28 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: angels, ascension, Atlas, attributes, awesome being, being, beloved of God, children of God, Christ's Resurrection, Creator, dead weight, debt of sin, distinctness, do God's will, equal with the Father, essentially one, explanation, express image, glory, God's great earth, heir of all things, help, his person, Holy Trinity, imprint, Jesus, Levitical priest, my friend Jesus, oneness of the Son, prophets, purged our sins, purification for sin, radiance, redemptive work, refreshing, rejuvenating, revelation of God, sacrifices, sat down, share His love, shining forth, sinless life, sins, sustaining, the brightness of his glory, the full story, the Majesty on high, the power of the Son, the right hand, the word of his power, Tuesday Mantra, upholding all things, walk in obedience
Hebrews 1:3. Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person , and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged (cleansed) our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Welcome, welcome, one and all, to another wonderful day on God’s great earth! He has so much good stuff planned for us that I’m not sure we can handle it all. (smile) But of this one thing I’m sure; that He will give us all the help we need to walk in obedience and do His awesome will. Glory to our great God my people!
And without further ado, let’s get right into our Bit, because we have lots to say today. As if we don’t have lots to say everyday. (smile) But this is a long and intricate Bit, needy of much explanation.
‘Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged (cleansed) our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.’ Oh my people, what a magnificent and awesome being is our Jesus!
Now yesterday we got some explanation as to the importance of Jesus in the revelation of God, and His position re the prophets and angels. He has presented the full story of what the Father planned from the beginning to the end. So here is what the scholars have to say re our Bit.
‘1:3. Christ’s person, power and position are all expressed in this verse. He is described as being the brightness of God’s glory. The word being, whose force is “eternally being,” guards against the idea that Jesus became the Son at some point during His earthly ministry. He did not become deity; He always was equal with the Father. The attributes ascribed to Him express His very nature. They were neither added to nor taken from Him during His earthly life.
The “brightness” spoken of here refers to a radiance or a shining forth of the divine glory. As the rays are intrinsically related to the sun, with neither one existing apart from the other, so the Father and the Son are essentially one. Further, the Son is the express image or imprint (as of a die perfectly representing the original design) of the Father’s person (nature).
The radiant light implies the oneness of the Son with the Father; the imprint expresses the distinctness of the Son from the Father. Yet, oneness and distinctness are implicit in each: thus they enhance and balance each other.
Upholding all things manifests the power of the Son. Verse 2 has already presented Him as Creator and hence the heir of all things. Certainly He is far superior to the prophets with whom He has just being compared, (vs.1) and to the angels to whom He will be compared (vs.4).
“Upholding” (Gr. pheron), more precisely stated, describes the Son as “carrying” all things. Christ is not viewed simply as an Atlas supporting the dead weight of the world, but as the Creator who is now sustaining and bringing it to its goal. Compare the similar teachings of Colossians 1:16-17.
Sat down…on high reveals the position of the Son. When He had provided purification for sin, He sat down on high. This sitting does not imply a present inactivity; rather it suggests His finished redemptive work, quite in contrast to the unending sacrifices of the Levitical priest (cf. chs.7, 9,10).
The author of Hebrews is virtually silent concerning Christ’s resurrection, yet he repeatedly stresses the Ascension and its significance (cf. 4:14; 6:19-20; 7:26; 8:1; 9:24; 10:12; 12:2).’
Oh friends, yuh see what I meant when I said we had plenty to talk about. And I do hope we understand it all. I know it sounds somewhat confusing, but if we take it line by line, one step at a time, we will eventually get what the scholars mean.
And by the way, I just looked up all those scripture references at the end, and they are interesting. Taking a moment to do so yourself would indeed be beneficial.(smile)
The long and short of the story is simply that Christ is El Numero Uno; Number One; the Father’s Right hand man! He came to earth as a man and saved us by sacrificing His sinless life on our behalf, which means NO MORE sacrifices are necessary. The big debt of sin was paid by Christ’s death ONCE and FOR ALL TIME!
We just need to believe or not believe in Him now to be saved or suffer eternal separation from the Holy Trinity forever. So it’s now up to each individual to make his or her choice. And for those of us who choose to believe, let’s go home today sincerely declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting the evil world know, without a doubt, who and whose we are.
All together now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
And now, beloved children of God, let’s go out and share that beautiful and wonderful LOVE of our friend Jesus with the world, as He desires of us. Much LOVE!
…having Jesus in one’s life… is…is so refreshing and rejuvenating…why would I follow anyone else eh…
27 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: aura of love, blues, charged up, charities, climactic, complain, complete, confidence, conquerors, Creator of the universe, dangerous, deeper in debt, do life with Christ, dragging, dreams, economy crashed, enthusiasm, events, express image, food banks, fragmentary, friends, fun, glorious kingdom, glory, glory to God, God-filled day, greedy businessmen, heir, high heavens, holy spirit, humble servants, incarnation, incomplete, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, joy, labour, lies, LOVE, message, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, motive, not feeling too hot, Old Testament, peace, prophets, pumpkin pies, purged our sins, quick to fire, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, Revelation, righteousness., sales gimmicks, salvation, sat down at the right hand, slave master, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, tempo, thanksgiving weekend, the agent of God, the brightness of his glory, the bucket bottom drops out, the day of calamity, the end of time, the land of plenty, the Lord in favour, the Majesty on high, the medium, the word of his power, traffic jams, trust, truth, Turkey, unfair, upholding all things, visions, warm beds, week of work, wiles, wisdom, zest
Hebrews 1:3. Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person , and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged (cleansed) our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Awright mih breddren, it’s the big one – one more time! Yes my people, it’s that most wonderful day called Monday, where we unwillingly exit out warm beds, put on warm clothing and head for the big city, mired in traffic jams, to labour, to labour…and yet to labour.
Down in the U.S. this was Thanksgiving weekend, so you can imagine the state of many workers; definitely not the greatest. And after the turkey and pumpkin pie, you had the crazy shopping on Black Friday, and more shopping today on Cyber Monday… Steups!
It’s all about commercialism, when half the people don’t have any jobs, and many of those who do have jobs, don’t even have sufficient money to make ends meet. Just look at the recent proliferation of food banks and charities providing food to unfortunate families in this land of plenty nuh.
