27 Sep 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a word fitly spoken, endure to the end, for His goodness to the children of men, forgiveness of sins, get you up in peace unto your father, glad to be alive, halfway home, hands on the plough, his goodness endureth for ever, his goodness to the children of men, in pictures of silver, keepeth his soul from trouble, let it be according unto your words, life is filled with intrigue and deceit, like apples of gold, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, not turning back, practices divination, Praise the Lord, protocol, set on fire by Satan, set on fire of hell, sets on fire, shirtsleeve temperatures, thank God, the breath of life is still flowing through me, the tongue is a fire, the tongue is a little member, the tongue is a system of iniquity, the whole course of life, they fell before him on the ground, to a glorious future with Jesus, Wednesday Wail, wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good, whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue, ye shall be blameless
Genesis 44:12b. …and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.
Oh my people, beautiful days are still here! Glory Hallelujah! Yes friends it’s another sunshiny autumn day with shirtsleeve temperatures. And how can we not give thanks to our wonderful God for that eh? He’s awesome! Giving us life, health and beautiful days, along with the forgiveness of sins earned by the blood of the Lamb that was slaughtered on Calvary’s cross for us ungrateful children of men! Wow! And all God’s children shouted in gratitude: ‘Praise the Lord for His goodness to the children of men. His goodness endureth forever!’ And so it does my fellow saints, each and every day of our lives.
And having shown some gratitude for God’s goodness, let’s now turn to the amazing story of Bruh Joseph. Yesterday we saw him lunch with his brothers and the Egyptians of his household, though they were all at separate tables. Bruh Joseph by himself, the brothers by themselves and the Egyptians by themselves. What a crazy way to dine together! But apparently protocol, or man’s foolish and selfish rules, called for it. And on the outside, everything looked good. But Bruh Joseph was not finished testing his brothers.
When they departed the next morning, sacks filled with grain, and their money back in them, they had no clue what was about to happen. Bruh Joseph had told his steward to put his silver cup in Benjamin’s sack, and before they got very far, he sent the steward after them. ‘And he (the steward) overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words, (the words Bruh Joseph had told him to speak). ‘Wherefore have ye rewarded (repaid) evil for good? Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth (practices divination)? ye have done evil in so doing.’ (Gen. 44:4b-5).
‘And they said unto him, wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants (far be it from us that we) should do according to this thing: Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks’ mouth we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord’s house silver or gold? With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord’s bondmen (slaves). And he (the steward) said, Now let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be my servant (slave); and ye shall be blameless.’ (Gen. 44:6-10)
Yes friends, life can be filled with lots of intrigue and deceit, especially in these very selfish, ungodly and evil days. That’s why we need to be very careful with whom we speak or associate, and also guard what we say. For in these times of social media, words are being poured out by the millions without any thought to whom they might hurt or defame. That leads us to some very wise words from James. ‘Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.’ (James 1:19)
Then later on he expounds: ‘Even so as the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter (forest) a little fire kindleth (sets on fire)! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so (likewise) is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.’ (James 3:5-6) And the scholars rewrite that last verse thus: ‘The tongue is a system (world) of iniquity that sets on fire the whole course of life, and is even set on fire by Satan.’
And it certainly is my brethren. It’s one of the smallest members of our body, but possibly the most powerful for it causes wars and stops wars, conveys LOVE, and stops LOVE! You name it, and our tongue is involved somewhere or other. And that’s why Cousin Sol says in Proverbs: ‘Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from trouble.’ (Prov. 21:23) Truer words were never spoken my people! And though I didn’t intend to deviate to the problems of the tongue, it’s always a good thing for us to hear scriptures on it, because it plays such a large part in our lives.
But getting back to Bruh Joseph’s story. The steward agrees that anyone in whose sack his master’s silver cup is found, will be their slave, but the others will be blameless. ‘Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack. And he (the steward) searched, and began at the eldest, and left at (finished with) the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. Then they rent (tore) their clothes, and laded (loaded) ever man his ass (donkey), and returned to the city.’ (Gen. 44:11-13)
Can you imagine the kerfuffle finding Bruh Joseph’s silver cup in Benjamin’s bag. The Bible tells us: ‘And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph’s house: for he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground. And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? wot (know) ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine (practice divination)?
And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found. And he (Bruh Joseph) said, God forbid (far be it from me) that I should do so: but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father.’ (Gen. 44:14-17)
Oh my people, the ball was certainly in Bruh Joseph’s court, and he was surely playing hard ball, giving no inch!! But listen to these explanations from the scholars. They say, ‘There was a sacred character attributed to the cup, for he called it a divining cup (cf. vs. 5,15). This theft may have been punishable by death (cf. 31-32). Divining was fundamentally alien to Israel; God revealed His will explicitly (cf. Num. 23:23) Joseph would certainly not have used these means, but he was playing a role and testing his brothers. He wanted to see if they would seize the opportunity to get rid of Benjamin (like they had gotten rid of him). Would they stand with him? Had their hearts been changed?’
Now that was the big question. And like all good drama stories, we’ll leave you right there in suspense. (smile) But if God so desires, tomorrow we’ll find out the answer to the big question. Right now though, let’s declare (chuhhh!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our marvellous position in Christ Jesus.
Altogether: ‘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 it’s been further promised that if we endure with Jesus right down to the very end, then that future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine! Wow! So please, let’s plan on enduring to the very end with Christ nuh! Much LOVE!
…a word fitly spoken (at the right time)…is like apples of gold…in pictures (settings) of silver… (Prov. 25:11)
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
22 Sep 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: amend our evil ways, another glorious day, as for me and my house, autumnal change of colours, between a rock and a hard place, bring down my gray hairs, considered spies, damned if you, damned if you don't, desperately crying out for help, dysfunctional family, evil can only be contereacted by good, Friday chant, go again, go boldly to the throne of grace, God will supply all my needs, hold his head and bawl, If God be for me who can be against me, intriguing saga of Bruh Joseph, introduce a new flock of believers, LOVE, my neck of the woods, omnipotent help, Praise the Lord, return backsliders to your fold, rot in jail, sincerely seek God's face, stand strong and steadfast, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the famine was sore in the land, through His riches in glory, trusting faith, unless your brother be with you, unseasonal weather, waxing philosophical, we will serve the Lord, with sorrow to the grave, ye shall not see my face
Genesis 43:1. ‘And the famine was sore (severe) in the land.
And it’s another glorious day in my neck of the woods! How can I not give thanks and praise to our heavenly Father for allowing me to see such wonderful weather in the last week of September eh? Usually, by now, the chilly winds would be blowing and the trees far into their autumnal change of colours and ridding themselves of the leaves, so that they can hunker down for the winter without too much baggage. (smile) But only a few have yet begun that process, and most of the leaves are still green and lively.
So, when we declare (yesss!!!) ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ we must not only consider that the work week is over and the week end is here, but also include a thought for the good, somewhat unseasonal weather we’re currently enjoying, with temps even reaching the low twenties. And all God’s people in the northern climes, said a loud and grateful: ‘Praise the Lord!’
