Time for Christians to Wake Up and Acknowledge God’s Glory and give Him the Grateful Praise He Deserves!

06 Sep 2026 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Today’s Scrip-Bit   6 September 2026   John 3:16.

John 3:16.        For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

And after Saturday comes Sunday, the Lord’s Day, when He rested from His creation of the universe, and when we, His faithful followers gather to celebrate His awesome LOVE and goodness through the giving of thanks and praise in joyful fellowship and sincere worship. And we’ll get the proceedings underway with a beautiful hymn dedicated to Almighty God, titled ‘To God be the Glory.’ It’s a hymn with lyrics by that wonderful, prolific though blind hymnist Fanny Crosby and music by William Howard Doane, apparently written around 1872 but first published in 1875.

The story goes that after it got included in Billy Graham’s crusades beginning in the 1950’s, it became famous worldwide, and is still being sung all around the world. According to the website Godtube: ‘To God Be the Glory’ celebrates the greatness of God and calls upon an appreciation for the wondrous things ‘He hath done.’ It is a glorious hymn to be sang rejoicefully in the spirit of gratitude.’ And I totally agree. So, with that in mind, let’s offer up our sweet sacrifices of praise in a soulful, scintillating mid-to-up-tempo version, (smile) sincerely expressing that rejoicing spirit of gratitude.

Singing: ‘To God be the glory, great things He hath done, so LOVED He the world that He gave us His Son, who yielded His life an atonement for sin, and opened the life-gate that all may go in. (Refrain: Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice! Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice! O come to the Father through Jesus the Son, and give Him the glory, great things He hath done.) O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood, to every believer the promise of God; the vilest offender who truly believes, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.

(Refrain) Great things He hath taught us, great things He hath done, and great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son; but purer, and higher, and greater will be our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see. (Refrain: Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice! Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice! O come to the Father through Jesus the Son, and give Him the glory, great things He hath done.)’

Oh friends, that was wonderful! And did we ever show forth that spirit of gratitude! As so we should, when God has done so much for us, especially the sacrificial gift of Jesus and all it encompasses. And we certainly acknowledge it when we sing that first verse praising God’s LOVE for humanity, and the enormous lengths He went to, to secure our salvation. As Jesus so nicely puts it to the Jewish leader Nicodemus. ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ (John 3:16)

And Jesus did sacrifice His sinless life to atone for our sins. And it was by no means easy. Isaiah possibly best describes the terrible time Jesus had long before Jesus’ human incarnation. He writes: ‘Surely he hath borne our griefs (sickness), and wounded (pierced through) for our transgressions, he was bruised (crushed) for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes (blows that cut into his body) we are healed.’ (Is. 53-4-5) And that is exactly what Jesus suffered on our behalf my people. That’s how He ‘opened the gate that all may go in.’

Then the chorus also makes a most worthwhile statement by encouraging us to praise the Lord all over the earth, with grateful rejoicing for all the great things He’s done, and coming to Him through the finished work of His Son. It’s like Psalm 96 – The Greatness of God – tells us: ‘O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord with all the earth. Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; shew forth his salvation (proclaim the good news of his salvation) from day to day. Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all the people.

For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens. Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.’ (Ps. 96: 1-6) And every word in that scripture passage is the gospel truth my brethren! That’s why the Lord God Jehovah deserves our undying, everlasting, praise and LOVE!

Then we have the second verse that speaks of redemption and the purchase of blood, where even the vilest offender could be pardoned if he believes. Bruh Paul spells it out for us in Ephesains, when he says: ‘In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.’ (Eph. 1:7)

And Peter expounds on that some more. ‘Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible (perishable) things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation (aimless conduct) received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest (revealed) in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.’ (1 Pet. 1:18-21)

Yes friends, that’s what God did for us poor sinners through His wonderful Son, Jesus Christ! And yuh better believe that’s not the end of all the great things the Lord has in store for us. No way.  There are more great things to come: ‘purer, and higher, and greater will be our wonder, our rapture, when Jesus we see.’ Oh yes, great will be our wonder when Jesus returns to rapture His church! Here’s how Bruh Paul describes it to the Thessalonians. ‘But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep (are dead), that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (precede) them which are asleep (dead) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump (trumpet) of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever (always) be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.’ (1 Thess. 4:13-18)

And on this first Sunday in September, that is about the best comfort and encouragement we can have my fellow believers. So please spend some time pondering it. Much LOVE!

