19 Oct 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: afflicted, all knees shall bow, all tongues confess, antibiotics, blight, bondage in Egypr, chikungunya, death, destruction, disasters, diseases, disgraceful, disobedience, Ebola, economic fallout, enough rope to hang ourselves, ever-, Father God, firebrand, For where two or three are gathered together in my name, forgiveness, greed, homelessness, humble, hunger, in our own strength, inequities, Israel, Israelites, Jesus Christ, judgement, little children, locusts, magnanimous god, magnify the Lord, malaria, mind games, moving away from God, new creations in Jesus, our Deliverer, our esteemed Creator, outward show, oving, pestilence, polio, poverty, praise, prepare to meet thy God, prosperity, punishment, rejoice in nothing, repentance, saith the Lord, salvation, selfishness, shameful, sinful behaviour, slain with the sword, Sodom & Gomorrah, state of our hearts, stench of your camps, Sunday, super bugs, the Good Book, the kingdom of heaven, the Lord God of Abraham Isaac and jacob, the Lord of hosts, the Lord's Day, the name above every other name, the Promised Land, the Sabbath Day, warnings, wisdom, worship, yet you have not returned to me
Amos 4:6B. …yet ye have not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
Well my Friends, brothers, sisters, neighbours, kinsfolk and strangers, it’s Sunday; the Lord’s Day, the Sabbath Day, a day we are supposed to keep holy and magnify the Lord therein!
Yes my brethren, it’s calling for the gathering of all and sundry to worship and praise our esteemed Creator, Father God, and our wonderful Deliverer, Jesus Christ, the Name above every other name, to which all knees must bow and all tongues declare that He is Lord indeed!
So today, please let the sanctuaries be full of new creations in Jesus, all avidly singing and praising the wondrous name of the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
And remember that it doesn’t really matter how many are gathered together, though it would be nice to have all creation, (smile) for Jesus promised that ‘where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them.’ (Matt.18:20) So don’t be cowed by a lack of numbers, because it’s not the outward show He’s interested in, but the true state of our hearts.
Ah mih people, our God is such a wonderful Deity that it truly amazes me when folks refuse to worship Him! And none more so than the Israelites of old. Imagine it nuh Friends, after He brought them out of dire bondage in Egypt, gave them the Promised Land and prosperity they didn’t work for or even deserve, they had the gall, the ‘boldfaceness’ to turn away from Him! Steups!
And even His punishment for their dreadful disobedience didn’t seem to faze them. As the Good Book relates: ‘I have smitten (stricken) you with blasting (blight) and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm (locusts) destroyed them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.’ (Amos 4:9)
How foolish and insensitive my brethren! And the Good Book continues: ‘I have sent among you the pestilence (a plague) after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses (along with your captive horses); and I have made the stink (stench) of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.’ (Amos 4:10)
Ah Lord eh! One would think that by then they would have gotten the message. But they obviously did not. And the Good Book continues: ‘I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.’ (Amos 4:11)
What fools mih breddren! But in reality we can’t judge the Israelites of old too harshly, because we are doing the same foolish thing in our modern society. The Lord raised us up as great nations, but then, when prosperity set in, we behaved as though we did it all in our strength. Chuh! How foolish!
And I like how Amos describes it later on. ‘Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought (over nothing), which say, Have we not taken to us horns (a symbol of strength) by our own strength.’ (Amos 6:13)
So Friends, we in this modern technological age are just as ignorant, stupid and guilty as the Israelites were in their simple agrarian days. We are hearing the same warnings my people, with all sorts of disasters suddenly raining down on us all over the globe. Old diseases which we thought we had eradicated are coming back – polio, malaria – with new ones ever on the horizon, think of Ebola and Chikungunya.
Even our super drugs, antibiotics are no longer as useful, because superbugs are developing that resist them. Poverty, hunger and homelessness are widespread in a world of plenty. Greed and selfishness predominate. Economic fallout is widespread… And everyday we’re moving further and further away from God with our overly sinful, doh-care behaviour.
Oh Friends, you don’t need me to point out the inequities, the shameful and disgraceful aspects of our society, because we are all touched and afflicted by them to some degree.
And as I contemplate our current disgusting situation, I’ve come to the conclusion that something is drastically wrong with our brains, because as children we were taught, it was drilled into us, that disobedience brought punishment. And we most certainly experienced it when we were foolish enough to disobey the authority in our lives, whether they were our parents, school teachers, the law, or even strangers!
So how now that we’re adults, when we should be wiser, we have turned against our wonderful, ever-LOVING and magnanimous God, Creator and Provider eh?
No wonder Jesus compared those fit for the kingdom of heaven to little children. ‘Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’ (Matt.18:3-4)
Obviously Friends, from our proud and disgusting behaviour, it’s obvious that we’re not humbling ourselves as little children, which means that our place in heaven is somewhat dicey.
And as the Lord eventually said to His chosen people: ‘Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel. For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind (or spirit), and declareth unto man what is his (God’s) thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The Lord, the God of hosts, is his name.’ (Amos 4:12-13)
That’s a powerful warning my people! As the scholars declare: ‘4:12-13. Prepare to meet thy God warns that God is not going to visit Israel with salvation, but rather with inevitable and complete judgement.’
And unfortunately my people, He’s established the same destruction for us, if we continue in our evil, ungodly ways down the path of disobedience that we have so unwisely chosen to tread.
Please remember that He is our Creator and Controller, His thoughts and ways are much higher than ours, and He doesn’t play the silly mind games that we play. His patience is long, and He gives more than enough rope to hang ourselves. So let’s consider ourselves warned, and be wise and return to the Lord. That is the ultimate in wisdom! Much LOVE!
…continual .disobedience to God’s Law breeds only one thing…eventual punishment of death and destruction…but true repentance…oh my my… it joyfully brings forgiveness and salvation…
13 Jul 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool despises instruction, a God of mercy, authority, comfort, compassion, counsel, Cousin Sol, cross at Calvary, deliver his soul from hell, despise, dictates of God, disdains instruction, disobedience, disobedient children, disobedient parents, disobey, emotional, encouraging, eternal life, exhorting, faith, faithfulness, fellowship of spirit, forgiveness, give thanks for god's goodness, glory hallelujah, hear counsel, heavenly Father, hogwash, holy relationship, instruction, latter days, laud, LOVE, loving kindness, magnify, mental, mercy, mortal standards, my heart shall rejoice, obeying the Word of God, penalties, physical punishment, pomp, poverty, praise God's holy name, precedence, price to pay, proper balance, Proverbs, prudent, punish, rearing children, receive instruction, reconciled, rejoice, reproof, sacrificed his only son Jesus, salvation, sanctuary, self-control, sensible, shame, sinners, speak right things, splendour, take for granted, the breath of life, the Lord's Day, the right way, the wrong way, thine heart be wise, undeserving children of men, what a wonderful God we serve and worship, words of knowledge, worship God, wrath
Proverbs 15:5. A fool despiseth his father’s instruction: but he that regardeth (keeps, accepts) reproof is prudent (sensible).
