03 Jul 2026
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bright light suddenly shined down from heaven, a glorious truth, a heat warning in effect, anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times, arise and go into the city, be not afraid of their faces, be renewed and refreshed, be responsible, before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, before thou camest forth out ot the womb, Behold, Christian witness for Christ, christianity, defeat the simmering unrest in our land, divine aid, faith, far from perfect, Friday chant, Friday Mantra, further your glorious kingdom, get sufficient fun fellowship rest and relaxation, go to all that I shall send thee, goads, God does not call us by chance but by choice, God gives you all the tools you need to do His work, God's omnipotent help, holy spirit, How high Lord, I am Jesus, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest, I am with thee to deliver thee, I cannot speak for I am a child, I have put my words in thy mouth, I have this day set thee over nations, I knew thee, I sactified thee, it is hard to kick against the pricks, it shall be told thee what to do, Jesus Christ, LOVE, made havock of the church, make excuses, making life difficult, mercy, not enough religious knowledge, ordained thee a prophet unto the nations, our sinful world can wake up, over the kingdoms, personal experience, problems escalating, reading and studying the word, refuse God's call because we feel unworthy, renewed and refreshed in soul body and mind, salvation, Saul harassing the church, Saul Saul why persecutest thou me, Saul was blind and did not eat or drink for three days, say not I am a child, set thee apart, sharpened sticks used to prod animals, stand strong and steadfast, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the BIBLE, the Creator of the universe, the example we faithful believers set, the great persecutor of the church became its greatest zealot, the long process, the Lord always gets his man, the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth, the sufficiency for God's service comes only from God Himself, the throne of grace, the weekend is here at last, the word of the Lord came unto me, to build, to destroy, to plant, to pull down, to root out, trembling and astonished, trusting faith, truth, two short days off, unexpected storms, wake up and smell the coffee, what wilt thou have me to do, whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak, when God comes a calling, who art thou Lord, wisdom, wise guidance, young and inexperienced
Today’s Scrip-Bit 3 July 2026 Acts 9:6a.
Acts 9:6a. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?
And finally, our long awaited day of Friday. Obviously the shouts of our Friday Mantra rise to the sky. ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend is here at last!’ And many of us are just dying to get it over with so we can rest up after the Canada Day celebrations earlier on in the week. But please be careful, because it’s going to be another hot, sweltering day, with the heat warning still in effect. So stay inside, or make sure you’re well protected if you’re outside.
And today the Lord caused the Bible to open to the beginning of the Book of Jeremiah. Why? Because He wanted to point out an example to many of us who make excuses to do His bidding, like Jeremiah did. Jeremiah relates it thus: ‘Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, ‘Before I formed thee in the belly (womb) I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee (set thee apart), and ordained (appointed) thee a prophet unto the nations. Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child (youth).
But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee over the nations, and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull (tear) down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build and to plant.’ (Jer. 1:5-10)
Yes friends, many of us make excuses when the Lord calls us to do something for Him, claiming we’re not capable for whatever reason. Jeremiah claimed that he was young and thus inexperienced. When He approached me to write the Bit, I laughed, because it did seem like a joke, and claimed that I did not have enough religious knowledge, which at the time was perfectly true. But the Creator of the universe and all therein knows what He’s doing and does not call us by chance, but rather by choice. Yuh see how He told Jeremiah that He knew him and set him apart as a prophet from before his birth, then touched his mouth and made him understand.
Unfortunately, with me, He did not touch my mouth and make we wise, No. After making life difficult for me until I accepted His call, I had to go through the long process of reading and studying His Word and trying to understand what He was saying to me through the Holy Spirit. And even after nineteen long years of writing the Bit, I’m still far from perfect. But I have improved from first writing only a few lines to now writing too much. (smile) And don’t think we’re alone in refusing God’s call because we feel unworthy, for many great men of God at first refused for just that reason.
Here are some examples that the scholars give. ‘Moses (Ex. 3:4), Barak (Judg. 4:8), Gideon (Judg. 6:15), Saul (1 Sam. 10:22), Bruh David (2 Sam. 7:19), and Cousin Sol (1 Kin. 3:7), and many others who understood clearly that sufficiency for God’s service comes only from God Himself.’ And that’s a glorious truth my people, for God does not call you to do something and leave you in the lurch. No! He takes time and teaches you what He expects from you, gives you all the tools you need to do His work efficiently and peacefully.
And my best advice is if and when the Lord calls you to do something, make a true excuse, if there’s one, but if He persists, then right away say, ‘Yes Lord, how high do you want me to jump?’ (smile) That’s because He will make your life miserable in so many different ways until He finally breaks you down and you agree to His offer. And I’m speaking there from personal experience. Please understand, that if the Lord truly wants you, He will get you.
And there’s a fine example in Bruh Paul. He was out there harassing the church. The Bible says: ‘As for Saul (Paul), he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling (dragging off) men and women committed them to prison.’ (Acts 8:3) And he was present when they killed Stephen. Then, one day while on his way to Damascus to do more harassing of the church, this bright light suddenly shined down from heaven blinded him and knocked him off his horse.
And he heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou Lord? and the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks (goads, sharpened sticks used to prod animals). And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what to do.’ (Acts 9:4-6) And Saul got up from the ground blind, and they led him to Damascus, where he stayed blind and didn’t eat nor drink for three days.
Oh friends, yuh see how easily the great persecutor of the church became it’s greatest zealot. Yes, because the Lord desired it. He had planned it that way from long before. And what amazes me is how Bruh Paul gave in so easily, with no fight or bluster at all. It just goes to show that when the Lord wants your services, He will get them one way or another. So when next He comes a calling, just agree from the very beginning, and save yourself some trouble. Now let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking divine aid in these troubled times.
Altogether: ‘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. You know our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving, and we desperately need your help to fix them. 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. So please give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly.
And despite the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times, help us to be responsible, and get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that we can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out next week and further your glorious kingdom by the good 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 unfortunately, it’s not the unbelievers alone who need to wake up and smell the coffee, but also believers, for our Christian witness for Christ is certainly not good enough! Much LOVE!
