go to work, that’s a given, so why constantly grouse and complain when the work day rolls around, especially when, as Christians we have God’s peace and LOVE and otherwise that will enable us to overcome our natural resistance?
Anyway, that’s for each of us to figure out individually. Right now let’s try to help the situation by singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with much enthusiasm and positive conviction. All together now, harmoniously and in strong voice.
‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Oh friends, that was excellent! Or as Nuculer, a long ago friend would say ‘most excellent man, most excellent!’ And Jesus, our choir director thought so too, going by the big smile on His face and His energetic working of the director’s baton.
That means mih people, that we’re getting off on the right foot, with plenty enthusiasm and adrenalin coursing through our bodies, so let’s get out there in the ungodly world and show them what’s what nuh!
Show them the true LOVE and affection of Jesus, so that they can envy us and want to come to Him too to receive the salvation and eternal life that we possess through His sacrificial death on the cross, which banished our sins forever!
Ah mih breddren, I’m chuckling here as the Spirit moves me, and the brain is thinking faster than the pen can write. (smile) But enough fooling around, let’s get to our Bit, the same one as yesterday: ‘Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.’
Oh friends impeccable truth and wisdom for all of us to live by! If we would only truly trust in God and live a decent, humble, truthful life, this world would be such a wonderful place, instead of the deep, dark and evil quagmire that it now is!
The sad part about it all is that only we Christians can do anything positive with it. That’s why we have to do things like go out to work on Monday mornings with a joyful and peaceful attitude, and thus set a good example. That’s the only way the heathen will come to heel and seek Jesus.
Let’s move on now to some scriptures that corroborate our Bit. Listen to Bruh David from Psalm 34 – The Lord hears the righteous. ‘Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate (condemned, found guilty). The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate (condemned, found guilty).’ (Ps.34:21-22)
What wonderful words of promise and encouragement my brethren! And as we always note, Bruh David isn’t speaking from hearsay nuh, but from personal experience. That means we can trust his words without fear of falsehood. And listen to Bruh David once again, this time from Psalm 5 – A prayer for protection.
‘But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that LOVE thy name be joyful in thee. For thou Lord wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass (surround) him as with a shield.’ (Ps. 5:11-12) Friends, Bruh David certainly knew what he was talking about.
And we’ll end at the beginning; (smile) Psalm 1- Blessed are the righteous – which clearly spells out the kind of life the righteous can expect. ‘Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly (wicked), nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate (ponder) day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers (channels) of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.’ (Ps.1:1-3)
Oh friends, oh friends, what more encouragement do we need to live a righteous and godly life eh? I certainly don’t need anymore, for me to at least try and live right. So I’ll leave us to ponder those thoughts today, to decide whether you want to live a godly or ungodly life. It’s all up to you. Please make the wise decision. Much LOVE!
…choose you this day…whom ye will serve…but as for me and my house…we will serve the Lord. (Josh.24:15)
22 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a more excellent way, a path of life, accept Christ as Lord and Saviour, apostles, attitude, behaviour, believers, better hands than All State, charity, Christians, coming up to scratch, communing, contentious striving, Corinth, Corinthians, covet, desire, disrupt the future, faith, gifts of healing, glad to be alive, glory hallelujah, God's working all things for good, god-like, governments, halfway home, hands fixed on the plough, helps, hodge-podge lives, hope, I am nothing, I'm not looking back, leave my mark, LOVE, loving, magnify, meaningful, members individually, miracles, move mountains, muddy up the present, my best days are still ahead, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, mysteries, ONE body in Christ, pagan worship, peace, priorities, priority, prophets, purposeful, quiet, sounding brass, spiritual gifts, summer, teachers, the best gifts, the body of Christ, the breath of life, the greatest of these three, the language of the gods, the Way of LOVE, those who love him, tinkling cymbal, tongues, tongues of men, vibrant, walking in LOVE, Wednesday Wail
1 Corinthians 12:27. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular (individually).
Welcome, welcome one and all to this glorious summer’s day! Yes friends, it’s now officially summer in the northern climes, as of last Monday evening! Glory be!
The strange part though is that we’ve been experiencing some rather strong winds for the past couple of days, along with some reassuring summer temps. But who knows what our omnipotent and ever-wise God is up to and about eh? Nobody!
Anyway, we do know that He’s working all things out for our good, for those who LOVE Him and are called to participate in His wonderful world, and that’s enough for true believers like us. We’re in much, much better hands than All State! (smile)
And to prove that we sincerely believe that, let’s declare our Wednesday Wail with great gusto and superior faith. Altogether now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Ah mih people, how glorious that future with Jesus will be! And yuh know what, though life can be somewhat rough sometimes, I’m still grateful to be alive, because as far as I’m concerned my best days are still ahead of me. I haven’t done anything as yet to leave my mark on the world, which means that better days are still to come.
