24 Dec 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a beautiful soul, A Christmas Prayer, Calvary, charity, christmas eve, congested, dr robert h schuller, faith, for God so loved the world, God is LOVE, grinch, have everlasting life, he gave his only begotten son, hope, Hour of Power Devotional, hurry, LOVE, outstretched arms, propitiation for our sins, sacrificial cross, share His love, should not perish, spiritual side, the Birth of Christ, the greatest of these is love, touch hearts that hurt, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, who I am, whosoever believeth in him, worry
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 then it was Tuesday…Christmas Eve! Wow! One more day to the Big One! And the preparations are certainly in full swing now; the food is plentiful – too plentiful, the decorations are plentiful – too plentiful, with Christmas trees and stockings and all the other whatnots that show up at Christmas time. Yes, the house seems more congested than ever…too much stuff – not enough room for the people who are supposed to be celebrating.
And NO, I’m not a grinch or some such negative Christmas person, but I think we tend to overdo the physical and worldly aspects of the season and don’t pay enough attention to the spiritual side. But that’s just my humble opinion… so who’s paying any attention to it eh? (smile) And to help us get a li’l more into the spiritual aspect of the season, let’s get into something interesting from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional. It’s aptly titled ‘A Christmas Prayer.’
Please pray with me: ‘You lead me, Jesus Christ, to thoughts of God. I see you in a manger (food trough) carved from a tree. I see you as a young man with hands that reach to touch hearts that hurt. Your caring reaches out like the strong and kind branches of a gentle tree reach out to invite road-weary and travel-worn wayfarers to quiet rest. I see you again hanging on a tree with outstretched arms taking in the whole world. From your cross, you show me that God will stop at nothing to save my soul.
So, I celebrate God’s LOVE today as I celebrate your birth around a twinkling Christmas tree. I pray my life, like yours, O Lord, may be tall and upright as a pine tree pointing, reaching, sharing, sparkling, life-giving, solid, sturdy, strong-rooted in God’s LOVE, a beautiful soul, evergreen forever. Amen!’ Oh my fellow believers, what beautiful Christian sentiments, so appropriate for not only this festive Christmas season, but for all the year, for all our lives!
And yuh know friends, the whole thing is so simple, but through our foolish pride and stupid disobedience we make it seem so complicated. Yes mih people, it’s all simply about LOVE; about the LOVE of God! And consequently our LOVE for Him and for our fellow man. And if you don’t believe me, let’s look at some relevant scripture that proves my point. First off is this momentous declaration (steups!) by none other than Jesus Himself, re the purpose and reason for His coming to earth as a man. ‘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.’
Oh my people, we all know that monumental scripture, and mouth it often, but do we ever take a moment to truly think about it, and how it ought to affect our lives? I don’t think so. Or if we do, not nearly enough, because it’s only the LOVE of God that caused Jesus to come to earth at Christmas, so He could eventually save our sinful souls by dying on Calvary’s sacrificial cross; nothing else but LOVE my brethren! And how should this wonderful and marvellous emotion be played out in our own lives?
Listen to Jesus again, as the foppish, hypocrite Pharisee lawyer asked Him: ‘Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ (Matt. 22:36-40) Yuh see mih breddren, EVERYTHING, from day One, right to the end of time, has to do with LOVE!
And the apostle John puts it all so beautifully in his first epistle. ‘Beloved, let us LOVE one another: for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE. In this was manifested the LOVE of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4:7-11)
That’s it in a nutshell people! God first LOVED us, that’s why we’re celebrating the birth of Christ in this Christmas season. And furthermore, He requires His followers to both LOVE Him and our fellow human beings. That’s not a desire or a wish; it’s His command! So please, in this time of over-the-top celebrations, when there’s still so much, sickness, poverty, homelessness, hatred, strife and war in our rather prosperous world, please, I implore us, as true believers in Christ, let’s sincerely show the LOVE of God to those around us nuh, especially the less fortunate, for that’s when we’re most Christ-like.
Now let’s go home this Christmas Eve day declaring (yeah!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know who and whose we are. Altogether now in strong voice, with sincere hearts: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’ Now let’s go out and walk that talk, like we ought to. Much LOVE!
…and now abideth…faith, hope, LOVE…these three…but the greatest of these is…LOVE… (1 Cor. 13:13)
17 Oct 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a blob, a new song, Christ died for the ungodly, compassionate heart, curse, faith, favour, God demonstrated his love, God so loved the world, have everlasting life, heart power, his mercy is everlasting, His only begotten Son, his truth endures, home, hovel, I cannot comprehend, innumerable things, like an eagle, LOVE one another, negative word, northern climes, One Year Book of Bible promises, palace, praises, propitiation for our sins, Ruth Harms Calkin, shall not perish, sing unto the Lord, soaring, thanksgiving, the horse's mouth, The Lord is good, Thursday Blessings, to all generations, undying LOVE, whatever happened to disturb me, whosoever believeth in him, without strength, yet sinners, You love me
Psalm 100:5. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
It’s chilly, dark and cloudy, and also wild and windy…but it’s HOME! Home sweet Home! Yes friends, the ole fella’s back in the cold northern climes. And though the tropical warmth and sunshine of J.A. would be nice, there’s something about home that just draws you in, that you greatly appreciate even if you are coming from a palace to a hovel.
That’s the power, the heart power of the word HOME. It has something else, a powerful intangible that nowhere else has for us, and that’s why it’s such a big deal in our lives. And today I want to share with us another big deal in our lives, that’s the LOVE of God, through a poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. This one is aptly titled ‘YOU LOVE ME!’
Please pray with me: ‘Yesterday, God, I was soaring Like a graceful eagle And You LOVED me. Today I feel like a blob And You LOVE me. Tomorrow I may ask “Whatever happened to disturb me yesterday?” And You’ll LOVE me. God, there are innumerable things I cannot begin to comprehend But the one great certainty In all my life is this: I KNOW THAT YOU LOVE ME.’
