29 Aug 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: activates our minds, agape, appreciation, attention spans, attributes, benefits, Bible Study, bitterness, bosom, busy schedules, catalyst, civility, concern for others, dissension, disunity, emotional distance, essence of LOVE, essential elements, eternal truths, everlasting truth, evil doings, evil thoughts, faults, forgiving, Friends in Christ, fulfilling of the law, fun, god, gospel truth, great difference, Guide, harmful intents, hate, helping, holy spirit, information age, ingredients of life, Jesus Christ, joy, joy in hearts, lead, life is short, Little Flower Society, living in LOVE, lockstep with Jesus, long and short of the story, LOVE, Love does no harm, Love makes the world go round, LOVE one another, love starts at home, my disciples, nonsense, peace, positive change, read our Bible, regularity, religion, resentment, righteous life, saviour jesus christ, separation, serving, society's most important unit, sowing peace, spirituality, St. Therese, sustainability, talking lies, Thank the Lord, the family, thursday morning, true disciples, tumultuous world, turmoil, understanding, unfathomable negative waters, walk in LOVE, We can do all things through Christ, wisdom, wrong places
John 13:35. By this shall men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one to another.
Well hello there my fine Friends in Christ! Unfortunately, this Thursday morning at the end of August, in the summer of the year 2013, the ole fella has nothing to say…
And immediately a great cry of joy rose up to heaven. ‘Wow! Is that really possible? But thank the Lord for it anyway!’ (smile)
Yes Friends, some of you will consider that rather fortunate, but as I keep reminding us, we can do any and all things with the help of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. So please remember this is not my word I’m writing about, but the Lord’s, so my not having anything personal to say is of no account, for the Lord’s Spirit will lead and guide me to what HE wants me to say.
Got all yuh eh! (smile) Oh Friends, life is so short, we need to have some occasional fun in it. And remember yesterday we spoke about mixing and matching the daily ingredients of life at our disposal? Well everyday we should endeavour to put useful ingredients like joy, peace and LOVE in the mix, because those things will benefit us the most in this already rough and trouble-filled life. No sense in making it harder than it already is.
But again, unfortunately that’s what a lot of us do to ourselves and consequently to those around us. We interject things like hate, resentment and other evil doings into our souls, which eventually flow from us to others. Now with stuff like that seething and raging in our spirits, how can we enjoy life eh? No way Jose!
Jesus says in our Bit that we ought to live in and by LOVE. ‘By this shall men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one to another.’
But sadly, for one reason or another, we seem to find that difficult to do on a regular, constant and sustained basis. But it’s that regularity and sustainability that truly makes it LOVE!
And furthermore, it’s even sadder when the place that LOVE should be the most evident and palpable, in the family, the smallest and most important unit of our society, that’s where it’s least evident these days.
Oh my brethren, too many families live in turmoil and hate, dissension and disunity, as well as emotional distance and separation in this information age!
And if the LOVE doesn’t begin at home, where it ought to, where else will it crop up eh? If all we take from home is resentment and bitterness, how will we find joy and LOVE? Obviously we’ll end up looking for them in all the wrong places, like so many of us are doing today, and thus find ourselves in even deeper, unfathomable, negative waters.
Now the LOVE that Jesus is talking about here is not the romantic, hugging and kissing thing, but what the Greeks term ‘agape.’ That’s simply being decent with and showing concern for others, helping and serving one another, forgiving each other’s faults, but also trying to live a righteous life, so that there won’t be too many faults to forgive.
Oh my brethren, if we could just treat each other with a little more civility and a modicum of appreciation, you wouldn’t believe the great difference and positive change that would bring about in our much too troubled and tumultuous world.
And here’s an interesting, but also very practical quote from St.Therese, the patron Saint of the Little Flower Society. She declares, that ‘To live by LOVE is to go through life sowing peace and joy in hearts.’
Oh Friends, that’s as gospel truth as we can get outside of the gospel! (smile) And that’s exactly what showing and living in LOVE should bring forth; joy and peace in your heart, as well as those with whom you interact. If we’re not providing things like joy and peace and righteousness in our hearts and those with whom we come into contact, then we’re NOT living in LOVE, and we’re not being true disciples of Christ!
That’s the long and short of the story my brethren. There’s no getting around it. Anything that truly bears the name of LOVE, MUST HAVE attributes like peace, joy, understanding, help, service and understanding emanating from its work! And if those essential elements are missing, then it’s NOT TRUE LOVE!
And now that we’ve understood the essence of LOVE, let’s look at some scriptures that fortify that reasoning… sorry, that fortify those eternal truths. (smile)
Hear Bruh Paul as he encourages the Roman church to walk in LOVE. ‘LOVE worketh no ill (does no harm) to his neighbour: therefore LOVE is the fulfilling of the law.’ (Rom.13:10)
More gospel truth my brethren! For true LOVE doesn’t have wrong, harmful or evil intents and thoughts in its bosom or spirit.
And yuh know what Friends? I think we’ll end here for today, because I just looked at my notes and the rest of stuff I’d planned to say would definitely make it too long. And I don’t want to turn us off, since we have these busy schedules and short attention spans, and we also have to get in our own Bible Study time.
Now mih people, I surely hope that you’re doing your own reading of the Word and not just relying on the Bit. For how else would you know if I’m simply talking lies, nonsense, or the gospel truth eh?
So as I’ve being saying from day one, reading the Bit is great, because it gets you thinking, activates your mind, but in the long run it’s still only a catalyst for turning your mind to God. Therefore, it is still ESSENTIAL THAT EACH AND EVERY BELIEVER, READS HIS OR HER BIBLE, PREFERABLY EVERY DAY!
And Friends that is indeed the height of wisdom and the very kernel of everlasting truth!
Some of you must be wishing now that I had something to say at the beginning eh? (smile) But Friends, I’m just giving it to you as it should be. So until tomorrow, our great God in favour, please, let’s walk in lockstep with Jesus as best we can nuh, and that means walking in LOVE! Much LOVE!
