07 Sep 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a prowling wolf, a scarcity of jobs, after one time is two, and were scattered abroad, anger, angst, as sheep having no shepherd, aura of love, because they fainted, Beelzebub, but the labourers are few, calamity, captains of industry, celebration mode, Christians, compassionate hearts, confidence, conquerors, corruption, Creator of the universe, crime, dissatisfaction, drunk or sober mind your business, Eastern Parkway, Election Day, energy, enthusiasm, faith, friends, glorify God's name, godliness, Granny's spiel, guidance, help, humble servants, invincible, Jesus Christ, Jesus was moved with compassion, jobs, Labour Day, lies, LOVE, make a difference, memories, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Oh Lord God Almighty, pray the Lord of the harvest, prosperity, rebellion, refugees, rejuvenation of spirit, remuneration, renewed vitality, responsible government, rest, serve a useful purpose, societal obligations, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, strife, taunts, the bottom line, the harvest truly is plenteous, the Holy Spirit, then saith Jesus to his disciples, trust, truth, ungodly world, wars, watered down, weary souls, wiles, wisdom
Matthew 9:37. Then saith he (Jesus) unto his disciples, the harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few.
Aye Friends, as they say, after one time is two yes…and sometimes even three. (smile) What brought up that saying is my not remembering that today is Labour Day and thus a long weekend. That means I also forgot to give you Granny’s spiel about; ‘Sonny boy, drunk or sober please mind your business.’ (smile)
Ah mih people, life and times certainly do change yes, as in my earlier years I never forgot two seminal days, Caribana Saturday and Labour Day. But I guess as my physical self deteriorated and I was no longer able to participate as physically as I would like, I just stopped paying any attention to them.
At one stage every Labour Day I would be in New York, checking out the Pan Competition with my Uncle John and Auntie Anne, and trawling the Eastern Parkway from top to bottom, but no longer, those days are simply memories, good ones.
In any case the festivals are not as good as they used to be. Everything is now watered down; the costumes and the music are mere shadows of their earlier years. However, please be careful as you ramp up the celebrations this Labour Day weekend, and remember Granny’s wonderful advice.
And to make matters even more interesting, today is also Election Day in T&T. I wonder how many people have left to go to New York for Labour Day, instead of staying and fulfilling their societal obligations? Whatever happens though, I just hope that we elect a responsible government, because it’s time to cut out all the crime and corruption and get our beautiful twin islands back to a state of godliness and thus prosperity.
Now, to help those who have to go to work on this Labour Day, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with much energy and enthusiasm.
As one soulful choir now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Oh Friends, that was truly energetic and enthusiastic but somewhat hoarse and scratchy, like an old vinyl record on a turntable. I guess many of you have been into celebration mode long ago, and your voices were the loudest because you don’t have to work today. But just remember to be careful, because Beelzebub is out there prowling like a hungry wolf amongst a flock of sheep, just waiting for one of us to go astray, so that he can pounce on us. And we definitely can’t allow that to happen.
And isn’t it upsetting, disturbing and disappointing that on this Labour Day of 2015 there is a dearth of labour for the many labourers? It brings to mind our Bit. ‘Then saith he (Jesus) unto his disciples, the harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few.’ Only now the tables are turned; the harvest is scanty and the labourers are plentiful.
Yes Friends there is indeed a scarcity of jobs for an extremely large labour force. Even people with higher education have to take menial jobs for which they are over qualified. And the sad fact is that the captains of industry don’t care about the social cost of joblessness to the society, they are only interested in the bottom line and their fat, undeserved remuneration, with golden and platinum parachutes et al.
There is no reason in God’s world why a captain of industry should be making three to four hundred times that of a lowly shop floor worker. But unfortunately that is today’s norm. And when they want to cut costs, the first place they cut is the workforce. Ah Lord eh!
And they wonder why there is so much dissatisfaction and angst, anger and rebellion across the whole world. And then the seething strife and numerous wars that are currently dominating the earth don’t help matters either, for they just cause more unnecessary calamity and provoke refugee situations like we’re now experiencing.
But what annoys me most about the situation is that everybody is so concerned about finding somewhere for the refugees to go, when the best solution would be to end the strife and war in the countries from which they are fleeing. That’s where our efforts should be concentrated so there would not be such a big influx of refugees.
