The Amazing and Comforting Assurance Christians can find in the Birth, Death and Resurrection Of Jesus Christ!

22 Mar 2026 Leave a comment

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

1 Thessalonians 4:18.        Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

And after our lazy-day Saturday comes Sunday, the Lord’s Day, this fifth Sunday of Lent and the first of spring 2026. Now that means, despite the rainy and cloudy situation, it’s time for all able-bodied believers to gather in the Lord’s sanctuary to worship and fellowship with joy and thanksgiving.  How does Psalm 100 put it? ‘Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.’ (Ps. 100: 4)

Yes, that’s how it ought to be in the Lord’s sanctuary all over the world today; entering God’s presence with joy, acknowledging His awesome character, while offering lots of praise and thanksgiving and fellowshipping, that will strengthen us and enable us to get back into the rat race tomorrow and fight the good fight in Jesus’ holy name.  And today’s song of worship is a hymn we all know and LOVE, TITLED ‘Blessed Assurance.’ It was written in 1873 by that marvellous, blind hymn writer Fanny Crosby, with music by Phoebe Knapp.  

And this commentary extols the song thus: ‘Each and every day we sing praises to His name. We are thankful for all of the blessings that He bestows upon us. The lyrics of the classic hymn ‘Blessed Assurance’ is the perfect way to worship. And when you hear the story behind the hymn, you will be even more in awe of His amazing grace. Thank you, Jesus, for dying for our sins!’ Oh, are we indeed thankful for that divine sacrifice!

And the story goes that Fanny, born in New York in 1820, had an eye infection as a baby, which through poor treatment left her blind at a young age. Then, to make matters worse her father died not long thereafter, that meant her mother Mercy had to go out to work, and left Fanny to be raised by her grandmother, Eunice. And it appears that her grandmother was the driving force behind Fanny’s accomplishments. She became her eyes, which helped develop her descriptive abilities, also reading and carefully explaining the Bible to her, while teaching her to pray and ask God for knowledge.

Fanny entered the New York School for the Blind at twelve as a pupil, then became a teacher there for 23 years. In between, she married musician, Alexander van Alstine, a fellow student at the Institute, and one evening while her composer friend, Phoebe Palmer Knapp was visiting, she played a tune on the piano, then asked Fanny what it sounded like. Fanny responded, “Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine!’ Then they went on to write the song together.’ Ah friends, that’s how many great songs have been born, with no rhyme or reason in or for the circumstances.  It just signifies how our great God does work in mysterious, unexpected ways.

And having heard the story behind the song, let’s offer it up with sweet sacrifices of praise in a soulful, mid-tempo, sincere and heartfelt version. Singing: ‘Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood (Chorus: This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long; This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long.) Perfect submission, perfect delight, Visions of rapture now burst on my sight; Angels, descending, bring from above Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

(Chorus…) Perfect submission, all is at rest, I in my Savior am happy and blest, Watching and waiting, looking above, Filled with His goodness, lost in His love. (Chorus: This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long; This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long…. Praising my Savior all the day long)’

And the assurance we have in Jesus is more than just blessed, it’s also amazing and marvellous. And per ‘a foretaste of glory divine,’ one commentary explains it thus. ‘This remarkable stanza reflects a lovely reality in Scripture that gives believers unwavering hope in times of tumultuous trials and troublesome temptations: we fellowship with Jesus Christ now, but this is only a preview of the eternal fellowship that is yet to come.’ And it most certainly ought to be, if we are heirs of salvation.

Listen as the author of Hebrews, speaking of the angels, says: ‘Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.’ (Heb. 1:14) Yes my brethren, ‘we believers in Jesus Christ are destined to inherit eternal life, divine protection, and kingdom benefits, and thus are considered co-heirs with Christ, sharing in his ultimate glory and receiving support from ministering spirits (angels).’ Now it could not get any better than that!

And per ‘purchase of God,’ Bruh Paul puts it very plainly in his first letter to the Corinthians. ‘What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.’ (1 Cor. 6:19-20) Yes my people, we have indeed been purchased by the sacrificial blood of Christ, and are also indwelt by the Holy Spirit, which means we now belong to God, our body is His temple.

And there are several scriptures that talk about being washed in the blood of Jesus, but we only have time and space for this one from Revelation. ‘And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten (born) of the dead, and the prince of (ruler over) the kings of the earth. Unto him that LOVED us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.’ (Rev. 1:5)Wow! What a tremendous accomplishment on our God’s behalf, and a most stupendous, though undeserved, development for our sinful souls

And in light of such a wonderful situation, we are thus enveloped in ‘perfect submission…perfect delight and perfect rest,’ expectantly looking forward to ‘visions of rapture,’ which will any day burst into sight. As Bruh Paul puts it to the Thessalonians:  ‘For this we say unto you  by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (precede) them which are asleep (dead).

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump (trumpet) of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever (always) be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.’ (1 Thess. 4:15-18)

Yes my faithful brethren, that is exactly what we need to do, today and every day; that’s comfort each other in the wonderful news of the eventual Rapture of Christ’s church! There’s nothing better to look forward to than that marvellous, faithfully promised occasion. Much LOVE!

…in Christ Jesus…we have a Lord, a Saviour, a King, an Advocate, High Priest and Friend…we therefore need no one else…

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 30 July 2017 Lamentations 3:22.