But yet they keep coming up with sales gimmicks to get people deeper and deeper in debt. And when the economy crashes, when the bucket bottom drops out, because debt was too cheap and easily available, the same ones who made it so, complain to the high heavens. Chuh! Just a bunch of foolish, greedy businessmen!
Anyway friends, those of us who have jobs had better get up and get a move on, else we soon might not have one. Yuh know how the slave master quick to fire! And if yuh not feeling too hot this morning, and yuh just dragging, then please sing along with us, as we sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, to get us all charged up and ready to go out and do life with and for Christ.
With plenty zest and good tempo now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Oh friends, that prayer never fails to work! It just drives away all the early morning blues and gets the adrenaline going, so we can concentrate properly on Christ’s work, as we steadfastly seek Him, His kingdom and His righteousness. Glory to the Most High God my faithful brethren!
And when we talking about glory, we definitely need to put Jesus in the highest category, as the author of Hebrews explains in the first four verses of his book, which contains our Bit. ‘God, who at sundry times (in many instances) and in divers manners (many ways) spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds (ages);
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged (cleansed) our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.’ (Heb.1:1-4)
Now let’s look at some explanations from the scholars. ‘1:1-2. The author immediately shows that Jesus Christ, as the agent of God’s revelation, is far superior to the Old Testament prophets. Their message was fragmentary and incomplete. It came bit by bit through visions, dreams events, and direct communication as men were ready to receive it. Christ’s revelation is climactic and complete, because He is the Son and because His is the message for the last days. His incarnation initiated the end time, and it will be fulfilled when He returns to earth to reconcile and restore all things (cf. Acts 2:16-17; 3:19-21; 1 Pet.1:20).’
Yeh friends, it’s all about Jesus Christ! He is the medium, the motive and the message! (smile) Everything revolves around Him, and until we realize that, our lives will not be complete, nor will we have the peace and joy that He desires, that He died for us to have.
So please take a few moments to ponder all we’ve said, and check out those scriptures listed by the scholars, as they will provide invaluable information on our topic. Till tomorrow then, the Lord in favour, I pray that we all will have a blessed and beautiful, God-filled day. Much LOVE!
…in the day of calamity…who yuh going to call…Jesus Christ…because He has all the answers…
28 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a good time, a horn of salvation, a peculiar people, Abraham, all our cares, amenities, benefits, bless the Lord, borders, busy, Christians, covenant, crowns, destruction, enemies, enthusiasm, fellowship, followers of Christ, forget not all his benefits, forgiveness of sins, forgives iniquities, free time, Friday chant, fun, fun and games, furthering your glorious kingdom, generosity, generous help, gift, good things, good works, grace, grateful, hectic, holiness, improvements, in Jesus' name, in soul body and mind, iniquities, ironic, Jesus Christ, John the Baptist, king, lawgiver, LOVE, loving-kindness, lustful world, lusts of the flesh, magnanimity, mercy, Mighty Deliverer, misguided soul, o my soul, oath, one iota, our Lord and Saviour, partying, prophets, reality, redeems thy life, refreshed, relaxation, rest, restraints, righteousness, sanity, satisfies thy mouth, save, sins, steadfastness, take for granted, tender mercies, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, thanksgiving for god's mercy, the Christian life, the Lord is our judge, the weekend, thy youth is renewed like the eagle's, Titus, withour fear, zealous, Zechariah
Psalm 103:2. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.
Well mih breddren, like we’ve successfully completed another week of work in this confused and way too evil and lustful world!
And sadly, it leads too many of us to enjoy the lusts of the flesh too much in our short time off. We try to make up for what we think we’ve lost during the workweek.
That’s why so many of us joyfully declare: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! Oh boy, that means the weekend is here! Time for fun and games, partying and letting all our cares drift away to wherever they go! It’s all about a good time now! Oh thank God for Fridays and the weekends yes!’
And as I keep saying, the sentiments are understandable, but the reality is not. We do have little free time during the workweek, much less that a generation ago, when times were not so hectic and busy.
And that’s sort of strange, when all the improvements we’ve made, were supposedly to help us get more free time. How ironic eh, with plenty more amenities, we have even less free time now than then!
But that doesn’t mean we have to overdo the lighter side of life either when we finally get some time off. If we are to keep our sanity and some sort of steadfastness, our lives must have some borders, some restraints that we will not loosen. And our Friday Chant gives us a good example of that.
So let’s chant it now nuh, with as much enthusiasm as the misguided soul above declares his Friday mission. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
And all of that segues very nicely into our Bit:‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.’
And friends that’s exactly what we ought to do, every day, every waking moment of our lives! For remember, all the earth and its contents are His, and it’s only through His magnanimity and lavish generosity that we can enjoy even one iota of the things we enjoy!
Now let’s look at a few of those things that Bruh David declares we ought to appreciate in this psalm titled – Thanksgiving for God’s mercy.
‘Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with LOVING-kindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.’ (Ps.103:3-5)
Ah mih people, if those are not things to be everlastingly grateful for, then I don’t know what is nuh! But yuh know what? Unfortunately, too many of us, simply don’t know, don’t pay attention to, or simply take those things for granted, and that includes Christians.
But just think about it nuh friends, we have a God who forgives all our iniquities, all our sins, all our transgressions! Wow! That certainly is something to be thankful for! Listen to these scriptures nuh that uphold that contention.
Isaiah declares: ‘For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us… And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven all their iniquity.’ (Is.33:22, 24).
Now hear Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, as he declares at John’s birth. ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up a horn of salvation (a Mighty Deliverer) for us in the house of his servant David;
As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, That he would grant unto us, that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our lives.’ (Luke 1:68-75)
And friends, we all know that promise was miraculously and marvelously fulfilled by the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! So why we don’t appreciate our wonderful God more than we do eh? I really can’t say nuh. But eventually, we’ll all have to answer that question to our Maker.
Now let’s close with these moving words of Bruh Paul to Titus on the Christian life. ‘For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world (age);
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar (his own special) people, zealous of good works.’ (Tit.2:11-14)
Oh my faithful followers of Christ, there’s absolutely no doubt that we need to be much more diligent in doing Christ’s work, if we are to truly show our thankfulness for His saving grace and mercy! Much LOVE!