Anyway Friends, that’s just my humble take on the situation, which brings us back to our Bit. Before Jesus said it, the Good Book tells us: ‘But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted (were weary), and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.’ (Matt.9:36)
And sadly, that is exactly what’s happening in our world today, both with the refugee situation as well as in many countries, third and also first world. And it certainly seems that we Christians are the only ones who have the compassionate hearts to help stem the roaring tide of ‘sufferation.’ That’s why we need to do as Jesus says afterward. ‘Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.’ (Matt.9:38)
Yes Friends, the only way that we comparatively few Christians can make a substantial difference in this troubled and severely hurting world, is with the Lord’s august help. So please, let’s sincerely pray for His help and guidance and wisdom to enable us to make a worthwhile difference and thus glorify His Holy Name. Much LOVE!
…how can men eat…support their families…if they can’t get work eh…
14 Aug 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a rainy Friday morning, almighty god, balancing act, be constantly in thy mouth, blessings, Christ died in vain, Christ's body, faith, fallen world, family time, fight back, Friday chant, friends, generous help, get rid of God, get serious about Jesus, glorious kingdom, glory hallelujah, God be merciful unto us, God cause his face to shine upon us, God shall bless us, govern the nations upon the earth, grace, have good success, household chores, in all sincerity and truth, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, let the nations be glad, let the people praise thee, LOVE, loving kindness, make thy way prosperous, mercy, obedience, obedience to God's word, Praise the Lord, prosperity, pull up our socks, put God first, quality of life, rain or shine, relaxation, remove god from our society, rest, right perspective, salvation, saving grace, Selah, sing for joy, stand strong, succumb to the enemy, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, that thy way may be known on earth, the church, the earth will yield her increase, the generation that gave up, the hustle and bustle, the last bastion, the weekend's here, this book of the law, thou shalt judge the people righteously, thy saving health, ungodly world, wisdom, worship time
Psalm 67:1. God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us. Selah.
Well Friends, welcome to a rainy Friday morning in my area…
And the response is, ‘rain or shine it doesn’t matter. It’s still Friday, and we’re still going to shout TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend’s here. Glory Hallelujah! Thank you for the weekend Lord! It’s a nice, though short break from all the hustle and bustle of modern living. Thank you again for the weekend Lord!’
Yes my brethren it is indeed good and right to thank the Lord for the weekend, but at the same time we have to know how to use it properly, and our Friday Chant gives us some indication of that, so let’s chant it nuh, in all sincerity and truth.
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.’
It is indeed a tight balancing act we need to perform on the weekend my people; rest and relaxation, family time, worship time, household chores and preparations for the following week. But if we put everything in the right perspective, it’s rightful place; God first, and everything else after, we will be able to successfully accomplish that balancing act.
And if we put God first in everything in our lives, then with total confidence we can cry out like our Bit does: ‘God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us. Selah.’
Yeh Friends, in this fallen world we badly need God’s mercy and LOVING-kindness. Why? As the psalmist explains: ‘That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health (salvation) among all nations.’ (Ps.67:2)
And that’s the best reason there is Friends! For without the Lord’s saving grace we are doomed to perdition and death!
Consequently, the psalmist further cries out: ‘Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon the earth.’ (Ps.67:3-4)
Unfortunately though the nations of the earth don’t seem to want the Lord to govern them, so they are not praising Him the way they should. These are the times of doing what one wants to do and not much respect is being paid to obedience to Holy God’s will, even by many of His supposed believers. In fact, we’re trying to remove as much of God as we can, as fast as we can, from our society.
But my fellow brethren in Christ, we cannot allow that to happen. Christ’s body, the Church has to stand strong and fight back, for we are the last bastion, the remnant of Christ’s army, and if we fall, if we succumb to the enemy, without even much of a fight, then we will be disgracing the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
He would have died, have sacrificed His holy and sinless life in vain. And that we surely cannot afford to let happen my fellow believers! That means we have to pull up our socks, our britches, or whatever, and make a bold and confident stand on Christ’s behalf. We can’t just lie down and die without a sincere and diligent fight.
