29 May 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: being his counselor, boredom, directed the Spirit of the Lord, emptiness, God's ways higher than ours, hands fixed securely on the plough, harnessed the power of patience, hath taught him, his thoughts higher than ours, how unsearchable his judgements, I am halfway home, impatient dreamers, knowledge, laziness, looking forward, Lord chesterfield, never late, never put off for tomorrow, not looking back, past knowing, patience, perseverance, personal experience, primrose path, procrastination, shame, shortcuts, the breath of life, the depths of the riches of God, timing, to a glorious future with Christ, Wednesday Wail, what you can do today, win in life, wisdom, work so slowly
Romans 11:33. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgements, and his ways past finding out!
Yes, it was a ‘riney’ day yesterday! It drizzled all day long into the evening hours. And the way it looks damp and gloomy out there, it looks like it just might be another ‘riney’ day today! And the ‘riney’ is just my way of trying to copy the accent – it seems like Scottish brogue – of the man in the radio ad. ‘It was a riney day…blah, blah blah!) (smile)
But enough blather, we have plenty of interesting and wise info to share today…not like I don’t share plenty good and interesting info every day! (smile) And the first set of info is this quote from Lord Chesterfield (1694-1773). ‘Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, KG, PC was a British statesman, diplomat, man of letters, and an acclaimed wit of his time.’
These wonderful words of advice are attributed to him. ‘Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no laziness, no procrastination, never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.’ Oh me oh my! What awesome words of wisdom! And I’m sure they will resonate with many of us this Wednesday morning!
With me for sure, as I look back at the desk behind me cluttered with unopened mail and all sorts of other paper work that I should have taken care of some time ago. Ah mih people, laziness and procrastination are the work of the devil! Every moment that we’re alive is so precious that we ought to endeavour to use each one productively for Jesus.
And having said that, here is this interesting and wise poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s short and sweet, and titled, ‘Never Too Late.’ Please pray with me: ‘Sometimes, dear Lord You work so slowly!’ And the answer to that childish, faithless complaint comes back ever so simply but most provocatively: ‘Tell Me, dear child Have I ever been too late?’
And who says I don’t admire the Lord’s wit eh! Because that’s the gospel truth! I know it from personal experience because that’s the only problem I have with Him; His timing just seems to be so different from mine. But then I do have to admit, like many of us ought to; though He too often comes just in the nick of time, He’s NEVER late!
And to tie that all together, let’s turn to Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) from His Hour of Power Devotional, something appropriately titled ‘Impatient Dreamers.’ Please read with me: ‘What is the single quality that more than any other identifies those who succeed? It is patience. Impatient dreamers will look for painless shortcuts and cheap discounts on the price of success.
And failing to spot the expedient paths, unknowing, impatient dreamers will too often, too easily, and too painfully turn away from the divine dream. Later, when it’s too late, they will discover that in choosing the painless, easy road they were in fact going down a primrose path to boredom, shame, emptiness, failure, poverty. If only they had not been afraid of the discipline that the dream demanded!’
Oh friends, what gospel truth all of that is, especially in these times of everybody looking for the easy life, where laziness, and procrastination abound in times of plenty! Where discipline is a much dreaded and very seldom invoked word! I’m sure all of us can attest to some of Gramps Schuller’s harsh admonitions, because working and living for Jesus does desire a whole lot of patience and perseverance, of taking the high, difficult road, and not the low easy one, of going the extra mile when it all seems futile!
Our current society is a now for now one! We want everything in a rush, like even yesterday! No one wants to wait for anything. But the truth of the matter is my people, that the ones who have a li’l patience and perseverance are the ones who get the best deal, not the ones who rush headlong into life without proper thought. Yes, we must be prepared to take advantage of opportunities that come along unexpectedly, but rushing into stuff is not Christ like. (smile)
And our Bit for today is the Bible Promise of our poem: ‘O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgements, and his ways past finding out!’ Yes friends, the wisdom and knowledge of God, and of Him are so deep and unfathomable, that our puny minds can never attain to understanding them!
As He so eloquently puts it in the mouth of His servant Isaiah: ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’ (Is.55:8-9) Matter fix mih people! (smile) I just like how the Lord doesn’t beat around the bush, and simply tells it like it is! You either LOVE it or lump it!
And now, please listen carefully to the corollary to all that we’ve spoken about this morning from Gramps Schuller on ‘Impatient Dreamers.’ ‘The people who win in life are the people who have harnessed the power of patience. You can move a mountain, Christ said – but He didn’t say how long it would take.’ End of story!
So then, let’s go home declaring (right ho!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our unbeatable position in Christ! 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!’
And just a reminder that if we stay the course, that future will be even more glorious and remarkable and amazing than we can ever ask or imagine! Much LOVE!
…who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord…or being his counselor…hath taught him…? (Is.40:13)
16 Feb 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a calm mind, a sustained basis, adjust my sails, Anself, aspire to inspire, awesome truth, be of good cheer, bearing about in the body, boosting health, calmness of mind, cast down, change the direction of the wind, change the things I can, compassions, Corinth, distressed, encouragement, eternal life, faithfulness, friend, gospel truth, hardships, i have overcome the world, in me ye might find peace, in the world, inner strength, Jesus, let not your heart be troubled, live and die with Him. resurrected, loving-kindness, made manifest in our body, mano a mano, muscles, neither be afraid, never refuse, new every day, not as the world gives, not destroyed, not forsaken, not in despair, not to surrender, peace, perplexed, persecuted, personal experience, promise, relationship with Jesus, roses, Saturday, self-confidence, sincere plea, sleeping in, stability, strength, sunshine, the courage, the dying of the Lord Jesus, the life also of Jesus, the Serenity Prayer, the serenity to accept, the things I cannot change, the wisdom, to know the difference, trainer, tribulation, troubled on every side, troublesome times, turbulent, unsettled world, weightlifting, winning, wise advice, wise decisions
John 16:33. 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.