Now, before we get to Bruh Joseph’s story, let’s acclaim a few acclamations to boost our spirits. This first one is a beauty: ‘God will supply ALL of my needs through his riches in glory through Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour.’ (Phil. 4:19) And that we need to sincerely believe deep down in our hearts, or we’ll just fall apart when the first needs show up.
Then there’s this: ‘If God be for me, who can be against me eh? Absolutely NOBODY!’ (Rom. 8:31) That too we need to deeply believe, if we expect to make it through this greedy and evil world. And finally: ‘As for me and my house, we WILL follow the Lord, that’s for certain sure!’ (Josh. 24:15) That puts the lid on the pot, so that the ingredients don’t burn off in the blazing fire of evil in which we’re currently embroiled. Brother! The ole fella sure is waxing philosophical this Friday morning! (smile)
And, finally, let’s see what’s happening in the intriguing saga of Bruh Joseph. We left the story yesterday where the nine brothers return home without Simeon, whom Bruh Joseph kept in jail in Egypt. They gave the bad news to their father, who obviously wasn’t happy with the situation. Then when they opened their bags, all their money was still in them. That meant they had not paid for the food they’d brought home, and they all became scared. They told Jacob about Bruh Joseph’s desire for his younger brother Benjamin to be brought to him in Egypt or they would be considered spies, Simeon would rot in jail, and they would not get any more food. Glory be!
When Jacob heard that, he could only hold his head and bawl! He’s already lost Joseph and Simeon, now they wanted to take away his youngest Benjamin too! No way Jose! He immediately put the kibosh on that idea. ‘And he said, My son shall not go down with you…if mischief (calamity) befall him by the way in which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.’ (Gen. 42:38) No doubt the loss of a third son would surely have sent him home to his maker.
But friends, life happens, and very often we are not able to do what we want to do. Thus it was with Jacob. For the Bible tells us: ‘And the famine was sore (severe) in the land. And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn (grain) which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food.’ (Gen. 43:1-2) Yes my brethren those worms in our stomachs do make a terrible noise and cause a hurtful pain when they cry out for nourishment!
But it’s not always easy to assuage their hunger and thirst, like in this case, as the Bible continues. ‘And Judah spake unto him (Jacob), saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us (warn us), saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food: But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.’ (Gen. 43:3-4)
Oh my fellow saints, life certainly does provide some unwanted conundrums, puts us in some positions between a rock and hard place where we suffer in whatever decision we make. It’s like the quote assigned to the U.S President Roosvelt’s wife, Eleanor: ‘You’re damned if you do, and you’re damned if you don’t.’ And that’s exactly the situation in which the patriarch Jacob (Israel) found himself. Send his youngest son Benjamin down to Egypt with his brothers, and fear losing him like the other two sons. Or don’t send him, and simply stay at home and starve.
What wonderful options, none of which we’d wish on our worst enemy. But life has to go on, and decisions must be made. ‘And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill (wickedly) with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother? And they said, the man asked us straitly of our state (pointedly about ourselves), and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? Have ye another brother: and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we certainly (possibly ) know that he would say bring your brother down?’ (Gen. 43:6-7)
And who says our God isn’t a great dramatist eh? All the aspects for great drama can be found in the story of Bruh Joseph; from a dysfunctional family with a sleazy, cheating patriarch, with devious mothers, to devious, unprincipled, hating brothers, who apparently inherited some of their father’s trickery. And when you add life’s unforeseen circumstances to that already volatile mix, it just addles the pot further, and makes it boil and sputter, like a witch’s brew, until it boils right over!
Ah mih bredrin, many of us are familiar with such goings on, and there’s not much we can do to stop them from happening, we just have to band our belly and do something, then suffer the consequences of which ever decision we make, while sincerely believing that with the help of Almighty God, it will all work out well in the end. And that’s only accomplished by going boldly, but humbly to the throne of grace and seeking divine help for our many earthly problems. So, let’s do that right now nuh, through our Friday Chant.
Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly.
And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And if we truly want to see divine help here on earth, then we need to amend our evil ways and sincerely seek God’s face. It’s the only solution to our problem! Much LOVE!
…the world’s evil…can only be counteracted by…the goodness of God…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
16 Sep 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a future and a hope, a good attitude, a good leader must be a good follower, Ephraim, fruitfulness, gathered corn as the sand of the sea, get down to the Father's business, God hath caused me to be fruitful, grow in Christlikeness, hard knocks of life, his goodness to the children of men, I know the thoughts I think toward you, I may know you all the more, increase my awareness of you today, it is bitter as gall, it was without number, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, left off numbering, let my muscles relax, LOVE, making forgetful, Mananaseh, Praise the Lord, quiet my soul, slow my thoughts, the earth brought forth by handfuls, the founding of the Jewish people, the goodness of the Lord's hand upon him, the land of my affliction, the presence of our heavenly Father, the seven plenteous years, the true test of faith and discipleship, the worst Christian is a comfortable Christian, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to be lorded over by a Hebrew, to give you an expected end, waiting patiently on God's timing, your peace and love are present
Genesis 41:52. For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.
And it’s indeed a cool but wonderful, sunshiny lazy-day Saturday morning friends! Just right for early morning lazing around, which I have already done. (smile) Unfortunately, I can only have so much lazy time in the morning because I have to be about my Father’s work, but once that’s done, I can have as much lazy time as I desire. And with that said, let’s get down to the Father’s business, beginning with our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer.
As one sincere and humble voice. ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
Wow! And I hope like me, your thoughts have been slowed, your soul quieted, your muscles relaxed and your breath deepened, so that you can get into the presence of our heavenly Father and rest completely in Him. And all God’s people said a loud and heartfelt: ‘Praise the Lord for His goodness to the children of men!’
Now let’s get back to that amazing and intriguing saga of Bruh Joseph; a story line that only God, our omnipotent dramatist could have imagined and successfully brought to life. And yes, it seems like it’s never going to end, but it’s ever so important to the founding and the fortunes of the Jewish people. So, yesterday we left off where Bruh Joseph was promoted to Second in command of Egypt through the goodness of the Lord’s hand upon him.
The Bible then tells us: ‘And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharoah king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls (abundantly). And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and he laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same. And Joseph gathered corn (grain) as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left of numbering (stopped counting): for it was without number.’ (Gen. 41:46-49)
Ah friends, you will have noticed how diligent and businesslike Bruh Joseph was from the time he entered Potiphar’s employ, all through the tough times in jail, and finally that diligence, as well as the experience in handling people, though only as a servant, now served him in very good stead as the second ruler of Egypt. As the saying goes, you can’t be a good leader, unless you are a good follower. And that is exactly why the Lord had him experience those tough times, otherwise he would not have been able to do the job the Lord had planned for him.
