19 May 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Abraham, advice, aura of love, blessings, body of Christ, British Commonwealth, Bruh David, cease from anger, christ jesus, Christian, Christian behaviour, comfort, confidence, Creator of the universe, do no evil, done the will of god, empathizing, encouragement, endurance, enthusiasm, evildoers shall be destroyed, faith, faithful God, favour, fiery darts, footsteps of Jesus, forsake wrath, fret not thyself, further God's glorious kingdom, glorify God, harmonious voice, hold on to our faith, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, keeping lives and families together, lies, mature Christians, maturity, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Oh Lord God Almighty, patience, patiently endured, perseverance, praise Your Holy Name, prayer, Queen Victoria, receive the promise, recompense, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, Rest in the Lord, reward, serve a useful purpose, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, sterner stuff, sure conquerors, surrender our all, the God of patience and comfort, the Good Book, they shall inherit the earth, to the glory of God, unfortunate brethren, ungodly world, unity in Christ, walk of faith, wicked schemes, worthwhile inroads
Luke 21:19. In your patience, possess ye your souls.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday… And some of us unashamedly laugh and cackle because we don’t have to go to work today. Thanks to good ole Queen Vic (Victoria), it’s a holiday in Canada and some other parts of the British Commonwealth of Nations!
But my cackling Friends, that’s not very Christian behaviour. You ought to be empathizing with your unfortunate brethren, who have to go out and labour today in an unfriendly world. Anyway, please repent of your petty behaviour and then sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with those unfortunates in loud, harmonious voice.
As one prayerful and grateful body of Christ now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Ah mih people, that was a good rendition, no doubt bolstered by the enthusiastic voices of those who don’t have to go to work! But whatever, Jesus was pleased. Now let’s see if we can please Him when we go out to labour and the fiery darts of the enemy begin to flash at us.
Let’s see if we can stand up strong, display that tenacity, that backbone and belly for which Christians have been famous for from the early days, and fulfill the words of Jesus in our Bit: ‘In your patience possess ye your souls.’
Yes my brethren, in our faith, patience, perseverance and endurance are everything! If we don’t major in those qualities, then we’ll never become mature Christians. For it’s in our standing steadfast and strong during times of adversity that we improve, mature in our walk of faith. And today, all I want to do is to share some seminal scriptures on the subject of patience, perseverance and endurance.
Hear Bruh Paul talking to the Romans about unity in Christ. ‘For whatsoever things were written aforetime (beforehand) were written for our learning, that we through patience (perseverance) and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
Now the God of patience and consolation (comfort) grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus. That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (Rom.15:4-6)
Yeh Friends, to be like Jesus and the Father, we need to have patience, because they have that in abundance, and likewise all those who laboured for them, as written in the scriptures for our encouragement.
Now listen to the author of Hebrews, as he enjoins us with a plea to hold on to our faith. ‘Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience (endurance), that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.’ (Heb.10:35-36)
And we have a wonderful example of that in our father Abraham. ‘For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.’ (Heb.6:13-15)
Yes Friends, our God is a faithful God, but by necessity He needs to try and test us to see if we’re made of sterner stuff, able to follow in the footsteps of His Son.
And we’ll close with a word on the subject from Bruh David. ‘Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices (schemes) to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil (it only causes harm). For evildoers shall be cut off (destroyed): but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.’ (Ps. 37:7-9)
Oh my fellow believers, we couldn’t ask for better advice than that, for Bruh David not only spoke it, but he also lived it. And we see in the God Book, how the Lord favoured him abundantly as he stood strong under his many trials. Now let us go out today and see if we can do the same nuh – all to the glory of our wonderful God! Much LOVE!
…but if we hope for that we see not…then do we with patience (perseverance)…(eagerly) wait for it… (Rom.8:25)
05 May 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: aura of love, awesome power of prayer, blessings, breadwinner, Bruh David, call on the Lord, Christian, Christian bloom, chronic illness, confidence, confidence in God, Creator of the universe, distress, do our best for Jesus, effectiveness of prayer, efficacy, Elise Maclay, enthusiasm, excellence, fervent prayer, friends, further God's glorious kingdom, Gath, gospel truth, heavenly Father, holy spirit, if God is for us who can be against us, indisputable truth, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, keeping lives and families together, knock your socks off, lies, lord god almighty, LOVE, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, my enemies shall turn back, Oh Lord God Almighty, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, people of faith, Philistines, pray for one another, prayer, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality and enthusiasm, righteous man, righteousness., salvation, Saul, serve a useful purpose, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, sure conquerors, surrender our all to you, thanksgiving, the Word of god, trust, trust in God, truth, ungodly world, weary souls, when I cry unto the Lord, wicked taunts, wisdom, worthwhile inroads
Psalm 56:9. When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.
Oh Friends, it’s a brand new day – Monday! And much to my surprise, there wasn’t as much hissing and sour invective thrown my way. And I gratefully thanked God that His people were finally getting the idea that Monday was a day to be celebrated, not cursed. (smile)
And Friends, do I ever have a good quote for us today – one that’s so appropriate that it will knock your proverbial socks off! When I read it, I couldn’t help but chuckle, and immediately knew that I had to share it.
It comes from my old Devotional for People with Chronic Illness, and is attributed to one Elise Maclay. From the info available, I believe the Elise Maclay we’re talking about was an author of successful books like ‘Green Winter, and the Art of Bev Doolittle’ published in the 1970’s.
Anyway, she reputedly said, ‘…I was the breadwinner. Only I didn’t WIN the bread, I worked hard and earned it.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth my people! We don’t win the bread, we get up off our rear ends and work hard for it! And that’s exactly what this first Monday morning in May 2014 is calling for! So let’s get up and get a move on nuh, let’s get out into the evil and ungodly world that awaits us and do our damndest, our best for Jesus! Remember Jesus desires and expects excellence from His followers!
And to help us do that, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with plenty moxie. As one great choir now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Aw shucks Friends, that rendition was the greatest nuh, it only raised polite clapping from the heavenly hosts! Anyway, I’ll chalk it up to our still being somewhat sleepy, and assume that by the time we get ready to hit the road, the Holy Spirit will have caused us to be in full Christian bloom. (smile)
Now let’s look at our Bit for this beautiful spring morning. ‘When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.’