Oh my people, that is one thing we all ought to know for sure; that our heavenly Father LOVES us! And if we don’t, then our faith is not real, or strong, or whatever you want to call it, for how can we not know that God LOVES us with a fierce and undying LOVE after reading scriptures like these eh?
Listen first to Bruh Paul nuh: ‘For when we were yet without strength, in due (at the right) time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure (perhaps) for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth (demonstrated) his LOVE towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom.5:6-8)
Now if putting out yourself for others who don’t particularly care for you isn’t a showing of strong LOVE, then I don’t know what is nuh? And John puts it thus: ‘Beloved, let us LOVE one another: for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God isLOVE.
In this was manifested the LOVE of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him. Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4:7-11)
Ah mih people, what a powerful and true dissertation! But now listen to it straight from the horse’s mouth; from the Son Himself: ‘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) Now if the only begotten Son, the One who actually died to pay the enormous price for our sins, says that’s how it was, then it must be so!
So please friends, if we don’t know anything else, let’s be sure that our heavenly Father LOVES us, because He was willing and able to pay the great price it required to wash away our abominable sins, even the price of a broken heart and forsaking His only Son for our benefit! And we’ll see, that once we accept that most pertinent fact, everything else will flow smoothly, because everything flows from His everlasting LOVE!
And thus we can sincerely sing these praiseful and adoring words of the psalmist: ‘Make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto the Lord, all ye lands (the whole earth): Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.’ (Ps.100.1-5)
That’s the Bible Promise from our poem, and it’s the gospel truth my people! Oh friends, our God is so good and wonderful that He’s even provided those of us who want to do His bidding with miraculous blessings to enable us to do so. We call them our Thursday Blessings. But they’re not operative until we declare them, so let’s declare them now nuh, in full voice and sincere faith.
All together: ‘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!’
Now please remember those wonderful blessings are for us to use, to share generously, not to hoard selfishly.Much LOVE!
…there is no fear in LOVE…perfect LOVE casteth out fear… (1 John 4:18)
01 Jan 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ambassadors, aura of love, beloved, bet your bottom dollar, born of God, bounden duty, celebrations, Christ's body, Christians, come together, common sense, confidence, denizens of evil, dictators, disciples, downward spiral, each one love one, enemy, eternal life, faith, followers of Christ, foolish vein, friends, glorify Him, go overboard, godly manner, Happy New Year, hate, hope, humble servants, invincible, Iran, Jesus, jobs, joy, knoweth god, libations, lies, long and short of the story, LOVE, LOVE is of God, LOVE one another, Lucifer, manifested, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, New Year's Eve, North Korea, nuclear conflagration, only begotten Son, peace, power hungry, propitiation for our sins, pulling teeth, push the red button, recapture the world, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, rest, salvation, sense of balance, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, strife, taunts, the greatest of these, the LOVE of God, the Year of Love, trust, truth, turn around year, ungodly world, war mongering, weary souls, wiles, workers of iniquity
1 John 4:7. Beloved, let us LOVE one another: for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Well friends, 2018 is finally here, and I wish all of us the best for this New Year. I hope that we all enjoyed a good New Year’s Eve celebration, keeping the libations to a minimum so that the brains didn’t get addled. (smile)
But yuh know what friends, I’m dubbing 2018 as ‘THE YEAR OF LOVE!’ And our motto for this YEAR OF LOVE, is EACH ONE LOVE ONE!
All we have to do is LOVE One person each and every day of the year, so that our world will be filled with more LOVE than hate. Now is that so hard to do friends? It should be much easier than hating one person every day, which we seem to do so well.
The long and short of the story my people is that our world has fallen so low in the last year with all the strife and warmongering, that we don’t have much lower to go. If we continue in this sad and foolish vein, our world will soon explode.
And we’ve already opened the year with threats from North Korea, and riots in Iran, plus all the other theatres of strife that persist from 2017. Is this the way we really want to see our world go, mushroom in a cloud of nuclear conflagration?
Because you can bet your bottom dollar if the downward spiral continues, one of the mad, incompetent, power hungry dictators running our world is going to push that red button, and our world will never be the same. It might even cease to exist, such is the power of nuclear war and weapons.
That’s why I’m advocating so strongly for 2018 to be a turn around year, where Christians come together and truly begin living and LOVING like followers of Christ, fighting tooth and nail to restore some sense of balance and common sense in our world.
Oh fellow believers, if we don’t do it, who else is going to eh? Lucifer and his workers of iniquity like the way the world is going, but Jesus certainly doesn’t, and if we’re supposed to be His ambassadors, His hands, feet, mouth and ears on earth, then it’s our bounden duty to try and recapture the world from the denizens of evil.
So please let’s get with the LOVE Scene nuh man! Let’s do our best to remove the current leaders and elect sensible, godly ones, who won’t threaten to go overboard at the drop of a hat. Let’s cut out the complacency and compromise and begin working together to make Christ’s Body the most powerful in the land. That’s the best way to glorify Him!
And now that I’ve made my plea, added my two cents worth (smile) let’s turn to those unfortunate brothers and sisters who have to go out and labour this cold, cold New Year’s Monday since our 24/7 society needs constant care. Yuh know it’s so cold that some of the water on Niagara Falls froze. So let’s send them out to work with a rousing rendition of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, which we never have a problem doing, when we ourselves are staying at home celebrating. (smile)
In strong voice now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Ah mih friends, I could hear the after effects of the New Year’s Eve celebrations; the hoarse, croaky and out of tune voices. But at least we had the right spirit. (smile) And my fellow believers, we couldn’t have a more appropriate Bit this morning than these wonderful words of John, as he informs us that God IS LOVE.