And according to the scholars: ‘Thutmose III gave the following charge to his newly appointed vizier (Prime Minister or Second in Command): “Look thou to this office of vizier. Be vigilant over everything that is done in it. Behold, it is the support of the entire land. Behold, as to the vizierate, behold it is not sweet at all, behold it is bitter as gall.” And I’m sure that was the very truth, for although Bruh Joseph had Pharaoh’s complete blessing, there must have been those who found it irresponsible and downright disgusting to be lorded over by a Hebrew.
And if it wasn’t his Hebrew background, then simply the fact that the citizens were being told how to handle their food and to bring their grain to the king’s storehouses. You know how we are suspicious of anything or anybody that’s involved in hoarding, especially if some of it belongs to us. But for whatever reason, the job that Bruh Joseph inherited was not an easy one. And he most definitely would not have been able to handle it if the Lord had not put him through the school of the Holy Ghost.
So my brethren, when the Lord places us in some sore spots, before He promotes us, it’s not that He wants to harm us, but more to test and grow us, so we can be ready for the destiny He’s planned for us. Therefore, it’s essential that we go through those tough times with a good attitude, waiting patiently on God’s timing, and keeping Him first place in our lives, not complaining about why such hard times have befallen us while we’re trying to live right, and getting angry at God.
Remember there’s always method to God’s madness; always a purpose behind His actions, for He doesn’t do anything willy nilly, without thinking things through right to the very end. As the prophet Jeremiah records: ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).’ (Jer. 29:11) And if we claim to believe and trust in Him, then we must be prepared to wait on His timing and go through whatever lessons or hard knocks of life that He chooses to allow to come upon us. That’s the true test of faith and discipleship!
Now here’s another important aspect of Bruh Joseph’s life in Egypt. The Good Library kindly informs us: ‘And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of the famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On bare unto him. And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh (Making Forgetful): For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house. And the name of the second called he Ephraim (Fruitfulness): For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.’ (Gen. 41:50-52) Aren’t those names and sentiments behind them just wonderful my brethren? They surely are!
And I like this commentary on that situation by the scholars. They tell us of Bruh Joseph’s two sons and what their names mean. Then say: ‘The reference to all his toil, and all my father’s house only means that the hardship brought upon him by his brothers was a thing of the past. Ephraim, meaning “Fruitful,” signified God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction. What a sweet, pleasant, and thankful spirit he showed in interpreting the events that had transpired in his life! The fulfillment of Pharaoh’s prophetic dreams set the stage for the final scene in the fulfillment of Jospeh’s own dreams.’
Mama Mia! And you won’t’ want to miss the upcoming marvellous episodes in Bruh Joseph’s story! So please tune in next time. And until then, please, let’s try and live the faithful life that Bruh Joseph lived nuh, even while undergoing trials and tribulations. Most of us are not suffering the way He did, so we should be able to show more faithfulness. Although, as they say, the worst Christian is a comfortable Christian. But let’s put the lie to that statement nuh! Much LOVE!
…without trials and tribulations…a Christian won’t grow in Christlikeness…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
11 Jun 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a feeling of love and compassion, a nature that is peace, a pipeline that connects us with His nature, abundance, abundant in goodness and truth, all my days, all my life you have been faithful, an uprightness of heart and life, care for others with a pure spirit, from the moment that I wake up, God's promises, goodness is action, guidance and protection, how great is thy goodness, I had fainted, I love you Lord, i love your voice, I will sing of the goodness of God, I've been held in your hand, in my darkest night, Jenn Johnson, know how to give good gifts, longsuffering, merciful and gracious, oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, Praise the Lord, the goodness of God, the Lord God, the week has come full circle, to see the goodness of God in the land of the living, unless I had believed, until I lay my head down, victory, wait in faith on the Lord, we expereince the goodness of God through His word, we partake of His nature, what a joy to know you God, with every breath that I am able, you have led me through the fire, you lead in glory by your Spirit, you were close like no other, you're everything to me, your goodness is running after me, your mercy never fails me
Psalm 27:13. I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
And the week has come full circle; it’s Sunday again, that beautiful day when Christ’s church gathers to give Him much thanks, praise, worship, glory and exaltation! And all Christ’s people said a loud and grateful ‘Praise the Lord!’ And to open today’s proceedings, we’ll blast off with the great favourite of Contemporary Christian Music, ‘The Goodness of God.’
It touched me when I heard it earlier in the week and immediately decided that we would sing it this Sunday. There’s something about it that just touches you. It’s a song of praise to our good and faithful Lord, written by Jenn Johnson, who sings it with the Bethel Church group.
And what is the spiritual meaning of goodness you ask? This commentary tells us: ‘Goodness is action; it’s not something we do only for the sake of being virtuous. When we strive to be “good” only for our own benefit, it is not truly goodness that we possess. In Greek, the word goodness, “agathosune,” means “an uprightness of heart and life”
And how do we experience the goodness of God? This other commentary explains it thus: ‘It’s through the promises of God’s Word that we partake of His nature—a nature that is peace, abundance, healing, victory, guidance and protection. His promises are a pipeline that connects us with His nature. And His promises are exceedingly great and precious (2 Peter 1:3-4).’
But enough talk, let’s offer up our sweet sacrifices of praise in scintillating riddim and glorious voices, in an up-tempo rendition of the song. Singing: ‘I LOVE You Lord Oh Your mercy never fails me And all my days I’ve been held in Your hands From the moment that I wake up Until I lay my head down, Oh I will sing of the goodness of God (Chorus: All my life You have been faithful And All my life You have been so, so good. With every breath that I am able, Oh I will sing of the goodness of God.)
I LOVE your voice. You have led me through the fire. In my darkest night, you were close like no other. I’ve known you as a Father, I’ve known you as a friend, Oh I have lived, in the goodness of God. (Chorus: Yeahhh! And all my life You have been faithful…I will sing of the goodness of God) Yeah, yeah, it’s so good! Your goodness is running after, It’s running after me. Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me. With my life laid down, I’m surrendered now, I give you everything, cause your goodness is running after, It’s running after me.
Oh cause Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me. And All my life You have been faithful And All my life You have been so, so good With every breath that I am able, Oh I’m going to sing, Oh I’m going to sing of the goodness of God. For all my life you have been faithful, all my life you have been so good.
Oh you lead me in glory…ever-faithful, you are my anchor in the wind and the waves… you are my provider…Oh yeah…and you lead me in glory by your spirit…you are my joy…my joy…every day…Oh shepherd of my soul…what a joy to know you…Oh, the joy of knowing you God…you’re everything to me…so wonderful…so wonderful in all your ways…in all your ways. That’s why I will always sing of your goodness Lord…always sing of your goodness Lord.’