Words of indisputable truth my brethren! Faithfully proven after they were sent heavenward, by Bruh David’s eventual escape from the Philistines at Gath and his mortal enemy, Saul!
That’s why Friends, it both amazes and disappoints me that Christians don’t use prayer more often, despite claiming to be so in touch and in tune with God. If we look at the lives of all the great people of faith, one common thread stands out above all else; their great dependence on and use of prayer.
Even Jesus, God incarnate, didn’t make a move without talking to His heavenly Father. So why are we so ashamed, afraid, and reluctant to pray eh? Is it that we don’t truly believe in the efficacy and effectiveness of prayer?
James spells it out in spades for us: ‘Confess your faults (trespasses) one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual (effective) fervent prayer (supplication) of a righteous man availeth much.’ (James 5:16)
Oh my people, it’s time for us to wake up to the true and very awesome power of prayer! When we cry out to God in sincere prayer, He hears us and answers. Listen to how Bruh David puts it in Psalm 118; Thanksgiving for the Lord’s salvation.
‘I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large (broad) place. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? The Lord taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. (Per the scholars, that’s the middle verse of the Bible) It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.’ (Ps.118:5-9)
More words of indisputable truth Friends! And we know it. So why don’t we adhere to them eh? Ah Lord eh! I guess only the Lord in His high heaven really knows why we are the stubborn and unwise way we are yes!
And we’ll go home with some immortal words of advice, of heavenly wisdom from Bruh Paul to the Roman Church, words which we all know, but don’t follow as closely or rely on as we should.
‘What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?’ (Rom. 8:31-32)
Yes Friends, if the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God, Creator and Controller of the universe and all therein is in our corner, then who can successfully challenge us eh? NOBODY!
So please let’s not only plant that true, wonderful seed deep in our souls, but let’s also act on it today, by stepping up our prayer lives and calling out to our heavenly father, at ALL times, and for ALL things! That’s what he sincerely desires, and it’s also the epitome of wisdom, my people! Much LOVE!
…it’s foolish, unwise, and a downright lie…to claim to be a Christian…and not be thoroughly immersed in the Word of God and sincere prayer…
14 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adversaries, aura of love, blessings, Bruh Paul, church, circumstances, confidence, end of all things, enemy, enthusiasm, evil, faith, faithful, fellowship, followers of Jesus, forgiveness, foundations stones, further God's glorious kingdom, glorifying God, God has heard me, God's glory, grateful hearts, gratitude, heavenly wisdom, Holy Name, holy spirit, Holy Week, Jesus Christ, jobs, joy, lies, live action, LOVE, loving kindness, man's honour, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, multitude of sins, persevere, Praise the Lord, prayer, preach the gospel, problems, real world, rejuvenation of spirit, religion, renewed vitality, revitalization, sins, steadfast in faith, thanksgiving, the gospel, trials, tribulations, twin peaks, ungodly world, week of work, wicked taunts, wickedness, wisdom, words of prayer, worthwhile inroads, zeal
Psalm 66:19. But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
Oh Friends, on this Monday morning, the first day of Holy Week, I have a rather interesting comment for you from the comics section of the newspaper. It’s from the Family Circus strip, depicting a family; husband, wife and four young children of varying ages coming out of church, when the young girl suddenly pipes up: ‘Grandma says this is where our religion begins – when we come out of church.’
And is she ever so right! As Bruh David declared in Psalm 8, God’s glory and man’s honour. ‘Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings (infants) hast thou ordained (established) strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still (silence) the enemy and the avenger.’ (Ps.8:2)
And why is that first statement so right? Because it is indeed after we walk out the church doors that we need to put our religion into practice! While in church we are all of the same faith and belief, all enthusiastically glorifying God!
And that’s very easy to do because there are no adversaries in our faces in church, but once we leave the building, that’s where our adversaries pounce on us, and that’s also where we need to show our mettle, what we’re truly made of, if we can put all the stuff we just finished spouting in church into live action!
Ah mih people, it’s not inside the church that we show our faith to best advantage, but outside its doors, in the real world of trials and tribulations, anxieties and fears. Going to church just helps us to renew our faith as a group, thus enabling us to stand up strong to those problems and circumstances we face in the real world. And it’s on days like Mondays that we’re definitely called on to walk our talk of faith.
So on this Monday morning of Holy Week, the most important week in the calendar of our faith, because it’s when Jesus died for us, then was raised from the dead in glory, providing us with resurrection power and finally reconciliation with Almighty God. Therefore let’s go out to work with the right attitude and frame of mind, that we bring glory and not disgrace to God.
Let’s now sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with the appropriate gusto it so richly deserves. (smile) ‘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!’
That was most excellent my people! And we need to carry that enthusiasm and zeal and LOVE for Jesus with us into the ungodly world that awaits us.
Our Monday Morning Battle Hymn is also an excellent example of our Bit: ‘But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.’ Whenever we sing it, God hears and answers our requests with a revitalization of our spirits.
And yes, it was one of God’s mysterious workings that led me to leave today as the last day for our Bit. It’s rather appropriate since Holy Week is a week of intense prayer. So what better way to begin it than with sincere and faithful words of prayer eh? None really.
Now let’s get to our scriptural examples. The first comes from Bruh Paul in his missive to the Colossians, where in his opening remarks he advises them: ‘Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; Withal (meanwhile) praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance (for the word), to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds. That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.’ (Col.4:2-4)
And this is how the scholars explain those scriptures: ‘4:2. Continue in prayer means “persevere in prayer.” Watch in the same means that the Colossians are to be mentally alert and spiritually sensitive to the needs for which they pray. With thanksgiving signifies that gratitude is the attitude in which prayer is offered. So the readers are to persevere in prayer with alert minds and grateful hearts.