As I keep reminding us, under no circumstance can we be known as the generation that gave up, that allowed the enemy to remove Jehovah God from the society.
But to do that my people, we have to get really serious about Jesus, and stand strong and steadfast on His principles for earthly living, and get out into the ungodly world and spread those principles, spread the good news of His gospel, of salvation and eternal life to which everyone is entitled, if they believe on Him!
And what we don’t seem to realize is that our prosperity, the quality of life we lead down here on earth, is very closely tied to our sincere praise and worship of Almighty God. You’ll notice that as our trust and faith in God wanes, so does our prosperity.
Listen to the psalmist again. ‘Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase (give her produce), and God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.’ (Ps.67:5-7)
Oh Friends, what’s there not to understand eh? If we praise and glorify God, He will bless our land. If we don’t, He won’t bless it. It’s that simple. And if you don’t believe me then listen to what the Lord told Joshua when He appointed him leader of the Israelites after the death of Moses.
‘This book of the law shall not depart out of (shall be constantly in) thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for the thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.’ (Josh.1:8)
Oh my people, that’s as plain and simple as it can get! The Lord pulled no punches. He told Joshua straight up; if you meditate on my word continually and be obedient to it, then you will be prosperous and successful. And we saw it happen several times in Israel’s history. When they were obedient to God’s will they prospered. When they weren’t, they suffered captivity and all other sorts of unpleasant circumstances.
The same has happened in many other supposed Christian countries down through the ages. So it’s not like there aren’t credible examples. Yet today we still are trying to get rid of God. What foolishness my brethren! Can’t we see the demise of our society is in full swing?
But we’re too proud and arrogant to believe that it’s because we’re no longer a God-driven society. But believe me Friends, our prosperity and success are indeed closely tied to our faith, trust and obedience to Almighty God. So please let us come to our senses and work sincerely and diligently towards turning our world around nuh. If not for our sake, then for our children’s. Now that is true wisdom, however you choose to define it! Much LOVE!
…how can we expect the Lord to bless us…when we are not obedient to His word eh…
12 Aug 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a leader like Jesus Christ, all things work together for good, appreciate, beautify the meek with salvation, called according to God's purpose, Christian, diligence, discipline, enjoy the wondrous works of God, eternal life, excellence, expectant faith, faithful, first born among many brethren, forge a replica, forgiveness, glory hallelujah, glory to God, God's promises, God's worthy to be praised, good times outweigh the bad, goodness, grace, halfway home, He is love, hungry hope, I'm not looking back, I'm not turning back, in the congregation of the saints, joy, justice, Let Israel rejoice, long term benefits, Lord God Jehovah, LOVE, loving kindness, mercy, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my hands are on the plough, no weapon formed against you shall prosper, obedience, peace, Praise ye the Lord, prosperity, put us through the fire, rejoice, rise against every tongue that rises against you, roses, salvation, short term benefits, shout Hallelujah, sing unto the Lord a new song, song, test, thanks and gratitude, the breath of life, the children of Zion, the Lord takes pleasure in His people, this is the day the Lord has made, to those who love God, total surrender, true, Wailing Time, we will rejoice and be glad in it, Wednesday Wail, wine, ye shall condemn
Psalm 149:1. Praise ye (shout Hallelujah to) the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.
Oh Friends, another beautiful and glorious day of God’s making has been gifted to us! Wow! So let’s show some thanks and gratitude by saying it loud and proud nuh. ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we WILL, we SHALL rejoice and be glad in it.’
Oh Glory to God my people! For He is so faithful and true to us, filling our lives with all sorts of good things like peace and joy, mercy, grace, forgiveness and prosperity! Oh aren’t you just ecstatic to be a Christian with a leader like Jesus Christ? You should be. I surely am!
The problem though is that until you give your life in complete and total surrender to Christ, you won’t be truly able to appreciate and enjoy the wondrous work He does in a believer’s life.
Oh my people, our Jesus is so awesome that although I know it and experience it on a regular basis, He still surprises me most days with some of the unexpected things He does to enlighten and enliven my days on this earth.
Please understand one very important thing though; working for Jesus is not all wine, roses and song, because He expects diligence, discipline, obedience and excellence from His followers, and also puts us through the fire to test us, and eventually forge us into a beautiful replica of Himself.