…there is no greater gift in this evil world…than the forgiveness of sins…
29 Sep 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a glorious deliverer, a marathon race, a positive outlook on life, a strong will, abide by Jesus' word, abundance, agonizing, blessings, broken in the name of Jesus, come to pass, courage, creativity, crucified, curse, dangers, dead in our sins, despising the shame, direction, disbelief, divine necessity, divine protection, endured the cross, eternity, family, favour, finisher, fools, foretold, forgiven, friends, fulfillment, future, glory, glory hallelujah, God's LOVE, good and faithful servant, Hades, health, heaven, History, identity, impediments, in innocence, iniquity, Jesus, joy, leader, look to Jesus, looking unto Jesus, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, Lucifer, Messiah, mindbending, Moses, negative word, New Testament, obedience, of our faith, Old Testament, open the eyes, originator, our heavenly Father, passe, perfector, promotion, prophets, prosper, radiance, reconciled to the Father, Resurrection day, scriptures, self-control, self-discipline, selfless sacrifice, set down at God's right hand, shame, significance of Jesus, sins of the world, slow of heart, succeed, success, successful living, suffering, supernatural strength, talent, thanks and praise, the author, the Father's will, the road to Emmaus, the SON, the true path, Thursday Blessings, trailblazer, transgressions, ungrateful people, welcome
Hebrews 12:2. Looking unto Jesus the author (originator) and finisher (perfector) of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of God.
Well friends, it’s a cloudy morning in my area. The sun is not shining, but thankfully the Son is holding forth as usual in all His wonderful radiance and brilliant glory!
All thanks and praise be to our heavenly Father for giving us Jesus as our Messiah, Leader, Lord and Saviour! Without Him, we’d be certainly dead in our sins, heading for a rough and troubled eternity with Lucifer in Hades.
But thanks to God’s great LOVE and Jesus’ selfless sacrifice, we have been reconciled to the Father and as His beloved children, can now look forward to spending eternity with Him in heaven. Glory Hallelujah!
And on that glorious note, let’s declare out Thursday Blessings, as we remember that a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone. With true belief, sincerity and enthusiasm now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life!
I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection!
I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Glory to God my people! We shall be blessed when we go out and come in, when we sit or lie down… in fact in all aspects of our lives our God will cause us to prosper. Wow! Isn’t that something else? It surely is!
That’s why we have to pay serious attention to our Bit. ‘Looking unto Jesus the author (originator) and finisher (perfector) of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.’
Yes friends, Jesus was the original trailblazer of our faith. He first ran the race and set all the standards for it. Now we need to adhere to those standards so that we can run the race successfully too. It’s not an easy race to run, for it’s a marathon across hill and dale, rivers and streams, one fraught with all sorts of dangers and impediments.
But thankfully Jesus has blazed the trail, shown us the way, lit the path, and if we sincerely abide by His word, then we too will have success, and one day hear the Father declare: ‘Welcome, thou good and faithful servant!’
Oh what a joyful day that will be my people! But first we have to get serious about looking to Jesus and following in His famous footsteps, otherwise we’re just wasting our time and His.
Now let’s look at a couple of interesting parts of our Bit, the first being, ‘who for the joy that was set before him…’
Now I really don’t see the joy in what Jesus was asked to do by the Father nuh – take the sins of the world on His shoulders, be crucified in innocence to pay for the iniquity and transgressions of ungrateful people.
It was joyful for us, because through His actions our sins were forgiven, but it must surely have been mind-bending and agonizing for Him. However, despite the affliction, His obedience to the Father’s will was perfect.
That brings us to Jesus’ words to the two disciples He met on Resurrection Day along the road to Emmaus. He chided them for their disbelief.
‘Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.’ (Luke 24:25-27)
Oh friends, the Lord didn’t send the prophets because He had nothing better to do, but to open the eyes of the people unto the coming of Jesus and what His purpose was going to be.
Hear the scholars. ’24:26. Ought (Gr. dei) bespeaks a divine necessity; what the prophets had foretold (see Is.53; Ps.16; 22) must and did come to pass. The disciples had been ready to see in Jesus a glorious deliverer, but Jesus’ rebuke (v.25) relates to their unwillingness to take seriously the many Old Testament texts that speak not only of the Messiah’s glory, but also of His suffering.’
And unfortunately, today a lot of us are also refusing to understand the importance of the Old Testament in the formation of the New Testament. But the scholars kindly inform us: ‘24:27. The entire Old Testament is indispensable for a grounded grasp of the identity and significance of Jesus.’
That is friends, if we don’t understand Jesus’ role and significance in the Old Testament; His appearances, His status, His doings and the prophesies about Him, we won’t be fully able to comprehend His form and function in the New Testament.
Therefore, please, let’s stop considering the Old Testament as passé, because it isn’t. It’s just as important as the New Testament in that it expounds the nature of our faith; it’s beginnings, its ups and downs, its promises, and above all the great message about our Messiah.
So today, as Almighty God blesses us, and as we bless others, let’s remember where we came from – the Old Testament – because if we don’t know our history and recognize it as being important, we surely won’t know our future; where we’re going, the direction in which we’re headed and how to handle it. Much LOVE!
…only as we look to Jesus…will we see the true path to successful living…
22 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a more excellent way, a path of life, accept Christ as Lord and Saviour, apostles, attitude, behaviour, believers, better hands than All State, charity, Christians, coming up to scratch, communing, contentious striving, Corinth, Corinthians, covet, desire, disrupt the future, faith, gifts of healing, glad to be alive, glory hallelujah, God's working all things for good, god-like, governments, halfway home, hands fixed on the plough, helps, hodge-podge lives, hope, I am nothing, I'm not looking back, leave my mark, LOVE, loving, magnify, meaningful, members individually, miracles, move mountains, muddy up the present, my best days are still ahead, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, mysteries, ONE body in Christ, pagan worship, peace, priorities, priority, prophets, purposeful, quiet, sounding brass, spiritual gifts, summer, teachers, the best gifts, the body of Christ, the breath of life, the greatest of these three, the language of the gods, the Way of LOVE, those who love him, tinkling cymbal, tongues, tongues of men, vibrant, walking in LOVE, Wednesday Wail
1 Corinthians 12:27. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular (individually).
Welcome, welcome one and all to this glorious summer’s day! Yes friends, it’s now officially summer in the northern climes, as of last Monday evening! Glory be!