‘Beloved, let us LOVE one another: for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God.’ That means if we want to know about true LOVE, then we have to be involved in a serious relationship with God.
And we’ll just end with these oh so appropriate words of John, as he reminds us of the importance of LOVE and knowing God. ‘He that LOVETH not knoweth not God: for God is LOVE. In this was manifested the LOVE of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him.
Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so LOVED US, WE OUGHT ALSO TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER.’ (1 John 4:8-11)
That’s what I’m trying to achieve friends, but amongst supposed Christians, it’s like pulling teeth. Remember some of Christ’s last words to the disciples: ‘This is my commandment, That ye LOVE one another, as I have LOVED you.’ (John 15:12) Plain and straightforward words, as always from our Lord and Saviour.
Please my brethren, let’s try and seriously action them this year nuh; that is if we want our world to exist in a healthy and godly manner. Much LOVE!
…and now abideth…faith…hope…LOVE…these three…but the greatest of these is…LOVE…
25 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a Saviour, afraid to take the first step, Anselm's quotes, but have everlasting life, comfort your heats, consolation, cures, dead in sins, deal the right cards, dreams, education, faith, fate, get down and dirty, give up, God so loved the world, God's promises, grace, grounded, hard work, he gave his only begotten son, hopes, inspire, inventions, kindness, LOVE, made a way, maximum potential, merciful manner, mysterious, no giving up, our hands to the plough, patience, perfected in us, perseverance, propitiation for our sins, put our noses to the grindstone, rich in mercy, should not perish, songs, spring-like Saturday, talent, that whosoever believes in him, the gift og God, the graveyard, the greatest of these id love, the richest place on earth, the topic of love, unfulfilled, wealth, while there is life there is hope, winter weather, with Christ anything is possible, ye have been saved
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 then it was a spring- like Saturday: with even more spring like temps forecasted into the upcoming week, except for a few short-lived pockets of winter weather in between. Ah friends, I’ll take that weather any time yes, especially since in my less than perfect state, I’ve been grounded, can’t go anywhere to get away from the winter season.
By rights, I should now be in warm, sunny Tobago, but the good Lord in His mysterious and merciful manner, after causing me to be grounded, as promised, has made a way for me to handle the situation by making the place not as cold and snowy as it usually is. All thanks and praise to Him! I have to believe that otherwise I would just go crazy. (smile)
Anyway, let’s check out a couple of our friend Anselm’s quotes for this past week, as he endeavours to inspire us. The first one states: ‘Just because Fate doesn’t deal you the right cards, it doesn’t mean you should give up. It just means you have to play the cards you get to their maximum potential.’
And we all know about that my believing brethren; it simply means no giving up, because while there is life there is hope, and with Christ, anything is possible. So we just have to play with the hands that we’re dealt. The Lord has a reason for dealing them to us. We just have to go to Him and find out how to play them.
And the second quote is even more interesting. It tells us: ‘The graveyard is the richest place on earth, because it is here that you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled, the books that were never written, the songs that were never sung, the inventions that were never shared, the cures that were never discovered, all because someone was too afraid to take that first step, keep with the problem, or determined to carry out their dream.’
Some of you might have heard that quote before, but it is gospel truth! And why is that? Because a lot of those people gave up, they refused to plod on with the talent that God gave them, and therefore so many unfilled dreams and actions died with them. What a waste! As they say: Talent will not, education will not, wealth will not; only patience, perseverance and hard work will.
Yeh mih people, we need to get down and dirty, put our noses to the grind stone and our hands securely to the plough, without looking back, if we want to be successful in this world.
Now it’s time to bring in our Bit; that awesome fulfillment of one of Almighty God’s promises in Isaiah 9:6 – a Saviour for the world! ‘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 it was all based on the magnificent and magnanimous emotion termed ‘LOVE! Wow! How wonderful is that eh friends? There are no words to suitably describe the emotion or God’s action. And today I won’t get into any ‘sermonizing,’ (smile) I’m just going to share some scripture passages that highlight the word LOVE and it’s association with Jehovah God.
Listen closely my fellow believers to the words of Bruh Paul to the Ephesians. ‘But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great LOVE wherewith he LOVED us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us (made us alive) together with Christ, (by grace ye are (have been) saved. And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness (LOVE) toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye (you have been) saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.’ (Eph.2: 4-8)
That ought to be self-explanatory to believers. Now hear John from his first epistle. ‘Beloved, let us LOVE one another: for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE. In this was manifested the LOVE of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we LOVE one another, God dwelleth in us, and his LOVE is perfected in us.’ (1 John 4:7-12)
I don’t think there is a better treatise on the topic of LOVE, my brethren. And we’ll close with these words from Bruh Paul to the Thessalonians. ‘Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle. Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath LOVED us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish (establish) you in every good word and work.’ (2 Thess.2:15-17)
And that’s my sincere hope and wish and desire for all of us today my brethren. Much LOVE!
…and now abideth faith…hope…LOVE…these three…but the greatest of these is…LOVE…
13 Dec 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: anxious, awesome God, Bible promise, blessed, bounden duty, caring, character, christ jesus, Christmas, come to Christ, commercial stuff, compassion, confusion, countenance, daily walk with God, David the Psalmist, delight to please you, distraction, duty-packed day, festive season, fighting, for God so loved the world, friend of Jesus, fulfillment of life, fussing, giving, God is LOVE, God's sure promises, have everlasting life, he gave his only begotten son, His only begotten Son, holy spirit, I will be pleased, in the light of thy countenance, incomparable joy, intimate conversation, joyful praise, light, LOVE, LOVE is of God, manifested, miserable, noise, One Year Book of Bible promises, our heavenly Father, pardoned, peace, peace floods my tranquil heart, praise me joyfully, progressively dominate, propitiation for our sins, receive salvation, reconciled to God, rightous being, Ruth Harms Calkin, shape, sharing, should not perish, sincere passion, sinful soul, sins, surrender, talk with me intimately, that whosoever believes in him, the beloved of God, the people who know the joyful sound, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of love, the will to love, to follow you, true meaning of love, trust, trust me totally, Tuesday Mantra, understanding
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.