…don’t try to kick against the pricks (goads)…for the Lord ALWAYS gets His man…or woman…eventually…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
26 Jun 2026
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new heart also will I give you, a new spirit will I put within you, avoid them, brought to desolation, by the good example we your faithful believers set, cast out devils by Beelzebub, Catholicism, Christian denominations, christianity, circumcision of heart, clogged with traffic, deny the Father and the Son, destroy thee suddenly, divided against himself, dividisond don't help, divine help, Eastern Orthodoxy, errands to run, every city or house divided against itself shall not stand, every kingdom divided against itself, faith, fragmentation of the Christian faith, Friday chant, Friday Mantra, further your glorious kingdom, get sufficient fun fellowship rest and relaxation, give you an heart of flesh, God's omnipotent help, God's generous help, having one great overall movement, help us be responsible, holy spirit, how then shall his kingdom stand, I beseech you brethren, if Satan cast out Satan, impossible to mount a united army for Christ, Jesus Christ, Judaizers, late buses, LOVE, make no marriages with them, mark them which cause divisions, mercy, midnight storm, no physical circumcision necessary for salvation, offences contrary to the doctrine you have learned, Oriental Orthodoxy, our sinful world, our witness for Christ is not good enough, preach their ovwn version of christianity, problems escalating, Protestantism, put forward a unified story, renewed and refreshed in soul body and mind, Restorationism, run them sooner rather than later, salvation, Samaritans intermarried with the Assyrians, serve not the Lord Jesus Christ, serve other gods, serve their own belly, simmering unrest, stand strong and steadfast, take away the stony heart out of your flesh, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the anger of the Lord be kindled a gainst you, the BIBLE, the highways and byways, the prince of the devils, the weekend is here at last, they that are such, those who deny that Jesus is Christ, tmake no covenant with them, trucks driving like cars, trusting faith, truth, turn away thy son from following me, two short days off, wake up and smell the coffee, warnings about the Antichrist, wisdom, wise guidance
Today’s Scrip-Bit 26 June 2026 Romans 16:17.
Romans 16:17. Now I beseech you, brethren, mark (note) them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
And after the big midnight storm, Friday opened up somewhat cloudy, but by midday has turned into a hot, sunshiny day. That did not stop our Friday Mantra from rising up to heaven: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend is here at last!’ We can’t seem to get away from that once the weekend looms near, neither can I seem to get away from these late buses in the last little while.
Today, I had some errands to run, and because I was up and about fairly early, I decided to do them sooner rather than later, however they took much longer than I expected. And brother, by 12 pm. the highways and byways were already clogged with traffic. I don’t know if that happened because it was Friday, but if it didn’t, I’m sorry for those of us who have to drive in the Greater Metro Area in the next few years, if they don’t first fix the current roads and then build some new ones, for everyday more cars and truck are coming on line, and the trucks are being driven like if they are cars.
But enough talk, let’s get to our topic for today. And it’s an interesting directive from Bruh Paul to the church at Rome, to avoid those who cause divisions. He writes: ‘Now I beseech you, brethren, mark (note) them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by good (smooth) words and fair (flattering) speeches deceive the hearts of the simple (innocent).’ (Rom. 16:17-18)
Ah mih people, right down through the years they have been people who set out purposely to cause divisions in the church, for their own benefit. Just look at the amount of different denominations we have in Christianity. It’s estimated that the number of Christian denominations globally range from around 200 distinct organized groups to over 45,000. And why is there such a great discrepancy in numbers? It depends on whether you count broad global traditions or individual, independent churches categorized by nation.
The fragmentation of the Christian faith is largely rooted in historical, cultural, and theological differences over time. However, demographers and encyclopedists categorize these thousands of groups into a few major branches: Catholicism, Protestantism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, Restorationism. They each preach their own version of Christianity, and within those major groups, there are still many smaller divisions, each having some difference or differences to the overall teaching of the larger group.
So Christianity must be divided, which means it’s virtually impossible to mount a united army for Christ. For as Jesus tells us when the Pharisees claimed: ‘This fellow doth not cast out devils (demons), but by Beelzebub, (Philistine deity) the prince (ruler) of the devils (demons). And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. And if Satan cast out Satan he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand?’ (Matt. 12:24-26)
It’s impossible when one section or sector is eroding whatever the other tries to build. That’s why Christianity with so many divisions cannot work together to bring Christ to the masses, as it ought to. Too many little fragments are trying to do their own thing, instead of having one great overall movement. Consequently, Satan does not even have to divide us, for we’re already divided, he only has to conquer, which makes it ever so easy for Him and His evil cronies.
And that’s why the Lord instructed Moses to tell the Israelites to destroy all the people in the Promised Land: ‘make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.’ (Deut. 7:2b-4)
It’s like what happened to the people of Samaria, who were overrun by the Assyrians, and eventual intermarried with them and thus turned away from Jehovah God and worshipped all sorts of false gods. And another set of dividers in the early church were the ones called the Judaizers, who preached that according to the law of Moses, it was still necessary to be physically circumcised to receive salvation through Christ. But when they all got together in Jerusalem, Peter reasoned that because Jesus spoke of no difference between Jews and Gentiles, purifying the hearts of the Gentiles by faith, and through the grace of God all shall be saved. (Acts 15:1:11)
Under the New Covenant of Christ circumcision is no longer physical but spiritual, with the heart being metaphorically circumcised. It’s like the Lord said through the prophet Ezekiel: ‘A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.’ (Zek. 36:26) That is also why John warned of the Antichrist; those who deny that Jesus is Christ, or that denieth the Father and the Son. (1John 2:18-22)
In closing, I don’t know what to say, to make Christians come together so we can fight the enemy as one. All I can offer is that we go to the throne of grace through our Friday Chant seeking divine help to make it come true. Altogether: ‘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. You know our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving, and we desperately need your help to fix them. 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.
So please give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And despite the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times, help us to be responsible, and get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that we can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out next week and further your glorious kingdom by the good 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 as we keep saying, believers also need to wake up and smell the coffee, because out witness for Christ is not good enough! Much LOVE!
…as Christianity proves…divisions don’t help to put forward a unified story…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
06 Mar 2026
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a Jew would be degraded by feeding swine, a means of restoring faith in you, a mighty famine arose in the land, a repentant sinner, a woman having ten pieces of silver, be responsible, began to be in want, calls her friends and neighbours together, crying out for God's help, discontent, dissatisfaction, divided unto them his living, easy money, faith, flock around for handouts, for our benefit, Friday chant, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me, God has concern for all of His creations, God's omnipotent help, holy spirit, I have found the piece I lost, ice patches, if the Lord grants life tomorrow, if there's delight in recuing one sheep or finding one coin, introduce a new flock of believers, Jesus came to earth to save sinners, Jesus Christ, Jews were not allowed to keep or feed swine, joined himself to a citizen of that country, licentious living, lights a candle and looks for the lost coin, likewise I say unto you, LOVE, mercy, moral obligation, no man gave him anything, our sinful world, over one sinner that repenteth, problems escalating, rejoice with me, rescued from being lost to sin, return backsliders to your fold, salvation, seeks diligently till she finds it, sent him into his field to feed wsine, show them the error of their ways, smell it sweet and strong, stand strong and steadfast, stand up and improve it, stay safe, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the example we faithful believers set, the gospel truth, the Lord will knock on your heart, the Lost Coin, the lost sheep, the Lost Son, the money's gone in two twos, the salvation of a sinner, the simmering unrest in our land, the weekend is here at last, the younger son gathered all together, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God, took his journey into a far cointry, trusting faith, truth, unexpected storms, wake up and see the chaos around us, wake up and smell the coffee, wasted his substance with riotous living, wisdom, wise guidance, with the husks that the swine ate, would fain have filled his belly
Luke 15:10. Likewise I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
And then it was Friday, the day we’ve all been looking forward to! But it’s not such a nice day, wet, cloudy with patches of hidden and dangerous ice in unseeming places. So if you go out, please tread carefully, for you know not what looks like solid ground might be hidden ice. But that has not stopped us from sending up our Friday Mantra: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend is here at long last!’ Now, yesterday we said that the Lord had guided us to look at the parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Lost Son, however we only managed to look at the one pertaining to the Lost Sheep. So let’s take a look today at the Lost Coin.