The strange part though is that we’ve been experiencing some rather strong winds for the past couple of days, along with some reassuring summer temps. But who knows what our omnipotent and ever-wise God is up to and about eh? Nobody!
Anyway, we do know that He’s working all things out for our good, for those who LOVE Him and are called to participate in His wonderful world, and that’s enough for true believers like us. We’re in much, much better hands than All State! (smile)
And to prove that we sincerely believe that, let’s declare our Wednesday Wail with great gusto and superior faith. Altogether now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Ah mih people, how glorious that future with Jesus will be! And yuh know what, though life can be somewhat rough sometimes, I’m still grateful to be alive, because as far as I’m concerned my best days are still ahead of me. I haven’t done anything as yet to leave my mark on the world, which means that better days are still to come.
Consequently, I can’t afford to look to the past, else it will only muddy up the present and disrupt the great plans God has for me in the future.
Oh friends, we have to believe that God has great plans for our lives, otherwise life won’t be worth living! Christians won’t created to lead, mediocre, hodge-podge lives, but strong, vibrant, meaningful, god-like and purposeful ones!
But we won’t be able to do that until we sincerely accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour and genuinely work with Him to bring to pass His good plans for our earthly days.
And all God’s people declared a loud, proud and grateful; ‘Hallelujah! All praise and glory to Jesus, our ever-faithful and ever-LOVING Lord and King!’
And that brings us to our current Bit: ‘Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular (individually).’
Yes my people, we are supposed to be one body in Christ, composed of different parts, as members, and that consequently means there is a certain kind of behaviour and attitude that’s expected of us. Unfortunately though, we are not coming up to scratch, which means that Christ’s organization is also not coming up to scratch, since we are its purveyors.
Now let’s hear what Bruh Paul said to the Corinthians a long time ago, because it also pertains to us in these trying and desperate times. ‘And God hath set some in the church (appointed these), first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities (varieties) of tongues.
Are all apostles? are all prophets? Are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?’ (1 Cor.12:28-30)
And the obvious answer to all of that my friends is a big NO!
So what? Bruh Paul provides the answer. ‘But covet (desire) earnestly the best gifts: and yet show I unto you a more excellent way.’ (1 Cor.12:31)
And here the scholars give us a lengthy explanation of what Bruh Paul means. ’12:31. But covet earnestly the best gifts: This expressions explains why the apostle has arranged the list in verse 28 in order of priority. He wants his readers to be clear in their own minds as to which gifts are the best.
Obviously, his intent is to steer them away from the more spectacular gifts such as tongues. Covet here is not to be construed negatively but means “earnestly desire.”
A more excellent way: The import of this statement is to be seen in Chapter 13. Paul will show that a better way is not through contentious striving but through LOVING.
Many feel that Paul is here showing how the gifts are to be administered, that is, in LOVE. However, the use of way (Gr. hodos) in the sense of “a path” instead of the way (Gr. tropos) in the sense of “manner,” and the statement of 14:1, indicates that Paul was pointing out a path of life superior to a life spent seeking and displaying spiritual gifts.
Paul’s interest here is not to instruct his readers in how they may best use their gifts, but how to have their priorities straight. They should strive for LOVE, not spiritual gifts.’
Ah friends, I hope we understand what the scholars are saying: that though spiritual gifts are important, our priority should not be striving to get and display them, but our priority should be walking in LOVE.
For as he says in the opening of Chapter 13 – The way of LOVE – ‘Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity (LOVE), I am become as a sounding brass or a tinkling (clanging) cymbal.
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity (LOVE), I am nothing.’ ( 1 Cor.13:1-2)
So you see friends, regardless of what spiritual gifts we have, if we don’t have the overwhelming gift and attitude of LOVE, we are nothing, of no importance!
And the scholars share some important and interesting info re verse 1. ’13:1. Tongues of men and of angels: Such was the association of tongues speaking in pagan worship at Corinth. When a priest or devotee spoke in tongues, it was considered that he spoke in the language of the gods.’
And for all you know, some of us still hold that belief today. However my people, please, please, let’s stop seeking the spiritual gifts to magnify ourselves, and instead, simply walk in the way Jesus did nuh – the way of LOVE! For that’s our priority as Christians! Much LOVE!
…and now abideth faith, hope and charity (LOVE)…these three…but the greatest of these is charity (LOVE)… (1 Cor,13:13)
P.S. Please excuse the lateness of the Bit. It was just one of those late mornings. I was outside on my porch at 3.am communing with my Creator, enjoying the peace and quiet, while listening to the rain fall softly on the earth. Sometimes we just have to do these things. (smile) Much LOVE!
12 Mar 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a habitation of God, a holy temple, access by one spirit, alienated from God, all praise and glory to God, apostles, avid, behaviour, beliefs, bonding, Bruh Paul, chief cornerstone, children of the divine family, Christian Gentiles, Christian Jews, Christians, digest, disinterest in life, divine structure, Dr. Orison Swett Marden, dwelling place, Ephesians, failure, faithfully, family, feeling of malaise, fellow citizens, fit shape, fitly framed together, followers of Jesus, for other foundation can no man lay, foreigners, foundation, friends, Greek city-state, harmonious blending, harmoniously joined together, have life more abundantly, holding together, holy spirit, household of God, illness, in the Lord, inspirational, intimate realtionship, introspection, Jesus Christ, Jesus' philosophy, Jews, Lent, lifestyle, live obedient to God's will, Lucifer, negative pictures, Oriental architecture, Orison Swett Marden, physical pain, ponder, positive imagery, privileges, problems, prophets, read, reconciled to God, rest, review our convictions, saints, shadows, shall not be ashamed, sincerely, spiritual blessings, spiritual spring-cleaning, steal our joy In Jesus Christ, storms, strangers, success, sunshine, sunshine where others see shadows and storms, superstructure, the church, the hopeful man sees success where others see failure, the living truth, the Lord's wisdom., truth, understanding, unity, unity of all believers, walk with Jesus Christ, weaknesses, which is Christ Jesus, whosoever believeth on Jesus, wisdom, work diligently
1 Corinthians 3:11. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, it seems that a late night has begotten an even later morning. Hn, hn! You know I was up at around five a.m, even before the duchess’ alarm went off. And even if I don’t get up just then, I usually get up and see her safely off to work shortly after six.