Aye friends, I thought Saturday was a day for sleeping in? Then how come I’m not still in bed eh? I woke up around six and thought, no, this is way too early to get up. But the Lord or the enemy seem to have different ideas, so I rolled around in the bed until six thirty, finally realizing that I’d lost the fight to go back to sleep. But them’s the breaks! Just means that you will get the Bit a li’l earlier. (smile)
And since today is Saturday, let’s get to some of our friend Anselm’s quotes of the week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Here is the first one: ‘A calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence, so that’s very important for good health.’ You can’t dispute that friends! Calmness of mind is ever so important for making wise decisions as well as boosting health; physical, emotional and mental!
But then to get that on a regular basis you need to be a follower of Jesus, who is the ONLY person able to give you true peace and stability on a sustained basis. Hear His awesome promise: ‘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) You can’t beat that my faithful brethren!
And then we have: ‘With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.’ More awesome truth my brethren! But again, the rightness of the strength and thoughts depends on our relationship with Jesus, for as the Good Book notes; Because of His great faithfulness, His mercies, His LOVING-kindness, His compassions are new every morning! (Lam.3:22-23) So if we’re not in a strong relationship with Jesus, those early morning, every day new strength and thoughts might not be so good.
Then there is this interesting quote: ‘I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.’ And technically speaking, I suppose that’s usually true, but let me tell you people, if the Lord is in that wind, and wants you to go to a particular place, you can adjust your sails as much as you want, but the only place you’ll end up is where the Lord wants you to.
That I can tell you from personal experience, and I’m sure many of you have experienced the same thing! In the long run, it’s all about where the Lord wants us.
And our friend Anselm threw in the Serenity Prayer for good measure this week: ‘God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.’ And friends, in this turbulent and unsettled world, do we ever need to prayer that pray every day…sometimes several times a day… if we wish to retain our sanity and make good, godly decisions.
And the last quote says: ‘Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.’ And that’s the gospel truth!
Winning doesn’t provide strength, it only makes one lazier than normal, and content to sit on one’s rear end without any get up and go. You get like Rome and all those other big, splendiferous countries that fell to ruin because they became too fat and flaccid from always winning.
The truth is that constant winning eventually ruins you instead of making you stronger. However, when you struggle, when you fight hardships mano a mano, then you develop strength! It’s just like lifting weights; you can’t develop muscles without constant weightlifting.
Likewise, you can’t develop real inner strength without going through hardship and struggles.
And we all know that this evil, ungodly world ruled by the evil enemy certainly is filled with much hardship and struggle, so you will have trials and tribulation cropping up from time to time.
However friends, when you walk with Jesus, which is also not an easy thing to do in this world, He will help and guide you through those suffocating and troublesome times. He’ll be like your weight trainer; always beside you, offering encouragement and wise advice, even helping you lift the heavy weights that you find difficult lifting on your own!
Wow! What a wonderful friend and helpmate is our Jesus! There’s NO other like Him in ALL the universe! Give Him much deserved thanks and praise my people!
And Jesus said it in no uncertain terms: ‘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.’
Ah friends, I know that will be difficult for us to do, but if we believe in Jesus and His promises, then we can do it. Jesus didn’t take an easy step on this earth, and He never promised that it would be all sunshine and roses for us either. But He did say that if we stuck with Him, He will bring us out safely.
Now listen to these tough but encouraging words from Bruh Paul to the church at Corinth. ‘We are troubled (hard pressed) on every side, yet not distressed (crushed); we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken, cast (struck) down, but not destroyed: Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.’ (2 Cor.4:8-10)
Yes my people, even though we suffer much tribulation, we WILL NOT give up, because we have the ultimate promise of Jesus, that if we live and die with Him, we will indeed be resurrected to eternal life, like He was! And you can’t beat that promise in this universe! Much LOVE!
…when troubles come…the wise thing to do…ask Jesus to help you handle them…He’ll NEVER refuse your sincere plea…
12 Feb 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a refuge from the storm, a sense of calm, a strength to the needy, At the cross, at their wit's end, because of trouble, brighten our latter years, brings them out of their distresses, calm, calm waters, Calvary, common sense, Controller, Creator, cry unto the Lord, do business, encouraging words, evil cohorts, exalt him, faith, fear, friend of Jesus, go down to the sea, great waters, he makes the storm a calm, his goodness, hurry, in ships, in the congregation, inhumane climate, Jesus, Lake Ontario, like a drunken man, LOVE, mount up to heaven, O ye of little faith, personal experience, Praise the Lord, prayed, raises the stormy wind, rebuked the winds, redeemed, reel to and fro, ruthless nations, sacrifice, Satan, see the works of the Lord, shake like an earthquake, share His love, share jesus' love, shivering of the timbers, stagger, storm, strong people, terror, the assembly of elders, the Good Book, the storm calmer, the time of storm, the waves are still, the winds and the sea obey him, their desired haven, their soul is melted, they are glad, they be quiet, this universe, to the children of men, to the depths, trust, Tuesday Mantra, unhealthy for old folks, what manner of man is this, wonderful works, wonders in the deep, worry
Psalm 107:29. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
‘When the storms of life rage all around me, I have no cause to fear, because I have Jesus, the storm-calmer walking beside me. And if He chooses not to calm the storms when I desire, He calms my fears, so that I can ride out the storms with a peaceful soul. Praise His Holy name!’
Yes friends, more stormy weather is forecasted for these parts today, but as we said above, that we believers can face any storm because we have the great storm-calmer Jesus Christ, living within us and working for us. So though we may be physically discombobulated, our souls stay calm and free, evermore praising His holy name.
But nonetheless my brethren, this weather see-saw is ridiculous yes. And not only in terms of the weather itself, but more so of my having to put up with all of it. Brother! I promised the Duchess that we’re not spending a whole winter up here again, because the weather is just too crazy, and being locked up inside for long periods of time is definitely unhealthy for us old folks. (smile)
And despite whatever ailments I have or doctor’s appointments, from next year we’ll spend some time out of this inhumane climate, getting the sea, salt, sand and sunshine we need to brighten our latter years. (smile) And since we’ve been talking about storms all morning, we might as well continue on the topic with some encouraging words from the Good Book.