Oh mih Friends, one more day has just been added to our illustrious lives! Glory Hallelujah! What a wonderful God we serve and worship! A God of mercy, of LOVING-kindness, of forgiveness, of compassion, of comfort, and above all, of LOVE!
Wow! How could we not LOVE Him in return and bless and praise His Holy name and thank Him for the myriad of blessings He showers down on us each and every day eh, even if we don’t deserve them?
And all God’s people declared a loud and thankful: ‘All praise and glory be to God the Father, who in His never-ending stream of LOVING-kindness, sacrificed his only Son Jesus Christ on the rugged cross at Calvary so that we abominable sinners could be reconciled to Him, brought back into a holy and glorious relationship with Him, featuring salvation and eternal life!’
Yes my people, it is of the utmost importance that EVERYDAY we recognize and appreciate and give thanks for God’s goodness to us, the undeserving children of sinful men! A lot of us just take it for granted. But that is oh so wrong my brethren.
Remember too, that one of the reasons God created us from the dust of the earth, then blew the breath of life into our nostrils is so that we could laud and magnify Him, worship Him in all faithfulness, with pomp and splendour!
And since today is Sunday, the day that most of us recognize as the Lord’s Day – no divisive arguments over that now – it’s only fitting that we should gather at His sanctuary and fellowship with other believers, exhorting and encouraging each other in our faith, while giving the Lord the thanks and praise He so richly deserves!
And having said all of that, let’s turn to our Bit which encapsulates it all. ‘A fool despiseth his father’s instruction: but he that regardeth (keeps, accepts) reproof is prudent (sensible)’
And since those words are truth-bearing my brethren, it means that the majority of us on this planet earth are fools, because we very much despise and disobey our heavenly Father’s instructions, laid out for us in His Word. There’s no getting around that, if our Bit is true. And it certainly is, even by our mortal standards, as we saw from the several Proverbs we quoted yesterday, and will see from some more that we’ll quote today.
Yes Friends, we consider disobeying our earthly parents to be unwise, but hypocritically, we set up a different standard for our disobeying God. But disobedience is disobedience: in reality it’s the same; not abiding by the rules and regulations of a higher authority.
And Cousin Sol in his Proverbs, so wisely warns us that: ‘Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth (disdains, ignores) instruction: but he that regardeth (accepts) reproof shall be honoured.’ (Prov.13:18) And that my people goes for both the children of earthly men, and the children of our heavenly God!
When our children disobey us, we punish them; likewise, when we disobey God, we shouldn’t be surprised if He punishes us, because He states it quite clearly in His word. And if you don’t believe me, then just read Leviticus 26, where blessings for obedience are listed from verses 3-13, but penalties for disobedience run from verses 14-46. What does that intimate eh Friends? That there’s a very heavy price to pay for disobedience!
And in that vein, Cousin Sol tells us:’ A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again. Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end (days).’ (Prov.19:19-20)
And we come back to why there are so many disobedient children; because there are too many disobedient parents. Parents who are not rearing their children in the dictates of God, with a proper balance of LOVE and discipline! Oh my people, if we don’t teach them, the right way, someone else will teach them the wrong one, as is happening so much nowadays.
Hear these wise words from Cousin Sol. ‘Apply thine heart unto instruction; and thine ears to the words of knowledge. Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell. My son, if thine heart be wise, my (own) heart shall rejoice, even mine. Yes, my reins (my innermost being) shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.’ (Prov.23:12-16)
Now Friends, that doesn’t mean we have to beat our children senseless or abuse them, but by the same token if we don’t apply some measure of physical correction they’ll just turn out as they are today; spoiled rotten, undisciplined, ungrateful, believing that the world owes them a living, and all because the goody two shoes folks in their false wisdom declared that physical punishment tends to child abuse.
Hogwash! Most of us who received some sort of physical punishment for disobedience have turned out pretty good. Like everything else, if it’s overdone, it’s bad; just like mental and emotional punishment, or no punishment at all, can be abusive.
The only way our innermost beings can rejoice over our children’s behaviour, my brethren, is if we teach them discipline in the proper manner – just like God is trying to teach us, so that His heart can rejoice. (smile)
Anyway Friends, enough for today, let’s ponder all that we’ve read and heard, but in the end, let’s ensure that we are all following the Word of God, which is the only true wisdom that exists. Much LOVE!
…our world will only improve when discipline and self-control…based on God’s Word…take precedence over all else…
07 Jul 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 4th of July, Africa, appreciation, aura of love, California, Canadian Maritime Provinces, carnal lusts, chosen generation, complaining, confidence, conquerors, darkness, dissension, drought, economic fallout, enthusiasm, Europe, famine, flooding, greed, holy spirit, homage, homelessness, humble servants, Hurricane Arthur, invincible, Jesus Christ, light, LOVE Revolution, lust for power, Manitoba, maturity, Melchizedek, Middle East, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, need of milk, negative influences, newborn babes, North America, poverty, racial religious and ethnic tension, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rich are getting richer, righteousness., royal priesthood, Saskatchewan, sickness, soccer, solid food, sorry state, Southern Ontario, spiritual armour, spiritual immaturity, spirituality, state of our world, steadfast faith, strife, surrender, terrorism, Texas, the body of Christ, the Word of god, things of God, tornados, trust, U.S. Midwest, ungodly world, violent acts, wars, whining, white elephant stadiums, wisdom, World cup
1 Peter 2:2, As newborn babes, desire the sincere (pure) milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.
Oh Friends, it’s a brand new day – Monday – the first day of the new work week. And for whatever reason, I’ve been guided to take a brief inventory of the state of our world.
And it’s in a real sorry state at the present time – what with a variety of strife, wars, terrorism and other violent acts dominating the landscape of Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East, spawned mainly by greed, lust for power, racial, religious and ethnic and economic tension. And in many of those same places where the violence is taking place, there is famine, drought, flooding, sickness and extreme poverty.
Meanwhile, on this side of the pond, in North America, the confrontations are not as violent, though racial, religious and ethnic tensions are also on increase. There is plenty dissension and the continuing economic fallout is causing poverty, homelessness and sickness to be more rampant than ever, especially in such an affluent society. But that’s because the greed and non-social conscience of the rich are causing them to get richer, while the rest are certainly getting poorer.
And besides that we’re simply having floods in the Western Canadian Provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, while several violent tornados have recently ripped through the U.S Midwest and Southern Ontario, and this past weekend Hurricane Arthur deluged the U.S North East Coast and the Canadian Maritime Provinces with tons of rain. But then states like Texas and California are enduring extended periods of drought.
But down in South America, where poverty and strife are always present in large amounts, the supposedly ‘beautiful game,’ soccer is having its World Cup expose in Brazil amidst large demonstrations and unhappiness at the amount of money spent to build new, white elephant stadiums to host the games. But the games are being doted on and bet on by billions around the globe.
What’s going to happen after the finals this week eh? The already wealthy clique that controls the game will walk away even wealthier, leaving the poor and downtrodden in Brazil possibly even worse off than before. And before long we’ll certainly hear about some unnecessary violence committed in the name of the football gods.
Ah Lord eh! And that Friends is only a brief overview. So what sort of picture does it paint of our world eh? Certainly not a pretty one! And though there’s serious unrest and tension all over, there’s not much any of us individuals can do, except to try and keep our immediate families and friends as safe and secure as possible, and free of those negative influences.