Well then friends, it’s a big Tuesday morning and we’re slowly working our way towards Christmas – just 12 more days – to that wonderful day when our Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus was born!
It is the festive season of and for LOVE; sharing, caring and giving, with the thought of Jesus uppermost in our minds, not the commercial stuff that we’re being bombarded with.
Now here is an interesting and most appropriate poem for all seasons from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It is titled ‘I Will Be Pleased.’
Please read with me: ‘Lord, this fresh early morning As I sit in our quiet living room You’ve just reminded me Through David the Psalmist That there is incomparable joy For those who delight to please You – For those who are thinking about ways To follow You more closely.
Lord, the day stretches out before me, In a few brief moments I must arouse my family And face again the noise, the distraction The hubbub of confusion. But while we are still alone Just the two of us, my Lord While Your peace floods my tranquil heart Please tell me what I can do This duty-packed day To follow you more closely.
Dearly LOVED child Praise me joyfully Talk with me intimately Trust me totally And I will be pleased.’
Ah mih people, a lot of us ask God what we can do to be more righteous in our daily walk with Him. Well there is the wise answer: Joyful praise, Intimate conversation, Total Surrender and thus total trust.
Those things on a continual basis will always please our heavenly Father, and in turn bring peace, joy and understanding into our own hearts, minds and souls. So instead of fussing and fighting, being miserable and anxious, let’s try initiating and/or integrating those things into our lives nuh. They will make such a big difference that we’ll truly be surprised.
And the Bible Promise for that poem comes from Psalm 89 – God’s sure promises to David. ‘Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord in the light of thy countenance.’ (Ps.89:15) What an awesome promise my brethren, one we should hold on to with all our strength!
Now let’s turn to our wonderful Bit, an even bigger and better promise of our magnanimous God. ‘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.’
Wow friends! What a totally awesome God we serve and worship! It just blows me away to think that such a magnificent and righteous Being would care so much for me, a lowly, sinful soul, to provide a most wonderful opportunity for me to be pardoned, to receive salvation and to be reconciled to Him!
And so should all of mankind be blown away by that act of grace and unmerited favour. It shows what true LOVE is all about. Now hear this scripture from 1 John that brings home to us the true meaning of LOVE.
‘Beloved, let us LOVE one another: for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE. In this was manifested the LOVE of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another.
No man hath seen God at any time. If we LOVE one another, God dwelleth in us, and his LOVE is perfected in us. Hereby we know that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.’ (1 John 4:7-13).
Ah friends, what beautiful scripture! Now here are some explanations from the scholars. ‘4:9. To grasp God’s LOVE aright, one must look to how God has demonstrated it. Here John is in total harmony with Paul (Rom.5:8).’
4:10. No human LOVE is the standard for understanding God’s great compassion, but God’s own action on man’s behalf.’
4:11-13. God’s character, through His Spirit, is to shape and progressively dominate the character of the believer. The Spirit of God imparts the will to LOVE.’
Yes friends, it’s that simple: if we don’t have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within us, then we don’t have the power, the ability to be a truly LOVING person as defined by God’s Word. That’s why it’s our bounden duty to help others come to Christ, so that they can receive the real power and Spirit of LOVE.
Now let’s go home, declaring our Tuesday Mantra with sincere passion, in a strong and convincing voice that says we truly believe what we’re saying. (smile)
As one 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!’
Yes my people, that’s who we really are; beloved children of God and wonderful friends of Jesus! Let’s never forget that and stop being defined by what the world thinks of us.
And as we go out today, let’s also remember to share the amazing and awesome LOVE of Jesus, as we are duty bound to. Much LOVE!
…LOVE is the strongest power in the world…the ultimate fulfillment of life…
23 Mar 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adrenalin, anger, atonement for our sins, aura of love, be kind to one another, beautiful truth, bitterness, bring people to Christ, Bruh Paul Ephesians, cliches, confidence, Cousin Sol, Creator of the universe, derogatory feelings, detriment, Each day is a gift from God, evil speaking, faith, fellowship, folk wisdom, forgiving one another, glorious kingdom, God for Christ's sake has forgiven you, God sent His only begotten Son, gossipmongers, hatred stirs up strife, he that covereth a transgression seeketh love, holy spirit, Holy Spirit of God, hope, humble servants, inappropriate information, into each life some rain must fall, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, lies, lord god almighty, lots of gusto, LOVE, Love covers all sins, malice, manifested, mercy, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, negative, personal example, Praise the Lord, prayer, propitiation for our sins, Proverbs, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, social media, social platforms, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, stepping stone, stumbling block, tenderhearted, Thank You Lord, thank-you prayer, the day of redemption, the greatest of these is love, the LOVE of God, the righteous, truth, ungodly world, untenable situation, weekend partying, wisdom, wrath
Proverbs 10:12. Hatred stirreth up strifes: but LOVE covereth all sins.
Aye Friends, today we’re going to open with some quotes from Grandma, taken from the Family Circus in the Weekend Funnies. And those of us who do read the funnies – incidentally the best part of the newspaper – will also realize that it often reflects truth and real life in a way that no other platform does.
Listen to some of Gran’s truths. ‘Whenever you find a stumbling block, use it for a stepping stone; Into each life some rain must fall; Each day is a gift from God, So it’s only polite to send Him a Thank-You prayer.’