Listen to these wonderful words from Psalm 107 – God’s wonderful works to the children of men. ‘They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; They see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit’s end (all their wisdom is swallowed up). Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.’ (Ps.107:23-30)
Yeh friends, that is exactly how it is! I can tell you from personal experience about riding those stormy waves in a li’l boat out on Lake Ontario many years aback. I can personally attest to the mounting up to heaven on the big waves, then being dashed down in to the deep. I always used to read about the trembling, the shivering of the timbers, well that day I discovered what it really meant.
When the boat dropped from the top of the high wave and landed splat on the bottom, you could feel everything just shake like an earthquake. And on board that day were drunken men, thankfully I wasn’t one of them, but they prayed, possibly like never before in their lives, and the Lord eventually brought us through to calm waters.
So I know what the psalmist is talking about, and so do many of you, that’s why I’m amazed that we don’t do as he recommends: ‘Oh that men would praise (give thanks to) the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.’ (Ps.107:31-32)
That is only common sense my people, if we agree that God is the Creator and Controller of this universe. But we look real foolish when we spout that info, then go against all that the Lord stands for! We ought to be praising and exalting Him, with all our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, because that is the major reason we were created in the first place! Not to doubt and ridicule and blaspheme His holy name!
Now listen to how Isaiah puts it in the song of praise by the redeemed. ‘Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible (ruthless) nations shall fear thee. For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.’ (Is.25:3-4)
Oh my people, we are the redeemed! That means we’re supposed to be strong and glorify the Lord who caused us to be redeemed through the sacrifice of His son Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary! So why aren’t we doing better eh? Why are we allowing Satan and his evil cohorts to take over and rule our souls eh, when Jesus paid such a high price for us?
And I guess the answer can only be found in the immortal words of Jesus, when the disciples in their fear and terror during a stormy ship crossing, awoke Jesus sleeping quietly in the back of the boat, ‘saying, Lord, save us, we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!’ (Matt.8:25-27)
And that after being with Jesus for so long and seeing all the miracles He performed! But we’re doing the same thing today, so we can’t really judge them. Anyway friends, for those of us who are trying to be faithful and true, let’s go home today declaring (phew! wrong again) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole wide world know who and whose we are.
In strong voice, with a strong sense of purpose: ‘In God’s eyes, 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!’
And the next step is to go out and share that trusting friendship and awesome LOVE with the folks who don’t know or have it. Much LOVE!
…in the time of storm…ONLY Jesus can bring a sense of calm…
02 Feb 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a christian writer, a sigh of relief, abide in my word, anger endures, Anselm, aspire to inspire, beg another man, bow to somebody, build your own dreams, climate change, cold spell California, darkness, deepest darkness, destined to be, direction of your dreams, disgrace, dissension, dream makers, endures for ever, enlightening, free, free indeed, freedom, friend, glory hallelujah, go confidently, gospel truth, grace, greatest joy, in the beginning, include Jesus, iniquity, insignificant dream, interesting, Jesus, joy, joy comes in the morning, know the truth, light, loving-kindness, merciful, Moses, my disciples, negative consequences, never be free, no man is an island, ongoing fight, personal experience, Pilate, rain, rain and snow, responsibility, satisfaction, Saturday, set you free, shame, stay free, struggle, sunshine, sync your dreams with God, the BIBLE, the law, the only way, the Rock, the Son sets free, the Truth, the truth of the Lord, the Word of god, the Word was God, the Word was with God, true freedom, truth, under heavy manners, was the Word, weeping, what is truth, within God's plan
John 8:32. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
And then it was Saturday…And are we ever breathing a sigh of relief that we might finally get a li’l relief from the deep freeze that’s held us prisoner for the last week! But plenty places are still under heavy manners from the cold spell, and it’s been forecasted that the west coast, especially down in California is going to get rain and snow and all the other negative consequences associated with those things this weekend.
Brother! And some of us still foolishly don’t believe in climate change? Steups! It’s just simple logic: If you put a whole lot of negative stuff in the atmosphere over a number of years, it will eventually change the way atmosphere functions! Anyway, it’s Saturday, so let’s turn to some quotes from our friend Anselm, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow.
Hear this first one: ‘Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.’ Now the basic part of that is certainly true; you have to follow your dreams. But then as a follower of and believer in Jesus Christ, you need to sync up your dreams with the plan He has for your life, otherwise you won’t be overly successful as a believer.
I can tell you that from personal experience, because once I decided to accept Jesus’ offer to write the Bit, my life changed substantially, both inwardly and outwardly. It was never my intention to be a Christian writer, a writer yes, but certainly not on Christian matters, but that seems to have been His plan for me. And I’m glad now that I accepted it. Now it hasn’t been all wine, roses and song, (smile) but it has certainly been very interesting and enlightening.
So please remember to include Jesus in your dreams! That leads us to this quote: ‘The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.’ I do have some argument with that on the Christian basis, because we claim that the Lord has a plan destined for each and everyone of us, and the only way we’ll ever unfurl that plan successfully is with His help. However, technically speaking, the choice is ours, to be whom we decide to be, either within God’s plan or outside of it.
And then we have: ‘Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs.’ And that’s oh so true! We either build our own dreams, or help somebody else build theirs. The only problem there is if everybody builds their own dreams, who’s going to help them build it eh, since no man is an island and we all need help to grow.
In the long run we have to realize that not all of us were meant to be dream makers, but some were assigned to help build those dreams, and it’s no shame or disgrace to help someone else build their dream. And we can often get more satisfaction from helping someone else build something great, than from building our own small, insignificant dream.
Now hear this quote: ‘It is only after the deepest darkness that the greatest joy can come.’ And isn’t that gospel truth! It’s usually after the most negative circumstances occur that we get the most positive situations. And as they say, you can’t enjoy the sunshine without having experienced the rain. And as Bruh David so elegantly puts it. ‘For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.’ (Ps.30:5) Yeh friends, light certainly comes after darkness!
Then this last quote says: ‘Any time you beg another man to set you free, you will never be free. Freedom is something that you have to do for yourselves.’ There we go again with that elusive word ‘freedom!’ Are we ever, or can we ever be truly free? No! It’s just not possible. For as the man says we all have to bow to somebody in this life!