But this morning I didn’t even know when she left the bedroom, much less the house. The Lord in His everlasting wisdom obviously realized that I was in no fit shape to write such a profound document as the Bit. (smile) And the ole body obviously needed more rest, so He allowed me to sleep in.
And I was quite surprised when I opened my eyes and saw that it was already eight o’clock. I haven’t gotten up at that hour here at home in ages. But who am I to query the Lord’s wisdom eh? (smile) And the body does feel much better for the unexpected rest. All praise and glory be to Him!
And in this third week of Lent, on this bright and balmy Thursday morning– the sun is shining beautiful and bright outside and it’s not too cold – I want to remind us that this is a season of introspection, where we sit down with God and review our convictions, beliefs, behaviour, and all the other things associated with our lives, which help us to live obedient to God’s will.
This is a time for a spiritual spring-cleaning, where we get rid of all the junk that’s cluttering up our lives and making it difficult, if not impossible to walk sincerely and faithfully with Jesus Christ.
And to help us do that here is this interesting and inspirational quote, which I believe I’ve already shared some time before, but is most worthy of sharing again, from Dr. Orison Swett Marden (1850–1924), an American inspirational author who wrote on success in life and how to achieve it.
Dr. Marden wisely declares: ‘The hopeful man sees success where others see failure, sunshine where others see shadows and storm.’
And isn’t that the living truth, my people! Ofttimes we get lost and caught up in our problems and weaknesses, physical pain and illness, whereby we end up with a general feeling of malaise and disinterest in life. But we can’t allow that state of affairs to exist for long my people, especially if we are followers of Jesus Christ.
We need to get back as quickly as possible to the positive imagery outlined in Jesus’ philosophy and lifestyle. He said He came so that we could have life, and have it even more abundantly. ( John 10:10) And being down in the dumps for too long a period is surely not having life, much less abundantly.
So my brethren, it’s in our best interest to try and get the negative pictures out of our lives almost as soon as they appear, because they are only the wiles and lies of the enemy coming to try and steal our joy in Jesus Christ. We can’t work diligently and sincerely for Jesus if there’s no joy in our souls.
That’s where our Bit comes in. ‘For other foundation can no man lay that that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.’
And I want to apologize for saying that yesterday was the last day for the Bit. Lucifer must certainly have gotten in to my mind, for there is till stuff concerning it, to say today. And we’ll kick it off with Bruh Paul writing to the Ephesians about the unity of all believers.
‘For through him (Jesus) we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
In whom all the building fitly framed together (being joined together) groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord; In whom ye also are builded (being built) for a habitation (dwelling place) of God through the Spirit.’ (Eph. 2:18-22)
Oh Friends, that scripture is so convoluted, and could be so confusing, that I would be greatly amiss if I didn’t give you some of the fine explanations of the scholars.
‘2:19-20. Now therefore draws a conclusion from verses 14-18: Christian Gentiles are no longer alienated from God, but now enjoy the same intimate relationship with Him and the same spiritual blessings as do Christian Jews.
Three figures express this unity and equality existing between believing Jews and Gentiles. (1) A city: This figure comes the Greek city-state political concept whereby all inhabitants of a particular city-state were fellow citizens enjoying the same privileges.
(2) A family: Since Gentiles have been reconciled to God (v.16) and to His people (v.15), they are now members of the household of God, that is, children of the divine family.
(3) A building: Believing Jews and Gentiles are part of the same divine structure, the church. The church’s foundation is composed of the apostles and prophets, its chief corner stone is Christ, and its superstructure is composed of Christians.
Oriental architecture placed greater importance on the cornerstone than on the foundation, for it connected the walls and concentrated the weight of the building on itself, thus bonding and holding together the whole structure.’
‘2:21. Paraphrased, this verse would read, “By whom the whole building, being carefully and harmoniously joined together, rises into a holy temple for the Lord.” Fitly framed together is translated above as “being carefully and harmoniously joined together.” This implies the harmonious blending of the Jewish and Gentile believers in the church.’
‘2:22. Ye also in Greek, is emphatic. It stresses that Christian Gentiles, as well as their Jewish counterparts, are part of the church. Christians are viewed as a habitation or dwelling place in whom God lives through His Holy Spirit.’
Ah mih people, I know that is a lot of explanation, but I believe we all need it, possibly some more than others, and I do hope that it clarifies any problems we have with understanding the relevant scripture.
Consequently, we’ll end there today, so that we can have time to read, ponder and digest all the wonderful information we’ve shared today. For that’s the only way we can truly become avid and true followers of Jesus Christ.
So my fellow believers, until tomorrow, the Lord willing, may we all walk hand in hand with Him, safely, wisely, LOVINGLY, and at peace with ourselves and all mankind! Much LOVE!
…for the scripture saith…whosoever believeth on Him…shall not be ashamed (put to shame)… (Rom.10:11)
03 May 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: bless the Lord for His goodness, bless the Lord oh my soul, boomerangs back on us, calm, cut off from their mouths, downward spiral, egotistical, Egypt, Elementary my dear Watson, eternal life, everybody's doing their own thing, evil, faith, following Jesus, forgiveness, Francis Hutcheson, fraud, friends, God's people, godliness, gossip, grateful shout of joy, greed, hate, heaven, I shall be your God, imagination, instruction, Israelites, jealousy, Judah's rebellion, lies, Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, LOVE, loving, magnanimous god, mercy, messengers, negative things, no respect to God or man, obey my voice, omnipotent god, peaceful, perils of disobedience, prophets, punishment, pursuing the best ends by the best means, salvation, slavery, stiffened their necks, strife, stubbornness, the ends justify the means, the land shall be desolate, the pursuit of heaven through Jesus, the straight and narrow path, the voice of gladness, the voice of mirth, true wisdom, truth is perished, unconditional LOVE, ungodly, voice of the bride, voice of the bridegroom, walk in the ways I have commanded you, warn, warning, went backward not forward, wisdom, you don't listen to god, you have done worse than your fathers, you shall be my people, you walk after the stubbornness of your evil heart
Jeremiah 16:12. And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination (stubbornness ) of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me.