However as a group, a group of true believers in Jesus Christ, we can do something to lessen those negative influences. And we can begin by being thankful and responsible this Monday morning; by getting up and going to work without whining and complaining, especially after the 4th of July long weekend, for we are living better than three quarters of our world.
So in appreciation of that, and homage to our wonderful God, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with great gusto. As one powerful army cum choir of God, let’s sing. ‘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!’
Now that might suffice for today my people, but what happens tomorrow eh? We have to turn to the wisdom of our Bit: ‘As newborn babes, desire the sincere (pure) milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.’
We need to grow in the Word of God if we hope to make a positive difference in this world. And you can see from our overview that our world is in bad shape, which means we have to get a move on sooner, rather than later if we want to stop its slide into total destruction. And this section of Scripture from Hebrews, where the author wants to talk about Jesus the High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, brings home that point.
‘Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered (explain), seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time (though by this time) ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles (sayings) of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat (solid food)
For every one that useth (partakes of) milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat (solid food) belongeth to them that are of full age (mature), even those who by reason of use (practice) have their senses exercised (trained) to discern both good and evil.’ (Heb.5:11-14)
Yes Friends spiritual immaturity is holding back the body of Christ. Many of us, who should be teachers by now, are still immature in the faith. We can’t cause a LOVE Revolution through immaturity. We need to be versed in the Word and then put it into practice.
Now listen to how Peter describes us: ‘But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people (God’s special people); that ye should show forth (proclaim) the praise of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.’ (1 Pet.2:9)
Yes my brethren, that’s what we’re supposed to be, chosen of God, special! That also means we have to be behave like royalty! So please let’s get with the programme nuh, let’s seriously study the Word and thus not be fooled by the wiles of the enemy. It’s only through maturity we can do that, and also be able to teach others. That’s what Jesus desires of us.
Much LOVE!…it’s high time believers stop allowing the carnal lusts of the world to rule their lives…and turn to the things of the Spirit and of God instead…
02 May 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adviser, all praise and thanks to God, another week of work, as a tree planted by waters, be anxious, belly and backbone, blessed, blessed is he who trusts in the Lord, blessings, business, clouding our senses, corrupt governments, crooks, cursed, cursed is he who trusts in man, debts, debts incurred in getting education, decadent lives, degrading, downtrodden of society, drought, economic system, education, efficient, embracing the materialistic world, evil cohorts, evil rapists, famine, fellowship, first world nations, floods, folly of our choices, foolish decisions, foundations of society falling apart, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, future generations, generous help, godliness, godly, greedy, higher standard of living, homelessness, hope in the Lord, I pray in Jesus' name, if you don't hear- you'll feel, in Jesus' name, in the name of profits, inefficent, inhabit parched places, Jesus Christ, leader, lost jobs, lower wage costs, Lucifer, lusts of the flesh, make it in the material world, makes my heart terribly sad, man-made disasters, menial, mercies, natural disasters, Nero, outsourcing, part-time work, poor getting poorer, poverty, present age, profits, refreshed, relaxation, remove God from our lives, renewed vitality, resist temptations, rest, rich getting richer, righteousness., Rome burning, senseless world, shall not fear, siphoning the cream, spreads her roots by the river, storing up treasures, straight and narrow path, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, Thank God the work week finish, the Good Book, the Holy Spirit, the shrub in the desert, the wilderness, the year of drought, third world countries, true believers, truth, weekend, whose heart departs from God, yielding fruit, you get the government you deserve, you have done worse than your fathers, you walk after the stubbornness of yoru evil heart
Jeremiah 16:12. And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination (stubbornness) of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me.
And then it was Friday…! ‘Friday… already?’ Some questioned. Yes, Friends, it is indeed Friday! This week has passed very quickly.
Then all those who were too busy working to notice that it was Friday, rose up with a mighty shout of joy: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday yes! Things must be real good when we don’t even realize that it’s Friday. All praise and thanks to our great God for His many mercies and blessings that are going to flow this weekend! Thank God the work week finish!’
Yeh mih people, life has to be good when we don’t even know it’s Friday. But as always, let’s chant our Friday Chant to help us keep the 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.’
Now that ought to help keep us on the straight and narrow path that leads to Jesus. So let’s turn to our Bit: ‘And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination (stubbornness) of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me.’
Ah mih people, those words are so very true of our society today that it makes my heart terribly sad. What is our problem eh? When God was our leader and adviser we lived such good lives. But now that Lucifer and his evil cohorts are running the show, our lives have turned sour and most miserable.
The basic foundations of our society are falling apart. The economic system is a mess, with thousands of jobs been lost everyday, all in the name of profits. That corresponds to the big outsourcing, where jobs are being transferred to countries with lower wage costs, thus the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer.
The best we can do is offer part time, menial, underpaid work in the service industry. Our children are graduating from school and can’t find jobs to match their qualifications, so they take whatever they can find, if they can find anything, and wonder how they’re going to pay back the large debts they incurred to get that unfruitful education.
All of that unfortunately brings back the horrors that we tried to eradicate with a higher standard of living. That means poverty, the abject kind is on the rise. Don’t even talk about homelessness. The situation in the supposed first world nations is possibly worse than in the third world countries. That’s how bad it is.
And sadly, the inefficient, corrupt, greedy governments that we’ve elected over the last couple decades couldn’t care less about the downtrodden members of their society. All they talk about is business, business and more business, when the business people are the biggest crooks in the world, just siphoning off the cream from the society so that they can lead ever more decadent and degrading lives. Steups!
But yuh know Friends, whoever said that you get the government you deserve was quite right! And until we elect godly, efficient, people with belly and backbone to stand up against the evil rapists of our society, things will never improve. But it’s all got to start with us my people, with the true believers in Jesus Christ!
Why? Simply because we are the only ones who give a damn about the downtrodden! At least we’re supposed to. Unfortunately though, too many of us are also trying to make it in the material world, storing up treasures for ourselves down here on earth, rather than in heaven.
And if we believe in the Good Book at all, we’d take very seriously these words of our Creator to the people of Judah, way back when.
‘Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in (the strength of) man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath (shrub) in the desert, and shall not not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.’ (Jer.17:5-6)
Oh my brethren, those words are slowly coming to pass as our society moves further and further away from Almighty God! Famine, floods, drought and all sorts of natural disasters, as well as man made ones, are levelling our planet while we behave like Nero did while Rome was burning – indulging in lusts of the flesh!
What’s wrong with us eh? Why can’t we see and understand the folly of the choices we’re making to embrace the materialistic world that’s now controlling almost every aspect of our lives?
As believers in Jesus we can certainly resist the temptations that come against us. We have His awesome power dwelling in us – the Holy Spirit that’s meant to lead and guide us into all truth and righteousness. But we are letting the evil powers continue to remove God from our lives. Ah mih people, how sad!