4:3-4. The Colossians are asked to make two prayer requests for Paul and his associates: (1) that God would grant them opportunities both inside and outside of prison to preach the gospel (v.3); and that (2) the evangelists would make the truth manifest as they ought to speak, that is, to preach it with courage and clarity. Withal praying also for us means praying for Paul “together with” the prayer commanded in verse 2.’
Oh my fellow believers, those very things are also required of us today, possibly even more so than in Bruh Paul’s day since the world is much larger, in terms of number of people and settlements, and the evil and wickedness that abounds is surely greater and more perverse.
So with that observation, let’s end these messages on prayer with this most apropos scripture from Peter. ‘But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. And above all things have fervent charity (LOVE) among yourselves: for charity (LOVE) shall cover the multitude of sins.’ (1 Pet.4:7-8)
That, my Friends, is the best advice we can get this Monday morning, or on any morning at all. So let’s show our heavenly wisdom and graciously and gratefully accept it nuh! Much LOVE!
…without the twin peaks…the foundation stones of prayer and LOVE…we cannot truly claim to be followers of Jesus…
12 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a blaze of glory, all is well with my soul, almighty god, anger, anxiety, benefits of prayer, call for the church elders, Calvary's cross, Christ-like character, Christians, communicating with God, confidence, crucifixion, disservice, don't hang our heads and cry, don't lose confidence in God, Elijah, Everly Brothers, faith, faithful leader, fervent prayer, giver of all good things, God has heard my prayer, God hears and answers prayer, God loved us, God's great earth, good morning, he aven gave rain, heavenly fountain, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, Jesus died on the cross for us, joyful shout, lift up our hearts and heads, LOVE, negative forces, negative thing, negativity, pass through the fire, Praise be to god, prayer, prayer of faith, put aside fear, reconciled to God, reconciliation, refined, resentment, resurrection, righteous man, sacrifice, sacrificial death, saviour, saviour jesus, sinful life, sing psalms, sinless life, sins, sub-par lives, testimony, tests, the earth brought forth fruit, the power of prayer, Tom Dooley, trials, tribulations, troubling our tender souls, trust, worry
Psalm 66:19. But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
Good morning, good morning! Yes Friends, we’re wishing you a good morning and a wonderful day on God’s great earth!
And although life might not be all that we want or expect, it sure beats anything else that we currently know. So let’s put aside the fear, the worry, the anxiety, the anger, resentment or whatever other negative thing is troubling our tender souls.
Remember that God is always working on, in and for us, trying to make us better people, more Christ-like in character and that includes all sorts of testing, trials, tribulations and being passed through the fire so that we can be refined and brought to the state that He’s prepared for us.
Wow! What a speech! (smile) But it’s all true. So this Saturday morning, regardless of whatever is wrong, let’s not get down on ourselves. Let’s not lose confidence in Almighty God, who LOVED us so much that He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for us on the cross at Calvary, so that we could be brought back into His ever-loving fold, reconciled to Him.
That, my Friends, is the greatest gift that mankind has ever been given, and it’s set to all play out in the coming week, Holy Week, beginning with Christ’s crucifixion and ending in a blaze of glory with His resurrection!
And all God’s people gave a joyful shout of ‘Praise be to Almighty God, the giver of all good things to His chosen people!’
So let’s not hang our heads down like Tom Dooley and cry, (smile) – the old Everly Brothers song of the same name – but let’s lift up our heads and hearts proudly, with confidence, faith and trust in our faithful leader and Saviour Jesus Christ because that’s why He sacrificed His sinless life for our sinful ones. If we just give in to the negative forces and circumstances around us, then we’ll be doing Him a great disservice, making a mockery of His sacrificial death.
Right now is possibly the best time of year to be a Christian, just before Easter, when Jesus turned the whole world upside down with His wondrous doings! It’s a real confidence builder and booster! So sit up, look up, put a smile in your heart and on your face, and take pride in being a child of the ONE and ONLY TRUE GOD, Creator of the universe and all therein!
And in this calamitous and ungodly world, we need to get even closer to God than we currently are. That means going to Him in prayer, the most effective way of communicating with Him. And it still surprises me that many Christians don’t truly believe or understand the power of prayer! That’s why, as I said a couple of days ago, so many supposed Christians still lead sub-par lives. That’s why we have been inspired to write these messages on the positive power of prayer.
And our Bit is a wonderful example of the workings of prayer in a Christian’s life. The psalmist showed no doubt or hesitation when he declared: ‘But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.’
Yes my brethren, God does hear and answer our sincere prayers! And today we’ll share one unbroken passage of scripture which encapsulates all that prayer is and does.
Listen to James enunciate on the benefits of prayer. ‘Is any among you afflicted (suffering)? let him pray. Is any merry (cheerful) let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, (the prayer produced by that faith will heal), and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults (trespasses) one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual (effective) fervent prayer (supplication) of a righteous man availeth much.
Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are (with a nature like ours), and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth (land) by the space of (for) three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.’ (James 5:13-18)
What a testimony for prayer my people! And I’ll add my own small testimony here. Before I began writing the Bit, I was feeling lousy both emotionally and physically, and knew I couldn’t write the Bit in that condition, so I read some uplifting stuff and floated some prayers up to heaven asking for strength and guidance to write a good Bit.
And Friends, though I expected a positive response, I was truly surprised when I began writing and everything just flowed like water from a fountain – a heavenly fountain that is. I didn’t even need to do a rough draft, as I do most of the time.
Now that couldn’t have been just my natural powers. And though I’m still feeling the effects of the cold, Friends, I’m here, and very happy to tell you, that all is now well with my soul! (smile) Please believe in prayer, for it does work wonders in a believer’s life! Much LOVE!