But believe me Friends, going through the fire is worth it; the good times certainly outweigh the bad. And the benefits of salvation and eternal life with Him in heaven until forever… oh what could be better than that eh? NOTHING my brethren, absolutely NOTHING!
And those are only the long-term benefits. There are lots more short term wonders to experience down here on earth, like mercy, grace and forgiveness, when we walk obedient to God’s calling. Glory Hallelujah!
And since today is Wednesday, it means that Wailing Time is here. (smile) So let’s wail nuh mih breddren, let’s wail with hungry hope and expectant faith. As one wailer 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!’
And if you are a true believer, that is exactly where your focus should be; on our glorious Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!
And since this seems to be a morning of praise, let’s do it right nuh and declare our Bit in loud and faithful voice. ‘Praise ye (shout Hallelujah to) the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.’
Yes Friends, singing praises to our wonderful God is indeed something we ought to do on a regular basis! Many of us don’t, but we should take the psalmist’s wise advice, as he continues. ‘Let Israel rejoice in him that made him (their maker); let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek (humble) with salvation.’ (Ps.149:2-4)
Oh my fellow believers, what true and faithful and precious words! The Lord certainly takes pleasure in His people; there’s absolutely no doubt about that, as so many of us can testify to. And believe me, when the Lord is on our side… nothing can harm or trouble us, for we have these two great scriptures filled with God’s promises to hold on to.
The first one comes from Isaiah, as he talks about the Lord’s everlasting LOVE for Israel. ‘No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgement thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of (from) me, saith the Lord.’ (Is.54:17)
And Friends, if those promises didn’t touch your souls, then listen to this one from Bruh Paul to the Romans, one we all know and LOVE! ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first born among many brethren.’ (Rom. 8:28-29) Mama mia mih people!
Oh Friends, if we are called to God’s divine purpose, and we LOVE Him as we ought to, you can be guaranteed that He is working EVERYTHING out for your good! It might not seem so when the fiery trials and temptations hit us, but just remember that God is faithful and has not ever, nor will He ever renege on a promise! Glory to God!
What can be better than bringing us into His family fold and making us true brethren with His first-born Son Jesus eh? Again we have to say, NOTHING, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, my brethren!
Now let’s go home with these wonderful words of praise from Psalm 33. ‘Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely (beautiful) for the upright. Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.
Sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise (a shout of joy). For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth. He LOVETH righteousness and judgement (justice): the earth is full of the goodness (LOVING-kindness) of the Lord.’ (Ps.33:1-5)
And all God’s people declared a loud and proud ‘Praise the Lord! Glory Hallelujah! Bless His Holy Name. Amen!’
Yes Friends, let’s go out today rejoicing in the LOVE, the goodness, the grace, mercy and forgiveness of our Lord God Jehovah, for He is indeed worthy of our praise and thanks! Much LOVE!
…praise him, praise Him…glory Hallelujah…He is LOVE…yes He is LOVE…
09 Aug 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Abraham's seed, Christ's Church, Christians, compassion, covenant, encouragement, epitome of wisdom, eternal life, face the evil world, faith, fight a good fight, first day of the week, forgiveness, frail human strength, go to church, grace, hard hearts of stone, I am in the midst of them, I will be their God, I will forgive their iniquity, I will put my law in their inward parts, I will remember their sin no more, in my name, Israel, Israelites, know the Lord, LOVE, Lucifer, magnificent and magnanimous God, mercy, Moses, Mt. Sinai, One Body, one truth from the Bible, passion for Jesus, peace, planet earth, promises made to Abraham, prosperity, renew the strength, rulership of Christ, saith the Lord, salvation, shout for joy, sincerity and truth, sing and praise Jesus, sitting ducks, smile, soft hearts of flesh, Sunday, the abiding presence of God, the BIBLE, the Bible is God's word to us, the covenant I will make with Israel, the Greater Son of David, the Holy Spirit, the Most High God, the most joyful people on earth, the Promised Land, the second coming of Christ, they shall all know me, they shall be my people, through faith in Jesus, uncoditional love, we'll find God's wisdom on the Bible's pages, where two or three are gathered, worth more than all the wisdom of man, write it in their hearts
Jeremiah 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts (mind), and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Well my brethren it’s the first day of the week, Sunday! And we all know what that means? It’s time to get ourselves out to God’s sanctuary, whether it’s a big cathedral, a secret basement hiding from persecution, or simply in the open air, under the blues skies of heaven. And there, in whatever physical space we’re located, however large or small our numbers, we praise and worship Him as one body; that of Christ’s church.