After talking about there being more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety nine who don’t need it, (Luke 15:7) Jesus continues by saying: ‘Either what woman having ten pieces of silver (a drachma – a valuable silver coin), if she lose one piece (coin), doth not light a candle (lamp), and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me: for I have found the piece (coin) which I had lost. Likewise I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.’ (Luke 15:8-10)
Yes friends, that’s how much a repentant sinner is treasured in the heavenly realms. And the scholars offer this explanation of those verses. ‘If a woman and her neighbours delight in recovering a solitary coin, and if a shepherd takes joy in rescuing a single sheep, how much more praiseworthy is the salvation of a sinner? While some portray God as impersonal or aloof from human affairs, Jesus here teaches of His concern for every individual.’
And that’s the gospel truth! The Lord is interested in the affairs of every one of His creations. And why wouldn’t He be eh? He made us so that He could LOVE us and we could LOVE Him in return, and LOVE means being involved with, and concerned about those we LOVE. And since Jesus came to earth specifically to save sinners, it must mean that a repentant sinner is very important to the heavenly kingdom, and thus rejoicing is called for when even one sinner repents, or is recused from being lost to sin. So, let’s not belittle the act of repentance and accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, for it’s the most momentous moment in a person’s life.
Then Jesus began talking about the Lost Son. ‘And he said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them, said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.’ (Luke 15:11-12) Now, the father given the son his inheritance before He died was something that would hardly happen in that society. And the scholars tell us: ‘According to Deuteronomy 21:17, the older of two sons was entitled to a double portion of a father’s estate. Here the younger son would have received one-third. He was probably under a moral obligation to use the inheritance in a way pleasing to the father, but he ignores this.’
Then Jesus continues: ‘And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance (possessions) with riotous living (wasteful, prodigal or reckless living).’ (Luke 15:13) And the scholars play hardball on that verse, by saying: ‘Gathered all together means that he turned his assets into hard cash. Not many days is Luke’s understatement. The lad wasted no time getting ready to waste money.’ And we see also that very often in our society, where those who come into easy money, blow it on licentious living, and in two twos, the money’s gone.
And that’s exactly what happened to this lost son. Jesus tells us: ‘And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his field to feed swine. And he would fain (gladly) have filled his belly with the husks (carob pods) that the swine did eat: and no man gave him anything.’ (Luke 15:14-16)
That’s another regular occurrence. When you have money or wealth, a lot of people flock around you looking for handouts. But when your money or wealth runs out, everyone stops coming around, none of those who previously flocked around for your largesse, ever remember your goodness to them. But even more importantly in this case, as the scholars explain: ‘A Jew would have been unbearably degraded by feeding swine. Also, the owner would have had to be a Gentile, since both keeping and feeding swine were forbidden to Jews.’
That tells you how low the prodigal son had fallen, even to the thought of eating the pig’s food. Unfortunately though, we need stop there for today because there’s much more to say on the Lost Son. But if the Lord grants us life tomorrow, we’ll continue looking at that parable. Now, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking divine aid in these terrible times.
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 that’s exactly what we need to do my fellow believers; wake up and see the chaos around us, then stand up and do something to improve it. Remember, it’s not for God’s benefit but for ours and our descendants! Much LOVE!
…don’t worry…if you’re lost…the Lord will find you…by knocking on your heart…until you open it to Him…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
06 Feb 2026
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a disciple of Jesus, a disciple picks up his cross daily, a senior's moment, abhor that which is evil, anxiety, as your Father in heaven is perfect, avenge not yourselves, be not overcome of evil, be responsible, be the children of your Father in heaven, be ye therefore perfect, bless and curse not, bless them that curse you, bless them which persecute you, by the example we faithful believers set, christianity, Christians, cleave to that which is good, confusion, crying out for God's help, defeat the simmering unrest in our land, divine aid, do good to them that hate you, even the publicans the same, faith, Friday chant, getting on in age, give place unto wrath, God sends rain on the just and the unjust, going against the grain, greet your brethren only, have regard for good things, he is the anointed of the Lord, he makes his sun to rise, heap coals of fire on his head, holy spirit, hypocrisy, I shall repay, if he thirst give him drink, if thine enemy hunger feed him, if ye love them which love you, introduce a new flock of believers, Jesus Christ, let love be without dissimulation, live peaceably with all men, LOVE, love thy neighbour and hate thine enemy, Love your enemies, make the sacrifices available to us, mercy, on the evil and the good, only good can overcome evil, overcome evil with good, pray for them which spitefully use you, problems escalating, provide things honest in the sight of all men, recompense no maan evil for evil, relent from the evil in our souls, return backsliders to your fold, salvation, show them the error of their ways, showed mercy, stand strong and steadfast, strife-filled times, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the BIBLE, the goodness of God, the Lord reward thee good, the Lord's anointed, the Lord's word is for our benefit, the weekend, these ungodly times, thou art more righteous than I, thou hast rewarded me good. I have rewarded thee evil, throne of grace, to stretch forth mine hand against him, took the high road, truth, unexpected storms, vengeance is mine saith the Lord, wake up and smell the coffe, what do ye more than others, what reward have ye, wisdom, wise guidance
Romans 12:21. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
And we’ve finally gotten to Friday! But though it’s a somewhat snowy and cloudy day, we’ve nonetheless sent up our Mantra: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday, and the weekend is here!’ We don’t seem to care what kind of day it is, once it’s Friday, (smile) because it means the work week is almost over.
Now, before we get into today’s topic, let me apologize for my mistake of yesterday. Ah Lord eh! I got so tied up in the prayer situation that I referred to yesterday’s message as the third instead of the fourth. My poor brain could not comprehend that we had already done three messages on prayer. I hope you all realized that it was a senior’s moment, (smile) and forgave the ole fella. He’s getting on in age, so anything’s possible.
Anyway, today we’re going to talk about a topic that should be at the heart of Christ’s church, but sadly isn’t. That topic is overcoming evil with good. And Bruh Paul wrote a lot about that, especially in his letter to the Romans. ‘Let LOVE be without dissimulation (hypocrisy). Abhor that which is evil; cleave (cling) to that which is good… Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not… Recompense (repay) no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men (have regard for good things).
If it be possible, as much as lieth in (depends on) you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I shall repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.’ (Rom. 12: 9, 14, 17-21)
And the pertinent question now is whether the members of Christ’s church are living like that? Unfortunately, the answer is no. Definitely not to a sufficient amount or level. And yes, some of that stuff is difficult to do, especially in these strife-filled and greedy times, but that’s the whole point of being a disciple of Jesus; going against the grain, going against what the world considers normal and right.