And freedom is NEVER free; you always have to pay a great price for whatever kind of freedom you’re seeking, and then there’s an awesome responsibility that comes with it, not even mentioning the struggle that it takes to stay free. Just look at all the struggles for freedom down through the ages!
How many of them were considered successful eh? And how many of them lasted for any real time eh? Most of them just bred more dissension, and then, some other group decided to fight for their freedom! So there is always an ongoing fight for some kind of freedom in our messed up world!
But all is not lost friends, hear me now, the closest we can come to real freedom in this life is that freedom offered by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! And all God’s people shouted a loud and grateful: ‘Glory Hallelujah! Praise the holy name of Jesus!’ Yes friends, it’s only when we know the Truth, the Truth that’s associated with Jesus, that we can ever come close to being truly free.
Listen to Him tell it: ‘Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue (abide) in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’ (John 8:31-32) And like Pilate asked of Jesus, so do many of us: ‘What is truth?’ (John 19:38)
My people, the ultimate truth is the Word of God, found in His Word; the Bible! As John says: ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God’ (John 1:1) And hear Moses tell it in his song: ‘Because I will publish (proclaim) the name of the Lord; ascribe ye greatness unto our God. He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgement: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.’ (Deut.32:3-4)
And if you don’t believe Moses, then listen to Bruh David: ‘For his merciful kindness (LOVING-kindness) is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endureth forever. Praise ye the Lord.’ (Ps.117:2) And if you still don’t believe, then listen to the real authority on the subject, Jesus: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ (John 14:6)
Yes friends, there it is in black and white! If you desire what amounts to true freedom, then Jesus is the ONLY Way to get it! He fought to give it to us, by being crucified and thus paying for our sins. So glory to God, all those who follow Him are now free! For whom the Son sets free is free indeed! (John 8:36) Please remember that and act accordingly! Much LOVE!
…the law was given by Moses…but grace and truth came by…Jesus Christ…
19 Sep 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a crown of righteousness, a good confession, a good future, a hope, assurance, before many witnesses, believes on the Son, breath of life, Christians, confessed, defend our faith, diagnostic testing, don't give up, encouragement, engaged in warfare, eternal life, exertion, faith, faithful intentions, fasting, fight one more round, fight the good fight, finished my course, fought a good fight, Gentleman Jim, glorious future with Jesus, godliness, good advice, grin and bear it, halfway home, hands on the plough, heavyweight fighter, James J Corbett, Jesus Christ, Jesus' vocabulary, joyful day, lay hold on, LOVE, Love his appearing, LOVE of Money, lusts, man of God, material wealth, medical appointment, meekness, Messiah, New Covenant, not looking back, one more time, patience, personal experience, personal problems, relief, resources, rewards in heaven, right around the corner, righteousness., salvation, shuffle back, spiritual life, stand strong, struggle with sin, suck it up, the centre of the ring, the darkest hour, the mind, the most powerful tool, the one before the dawn, the righteous judge, the wrath of God, thou art called, Timothy, true believers, unto the breach, washed white as snow, Wednesday Wail
1 Timothy 6:12. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed (confessed) a good profession (confession) before many witnesses.
One more time unto the breach, dear friends, one more time! Yeh, I’ve got another medical appointment this morning, that’s why the Bit is so early again. The good thing though is that I don’t have to go into Toronto, it’s just some diagnostic testing not too far down the street from me.
But I do have to fast for it, and fasting, or rather forced fasting and I are not the best of friends. The ole stomach is here growling away on me, calling for food, but I still have a few hours to go until I can grant it its request. (smile) But as they say, it’s all for my benefit. So just suck it up, grin and bear it!
That brings us to this bit of good advice attributed to James J Corbett (1866-1933), the American Heavyweight fighter, better known as ‘Gentleman Jim.’ He advises: ‘Fight one more round. When your feet are so tired you have to shuffle back to the centre of the ring, fight one more round.’ And that from someone who knows what He’s talking about through personal experience!
Yes my brethren, that’s what we Christians are called to do; fight one more round, even though we feel at the point of exertion, be it physical, mental or emotional. Oh, I know many of us are tired, what with all our personal problems, including health, wealth and friendship matters, but as believers, we’re not supposed to give up. Giving up doesn’t exist in Jesus’ vocabulary.
And further still, they say that the darkest hour is the one just before the dawn, so if you’re seeing what you consider a very dark hour, please believe that relief is right around the corner. Remember the mind is the most powerful tool in the world, and what we believe we can achieve. We have to use what resources we possess to our best advantage and keep on keeping on.
As Bruh Paul cautioned Timothy in his first missive: ‘But thou, O man of God, flee these things (LOVE of money, hurtful lusts, material wealth.); and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, LOVE, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed (confessed) a good profession (confession) before many witnesses.’
And as the scholars say of our Bit: ‘6:12. The good fight concerns the daily struggle with sin in the Christian life, and the hardships and adversities in the ministry. A genuine believer demonstrates the reality of his faith by being engaged in this warfare. Lay hold on eternal life does not negate the fact that a believer now possess spiritual life (John 3:36); rather, it speaks of fully realizing or appropriating salvation as the believer matures.’
Ah mih breddren being a true believer in Jesus Christ is not easy, but since we have declared ourselves to be true believers, we have to just keep on keeping on. And it’s not like we don’t have ample resources and encouragement, assurance and help to fight our earthly battle. We do! Namely all the resources granted to us as believers in Jesus Christ; the biggest and most important ones being salvation and eternal life.
As the Good Book declares: ‘He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth (remains) on him.’ (John 3:36) Oh friends, that provision alone ought to be enough to encourage us to stand strong and live and defend our faith. Which other faith has that sure promise eh…with the sacrifice, and resurrection of Christ to back it up eh? NONE!
And then we have so many other promises of God, who has a good plan for every life, with a hope and good future. He’s also promised never to leave nor forsake us; to hear our prayers and pleas when we diligently and sincerely seek Him; to bring us out of the fire unscorched; to take us safely through the flood, and most of all grant us a Deliverer, a Messiah, one to sacrifice and atone for our sins, which He did through His only Son Jesus Christ becoming flesh and offering His sinless life upon the cross at Calvary so that our sins could be washed white as snow.