And we’ll close with some more true words of scripture. ‘Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see (fear, be anxious) when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful (anxious, worried) in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.’ (Jer.17:7-8)
Oh Friends, there’s nothing to compare in those two readings. The last one is obviously the only one that makes any sense. So please please, in Jesus’ Name I’m pleading with us to let go of the absurd materialism that’s clouding our senses and turn instead to the godliness and righteousness of our forefathers, so that future generations will be blessed and not cursed by our foolish decisions in this present age.
It’s the only thing that makes sense in this senseless world! Much LOVE!
…if you don’t hear…at some stage you’re certainly going to feel…and feel very hard too…
04 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: almighty god, anger, anxiety, assuring, begging bread, calamity, cast down, comforting, confusion, crime, depart from evil, distribution of wealth, do good, early retirement, eternal truth, evil, evil doers, fallible, fellowship, focused, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, God's largesse, godly men, godly wisdom, happy manner, healthy, hope, immortal, indisputable fact, inequality, infallible, jehovah god, Jesus, leisure, LOVE, mortal, necessities of life, peace, pensions, pipe dreams, poor getting poorer, poor stewards, poverty, relaxation, remove Jehovah God, resentment, rich getting richer, righteous forsaken, sacrifice, sad demise, several jobs, shall not stumble, shortcomings of our society, sickness, sincerity, sins, still can't make ends meet, stressed out, strife, survive in this rat race world, technological revolution, Thank God it's Friday, the weekend, ungodliness, walk safely, wealth, wealthy times, wisdom, work, working harder
Proverbs 3:23. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.
Oh Friends, it’s Friday, it’s Friday! The weekend’s come, and labour’s done! Thank God it’s Friday!
Yeh mih people, it is indeed Friday, but it never fails to amaze me at how much our society looks forward to those two days off. This was once supposed to be the generation of leisure, of take it easy, of so much wealth etc. that we didn’t need to work our sorry tails off any longer.
Hn! But what’s happened eh? In the midst of all the technological revolution, we’re now working harder than ever, often at several jobs, and still can’t make ends meet!
We’re the most stressed out and anxiety wired generation ever, in times of supposed peace. There’s also more poverty, homelessness, sickness, crime – both white and blue collar – plus oodles of resentment, anger and strife, accompanied by unforeseen ungodliness and evil, in what’s been amongst the wealthiest of times.
Oh my brethren, how did we ever get this way eh? Whatever happened to the dreams of a four and three day work-week, and early retirement with pensions we could afford to live on? Steups!
Unfortunately, those are not even pipe dreams nowadays, but more like impossible ones! Ah Lord eh! We certainly have been very poor stewards of God’s largesse.
I guess there are many reasons for our sad demise, but one of the biggest is the distribution of wealth. The rich have indeed been getting richer and the poor poorer! And once that great inequality in wealth exists, society cannot function in a healthy, much less happy manner.
When so many don’t even have the wherewithal to purchase the basic necessities of life, there must be confusion and calamity – especially when you also remove Jehovah God from the equation!
Anyway Friends, this wasn’t meant to be a treatise on the shortcomings of our society, just a brief edification. (smile) So let’s get to the matter at hand and chant our Friday Chant with much sincerity and hope, to keep us strong and thoroughly focused on what we need to do to survive in this rat-race world.
So let’s chant up a storm this Friday morning 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.’
Awright mih people, that ought to give us enough of the right perspective in how to handle the weekend! So let’s move on to our Bit, one of God’s great promises. ‘Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.’
Yes Friends, when we give Jehovah God sovereignty over our lives, we WILL indeed walk in the safety and security of His everlasting LOVE and omnipotence!
What can be more assuring and comforting than that eh? Nothing my brethren! Nothing at all!
If we can’t trust the Creator and Controller of this great and wonderful universe, whom then can we really trust? Certainly not mortal and fallible man!
Now let’s check out some scripture that corroborates our Bit, from two of the most godly and God endowed men that ever lived.
First up is Cousin Sol with a proverb of eternal truth. ‘He that walketh uprightly walketh surely (securely, safely): but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.’ (Prov.10:9)
And that’s an indisputable fact Friends, as we’re seeing every day, as more and more evil doers are being brought to light.
Now hear Bruh David; a man after God’s own heart. ‘The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again (does not repay): but the righteous showeth mercy, and giveth. For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth (land); and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off (destroyed). The steps of a good man are ordered (established) by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed (descendants) begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed (descendants) is blessed. Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.’ (Ps.37: 21-27)
Oh mih people, my fellow believers, what words of grace and godly assurance! And Bruh David lived them! It wasn’t any hearsay, but a true testimonial of his life. Though he occasionally stumbled and fell, the Lord never entirely cast him adrift. Of course he paid a price for some of his more heinous sins, but his name still reverberates throughout the Good Book as a man of God.
All I can say Friends, is that if you deal sincerely and truthfully with Almighty God, He will do the same with you. But you have to put your trust in Him first. He has already done His part by sacrificing Jesus to pay for our sins. It’s up to us now to receive His awesome grace, mercy, LOVE and forgiveness. And if we’re truly endowed with godly wisdom, then we’ll do just that! Much LOVE!
…if you can believe you’re in good hands with All State…a company run by fallible men…why can’t you believe you’ll be in even better…the best hands…with infallible, immortal…Almighty God…
18 Mar 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a word to the wise, abominable sins, almighty god, anxiety, apathy, arsenal of God, atonement of sins, Beelzebub's hold, calypso, celebration, Christ's Church, christianity, coming together, correlation, corruption, day of judgement, decline in moral standards, deliver the godly from temptation, deliver us from evil, demonizing, demoralizing, disatrous times, divide and conquer, dominating the world, economic decline, evil powers, expansion of god's kingdom, eyes of faith, faith, far-reaching, fear, fight against the enemy, furthering God's kingdom, God's people, God's truth, godliness, godly principles, godly wisdom, grateful, guaranteed solution, holy spirit, into all truth, invasive, irreverent, Jesus Christ, joy, joyous, keep them from evil, lackadaisical attitude towards God, leading and guiding, Lent, libation, light a bonfire under our rear ends, live a godly life, look to heaven and jesus, LOVE, majesty, man-made solutions, moaning and groaning, move heaven and earth, necessary tools, norms, not of the world, on the radio in Lent, oppression, petty selfish purposes, poverty, power and glory, powers of evil, problems, purpose, rejuvenate, removal of god, renew, return to worshipping Jehovah God, revitalize, selfless sacrifice, sense, sense of unity and purpose, serious action, sickness, social values, spread the news of Christ's gospel, St. Paddy's Day, standing idly by, stirred up, strife, strong foundation that's jesus, stupidity, take them out of the world, temptation, tentacles, the cross at Calvary, the Good Book, the naked eye, the Rock, thine is the kingdom, things of heaven, things of the world, troubles of this wicked and ungodly world, ungodly regime, walk with god, war, Western society, wicked, wisdom, wisdom and power, worship
Matthew 6:13. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (the evil one): For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Oh Friends, the ole fella’s tired this Tuesday morning… And it’s not because of too much libation celebrating St. Paddy’s Day, as a good Irishman ought to! (smile) It’s just from not enough rest.
Yuh know, it’s interesting that when I was growing up in T&T, you didn’t hear a Calypso on the radio during Lent, except on St. Patrick’s Day. I guess they were considered an inferior art or music form, too irreverent and not worthy to be played during the supposedly holy and serious season of Lent.