Mama oh Mama! What heart-felt words and glorious sentiments! No wonder we want to sing of the goodness of our marvellous God! And the Lord Himself informed of His goodness when He descended in the cloud and stood with Moses on the mountain top, the second time He wrote the Ten Commandments. The Bible tells us: ‘And the Lord passed by before him (Moses), and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.’ (Ex. 34:6)
Yes friends, the Lord described Himself to a T. All He said there is the gospel truth, and as such we need to follow His example if we’re to be His true followers. And how do we do that, how do we Christians show the goodness of God? Listen to this commentary: ‘We Choose Kindness. It means to show kindness and goodness to everyone you meet. It means Jesus recognized what we needed before we did. It also means that He wants us to be compassionate and understanding; to care for others with a pure spirit; and to realize that true life only comes through Christ.’
More gospel truth there my faithful brethren: true life only comes through Christ! If you don’t have Him leading and guiding you then you will never ever attain that wonderful feeling of true living. And all through the Good Library, especially in the Psalms, you can find oodles of references to the goodness of our great God. So let’s check out a few for our enlightenment. (smile) Listen to these words from Psalm 107: ‘Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness (LOVING-kindness), and for his wonderful works to the children of men. For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.’ (Ps. 107:8-9)
Then there’s this from Psalm 31, some verses aptly titled ‘God’s Goodness.’ ‘Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear (reverence) thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence (secret place) from the pride (plots) of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion (shelter) from the strife of tongues. Blessed be the Lord: for he hath shewed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city.’ (Ps. 31:19-21)
Now what can be better than that eh my people? Only perhaps these words of Bruh David from Psalm 27. ‘I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. 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)
Ah friends, life would certainly be even more difficult than it already is, if we hadn’t planned on seeing the goodness of God down here. And we’ll end with some words of Jesus on the subject, when He made those famous statements about asking and receiving, (Matt:7:7-12) amongst them this one: ‘If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?’ (Matt. 7:11) Now that’s a question on which we need to spend some pondering time today, so that we can get it right. Much LOVE!
…God’s goodness stems from…His great LOVE for us…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
25 Apr 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all is vanity, all the rivers run into the sea, breedy, but the sea is not full, cast thy bread upon the waters, chains of slavery, Christ's sacrifice would be in vain, fear God and keep his commandments, free will, futility of futilities, give a portion to seven and also to eight, God shall bring every work into judgement, hurry, I am the beloved of god, in god's eyes, in the evening withhold not thy hand, in the morning sow thy seed, keep the hope and faith burning, licentious, LOVE, lovers of money rather than lovers of God, man needs to be involved in life's activities, nor the ear filled with hearing, our bounden duty, Praise the Lord, share His love with my neighbours, the earth abideth for ever, the eye is not satisfied with seeing, there is nothing new under the sun, this is the whole duty of man, thou knowest not whether shall prosper, trust God for the results, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, vanity of vanities, vengeful, warlike, what profit hath a man from all his labour, wise living today, with every secret thing, worry
Ecclesiastes 12:13. Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
And on this glorious, sunshiny Tuesday morning in the last week of April 2023, I hope that all of us have given some thanks and praise to our heavenly Father for allowing us to breathe His breath of life and see His marvellous creation, Mother Earth, for another joyful day! And all God’s children said a loud, grateful and sincere ‘Praise the Lord, for His LOVING-kindness to the children of men!’
Yes friends, we need to be joyful, hopeful and living with great expectations, what with all the great promises and wonderful work the Father has done to illuminate our souls and spirits and bring us out of the evil darkness and sinful ways, to free us from the ghastly chains of slavery in which we had hitherto been bound. And if we don’t keep that hope, the faith and those expectations alive, burning and evolving, then life is simply not worth living! Christ’s sacrifice would have been all worthless, futile and in vain.
As Cousin Sol so eloquently expounds in the beginning of Ecclesiastes: ‘Vanity of vanities (futility of futilities), saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities (futility of futilities) all is vanity (futile).’ (Eccl. 1:2) Only a man in Cousin Sol’s position could have made such a flamboyant but true statement. That’s because of His wisdom, riches, and position as King of Israel, he had the time and opportunity to conduct experiments in living. And He continues by declaring (yesss!!!): ‘What profit hath a man of (from) all his labour which he taketh (toils, labours) under the sun?’ (Eccl. 1:3) Now that’s a very good question, one which many of us have asked down through the ages.
Then the Preacher postulates or reasons thus: ‘One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to (is eager for, panting for) his place where he arose. The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.
All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again (return to go again). All things are full of labour (wearisome); man cannot utter (express) it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is nothing new under the sun.’ (Eccl. 1:4-8)
And yes friends, that last statement of Cousin Sol’s is technically true. There’s nothing new in man’s living on this earth. From the beginning of time, it’s been birth and death, with a short life span in between filled with pain, anguish, sickness, wars and rumours of wars. We may have conquered the earth and each other, but each generation that comes along does basically the same thing that last one did, though sometimes differently. And even with all the great amenities and inventions we now have, we’re still living the same way our forefathers lived; greedy, vengeful, unfaithful, deceitful, warlike, licentious and debauched, LOVERS of money, rather than LOVERS of God.
And somehow or other, I don’t believe that’s what the Lord envisioned for us when He created us. He expected us to come to Him for companionship and wisdom, to live in close association with Him, LOVING and worshipping Him; that He would be our Father, our God, and we His obedient people. But unfortunately, the free will that He so generously gave us, has led us terribly astray. Instead of us using it to come to Him, like He expected and desired, we used it, and are still using it to turn away from Him.
But in this section that is titled ‘Man does not know the Works of God,’ the Preacher offers some advice on how to live our lives. ‘Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, and also to eight ; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there shall it be.
He that observeth the wind shall not sow, and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit (wind), nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper (which shall succeed), either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.’ (Eccl. 11:1-6)
Oh my fellow believers, some of that is indeed good advice. But here’s what the scholars have to say: ‘These verses contain a series of sayings about the uncertainty of human industry, and are held together by the fourfold occurrence of the expression thou knowest not. Although man cannot comprehend God’s work, nor predict success, he needs to be involved in life’s activities and trust God for the results.’ And that’s the gospel truth my people! We don’t understand the ways of God, and can’t successfully predict much of what will happen, but it is necessary for us to get involved in life, not sit around moaning our failures and tough circumstances.
And though life can be very tough at times, if we sincerely believe in God, we’ll know that there’s always a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow; in other words, God will eventually make everything right if we do our best to live for Him in this earthly life. And yes, my fellow saints, in his experiment, Cousin Sol found life somewhat arduous and of no real purpose, or futile, but the most important aspect of His experiment is his conclusion. He says: ‘Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’ (Eccl. 12:13-14)
And the scholars explain: ‘God has not answered every problem of life, but He has commanded man to live joyfully, responsibly, and wisely. Finally, the controlling factor of all life should be the fear of God, that is submission to God and His revelation (cf. Prov. 1:7). The certainty of divine judgement demands it.’ And that’s it in a nutshell friends. So, for those of us who are trying to live obediently to God, let’s go home now declaring (awright!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel.