…the song’s not wrong…for LOVE is truly…what makes the world go round
14 Aug 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 2 corinthians 1, adoration, adversity, attributes of God, awesome truth, blessed be God, bounden duty, comfort, comforted of God, compassion, countenance, deliverance from the world, disciples, don't quit, eternal life, ever-LOVING God, evil, faith, faithfulness, foolishness, forgiveness, foundation of the world, generous, god, god of all comfort, God's LOVE endures forever, good hands, gospel truth, grace, guidance of the Holy spirit, hand to hold, heavenly places, hold our heads up high, holy, hope, jehovah god, live a life that magnifies Jesus, lord jesus christ, lost souls, LOVE, LOVE for one another, loving, made right, made whole, magnanimoud God, mediocrity, mercy, New Testament, peace, praise, promises, reconciled to God, religion, respect, reverence, sacrifice for sins, salvation, Satan, saving, sin, sincere adoration, spiritual blessings, stand strong in Jesus' Name, standing strong for Jesus, surrender your will, the Father of mercies, the God of All Comfort, the Lord of all creation, theology, tribulation, true believers, true wisdom, trust, unjust ungodly world, wallowing in the mire of unbelief, without blame, wonderful gifts, worship
2 Corinthians 1:3. Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.
Aye mih Friends, is Wednesday, the middle of the week! How we doing eh? We still standing strong for Jesus? I surely hope so, because that is the only true wisdom that exists in this world. Anything else is foolishness.
So please let’s keep standing strong in and for Jesus, since He is the ONLY ONE who has all the parts to see us happily and joyfully through this evil, unjust, ungodly world.
And it all stems from the hope, trust, and faith that we find when we come to Jesus in sincere adoration and worship. But unfortunately too many of us don’t use the power that we have, we keep on wallowing in the mire of unbelief and mediocrity.
But what’s the purpose of having all that power which emanates from Jesus; all those wonderful promises, all the faithfulness, compassion, mercy, grace and LOVE, if we don’t use them productively? None whatsoever!
That brings us to our Bit: ‘Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.’
And isn’t that the God-awesome truth my brethren? It surely is!
And Bruh Paul continues: ‘Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble (tribulation), by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.’ (2 Cor.1:4)
Yes Friends, God comforts us in our trials and tribulation so that we can comfort others going through their own periods of adversity.
Now here’s what the scholars say about those two verses. ‘Blessed (Gr. eulogetos), “well spoken of”) is used in the New Testament of God, (e.g. Eph.1:3). It is a term of adoration and praise.
The Father of mercies: The mercies in view here include everything from deliverance from the world, sin, and Satan, to participation in sonship, light and life. But the force is even more than this. The stress is that the Father is characterized by mercy (cf. Ps.86:5; Dan.9:9; Mic.7:18)’
Oh Friends, please take a moment to read those scriptures because they give us a very good picture of the wonderful God that we serve and of His attribute termed mercy.
Let’s remember though that His main attribute is LOVE, and that everything else springs from that LOVE; a LOVE that is shown to us through His mercy, grace and forgiveness, and above all the sending of His Son, Jesus to die as a sacrifice for our sins, so that we could be reconciled to Him, receive salvation and eternal life.
Wow! What an awesome God we worship my people! There’s no other supposed God who offers His subjects, no not subjects, but His children such wonderful gifts. That’s why His LOVE still endures, and will endure forever!
Oh my brethren, in this crazy, troubled and wrong-directioned world, there’s no better hand to hold on to than that of Jehovah God! If you think All State has good hands, that’s a joke compared to what the Lord of All Creation has.
So, as expected of true believers, let’s hold our heads up high nuh and live a life that magnifies Jesus, and glorifies God the Father, through the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit, by bringing lost souls to Him for saving and LOVING.
And this is admirably borne out by Bruh Paul’s greeting to the Ephesians: ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in LOVE.’ (Eph.1:3-4)
Ah Friends, I’ll say it again: What a mighty and magnanimous God we serve and worship!
The sad part though is you’ll never know it unless you surrender your will and all else to Him. And I’m talking here from personal experience, because everyday I experience His LOVE and faithfulness in some manner or other, just like all those who sincerely believe and trust and live for Him.
And in closing, I want to remind us, just in case we forgot (smile) that in Christ Jesus there’s no quitting, regardless of how hard life gets. There’s just no quitting because that word is not found in the dictionary of a true believer. That means if you don’t have the word, then you can’t do the action.
So let’s just stand strong together in Jesus’ Name and bring the world to His feet in proper reverence and respect, as is our bounden duty. What did Jesus say about that? ‘By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one to another.’ (John 13:35)
So fellow believers, may our great, wonderful, generous and ever-LOVING God, bless and keep us safe from all harm. And may He also shine His awesome countenance on us, so that we can be filled with the overflowing LOVE and Peace that flows from His majestic and magnanimous grace.
This we pray, in the holy name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, by the shedding of whose blood, we have been cleansed, made whole and right with the Father. Amen. Much, much LOVE my people!
…no one comes to the Father…but through the Son, Jesus Christ…and that’s the gospel truth…
11 Aug 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: availability of our hearts, buffet, christianity, distress, embarassment, exalted above measure, for Christ's sake, glory in infirmitites, God's children, God's great world, grace, great things, human understanding, inwardly digest, Jesus Christ, joyous praise, Judaeo-Christian tradition, liseaux, living for Christ, LOVE, LOVE for God, LOVE for neighbour, magnanimous god, maturity in Christ, meditiate, mental or psychological distress, messenger of Satan, necessitites, opposition from adversaries, peace, perfect in weakness, persecutions, perseverance, personal feelings, physical affliction, power of Christ, Praise the Lord, promises, protective umbrella, religion, reproaches, revelations, sacrifice, self-emptying LOVE, sentiments, shame, short attention spans, Society of the Little Flower, spirituality, St. Therese, strength in weakness, suffer in God's name, suffering, taskmaster, temptations from Satan, the call of Christ, the Good Book, the million-dollar question, theology, thorn in the flesh, twofold commandment, wisdom
Acts 9:16. For I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.
Oh Friends, it’s another beautiful day in God’s great world! And all God’s children declared a loud and joyous,’ Praise the Lord, for He is indeed a wonderful and most LOVING God!’ And He surely is brethren, no ifs ands or buts about that!
Anyway, to begin, I want to share these words from an introduction to a little booklet called, ‘A Journey of LOVE – Walking with St. Therese of Liseaux.’ That’s the patron Saint of the Society of the Little Flower run by the Carmelites. The intro is written by Fr. John F. Russell, and he says of St. Therese: ‘Her spirituality focuses upon the twofold commandment of the Judaeo- Christian tradition: LOVE for God and LOVE for neighbour.