…to pray…to pray…and yet to pray…that is the only way…
11 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a loving and magnanimous God, be anxious for nothing, Bruh Paul, christianity, conviction, deficiency in faith, efficacy of prayer, enthusiasm, epitome of wisdom, faith, faithful to prayer, fear, fellowship, fervent prayer, following Jesus isn't easy, Friday chant, fulsome prayer, glorious kingdom, God has heard my prayer, God will never give us more than we can handle, Herod, holy spirit, James, Jesus Christ, John Mark, keep our spirits high, LOVE, loving kindness, many were gathered praying, men plan but God's will prevails, omnipotent god, peace, persevered in prayer, Peter, Philippians, power of prayer, prayer, Rejoice in the Lord, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, rewards in heaven, rewards on earth, righteousness., sea of anxiety and fear, supplication, sweat shop, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, thank God, thanksgiving, the Lord answers prayer, the peace of God which passeth all understading, ungodly climate, ungodly world, walk of faith, wisdom
PSALM 66:19. But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
And then it was Friday, and the people were in an uproar: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday yes mih brethren! I couldn’t hack another day in that sweat shop nuh! Thank God for these two blessed days off!’
Yes Friends, I know how bad it can be in some of the places some of us work, but sometimes we just have no choice, because that’s the only job we can get at this time, and it’s certainly better than no job at all. But all is not lost my people, we have a LOVING and magnanimous God who looks after us, and He will not allow us to bear more than we can handle.
As we keep saying, following Jesus is not easy, but it is always interesting, and will bear great rewards at a later date, either down here on earth or up in heaven. So please don’t give up, the trials and tribulations won’t last forever. And to help us handle the weekend the right way, let’s chant our Friday Chant with much enthusiasm to keep our spirits high.
Altogether 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 let’s work out the day, with the joy of the Lord in our hearts, faithfully looking forward to a great weekend! That brings us to our Bit: ‘But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.’
Now such powerful conviction should be held by ALL believers, if we are faithful to prayer, for the Lord faithfully answers our sincere prayers! But Friends, so many of us are lost and lacking in serious prayer, and prayer is so important in the Christian walk of faith, that we are continuing this series of messages on prayer, highlighting scriptures that prove its efficacy.
Today we’ll highlight two more instances where prayer was masterful. The first comes from Acts 12, where Herod kills James and imprisons Peter, intending to bring him before the people after Passover. (Acts 12:1-4) However, our great and wonderful God had other ideas and plans. Remember, men plan, but it is God’s will that prevails!
‘Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.’ (Acts 12:5) And we all know the story of how on the night before Herod planned to bring Peter out, the angel of the Lord came to the prison and miraculously led him out to freedom. (Acts 12:6-11) And as the Lord would have it, he ended up at the house of John Mark’s mother Mary, ‘where many were gathered together praying.’ (Acts 12:12)
Yuh see the power of prayer my people! But just like it is with us in today’s ungodly climate, when Peter knocked on Mary’s door, his friends didn’t believe it was really him, saying it was his angel. They even called the servant girl who answered his knock and heard his voice crazy, though she was absolutely positive that it was Peter. (Acts 12:13-15)
‘But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.’ (Acts 12:16) Oh Friends, how marvellous are the works of our omnipotent God! And always in our best interest too!
The scholars though have an interesting take on that episode of scripture. ’12:12-16. Though the prayer of the church was fervent due to Peter’s situation (v 5), there was a deficiency in faith (vv 15-16). Evidently they did not believe God would answer in this miraculous way, or so soon.’
And doesn’t that sound very familiar? It sure does, because even today many of us still don’t believe in the efficacy of prayer although there are numerous examples to show that it works. But regardless of how strong the believers’ faith was, the important thing is that they persevered in prayer, and the Lord answered their prayers.
That brings us to the second scripture passage we’ll look at today. It’s Bruh Paul talking to the Philippians about rejoicing in the Lord. ‘Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.’ (Phil.4:6)
Oh my brethren, Bruh Paul could not be any simpler and straightforward than that! So why aren’t we following it eh? I really don’t know. But here is what he says will happen if we pray continually. “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil.4:7)
Oh mih people, mih people, isn’t peace what we’re all searching for? Well right there we’re told how to get it! And not the peace of the world, but the peace of God! So why aren’t we doing as the Good Book says eh, and continue to stubbornly cling to our own paltry efforts to find peace in an ungodly, wicked world?
Anyway my fellow believers, today, RIGHT NOW, please let’s allow those simple but momentous words to loudly reverberate in our souls, bodies and minds, so that we can be convinced of the power of prayer, and use it consistently each and every day of our lives, for it is indeed the epitome of wisdom! Much LOVE!
…without fulsome prayer…a believer is lost…adrift on an endless sea of anxiety and fear…
10 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Acts of the Apostles, answered prayer, Archimedes, awesome God, calamitous winter, christianity, commitment to prayer, communal, confession, confusing times, covenant, Daniel, divine judgement, Elementary my dear Watson, Eureka, evening sacrifices, faithful and loving God, faithful life, fool's wisdom, friends, glorify God, glory hallelujah, God has heard my supplications, God has heard my voice, great man of faith, Greek imperfect tense, heavenly wisdom, Holy Ghost, honest report, hot day, hour of prayer, humble, humility, I Love the Lord, I will call upon god as long as I live, John, joy, judgement, justice, life, LOVE, loving kindness, meek, meekness, mercy, ministry of the word, new mercies, ninth hour, offering of incense, outdoor activities, personally experienced, Peter, praise and glory to God, pray, prayer, prayer is the best form of communication with god, praying, rightousness, seek the Lord, Sherlock Holmes, sincere heartfelt prayers, spreading the gospel, testimony, the gospel, the Lord's anger, the voice, those that keep god's commandments, those that Love God, troubled times, whopping hot, wisdom, Zephaniah
Psalm 66:19. But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
All praise and glory to our wonderful God this Thursday morning my people! And that’s not just for life and new mercies, but also for what promises to be a whopping hot day, with temps in the mid teens! Glory Hallelujah!
Oh, I know to you folks down south that’s cold, but to us Northerners, that’s almost like a summer’s day, especially after the crazy and calamitous winter we’ve had. And I’m sure that there’ll be lot’s of folks out and about half-naked, running, walking, bicycling, playing games, and trying to do all the things we do come the summer time.
Good for them yes! But I doubt that I’ll be joining in any outdoor activities just yet, for I’m still trying to get rid of this nagging cough and cold. Let’s just hope that the temperature stays high from now on. And no doubt a whole lot of people are praying for that. Why?