As one strong and sincere voice: ‘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 my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’
Now it’s our bounden duty to go out and share Christ’s amazing LOVE and friendship with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE
… there’s a day of judgement in the offing…that calls for wise living today…
P.S. Please note that I am the one who’s late and long…not the Lord. (smile) Much LOVE!
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
09 Feb 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a mustard seed, an unblemished lamb, by grace you are saved through faith, courage, curse, divine protection, everyone that doeth evil hateth light, faith, favour, fulfillment, God so loved the world, God's only son Jesus Christ, he gave his only begotten son, he that doeth truth cometh to the light, He who was without sin became sin, it is the gift of God, Jesus atoned for our sins, Jesus died so that we could live, Jesus took our sins and gave us His righteousness, lest any man should boast, LOVE, men loved darkness rather than light, negative word, not of works, not of yourselves, Praise the Lord, promotion, sufferation, talent, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, the greatest gift of God, the light is come into the world, their deeds were evil, this is the condemnation, Thursday Blessings, we have Jesus, we're in good hands
Ephesians 2:8-9. For by grace are ye (you have been) saved through faith; and not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
It’s raining, it’s raining! Yes friends, it is raining in my neighbourhood, definitely no sunshine to glory in this Thursday morning. But that’s okay, because it means the temperature is above freezing and we’re washing away a lot of the remaining snow on the banks of the roads and the rooftops, ostensibly making space for some more of that white stuff to fall later in the season. (smile) Well, we cannot rule out that possibility because this is the winter season, and that usually equates to snow.
But thankfully, whatever happens, however the rest of the season turns out, the important thing is that we have Jesus, and that means we’re in good hands, we don’t need anything or anyone else, for He is indeed sufficient for all of our needs, in fact, He is more than enough! And all of God’s children gave a loud and grateful shout of ‘Praise the Lord! Bless His Holy Name, and His greatest gift to His children, His awesome Son, Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And that’s the indisputable truth my fellow believers: Jesus is indeed the greatest gift ever given to mankind! He is the One who died so that we could live, that we could be saved from our abominable sinfulness. He took our sins upon Him and gave us His righteousness. How does the Good Library put it? In Bruh Paul’s words to the Corinthians: ‘For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Christ.’ (2 Cor. 5:21)
Yes, Jesus was sinless while here on earth, and that’s the ONLY reason He was able to pay our sin debts. It needed an unblemished lamb, a sinless lamb to atone for our sins. And I like how this commentator explains that verse. ‘God acted for our sake. That means God acted out of His LOVE, to make it possible to remove the separation between us and Him: our sin. To accomplish this, God made Christ, who had never sinned during His life on earth in any way, to become our sin. Jesus’ death, then, paid the price for our sin, removing our guilt and removing the obstacle between us and God.
Instead of “being sin” ourselves, those who come to God through faith in Christ are given credit for Christ’s righteous, sinless life. We “become God’s righteousness” and are reconciled in our relationship with Him. In short, by His gift of grace and through our faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8–9), God receives Christ’s death as payment for our sin and gives us credit for Christ’s righteousness in return. That’s what it means to be “in Christ.”
Glory Hallelujah my fellow saints! If that isn’t the greatest thing that’s ever happened to mankind, then I don’t know what is nuh! That’s why we LOVE and revere Jesus so much: His selflessness and obedience to the Father to go to the cross and accept all the ‘sufferation’ it involved, saved us from a life of torment and hellfire, with certain eternal separation from Almighty God. But His actions gave us an option, an option of immense importance; that we could live eternally and need not die.
And all we had to do was to believe in Him. As He said to Martha when she confronted Him about His tardiness in coming to save her brother Lazarus: ‘I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead (may die), yet shall he live. And whosever liveth and believeth in me shall never die: believest thou this?’ (John 11:25-26) Now that’s a rather important question we should all ask ourselves RIGHT NOW, for if we don’t truly believe in Christ Jesus, then things will turn out very badly for us in the long run.
And this passage from an earlier chapter in John, which we all know so well, spells it out in spades. ‘And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.’ (John 3:14-18)
There you have it my brethren: all it takes is simple belief in Christ Jesus. And if you don’t believe, then you are already condemned. And you might ask why that is? Well, here’s Jesus’ answer to that question. ‘And this is the condemnation, that light (the light) is come into the world, and men LOVED darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth (practices) evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved (exposed). But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.’ (John 3:19-21)
It’s all so simple friends. There are only two options: evil or darkness and light or truth. The choice is entirely up to us as to which one we choose. But let’s remember the first option ends in hellfire and eternal separation from God, while the second, and only wise option, ends in heaven and eternal life with Jesus. And I sincerely hope that we all choose the second option, because it’s the only one that makes any sense, that manifests wisdom. And one last reminder of how that process works: ‘For by grace are ye (you have been) saved through faith; and not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.’ (Eph. 2:8-9)
Please, please, let’s never forget that it’s only through the goodness of God’s grace that we are saved through belief in Jesus, and there’s NOTHING that we ourselves can do to attain eternal life, except sincerely believe in Christ Jesus. Now let’s go home declaring (chuh man!!!) our Thursday Blessings that have been generously bestowed on us so that we can spread the gospel, the good news of Christ, making it known throughout the entire world.
As one strong and sincere voice: ‘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 every day! Amen!’
Now, it’s our bounden duty to go out and use those tools, as generously as Christ bestowed them on us, to do His work. Much LOVE!
…only believe…even faith as small as the size of a mustard seed…that’s all it takes…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
14 Sep 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fairy tale, bore the weight of all our sins, choosing heaven over hell is a no brainer, diabolical deceit, endure to the very end, find pasture on which to feed, gospel truth, have life more abundantly, hellfire and damnation, his satanic majesty, I am come that they might have life, I am the door of the sheep, I am the good shepherd, I'm not turning back, imbued with His righteousness, in honour and glory of God the Father, Jesus sacrificed His sinless life, joy shall be in heaven over one repentant sinner, LOVE, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my hands are on the plough, Praise the Lord, reconciled back to God, revenge against God, the breath of life is still flowing through me, the good shepherd gives his life for his sheep, the parables of the lost, the thief coes only to steal and kill, to a glorious future with Jesus, Wednesday Wail, wisdom in spades
John 10:11. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
So friends, another day has dawned, one we call Wednesday, and we’re still around – no mention of us in the obits – and for that we give much thanks and praise! That’s why we are just bursting with vim and vigour to do the Lord’s work in an excellent and diligently manner, so that His name can be exalted and glorified in all the earth! And all God’s children said a loud and grateful: ‘Praise the Lord for His goodness and mercy to the unworthy children of men! Amen!’
Yes friends, we’re not worthy, do not deserve the Lord’s blessings and LOVING-kindness, but He gives it to us anyway, because He LOVES us. He created us for communion and fellowship with Him, and though, down through the ages, we’ve turned away from him, been disobedient and prideful, He still LOVES us with a passion that can never be replicated, and desires that we all come home to Him, so that we can spend eternity in His amazing presence.