To live out these commandments requires patience, perseverance, sacrifice and self-emptying LOVE in the manner of Jesus Christ. The outcome is holiness of life marked by joy, peace, maturity and courage, all characteristics of opening one’s heart to God’s grace. St. Therese’s story reveals a heart available daily to the LOVE and the call of Jesus Christ.’
Oh my people, all those things greatly concern us too, but the million-dollar question is if our hearts are ‘available daily to the LOVE and the call of Jesus Christ?’ Let’s hope so. And if they aren’t, then let’s come humbly before the Lord and sincerely ask for His help to make them so.
Now hopefully today will be the last day for this particular Bit. Hn, hn! But I’m not making any promises, (smile) since according to the Good Book it’s better not to promise than to promise and not make good on it. (Eccl. 5:5)
At times our Lord can definitely be a hard, but always fair, taskmaster, as He says of Bruh Paul: ‘For I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.’
And Bruh Paul did undergo a lot of ‘sufferation’ in his most valiant and awesome efforts to spread the good news of Christ’s gospel, as we’ve been seeing over the last few days. Today though, I want us to focus on some of his personal feelings and sentiments towards that ‘sufferation.’ And we’re going to start in 2 Corinthians, where he talks about the thorn in his flesh.
‘And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet (beat) me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought (pleaded with) the Lord thrice (three times), that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength (power) is made perfect in weakness.
Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities (weaknesses), that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.’ (2 Cor.12:7-10)
Mama Mia! Ah my fellow believers, can we echo Bruh Paul’s sentiments there? I don’t think many of us can. I certainly can’t. But I do know about the thorns of the flesh business, because over the years I’ve been plagued by several long term illnesses, like asthma, back and knee problems. And though the severity of each thorn eases up after a while, they don’t ever go away, so I’ve learned to be careful and don’t do certain things to aggravate them, or do them sparingly.
Now here are some interesting comments from the scholar’s on Bruh Paul’s problem. ‘Paul’s thorn in the flesh is characterized further as a messenger of Satan. Just what Paul means by this is not clear. Among the views suggested are (1) temptations from the Devil, (2) Paul’s opposition from his adversaries, (3) some intense bodily pain, (4) a recurring physical affliction such as eye trouble, or (5) even some form of mental or psychological distress.
Whatever the case, it was a tool of Satan, it was painful (‘thorn’), and it was accompanied by shame or embarrassment to the apostle. A fairly strong argument can be sustained in favour of the view that it was eye trouble (opthalmia). See also Acts 13:9; 23:1; Galatians 4:14-15; 6:11.’
Aye Friends, yuh think it easy living for Christ? Not really nuh, but it’s all very possible if we are serious about it and invoke the power of the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us. And by the way, I don’t think my thorns were, or are Satan induced, (smile) but more like the Lord’s doing to keep me under control, away from stuff that would spoil my testimony and show His strength in my weakness.
But my brethren I think we’ll stop here for today, since the rest of what I had planned to say will make the Bit too long, having in mind our busy lives and short attention spans. (smile) In any case we already have enough stuff to chew on, enough food for thought today. So please read, mark, meditate and inwardly digest the info so that we can raise the level of our maturity in Christ. And that is undoubtedly wisdom for all the ages; those past, present and yet to come!
It also looks like I was wise not to promise that today would be the last one for this Bit. (smile) So Friends, the Lord in favour, tomorrow we’ll continue with it. Until then, may our magnificent and magnanimous God bless and keep us safely under His protective umbrella, and may He grant us His peace that surpasses all human understanding, till we meet again, here on earth, or in the hereafter. Much LOVE!
…though it’s not easy to live for Christ…the fact of the matter is…to know, know, know Him…is to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Him…
26 Jul 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: be glad in the Lord, bless the Lord, blessed are the righteous, bright eyed, bushy tailed, chomping at the bit, Christ's Church, Christ's gospel, consume sinners, conviction, deliverance, end of the wicked, excellence, eyes of faith, faith, faithfulness, fellowship, Friday, Friday chant, fruitful and prosperous, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, good things of God, Jesus, jesus name, lies, LOVING actions, meditation of God, passion, peace, plight of the wicked, psalm 104, refreshed in soul body and mind, relaxation, repentance, salvation of the righteous, second chances, sing praise to God, sing unto God, spreading the good news, surrender, testify in Jesus' Name, thank God, the ungodly shall perish, the weekend, time of trouble, transgressors, trust, vigour, vim, wickedness in the world, wiles of Lucifer
Psalm 104:35. Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the Lord, O my soul. Praise ye the Lord.
Well Friends, our favourite day, Friday, is here at last! And the people declared a loud ‘Thank you God for that yes! It’s been a rotten week, we’re tired and just want to go home and sleep for the next two days!’
Ah mih breddren, I know how it is. I too have had a tiring week, though I can’t understand why, since I didn’t work exceptionally hard. But that doesn’t mean we should just go home and sleep away the weekend. Of course some rest is essential, but we’ve got to pack more than that into our two days off.
So let’s chant our Friday Chant that’s a useful catalyst to show us the right way to use our much deserved time off. As one now: ‘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 how we ought to use the weekend, with some fun, fellowship and relaxation, so that come Monday morning we’ll be bright eyed and bushy tailed, just chomping at the Bit to get back to work and let our lives testify in Jesus’ Name.
No my people, I’m not off my rocker, or not as yet anyway. (smile) But that’s the way Jesus wants His followers to operate; full of vim and vigour, passion, excellence and all the other things He brings to those who LOVE and revere Him.
That’s why the psalmist confidently declares in the two verses before our Bit: ‘I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord.’ (Ps.104:33-34)
Yes my people, that’s how we believers in Christ ought to behave!
Then the Psalmist declares in our Bit, his wishes for those who follow the evil Lucifer. ‘Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the Lord, O my soul. Praise ye the Lord.’
Please note that though the psalmist’s request calls for getting rid of evildoers, he still ends with blessing and praise to Almighty God. That’s because the Psalm is basically one of praise, and God is indeed worthy of our praise. And today we’ll continue looking at some scripture that deals with plight of the wicked and ungodly.
In Psalm 1, Blessed are the righteous, we’re treated right off the bat to the difference between the godly, who don’t associate with evildoers, who delight in the law of the Lord, and meditate on it constantly. Thus, they will be fruitful and prosperous. (Ps.1:1-3)
The evildoer though is a completely different kettle of fish. ‘The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in judgement, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.’ (Ps.1:4-6)
Now Friends that’s some of the best advice we can ever get! But do you think we take it? Not a chance! We still fall so easily for the lies and wiles of Lucifer, and prostrate ourselves to the things of the world, instead of before God.