Glory to God my people! For He has done all that He’s promised, and if we do what we’re supposed to do, then He will do the rest. The Lord will not do it all for us. He requires us to put in an effort on His behalf, since we’re partners in this New Covenant. So though life might be dark, dreary and difficult, we do have all the tools necessary to fight the good fight.
And hopefully, at the end of our days, we’ll all be able to proudly say like Bruh Paul did to Timothy: ‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course (race), I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that LOVE his appearing.’ (2 Tim.4:7-8)
Yes mih breddren, what a joyful day that will be! But until then, let’s keep fighting the good fight nuh, and as a promise of our faithful intentions, go home declaring our Wednesday Wail, letting the world know our current position in Christ. All together now, let’s wail: ‘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!’
And the future will be even more glorious than our puny minds can imagine. So think on that nuh! Much LOVE!
…when life gets difficult…consider our rewards in heaven…and the glorious future promised us there…
18 Jul 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future, a God of justice, a positive idea, a refuge, adversity, bear burdens, breath of life, complaining, confident, dependent trust, dr robert h schuller, eternal life, exalted, eyes fixed straight ahead, fainted, frustrations, God's help, good courage, goodness of the Lord, gracious, halfway home, hands on the plough, has not forsaken, have mercy, hearsay, heartaches, heaven, Hour of Power Devotions, I'm inspired, in the centre of your will, in the mind of a believer, Jesus, Micah, moral sins, My walk, non-understandable times, not looking back, personal experience, prayer, prosperous life, put my life, put their trust in thee, seek God's face, sincerity, strengthen thine heart, stronghold, suffering, summer days, the bad, The God of my salvation, the good, the land of the living, The Lord is good, the most powerful force, the oppressed, the soul that seeks him, times of trouble, to those who wait for him, truth, wait, wait in faith, waiting, walking in God's will, Wednesday Wail, wine women and song, wisdom, words of wisdom, working with Christ
Lamentations 3:25. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
‘Glorious summer days are here again, so please let’s enjoy them now my friends, for soon glorious summer days will be no more, and then, we won’t have glorious summer day to enjoy again!’ True words of wisdom my brethren! The days of summer only come but once a year, and unlike the days of winter they quickly pass away, so if we’re smart we will enjoy each and every one of those summer days to the fullest.
And today we’ll share this li’l something from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H Schuller) Hour of Power Devotions which I’ve shared before, but is a good pick-me-up for any day. It’s called ‘My Walk.’
Please pray with me: ‘O God, I’m inspired. For you have just impressed this truth into my mind: The most powerful force in the world is a positive idea in the mind of a believer who is walking in your will! I now reach forth my life and say, “God, put my life into the centre of your will.” Amen.’
Oh friends, asking Almighty God to put our lives front and centre in His will is the best prayer we can ever pray, because it means we’re truly surrendering our all to Him and that’s exactly what He desires! But when we do that, we have to be prepared to face the bad with the good, for working with Christ is not merely wine, women and song, but also frustrations, adversity and hard, non-understandable times.
That’s why Cousin Jeremiah, in all his heartaches and suffering could positively declare in our Bit: ‘The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.’
Yes friends, our God is good to those who are willing to bear their burdens without too much complaining, as they do their work in His name. Remember, we can do nothing on our own, but everything is possible when we invoke God’s help, when we seek His awesome face in sincerity and truth.
As Bruh David says in Psalm 9 – Praise for God’s justice. ‘The Lord also will be a refuge (a stronghold) for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.’ (Ps.9:9-10) And we know for a fact there my brethren that Bruh David is not speaking from hearsay, but from personal experience, so there’s no need to doubt this words.
And the prophet Micah, when talking about the moral sins of Israel, which are also a clear reflection of our current times, declared thus: ‘Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide (companion): keep (guard) the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.
For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house. Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.’ (Mic.7:5-7)
And so shall He my faithful fellow believers! That is His promise, and we know that He keeps each and every promise that He makes! So it only makes sense to seek the Lord, to call on Him and to wait on Him if you truly want to live a successful and prosperous life down here on earth and eventually graduate to eternal life in heaven with Him.
Listen to Isaiah as he appeals for his people to turn to the Lord for help, and I’m appealing to us today to do the very same thing. ‘And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgement (justice): blessed are all they that wait for him.’ (Is.30:18)
And the scholars offer this explanation: ‘30:18-33. Because God is gracious and has been willing to wait for His people to return to Him, He will certainly bless those who wait for him. “Waiting” is a confident and dependent trust in God.’
Amen mih breddren! What’s the purpose of having a God eh, if we can’t put our sincere trust in Him and wait confidently on Him eh? None whatsoever! We might as well just look after ourselves. And the last scripture for today comes from Bruh David, Psalm 27 – The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Hear these immortal words of wisdom and truth. ‘I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait (wait in faith) on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait (in faith), I say, on the Lord.’ (Ps.27:13-14) Truer words were never spoken my people!
So let’s go home now with all that wisdom and truth filling our hearts, souls, bodies and minds with the unbelievable joy that’s found in Jesus, as we declare to the entire world our serious position in Him, by proclaiming our Wednesday Wail.
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!’
And will it ever be a glorious future for those who get to spend eternity with Jesus! Please make sure you are a part of that in-crowd by sincerely embracing Him down here on earth! Much LOVE!
…it’s such a joy to be involved with Jesus…that my heart just boils over with LOVE…whenever I think of Him…
27 Oct 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a different attitude, abuse our bodies, afflicted me, bastards, be discouraged, be in subjection, bear our load, bondage of sin, bore our sins, boundaries, chastening, chastisement, Christians, complaining, corrected, crown of glory, delightful experience, diligent, discipline, dissipation, do god's work, drinking, each step I take, eating, endure chastening, endure your afflictions, eternal life, exhortation, faint, faithfulness, fellowship, Friday chant, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, generous help, gift of grace, God's testing, God's Word, good and faithful servant, grievous, grow, holiness, I know, illegitimate, in Jesus' name, Jesus Christ, joyous, last day on earth, laws, life is not easy, limitations, LOVE, made it through, massa, mature, O Lord, our flesh, our profit, partakers, party all weekend, partying, pay back, peaceable fruit, personal experience, pound of flesh, rebuked, reforming, refreshed, relaxation, remoulding, renewed, respect, rest, reverence, righteous, righteousness, run our race, salvation, sense of purpose, sons, spare the rod, spoil the child, strong, tests, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the bad times, the Father of spirits, the good times, the image of Jesus, the weekend, their own pleasure, thy judgements, trials, week of work, welcome, with vim and vigour, work like an animal, work schedule, work soon finish, workers, workingman
Psalm 119:75. I know, O Lord, that thy judgements (laws) are right (righteous), and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.