Consequently, I can’t afford to look to the past, else it will only muddy up the present and disrupt the great plans God has for me in the future.
Oh friends, we have to believe that God has great plans for our lives, otherwise life won’t be worth living! Christians won’t created to lead, mediocre, hodge-podge lives, but strong, vibrant, meaningful, god-like and purposeful ones!
But we won’t be able to do that until we sincerely accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour and genuinely work with Him to bring to pass His good plans for our earthly days.
And all God’s people declared a loud, proud and grateful; ‘Hallelujah! All praise and glory to Jesus, our ever-faithful and ever-LOVING Lord and King!’
And that brings us to our current Bit: ‘Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular (individually).’
Yes my people, we are supposed to be one body in Christ, composed of different parts, as members, and that consequently means there is a certain kind of behaviour and attitude that’s expected of us. Unfortunately though, we are not coming up to scratch, which means that Christ’s organization is also not coming up to scratch, since we are its purveyors.
Now let’s hear what Bruh Paul said to the Corinthians a long time ago, because it also pertains to us in these trying and desperate times. ‘And God hath set some in the church (appointed these), first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities (varieties) of tongues.
Are all apostles? are all prophets? Are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?’ (1 Cor.12:28-30)
And the obvious answer to all of that my friends is a big NO!
So what? Bruh Paul provides the answer. ‘But covet (desire) earnestly the best gifts: and yet show I unto you a more excellent way.’ (1 Cor.12:31)
And here the scholars give us a lengthy explanation of what Bruh Paul means. ’12:31. But covet earnestly the best gifts: This expressions explains why the apostle has arranged the list in verse 28 in order of priority. He wants his readers to be clear in their own minds as to which gifts are the best.
Obviously, his intent is to steer them away from the more spectacular gifts such as tongues. Covet here is not to be construed negatively but means “earnestly desire.”
A more excellent way: The import of this statement is to be seen in Chapter 13. Paul will show that a better way is not through contentious striving but through LOVING.
Many feel that Paul is here showing how the gifts are to be administered, that is, in LOVE. However, the use of way (Gr. hodos) in the sense of “a path” instead of the way (Gr. tropos) in the sense of “manner,” and the statement of 14:1, indicates that Paul was pointing out a path of life superior to a life spent seeking and displaying spiritual gifts.
Paul’s interest here is not to instruct his readers in how they may best use their gifts, but how to have their priorities straight. They should strive for LOVE, not spiritual gifts.’
Ah friends, I hope we understand what the scholars are saying: that though spiritual gifts are important, our priority should not be striving to get and display them, but our priority should be walking in LOVE.
For as he says in the opening of Chapter 13 – The way of LOVE – ‘Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity (LOVE), I am become as a sounding brass or a tinkling (clanging) cymbal.
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity (LOVE), I am nothing.’ ( 1 Cor.13:1-2)
So you see friends, regardless of what spiritual gifts we have, if we don’t have the overwhelming gift and attitude of LOVE, we are nothing, of no importance!
And the scholars share some important and interesting info re verse 1. ’13:1. Tongues of men and of angels: Such was the association of tongues speaking in pagan worship at Corinth. When a priest or devotee spoke in tongues, it was considered that he spoke in the language of the gods.’
And for all you know, some of us still hold that belief today. However my people, please, please, let’s stop seeking the spiritual gifts to magnify ourselves, and instead, simply walk in the way Jesus did nuh – the way of LOVE! For that’s our priority as Christians! Much LOVE!
…and now abideth faith, hope and charity (LOVE)…these three…but the greatest of these is charity (LOVE)… (1 Cor,13:13)
P.S. Please excuse the lateness of the Bit. It was just one of those late mornings. I was outside on my porch at 3.am communing with my Creator, enjoying the peace and quiet, while listening to the rain fall softly on the earth. Sometimes we just have to do these things. (smile) Much LOVE!