Oh, I know that the idea of God’s unconditional and undying LOVE for us His disobedient and unfaithful children can sound like a fairy tale, but it’s the gospel truth. Our God has no choice but to LOVE us since His greatest attribute is LOVE! And it’s not just a talk of LOVE like so many of us do, but He’s shown that awesome LOVE by actually sending His Son Jesus Christ in the flesh, as a man, like other men, to die on the cross of Calvary so that our sins could be forgiven, and we could be reconciled back to His LOVING arms and tender mercies.
Now why wouldn’t we accept such amazing kindness eh? I really don’t know. Perhaps, because we’re just foolish, selfish, prideful and filled with a false sense of our own importance. But please understand that whatever is keeping us away from accepting Almighty God as our heavenly Father and His awesome Son, Jesus, as our Lord and Saviour, consists of nothing but terrible lies and diabolical deceit. And if you knew and understood these true and faithful words of Jesus, the whole situation would suddenly become clear to you.
Listen as He explains. ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and he shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to (except to) steal, and kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.’ (John 10:7-11)
And that’s exactly what He did friends; sacrificed His sinless life, bore all the weight of our sins on His shoulders, so that we could be imbued with His righteousness! Now, does an ordinary or not caring man do something as radical and emotional as that? Obviously not! There has to be a very good reason for such unselfish and redeeming behaviour.
And Jesus’ reason was to open the door to his sheepcote so that sinners like you and I could enter in and find life, life abundant and eternal, protection and good pasture on which to feed and grow in all goodness and honour to the glory of God the Father, who was the originator of the whole process, because of His great LOVE and compassion for us, not wanting to lose even one creation to the enemy.
Wow! It all comes right back, full circle to the Father’s unexplainable grace and mercy towards us, His sinful, disobedient children. And if you’re a parent, you ought to understand that apparent contradiction, because ofttimes our children go astray, their decisions and behaviour anger and disappoint us, but we don’t throw them away, simply put them out – at least not the first few times. (smile) We make an effort to turn them around to the right way of thinking and behaving, so that they don’t get into deeper waters, into greater trouble.
Now that’s exactly what our heavenly Father is trying to do; keep us away from the lies and deceits of Satan, who doesn’t LOVE us one iota, but only wants to get our souls for revenge against God, for kicking him out of heaven when he foolishly tried to overthrow Him. How foolish can one be eh? How can the created overthrow the Creator eh? But you know what, we’ve listened to so many of Satan’s lies that we now believe like he did, that it’s possible to remove Almighty God, the Creator of the universe and all therein, from His creation! What fallacy, what foolishness!
My fellow believers, if we believe those fairy tales, then just like Satan we will suffer the ignominy, the humiliation and great disappointment of never entering the pearly gates of heaven, but being entrapped forever in the ungodly fires of hell, with his satanic majesty, suffering whatever retribution he suffers.
And what’s truly wonderful about our great God is that He never puts us out or turns us away even when we are going down into the sorry pits of hellfire and damnation! No! Instead, that’s when He makes His most valiant effort to take us up out of the deadly mire in which Satan has us engulfed. As the true saying goes: ‘when we are at our lowest, that’s when God is at His best!’ Glory be my people!
And just to show how sincere and desperate the Lord is for sinners to come back to Him, listen to this synopsis of three parable Jesus told when the Pharisees criticized Him for eating with sinners. Those were the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. In each case, He said the owners of that which was lost left the rest of what they had; sheep, coins and sons, and went searching diligently, high and low until they found what was missing. And they rejoiced greatly with their neighbours over the finding of what and who were lost. (Luke 15:1-32)
Mama oh Mama! And here’s the great reason behind those parables, as Jesus explains: ‘I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just (upright) persons, which need no repentance.’ (Luke 15:7) Remember Jesus came to save the lost, the sick, those in bondage to sin, to bring light to those living in darkness, not for the upright who need no saving. That means the Lord is on our side, and He’s done and still doing His best to bring us onside, but He won’t do it against our will. That’s why He gave us free will, so we could make the choice between life and death.
And for those of us who have already chosen life, let’s go home declaring…chuh man!!! I spelt it right in my mind, but my fingers let me down. (smile) But be that as it may, let’s go home declaring (yayyy!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus.
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!’
Yes my brethren, that’s wisdom in spades! And just a li’l extra encouragement; if we endure right to the very end, then that future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask for or imagine. So please let that strengthen our resolve to live for Jesus to the very end! Much LOVE!
…choosing heaven over hell…is what we call a no brainer…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
10 Jul 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: allow God's joy and peace to replace our loneliness and anxiety, and shall say Destroy them, Anthony Showalter, Elisha Hoffman, God's grace and mercy, he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee, leaning on the everlasting arms, leaning on the everlasting arms of Christ my Saviour, Lord thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations, my portion in the land of the living, no better place to lean for comfort than on Christ's everlasting arms, O how bright the path grows from day to day, on Christ arms is the ideal place to lean, our hearts are filled with joy, Praise the Lord, safe and secure from all alarms, the breath of life is strong and vibrant within us, the eternal God is thy refuge, the Lord is my refuge and my fortress, Thou art my refuge, thou shalt not be afraid of the terror by night, underneath are the everlasting arms, what a fellowship what a joy divine, what have i to dread, what peace is mine, wisdom to the nth degree
Deuteronomy 33:27a. The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms:
Another marvellous day on God’s great earth my people! The breath of life is strong and vibrant within us, and the Lord God Jehovah is on His heavenly throne running things for our eventual benefit, thus the glorious celebrations all around the world this Sunday morning! And all God’s people, said a loud, proud and grateful ‘Praise the Lord!’
Yes friends, Sunday is the Lord’s Day, and He has earmarked it for plenty praise and worship from His people. That’s why every time Sunday comes around our hearts are filled with joy as we eagerly gather to fellowship with other believers and give Him the praise, honour and glory He so richly deserves.
And today we’re going to open the proceedings with one of the greatest hymns ever written for obtaining God’s grace and merry, His fatherly comfort in times of solace. It’s aptly titled, ‘Leaning On the Everlasting Arms.’ And there’s definitely no better place in this whole universe to lean for comfort and encouragement than on the everlasting arms of Christ Jesus!
The website Godtube tells us that the song was written in the late 19th century by Anthony J. Showalter and Elisha Hoffman. It stemmed from letters Showalter had received from two of his former pupils informing him that their wives had died and they were seeking consolation. In replying to their letters, he was struck by the words of Moses from Deuteronomy 33:27, as he blessed the tribes of Israel. He said: ‘The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.’
Apparently that led to his further thinking that they would be good words on which to base a hymn of solace and comfort, so he engaged the services of Hoffman to help him. And thus was born this tremendous, popular and heartlet hymn, which we’ll now proceed to sing in a soulful, mid-tempo version.