And if you don’t believe the psalmist there, then listen to Bruh David from Psalm 37, as he tells us about the true state of the wicked, versus that of the righteous. ‘Mark the perfect (blameless) man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.
But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.’ (Ps.37:37-40)
Oh Friends, why do we choose not to believe the good things of God, as easily as we do those of Lucifer eh? Is it because it takes eyes of faith, trust, and complete surrender to behold the things of God, whereas the things of the world are readily and physically apparent?
I know it’s often hard to rely on faith, but that’s the beauty of believing in Jesus. Look at all He’s done for us, selflessly and sacrificially! It should therefore be a no-brainer to trust and believe in Him, since we’ve seen graphic and physical evidence of His faithfulness.
And I’ll leave us with one last thought on our Bit. Now if the Lord truly wanted to get rid of all the evil and wickedness in the world, with His might and power, don’t you think He could do it just by speaking the necessary words, as He did to create the universe and all therein? But it’s obvious that right now He has another plan in mind; that being the believers of Christ’s church bringing them to conviction and repentance.
Remember our God is known as the God of second chances, and right now He’s giving everybody a fair chance to hear the message and accept it. Consequently, that means we have to do a better job of spreading the good news of Christ’s gospel, than we’re currently doing. Selah.
Yes Friends, chew on that for a spell, and see if it doesn’t make sense. Much LOVE!
…there’s no need to weigh the merits of good versus evil…for good has already prevailed…it has triumphed through the LOVING actions of Jesus…
16 Jun 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abuse, admonition, architect of the family, bounden duty, christianity, cock of the walk, competent manner, cruelty, don't provoke your children, emotional succour, father figures, Father's Day, fatherly duties, fatherly responsibilities, forget not my law, God's eyes, good father, good understanding, harmony, human-rights, injustice, keep my commandments, lasting effects, loss of temper, LOVE, mercy, negative cycle, no vision, peace, quality time, ridicule, rules and regulations, sexual prowess, spiritual education, spiritual leadership, the people perish, titular head, training of God, trust in the Lord
Proverbs 3:1: My son forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments.
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!
Well a Happy Father’s Day to all you fathers out there! I surely hope that it finds us all in good health, and doing better than we did a year ago. And I’m talking there about our fatherly duties. That’s because too many of us don’t measure up to what’s considered a good father.
Oh, I know that it can be a hard task, especially with the way things are going in our world today, but that doesn’t give us the right to renege on, or abdicate our fatherly duties.
Remember that in God’s eyes, the father is the titular head of the household, and we need to represent Him in a competent manner. Fathers are responsible for providing both physical and emotional succour for their household, as well as spiritual leadership. (Eph.5:22-33)
It’s an awesome responsibility, that’s why we fathers have to consider our words and actions very carefully, because they can have lasting effects, good or bad, on our families. For as the father goes, so usually does the rest of the household.
That’s why Bruh Paul warns the fathers of Ephesus: ‘And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture (training) and admonition of the Lord.’ (Eph.6:4) And really, that says it all, yes my people!
As the scholars explain: ‘Fathers can provoke their children to wrath by injustice, loss of temper, undue severity, cruelty, favouritism, suppression, sarcasm, ridicule, and misuse or abuse of authority. Nurture basically means “training,” here denoting spiritual education.
Admonition is instruction that points out one’s responsibilities and duties. Of the Lord is in Greek a subjective genitive. This indicates that behind the parents’ rearing and instruction of their children stands the Lord as the chief teacher in the child’s education. Parents do not rear children alone.’
And that’s an undeniable fact, my brethren! The Lord God should be the architect of our family building, with the father being the chief builder, following His well laid out plans as closely as possible.
But unfortunately our modern society is more concerned with moving away from God, which results in the breaking up of families, rather than the constructive building of them.
Consequently, in too many homes around the world, there are either no father figures, or not particularly good ones. Too many fathers have turned away from God, or never knew Him, which means that families are not God-centered, or spiritually minded. And that’s truly a sad state of affairs my brethren!
How many households are there in our society today eh, where fathers speak to their children like Cousin Sol does in Proverbs 3, exhorting them to obedience and trust in the laws and ways of God? Not too many, or rather far from enough to make our society a blessed place to live and raise children and families in a godly manner.
Proverbs 3 begins with our Bit: ‘My son forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments.’
Friends, that applies to the rules and regulations of our earthly fathers, as well as those of our heavenly Father, which, in the first place, are supposed to guide us all. And throughout that whole chapter, Cousin Sol goes on to teach the right way; the right way for both earthly fathers to live, and to teach their children how to live.
Unfortunately though my people, not too many of us tell our children things like: ‘Let not mercy (LOVING-kindness) and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart (mind). So shalt thou find favour and good understanding (high esteem) in the sight of God and man.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct (make smooth) thy paths.’ (Prov.3:3-6)
Oh Friends, that’s the kind of stuff we ought to be teaching our children, especially in these godless times!
In many cases though, the fathers were never taught those things in their own childhood, and therefore don’t even know about them, so they obviously can’t teach them to their children, which only keeps the already negative cycle going from generation to generation.
And to make matters worse, our society is drifting away from God, increasing our already sad state of immorality, which allows young men to sire children all over the place without thought for the children or mothers, and shirking their fatherly responsibilities.
Oh Friends, there are too many single mothers in our society, and too many irresponsible fathers, who are only concerned about their sexual prowess and being ‘cock of the walk.’ That combination though is a sure-fire way to raise godless, irresponsible, immoral children, to the further detriment of our society.
Oh my people, please remember God’s promise; if we live according to His dictates, we’ll prosper, if not, then we’ll suffer. And we can see the ‘sufferation’ definitely happening now, as our entire world is facing serious hardships and disasters, though we are at astonishing heights of technological progress.
A lot of this is due to the poor leadership of the fathers amongst us. We’ve fallen down by paying more attention to the affairs of the world than those of God, and the affairs of God are the only things that will guide us aright in this evil, ungodly, troubled world. Then we’ve further failed our children by not spending enough quality time with them, then teaching them the wrong things, through our personal examples and words.