And some of them were indeed irreverent, but nowhere near the amount of irreverent junk that’s being played on the radio these days, both in and out of Lent.
It’s strange how the norms and social values of a society change as time goes by, and particularly as the godliness in that society declines, as has happened in Western society over the last thirty or so years.
There is a definite correlation between the decline in moral standards and the removal of God from a society. How very sad my people… When we need God the most, as in the disastrous times we’re now experiencing, that’s when we’re seeing Him the least. What a pity!
And it’s rather unfortunate and despairing that we’ve tried so many man-made solutions to try and solve our many problems of war, strife, corruption, oppression, suppression, economic decline, poverty, sickness etc. etc, but the one solution guaranteed to bring out us of our troubles, a return to seriously worshipping Jehovah God, we steadfastly refuse to try. Steups!
Instead we’re still foolishly trying to further remove Him from the already small, minimal and lowly position He now holds in our constantly faltering and steadfastly failing Western society.
Ah mih people, I don’t know what to say. The powers of evil have us so wrapped up in their wicked, far-reaching, invasive tentacles that it seems impossible to get out from under their ungodly regime.
But that’s only to the naked eye my brethren! To the eyes of faith, the ones of the soul, which look to heaven and Jesus, Beelzebub’s hold CAN, AND WILL BE BROKEN!
But to do that, we need a much greater sense of unity and purpose amongst believers. Instead of fighting amongst and against each other, demoralizing and demonizing each other, we ought to be coming together in some form and fashion to fight against the enemy and the evil powers that are currently dominating the world.
And unfortunately, until we get enough faith, sense and wisdom to do that, those evil world powers will continue to divide, conquer and dominate the troubled world we live in.
And if you’ll notice, my fellow believers, the evil powers, though not in concert on everything, are surely so in their great desire to rid our society of the power and the glory of Almighty God!
Likewise, believers in Jesus Christ don’t need to be in agreement on everything, except the renewal, as well as the expansion of God’s power and glory, majesty and worship down here on earth, just as it exists in heaven above.
That’s what Jesus prayed for when He taught the disciples, and consequently us, how to pray. In the immortal words of our Bit: ‘And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (the evil one): For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.’
And that’s exactly what we ought to be doing my brethren; increasing, furthering God’s most worthy and everlasting kingdom down here on planet earth, rather than standing idly by, moaning and groaning, more concerned about acquiring the destructible and destructive things of the world, than the indestructible, everlasting things of heaven.
And it’s not like Jesus left us stranded, completely open to the whims and deeds of the evil one. He particularly prayed for us before He returned to heaven.
‘And now come I to thee (Father); and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray NOT that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from evil (the evil one). (John 17:13-15)
And Peter admirably follows that up with these words of absolute truth. ‘The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgement to be punished.’ (2 Pet.2:9)
Oh my people, we have all the tools necessary to renew, revitalize and rejuvenate the purpose and kingdom of Almighty God here on earth, so why aren’t we doing it eh? God alone knows for sure!
And there’s no greater tool in the arsenal of God that we possess than that of His Holy Spirit which indwells every believer! And it was given to us for the definite and stated purpose of leading and guiding us unto all truth, to give us wisdom and power to live a godly life amidst the troubles of this wicked and ungodly world.
So I ask again, why aren’t we using it eh mih people? Why are we simply hanging around in fear, anxiety and apathy, complaining about how the evil rulers are taking away our godly rights and justice?
Oh Friends, they are not taking them away, we are allowing them to water down our faith, through lack of unity and a general lackadaisical attitude towards God and our faith!
Please note how all the other religions, despite their fallacy, are more serious and zealous in proclaiming their faith than we are about ours: Christianity; the ONE TRUE ONE, based and built on the ROCK, the strong foundation that’s Jesus Christ, His holy and selfless sacrifice on the cross at Calvary, to pay for our abominable sins.
Oh Friends, doesn’t that mean a whole lot to us, in fact everything? Well it ought to! We should be so joyous, so stirred up, so grateful for Jesus’ atonement, that we would gladly move heaven and earth to spread the glorious news of His gospel and wonderful kingdom!
Please my brethren, I’m pleading with us today, to start doing that RIGHT NOW! It’s high time we lit a huge bonfire under our rear ends to get up and get a true fight going for Jesus and His godly principles! Oh my fellow believers, that’s the only thing that makes any sense in this foolish and senseless world.
When we walk with God, He walks with us. But it has to be a heartfelt, continual walk; not a sometimes on, sometimes off thing, where we only cry out to Him for our own petty, selfish purposes, and then forget about Him afterwards. That’s stupidity at it’s zenith my people! And God’s people ought always to be seeking godly wisdom.
The Good Book claims that a word to the wise is sufficient. Please, please, let’s prove today, without a shadow of doubt, that God’s people are indeed wise. Much LOVE!
…unless God’s truth is refined…and turned into serious action…not merely talk…Christ’s church will not dominate the earth as it ought to…
22 Feb 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Abraham Isaac and Jacob, anger, anxiety, assured, beginning of time, Christian countries, correction, corruption, day of judgement, deceit, depressing, disobedient qualities, disposable, doctrine, downright dangerous, economics, emphasis on science, enlightened discussion, fear, generous help, god, God's Word, god-forsaken world, good works, greed, guide book, heartbreaking, Holy Name, homeless, incompetence, inconsequential things, inequality of wealth, inspiration, inspiration of God, instruction, living God, long windedness, negative situation, no inspiration from above, one of those days, oppressive regimes, our favourite pastime, people out of work, petty, politics, poverty, provocative Bit, religion, reproof, resntment, righteousness., scripture, serious threat, sickness, stand steadfast in the scriptures, strife, struggling, talking about god, Timoty, topic of conversation, truth, uncertainty, unfashionable, unpredictable behaviour, uplift us, warmongering, wars and rumours of war, weather, words of wisdom
2 Timothy 3:16. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
Oh Friends, it’s one of those days! The ole fella’s struggling this Saturday morning, for the old brain is refusing to function properly. (smile) I had a hard time finding a Bit which I could handle, and now that I’ve found one, I don’t know what to ramble on about in my preamble. Steups!
Now isn’t that a lovely position for a supposed writer to find him or herself in? No words of wisdom are tumbling from my pen this morning, as they are won’t to do. There’s no inspiration from above.
But Friends, I’m assured that inspiration will soon be forthcoming, and with the Lord’s most generous help, we’ll soon turn this negative situation around. Then I’ll have too much to write about, and you’ll be going on about my long windedness. (smile)
But what’s there to talk about anyway eh? All the topics are so depressing. Like the weather? I’m tired of talking about it and its recent unpredictable behaviour. So what about politics, you ask? Chuh! Not that either! Too much incompetence, greed, corruption and deceit.
And we definitely don’t want to talk about the numerous wars and rumours of war that are being currently fought on this small planet. It surely seems like warmongering is our main, our favourite pastime, because that’s what we’ve been doing from the beginning of time.
So then, how about economics? No, that’s too heartbreaking! Too many people are out of work, too many homeless, too much sickness and poverty and inequality of wealth.