21 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: actions, anger, attitude, backbiting, behaviour, character, Christendom, christianity, cooperation, Corinth, disharmony, disrupt harmony, diversity, division, earthly life, embrace Jesus, encourages, exciting, extraordinary, glory, good cheer, greed, harmonious spirit, harmony, hatred, human nature, hurry, hypocritical, I am the beloved of god, in Jesus' name, individually, inner presence, Jesus, let God be God, lifts us up, Love for Jesus, LOVE Jesus, members, mind-boggling, my friend Jesus, New Testament, peace, philosophy, planet earth, Praise the Lord, privately live, problems, publicly show, pull together, reflect Christ's character, religious teaching, reproach, resentment, running things, Scrip-Bit family, serve, share His love, sincerity, souls, spiritual organism, the body of Christ, the church, the Holy Spirit, the Light, the Lord's on His throne, throne, trust, truth, Tuesday Mantra, unity, warms the cockles of my heart, what people say about me, wisdom, wonder, worry, worship
1 Corinthians 12:27. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular (individually).
Aye mih friends and family – Scrip-Bit family included of course – welcome to another wonderful Tuesday on planet earth! The Lord’s on His heavenly throne running things, and Jesus is with us through the inner presence of the Holy Spirit! So what can be better than that eh? Absolutely nothing!
Ah mih people, Jesus is so beautiful, I don’t see how people can not LOVE Him, and want to serve and worship Him in all sincerity and truth!
Yeh friends, I truly don’t understand how people can dislike Jesus and abuse and blaspheme Him. He has the best religious teaching going, even the best philosophy for living this earthly life; one of peace and LOVE and good cheer! One couldn’t ask for more!
But such is the fallen and dark nature of our human souls that we refuse to see the light even when it’s shining all around us. But thankfully, we smart humans will embrace Jesus in all His glory and wonder and live to serve Him now and forever!
And all God’s children declared a loud and proud ‘Praise the Lord in Jesus’ name! Amen.’
And to support all of what we’ve just said, let’s declare our Tuesday Mantra with a strong sense of purpose and true belief. As one now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen.’
Oh friends, oh friends, that li’l mantra so warms the cockles of my heart when I declare it, that…that I don’t know what to say afterwards! Hn!
To know that I am indeed a beloved child of God and a friend of Jesus…and can simply live this life and share His awesome LOVE with the world…well that is just so mind boggling and extraordinary!
I do hope that you, my fellow believers feel the same way, because if you don’t you are missing out on the most exciting and transformational part of your lives, since true LOVE for Jesus just lifts us up and encourages us so much!
And we’ll continue with our theme from yesterday; members of the body of Christ, of His church, because it is very important for each believer to know and understand His place and role in that most august organization.
Our Bit tells us quite plainly: ‘Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular (individually).’
Yes my brethren, we are all a part of Christ’s great organization called the church, with all that’s needed to make it great, but it’s oh so necessary for the members of that organization to pull together to do that. Listen to the scholars’ input on that verse.
’12:27. In one succinct statement, the apostle expresses both the unity and the diversity of the body of Christ. The absence of the definite article in Greek (ho, “the”) before the expression ‘body of Christ’ emphasizes character: since they are Christ’s body, their actions and attitudes toward one another should reflect His character.’
Oh my fellow believers, that last line there says it all; since we belong to Christ’s organization, our attitude and character ought to reflect that of Jesus! But does it? That’s the million-dollar question.
Unfortunately, I don’t believe that it does, or at least not to the extent that it should. If we were truly reflecting the character and attitude of Jesus as an organization, there wouldn’t be so much division and disharmony within it, none of the greed, the backbiting, the resentment, and pure hatred that exists in some parts of it.
As we said earlier, Christ’s character is one of peace, LOVE and good cheer, and that in no way represents the present day church of Christ!
And before we go any further, listen to the scholars’ description re the Body of Christ. ‘12:27. The church in the New Testament is called the “body of Christ,” and reflects the spiritual organism of the whole church on earth. When the local church is called the body of Christ, the spiritual aspect is emphasized.
Illustration: As the church is considered to be the body, so individual members are seen as parts of the body. For any church to function properly, every member must do his or her part in a harmonious spirit of cooperation with the other members. Had the church at Corinth learned this lesson, many of their problems would have been solved.
Application: When Christians disrupt the harmony of a church, they bring reproach on the body of Christ. (First ref. Matt.16:18; Primary Ref. I Cor. 12:27).’
Oh friends, that’s the problem of today’s church right there! The spirit of harmonious cooperation is sadly lacking in many of the local churches and also in the entire body of Christendom!
No wonder we’re bringing such reproach on Christ and His body, and people are leaving His organization as well as crying it down and calling it totally hypocritical!
And there is a lot of truth there, since the heathen doesn’t see or perceive us as good and kindly and LOVING people from the attitude, behaviour and character we publicly display. We behave just as badly, and sometimes even worse than them! That obviously gives Jesus a bad name and turns off the unbelievers, thus making of no effect our trying to bring them to Him.