…Jehovah God is great…and greatly to be praised…there’s absolutely no doubt it…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit 12 November 2015 Psalm 95:1‏

12 Nov 2015 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 95:1.   O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) to the rock of our salvation.

Ah Friends, these late nights and early mornings going to be the death of the ole fella yes! But I’m just naturally a night owl! (smile) I awoke earlier on, looked at the clock and decided it was time to get up, but then thought I’d just roll over and soak for a while. 

Hn! But it seems that I fell asleep again, and it was almost an hour later that I finally finished soaking. Hn, hn! What a life eh! 

Then I discovered that today, Thursday, was another British type weather day; constant drizzle. Yesterday afternoon turned out beautifully though, with bright sunshine. Let’s hope that today will do the same. 

But regardless of how the day turns out, it is still the day that our great and wonderful God has made, filled with plenty new blessings and mercies, so let us rejoice and be glad in it, as we were meant to do. 

Now here is something I’ve been trying to share for about three days now, but was thwarted by the Holy Spirit every time. I guess I wasn’t meant to share it until today. So here it is, something from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional titled ‘LEARN TO KNOW GOD.’  

That’s something we all need to do my people! So please pray with me. ‘Dear Jesus, I’ve got to know you better. Please help me! I can feel my spiritual and emotional walls crack. I can hear old chains break. I can feel my heart opening like a heavy old door whose ancient seals have just begun to break. 

I can sense the footsteps of Jesus walking into my life. I am beginning to experience the joy of a soul that is being saved, a life that is being born again. Thank You, Lord! Life’s not fair, but God is good. Amen.’ 

Yes Friends, our God is definitely good, no doubt about it! So hopefully, if we prayed that prayer sincerely, at whatever level of maturity in Christ that we are currently at, we will soon hear new doors opening and feel Jesus beginning to move at a higher level in our lives. 

For remember, it’s all a lifetime process, and we never finish learning and maturing until we take our final earthly breath. And to help us do that, in terms of the praise and thanksgiving aspect, we’ll continue our series of messages along those lines. 

And our Bit once again wisely invites us: ‘O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) to the rock of our salvation.’ 

Oh Friends, there’s nothing better in this life than giving thanks and praise to our most wonderful and ever-LOVING God! Why? Because that’s one of the main things we were created for! 

But unfortunately we have relegated it to the back parts of our Christian walk. You don’t hear believers singing as often and as joyfully as we once did, because we have been caught up in, entangled by the tentacles of the evil world and all its false and deceptive deeds and teachings. 

But today my brethren, we’re going to attempt to correct that with some joyful scripture. Here is Bruh Paul’s prescription to the Ephesians ‘And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph.5:18-21) 

Yes my people, we should always be in thanksgiving and praising mode, regardless of our circumstances. Remember how Bruh Paul and Silas reacted during their imprisonment in Philippi? The Good Book tells it thus: ‘And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard.’ (Acts 16:25) 

Yes Friends, even in one the darkest hours of their lives, they were praying and singing hymns, giving glory to God. And you know what happened; an earthquake came and broke down the prison gates, but none of the prisoners fled, which all led to the saving of the jailer and his family, and no doubt some of the other prisoners also. (Acts 16:26-34) 

So you see my fellow believers in Jesus Christ, there is no telling what our God will do when we praise and glorify Him, even in our saddest times. James says it quite right. ‘Is any among you afflicted (suffering)? let him pray. Is any merry (cheerful)? let him sing psalms.’ (James 5:13) 

And Asaph, in Psalm 50 – God is the judge – tells us what our God desires of us. ‘Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the Most High: And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.’ (Ps.50:14-15) 

Yes Friends, whenever we sincerely and faithfully call upon our God, we give Him a chance to deliver us, and thus glorify His Holy Name. And we’ll end with these beautiful and most assuring words from Psalm 92 – Praises for the Lord’s goodness. 

‘It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High: To show forth (declare) thy LOVING-kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night, Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery (lute or lyre); upon the harp with a solemn (harmonious or melodic) sound. For thou Lord, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands.’ (Ps.92:1-4) 

Oh my people, my people, please, I’m imploring us to ramp up our acts of praise and thanksgiving to our God and Creator, regardless of our circumstances. 

Why? Because when we come to Him in praise and thanksgiving, it gives Him an opportunity to work miracles in our lives and thus raise the level of our faith and trust. It’s wisdom at its best! Much LOVE!

…O sing unto the Lord a new song…sing unto the Lord…all the earth… sing unto the Lord…bless his name…show forth (proclaim the good news of) his salvation…from day to day… (Ps.96:1-2)