Oh Friends, another wonderful day is in the offing…!
And all God’s people responded with a grateful shout of joy: ‘Bless the Lord oh my soul! Bless Him for His goodness and His mercy, His forgiveness, and above all for His unconditional LOVE, which enables the world to go around!’
Yes my brethren, it’s essentially the LOVE of our magnanimous and omnipotent God that keeps our world turning and our lives on a fairly reasonable keel. And today I have a rather interesting quote to share from Rev. Francis Hutcheson (1694-1746), a Scottish / Irish philosopher.
Francis is reputed to have said that: ‘Wisdom denotes the pursuing of the best ends by the best means.’
Now I find that to be gospel truth Friends! Why? Because it all indicates a high standard of whatever we’re doing. We should always use the best means to pursue the best ends. None of that foolishness that the ends justify the means, because that is exactly what is leading our world on the downward spiral on which it is currently moving.
Too many of us think that it’s okay to do anything to get what we want, and unfortunately are putting it into practice. But that’s a fool’s wisdom, my people. For whatever we do, usually boomerangs back on us at some time or other.
And that quote struck me as being oh so appropriate to our faith! Now it says that we ought to pursue the best end. And what’s the best end? Why, HEAVEN of course!
And we should pursue it by the best means. That’s obviously our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
Therefore, Wisdom is the pursuit of HEAVEN through Jesus Christ! ‘Elementary, my dear Watson!’ as Sherlock Holmes would tell his sidekick.
And that’s why I can’t understand, can’t fathom or believe the shoddy, evil, egotistical and ungodly way we’re currently living our lives. Our Bit summarizes it so well. ‘And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination (stubbornness) of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me.’
Now how could there ever be wisdom in that style of life eh Friends? It’s impossible to be peaceful and calm and LOVING, when exploding all around us are mostly negative things like strife, hate, greed, jealousy, fraud, gossip and lies. This surely doesn’t sound like wisdom or godliness to me.
Now listen to the scriptures on how we are supposed to live, but instead are doing like the Israelites of old. And here Jeremiah is talking about the punishment for Judah’s rebellion. ‘But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.’ (Jer.7:23)
Oh mih people, mih people, that’s all so plain and straightforward! And after the Lord had brought them out slavery in Egypt, you’d think that they’d be ever so eager to follow His dictates. Hn!
‘But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination (stubbornness) of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward.’ (Jer.7:24)
Ah mih breddren, that must ring a loud bell in our souls! For that’s the exact way that we are behaving today: everybody’s doing their own thing with little or no respect to God or our fellow man. No society can function properly like that for any length of time.
Now hear the Lord again: ‘Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them: Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened (stiffened) their neck: they did worse than their fathers.’ (Jer.7:25-26)
That truly sounds like our world today my brethren! The Lord has been sending, and is still sending His messengers to warn us about the perils of our disobedience, but to little or no avail.
And our God continues: ‘Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee. But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord their God, nor receiveth correction (instruction): truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.’ (Jer.7:28)
And that Friends, is also the state of our world!
Now let’s go home with possibly the most important of our scripture verses today, namely: ‘Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate.’ (Jer.7:34)
And we’re already seeing that in our streets and alleys my people. And we all know that the Israelites were taken into captivity again. Our God doesn’t joke Friends. Yes, He is patient and longsuffering, but at some time even His patience will wear out in the face of such gross disobedience as we are showing.
So what’s it to be eh my fellow believers? Shall there be the voice of mirth and gladness in our land, or shall it be desolate? That’s the trillion dollar question we must each ask ourselves, then do whatever we think is wise and right.
Remember though, we WILL pay for our misdeeds at some point, if we don’t hearken to the Word of our God. Much LOVE!
…true wisdom…is following Jesus…on the straight and narrow path…that leads to salvation and eternal life…with Him in heaven…
11 Feb 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bite to eat, abhor justice, abuse, abuse God's generous gifts, all is well, ashamed, astonished, bare hills, beauty, bloodshed, bribe, brought to justice, cause people to err, cleanliness, confounded, cover their lips, darkness, decent night's sleep, divine for money, diviners, efficiently designed, embarrassed, essence, euphoric, finely tuned machine, full of garbage, full of power, God's creation, God's people, God's unchanging nature and law, God's Word, God's wrath, grin and bear it, hot ginger tea, humankind, iniquity, Israel, Jacob, Jerusalem, judge for reward, judgement, just a matter of time, justice, Leaders, lean upon the Lord, like going to church, magical, magnificent, majesty, nature, negative and sinful acts and emotions, new snowfall, no answer from god, no divination, no harm can come upon us, no vision, one of those days, oppression, outdoors, peace, people are destroyed, perfect truth, pervert equity, presence of god, priests, prophet Micah, prophets, re-acclimatize to the cold, refreshing, respectful, ruins, rulers, searching and hushing experience, seers, shame, Skip Whitcomb, smile, something beautiful to admire, special attraction, sublime, take heart, teach for hire, temple, Thanks be to God, the great mystery lies, the human body, the spirit of the Lord, transgression, ugly, unchalleneged, war, wickedness, with the Lord's help, Zion
Isaiah 9:16. For the leaders of this people cause them to err, and they that are led of them are destroyed.
Ah mih people, at last the ole fella’s beginning to feel somewhat human again. (smile) I finally had a decent night’s rest. Thanks be to God! Oh, I was up early, but decided to go back to sleep, if I could. And you better believe I fell back to sleep with no problem whatsoever.
Ah Lord eh! I never expected it to be so hard to re-acclimatize to the cold, but that just shows what a finely tuned machine the human body is. Oh, and I haven’t felt so cold in a long, long time. Steups! But what to do eh? Just grin and bear it, and believe that with the Lord’s help you will make it through!
So what’s on today’s agenda eh? Oh I just discovered this interesting quote on a piece of paper here. I don’t remember where I got it from, or if I’ve ever shared it before, but if so, it’s definitely worth sharing again.
It’s attributed to the American artist, Skip Whitcomb. And it says: ‘Outdoors is where the great mystery lies, so going into nature should be a searching and hushing experience, like going to church.’