Wow! What folk wisdom Friends; all bristling with truth. We call them clichés, to which we tend to have negative, derogatory feelings, but the fact is that they tend to be true, and I guess that’s what bugs us about them. However, in accordance with Gran’s wishes, since we’ve been gifted by God with today – a brand new day- let’s be polite and send Him a Thank-You prayer nuh. Let’s voice our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with lots of gusto.
All together now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Ah shucks mih people, that wasn’t so wonderful nuh! Too many hoarse and gravelly voices from the weekend partying. (smile) But our God is such a wonderful God, He will accept our efforts since they came straight from our hearts.
Now what we have to do, since we’re up and about and flowing over with adrenalin (smile) is to get out into the wicked world and show our true godly colours, so that others can see them and want what we have. That’s the best way to bring people to Christ; by personal example. And the Number One godly quality we need to display in our dealings with others my brethren, is that of LOVE!
As Cousin Sol so wisely reminds us in our Bit: ‘Hatred stirreth up strifes: but LOVE covereth all sins.’
And isn’t that a beautiful truth! It just shows the mighty power of LOVE! It’s an awesome quality that originates and emanates from the Creator of the universe Himself. And John, in describing God’s undying, everlasting LOVE, tells us in his first epistle.
‘In this was manifested the LOVE of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.’ (1 John 4:9-10)
And all God’s redeemed children shouted a loud and grateful, ‘Thank You Lord! Thank You for sending Jesus to be the atonement for our sins! We LOVE You and praise and glorify Your Holy Name!’
And Cousin Sol further tells us in Proverbs 17: ‘He that covereth a transgression seeketh LOVE: but he that repeateth a matter separateth very (the best of) friends.’ (Prov.17:9) And that is ever so true my people. Gossipmongers are amongst the worse people in our society; untrustworthy and just like to run their mouths.
And this explosion of social media is making that aspect of our lives even worse. People are posting all sorts of inappropriate information on these social platforms, whether true or not, to the detriment of others, even their close friends and families and themselves. And that certainly doesn’t fall under the umbrella of the godly, helpful and protective quality of LOVE!
And we’ll close with these appropriate words from Bruh Paul to the Ephesians, which quite nicely address that untenable situation above. ‘Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake (in Christ) hath forgiven you.’ (Eph.4:29-32)
And that my Friends, is how true followers of God ought to behave! So let’s go out today and behave thus nuh, so that we can be counted amongst the righteous, the true children of God. That’s what Jesus desires of us. Much LOVE!
…and now abideth… faith, hope, LOVE…these three…but the greatest of these is…LOVE… (1 Cor.13:13)
08 Nov 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: art become my salvation, busyness, common sense, contentment, demanding our time and attention, doing chores, foundations, getting up early, give thanks unto the Lord, go go society, gospel truth, heartfelt prayers, his mercy endureth for ever, I Love the Lord, I will call upon the Lord as long as I live, I will praise thee, in tune with God, it is marvellous in our eyes, Jesus Christ, logic, LOVE, loving kindness, multitasking, optimum levels, pace of life, physical and spiritual foundations, praise Your Holy Name, prayers, propitiation for our sins, psalm 118, quiet time with Almighty God, rat-race society, reconciliation, rest, Rock, running errands, sacrifice, salvation, sand, Saturday, sleeping in, social media, storms, stress and strain, strong foundation, strong foundation of Jesus, Thank you Father, the head cornerstone, the stone which the builders refused, this is the day the Lord has made, this is the Lord's doing, thou hast heard me, we shall rejoice and be glad in it, wisdom, worthy of praise
Psalm 118:21. I will praise thee: for thou hast heard (and answered) me, and art become my salvation.
Well it’s Saturday Friends… the day for sleeping in late and/or getting up early to do the household chores and run the errands that we couldn’t do during the workweek. Oh, in this go, go, go society of ours, there is always something else to do, something else that’s demanding, that’s screaming out for our time and attention.
But you know what my people? In this rat-race society we have to make definite time for two things; rest, and quiet time with Almighty God!
Without those two things running at optimum levels, regardless of how good, how accomplished we are in the ways and busyness of the world, our brilliant construction will collapse and fall as soon as anything strong comes against it, because our physical and spiritual foundations are insufficient to support the worldly structure we’re trying to build.
That reminds me of Jesus talking about the two men, one who built his house on a poor foundation of sand (the world and its values) and the other who constructed his on the strong foundation of rock (Jesus Christ).
And when the storms came, as they invariably do, the wind and rain washed away the foundation of the house built on the sand and the house itself collapsed. But the one built on the foundation of rock staunchly withstood the elements. (Luke 6:46-48)
That my Friends, is what happens when we rush about madly, trying to achieve and acquire the things the world considers important, of top priority, and we’re not kind and considerate to our physical and spiritual needs.
And the sad part is that we now see such foundations crumbling much more often than we did a generation or two ago, when the pace of life was much slower and more in tune with God. Unfortunately it is also happening to younger and younger persons all the time.
The unrelenting thrust of today’s pace of life, and the resultant stress and strain are taking a serious toll on the society’s young, because that’s all a lot of them know – always in a rush, multitasking, constantly on the social media networks – and neither the body nor the mind were built to withstand such abnormal pressures.
Anyway my brethren, for those of us who have learned the lesson of life – many the hard way – to build our structures on the strong foundation of Jesus, our Bit today helps us to acknowledge where our wisdom and contentment come from. ‘I will praise thee: for thou hast heard (and answered) me, and art become my salvation.’
And that’s no lie, my fellow believers, for our God is ever so worthy of praise, because he has heard and answered our heartfelt prayers, even to the sending of His only son Jesus to be the sacrifice, the propitiation for our sins, and thus ultimately our Saviour, the reason for our reconciliation to the Father, and therefore our salvation.