Remember Jesus said basically the same thing in the sermon on the Mount. ‘Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, LOVE your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully (spitefully) use you, and persecute you: That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
For if ye LOVE them which LOVE you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans (tax collectors) the same? And if ye salute (greet) your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans (tax collectors) so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’ (Matt. 5:43-48)
And we all know that we’ll never be perfect like our heavenly Father while we’re here on earth, but the important thing is to try to be much more like Him than we currently are. Remember what a disciple is supposed to be: One who denies himself, picks up His cross daily and follows Jesus. (Luke 9:23) Now that doesn’t mean being like the rest of the world. And if we need to show the unbelievers the goodness of God, then we have to relent from all the evil we carry in our souls and bodies, and let the good that resides there come out instead.
And I’m amazed at the way our God moves. Earlier on, when I opened the Bible, it opened at a passage that showed exactly what we’re talking about, and it’s what eventually lead me to the topic. And that scripture is about the time when Bruh David, after running from King Saul for many years, had the chance to kill him in a cave in the wilderness, but only cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. And when his men encouraged him to kill Saul, he refused, saying: ‘The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.’ (1 Sam. 24:6)
But after Saul left the cave, Bruh David rose up and accosted him outside of the cave, even bowing to his nemesis, because he was still the king and the Lord’s anointed. He than gave Saul a long speech, which you can find in 1 Sam. 24: 9-15. And surprisingly, after that, Saul admitted his sin. The Bible tells us that Saul said, ‘Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted his voice and wept.
And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil. And thou hast showed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me: forasmuch as when the Lord hath delivered me into thine hand, thou killedst me not. For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away (get away safely)? Wherefore the Lord reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day.’ (1 Sam. 24: 16-19)
Oh my people, what a wonderful example that is of overcoming evil with good. Although Bruh David had the right and the chance to kill Saul, instead, he took the high road and showed mercy like the Lord required of him. And it’s the same way that the Lord requires us to be much more merciful that we currently are, for when we show others mercy, He shows it back to us. Remember, everything in the Lord’s Word is for our benefit! Now, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking divine aid to handle the evil that surrounds us with the goodness of God.
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!’
Oh friends, prayer is a wonderful tool, but divine aid will only be forthcoming when the Lord sees us willing to get up and make the sacrifices available to us! Much LOVE!
…the only thing that can overcome evil…is good…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
16 Jan 2026
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a modicum of joy, a new flock of believers, a tough nut to crack, a way to achieve spiritual growth, after that ye have suffered a while, all things work together for good to them that love God, assurance in times of misfortune, be not overcome of evil, be of good cheer, be perfect and complete, be perfect and entire, bless them that curse you, called us unto his eternal glory, count it all joy, divine aid, do good to them that hate you, don't tkae pleasure in the misfortunes of others, faith, fall into divers temptations, fall into various trials, Friday chant, God offers restoration and eternal hope, God's omnipotent help, God's Sovereignty, grow our faith, he that is glad at calamities shall not go unpunished, holy spirit, i have overcome the world, I know the thoughts that I think toward you, in me ye might have peace, in the world ye shall have tribulation, it is evil in His eyes, Jesus Christ, lacking nothing, lest the Lord see it and it displease him, let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth, let patience have her perfect work, LOVE, Love your enemies, mercy, misfortune builds character, misfotune, not gloating, overcome evil with good, patience thrown in for good measure, pray for them which spitefully use you, problems escalating, purpose in suffering, rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, return backsliders to your fold, salvation, showing compassion, simmering unrest in our land, sinful world, stablish strengthen settle you, strengthen faith, suffering is temporary, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the error of their ways, the example that we faithful believers set, the God of all grace, the throne of grace, the trying of your faith worketh patience, the weekend is here, these things I have spoken unto you, thoughts of peace and not of evil, time of need, to give you a future and a hope, to give you an expected end, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever, to them who are called according to his purpose, trusting faith, truth, upgrade our Christian activity, wake up and smell the coffee, wanting nothing, whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his maker, wisdom, wise guidance
Jeremiah 29:11. ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you and expected end (a future and a hope).’
Glory be! It’s Friday! And most of the snow has finally been cleaned up in my area. You could hear the equipment working through the late night and early morning hours. Most importantly they cleaned our lane so we could get to the main road, for yesterday one of my neighbours got stuck in the snow in the lane and could not go out. The idea seems to be to clean the main streets before the lanes, but when the area is strictly lanes, how will people reach the main streets if they can’t get out of the lanes eh?
That’s a question I can’t answer, (smile) but the important thing is we put this snowstorm behind us and move on with Jesus, obviously declaring: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend is finally here!’ And since the Lord has spared our lives, let’s keep our promise of looking at some scripture verses that offer encouragement and assurance in times of misfortune. Yesterday we looked at scriptures that highlighted acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty (Job 1:20-22), and turning to prayer and community (Ps. 34:17-20)
Now let’s look at another interesting principle, that of finding purpose in suffering. And as this commentary tells us: ‘Misfortune is often presented as a way to achieve spiritual growth and strengthen faith.’ And we all know that’s a tough nut to crack, but it is the truth as highlighted by these verses from the epistle of James. He contends: ‘My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations (various trials); Knowing this, that the trying (testing) of your faith worketh (produces) patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire (complete), wanting (lacking) nothing.’ (James 1:2-4)
But that doesn’t sound so reassuring you say. True. However, it is the best way to handle our problems without going crazy in this crazy world. It’s not easy, but with all the help we have from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ we can certainly do it. And trying to put a modicum of joy into our misfortune does grow our faith with patience thrown in for good measure. (smile) And as Peter adds: ‘But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, stablish (confirm), strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.’ (1 Pet. 5:10-11)
Then we have this big verse from Bruh Paul in Romans which covers it all: ‘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) That promises that despite all of our heartaches and misfortune, in the long run the Lord will work it all out for our good! Wow! What a mighty promise to hold on to!
Now, let’s turn to a principle about showing compassion and avoiding gloating, for as the commentary reminds us: ‘The Bible warns against taking pleasure in the misfortunes of others, even enemies.’ And that’s ever so true, as the wisdom of Cousin Sol cautions us from Proverbs, when he writes: ‘Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.’ (Prov. 17:5) We certainly need to remember that as our society has reached a sad state of mightily rejoicing over the calamities of others.
Then Cousin Sol bumps it up to another level when he says: ‘Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth: Lest the Lord see it, and it displease him (be evil in His eyes), and he turn away his wrath from him.’ (Prov. 24:17-18) Yes friends, when the Lord sees us rejoicing over the calamities of our enemies, He’s liable to dislike it and then not punish our enemies.
It’s also like Jesus taught: ‘But I say unto you, LOVE your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully (spitefully) use you, and persecute you.’ (Matt. 5:44) It’s as Bruh Paul also exhorts us in Romans: ‘Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.’ (Rom. 12:20) That’s basically the Christian motto.
Now here’s the last principle on our list; that of maintaining hope and an eternal perspective in our misfortune. As the commentary tells us: ‘Scriptures provide assurance that suffering is temporary and that God offers restoration and eternal hope.’ And there are no better scriptures to emphasize that than these two. The first comes from the prophet Jeremiah on the Lord’s behalf: ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you and expected end (a future and a hope).’ (Jer. 29:11).