And all over God’s great universe, this morning the general cry is, was, and will be: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday and work soon finish for two whole lousy days! Steups! But we going to get in as much fun, as much partying as we can in those two days though! That’s for sure!
Man wasn’t made to work like an animal all them days, one after the other. That’s how massa gets his pound of flesh, But we going to get our pound of flesh by partying down the place, by eating and drinking as though it was our last day here on earth. Thank God for Fridays and weekends yes!’
Ah friends, when are ever going to learn that pay back never really works. Yuh think massa really cares that his workers party all weekend? To a certain extent yes, but generally speaking, no! Not unless their dissipation interferes with his work schedule.
And if it does, he can just fire them, deprive them of their livelihood. So who loses then eh? Certainly not massa! That’s why we Christians have a different attitude towards the weekend, which is borne out in our Friday Chant.
Let’s chant it in strong voice and sincere sense of purpose like the workingman chants his song nuh. ‘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.’
Ah mih people, the working life is not easy, but remember with God’s help, we can do anything at all! That’s why our song differs from the ordinary workingman’s. We know we can’t abuse our bodies or anything else and continue to do God’s work in a proper manner.
That’s why we have boundaries and limitations to how far we can go; otherwise we’d just go overboard like the workingman and be of no use to Jesus. So please let’s be sensible and stay within those boundaries this weekend nuh.
We have enough other stuff to worry about, as our Bit indicates. ‘I know, O Lord, that thy judgements (laws) are right (righteous), and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.’
Yeh friends, we have tests and trials that our Lord is putting us through to grow and mature us, so we can’t waste our time in partying, and simply enjoying the good life as the world sees it.
We need to be strong and diligent and run our earthly race with vim and vigour, wisdom and understanding, if at the end of our days here on earth, we want Him to greet us in heaven with a crown of glory and words to the effect: ‘Welcome thou good and faithful servant!’
My people, that’s the best welcome we can ever, or will ever get! So please let’s work seriously towards it nuh, and start by not complaining too much about the things that come against us through God’s testing.
I can tell you from personal experience that it’s not a delightful experience when He has you on His potter’s wheel, working diligently on you, to bring you ever closer to the image of His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
But our God is so wonderful that even as He is remoulding and reforming you, He will also give you the wherewithal to endure your afflictions. He’s promised never to give us more than we can bear or carry. And if that ever happens, He will carry us Himself or bear our load for us.
That’s what Jesus did for us: He bore our sins, so that we could be set free from the bondage of sin. And we don’t want to fall back into it, by refusing His free gift of grace, through salvation and eternal life.
But if we’re going to be truly successful, we must also learn to accept the good times as well as the rough times without cursing God or turning away from Him as Job’s wife encouraged him to do. (Job 2:9-10)
And the author of Hebrews puts it all in New Testament language for us, beginning with Cousin Sol’s words. ‘And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children (sons), My son, despise not thou the chastening (discipline) of the Lord, nor faint (be discouraged) when thou art rebuked of him:
For whom the Lord LOVETH he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom his father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards (illegitimate), and not sons.
Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which have corrected us, and we gave them reverence (respect): shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure (as seemed best to them); but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
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.’ (Heb.12:5-11)
That says it all friends! If we want to be considered a son by our heavenly Father, then we must undergo His discipline, just like we do for our earthly fathers. No ifs, ands, or buts about it! Much LOVE!
…spare the rod…spoil the child…that’s God’s Word…
P.S. My sincere apologies for the Bit being so late. I went out to the theatre last night and just never got my act together this morning. (smile) Much LOVE!
31 Aug 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a feel good organization, a glowing example, a right heart, a true believer, abundance, adventure, adversity, Advocate, almighty god, belief, believe and trust in Him, believing the promise before you see it, blessings, can you feel it, christianity, courage, covenant, creativity, curse, dance and sing, diligence, divine protection, do your best, epitaph, excellence, faith, family, favour, friends, fulfillment, give thanks and praise, glory, growing your faith, Hades, he did that which was right, He gives thee power, Hezekiah, in the sight of the Lord, Jesus is alive, jobs, Judah, languishing, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, Lucifer, moving through your soul, negative word, obedience, obedient to God's Word, one more day, persevere, personal experience, prince of peace, promises, prosper, prospered, Redeemer, rejoice, remember the Lord thy god, rewards, rocket science, self-control, self-discipline, sense of peace and joy, shared, shining down from heaven, succeed, sware unto thy fathers, talent, tests, the commandments, the house of God, the law, the Son of God, the will and desire, tingle all over, to seek his God, trusting in Jesus, truth, warming the cockles of your heart, warmth, wealth, wine and roses, wisdom, with all his heart
Deuteronomy 8:18. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish (confirm) his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.
One more day, one more day mih people, to dance and sing, give thanks and praise to Almighty God! Wow! For, like us, Jesus is alive and well and His awesome LOVE is shining down from heaven in a blaze of warmth and glory, falling on all who sincerely believe and trust in Him!
Can you feel it? Can you feel it just moving through your soul, warming the cockles of your heart and putting an amazing sense of peace and joy in your spirit? If you’re a true believer, then I’m sure you can feel it.
And if you don’t feel it, then please get serious about growing your faith, and somewhere along the line you WILL feel it and rejoice in knowing that your faith is strong and you’re a true believer. (smile)
Yeh friends, trusting in Jesus is such a wonderful, heart-warming experience that it makes you tingle all over, wondering what you’ve ever done to deserve such outstanding LOVE.