Ah mih people, there’s a simple solution to all of that yes, all the confusion and disharmony, the resentment, anger and hatred, backbiting and hypocrisy can be avoided if we’d just implement the words of the song: ‘Let God be God! Let God be God in your life!’
Yes friends, if we’d just allow the Lord to work in our lives as He desires, most of our problems would vanish, and we’d become much more like the harmonious body of Christ that we’re meant to be.
So, starting today, right now, let’s let go and allow God to truly work in us nuh, for that is indeed the highest level of wisdom! Much LOVE!
…for Christianity to be successful…Christians must privately live…and publicly show…the true character and attitude of Jesus Christ…
20 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a waste of time, all for one, aura of love, Beelzebub, Christ's Church, commandment, confidence, courage, enthusiasm, evil, faith, Father's Day, friends, fun, godly manner, Guide, harmony, holy spirit, honour thy father and mother, hope, hullabaloo, humble servants, in the land God gives thee, invincible, ism, Jesus Christ, joy, laughed him to scorn, lead, lies, lip service, LOVE, members, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, one for all, Oneness, peace, promise, reality of work, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, rest, righteous, sally forth, schism, sincerity, spiritual armour, standing 'O', steadfast faith, taunts, the body is not one member, the body is one, the business of the day, the enemy, the rear end, thy days may be long, trust, truth, ungodly world, unity, warning, wiles, wisdom
1 Corinthians 12:14. For the body is not one member, but many.
Aye friends, the hullabaloo of Father’s Day is over now, time to get back to the reality of work! (smile) However, before we embark on that subject, I want to extend one reminder, and not to the fathers, but to the children.
Please children, please don’t ignore your fathers, in fact your parents, during the remainder of the year. I know we get all gushy and lovey-dovey come Mother’s and Father’s Day, and even then, plenty of us only pay lip service to the occasion, but what happens during the rest of the year eh?
Too many children basically ignore their parents during the rest of the year. And my warning is all for your benefit. Remember the only commandment that has a promise tied to it. ‘Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.’ (Ex.20:12) So for your sakes, I’d suggest you children do a better job of honouring your parents than you’re currently doing. Nuff said!
Now let’s get down to the business of the day and sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn as though we genuinely mean it, with plenty enthusiasm and sincerity.
All together now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
It wasn’t bad friends, but not one of those renditions that creates a standing ‘O’ in heaven. And Jesus, our choir director wasn’t really displeased, so we doing okay. (smile)
But mih people, is time now to get down to brass tacks and go out and face the music with strength, courage, faith and trust that the Holy Spirit that indwells us will truly lead and guide us in a godly and righteous manner and enable us to do God’s will and fulfill His plan for our lives.
If we don’t seriously and sincerely try our best to do that, then our entire faith will be a waste of time, and we won’t be encouraging any others to come to Jesus for safety and succour, but rather turning them away, into the greedy, evil, waiting hands of Beelzebub. And friends, we don’t want to do that EVER! Jesus sacrificed too much for us to let Him down like that.
That’s why we have to stand strong, in unity and harmony, displaying the oneness that Jesus desires in His earthly organization; His body, the church. And that sense of harmony and oneness of purpose is indicated in our Bit. ‘For the body is not one member, but many.’ And that’s why it’s so difficult to get true harmony and unity amongst the members of Christ’s church.
And Bruh Paul likens the church of Christ to the human body. ‘For as the (human) body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one (human) body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.’ (1 Cor.12:12)
But we all know the different parts of the body have different functions, and none are really supposed to be more important than the other, but they all still jockey for importance. (smile)
As Bruh Paul puts it: ‘If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were the eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body (where would the body be)? But now are they many members, yet but one body.’ (1 Cor.12:15-20)
Ah friends, it’s the same with Christ’s church; we consist of many members with different roles, but with our sinful and lustful human nature taking precedence, we foolishly fight amongst and against each other to see who is more important. But my people that is so counterproductive.
And as Bruh Paul so wisely points out later on: ‘but God hath tempered (composed) the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: That there should be no schism (division) in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether (if) one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.’ (1 Cor.12:24-26)
But obviously it isn’t working that way in Christ’s body these days, for there is lots of ism and schism disfiguring it, making it the joke of the town. That reminds me of the story where all the parts of the body wanted to be the boss, including the rear end, and all the other parts laughed him to scorn. But when he decided to shut his doors, the rest of the body became sick.
Hn! Just goes to show that even the lowest member is important in God’s set-up. So let’s try to live in harmony and unity nuh my people, so that we can do Jesus’ will productively. Let the heathen fight amongst themselves, but let the Christian church stand strong as ONE! Much LOVE!
…Christians unite…one for all…and all for one…
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