Then here’s this most wonderful and reassuring verse of scripture, from Jesus Himself, when He faithfully reassures us: ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33). Yes my fellow believers, Jesus has certainly done that, so it’s up to us now to believe it and put it into action in our lives. And to help us do just that, let’s go to the throne of grace through our Friday Chant asking for divine aid in this desperate time of need.
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!’
Now friends, that means if we want to see any divine aid, we need to truly upgrade our Christian activity, because right now it’s not good enough! Much LOVE!
…misfortune is tough…but if handled correctly…it can also build character…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
12 Dec 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a pot of gold, accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour, according to his glorious power, all that labour and are heavy laden, all things work together for good to them that love God, amidst all the anxiety and confusion, at the end of the rainbow, be filled with the knowledge of God's willl, be of good cheer, be responsible and stay safe, being fruitful in every good work, better Christian witnesses, by the example that we set, can disappoint very quickly, can wake up and smell the coffee, come unto me, crying out for help, defeat the simmering unrest in our land, delivered us from the power of darkness, divine aid, do not cease to pray for you, don't depend on others to make you happy, embrace your love and compassion, faith, find joy in Jesus, find rest unto your souls, Friday chant, gentle and humble, giving thanks unto the Father, happiness, happiness can be fleeting, hits the nail on the head, holy spirit, humans are irresponsible and unpredictable, i have overcome the world, I stand at the door and knock, I will come into him, I will give you rest, if any man hear my voice and open the door, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, in me ye ight have peace, in the world ye shall have tribulation, in whom we have redemption through his blood, increasing in the knowledge of God, introduce a new flock of believers, Jesus Christ, Jesus is the only who will not let us down, Jesus never disappoints, joy, learn of me, life just gives us time and space, LOVE, meek and lowly in heart, mercy, my yoke is easy and my burden light, No one is guaranteed happiness, nothing can be better than living for Jesus, omnipotent help, our sinful world can wake up, place our trust in Almighty God, problems escalating, return backsliders to your fold, salvation, scripture of promise, show them the error of their ways, stand strong and steadfast in faith, strengthened with all might, take my yoke upon you, tests our faith through tough circumstances, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the forgiveness of sins, the joy found in Christ is everlasting, the most assurance of happiness, the throne of grace, these things I have spoken unto you, these ungodly times, time of need, to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, to them who are called according to his purpose, translated us into the kingdom of his Son, trusting faith, truth, unexpected storms, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness, walk worthy of the Lord, we experience joy with Jesus, we must fill it with joy and meaning, who hath qualified us, will sup with him and he with me, wisdom, wise guidance
Matthew 11:28. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Oh friends, at long last it’s Friday, and we can see a pot of gold, the weekend, at the end of the rainbow, this work week. And to make things better, although it’s cold and windy, the sun’s shining brightly, just the way we like it! No wonder we’ve sent up sincere prayers of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’
And today we’re going to look at interesting quote from my ‘I LOVE You’ Poster my young daughter gave me years ago. Now this quote sounds familiar, and I might have used it sometime ago, but like so many of these sayings, they are worth hearing over and over. And this one resonates with awesome truth. It says: ‘No one is guaranteed happiness. Life just gives us time and space. It’s up to us to fill it with joy and meaning.’
And that hits the proverbial nail right on its proverbial head. Happiness is not guaranteed, and often it doesn’t last very long. But we have to make ourselves happy, and the best way to do that is by starting off with Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, for through Him, even if you don’t have happiness here on earth, you will certainly have it with Him wherever He is in the next life! And in Jesus we don’t experience happiness so much as joy, which is a much deeper and more lasting experience.
Now, we also have to pay attention to another aspect of the happiness situation, that is depending on others to make us happy. That’s not always wise, for human beings are so frail, fragile, irresponsible and unpredictable that if we depend on others to make us happy, in no time flat they can disappoint us, and the whole happiness house will come crashing down upon our heads. So it all comes right back to basing our happiness, our joy in Jesus, who is the ONLY One who will never let us down.
And why would He, after sacrificing Himself for our sins on the horrific cross of Calvary, and pleading with us through His Great Invitation to come to Him for rest and comfort. ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (humble and gentle): and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt. 11:28-30)
He’s also constantly knocking at the doors of our hearts, so He can enter in and dine with us. He says it quite plainly: ‘Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup (dine) with him, and he with me.’ (Rev. 3:20) Who else offers these faithful comforts eh? Nobody else but Jesus!
Oh, we humans might be faithful for a moment or a short while, but eventually we all disappoint to some extent. Jesus NEVER disappoints, if you understand His teachings and His commandments. Life with Him will not necessarily be easy, in some cases it might even be more difficult, as He tests our faith through tough circumstances, but we are assured that He will not let the devil have us, He will see us through to victory eventually. As Bruh Paul says in this awesome scripture of 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)
Yes friends, if we sincerely surrender to and place our trust in Almighty God, though we will suffer trials and tribulations, we are assured that the end we will fine. It’s like Jesus reassures us in the gospel of John, where He says: ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33) Now that’s not always easy to do, but if we put our sincere trust in Jesus, He will help us to do it.
And we’ll end with one of the most beautiful prayers in the Bible, and one that sets the basic standard for life and joy in Christ. It’s Bruh Paul’s prayer for the Colossians. So please pray with me: ‘For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet (qualified us) to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in (the) light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated (transferred) us into the kingdom of his dear Son (the Son of His LOVE): In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.’ (Col 1:9-14)
Wow mih bredrin! Tell me what can be better than living for Jesus eh? NOTHING! And where can we find the most assurance of happiness here on earth and in the next life? With Jesus; where else! And now that we’re convinced that Jesus provides the best scenario for happiness and joy in this world and the next, let’s go to the throne of grace through our Friday Chant seeking help in this dire time of need that our evil world makes necessary.
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 yes, our sinful world does need to wake up, but so do we Christians, and start showing better witness for Christ, if we expect to receive divine aid. Much LOVE!
…happiness can be fleeting…but the joy found in Christ is everlasting…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
14 Nov 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's voice is known by multitude of words, a means of restoring faith in you, a multitude of people, a new flock of believers, a society speeding to hell, all for our benefit, be not rash with thy mouth, be responsible, better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, blaspheme against god, by the example we faithful believers set, Christian witness, crying out for help, desperate times of need, divine aid, every one that is hasty, faith, Friday chant, God holds the breath of your life in His hand, he that hasteth with his feet sinneth, he that is perverse in his lips, he that refraineth his lips is wise, holy spirit, in the multitude of words, is a fool, it is not good, Jesus Christ, joy and gladness, lay aside every weight, let not thine heart be hasty, let thy words be few, like chickens with their heads cut off, LOVE, make mistakes in the name of speed, mercy, more detrimental than beneficial, more haste less speed, omnipotent help, problems escalating, return backsliders to your fold, road rage, run with patience, rushing back and forth, salvation, seeing we are compassed about, show them the error of their ways, so great a cloud of witnesses, speed, spew venom, stand strong and steadfast, stay safe, talk a good talk, technological times, tend to plenteousness, tend to poverty, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, that the soul be without knowledge, the accent on speed, the confusion of these ungodly times, the race that is set before us, the simmering unrest, the sin which doth so easily beset us, the thoughts of the diligent, there wanteth not sin, to utter anything before God, traffic jams, trusting faith, truth, wake up and smell the coffee, wisdom, wise guidance
Proverbs 19:2b. and he that hasteth with his feet sinneth.