So Friends, fathers and fellow believers, let’s try and improve on our past performance nuh, because if we don’t, we’ll just keep going downhill until we perish in the mire of our own making. Please remember those wise words of Cousin Sol: ‘Where there is no vision (prophetic vision or revelation), the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.’ (Prov.29:18)
Yes Friends, where there is no divine revelation, with a lifestyle based on God’s will, then a society disintegrates. And we definitely don’t want that to happen to us. So let’s get behind our leaders, most of whom are also fathers, and raise a groundswell of dissatisfaction. Let’s tell them in no uncertain terms, that we’re not happy with the current state of affairs, and if they don’t do better, soon they’ll be looking for a job, just like many of us.
Now let’s enjoy our Father’s Day in peace, LOVE and harmony. Much LOVE!
….our children are our future…so father’s, let’s teach them right nuh… it’s our bounden duty…
11 Jun 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's wisdom, anguish, beautiful people of God, betrayal, bitter words, confidence in man, courage, deceitful friends, fear, fear of the enemy, fears, flooding in Europe, fortitude, God comes first, God is unchanging, gospel truth, hear my prayer, hear my voice, hopes, Hour of Power, humble reliance, humble reliance on God, hurtful circumstances, key to successful living, LOVE people, man of God, moderation, new life, O God, oppression, peace, plots, preserve my life, proud, punishment, rainy Tuesday, rending of the heart, secret council, Selah, sharp tongues, shoot in secret, showers of blessings, simple minds, sincere prayer, steadfast faith, succour, surrender, terrors of death, the world's ways, times of need, trembling, trust in the Lord, trusted friend, vain ways of man, vein of prayer, wings like a dove, workers of iniquity
Psalm 64:1: Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
Well hello there you beautiful people of God! How goes it with you on this wet, rainy Tuesday in almost mid-June? I sincerely hope that there are many more positives than negatives in our lives.
But whatever our circumstances this day, I trust and pray that we’ll be dealing with them in the best way possible; that is in humble reliance on Almighty God, for He is absolutely the BEST person for us to consult on EVERYTHING in our lives, be they good or bad.
Well it’s been raining in my area since yesterday morning, and though the showers of blessings are welcome, like most things, too much of them is no good. Moderation in all aspects of life is the key to successful living.
And in regards to too many showers of blessings, please note the serious flooding currently plaguing several countries in Europe, and send up some prayers for their well-being.
And talking about prayers, here’s this one from Dr. Schuller’s Hour of Power Devotional, re wanting to LOVE ourselves and consequently others, which takes great courage and fortitude. He offers this prayer that can lead us to a new life, also suggesting that we pray it everyday for thirty days.
‘Christ – here is my brain – think through it. Christ – here is my face – glow through it. Christ – here are my eyes – look at people through them. Christ – here is my heart – LOVE people with it.’
Now that’s really surrendering, truly giving ourselves over to God! And if we’re serious about learning to LOVE, then we’ll genuinely embrace it with hungry hope and steadfast faith.
And we’ll continue in the vein of prayer with our Bit, from another great man of God, Bruh David, as he cries out in anguish, re plots and punishment. ‘Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer (meditation or complaint): preserve my life from fear of the enemy.’
Now that’s something we all could cry out!
And Bruh David continues with his heartfelt plea: ‘Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection (tumult) of the workers of iniquity.
Who whet (sharpen) their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words. That they may shoot in secret at the perfect (blameless): suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not.’ (Ps.64:2-4)
Oh Friends, one of the things I LOVE about Bruh David is that he wasn’t ashamed, afraid or too proud to open his hurting and anguished soul to God, to cry out to Him for help, regardless of his kingly estate here on earth, because he knew that the God of his fathers was much higher than him, and was also very faithful to those who sincerely trusted in and sought Him.
And because our God is unchangeable, nothing is different my people, except us, except our attitude to Him. We’ve grown too proud to cry out to God for help. We’ve foolishly adopted the world’s ways of looking first to ourselves, friends, families, neighbours and supposed experts. And it’s only when all of those fail to come up with a plausible solution that we turn at last to Jehovah God, and then expect Him to expedite a solution right then and there.
But that’s a fool’s wisdom my Friends!
The Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the FIRST one we should turn to in each and every circumstance, NOT the last! Then if He wants us to consult others, He’ll guide and direct us thus.
And I’ll repeat that for all the hard ears people (smile): In each and every situation, GOD MUST ALWAYS COME FIRST! And that’s the gospel truth!
Now let’s look at some other passages of scripture that corroborate the importance of prayer. First up is Bruh David’s cry in Psalm 55 against deceitful friends. ‘Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication. Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn (wander) in my complaint, and make a noise (moan noisily);
Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity (bring down trouble) upon me, and in wrath they hate me. My heart is sore (severely) pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me.
Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me. And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! For then would I fly away and be at rest. Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah. I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.’ (Ps.55:1-8)
Oh Friends, I never intended to include all of that scripture nuh, but after reading it a couple times, I realized that it only conveys the true rending of the heart in its fullness, its entirety. And I know that many of us can definitely understand and identify with those hurtful circumstances, for there’s nothing like being betrayed by a trusted friend.
But the problem is that too few of us go to God with our prayers and supplications, trusting instead to the vain and proud ways of man. Please remember the psalmist’s wise advice: ‘It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to put trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.’ (Ps.118:8-9)
Hopefully though, these few words of mine (smile) and the scripture involved therein, will encourage us to go to God FIRST in ALL situations, because that’s where the heart of true wisdom lies.
More on this topic tomorrow, provided God’s in favour. Till then my wonderful brethren in Christ, let’s lift up ALL our hopes and fears to heaven in sincere prayer.
And may the good and great God that we serve, our Creator and Provider, bless and keep us safe from all harm, and give us His awesome peace that our simple minds cannot begin to comprehend! Much LOVE!
…God created prayer so that His hurting children could commune with Him…come to Him for succour in times of need…
07 Jun 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a just and righteous God, absolutely essential, austerity, bad government, belt-tightening attitude, breeding ground, captures the heart, captures the mind, consider your path, deceit, deceitful mouth, diligence, don't turn to the right or to the left, fellowship, Freedom Day, Friday chant, generous help, glorious kingdom, God faithfully promised, God's righteous kingdom, guiding light, heart, hold on to our faith, human-rights, jobless, jobs, lies, look straight ahead, lucky minority, mind, mire of greed, negative atmosphere, peace, perverse lips, productive society, refeshed in soul, remuneration, rest and relaxation, rightful entitlement, rush hour traffic, short attention spans, spirituality, successful society, sufficient fun, TGIF!, Thank God it's Friday, thanks and praise, the benefits of work, the weekend, wisdom, work ethic, worldwide dilemma, worsening economy
Proverbs 4:26: Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
Oh Friends, it’s Friday; Freedom Day! Hn, hn! Yes, the weekend is finally here, and there are joyous shouts all around the world of ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday! Freedom Day here at last!’