But the truth is that the only thing you’ve done is to believe wholeheartedly in Him, His awesome LOVE, and the promises He’s made in His Word. That includes that He is the Son of God, your Lord and Saviour, your everlasting Redeemer, your heavenly Advocate and your Prince of Peace.
Chuh mih breddren! Yuh see what a li’l faith and belief can accomplish! (smile) And it’s not rocket science either! His LOVE is there for ALL to share, and you were just one of the wise and smart ones to accept it.
But please be careful, for it’s not going to be wine and roses all the way, because our Jesus is indeed a LOVING, but also demanding Master. We have jobs to do in His kingdom, and He expects excellence, diligence and obedience from ALL of His followers.
And when you do your best to serve Him, with a right heart of course, your life will never be the same again. Take it from me people! I’m talking from personal experience here.
Oh, you will have tests, and adversity like everybody else, because Christianity is not just a feel good organization, but if you persevere, your life will also be filled with unexpected adventure and rewards.
Our Bit says it oh so well. ‘But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish (confirm) his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.’
Yeh friends, the earth and all therein belongs to the Lord, so whatever good thing you receive obviously comes from Him. But you need to stay obedient to His Word and persevere even under the toughest conditions, truly showing your faith, by believing the promise before you see it come true.
Now let’s look at a glowing example of what we’re talking about from the Good Book; the story of Hezekiah, king of Judah. The Book of 2nd Chronicles tells us that he began to reign when he was 25 and reigned in Jerusalem for 29 years.
‘And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.’ (2 Crh.29:3)
Yuh see friends, like the scholars declare: ‘Hezekiah is commended for his godly faith and trust in the Lord (cf.31:20-21).’
And what did he actually do to deserve such commendation? Well he brought on a revival of repentance and worship in Israel, after a time of evil and wrongdoing and idol worship in the reign of his father Ahaz.
He reopened and repaired the Lord’s house, brought back the priests and Levites to do the tasks commanded by the law of Moses, destroyed the groves and other places that were used for idol worship.
He also had the priests and Levites singing ‘praise unto the Lord with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with joy and gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.’ (2 Chr.29:30)
Yeh mih breddren, Hezekiah brought about a whole new transformation of Judah, (including many of those from the northern kingdom of Israel) bringing them back to worship the One and Only True God of their fathers, Yahweh.
He also reinstituted the celebration of the feast of the Passover – and was the first one ever a feast! You should read 2 Chronicles 29-31 and see what great and wonderful changes Hezekiah made during his reign.
And the Good Book concludes his story thus: ‘And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the Lord his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.’ (2 Chr.31:20-21)
Oh friends, that’s the kind of epitaph the Lord would like ALL of His followers to have, and that’s why He’s showered us with so many earthly blessings. So as one big, strong, faithful family, let’s go home sincerely and truthfully declaring them this Thursday morning nuh.
‘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!’
And since blessings are made to be shared, let’s go out and bless others now, for that’s the will and desire of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Much LOVE!
…oh where would we be without Jesus eh….languishing in Hades with Lucifer…
19 Aug 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a blessed life, accepted Jesus Christ, afraid to try, afraid you'll succeed, almighty god, anger, Anselm, anxieties, Asa, Azariah, blood just doesn't take you, Christian walk, christianity, deceit, depart from evil, desires life, detest you, do good, ego, enjoyable action, evil, expect great things from yourself, faith, for no good reason, forsake, hatred, he delivered me from all my fears, he heard me, household chores, I sought the Lord, inspire us, jealous, keep thy tongue from evil, learn the lesson, Lord and Saviour, loves many days, personal experience, picnic, put up with the rain, rain, rainbow, Redeemer, resentment, same old, see good, seek peace and pursue it, seek the Lord, sensible action, separation from God, shopping, sincere connection, sleep, step out on a limb, suffer the consequences, surrender, swollen head, take a chance, the fear of the Lord, the hard way, the Lord is with you, the Spirit of God, thy lips from speaking guile, truth, two types of people, vision of success, worries, you can't make everyone like you, you can't please everyone, you cannot make a difference
Psalm 34:4. I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
So what’s up this Saturday morning, eh friends, the same old, same old? I guess the majority of us will be doing household chores and shopping and catching up on whatever we could not do doing the workweek. Some might even spend the day just catching up on the sleep they missed during the days of labour. (smile)
However, a blessed few will be out and about enjoying the sights and sounds of a picnic at the beach or some other such interesting, relaxing and enjoyable action. But whatever we do, please, let’s remember to do it all in the name of our Lord and Saviour, our Leader and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Amen!
And since it’s Saturday, let’s consider some of the quotes that our friend Anselm sent us this week in his blessed endeavour to inspire us for a better tomorrow.
Hear this first one. ‘There are two types of people who will tell you that you cannot make a difference in this world: those who are afraid to try and those who are afraid you will succeed.’
And why is that eh? I guess because the first lot is simply afraid to take a chance, step out on a limb to gather the better fruit. And the other set is simply jealous that you will succeed and be better off or more important and successful than them.
And following on from that first quote, the second one informs us that: ‘You can’t please everyone, and you can’t make everyone like you.’ And isn’t that the everlasting truth! No matter how sweet you are, and how hard you try, there will always be that core of people who will detest you.
And I speak from personal experience here. Though I was never a people pleaser, or went out of my way to make people like me, I’ve always been pleasant and friendly, not rude or unmannerly to anybody.
But then several years ago, when I discovered that certain people didn’t like me, and apparently for no good reason, since I’d never done them anything, I was quite surprised and somewhat hurt, and had to learn that lesson the heard way. I guess as the ole people would say, ‘some people’s blood just doesn’t take you, and vice versa.’ (smile)
So moving on ‘You must expect great things from yourself before you can do them.’ Quite true my brethren! Unless you have that vision of success and greatness, and keep it steadfastly in front of you, you probably won’t succeed. It’s like faith in our Christian walk, you have to believe it before you can see it.
But one word of caution; please don’t let your ego run loose and your head get too swollen while you climb that ladder of greatness, because the same people you meet going up, will be the same ones you meet coming down. And you usually come down much faster than you go up.
And Anselm ends up with this one: ‘The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.’ No lie! Like so many opposites in this crazy life, you simply can’t have one without the other!