And then, finally, it was the big day, Friday! And all the shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ have ascended to heaven on high. Yes, there’s always much joy and gladness when the last day of our work week rolls around, meaning that the weekend is upon us, and our time is mostly ours to do as we choose. For a couple of days we can forget the twice a day traffic jams and the multitudes of people rushing back and forth like chickens with their heads cut off, in a hurry to get wherever they want to go, but getting nowhere quickly. Unfortunately, that’s how it is when we rush and push, for there’s always someone pushing back trying to go the other way.
But sadly, that’s the way of our society nowadays; everything is about speed, and we get impatient and angry if we have to wait a few seconds for the computer to warm up. It’s a foolish now for now society we currently live in. Just note the road rage that erupts over one car not moving quickly enough to suit the driver of another car, even when there’s no way much for the first car to move. But that’s the way we live in these technological times, where it’s all about how fast we can get things done, although we make too many mistakes in the name of speed.
And on days like today, where everyone is trying to get in and out as quickly as possible, so that they can enjoy the weekend sooner, matters usually get more tense and stressful, and the possibility of things boiling over greater than normal. That’s why the old people very wisely categorized it all with this simple saying, ‘more haste less speed.’ And most of us have realized that down through the years, but we still try to keep up with the speed of our society., so that we can feel or appear to be with the in-crowd.
Now there are several scriptures in the Bible that warn about haste. So to help us apply the brakes in this speeding to hell society, let’s check out a few of them nuh. And not surprisingly, several of them come from the wisdom of Cousin Sol. Listen to this first one from Proverbs. ‘Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool. Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good; and he that hasteth with his feet sinneth.’ (Prov. 19:1-2)
There it is in black and white friends, from the wisest man ever! If you are too hasty with your feet you are committing sin. And taking that literally, can you imagine the amount of us that are committing that sin each and every day? Multitudes of us! Let’s hope that causes us to slow down some nuh. (smile) Then there’s this other wise saying from Cousin Sol. ‘The thoughts (plans) of the diligent tend only (lead surely) to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want (surely to poverty).’ (Prov. 21:5) Now that is something many of us can attest to, for we have all done things in haste that did not work out to our benefit. But our society keeps on doing it.
Now here’s another bit of wisdom from Cousin Sol, but this time as the preacher from Ecclesiastes, and it pertains to how we speak to God. He says: ‘Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be too hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon the earth, therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business (effort or activity); and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.’ (Eccl. 5:2-3)
What marvellous advice my brethren! Because with our quick inclination, or predisposition to get angry at each other, we also get angry with God very quickly and spew venom towards or blaspheme against Him if we don’t get our way, or don’t get it as quickly as we desire. Now that’s certainly not a wise way to interact with Almighty God, your Creator and the One who holds the breath of your life in His hands. That leads to this other caution about our words. Cousin Sol wisely declares (steups!!!): ‘In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth (restrains) his lips is wise.’ (Prov. 10:19)
And that’s oh so true my people! When we unleash a barrage of words through provocation or whatever other reason, we invariably commit some sin through our anger and inappropriate words. So it’s obviously wise to take time to think before we speak. And finally we’ll look at this scripture that we all know, which tells us about endurance and patience. It comes from the author of Hebrews. ‘Wherefore seeing (since) we also 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 the race that is set before us.’ (Heb. 12:1)
Yes my faithful brethren, it’s time for us to settle down, take our time, and concentrate on patience and endurance, rather than haste and speed, for the latter two will only get us into more trouble than we truly need. So, with those words of wisdom, (smile) let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant seeking divine aid to help in these desperate times of need.
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!’
Ah mih people, as usual, we talk a good talk, but unfortunately our actions don’t back up our talk, and until they do, meaning we aspire to better Christian witness, divine aid will not be forthcoming. It’s as simple as that! So please, let’s wake up and get our act together nuh! Remember it’s all for our benefit, not God’s! Much LOVE!
…the accent on speed in our society…is more detrimental than beneficial…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
31 Oct 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a flaw in our prayer, a new flock of believers, acclamation of our faith, all things work together for good, be content with such things as ye have, be of good cheer, be reminded of our previous struggles, be responsible, be strong and of a good courage, by the example we faithful believers set, can wake up and smell the coffee, carry them in his bosom, comfort ye my people, crying out for your help, defeat the simmering unrest in our land, discontent, dissatisfaction, divine help, drag us back into medieval times, embrace your love and compassion, faith, fear not, feed his flock like a shepherd, fellowship, Friday chant, gather the lambs with his arm, gently lead those that are with young, God will continue empowering us, God's omnipotent help, Halloween Day, his arm shall rule for him, his reward is with him, his work before him, holy spirit, I am the good shepherd, I am with you, i have overcome the world, I know my sheep and are known of mine, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee, I will not fear what man can do to me, improve our witness, in me you might have peace, in the world ye shall have tribulation, Jesus Christ, keep you in all places you go, let your conduct be without covetousness, life is not a bed of roses, LOVE, mercy, no rights or privileges, nor be afraid of them, on the late bus, our Christian witness is not good enough, our sinful world, our walk with christ is a two way street, prayer time with the Father, problems escalating, restoring faith in God, return backsliders to your fold, revert to such an inhumane situation, salvation, shining our bright lights in the darkness, smell it sweet and strong, spreading our salty flavour, stand strong and steadfast, stay safe, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the daily grind and common task, the enemy comes against us in christ's name, the error of their ways, the evil spirits come out to play, the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep, the gospel truth, The Lord is my helper, the Lord tests us, the Lord will come with strong hand, the shedding of innocent blood, the throne of grace, the trick or treat game, the unexpected storms, the way of life, these things I have spoken unto you, to shower down blessings on us, to stand up and fight the evil enemy, to them that love God, tribulation, trusting faith, truth, unexpected storms, waiting with bated breath, walking with the Lord, we may boldly say, who are called according to His purpose, wisdom, wise guidance
Isaiah 40:1. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
Ah friends, the ole fella had a rather late night, thus he also had a rather late morning. (smile) Consequently, we are on the late bus this Friday October 31, or Halloween Day, when all the evil spirits and people come out to play the trick or treat game. But that’s a topic for another day, not this wet, cloudy, windy Friday, where we’ve offered up our acclamation of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ which means the weekend is upon us, those two short days we have for ourselves; to rest, recuperate and have some fun, before getting back to the daily grind and common task.