And while are singing it, the website Hymnary.org challenges us to ‘contemplate what it means to find refuge in our heavenly Father’s arms in times of fear and trial, and to allow His joy and peace to replace our loneliness and anxiety.’ Excellent advice for our Sunday morning worship my faithful brethren! So let’s open our hearts and mouths and offer up sincere sacrifices of praise to our heavenly Father, who is indeed our eternal refuge in times of trial.
And we sing: ‘What a fellowship, what a joy divine, leaning on the everlasting arms; what a blessedness, what a peace is mine, leaning on the everlasting arms. (Refrain: Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms; leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.) O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim’s way, leaning on the everlasting arms; O how bright the path grows from day to day, leaning on the everlasting arms. [Refrain]
What have I to dread, what have I to fear, leaning on the everlasting arms? I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, leaning on the everlasting arms. (Refrain) Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms; leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms, Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms; leaning on the everlasting arms…leaning on the everlasting arms of Jesus… oh how good it is to be, leaning on the everlasting arms of Christ my Saviour….’
Oh my fellow saints, I’m sure we’ll all agree that it is indeed good to lean on the everlasting arms of Christ our Saviour! No if’s ands and buts about that! If we must lean somewhere for solace and comfort, then that’s the ideal place to lean! And the simple words of the short verses are so beautiful and true: ‘What a fellowship, what a joy divine…what a blessedness, what a peace is mine…O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim’s way; O how bright the path grows from day to day…What have I to dread, what have I to fear…I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, leaning on the everlasting arms.’
Wow! Every sentiment there conveys the gospel truth! And it’s not like Moses alone described the Lord as our refuge, although he did it again in the opening verse of the only psalm he ever wrote, Psalm 90, where he declares: ‘Lord thou hast been our dwelling place (refuge) in all generations.’ (Ps.. 90:1)
Then in Psalm 142, subtitled ‘Thou art my refuge,’ when Bruh David could find no human solace he writes: ‘I cried unto thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living. Attend (give heed) unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about (surround me); for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.’ (Ps. 142:5-7) And that’s exactly how the Lord deals with us when we sincerely call upon Him for help! It must be a sincere plea, not just some wishy-washy cry.
And the author of Psalm 91, aptly subtitled ‘God is a refuge and fortress,’ puts it this way. ‘He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge and my fortress: my God: in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler (bird trapper), and from the noisesome (perilous, deadly) pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust (take refuge): his truth shall be thy shield and buckler (small shield).
Thou shalt not be afraid for (of) the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth (lays waste) at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh (near) thee. Only with thine eye shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.’ (Ps. 91:1-8)
Yes friends, that’s the kind of trust and belief we ought to have in our great God. And as we go about our business today and every day, please let’s make it a habit to take a moment and ‘contemplate what it means to find refuge in our heavenly Father’s arms in times of fear and trial, and to allow His joy and peace to replace our loneliness and anxiety.’ Loneliness and anxiety that so many of us are experiencing in these very troubling times. That is wisdom to the nth degree. Much LOVE!
… Christ’s powerful and everlasting arms…were made explicitly for us to lean on…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
25 Apr 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a brand new start every day, a future and a hope, a mans' heart deviseth his way, a merciful forgiving and gracious God, alive and kicking, all things work together for good, disobeyed your word, God's timing is perfect, gospel truth, heal our land, hear our prayer, hope and wait quietly for the Lord's salvation, humble servants, I know the thoughts that I think toward you, is as a thousand years, it is good that a man, Jehovah Rapha, LOVE, manna, mass confusion in our world, mercies and compassions, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, my times are in your hands, obey God and leave all the consequences to him, one day with the Lord, Praise the Lord, strong faith in Christ, the God who heals, the Lord directeth his steps, the Lord is my portion saith my soul, the Lord is sovereign, therefore will I hope in him, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to every thing there is a season, to give you an expected end, to them who are called according to his purpose, to them who love God
Ecclesiastes 3:1. To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.
And on this last Monday of April 2022, the second one after Christ’s triumphant resurrection at Easter, although the sun is shining under a slight cloud cover, we are not in any doubt of our past, present or future. And why is that you ask? Well, obviously because we are alive and kicking through the awesome mercies and compassions of our great God, which are new every day! And all God’s children gave out a loud, proud and grateful ‘Glory Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Praise His Holy Name!’
And yes, we ought to be everlastingly grateful that He’s not consumed us in our iniquity, but even more so that He gives us a brand new start every day! Wow! Yes mih bredrin, our great God doesn’t believe in stale, left over stuff, so He gives us a new burst of His spiritual energy every single day of our lives, just enough to get us successfully through that particular day. And some of us might be greedy and want more than a day’s worth, but He knows just how much is sufficient for us.
Remember Jesus’ words in the prayer He taught the disciples? ‘Give us this day our daily bread.’ Yes, all we need is one day of God’s provision at a time, like He did with the manna He gave to the Hebrews in the wilderness. If they picked up more than a day’s worth, it was spoiled by the next day. (Ex. 16) And we must learn to be satisfied with what God gives us every day, don’t try to go running ahead of Him, because then we only screw up all His well laid plans for us. And sadly, our impatience, and our ability to wait on God and His impeccable timing is exactly why so many of us are getting nowhere fast.
One commentator puts it simply and succinctly: ‘For us, God’s timing often feels like a long, desperate delay. God’s perfect timing does two things: It grows our faith as we are forced to wait and trust in God and it makes certain that He, and He alone, gets the glory and praise for pulling us through.’ That’s gospel truth my people! And Bruh David said it in Psalm 31: “My times are in Your hands …” (Ps. 31:15) More gospel truth!
And there are so many scriptures in the Good Book that teach us about waiting on God’s perfect timing. So, this Monday morning, let’s remind ourselves of a few of them nuh. It can’t possibly do us any harm, and it will certainly do us much good. (smile) And we begin with this marvellous and true statement from Cousin Sol writing as the preacher in Ecclesiastes, where He wisely declares: ‘To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.’ (Eccl. 3:1) And that’s no lie, for God has planned His universe with perfect perfection (smile) and nothing happens outside of His plan.
And we ought to remember that, for as Cousin Sol writes in Proverbs 16: ‘A man’s heart deviseth (plans) his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.’ (Prov. 16:9) And the Lord is indeed sovereign over man’s planning and scheming, as so many of us have found out to our detriment.
But these marvellous words from the prophet Jeremiah on God’s behalf, ought to boost our faith and trust in God, although they don’t seem to do so, otherwise we wouldn’t be as impatient and disobedient as we are. ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).’ (Jer. 29:11) Now, if God gives such a great promise, why would He do anything contrary to it eh? No reason whatsoever!
And if He does allow us to go through hardship it’s only to test our faith and to grow us. And for that, He’s given us this magnificent and everlasting promise. ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.’ (Rom. 8:28) So as children of God, we ought to know and believe that He will indeed work out everything for our good eventually and wait patiently for His awesome timing. But our current behaviour doesn’t reflect that promise enough.