Because as we’ve been saying for the last few days, prayer is the best form of communication with our Maker! And if we sincerely believe that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob created us, then it is only logical to pray to Him for whatever we desire. As Sherlock Holmes would undoubtedly tell his sidekick: ‘Elementary my dear Watson!’
And also, as we’ve seen from our Bit, our faithful and LOVING God does answer prayer. ‘But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.’
Oh Friends, I don’t see how we can doubt the awesome power of prayer nuh, especially if you claim to be a true believer in Jesus Christ! Therefore, today we will continue to show scriptures that deal with the mighty workings of prayer.
Hopefully something there will cause something in us to go off like the ‘Eureka’ effect that the Greek scientist Archimedes experienced when taking a bath, discovering that the level of the water rose when he got into it. That helped him to solve a scientific problem he was then working on.
First off, listen to the psalmist as he opens Psalm 116; praise for deliverance from death. ‘I LOVE the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me (hath listened to me), therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.’ (Ps.116:1-2)
Oh what a beautiful testimony my brethren! That’s how ALL God’s people should be declaring their never-ending commitment to prayer!
Now hear how that great man of faith, Daniel, began his prayer for his people. ‘And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful (awesome) God, keeping the covenant and mercy (LOVING-kindness) to them that LOVE Him, and to them that keep his commandments.’ (Dan.9:3-4)
Oh Friends, we all know the wonders the Lord worked in Daniel’s long and faithful life – and it was all done through sincere and heartfelt prayer! Now there’s no reason why the Lord cannot work wonders in our lives too, wonders that glorify Him, if we also turn to Him in serious prayer.
And the prophet Zephaniah, in talking about the scope of divine judgement, declared to Israel, and consequently to ALL OF US: ‘Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgement (upheld his justice); seek righteousness, seek meekness (humility): it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger.’ (Zeph.2:3)
And how do we seek the Lord? First and foremost through PRAYER, my brethren!
And we’ll end with a couple of instances of prayer being ultra important from the Acts of the Apostles. Chapter 3 of Acts begins thus: ‘Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.’ (Acts 3:1)
Now if two of the most important apostles could be involved in regular prayer, why shouldn’t we be too eh?
And the scholars explain that verse thus: ‘3:1. According to Jewish reckoning, the day began at 6.a.m. Hence, the ninth hour is 3 p.m.. The Jewish prayer time was held in conjunction with the evening sacrifices and offering of incense (cf. Luke 1:8; Rev.8:3-4). Peter and John commonly went to the temple to pray at this hour. The Greek imperfect tense could well be translated “used to go up.’
That makes it a habit Friends! One that we all should adopt!
And finally, from Acts 6, where the number of believers and disciples had multiplied and Christianity had become so communal, it created a problem for the disciples to serve everybody’s needs and still continue with their own duties of prayer and spreading the gospel.
‘Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason (desirable) that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore brethren, look ye out (seek from) among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word,’ (Acts 6:2-4)
Oh Friends, yuh see that prayer and spreading the Word were so important that the original 12 disciples desired to devote their time to do just that. So how can we, especially in these very troubled and confusing times, not turn to prayer and the Word in like manner eh? It’s a fool’s wisdom, if we don’t my brethren!
So please, let’s get right on the prayer scene and into the Word nuh, and thus show our heavenly wisdom. Much LOVE!
…there’s a joy that comes from praying…and then having those prayers answered…a joy which words cannot fully explain… but must be personally experienced to understand it…
09 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: as we forgive our debtors, ask, asking for help, believer in Jesus Christ, blessings, bounden duty, communicating with God, communion, crying out to God in prayer, daily bread, deliver us from evil, despising shame, do unto others as you want them to do to you, don't give in to negative circumstances, endured the cross, factual data, faithful, forgive our debts, forgiveness, fundamental importance of prayer, God has heard my prayer, God has promised, God in the flesh, God's people, greetings, hallowed be thy name, heartfelt prayer, hold on to the Lord's faithful promises, in faith, in trust, it's good to be alive, Jesus, Jesus went out into a mountain to pray, joy, knock, lay aside every weight, lead us not into temptation, LOVE, loving kindness, magnanimous god, mercy, new mercies, Our Father which art in heaven, patience, perfecter of our faith, perseverance, prayer, prayer to god, promises, right hand of God, run with patience, salutations, seek, something joyful to look forward to, son of god, stand strong and steadfast, surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, teach us to pray, the author, the Father's help, the golden rule, the number one means of communicating with God, the power and the glory, the sin which ensnares us, thine is the kingdom, thy will be done, to work all things out for our good, trials and tribulation, trumped up situation, we shun it to our detriment
Psalm 66:1. But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
Oh Friends, blessings and greetings and salutations this Wednesday morning! It’s certainly good to be alive, although all might not be right with us.
And remember that new mercies and LOVING-kindness from our magnanimous God will be filtering down to us all day, so that’s something joyful to look forward to.
Therefore, let us not give in to any negative circumstances that are coming against us. Instead, let us stand strong and steadfast in faith and trust, for we know not what the end of the day will bring, for the Lord has promised to work all things out for the benefit of His people.
So if you consider yourself to be one of God’s people, then it’s your bounden duty to hold on to the Lord’s faithful promises. And if that is proving difficult to do, then there is always the option of crying out to Him in prayer, asking for help to handle the situation until He is ready to deal with it.
Remember, prayer is the NUMBER ONE means of communicating with our heavenly Father, and we shun it to our own detriment. And that’s not a trumped up situation, but one established by thousands of years of factual data.
That’s why the author of Hebrews could say with much conviction: ‘Wherefore seeing (since) we are compassed about with (surrounded by) so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset (ensnare) us, and let us run with patience (perseverance) the race that is set before us.
Looking unto Jesus the author (originator) and finisher (perfecter) of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.’ (Heb.12:1-2)
Oh my people, do you think the ‘cloud of witnesses’ went through all of their trials and tribulations for nothing? Or that the Father sent Jesus to die for us with no great plan envisioned?