Ah well, that’s just the way life is, for once up a time, and it’s not so long ago that many people worked seven days a week, with a day off once in a while. Thankfully our situation has improved some, although the greedy employers would like nothing better, and indeed are trying their best to drag us back into the medieval times where we had absolutely no rights nor privileges. But we won’t ever allow that to happen, for too much innocent blood has ben shed to get us to where we are today, to ever revert to such an inhumane and ungodly situation. And all God’s children said a loud and proud, ‘Amen!’
And I’m chuckling here, because I don’t know where that all came from because it’s not Labour Day or anything of the sort, but I guess the Good Lord just wanted us to be reminded of our previous struggles and have us understand that He will continue empowering us to stand up and fight the aggressive and evil enemy. It’s like Isaiah promised on the Lord’s behalf. ‘Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God…Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand (in strength), and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work (wage) before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.’ (Is. 40:1;10-11)
Yes friends, that’s one of the many promises of our God to be with us at all times and look after us. And Jesus embodied that promise in Himself when He subsequently declared: ‘I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep…I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.’ (John 10:11;14) It’s like the author of Hebrews also reminds us: ‘Let your conversation (conduct) be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall (can) do unto me.’ (Heb. 13:5)
Now that’s a most powerful acclamation of our faith, and hopefully we all will stand strong in it, because our God is ever-faithful to keep His promises. As he said to Jacob, when he dreamed that famous, mind-boggling, but life changing dream (Gen. 28:10-14) ‘And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.’ (Gen. 28:15) And we all know that the Lord kept His promise to Jacob.
It’s also like Moses said to the Israelites on God’s behalf: ‘Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.’ (Deut. 31:6) And that promise was also kept, except for the times when Israel rebelled against the Lord and suffered the dire consequences of such rebellion and disobedience. But all in all, Israel had it pretty good. For as Bruh Paul warns us in his letter to the Romans: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are called according to his purpose.’ (Rom. 8:28)
And that’s one of the most important scriptures for Christians to know and understand. The Lord will keep His promises and look after us, and eventually all things will work out for our good. But we need to thoroughly understand that life, especially the Christian life is not a bed of roses, but can often be a tough slog, especially when the enemy comes against us in Christ’s name, or when the Lord Himself tests us. So it’s ever so necessary to keep in mind these most reassuring and encouraging words of Jesus. ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33)
And all that’s the gospel truth, my fellow believers, but it’s not easy to put into practice. That’s why we need to keep on growing in our faith, through reading and meditating on the Word, through fellowship with other believers and sincere prayer time with the Father. And our God is so wonderful, that through Jesus’ sacrifice, we can now go directly to the throne of grace seeking divine help. So let’s do that right now nuh, through our Friday Chant.
All together: ‘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 we’ve prayed a good prayer, but there’s one flaw in it; if the new flock of believers are like us, then they won’t be of much use, because our current Christian witness is not up to scratch. That means we have to improve, if we truly desire divine aid! So let’s get to it nuh. The Lord is waiting with bated breath to shower down blessings on us…when we improve our witness, by spreading our highly flavoured salt far and wide, and shining our lights much brighter in the many dark places of the earth. Much LOVE!
…walking with the Lord is a two way street…He’s kept all His promises…now we need to do our part…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
17 Oct 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a means of restoring faith in you, amidst all the anxiety and confusion, as sheep going astray, bare our sins in his own body, be responsible, being dead to sins, bring us back to his fold, by the example we faithful believers set, by whose stripes ye were healed, carry them in his bosom, cast into hell fire, discontent, dissatisfaction, distorted concept, divine aid, even my servant David, faith, feed his flock like a shepherd, find pasture, for His name's sake, Friday chant, gather the lambs with his arm, gently lead those that are with young, go in and out, God is good all the time, God's loving kindness, have it more abundantly, he maketh me to lie down in green pastures, he restores my soul, his arm shall rule for him, his reward is with him, his work before him, holy spirit, how foolish it is, I am come that they might have life, I am the door of the sheep, I am the good shepherd, I the Lord will be their God, I will fear no evil, I would not be searching for you, if any man enter in he shall be saved, if you were not first wanting me, improved Christian witness, introduce a new flock of believers, Jesus Christ, Jesus walked his talk, keep us safe from harm, leadeth me beside the still waters, leads me in the paths of righteousness, let me remember always, live unto righteousness, lost sheep, Lost Shepherd, lost souls, LOVE, major deterrent, marvellous reassurance, mercy, my servant David a prince among them, now returned unto the shepherd, on the late bus, One Year Book of Bible promises, our sinful world can wake up, problems escalating, prone to forget, rebellion against God, rebellious and disobedient sheep, return backsliders to your fold, reversed the parable of the Shepherd and the sheep, Ruth Harms Calkin, salvation, searching for you, set up one shepherd over them, show them the error of their ways, smell the coffee, stay safe, surrender to your search for me, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the bishop of your souls, the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep, the Lord God will come with strong hand, the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want, the shepherd has been lost, the thief cometh not but to steal, the weekend, these ungodly times, thieves and robbers, thou art with me, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me, to stumble through darkness, trudged down dangerous mountain cliffs, truth, unexpected storms, who his own self, wisdom, wise guidance
John 10::11. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
Oh my people, it’s Friday, a damp and cloudy one, with showers promised for the weekend. But I know that we’ve all offered up our ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ jubilation, because the weekend is here. And unfortunately, today we’re on the late, late bus because I had to go out early this morning and do some stuff, and by the time I returned, a li’l rest was needed, but unfortunately that li’l rest turned into a much longer one than expected. (smile) And thus we’ll get right into it, with an interesting poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. Most likely I’ve shared it before, but in these lost and scary times, it’s certainly worth sharing again.
The title is simply ‘Lost Shepherd.’ Please read with me. ‘Sometimes, Lord In my groping effort to find You I have reversed the parable Of the Shepherd and the sheep. In my distorted concept The Shepherd has been lost And the sheep have trudged down Dangerous mountain cliffs to find him. How sadly prone I am to forget That I would not be searching for You If You were not first wanting me. Let me remember always, Lord How foolish it is To stumble through darkness Searching for You When I need only to surrender To Your search for me.’
And all God’s children said a loud and grateful shout of ‘Amen! God is good all of the time!’ And that He is my fellow believers! There’s absolutely no doubt about it, otherwise we would have all been cast in to hell fire long ago for our disobedience and proud, arrogant rebellion against His Sovereign Majesty! But in His awesome LOVING-KINDNESS, He set out to find us, like lost sheep, so that He could bring us back to his fold and keep us safe from harm. Now the Bible tells us that we should seek Him with all that we have, but it’s also worthy to note, as our poem above says, we would not be seeking Him, unless He was first wanting us.