And these words of Peter remind us that our God works on an entirely different timeline than us. ‘But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.’ (2 Pet. 3:8) Now that should make us put on our thinking caps. (smile) And furthermore, as Peter continues: ‘The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.’ (2 Pet. 3:9)
That explains why we’re not consumed but receive new mercies and compassions every day. If the Lord wasn’t long-suffering, that’s patient, we would have been destroyed long ago. So please let’s give much thanks that patience is one of His many virtues. And I think that these words from Jeremiah in his Lamentations is a wonderful scripture to close on. ‘The Lord is my portion, saith my soul: therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.’ (Lam. 3:24-26)
Now friends, there’s absolutely no way we can doubt those scriptures because they are the indisputable truth of God’s word. So please, let’s get ourselves together nuh, for our sakes and those of our children, and begin truly believing in what we read and waiting patiently on God’s timing, because He always has what’s best for us. There’s absolutely no doubt about that! And in keeping with all that we’ve said today, let’s go to our wonderful God in prayer, right now nuh, letting Him know our wants and desires through our Monday Morning battle Hymn.
As one strong and confident but humble voice. ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems.
Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.
And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
Now it’s time to show our sincerity by living the way we promised…provided we want to receive a positive answer from God. Much LOVE!
…living this earthly life is very simple…simply obey God…and leave all the consequences to him… (Uncle Charles – Dr. Charles Stanley)
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
01 May 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a partnership with Jesus, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, avarice of the owner class, blasphemies, come unto me and I will give you rest, confidence, defileth not a man, doesn't happen overnight, false witness, freed from the burden of, grow Christ's kingdom, hard won rights, in Christ we have our very being, in Christ we live and move, it's a gradual process, Labour Day, lazy-day Saturday, LOVE, love our neighbours as ourselves, needing you to accept me, no sign of relief in sight, not that which goeth into a man defileth a man, out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, Praise the Lord, punishing your future for the mistakes of your past, read study and put the word into practice, sets the tone for all your others, that which comes out of the mouth, the ability to feel beautiful, the betterment of society, the brutal fangs, the building block, this defiles a man, to eat with unwashen hands, toting our baggage from the past, your relationship with yourself
Matthew 15:11. Not that which goeth into a man defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
Glory be friends! It’s lazy-day Saturday, and also the first day of the month of May! That means our world has already gone through four months of this year of 2021 ensnared in the brutal fangs of the Corona virus, racial, political and religious strife and numerous natural disasters. And we’re still locked down with no sign of relief in sight. There are vaccines aplenty, but the pandemic is still roaring ahead strong. And don’t talk about all the different kinds of strife, they seem to be proliferating daily because we keep fanning the flames around them instead of squelching them with LOVE and togetherness.
Consequently, there will be no Labour Day marches and celebrations of the hard-won benefits that the Labour Movement have won down through the Industrial Age. Instead, our sad state of affairs have given the owners of the means of production a chance to retract and restrict some of those hard-won rights. It has always been, and will always be, an uphill fight against the greed and avarice of the owner class of society. They are not really interested in the betterment of the society as a whole, just in that of their upper crust section.
And, unfortunately, we cannot fix the wrongs of the world in the pages of our Bit, but we can certainly offer encouragement and ideas that will help us survive, and eventually overcome. And all God’s children said a loud, proud and grateful: ‘Praise the Lord!’ So let’s keep that promise by checking out the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow.
Now, this first quote is the building block, the foundation of all the others. ‘Your relationship with yourself sets the tone for every other relationship you have.’ And that’s the indisputable truth friends! You can’t have a good relationship with anyone else until you have a good one with yourself. Why do you think Jesus told us that the second greatest commandment was to LOVE our neighbours as ourselves eh? (Matt. 22:39) Because He knew that only if we had a good feeling about, or relationship with ourselves, that we could have the same with someone else.
That means whatever is inside of us, is what we have to share and nothing else. No wonder He also said: ‘Not that which goeth into a man defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man…. But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.’ (Matt. 15: 11, 18-20)
So that’s why this next quote is also very important in the life of each individual. ‘There is no sense in punishing your future for the mistakes of your past. Forgive yourself, grow from it, and then let it go.’ That’s more indisputable truth my brethren. It’s a waste of life and precious time to keep toting our baggage from the past constantly along with us. Like the quote says, it’s just ‘punishing your future for the mistakes of your past.’ And that’s certainly not wise.
We need to leave our baggage behind, but certainly learn from it, so that we can have good energy and increased wisdom to move into the future and do better than we did before. And the best way to do that is to accept Christ’s invitation to lay it down at his feet, at the foot of His cross. He sincerely invites us: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest… For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light’ (Matt. 11:28, 30)
You can’t do any better than giving your problems to Jesus’ friends, because He’s the problem solver, the miracle worker, the I can do anything you want me to individual! And when we do that my people, this next quote comes shining through in our lives. ‘When I accept myself just as I am, I am freed from the burden of needing you to accept me.’
Oh, praise be my precious fellow believers! When we give ourselves and our burdens to Christ, we don’t need to seek acceptance from anyone else, because, Christ, the Lord and Saviour is the ONLY one we truly need acceptance from! Once He accepts us, we are free and clear of the worldly burden that the enemy tries to put on us, saying we must do this or do that to be acceptable in the sight of the world! Give thanks to His holy name friends for freeing us from all the foolishness, deceit and burdens the enemy tries to lay on us through the evil world system!
That brings us to our last quote, another beauty: ‘Confidence is the ability to feel beautiful, without needing someone to tell you.’ Isn’t that wonderful? It surely is! But then you ask, where do we find that confidence that leads to the ability to feel beautiful? From Jesus Christ of course my friends…From Jesus Christ! You can’t get than from no one, or nowhere else but the One who sacrificed His sinless life so selflessly on the cross of Calvary on our behalf! That’s what He gives us when we accept Him as Lord and Saviour and live the righteous way He desires of us.
But unfortunately, that doesn’t happen overnight, it is a gradual process. We can’t live one way for several years and then expect to change to another completely different form in the blink of an eye. And it does take effort on our part, because it’s a partnership we enter into with Christ. There are some things we need to do and some that only Christ will do. And please believe me when I say that He won’t do the things we need to do, so our progress or regress depends quite a lot on us.
And those things include reading, studying and meditating on His Word, the Bible, which is His Guidebook for our earthly lives. Then we not only need to know what that guidebook contains, but even more importantly, we need to practice what it says. Now that’s the major difference between a confident and non-confident Christian. The confident ones go out and do stuff, make things happen in Christ’s name, while the non-confident ones just talk and don’t do anything to grow Christ’s kingdom.
Yes friends, please remember that’s what we are supposed to be all about on this God-given earth nuh, spreading Christ’s Word and growing His kingdom. So, let’s get out there today and do just that nuh, with the wonderful confidence that He so generously instills in us when we truly believe in Him! Much LOVE!
…in Christ we live and move…in Christ we have our very being… (Acts 17:28)
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
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