Obviously not! The Lord made us in the first place so that he could have communion with us, which came about through prayer and answer. And even though we fell and became sinful, it was still the Lord’s intention to have meaningful communion with us.
Therefore He sent Jesus to pay the price needed for us to come before Him…again in prayer. Communicating with God has always been, and will always be first and foremost through prayer my people!
That’s why the psalmist could say in our Bit with such utter conviction, even before Jesus came to earth to save us: ‘But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.’
That Friends, is also why I’m trying to drive home to us the fundamental importance of prayer in believers lives! For it surely is surprising the number of supposed believers who don’t engage in serious prayer. But how can you call yourself a sincere believer in Jesus Christ and don’t indulge in serious and sincere communication with Him eh?
For how do you think Jesus managed to bear His trials and tribulations on earth? By prayer! Although he was God in the flesh, He still needed the Father’s help to bear the painful tasks set out for Him.
Hear the Good Book on the subject: ‘And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.’ (Luke 6:12)
Oh my brethren, if the Son of God needed prayer down here on earth to help Him, why do we mere mortals think that we don’t eh, and don’t seriously consider it?
And the importance of prayer is further highlighted my people by this episode: ‘And it came to pass, that as he (Jesus) was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.’ (Luke 11:1)
Yuh see Friends, knowing the importance of prayer in their lives, John must have thought his disciples to pray. And according to the scholars: ’11:1. Religious communities of the time customarily had their own distinctive prayers. Perhaps the disciples wanted theirs.’
But whatever the reason, Jesus granted their request, giving them this prayer as an example. ‘After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.’ (Matt.6:9-15)
Ah mih breddren, yuh see how important Jesus considered forgiveness that after the basic prayer, He went on to talk about it?
That should tell us all something, basically we ought to obey the golden rule: do unto others as you would that they do unto you, for as you do to others God will do to you. And that’s all I have to say for today. (smile)
Now may the Lord bless us and keep us safely under the protection of His powerful presence, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Much LOVE!
…the best way to ask, seek and knock…is through heartfelt prayer…
08 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abide by God's rules, adversaries, afraid, almighty god, anger, ashamed, awesome God, awesome truth, blessed be God, blessing from heaven, bold, Bruh David, close contact with God, complaint, deceitful lips, destiny, disasters, dry and parched land, early rains, enemy, evil, evil for good, examined, faith, fear, floods, found nothing evil, fundamental importance of prayer, give myself unto prayer, God answers prayers, God controls our destiny, God has heard my prayer, God of his fathers, God's good graces, God's help, God's never late, God's own way and time, God's timing is always right, good, harassment, hatred, hatred for Love, hear my cry, heartfelt prayers, hope and pray, humble manner, in Jesus' name, jehovah god, lay bare his soul, LOVE, loving kindness, meditation, men of great faith, mercy, mountains of snow, nemesis, plentiful harvest, Praise the Lord, prayer, psalms, raindrops falling on the rooftop, rebellion, Saul, secret counsel of the wicked, sincere heartfelt prayers, sincere prayer, solid foundation, sub-par lives, tender age, tested, transgress, tried, truth, upright, vindication, voice of my weeping, weeping, well watered, wicked, without fear, workers of iniquity
Psalm 66:19. But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
Oh Friends, how good and pleasant it is to hear the refreshing sound of raindrops falling on the rooftop, as has been happening intermittently in my area for the last fifteen or so hours! At last the early rains! The blessings from heaven to saturate the dry and parched land, and cause the harvest to be plentiful.
There’s one problem though; right now our land is not dry and parched, as it has been well watered over the last couple of weeks through the gradually melting mountains of snow that have covered it for most of the winter. That means, although we appreciate the rain, we just don’t want too much, since it’s highly likely to cause flooding.
But all we can do on that front is to hope and pray that our wonderful God will look down on us there with mercy and LOVING-kindness, for we certainly couldn’t afford to have any more nerve-wracking disasters than we’ve already had in the past six months. Remember we had a massive flood just before winter began.
Oh my people, that is why it’s so important to stay in close contact with Almighty God, to remain in His good graces, for He controls our destiny. And the best way to do that is through sincere prayer.
That’s why the psalmist in our Bit, could say with profound conviction: ‘But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.’
And that is such awesome truth Friends! When we try to abide by His rules and regulations, which are not onerous at all, He does listen to and answer our prayers. Though we must realize and accept the fact that they will not necessarily be answered how or when we desire, but in God’s own way and time.
Remember too His timing is ALWAYS right, NEVER late, and ALWAYS in our best interest. That’s why prayer is such an overwhelmingly important aspect of the believer’s life!
And though we keep hammering that idea home, it’s surprising the large number of people, supposed believers included, who refuse to take it seriously. No wonder so many of us are living sub-par lives.
Anyway, today we’ll continue to highlight scriptures that show how men of great faith found prayer to be the solid foundation of their lives.
Yuh know what Friends, and I’m chuckling here, there are so many scriptures, that to make life easy on us all, I’ll just concentrate on Bruh David’s declarations of prayer, because he has so many heartfelt ones in the Psalms, and we know that the Lord heard and answered him.
We gave you a couple on the first day from Psalms 4 and 5, so we’ll now begin with Psalm 6; a prayer for mercy.
Listen to the man after God’s own heart. ‘Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord hath heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer. Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed (greatly troubled): let them return and be ashamed suddenly.’ (Ps.6:8-10)
Then in Psalm 17; a prayer for protection against oppressors, he pleads unto the God of his fathers: ‘Hear the right (a just cause), O Lord, attend unto my cry; give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned (deceitful) lips. Let my sentence (vindication) come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal (upright)
Thou hast proved (tested) mine heart; thou hast visited me (searched me out) in the night; thou hast tried (examined) me, and shalt find nothing (nothing evil): I am purposed that my mouth shalt not transgress.’ (Ps.17:1-3)
And again, in Psalm 28; a prayer for God’s help, Bruh David cries out unashamedly: ‘Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit. Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle (sanctuary).’ (Ps.28:1-2)
Then in Psalm 64; plot and punishment, there is more pleading: ‘Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer (meditation or complaint): preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection (tumult) of the workers of iniquity.’ (Ps.64:1-2)
And we’ll close with this one from Psalm 109; a prayer for the punishment of the wicked. ‘For my LOVE they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer. And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my LOVE.’ (Ps.109: 4-5)
And I particularly like that one, because I can personally relate to it, as no doubt many of you readers can.