And isn’t it so good, so encouraging and reassuring that our Creator LOVES us so much that He would send out someone special to look for us and bring us back home. It’s like Isaiah said so long ago: ‘Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand (in strength), and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work (wage) before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.’ (Is. 40:10-11)
Yes friends, that’s the picture of a God that’s been painted throughout the Bible; that of a Good Shepherd. Ezekiel also said it of the Lord. ‘And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it.’ (Ezek. 34:23-24)
Therefore, it’s no surprise that Bruh David could write in that most popular Psalm 23: ‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters, he restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.’ (Ps. 23:1-4) Oh yes my brethren! For that’s what a good shepherd does; provides food, safety, warmth and comfort for his sheep!
And no one has done that more for us lost souls than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He said it Himself, then went and proved it on the cross of Calvary. Listen to this last part of his discourse on the sheep and shepherd. ‘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 shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for (except) to steal, and to 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)
Wow! What marvellous reassurance! And that last verse is the Bible Promise for our poem today. And as we said earlier, Jesus did walk His talk; He went out and died for us lost, unworthy, sinful, disobedient sheep! He certainly did all he could to salvage the situation for us. Now the onus lies in our hands, on our shoulders. There’s no Lost Shepherd, but plenty lost sheep! And hopefully, we can end up as Peter says: ‘Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes (wounds) ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but now are returned unto the Shepherd and the Bishop (Overseer) of your souls.’ (1 Pet. 2:24-25)
Yes my people, that’s where we belong, and hopefully that’s where we’re all headed, but it’s not an easy row to hoe, therefore, we need to go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, to get divine help. 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 having said all of that my fellow believers, we need to follow it up with improved Christian witness, for it’s the major deterrent to us not receiving more divine aid! Much LOVE!
…Jesus first came looking for us…we now need to go looking for Him…and if we are sincere…He isn’t hard to find…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
05 Sep 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a doting grandfather, a light unto my path, a new flock of believers, a tough nut to crack, a true perspective of your majestic power, adopted children of God, all day long, all seeing and knowing, backsliders, claims you as Maker and master, concentrate on your greatness, crying out for help, dominance, enlarge my narrow vision, error of their ways, fight the evil that's controlling our world, forgive me O God, Friday chant, give me even now, God cares for his creation, God is the Creator and Controller of the Universe, heavenly Father, hegemony, holy spirit, I put my hope in you, I shamefully confess, Jesus Christ, joint heirs with Christ, lead be by your truth, limited comprehension, LOVE, meditating on god's word, mercy, my neck of the woods, my snall concept of you, narrow vision, omnipotent, omnipotent help, omnipresent, omniscient, on the palm of your hand, on thee do I wait all the day, on whom you've set your love, One Year Book of Bible promises, open our eyes, our divine heritage, our God is a great God, our sinful world, our strife-filled world, overcome the enemy, perilous times, point out the right road for me to follow, poor witness for Christ, powerful, problems escalating, puny faith, Ruth Harms Calkin, salvation, sanctified, shew me thy ways O Lord, show me the path where I should walk, simmering unrest in our land, small prayers, somewhere in the wild blue yonder, stimulate my trust, teach me thy paths, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the child, the example we faithful believers set, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, The God of my salvation, the God who saves me, the leading of the Holy spirit, the weekend, thy word is a lamp unto my feet, totally transform, truth, unexpected storms, wake up and small the coffee, whose name is engraved, wisdom, with deep contrition, Your Child God
Psalm 25:4. Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths.
And it’s a cool, windy, cloudy Friday in my neck of the woods, but that doesn’t make a difference when it comes to shouting out ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ Yes friends, the way our work system is set up, the couple of days off at the weekend is sanctified, (smile) and we avidly seek it, regardless of the weather or what’s happening around our strife-filled world.
And today, we will look at an interesting poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, titled ‘Your Child, God.’ And once we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, we all become the adopted children of God, joint heirs with Christ, with a right to our divine heritage, entitled to all our heavenly Father has. (Rom. 8:17) But, sadly, oftentimes we don’t behave like children of God, or even know what He is truly like.
So please read with me: ‘O God With deep contrition I shamefully confess My small concept of You My puny faith My limited comprehension. Forgive me, O God And enlarge my narrow vision. Stimulate my trust As I concentrate on Your greatness. Give me even now A true perspective Of Your majestic power To totally transform the child On whom You have set Your LOVE – The child whose name is engraved On the palm of Your hand The child who claims You As her Maker and Master. Your child, God! Me!’
Oh my fellow believers, that poem is simple but it says a lot, and is very relevant to our uncertain and difficult times, for as the poem says, many of us don’t see or know the true greatness of the wonderful God we claim to serve. Many of us think that He’s either a doting grandfather, or a tough nut to crack, who’s somewhere out there in the wild blue yonder, with little power, not paying much attention to what’s happening down here on Planet Earth. But all of that is totally untrue. Our God is neither a doting grandfather, a hard man to please, or not paying attention to our problems.
In fact He’s the exact opposite of all that! He’s the Creator and Controller of this universe, that means He must have a lot of power to do such an awesome job. And He does care for us, so much so that instead of letting us all go to hellfire and damnation with Satan for our persistent disobedience and rebellion, He sacrificed His only begotten Son to give us another option; that’s salvation and eternal life with Him. So tell me how could anyone who does all those things not be great and majestic, LOVING and compassionate?
Our God is so great that He’s described as Omnipotent, that’s having lots of power; Omniscient, that’s all knowing, all seeing and wise; and Omnipresent, that’s all pervading, being everywhere, universal. And it’s oh so important for believers to know the true scope and greatness of our God, to enlarge our narrow vision, because if we don’t, we’re liable to seek small stuff from Him, offer up small prayers, not understanding the full reach of His awesome might and power.
And in these hate filled and angry times, we desperately need His omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence, to help us fight the evil that’s controlling our world. It’s time for us to open our eyes and begin thinking of our God as the de facto, or in reality, the great and awesome God that He is! And we can only accomplish that feat by concentrating on God, on His Word and the leading of His Holy Spirit.
Now the Bible Promise given for this poem comes from Psalm 25 titled ‘Trust in the Lord.’ The New Living Bible Translation puts it thus: ‘Show me the path where I should walk, O Lord; point out the right road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.’ (Ps. 25:4-5) And to believe that, your God must be big and mighty, fearsome and fearless, LOVING, compassionate, kind and merciful! And that’s exactly what our God, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is! So, thinking small doesn’t’ do our God any favours or give Him any accolades at all.
And for our enlightenment, (smile) here’s how the good ole King James Version puts the verses from our Bible Promise. ‘Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.’ (Ps. 25:4-5)
Yes my brethren, in these perilous times, we do need to turn to the God of our salvation and sincerely ask Him to show us His ways, teach us what He desires us to know, and lead us in His truth. And as we said earlier on, all of that begins with reading and meditating on God’s Word, then with the help of the Holy Spirit, putting it into action in our lives. As Psalm 119 wisely advises: ‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’ (Ps. 119:105)
Now, to help us get our act together, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking grace in desperate time of need. As one voice: ‘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 divine aid is certainly in the offing, but not until we improve our poor witness for Christ, which has given the evil enemy undue hegemony or dominance over our world. Much LOVE!
…until Christians truly believe and act like our God is a great God…we will never overcome the enemy…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
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