And the sound of God’s people suddenly and solemnly ring out to high heaven: ‘Thank You Father! Thank You for sending Jesus to bring us back to You. We LOVE and adore You, and praise Your Holy Name!’
And that’s why the psalmist began Psalm 118 – Thanksgiving for the Lord’s salvation- this way. ‘O give thanks unto the Lord: for he is good: because his mercy (LOVING-kindness) endureth for ever.’ (Ps.118:1) And throughout the psalm he continually repeats that verse, so by the end, that thought, those serious and sacred words have been indelibly written in your soul.
And talking about answered prayer, listen to these verses from Psalm 116 – Praise for deliverance from death. ‘I LOVE the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me (listened to me), therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.’ (Ps.116:1-2)
Oh my people, that’s simple logic and common sense! If you’ve called upon the Lord, and He heard and answered you, then you’d be a fool not to keep on calling on Him. And as I researched our Bit, I was amazed to find some very poignant and prominent verses of scripture in rather close proximity to it. I had some idea of where they were to be found, but never really made the connection until now.
Hear these memorable verses of scripture that follow our Bit. ‘The stone which the builders refused (rejected) is become the head stone of the corner (the chief cornerstone). This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Ps.118:22-24)
Yes Friends, most of us know those scriptures, but I suspect that only a few know that they come one right after the other in the same psalm.
And we’ll close, most appropriately with the last two verses of Psalm 118, ‘Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee. O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: for His mercy endureth for ever.’ (Ps.118:28-29)
Gospel truth Friends, gospel truth! Let’s remember that, and wisely build our lives around them. Much LOVE!
…any structure, edifice, family or organization…is only as strong as its foundation…and the best, the strongest foundation is Jesus Christ…
12 Feb 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: above the heavens, acknowledgement of God's power, appreciate God's awesome power, arch-enemy, arrows, assistance, awesome wisdom, base purposes, be above all the earth, bewtween a rock and a hard place, biography of souls, Bruh David, calamities, cherish, cold weather, Comforter, confidence in God, contemplation, cry unto god, danger, Daniel in the lion's den, David Thomas, daytime temps, difficulties, exalted, feel the pain, forgive, furnace of blazing fire, glory, god, God's goodness and mercy, good things, gospel truth, hard times, Healer, hear my plea Lord, heartfelt words, hiding in a cave, hounds me, human frailties, inopportune times, Jesus, living example, maturity, merciful, mercy, nature of the beast, need a break, our end all and be all, personal well-being, prayer for deliverance, precipitation, predicament, promotion, propitiation for our sins, Psalm 57, radiant pages, refuge, remembering God's goodness, reprieve, reproach, sacrifice, Saul, save me, selfishly using God, shadow of thy wings, shallow, sharp sword, snaps at, snowfall, spears, strengthen our faith, suffer, the sons of men, tongue, trials, tribulations, trust, truth, unselfish and noble actions, wilderness, with Jesus' help
Psalm 57:5. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.
And the extremely cold weather rolls on my Friends! Thankfully though, without any further precipitation, for there’s nowhere left to pile it. It’s already piled high everywhere since the last snowfall.
But these constant daytime temps of minus double digits are a bit much. We can understand it at nights, but for heaven’s sake, in the daytime we need a break Lord! Hopefully the Lord will hear my plea and answer with some reprieve from this unusually cold weather.
Anyway Friends, I got up sort of early this morning, but just could not get out of bed, so the Bit will be a tad late, not as late as yesterday though. (smile) You all have to feel the ole fella’s pain and give him a bligh, a break.
As this quote, attributed to one of our many David Thomas’ so eloquently states: ‘Unselfish and noble actions are the most radiant pages in the biography of souls.’
Oh yes my people, that is the gospel truth! It’s exactly what Jesus did when He unselfishly and very nobly gave His sinless life as a sacrifice, as propitiation for our disgusting sins. And that’s exactly how He wants all His followers to behave; noble and unselfish.
It’s not always easy to do, but with Jesus’ help we can certainly do more than we’re currently doing. And here’s and easy one to begin your day right; forgive the ole fella for his human frailties. (smile)
However, we also have a wonderful Bit – sorry, all of them are wonderful! ‘Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.’
Oh my brethren, those heartfelt words come from Bruh David’s Michtam (Contemplation) while hiding in a cave in the wilderness from his arch-enemy Saul. And I guess he had lots of time for contemplation.
Psalm 57 is a prayer for deliverance. And please note my fellow believers, as always, Bruh David begins his prayers with acknowledgement of God’s power, His goodness and mercy and his own trust and confidence in the Almighty.
‘Be merciful unto me O God, be merciful unto me; for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast (passed by). I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me. He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up (snaps at or hounds me). Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.’ (Ps.57:1-3)
Oh my people, is that the way we begin our prayers, by acknowledging the power and majesty of our heavenly Father, by remembering the good things He’s done for us in the past and letting them strengthen our faith and trust that He will continue to look after us in the future?
Well if we don’t, then we ought to. That shows God that we are truly trusting, we’re not shallow and only interested in our personal well-being, we know and appreciate His awesome power and capabilities.
And just as a living example, how would you feel if one of your children, or anybody you cherish continually came asking for help without some admission of your previous assistance and goodness to them eh?
Would you be pleased if they just jumped right in and said they wanted this and needed that? I doubt it. The same way our heavenly Father needs to see that we’re not just selfishly using him for our base purposes.
And although Bruh David is in serious danger, it’s only after he acknowledges the God of his forefathers, that he states his predicament in the verse before our Bit: ‘My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.’ (Ps.57:4)
Then he proclaims our Bit: ‘Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.’
Yuh see Friends, even though Bruh David’s life is on the line, he’s between a rock and a hard place, he still trusts and exalts the name of the God of his fathers.