And though it’s only a measly two days off from labouring, for the lucky ones that is, we tend to so eagerly look forward to it from the very first day of work on Monday.
Ah Lord eh! Just imagine going to work in the rush hour traffic on Monday and already wishing that it were the Friday rush hour traffic taking you home. Something’s definitely wrong with that picture Friends!
How can we ever be a truly positive and productive society when work is perceived as such an invasive and negative action, such a terrible burden? This generation has lost the work ethic our parents and grand parents had, and which is absolutely essential in building a successful society.
I don’t believe that our forefathers really LOVED work all that much, but they certainly understood the benefits it brought, and there are indeed a whole lot of them. Just be out of work for any length of time and you’ll see what they are.
But unfortunately, we’ve raised our children not to value work, or the ethic that it instils in us, even though we’ve had to work our butts off to give them what they belief is their rightful entitlement.
And in this ever worsening economy, where jobs, decent and/or otherwise are constantly disappearing and thus shrinking, along with the remuneration offered, that negative atmosphere certainly doesn’t help those who are genuinely interested in work.
Ah Friends, the questions and answers to our worldwide dilemma are many and complex, and will not be easily solved, especially with the current misguided belt-tightening attitude that is sweeping governments across the world.
I was taught that the role of government was to help the people in tough times. But obviously the reigning principles are preaching the opposite lesson, with the new watchword being ‘austerity.’
May the Lord have mercy on us yes, and catch us before we sink even further into the mire of greed and bad government!
However Friends, as believers, the most important thing for us to do is to hold on tightly to our faith in a just and righteous God, who has faithfully promised to look after us, come what may.
So before we go out to labour today, we the lucky minority, let’s give some thanks and praise for whatever we have, be it much or little, and chant our Friday Chant. That will allow us to have and keep a right perspective on the upcoming weekend.
All together now: ‘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 my people, please let that mindset hold and guide us for today.
And now for our Bit, which blends nicely with what we were just talking about. But we also need the scripture before and after it to get the context, the true picture, the true essence of our Bit, where Cousin Sol is talking of wisdom being life and health.
‘Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Put away from thee a froward (deceitful) mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.’ (Prov.4:23-27)
Ah Friends, what words of awesome wisdom! Cousin Sol has been called the wisest man ever, for very good reason.
Now here’s some good info from the scholars. ‘Heart could often be translated “mind” in the book (Proverbs). Since the Hebrews had no separate word for “mind,” the word “heart” often served to represent the seat of intellect. The key to the whole man is his mind. Whatever captures the mind, captures the man.’
And isn’t that the everlasting truth, my brethren! Whatever our mind conjures up, is what we tend to dwell on. That means we have to be ever so careful about the things we think on.
Consequently, deceit and lies must be eradicated from our minds. We have to look straight ahead, focus on what’s before us, always seeking God’s righteous kingdom, and not turning away either to the left or the right. It’s of the utmost importance that we truly consider the path we tread in this earthly life, not letting our feet lead us to where evil lies.
And this is not mere talk, my fellow believers, it’s stuff that should be completely rooted in our hearts and minds, for without that guiding light, our lives will continually veer from right to left and back again, bringing us no sense of peace or righteousness.
Now there’s more scripture to be addressed on this topic, but if I do so today, it will make the Bit too long, and I always have to keep in mind our busy schedules and short attention spans. (smile) So we’ll let that suffice for today. We have enough stuff to ponder anyway, and the Lord willing, we’ll continue on this subject tomorrow.
Till then my fellow believers, please let’s thoroughly consider the things we allow to engulf our minds, for therein lies the way to our hearts, and the direction we take in this earthly life.
And may the Lord bless and keep us, make His face to shine upon us, and give us His wonderful peace, until we meet again, be it here on earth, or in heaven above. Much LOVE!
…the mind is the breeding ground…for either good or evil…so the one we breed…depends entirely on us…
04 Jun 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: can't find jobs, captains of industry, communion with Jesus, corrupt politicians, don't be afraid, double minded, eternal life, excellent qualifications, excuse, faith, global village, globalization, God's faithful, gospel truth, greed, grow in faith, hold fast, human-rights, hunger and thirst for righteousness, hungry hope, in God's good time, inept leaders, inhumane practices, keep life and limbs together, lackeys, lay offs, LOVE, maximize profits, peace, peace of mind, prosperous society, ruse, salvation, shortsightedness, sufferation, thankful for jobs, the confession of our faith, the wicked will eventually pay, union with Jesus, unity, waivering faith
Hebrews 10:23. Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our faith (hope) without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
Oh Friends, it’s already Tuesday! Wow! That means Friday and Freedom soon come! (smile) Yeh mih people, I know that many of us are labouring under less than ideal conditions, in less than ideal jobs. But as we sang in our Battle Hymn yesterday, we’re still thankful for them because they at least keep life and limbs together.
Unfortunately though, there are so many many today, in this supposedly prosperous society, who don’t have jobs, in fact can’t find one, even though they have excellent qualifications, and sadly, many more are being laid off every day.
Ah Lord eh! What a mess of things these foolish, misguided, inept, corrupt politicians whom we call leaders, have made of this world!
That’s because they aren’t true leaders, but just the lackeys of the greedy, short-sighted, inhumane captains of industry, who are only concerned about the almighty bottom line and the abnormal profits they can make. They don’t give a damn about those they condemn to ‘sufferation’ through their inhumane practices!
And all this talk about globalization and a global village is just that, a ruse, an excuse for them to move their money, means of production and power anywhere around the world so that they can maximize their profits on the backs of the struggling poor of the new country, without an iota of concern for those unfortunates they’ve left high and dry behind in their last location.
But Friends, as the Good Book says so many times over, the wicked, the greedy and the proud will eventually pay for their evil deeds. Yes, my brethren, all will be made right in God’s good time. There’s absolutely no doubt about that, because we know that our God has promised it, and He’s eternally faithful, as the end of our Bit declares.
Therefore ‘Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our faith (hope) without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)’
Yes my people, since our great God promised us eventual peace, LOVE, salvation and eternal life, and since He never reneges on a promise, then it is absolutely essential, totally necessary for us to keep hold of the hope and expectation that’s to be found in our faith.