Oh Friends, that’s perfect truth! For God’s creation is so magical, magnificent and efficiently designed that when we venture into nature, we ought to be quietly astonished and respectful to the wonders we find there! And we’re not only referring to lush greenery and colourful flowers, but also to the desert areas, the watery spots and even the snow covered fields.
That’s because each type of territory has its own special attraction, as well as the essence and presence of God, so that wherever we are on God’s great earth, we will find something beautiful to admire and contemplate, and most importantly, feel His sublime but refreshing presence.
That’s why there’s such cleanliness, beauty and majesty in a new snowfall, as you look at it through a window, behind warm walls. (smile) And even when you go tramping through it, it feels somewhat euphoric. Hn, Hn! Don’t think I’m going to feel euphoric today though. (smile)
But then, once man has ventured into any natural areas, it becomes ugly and full of garbage, since we seem to always abuse God’s generous gifts.
Oh Friends, sorry for that short interruption, about ten minutes, I heard the garbage truck in the area and had to run to put out mine. Well not really run, since that word no longer seems to be applicable to my actions. (smile) Then I had to make a cup of hot ginger tea, which I’m now sipping as we speak, to replace the warmth I lost in the cold outside.
But getting back to our abuse of God’s generous gifts, it not only happens in nature, but even more so in humankind, as our Bit so rightly declares. ‘For the leaders of this people cause them to err, and they that are led of them are destroyed.’
Oh my brethren, unfortunately, it also seems that wherever man and man congregate, abuse, oppression and all the other negative and sinful acts and emotions always abound!
But in this last message on this topic, I want us to pay particular attention to what God declared through the prophet Micah, because in God’s unchanging nature and law, it still stands, still holds true for our generation and all those to come. Here Micah talks about the judgement on the prophets.
‘Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth and cry, Peace (when there is a bite to eat, they cry, all is well); and he that putteth not (nothing) into their mouths, they even prepare war against him.
Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision (be without vision); and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine (be without divination); and the sun shall go down over (on) the prophets, and the day shall be dark over (for) them.
Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded (embarrassed): yea, they shall all cover their lips (mouths); for there is no answer of (from) God.’ (Mic.3:5-7)
Oh my fellow believers, that’s some of the kind of stuff that lies in wait for the leaders, false prophets and teachers who abuse and oppress God’s people!
And hear this explanation from the scholars. ‘3:5-8. Cover their lips: They will be put to shame and will show this shame openly by covering their lips, which was an oriental gesture to indicate shame and mourning.’
But that’s not all mih people. Micah continues: ‘But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the Lord, and of judgement (justice), and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin. Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the houses of Jacob, and princes (rulers) of the house of Israel, that abhor judgement (justice), and pervert all equity.
They build up Zion with blood (bloodshed), and Jerusalem with iniquity. The heads thereof judge for reward (a bribe), and the priests thereof teach for hire (pay), and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say (saying), Is not the Lord among us? none evil (no harm) can come upon us.
Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps (heaps of ruins), and the mountain of the house (temple) as the high places (bare hills) of the forest.’ (Mic.3:8-12)
Oh my fellow believers, please rest assured that our God will not allow these evil leaders, prophets and priests who are currently abusing their power, to continue unchallenged in their evil ways, but they will eventually feel His wrath and be brought to justice.
So if you’re being abuse, oppressed or hurt in some form and fashion by the works and decrees of our evil leaders, please take heart, our God is still on His throne, still in control of His universe, and in His time, He will punish and destroy the evil doers. Much LOVE!
…believers are guaranteed…through God’s Word…that the wicked will pay for their wickedness…it’s just a matter of time…
P.S. Please excuse the Bit’s lateness, for as the song says, it’s just one of those days, just one of those days. (smile) Much LOVE!
21 Sep 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: apostles, barriers, Bishop of Rome, blessings, church, corner stone, faithfulness, flesh and blood, foreigners, forgiveness, foundation stone, gates of hell, Gentiles, holy temple, Jesus Christ, Jews, kingdom of heaven, LOVE, loving kindness, manna, mercies, Old Testamnet, petra, petros, prophets, Son of the living God, spiritual insight, strangers, the Lord's doing, the Rock, veil of the temple, water and the word
Matthew 16:18. And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter (a stone) and upon this rock (large rock) I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Oh Friends, it’s one more morning, one more day! And though it looks like it might be a rainy day in my area, it certainly won’t stop the outpouring of new mercies, blessings, manna and forgiveness from heaven above. Don’t you just LOVE the faithfulness and LOVING-kindness of our wonderful God? Nothing stops His daily benevolence to His children, although we most often don’t deserve it.
And all God’s people declared a loud and joyful shout of, “Praise the Lord God Jehovah for His unceasing goodness to the children of sinful men!’ And that’s certainly how it ought to be my brethren!
Anyway, I want to clear up something that I said yesterday, which was, and is liable to cause some confusion. In the last scripture I spoke of getting some wise words ‘from the Rock – Petros, Peter.’ Thankfully one of my readers pointed out the problem, that some people would take it to mean that Peter was the ‘Rock’ on which Christ intended to build His church.
And this would be totally plausible after reading our Bit. ‘And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter (a stone) and upon this rock (large rock) I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’
Now let’s get some background on it. This scripture came up after Jesus asked His disciples who they thought He was. And the ever bright and feisty Simon chirped up: ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona (son of Jonah): for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.16:16-17)
Jesus was saying there that Simon had achieved that conclusion through spiritual insight. Then He launched into our Bit.
I believe the problem comes from the translation of the Greek words used in the original; ‘Petros and Petra.’ The first, ‘Petros’ which we translate as Peter, apparently means a small stone, while ‘Petra,’ means a large rock. The distinction has obviously gotten lost in the English translation. And though Jesus’ next words tend to convey the ‘Rock’ meaning, we’ll see differently afterwards.
After our Bit, Jesus tells Peter: ‘And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: And whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.’ (Matt.16:19)
But Jesus says the same words to all the apostles later on when talking about lost sheep. ‘Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.’ (Matt.18:18)
Now hear the scholars take on the subject. ’16:18. The Greek word used for rock (petra) is played against the name Peter (Gr. Petros). Some use this passage to teach that Peter was the foundation stone of the church, that he had a primacy among the apostles, and that he became Bishop of Rome. The verse will scarcely bear the first of these propositions, and certainly none of the others.