30 Jul 2017 Leave a comment

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

Lamentations 3:22.   It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

Well friends, that joy-filled day called Sunday has rolled around again! And with it, we gather in the Lord’s sanctuary to worship, joyfully sing and praise His holy name. There’s nothing that can compare to a gathering of fellow believers singing and praising Almighty God! That’s because it’s the essence of who we are, why we were so gloriously made. 

So let’s not make me a liar (smile), let’s send up to heaven wonderful words of praise and glory, joy and thanksgiving as we sing the beautiful and grateful words of the hymn; ‘New every morning is the LOVE!’ Yes my fellow believers, let’s offer up the sacrifice of praise with heartfelt song,. As an earthly choir, sounding like heavenly angels, let’s sing!

‘New every morning is the LOVE Our wakening and uprising prove; Through sleep and darkness safely brought, Restored to life and power and thought. New mercies, each returning day, Hover around us while we pray; New perils past, new sins forgiven, New thoughts of God, new hopes of heaven. If, on our daily course, our mind Be set to hallow all we find, New treasures still, of countless price, God will provide for sacrifice. 

Old friends, old scenes, will lovelier be, As more of heaven in each we see; Some softening gleam of LOVE and prayer Shall dawn on every cross and care. We need not bid, for cloistered cell, Our neighbor and our words farewell, Nor strive to find ourselves too high For sinful man beneath  the sky.

The trivial round, the common task, Will furnish all we ought to ask; Room to deny ourselves, a road To bring us daily nearer God. Seek we no more; content with these, Let present rapture, comfort, ease As heaven shall bid them, come and go: The secret this of rest below. Only, O Lord, in Thy dear LOVE, Fit us for perfect rest above, And help us, this and every day, To live more nearly as we pray.’ 

Yes friends, each and every day the Lord showers down new mercies, blessings, grace, forgiveness, strength…you name it…He provides it free of charge. What an awesome God we serve and worship my brethren! I wonder if we truly realize that eh? No other faith on this earth can truthfully declare the things that we declare. 

Neither is any other faith as joyful, sorry, should be joyful as we Christians. And I corrected myself there because too many of us supposed believers walk around sad and lethargic, bowed and bending, as though we are carrying the whole weight of the world on our shoulders. But precious saints of God, two thousand years ago our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ died on the cross at Calvary and took all our burdens, all our sins, all our transgressions on His strong and comely shoulders! 

Why?  So that we would not have to be sad and miserable and burdened any more, but be filled with His wonderful peace, abundant joy and glorious unconditional LOVE! So why, as a group, are we so unhappy eh? Or rather why don’t we show the true external realities that our internal blessings ought to engender? Because we’re ashamed, afraid, lackadaisical, don’t truly believe…  

Who knows eh? But the long and short of the story friends, is as Jeremiah says in his Lamentations, which includes our Bit. Poor Jerry had been battered and beaten and locked up by his fellow countrymen when he preached repentance to them. But when he had time to reflect on it all, this is what he said. 

‘Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall (bitterness), My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled (bowed down) in me. This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.’ (Lam.3:20-23) 

Oh friends, what a marvellous testimony, based on gospel truth! And think about it nuh, Jerry didn’t have Jesus in the manner that we now have Him, and all the wonderful stuff that He bequeathed us. But yet still he (Jerry) knew on which side his bread was buttered, and despite his calamities, gave God the thanks and the praise He so rightfully deserved. 

Listen as he continues. ‘The Lord is my portion saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.’ (Lam.3:24-26) Words of indisputable truth my brethren! 

And the scholars tell us that ‘3:26. Jeremiah’s observation resembles those of other saints who have experienced great grief of soul.’ And they reference people like, Habakkuk, Job, Bruh David, Isaiah and Bruh Paul. So friends, serving God is wise, wonderful and right, but not always easy. But we have to remember too that the Lord will never give us a task to accomplish without giving us the wherewithal to accomplish it. 

That’s His outstanding modus operandi, as you can see from the records of all the great men of faith we just mentioned. They all  had it tough, but they all accomplished their given tasks with flying colours. God never forsook them, even when they were out of step with His plan for their lives, but was instead merciful and compassionate because He knew their human frailties would sometimes lead them astray. 

My precious people of God, it’s the same way He behaves with us. But we have to stand strong during our adversities and trials, otherwise we’ll forsake the good things He has in store for us. Hear Asaph tell us about the Israelites plight from Psalm 78 – A reminder of God’s goodness to Israel. 

‘For their heart was not right (steadfast) with him, neither were they steadfast (faithful) in their covenant. But he being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time he turned his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath. For he remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passeth away; and cometh not again.’ (Ps.78:37-39)  So friends, the Lord knows our capabilities, since He created us, and will not leave us high and dry because we make mistakes. 

Bruh David says it best in the closing verse of Psalm 23 – The Lord is my Shepherd. ‘Surely goodness and mercy (LOVING-kindness) will follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.’ (Ps.23:6) And if we refuse to believe that, then it’s to our great detriment my brethren. Much LOVE!

…only the Lord’s mercies…through Christ’s shed blood at Calvary…keeps us from being annihilated for our abominable transgressions…