Well then the only thing left is religion… Oh no! Not that at all! Religion is what’s causing most of the wars, strife, anger and resentment littering our world. Then what should we talk about?
Oh my people, there exists only one completely positive and perfect topic of conversation; and that’s God!
All the other stuff we talk about don’t really uplift us, because they are all getting worse. Only God – not religion, which are man made rules and observances – stands the perfect test of time. And we’re talking here about the ONE and ONLY TRUE, LIVING GOD; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
I truly believe that if we talked more about Him, and less of the petty, often useless, disposable and inconsequential things of the world, we would all be much better off. But unfortunately, talking about Jehovah God is becoming rather unfashionable in these modern times.
In fact, in many places, even mentioning His Holy Name can be downright dangerous, and a serious threat to one’s health and life. So having an enlightened discussion on Him, and consequently His Word can be severely frowned upon, even in supposed Christian countries.
That brings us to our rather provocative Bit, where Bruh Paul is encouraging the young pastor, Timothy, to stand steadfast in the scriptures, because: ‘All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.’
Oh my fellow believers, there have been arguments over what is supposedly God’s Word since the beginning of time, and there will be disagreements over it until the Day of Judgement when the unbelievers finally discover its truth, though sadly too late to take advantage of it.
And in this modern, technological world, where we place so much emphasis on science, it’s easy to dispute the words of our Bit. And before I began writing the Bit, I was somewhat sceptical too, and could have been drawn into negative arguments about it.
Hn! But no longer my brethren, for over the years I’ve written the Bit, I’ve had so many inspirational moments, that I can now clearly see how those early writers of the Word could have been divinely inspired.
And why did God do that? ‘That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.’ (2 Tim.3:17)
Yes Friends, our wonderful God, in His great wisdom, having known of and seeing our disobedient qualities from the very beginning, decided to give us a manual, a guide book for our travel along our earthly paths.
Unfortunately though, not enough of us spend sufficient time poring over those divinely inspired words, otherwise we wouldn’t be living in such an evil, negative, God-forsaken world. If we were to take up the Good Book and ponder it even half as much as we do the vacation brochures and weekly sales flyers, we’d all be much more contented.
But that’s how the evil powers of the world have set up their domain; with negative and wicked plans to keep us wallowing in anxiety, fear, uncertainty, and thus subjugation to their oppressive regimes!
But my fellow believers, if we stick to the divinely inspired Word of our Creator, we can beat Beelzebub and his evil cohorts at their own game. However, as with all things in this world, it first takes belief, and strong belief too, to go out on a limb and declare that the Good Book is truly inspiration from the holy, immortal God, given to lowly, mortal men for their distribution to His most blessed and LOVED creation.
And we’ll end today’s message with some words from the scholars, re Inspiration. ‘3:16. This refers to the supernatural guidance of writers of Scripture by the Spirit of God, so that what they wrote was the divine Word of God, transcribed accurately, reliably, and without error in the original manuscripts (“autographs). The word ‘inspiration’ itself pictures God breathing out His Word to men.
Illustration: Not everything written by an apostle or a prophet was necessarily inspired. Paul wrote at least three epistles to the Corinthians, but apparently only two were an inspired record (1 Cor.5:9). Samuel, Nathan, and Gad each wrote accounts of David’s life; only one of these prophets produced an inspired record (1 Chr.29:29).
Application: Since the Scriptures are given to help Christians grow in maturity, they should rely upon them for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness (right living). (First Ref. Gen.1:3; Primary Ref, 2 Tim 3:16-17; cf. 2 Pet.1:21.)’
That should hold us for today Friends. But please, let’s not forget the great importance attached to the Good Book in the lives of ALL believers! It’s our guide book to heaven! Much LOVE!
…if you don’t read the Lord’s guide book…you won’t know where He’s at…or how to reach Him…
11 Jan 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a believer's life, action, appendage of love, appreciation, atoning sacrifice, attributes, baubles and bangles, Bruh Paul, Christians, competitor, corruption, defeats the purpose, diligence, discipline, earthly walk, easy life, effort, evil cohorts, evil doers, evil powers, evil ways, faithfulness, fat fannies, fear, figuratively, followers of Jesus, fruit of the Spirit, fulfills the law, furrows of love, gentleness, God is LOVE, God's help, God's plan for our lives, goodness, gratefulness, hatred stirs up strife, heartfelt prayer, hearts, holiness, homelessness, Jesus Christ, joy, joy in heaven, justice, kindness, literally, long-suffering, losing the battle, Love covers all sins, Love does no harm, love experience, Love God, love of the Father, LOVE Revolution, Lucifer, make hay while the sun shines, man's sinful nature, meekness, mere token, minds, motives of our hearts, negativity, New Year's Day, oppression, outward actions, peace, petty concerns, plough, poverty, procrastinating, rhetoric, self-control, serious challenge, shape up, sincerity, sins, sitting on laurels, sliding into hell, specific purpose, spritually resembling Jesus, standing steadfast, suppression, temperance, thankfulness, time waits on no one, unbelievers, walk in LOVE, whim and fancy, wise words, work seriously, worthwhile institutions, wretched souls
Romans 13:10. LOVE worketh no ill (does no harm) to his neighbour: therefore LOVE is the fulfilling of the law.
Oh Friends, can you believe it’s already the 11th of January! But we just celebrated New Year’s Day last week!
Yes, it seems 2014 is going to be a fast moving year like 2013, so we had better shape up and do the things we need to do; stop procrastinating, stop believing that we have lots of time to accomplish our life’s work. For some wise people said long ago, that time waits on no one, and that lost time can never be regained, so it’s best to make hay while the sun shines. (smile)
And how do we do all of that? First of all by finding out the plan God has for our lives, then diligently living it out with His help. And He does have a plan for each every life that He creates. He doesn’t just make us on a whim and fancy, but for a specific purpose. That means if you don’t know His plan for your individual life, then you have to ask Him. And you know He’ll never refuse to answer sincere, heartfelt prayer.
But Friends, whatever specific plan God has in store for us, it always has the appendage of LOVE attached to it. Why? Because God is LOVE! (1 John 4:8b) That is one of His many glorious attributes, possibly the most important one as it pertains to human life. For as Jesus said the most important aspects of human life are to LOVE God, ourselves and our neighbours. (Matt.22:37-40)
Therefore, if we are to be true followers of Jehovah God, then LOVE MUST play a very large and important part in our lives. 1 John 4:10 tells us that it’s because God LOVED us so deeply that He sent Jesus to die as an atoning sacrifice for our sins, so He could cover His attributes of holiness and justice. Consequently, ‘Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4:11) That means followers of Jesus ought to walk in LOVE!
And our Bit certainly confirms that LOVE is of the utmost importance in a believer’s life. ‘LOVE worketh no ill (does no harm) to his neighbour: therefore LOVE is the fulfilling of the law.’ So if we’re walking in LOVE, then we’re fulfilling the law of God!
However Friends, talking about walking in LOVE, and actually doing it, are two entirely different things, if only because of man’s sinful and rebellious nature and the unbelievable negativity that our world embraces. Therefore to truly walk in LOVE is not easy, it is indeed a serious challenge. But as everything else in our world, it is doable with our diligence and the help of God.