Peter may be meant by the rock, but he is not the exclusive foundation. For the twelvefold foundation of the apostles of the church, see Ephesians 2:20 and Revelation 21:14. This seems borne out by the fact that the same words are spoken to all the disciples in Matthew 18:18 as are spoken to Simon Peter in 16:19. Therefore the rock or foundation of the church is the confession (ultimately, the doctrine) of the apostles, which became normative for the true church.’
Oh Friends, I surely hope that clears up any confusion my words may have caused yesterday. And to make life easier for us all, (smile) I’ll quote two of the other appropriate scriptures the scholars referenced, beginning with the one from Revelation. Here John is talking about the New Jerusalem which an angel spiritually carried him away to see. ‘And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in (on) them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.’ (Rev.21:14)
Obviously Peter was not the only foundation stone of the church, though he played a large part in its creation and continuation. Now turning to the Ephesians scripture. Bruh Paul is here telling them about the unity of all believers.
‘Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed (being joined) together groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord.’ (Eph.2:19-21)
Yes my brethren, Jesus came and tore down all the barriers between Jews and Gentiles, ripped down the veil of the old temple and laid the foundation of His church on the work of the apostles and prophets, with Him being the corner stone.
As Jesus said when relating the parable of the wicked husbandmen: ‘Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner (cornerstone): this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?’ (Matt.21:42)
There Jesus is quoting the words of the psalmist, (Ps.118:22-23) words that were written long before He came to earth in human form, thus again proving the importance of the Old Testament as a foreshadowing of the New.
Ah mih people, I do hope that today’s message will bring some clear or even clearer insight into the rock situation with Peter. He was important in the foundation of Christ’s church, but not the rock, or even the chief stone. Much LOVE!
…the Church’s ONE foundation…is Jesus Christ her Lord…She is His new creation…by water and the Word…
01 Mar 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: apostles, bond of peace, Christian virtues, christianity, Christians, edifying, enthusiasm, evangelists, fellowship, Friday chant, fun, gifts, glorious kingdom, harmony, LOVE, maturity, ministry, northern climes, one faith, one God, Oneness, pastors, prophets, relaxation, rest, saints, teachers, TGIF!, Thank God it's Friday, united believers, unity, weekend
Ephesians 4:3. Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Aloha Friends and neighbours! It’s Friday March 1st… And a joyful shout of ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday yes!’ rings out from the jubilant work force, realizing that this is the last day of the workweek. And I guess nobody’s happier than the folks in the northern climes, who have been battling the nasty, treacherous weather all week. It’s bad enough to have to endure traffic jams everyday, both morning and evening, you definitely don’t want slippery, slushy roads to further aggravate the situation. And fortunately, the weekend looks like it will be sunny, but cold. So to set the right tone and mood for it, let’s chant our Friday Chant with much enthusiasm and perfect harmony. As one now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’ Wonderful chanting my people! Jesus was pleased. And having laid the foundation for the right perspective on the weekend, let’s turn to our Bit: ‘Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.’ Yes Friends, it’s the same as yesterday, because unity, spiritual unity in particular is such an important aspect of Christian fellowship, one in which we’re definitely lacking. Now yesterday we saw where Bruh Paul talked about the Oneness of believers, united in One faith, One Saviour, under One God, the Father. (Eph.4:4-6) After that, he goes on to talk about some of the spiritual gifts given to members of the church after Jesus’ ascension, so that His church would be well equipped to minister to those who needed it, to grow and be self-sustaining. ‘And he (himself) gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.’ (Eph.4:11) And why did Jesus do that? ‘For the perfecting (equipping) of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.’ (Eph.4:12) Now hear the scholars’ comments on that verse. ‘This verse discloses the purpose for the gifted individuals of verse 11. Their responsibility is the perfecting of the saints, that is, to train and equip the rank-and-file Christians to do the work of the ministry. The aim of this ministry of Christian service is for the edifying of the body of Christ, that is to build up the church numerically and spiritually.’ And all of that will continue: ‘Till we all come in (into) the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect (mature) man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.’ (Eph.4:13) Yes my brethren, the edifying, the learning and the building of the church is to continue until we all attain spiritual maturity. But as the scholars point out: ‘Since new believers are constantly being added to the church, this objective will not be realized until the Lord returns.’ Ah Friends, I simply can’t understand why it’s so hard for us who claim to believe in the same three in one God-head, have such trouble in being unified. I guess it’s because we don’t have what Bruh Paul so emphatically said to the Colossians, re Christian virtues. ‘And above all these things put on charity (LOVE), which is the bond of perfectness.’ (Col.3:14) Yes my brethren, the bond of LOVE, betwixt and between us is definitely not strong enough! I like how the scholars describe it: ‘Charity is LOVE, here called the bond of perfectness. LOVE is the crowning grace completing the list of virtues required for perfectness or spiritual maturity. As a “bond” it binds all other virtues together in harmony and unity.’ And by that definition, as I said before, we obviously don’t have enough spiritual maturity, especially in the area of LOVE, the main bonding agent in Christian brotherhood and fellowship. That’s why we’re so divided and so easily conquered, which is certainly displeasing and disappointing to our Leader and Saviour, Jesus. We’re simply not doing a good enough job. Don’t you feel badly about that Friends? Don’t you feel badly when we disappoint Jesus? We all should! But it’s obvious that we don’t, otherwise we’d do better. And we’ll end with some wonderful words of wisdom and truth from Psalm 133, where Bruh David proclaims the joy of brotherhood, the preciousness of family unity. ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!’ (Ps.133:1) Oh my people, we all know that verse, but it’s plain to see that we don’t follow it. So today, I’m asking us all to ponder on the case of unity, or disunity, in Christ’s church, and let’s seriously try in our individual efforts to bring about that harmony and unity that Jesus sacrificed His life for, and wants His followers to continue, until He comes again. I pray, in Jesus’ name, that all of us will step up to the plate and do better than we’re presently doing, re Christian maturity and unity. That’s wisdom in its highest form! Much LOVE!…only through real unity of believers…will Christ’s church attain the success…He desires of it…
Previous Older Entries
SCRIP-BITS 