Oh my brethren, from all of that it’s impossible not to see how devoted Bruh David was to prayer. He turned to Jehovah God in each and every situation. And even more importantly, he wasn’t afraid or ashamed to cry out, to lay bare his soul to the God of his fathers!
That’s because from a tender age he had seen the Lord’s hand moving in his life. And it was by no means an easy life, for though he was anointed to be king in his mid-teens, he faced many obstacles, much hate, anger and rebellion from within his own family, not to mention the harassment from his nemesis Saul.
But if it’s one thing Bruh David had and bravely showed, was what the old people called ‘stick-to-it-tiveness!’ That’s patience, perseverance and an unshakeable faith in Almighty God, despite all his troubling and dangerous circumstances. He NEVER gave up on God… and consequently, God NEVER left him in the lurch!
Oh my people, we couldn’t want a better example than Bruh David when it comes to prayer. So today I pray that we will all get this message; the fundamental importance of prayer in a believer’s life, and that we will all take it to heart and begin, or continue to call upon our awesome God, without fear, in bold, yet humble manner, through sincere and heartfelt prayers. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
And all God’s children gratefully declared: ‘Praise the Lord!’ Much, much LOVE, my fellow believers in Christ Jesus!
…blessed be God…which hath not turned away my prayer…nor his mercy from me… (Ps.66:20)
06 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new day, an abomination to the Lord, ask in prayer, awesome Creator, believer's life, believing, communicating with God, creative expression, definition of prayer, diligently follow, distress, don't be afraid to pray, don't ever doubt, don't hesitate to call on God, enriched lives, faithfully, fig tree, forgiveness, give ear to my words, God has heard me, God is ready willing and able, God's delight, God's promises, God-given wisdom, gospel truth, grateful children, groaning, Hartley Coolidge, have mercy upon me, hear my prayer, heartfelt thanks and praise, heartfelt words, heavenly truth, I will direct my prayer, I will look up, if you have faith, in Jesus' name, in the morning, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, joy, life's forces, Lord and Saviour, Lord God of heaven, LOVE, loving kindness, man of God, meditation, mercy, my god, my King, omni-present, omnipotent, omniscient, peace, personal satisfaction, plead, praise and bless, praise and thanks, pray, pray with hope, prayer, prayer of the upright, prayer of trust, recociliation, reconciled to God, righteousness., sacrifice, sacrifice of the wicked, simple, sincere prayers, sinful nature, sinless life, spiritual needs, straightforward, testimony to god's faithfulness, to pray is right, voice of my cry, voice of my prayer, words of truth, you shall receive
Psalm 66:19. But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
Oh Friends, it’s a new day! Wow! One filled with joy and LOVE, peace, mercy, forgiveness, grace and all the other wonderful things that our omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present God is famous for! So let’s give Him some warm, heartfelt thanks and praise this Sunday morning nuh, both here and in His sanctuary.
Please pray with me: ‘Lord God of heaven and earth, this Sunday morning Your grateful children praise and bless You for allowing us to see another fabulous day filled with Your LOVING-kindness!
We give you plenty, plenty thanks for it all… especially for Jesus Christ, our BELOVED Lord and Saviour, who sacrificed His sinless life so that we could be reconciled to You! Please accept this, our sacrifice of praise and thanks!
You know deep down that we LOVE You, it’s just that sometimes our sinful nature gets in the way. Please help us to overcome it, so that we can walk in perfect righteousness with You. This we pray, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.’
Yeh mih people, prayer is certainly a wonderful thing!
Consequently, let me remind us of this quote by Hartley Coolidge, which I think I’ve shared before, but is important enough for us to hear again, since most things don’t filter into our souls until we hear them over and over again.
And Hartley says: ‘Be not afraid to pray, to pray is right. Pray, if thou canst with hope, but even pray.’
And that my fellow believers we all know is heavenly truth, but unfortunately, too often we neglect to put it into action and thus prevent ourselves from communicating more fully with Almighty God.
Now here is a definition of prayer, taken from the One More Day Devotional. ‘Prayer is a creative expression of my spiritual needs. It offers me a deep sense of personal satisfaction and continually reminds me of all life’s forces.’
Now that’s how prayer should affect us, my brethren – fulfilling our spiritual needs and bringing us even closer to our awesome Creator!
And all of that build up finally brings us to our Bit: ‘But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.’
Ah mih people, prayer is so important in a believer’s life that every great man of God has enshrined it their lives!
So let’s look at some scripture from some of these godly men that highlight prayer. And with my known bias towards Bruh David (smile) we’ll begin with some of his heartfelt words.
In Psalm 4; an evening prayer of trust in God, he soulfully implores his Maker: ‘Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged (relieved) me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me (be gracious unto me), and hear my prayer.’ (Ps.4:1)
Then in Psalm 5; a prayer for protection, he sincerely pleads: ‘Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my meditation (groaning). Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.’ (Ps.5:1-3)
Oh Friends, you can’t get any clearer or plead more sincerely than that!
Meanwhile Cousin Sol in his God-given wisdom, solidly maintains: ‘The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.’ (Prov.15:3)
And that’s gospel truth my brethren! Our wonderful God takes great delight in hearing the prayers of His servants! Please never forget that! Whatever the problem, Jehovah God is always there ready, willing and able to respond to our sincere prayers and answer them.
That’s one of His many promises, and we know that He keeps them all faithfully. So don’t ever doubt, or hesitate to call on Him, because that’s what He is there for, and it’s also what He greatly desires of us.
And we’ll end, as we like to do, whenever possible, with the best advice from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. He spoke these faithful words after withering up the unfruitful fig tree.
‘And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain; Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.’ (Matt.21:20-22)
Awright mih breddren, awright! Words of truth from our Saviour Himself!