And the beauty of the whole LOVE experience is that when we truly put it into action, that’s the time we come closest to spiritually resembling Jesus. Oh what joy that ought to produce in a believer’s life!
However, our nature is also to shy away from anything that’s difficult; anything that takes some time, discipline and diligent effort. But just look at what Jesus suffered for us nuh my brethren. Our difficulties are a joke compared to what He went though to save our wretched souls. And all for one big reason…the LOVE OF THE FATHER!
So why can’t we now show a little gratefulness, a little thankfulness by grabbing hold of our plough and looking straight ahead, plough some beautiful furrows of LOVE eh? It’s the least we can do to show our appreciation. We won’t always be perfect and/or successful, but the Lord knows this, and it’s the sincerity of effort that counts.
And sadly my brethren, too many of us refuse to make that effort, that’s why Christ’s church and His LOVE Revolution is losing the battle to Lucifer and his evil cohorts. We seem to want the easy life, but life’s not easy; it never was, and never will be, however you cut or slice it!
Oh Friends, have you noticed how hard the evil powers fight for what they believe in? They don’t sit on their laurels and fat fannies and spout a lot of rhetoric. They get up and work seriously and diligently towards their goals. And if the church of Christ wants to win the battle of this world, then we have to do the same thing. And I don’t mean working hard to acquire the baubles and bangles of the world, but letting the LOVE of God show in our earthly walk, through what Bruh Paul terms the fruit of the Spirit.
And he describes it thus: ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness (kindness), goodness, faith (faithfulness), Meekness, temperance (self-control): against such there is no law.’ (Gal.5:22-23)
Now mih people, that is what we, as Christians, as followers of Jesus Christ, ought to be showing to the world! But are we doing that? Not half as much as we should! And oftimes it’s just mere token spiritual fruit we offer, from our minds, but not sincerely from our hearts, which defeats the whole purpose, because God doesn’t look at our outward actions, but at the motives of our hearts.
So Friends, let’s get up and get a serious move on nuh. Yuh see how our world is both literally and figuratively sliding down into hell! And we supposed Christians are suffering the downward slide because we’re not doing enough to convince unbelievers that Jesus and His church are worthwhile institutions to support and enjoy.
Oh mih breddren I know I’m coming on somewhat strong, but I’m just tired of seeing the evil and corruption, the poverty, the homelessness, the oppression and suppression that’s currently dominating our world. And sadly, it’s getting worse daily, while we believers squabble amongst ourselves over petty concerns, instead of standing up steadfast and strong against the evil doers, and living the kind of life that truly reflects Jesus. We’re either kow-towing to the evil doers in fear, or joining them because we too enjoy their evil ways.
And we’ll end with some wise words on the subject from Cousin Sol. ‘Hatred stirreth up strifes: but LOVE covereth all sins.’ (Prov.10:12)
Oh my people, with those awesome words of wisdom and truth ringing in our ears this Saturday morning, please, let’s go out into the sinful world that surrounds us and cover up plenty more sins than we’re currently doing nuh. It’s what Jesus commanded us to do. (Matt.28:19-20) Let’s show the world what true LOVE really is! That would bring such joy to heaven. Much LOVE!
…to be successful at anything…you need to stay several steps ahead of your competitor…so let’s rev up the LOVE Revolution nuh…
21 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ability, Abraham, admissible evidence, assurance, Athens, authority, balancing act, being fearful, black and white, blatant, boggles the imagination, boldfaced, Bruh Paul, brutality, calamitous state, called to account, Christian, Christmas, confidence, conscience, consitent, corruption, crime, crimes against humanity, culprits, destruction, disobedient, economics, emotional, evil, followers, God-given responsibility, Godhead, good, greed, help, homelessness, hunger, ignorance, incompetence, Jesus, judged, judgement, judgement day, justice, justice of God, letting voices be heard, life, light of the world, loss of jobs, LOVE, marginalization, Mars Hill, mental, mercy, military presence, needy, newspapers, obedient, offspring of God, ordained, parable, pay heed, petty excuses, physcial tiredness, piddling wages, plead, police, politics, poor getting poorer, poverty, prayer, public protests, raised from the dead, relationships, resistance, retribution, rich getting richer, righteousness., rule the roost, rumours of war, salt of the earth, secret thing, selfishness, serious action, Sodom, sorry picture, standards, standing up to wrongdoers, step up to the plate, strife, talents, technological prowess, throw the book, under a bushel, understanding, ungodly, unhappiness, unknown God, walk earhtly paths, wars, wisdom, wrongdoings
Ecclesiastes 12:14. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Oh Friends, the ole fella’s tired and unhappy this Saturday morning before Christmas. It’s not physical tiredness nuh, but mental and emotional unhappiness. But it’s all my fault, for I fell behind in my newspaper reading this week, then unwisely tried to catch up on several days reading, all at once. From now on though, I’m going to try my best to stay current, because the news from one day is bearable, but for several…no way Jose!
And what a sorry picture it all painted. We start of with wars and rumours of war, strife in almost every area. Then we have economic and political incompetence and corruption all over the world. And not only that, but the boldfaced and blatant manner in which these crimes against humanity are being carried out, boggles the imagination, especially when very little, if any retribution is being meted out to the culprits.
At least in earlier times we had the good sense to hide our wrong-doings, but not today. Today the greed and selfishness is all out in the open, nobody seems to have a conscience anymore. And in the balancing act that’s life, it only means that the rich are noticeably getting richer, while the poor are not only getting poorer, but also that their numbers are daily increasing at an alarming rate, what with the great loss of jobs and the piddling wages most of the remaining ones now pay.
And since there’s only one pie to be split up amongst several groups, if one group unilaterally increases their portion, then obviously all the others will have theirs curtailed. And consequently, we end up with astronomical rates of marginalization, abject poverty, homelessness, hunger, escalating crime and public protests, more police and military presence and brutality, etc. etc. And who would ever have expected such a calamitous state in a world that is at the height of its technological prowess eh?
Ah mih people, when and where will it all end eh? I guess the Lord alone knows. But we, His people down here on earth also have a serious, God-given responsibility to help, to do our best not to let matters deteriorate any further. And we can only do this by taking serious action; a combination of prayer, letting our voices be heard publicly, standing up to the wrongdoers, and helping those in need.
That’s what Jesus did, and what He fully expects of anyone who calls him or herself a Christian. But there again my fellow believers, we’re not truly living up to the standards that Jesus desires of His followers, and are allowing the ungodly to rule the roost without much resistance. But Friends, please, let’s listen to, and pay serious heed to the words of our Bit. ‘For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’
Yes my brethren, all our actions will be judged. And when the Lord asks us why we didn’t do better with the talents He gave us like the servants in Jesus’ parable, (Matt.18:23-35) what are we going to tell Him eh? Remember too that ignorance will not be admissible evidence. So it’s full time, or rather overdue time that we get our act together and do something concrete for the world, instead of making petty excuses and being fearful, or being selfish and greedy like the world around us.