Chuh! I was just further delayed for almost ten minutes by my security company wanting to update some stuff, then needing to shut down and restart the computer so that the updates could take effect. These things always seem to happen at such inopportune times, but that’s the nature of the beast.
Anyhow, like we trust our security companies to get it right with our computers, do we trust and exalt our great God when difficulties and hard times come against us, like Bruh David did?
We ought to, because He’s the ONLY ONE who can truly bring us out of our troubles, unscathed, the way we like to come out of them, like He did Daniel in the lion’s den, (Dan.6:14-28) and his buddies in the furnace of blazing fire. (Dan.3:8-30)
But we must remember that that’s not always possible, for some of these trials and tribulations are tests to see if we can hold up under the strain of life, if our maturity is such that we’re ready for another level of promotion.
But if we are bruised and battered, please remember that our God is also the greatest Comforter and Healer there is, ever was, and ever will be. And He WILL NEVER leave us to suffer unnecessarily.
And with those words of awesome wisdom, (smile) we’ll end today’s message. Much LOVE!
…the God of heaven and earth…our Creator and Provider…is our end all and be all…we need no one else but Him…
09 Jun 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a little bit of LOVE, allegiance, Alpha and Omega, anger, best thing, charity begins at home, Christ's Church, christianity, compassion, crux of the matter, decency, Emmanuel, entertaining angels, escalation of ongoing wars, evils of the world, exceeding abundantly, forgiveness, God is LOVE, greed, hatred, high priest, hypocrites, Jesus Christ, let your light shine, LOVE, LOVE in action, LOVE one another, LOVE Revolution, mercy, praise and thanksgiving, pride, prince of peace, propitiation for our sins, right heart, rumours of wars, sacrifical blood, sacrifice, salt of the earth, show Love, sppression, standards of excellence, strife, substantial change, suppression, the world's going to the dogs, thoughtfulness, treat strangers decently, true christianity, undeniable truth, walk the talk
1 John 4:8. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE!
Oh Friends, family, neighbours and enemies, this is Sunday, the day when many of us go to church to worship God! But that doesn’t seem to be helping us nuh, because our world is still going to the dogs, and very quickly too.
Obviously one day a week is just not sufficient for us to pour out praise and thanksgiving, for every day there’s more talk about the escalation of ongoing wars and rumours of new wars starting up. There’s plenty of strife, anger, hatred, greed, pride, persecution, suppression, oppression and all the other negative things – but NO LOVE!
And that’s just unacceptable my people. Our world needs a LOVE Revolution in the worst way! My brethren we need one bad, bad, bad – and right now too! And the sad part is that it won’t take much LOVE to straighten out most of the problems nuh. But unfortunately we can’t seem to find any true LOVE at all.
Remember what B.J. Thomas says in his song? ‘A little bit of LOVE is better than no LOVE at all.’ So all we’re looking for to start us out on the right foot Friends is just a l’il bit o’ LOVE. And we’d be surprised at the substantial change that just a l’il LOVE would make. But for some reason we can’t seem to get around to that, however we do seem to find the time and effort to revel in the inappropriate evils of the world.
Oh my people, yuh see what our Bit says: ‘He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE!’ And that’s the undeniable truth!
So if, as we claim, we believe in God, then we ought to have LOVE for God and also for each other. And not only have LOVE, but more importantly SHOW it! My family will tell you that one thing I’ve always tried to drill into their heads is that you just can’t talk LOVE, you have to SHOW it, because just talking it does no good to the hearer, they need to feel it too, for true Christianity is simply LOVE in action.
That’s why unbelievers view us as a bunch of hypocrites, because we only talk the talk, but don’t walk it. Just look at how Jesus showed His LOVE for us nuh; by selflessly sacrificing His sinless life for our sinful ones.
The Good Book describes it thus: ‘In this was manifested the LOVE of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.’ (1 John 4:9-10)
And if that’s not real true LOVE Friends, then I don’t know what is.
And hear this next verse nuh mih people. ‘Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4:11) And therein lies the crux of the matter my brethren. Too many of us out there in the world, in the body of Christ’s church claim to LOVE, but sadly, we don’t show it.
And here’s what the scripture says about that: ‘If a man say, I LOVE God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that LOVETH not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he LOVE God, whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who LOVETH God LOVE his brother also.’ (1 John 4:20-21)
And yuh know what my people, Jesus isn’t asking us to die for anybody, although that could be a very LOVING and Christian thing to do. All He’s asking of us is a l’il thoughtfulness, a l’il caring, a l’il decency, a l’il compassion, a l’il mercy and a l’il forgiveness, which, when all put together, equals a L’IL LOVE!
Oh my fellow believers, what’s so hard about that eh? And it doesn’t even have to be anybody outside, although it’s good to treat strangers decently, for unawares we might just be entertaining angels. (Heb.13:2) But we can begin right in our own family, for as the old people were won’t to say, ‘Charity begins at home.’
And that is the gospel truth! For if you can’t LOVE the people closest to you, how can you LOVE somebody you don’t know anything about, although it’s quite possible in true Christianity.
So my brethren, what do you all have to say about all that eh? Are we going to do this LOVE Revolution thing?
I vote very vociferously that we should, because it’s a perfect win-win situation. We have absolutely nothing to lose, and absolutely everything to gain. So come on nuh, please join with me, starting today, in fact RIGHT NOW, let’s pledge our LOVE and allegiance to the LOVE Revolution in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, Prince of Peace, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Alpha and Omega, our Emmanuel, our Advocate, and don’t forget our High Priest… Wow!