And I like how somebody termed it, a hungry hope. Yes my brethren, we must exhibit a hunger and thirst for righteousness as our faith demands. For without a palpable hunger gnawing at our souls, our faith is very liable to waiver, and then we’ll become insecure, double minded and very wobbly, with no peace of mind about the issues of our faith.
And that is definitely not a welcome trait in a believer, for as James so wisely points out: ‘A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.’ (James 1:8) And that’s a proven fact Friends!
In any case, even if we have nothing else, a believer ought to have peace of mind, because that’s one of the reasons Christ sacrificed His sinless life for us on that ghastly cross.
Listen to His assuring words on the subject. ‘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.’ (John 14:27)
So my fellow believers, having received that unsurpassable peace of Jesus, let’s look at some scripture that then assures us of God’s faithfulness, starting in 1 Corinthians.
Right from the very beginning, in his introduction and greeting, Bruh Paul confidently assures them that, ‘God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (1 Cor.1:9)
Now hear this useful explanation from the scholars. ‘Unto the fellowship of his Son: The term ‘fellowship’ includes both union and communion. The Corinthian believers have been brought into union with the Lord Jesus Christ. Accordingly, this great truth implies that they had been brought into communion with one another. Here in a nutshell is the theme of this epistle.’
And so have we also my brethren, been brought into union and communion with Christ and each other. Unfortunately though we don’t seem to regard those two things as highly as we should, otherwise our lives would not be as lacking as they are in true LOVE and unity, both with Christ and with each other.
But that’s a topic for another day. And anyway, if there’s real truth in our hearts, we all know that we’re not being as Christ-like and righteous as we ought to and can be.
Now let’s end with this scripture from 1 Thessalonians, where Bruh Paul exhorts them to stand strong in the faith, and do what is right, because ‘Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.’ (1 Thess.5:24)
And that’s the gospel, gospel truth my Friends!
Once the Lord calls us to Him, or to do anything for Him, He will faithfully see us through it. Please have no doubts about that, cause I can testify to it from personal experience.
However, it is still very necessary that each and every believer should experience that faithfulness for themselves, because it’s only as each of us personally experiences God’s goodness, mercy, LOVE and faithfulness that we’ll individually grow in faith.
So please hang in there, even if times are rough, and do whatever God calls you to do. You’ll see that He won’t ever let you down, and your faith will grow as a consequence of it all. Much LOVE!
…if God had not planned on being faithful to us…He’d never have sent Jesus to die for us…
30 May 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: alive and kicking, almighty god, asaph, be glad and rejoice, circumcision, ever-LOVING Creator, forget God, glorifying God, God is the judge, God's anger, God's promise, God's warning, God-given day, hypocrite's hope, idolatry, Jesus' atonement, living our faith, LOVING Creator, loving kindness, mercy, new creation, none to deliver, obedience, peace, pride, psalm 50, salvation of God, serious business, spreading God's Word, sweetest sacrifice, tear you in pieces, thanks and praise, the cross of Jesus, the One and Only True God, Top o' the morn, wonderful blessing
Psalm 50:22. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.
Top o’ the morn, mih people! Another God-given day is in the offing, and are we ever blessed to be alive and kicking! Wow!
So let’s give our ever-LOVING Creator some thanks and praise for that wonderful blessing, then go out and enjoy the day, be glad and rejoice in it, spreading His Word, and joyously living our faith as He desires us to.
And all God’s people declared a loud and heartfelt, ‘All praise to the honour and glory of our great God! For He’s the ONE and ONLY TRUE GOD! The Creator and Controller of this amazing universe.’
Yes Friends, it’s ever so right and good to begin our day with some glorification of Almighty God! Even the lesser animals instinctively do it, so why can’t we ‘brainiacs’ eh? And I guess that’s the problem right there; we have too much brains, which makes us think too much, and also too much of ourselves.
Sometimes the best reaction is the instinctive one, not the well laid and thought out plan. Anyway, the important thing is that we’re alive and kicking and glorifying God. And all God’s children said a hearty ‘Amen!’
Now let’s turn to our Bit, a rather interesting one. ‘Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.’
Oh what a warning my Friends! That psalm of Asaph is aptly titled ‘God is the judge.’ And so He very well is, my brethren! Please don’t ever forget that! A judge that we should be very wary of, and careful to do His bidding.
Asaph lists the sins and disobediences of Israel, then that terrible warning to those who forget Jehovah God comes down from on high. It’s no child’s play my Friends. That godly promise of ‘lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver’ – that’s serious business people.
And for those of you who don’t know, haven’t clued in or yet realized it, our God is a very serious God, especially when it comes to things like obedience, pride and idolatry. He’s the most LOVING and generous Being there is, but if you constantly disobey Him and try to shunt Him aside, His anger can be very great indeed.
Listen to Job’s supposed buddy, Bildad, affirm God’s justice. ‘Can the rush (papyrus) grow up without mire (marsh)? Can the flag (reeds) grow without water? Whilst it is yet in his greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before any other herb. So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite’s hope shall perish:’ (Job 8:11-13)
That requires no explanation, my brethren. Now hear Bruh David on the subject, from Psalm 9, ‘Praise for God’s justice.’
‘The Lord is known by the judgement which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion (meditation or song). Selah. The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.’ (Ps.9:16-18)
Yes Friends, our God is a just God, and He executes justice and judgement on the wicked, while having mercy for the poor and oppressed.
Now let’s open our ears, hearts, minds and souls and listen to God’s promise to those who are obedient and godly. ‘Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation (conduct) aright will I show the salvation of God.’ (Ps.50:23)
Oh my people, that’s the greatness of our God right there! Once you praise and glorify Him and conduct yourself in a manner suited to a believer, He will show you the wonders of His salvation. Now isn’t that much better than the ugliness and sinfulness that Lucifer has to offer? Of course!
And we’ll end with some appropriate words from Bruh Paul to the Galatians. ‘But God forbid that I should glory, save (except) in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world (or by which the cross) is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature (creation). And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.’ (Gal.6:14-16)
And we’ll have a word from the scholars here. ‘Unlike the Judaizers, who brag about their religious accomplishments Paul takes pleasure only in Jesus’ atonement and all the spiritual blessings it brings. The world is the world system. Paul has renounced his old life and all its ways, along with its values and religious accomplishments in which he used to boast.’