But the beauty and blessedness of it all is if you submit and surrender to Almighty God, you will be able to handle it all! Glory to God my people!
Bruh David wisely espouses that in our Bit. ‘I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.’ There’s absolutely no doubt that if we sincerely seek the Lord God, He will hears us and relieve us from our anxieties, our worries, our resentments, anger and hatred.
And how do we sincerely seek the Lord? Listen to this advice from Bruh David. ‘Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is he that desireth life, and LOVETH, many days, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile (deceit). Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace and pursue it.’ (Ps.34:11-14)
That’s it in a nutshell friends! That’s the basic way to seek God, after you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! And please note the last requirement; seek peace, and pursue it.’ That means you diligently and steadfastly have to go after peace, persevering even when it seems you’ll never find or acquire it.
In fact friends, we need to seek and pursue ALL aspects of Christianity, for they don’t just appear out of thin air and stick around like glue. (smile) We have to be eager for them and diligently search them out. That’s what Jesus expects of us.
And we’ll end with these appropriate words from the prophet Azariah. ‘And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah, the son of Oded: And he went out to meet (before) Asa (the king), and said unto him, Hear ye me Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.’ (2 Chr.15:1-2)
I don’t see how it could get any simpler or plainer than that nuh mih people! If you want to have a blessed life, then you’ve got to have a sincere connection with Almighty God.
And He is right there waiting for us to seek Him and get that connection. And if we do, we’ll find Him. But if we don’t, then we’ll suffer the consequences…eventual separation from Him. It’s all up to us…please remember that. Much LOVE!
…a close walk with our Creator…is the most sensible action we can ever take…
28 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a li'l two step, acted presumptuously, alive and kicking, answered prayers, appreciation, attitude, aura of love, Black Friday, bondage, commandments, compassion, confidence, conquerors, Cyber Monday, dealt proudly, enthusiasm, extravagant shopping, fervent prayers, forgiveness, friends, full of compassion, glorious kingdom, glory hallelujah, good news, gracious, gratitude, heaven, higher than your thoughts, higher than your ways, holy spirit, humble servants, insolently, integral part of our family, invincible, Isaiah, Jesus Christ, Jesus' eyes, jobs, joy, lies, LOVE, mercies, mercy, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, my thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways are not your ways, Nehemiah, of great kindness, of great mercy, party animals, passion tears of joy, personal experience, praise, Praise the Lord, ready to pardon, rebelled against God, rebellion, refused to obey, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, rest, reverence, righteousness., sacrilege;i, salvation, sending up, sincerity, slow to anger, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, stiff necked, stubborn, taunts, thanks, Thanksgiving celebrations, the Lord is gracious, to the Lord our God, trust, truth, ungodly world, useful purpose, wiles, wisdom, worthwhile inroads
Daniel 9:9. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him.
Oh friends, oh friends, good news! We have good… no most excellent news this Monday morning! Our bubba Scotty is back home! Our prayers have been answered! Praise the Lord!
Scotty actually came out of the hospital on Thursday, but I didn’t know that until I went to church yesterday. All the tests came back negative, and I spoke to him on the phone in the evening. He is indeed alive, but not kicking too hard yet. (smile) However the next few weeks should see him get back to his normal bright and kicking self.
So let’s keep on praying, keep on sending up those fervent prayers to heaven, that the Lord returns him quickly to full health, because we need him, he is an integral part of our family. Hang in there Scotty mih friend!
And since we have such good news we should be in fine shape to begin this Monday morning… well except for those party animals down in the U.S. who must be suffering from the Thanksgiving celebrations and the hassles of Black Friday over the weekend.
Oh, I forgot, it’s Cyber Monday today, another day of extreme and extravagant shopping , this time though online. Steups! It’s a good thing I’m not involved in the nonsense nuh. Anyway, let’s belt out our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with sincerity and strong passion. Let’s see if we can’t bring tears of joy to our choirmaster Jesus’ eyes. (smile)
In unison 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!’
Yes mih breddren, yes! We’ve done it: we’ve brought tears of joy to Jesus’ eyes! Wow! Even the Father had to get up from His throne and do a li’l two step, the music was so sweet! (smile)
Now with all of that excitement, passion and good news, we have no excuses for not getting a serious move on to the battlefield to fight diligently and passionately for Jesus’ cause. But let’s also keep our Bit of God’s wonderful attributes in mind, so that we don’t condemn ourselves if perchance we fall short of God’s Word. ‘To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him.’
Ah friends, our God is so wonderful that there are no words to truly describe Him! Is there any other supposed god who is merciful and forgiving even when their subjects rebel against them? Obviously not! Our God created the universe and rules it as He sees fit.
As He so nicely tells us in Isaiah. ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.’ (Is.55:8-9) Now that’s telling us what is what and who is who! (smile) He’s just on a higher plane than us!
So let’s continue looking at some scriptures which corroborate the words of our Bit. And we’ll begin with the words of Bruh David from Psalm 145 – The Lord is gracious. Halfway through the psalm, Bruh David confidently declares: ‘The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.’ (Ps.145:8-9)
And all followers of Jesus Christ know that to be the absolute truth, which we have learned from personal experience as well as those of other believers. That brings us to an interesting scripture from Nehemiah, re the confessions of the priests and Levites.
He confesses: ‘But they and our fathers dealt proudly (acted presumptuously or insolently), and hardened their necks (became stubborn), and hearkened not to (did not heed) thy commandments. And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them: but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.’ (Neh. 9:16-17)
Can you imagine that friends? Even when the Israelites made a molten calf of gold and worshipped it, especially after all the wonders that He had recently done for them, the Lord did not destroy them!
Hn! He is indeed a merciful and forgiving God! And we should be offering up much more reverence and praise and thanks to Him in appreciation and gratitude for all that He’s done, is doing and has promised to do for us in the future.
So today, let’s take a few minutes and ponder our personal response and attitude towards Almighty God nuh, and make sure it’s not anything like that of the old time Israelites. Much LOVE!
…when one experiences God’s mercy and forgiveness…it’s unthinkable …sure sacrilege…to turn away from Him thereafter…
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