So let me put it to you this way then mih people; if a man with all those awesome and amazing titles – and I’m sure I’ve left out some – gives up His innocent life for your evil one, then plays all those rather important roles in your life, why wouldn’t you want to associate with Him eh? Especially if when you associate with Him from a right and decent heart and motive, He will lift you up, exalt you more that you can ever expect or imagine. The Bible terms it: ‘unto him that can do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.’ (Eph.3:20)
Oh Mama Mia! How could I not want to be a part of all that nuh! No way José! I want to get in on the ground floor of that LOVE Revolution, because it’s the BEST THING this world has to offer!
So let’s say this pledge together nuh Friends. ‘Oh Jesus, today I pledge my allegiance to You and Your LOVE Revolution! I promise to do my very best to work towards the high standards of excellence you seek for those who desire to join your movement. Please help us to fulfil all your desire. We pray this in Your Name and on Your sacrificial blood. Amen.’
So we’re all official members of the LOVE Rev. Club now people! (smile) Therefore, let’s go out into the world and let our light shine, be the salt of the earth, show them what real LOVE is all about, what Jesus is truly about, by helping and serving those in need. For that was Jesus’ purpose here on earth; to serve, not to be served. And we’d do Him proud by continuing in that same humble and righteous vein.
So let’s glorify Him by both walking and talking the Christian talk. And all God’s people cried a loud ‘Amen!’ Much, much LOVE mih breddren!
…if God is LOVE…and shows LOVE…then God’s children should be LOVE…and show LOVE too…
09 Jun 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: a new day, attain heaven's bliss, burning passion for Jesus, death and damnation, gift of God, God's grace, not works, propitiation for our sins, saved through faith, unconditional LOVE, wages of sin
1 John 4:10. Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Oh Friends, here it comes; one more morning, one more day, one more ray of brilliant sunshine, to chase the darkness of night away! It’s so refreshing and revitalizing to see a new day dawn. Something about a new day just naturally causes a conscious stream of hope and great expectations to rise in our souls, bringing the thought and belief that something good is going to happen to us that very day. Wow! Looking at the sun come up over the horizon seems to reawaken the Spirit of Jesus in our hearts and minds, giving us the strength, faith and energy to face the new day. For we know that with Jesus on our side, we can face anything that comes our way; we can do all things through Him, who strengthens us. (Phil.4:13) And furthermore, God’s goodness to us, unworthy as we are, is surely a good reason to be excited and appreciative of a new day, for He clearly went out of His way to make sure we had a chance to bypass the ‘sufferation’ for our just desserts: death for our disobedience. ‘For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through (in) Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (Rom.6:23) And the scholars explain: ‘Wages: Emphasizes what we deserve. Gift of God: Emphasizes God’s unmerited favour.’ And why did He provide eternal life for us, even though we didn’t deserve it? Because He LOVED us! As the song says, it was LOVE that caused our first heartbeat. And as our Bit so succinctly explains: ‘Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.’ Yes Friends, the Lord did it all because of LOVE; the greatest emotion there is and the most significant trait of His amazing and wonderful personality! I only wish there was so much more of it present in our troubled, strife filled world. And God’s LOVE is so great, that the scholars declare; ‘No human LOVE is the standard for understanding God’s great compassion, but God’s own action on man’s behalf.’ God’s LOVE, like all His other attributes, are so much greater than ours, that we can’t even begin to comprehend it. It was such an intense LOVE that He made Jesus pay for our sins. Listen to John earlier on: ‘My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate (intercessor) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.’ (1 John 2:1-2) And that’s the gospel truth Friends! The sins of whoever believes in Jesus have been paid for! And all God’s people shouted: ‘Thank You Lord for Jesus! We praise and worship Your Holy Name!’ Now hear the scholars, re the process of propitiation. ‘Propitiation is here an atoning sacrifice. Jesus bore in His body the punishment due us for our sin; in so doing He propitiated God, satisfied God’s just demand that sin be punished. Thus Jesus is both the advocate for sinners (v.1) and the sacrifice for their sins.’ Surprisingly though, there are too many fools and unwise men on this earth, who though they know of and about Jesus, still refuse to take Him seriously, still refuse to believe, to put their hope, faith and trust in Him. How sad mih people. They don’t know what they’re missing. Unfortunately they don’t realize the seriousness of the situation; that it’s their eternal destiny they’re playing with. They obviously don’t believe that there’s nothing they can do to gain heaven’s shores, unless it’s through Christ. Listen to Bruh Paul postulate on the subject to the Ephesians: ‘For by grace are ye (you have been) saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship (creation), created in Christ Jesus unto (for) good works, which God hath before ordained (prepared) that we should walk in them.’ (Eph.2:8-10) And here’s the scholars explanation: ‘The grace of God is the expression of His goodness toward the undeserving. Grace means unmerited favour, and can be expressed by the acrostic “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.” This grace is the basis of our salvation (1.7; 2:8) Illustration: In salvation, men who deserve hell obtain heaven. This cannot be explained apart from God’s grace. Every conversion in Scripture is an example of God’s grace. When Paul (Saul) met the Lord on the Damascus Road, Paul was a persecutor of the church. Yet God made him one of the church’s chief preachers. Application: We need to remember that we are saved, given the Holy Spirit, and allowed to serve God – by His grace. (Gen.6:8; Eph.2:8) Yes Friends, only through the saving grace that flows from a belief in Jesus can we ever attain heaven’s bliss, for He is indeed as He declares: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ (John 14:6) Oh my people, it is therefore expedient, rather imperative, that mankind believes in Christ if they want to dwell in heaven, and escape the death and damnation that characterizes Hades. And it’s our responsibility, our duty to spread that fact around the globe, because Jesus doesn’t even want to lose one human to Lucifer’s evil claws. So please, let’s get out there and tell them with a burning passion, let’s convince them to see the bright light shining in the darkness that’s Jesus, their only hope for deliverance. Much LOVE!…a world full of darkness and evil…can only be saved by believing in Jesus…the eternal day star of heaven…
SCRIP-BITS 