And so should we my brethren, because the fleshly religious stuff like circumcision no longer pertains. It’s all about the new creation of man in the Spirit of Christ, and whether you’re a Gentile or Jew, once you walk in and adhere to that principle, God’s mercy will be forever upon you.
Oh what a wonderful God we serve and worship, my Friends! Please, let’s continue doing so with all that we have, so that His blessings will continually be upon us. Now that’s indeed wisdom at its zenith. Much LOVE!
…to live for God…is the sweetest sacrifice a man can make…
P.S. Ah mih people, our God is so amazing and amusing, would you believe that as I wrote that last word in my rough draft, the lights went out for a split second, putting a godly period to the writing. (smile)
I guess a flash of lightning must have occurred in my area, and caused a loss of power to all the electrical appliances. It’s a good thing I didn’t have anything written on the computer as yet, else I might have lost it all. And you know how annoying that can be. But the Lord in His mercy and LOVING-kindness did not allow that to happen. Praise His Holy Name! Much LOVE!
18 May 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a furious man, abundant wisdom, an angry man, anger, bickering, bitter pills, bitterness, busyness, charcoal, coal-pot, coals, contented, contention, forgiveness, God's handiwork, happy, human-rights, impatience, LOVE, mercy, mistrust, molten lava, nature, negative emotions, obedience, peace, petty actions, prince of darkness, resentment, rumours of wars, satisfied, selflessness, spirit of LOVE, spirituality, stirs up strife, strife, transgressions, troubles, wars, worthwhile attributes
Proverbs 29:22. An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.
‘Saturday, O glorious Saturday! What shall we do this Saturday eh? Take a walk in the park, or a drive out into the country and admire God’s handiwork in nature? Visit the open air markets and country fairs? Or just sit at home and do nothing, relax, take a break from the madding crowd that’s out and about this weekend?’ Oh Friends, there are any number of things we can do today, but there’s just one proviso to whatever it is we intend to do; make sure it includes Jehovah God, for without His active involvement, our actions have the sure potential to turn into disasters. And here’s an interesting quote from an anonymous source. ‘When you dig another out of trouble, you find a place to bury your own.’ And that’s oh so true, my people! I’ve experienced it, and so have many of you. When you help someone with their troubles, yours just seem to naturally fade into the background, at least for the time that you’re helping the other person. Then you’re more concerned with the unfortunate plight of your fellow man, than with your own. But this act of helping must be done out of selflessness, and not merely because it’s the right thing to do, or it will make us look good. That’s because helping others is an integral part of our faith and our general mission in life as followers of Jesus. We have to do it from a spirit of LOVE and obedience. Remember the Good Book tells us that Jesus spent His days going about doing good and healing people, (Acts 10:38) and so too should we. But unfortunately that’s not always possible on account of the negative attitudes some of us hold, as our Bit so wisely points out. ‘An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.’ That’s the gospel truth Friends, as many, or most of us can attest to, since we’ve been there and done that. Oh my fellow believers, anger is a dreadful poison. It’s possibly the most potent weapon in Lucifer’s arsenal, since so much negativity flows from it. Just look at all the turmoil and strife in the world right now; the many wars and rumours of wars, the mistrust and contention, most of it can be traced right back to anger. And too often that anger has been passed down through the ages, constantly simmering and flowing out like molten lava from a volcano. It’s so prevalent that in many cases the ones involved in the strife today couldn’t tell you why there’s such antagonism between their neighbours and themselves, just that it has always existed. And the sad part is that oftimes it began over some petty action or remark, but the human spirit is so aggressive and warlike in its natural state that the strife has been handed down through numerous generations. Friends, I’m putting it to us today that that’s no way to live! Unfortunately though, our world is currently programmed to produce anger: what with the sorry downturn in all areas of our once so prosperous lives, the busyness and inherent impatience born of that same busyness, as well as the egotistical pride and selfishness that’s running rampant. It’s a veritable breeding ground for instability, lack of self-disciple and control. And an angry man is certainly an unstable man. When we’re angry is the worse time to make important decisions, for then our out-of-sync emotions are in control instead of our reason, and we’re liable to do all kinds of crazy, negative things. That means, as the second half of our Bit points out, we’re liable to engage in much wrongdoing, since then it’s the prince of darkness who’s controlling our sprits and not God or wise reason. Cousin Sol wrote an interesting analogy earlier on in Proverbs 26. ‘As coals (charcoal) are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife.’ (Prov.26:21) And there’s a whole lot of truth to that statement Friends! Most of the young people nowadays won’t even know what coals or charcoal are. I don’t even know for sure how the coals was made, since I was a town boy (smile) and we just bought the ready made coals to fire up the coal-pot. I just know that it was made from burning wood in some form and fashion. And a lot of people would contend that food cooked on a coal-pot or wood fire, tastes sweeter than that cooked on a stove, that’s why so many people are enamoured of their barbecues. But as far as I know the new fangled coals used in barbecues is somewhat different to what we grew up with in the West Indies. But just as coals and wood are very combustible, likewise a bickering, contentious, unreasonable person has a great tendency to cause or kindle strife. And what does strife do? Just cause negative things like bitterness, resentment, hatred, anxiety and fear to creep into our souls and set up shop. And once we have those negative emotions festering in us, we can never be satisfied, contented or happy, and will therefore be unable to lead a productive life based on the teachings and principles of Jesus. And Friends, that’s definitely no way to live this earthly life! It’s rough enough without us making it rougher. That’s why it’s so important to stay away from strife, anger and all the bitter pills they produce, as well as the people who like to induce them. Listen to this guideline Cousin Sol gives on the subject. ‘A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife (contention).’ (Prov.15:18) But my people the only sure way to avoid and/ or control that negativity caused by those emotions of darkness is to immerse ourselves in the body of Jesus; accept Him as our Lord and Saviour, read His Word, learn His statutes, and try to live our lives using His earthly sojourn as our example. When we do that, then the myriad of negative emotions won’t have any place in our lives. Instead, worthwhile attributes like peace, LOVE, mercy and forgiveness will reign supreme in our souls. So please, let’s seriously consider today, what part anger and its negative counterparts play in our lives, and penitently ask the Lord to help us get rid of them, so we can walk in the brilliant light of His Son Jesus Christ. Therein lies abundant wisdom! Much LOVE!… the best way to avoid the dangers of anger…truly LOVE our God… sincerely LIVE our Faith…and diligently SPREAD His Word…
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