And as always, they are simple and straightforward, so there’s nothing left for me to say, but to plead with us to accept them and diligently follow them, so that our lives will be even more enriched with God’s LOVING-kindness! Much LOVE!
…believe…and ask IN PRAYER…and you shall receive…
P.S. Sorry for the Bit being late Friends, but I’ve been trying to stave off a cold for the last few days, but it stubbornly refused to be staved off (smile) It hit me like a ton of bricks yesterday and reduced my efficiency. But as you can see, though it might make the Bit late, it certainly won’t stop it! And that’s much more a testimony to our heavenly Father’s faithfulness than to my doggedness! Much LOVE!
20 Mar 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a limited mindset, act positively, affirmation, affliction, anger, asaph, barrier breaker, beautifully, belief, believe it to see it, blasphemed, bountifully, break free, capacity for forgiveness, compassion, Controller, Creator of the universe, destiny, destroyed them not, disobedience, do battle in Jesus' name, don't be foolish, ear to hear, enlarge my vision, evil society, experience god's favour, extreme weather patterns, forgiveness, furnace of affliction, give the Lord a shout of praise, God is deserving of praise, God's fulfilling his purpose, God's glory, good to be alive, goodness, gospel truth, grateful, heed the warning, I am also the last, I am the first, idols, in every area of my life, iniquity, Isaiah, Israel, jehovah god, Joel Osteen, John Hagee, learning the lesson, LOVE, loving kindness, man-made gods, marvels, mercy, miracles, negativity, Nth degree, omnipotent god, pay a substanial price, potential, praise, prayer, prayer of affirmation, profaned, Psalm 78, raise the level of belief in Jesus Christ, rebellion, reminder of god's goodness to Israel, righteousness., seeds of greatness, sinful, sinfulness, sing God's praises, talent, tested, Today is my day, uncontainable, ungodly, untold strife, vice-like grip, walking in God's holy will, warning, wicked, wicked world, wisdom, worship, wrath
Psalm 78:38. But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.
Oh Friends, neighbours, fellow believers and unbelievers, it sure is good to be alive! Especially when you wake up feeling bright and fresh and ready to do battle in Jesus’ name!
Wow! As Uncle John, John Hagee would say: ‘Give the Lord a shout of praise in the house of the Lord!’
And our God sure is deserving of much praise my people, for all the goodness and mercy He has bestowed, is currently bestowing and has faithfully promised to bestow in the future on those who sincerely LOVE and worship Him.
And I don’t know about anybody else nuh Friends, but I can only sing His praises and give Him much thanks for working so bountifully and beautifully in my life!
Today though, I want to share a prayer of affirmation I recently got from Bubba Joel, Joel Osteen. Those of you who deal with him, would probably have gotten it too, but it’s surely worthwhile sharing.
So please say, sincerely affirm with me that: ‘TODAY IS MY DAY! God has destined me to be a barrier breaker! He created me to be uncontainable. I have talent and potential given to me by the Creator of the universe. There are seeds of greatness inside of me.
Today, I choose to break free from a limited mindset and enlarge my vision. Today, God is taking me places that I’ve never dreamed of before. Today, God is fulfilling His purpose and destiny in my life. Today, I will experience His favour like never before in every area of my life.’
And all that is gospel truth my people! We just need to believe it, and then act positively on that belief!
Please note my brethren that almost everything in this life is about BELIEF! As they say, if you don’t believe it, you most likely won’t see it.
So mih breddren, let’s all raise the level of our belief in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ this Thursday morning nuh, so that we can see Him work His wonderful marvels and miracles in our lives.
And in keeping with the marvellous wonder and LOVING-kindness of our omnipotent God, let’s turn to our Bit, which shows His exceedingly great capacity for forgiveness.
‘But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.’
Oh my people, we had better be exceedingly grateful that the Lord has so far withheld the magnitude of His anger on this sinful, ungodly, wicked and evil society in which we now dwell.
But, unfortunately, we haven’t been learning the lesson, and we’re now seeing flashes of that anger in things like the extreme and inconsistent weather patterns that have been recently plaguing us, as well as the untold strife and negativity that has our world in its powerful, vice-like grip.
And please, please don’t be foolish and think that God doesn’t have a hand in it all, because HE IS the Creator and the ultimate Controller of EVERYTHING in the universe!
And just like Psalm 78, from the pen of Asaph, is a reminder of God’s goodness to Israel, please let this Bit be a reminder to us of God’s unfailing goodness and mercy when we were diligently and sincerely walking in His holy will.
Oh my brethren, do we truly want to feel the full wrath of our God? Definitely not! But we will eventually, if we continue in our wilful disobedience and rebellion, just like Israel did on several occasions when they turned away from worshipping Jehovah God and instead bowed down to man-made gods and idols.
And we’ll close with a serious warning from the Lord our God, given to Israel when He rebuked them through the testimony of Isaiah. ‘For my name’s sake will I defer (delay) mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain (restrain) for thee, that I cut thee not off (destroy thee not).
Behold, I have refined thee, but not with (as) silver; I have chosen (tested) thee in the furnace of affliction. For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted (profaned)? and I will not give my glory to another. Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.’ (Is.48:9-12)
Oh Friends, I desperately plead with us to heed that warning, because it also applies to us in our sinfulness today! Yes, our God will refrain from destroying us – but only for a time – NOT FOREVER! He couldn’t do that and still be true to His holy and just self.
Please note too, that He’s chosen the fire of affliction to test us through, and He has made it very clear that HE WILL NOT allow His holy name to be profaned, sullied, polluted and/or blasphemed. And above all, HE WILL NOT GIVE HIS GLORY to any other supposed god!
Please, let’s keep these things at the forefront of our minds today, and everyday, as we go out into the wicked world that surrounds us, and diligently endeavour to decrease that wickedness and increase righteousness, so that we will not have to endure God’s wrath.
That my people, is wisdom to the Nth degree! Much LOVE!
…he who who has an ear to hear…let him be wise and hear…else he will pay a substantial price for his disobedience…
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