Remember we’re supposed to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth, but it seems that in fits of anxiety we’re hiding our lights under a bushel and the salt in us has become seriously diminished and thus useless. But Friends, we need to step up to the plate like so many others have done before us, and we’ll use this example of Bruh Paul in our Bit, as he stood up on Mars hill in Athens, explaining to its citizens about the altar they had erected with the inscription; ‘TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.’ (Acts 17:23)
‘Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead (Divine Nature) is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven (shaped) by art and man’s device (devising). And the times of this ignorance God winked at (overlooked); but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; wherefore he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.’ (Acts 17:29-31)
And we’ll close with some notes from the scholars’ re the Justice of God. ’17:31. The justice of God is the active extension of the holiness of God into matters of decision. It implies that God has the authority and ability to establish the standard for all relationships and that He will be consistent in relating to His obedient and disobedient creatures. The justice of God is both legislative and distributive.
Illustration: When Abraham attempted to prevent the destruction of Sodom, he appealed to God’s justice: he knew that the Judge of all the earth would do right (Gen.18:25). Application: So today, everyone can have confidence that God will deal with him justly, but the believer may additionally plead God’s mercy. (First Ref. Gen.3:14; Primary Ref. Acts 17:31; cf. Mark 10:18)’
There we have it Friends, in black and white! Now we can’t say we didn’t know, and anyway, as we said above, ignorance will not stand as a plausible plea on judgement day. Therefore let’s come together, TODAY, and clean up our acts, so that the just judge, on judgement day, will not have to throw the book at us. Much LOVE my people!
…and may the Lord grant us wisdom and understanding…to walk earthly paths…that will not bring harsh judgement…when He calls us to account…
07 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: absentee father, absolute truth, acquire, anxiety, apartheid, apartheid South Africa, better future, challenges, characteristic priority, clothes, constant seeking, continual, Cousin Sol, Creator, daily needs, disciples, divine advice, divine help, don't worry, drink, eat, evil, father of freedom, fear, flowers, food, friends, gospel truth, guides, heavenly Father, history books of life, hope, hypothethical problems, idols, impatience, incarceration, Jesus Christ, kingdom, lack of faith, Leaders, life, little faith, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, magnanimous god, masthead, material things, meat, mortal fathers, mourn, need, Nelson Mandela, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, phoenix, pledged allegiance, ponder, poverty, pratfalls, problems, provides, racial injustice, racist, raiment, righteousness., safe, secure, seek, Sermon on the Mount, serve, set on high, snare, Son of Africa, South Africa, spiritual, statesman, straightforward talking, stress, struggle, Sunday best, the kingdom of God, things, things of the world, tomorrow, trap, trouble, troubles, true followers, trust, unsupportive, wear, wisdom, worship
Matthew 6:25. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for (do not worry about) your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink: nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat (food), and the body more than raiment (clothes)?
Oh Friends, at last Nelson Mandela, ‘the Son of Africa, father of freedom’ as the newspaper termed him, has gone home to be with his Maker. His early days on earth were filled with poverty and struggle in a racist, apartheid South Africa, then his middle years with lonely incarceration on a barren island, from which though he arose like the proverbial phoenix from the ashes to lead his nation to democracy.
And although his last days on earth were filled with sickness and family dissension, he will always be remembered as a giant of a man in personality and decency, whom the whole world gathered around to fight poverty and racial injustice.
Oh my people, if our troubled world only had a few more decent, upstanding leaders like him, then it would be a much better place to dwell. And though his country, South Africa is still riddled with problems, his name will always stand at its masthead as being the one who finally set it on the right path.
Nelson Mandela, you will always be remembered as a statesman extraordinaire. We mourn your passing, but it was time for you to rest from the problems of this world, to finally go home.
We LOVE you, and will always think fondly of you, as we write your name indelibly in the history books of life. And that’s as it should be Friends, because he gave people hope for a better future. Wish the same could be said of the leaders who remain.
Now let’s turn to our Bit. ‘Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for (do not worry about) your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink: nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat (food) and the body more than raiment (clothes)?’
Gospel truth my brethren! As Jesus proved to us yesterday, showing how nature is taken care of by our wonderful Creator, with the flowers of the fields even better dressed than Cousin Sol in his Sunday best. And since we’re much more important than they are, why wouldn’t He look after us in an even better manner eh?
Jesus then ended by pointing out that our problem stemmed from a lack of, or only a small amount of faith in our heavenly Father. (Matt.6;26-30) And we know if Jesus said that, then it must be true.
Today we’ll continue with Jesus’ discourse on the subject, where He sincerely advises us: ‘Therefore take no thought (do not worry), saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.’ (Matt.6:31-32)
And Friends, if the God that we serve and worship is truly our Creator, then we shouldn’t need Jesus to tell us that. We claim that He’s omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, can do anything at all, and above all else, WE ARE His children. So what are we saying then when we don’t depend on Him, that He’s an absentee, unsupportive father, like so many of us mortal fathers?
It would seem so, by the way we try in our own strength, and that of our fellow man, to get the material things of life, idolizing them so much that we often suffer from debilitating stress and abnormal anxiety in our rush, our impatience, to acquire them. And though we know the pratfalls of running down material things, yet we still do it. That’s certainly not wisdom my people.
Now let’s hear the wise way as declared by Jesus. ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt.6:33)
Wow Friends! That’s more plain, simple and straightforward talking by our Lord and Saviour! Again, to be considered His true followers, we need to live by His dictates, which unfortunately too many of us aren’t doing, and thus we are experiencing all kinds of problems in our lives.
And now that we know why we’re experiencing so many problems, (smile) let’s smarten up and take His divine advice nuh. ‘Take therefore no thought for the morrow (therefore do not worry about tomorrow): for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil (trouble) thereof.’ (Matt.6:34)
More words of absolute truth from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! When are going to listen to Him eh, to take Him seriously? When it’s too late? Oh my fellow believers, please let’s stop running down the material things of the world, especially if we can’t truly afford them and have to almost literally kill ourselves to get them!
Now let’s end with some thoughts form the scholars on those last two verses, perhaps something they say will get through to us. (smile) ‘6:33-34. This portion of the Sermon on the Mount is summarized by the statement seek ye first the kingdom of God. The disciples who have pledged their allegiance to the King must continue seeking the kingdom and its righteousness.
The present imperative form of the verb (Gr. zeteo) indicates a continual or constant seeking. The contrast between the spiritual and the material is again emphasized. The believer is to seek first the righteousness that is characteristic of God’s kingdom and then all these things (material things) shall be added to him. When our priority is spiritual, God will take care of the material, for where God guides, He provides.
We need not worry about tomorrow, for sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof (v.34). This means that each day has its own troubles and challenges to be responsibly handled, without worrying about the hypothetical problems that could arise tomorrow.‘
So my people, having heard all the reasons for not worrying and truly depending on our magnanimous God to take care of our daily needs, let’s get serious and cut back on the worrying and running down the things of the world, for we can only use so much stuff at any one time, and even more exasperating is that we can’t take any of it with us.
Please, let’s ponder those words today, and ask God for His divine help. You know He will never say us nay. Much LOVE!
…the fear of man bringeth a snare (trap)…but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe …secure…set on high… (Prov.29:25)
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