Remember Jesus promised ‘For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them.’ (Matt.18:20) And He is indeed a faithful keeper of His promises. So Friends, it’s time once again to renew the strength, faith, encouragement and passion for Jesus that we get when we come together to sing and praise Him in all sincerity and truth.
It gives us the spiritual wherewithal we need in the upcoming week to face the evil world in which we dwell, and fight a good fight of faith for Jesus. Without God’s grace propelling us on my people, we will just be sitting ducks for Lucifer, since we are unable to do very much in our own frail human strength.
And before we go any further, let me remind us of two things – I think it’s time to trot them out again. (smile) The first is that ‘The Bible is God’s word to us; still fresh through all the ages. And if we read it, we will find God’s wisdom on its pages.’ It’s hard to argue with that eternal truth my brethren.
But how will we ever know what it says and gain the wisdom it details eh, when in too many cases God’s Word simply sits collecting dust somewhere in our homes; that is if we own a Bible at all?
And the second revelation is that ‘One truth from the Bible is worth more than all the wisdom of man.’ And there’s simply no disputing that indisputable truth, (smile) although many try to and fail miserably!
But the point I’m trying to make is that we definitely need to do more Bible reading my fellow believers. And not simply reading, but more like studying and meditating, so that the Word of God can filter into our innermost beings and raise the level of our faith in and knowledge of God, two things we desperately need to live successfully down here on planet earth.
And all that rambling eventually brings us to our Bit. (smile) ‘But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts (mind), and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.’
Ah Friends, what a wonderful God we serve and worship! Here the prophet Jeremiah is declaring to the Israelites that God was going to make a new agreement with them to replace the old one made at Mt. Sinai, when Moses received the law on tablets of stone. However, this time, the law would not be written on stone tablets but in their hearts, so that everyone could know and reckon individually with Jehovah God. This will be the biggest and the best covenant; the one that will last for all time.
And as the scholars explain: ‘the new covenant assimilates the elements of the promises made to Abraham and channeled with progressive light through David, and brings them to full realization. Thus the final blessing of Abraham’s seed will find fruition in Israel’s possession of the Promised Land in perpetuity under the rulership of Christ, the Greater Son of David, the Seed par excellence.
Further, by faith in Christ, Gentile believers also become the spiritual seed of Abraham and members of the family of God. Although the new covenant is now operative, and is attended by the ministry of the Holy Spirit who is resident in believers’ lives, the full realization of the new covenant, as the capstone of all covenants, awaits the second coming of Christ.
He will give to Israel the promises distinctive to that nation, and will rule over the earth in an unprecedented period of universal peace, prosperity, and the full knowledge of the abiding presence of God’
Yes my people, that new covenant now just awaits Jesus’ second coming for it to be fully realized. Aren’t you grateful for all that? We surely ought to be. Note I didn’t mention any references in the scholars explanations because there just too many, and I know that most people would not check them out anyway. (smile) But a lot of it you can find on your own, if you are interested, through diligent checking, studying and meditating on the Word.
And we’ll continue with the verse after our Bit. ‘And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.’ (Jer.31:34)
And all God’s people loudly and boldly declared: Oh what a magnificent and magnanimous God we serve and worship!’ That’s for certain sure my brethren!
Oh Friends, there’s no other deity who is as interested in the lives and welfare of His people like Almighty God, and who wants everyone to come to salvation and eternal life through faith in His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! And it’s all so wonderful that I just want to stand up, jump and shout for joy! (smile)
Yes Friends, Christians ought to be the happiest and most joyful people on planet earth, given all the stuff; the promises, the grace, the mercy, forgiveness, compassion and unconditional LOVE that the Most High God has for us. Wow!
So please let’s show that joy nuh through the way we talk and live our lives, so that we can encourage others to come to Jesus and be born again into a new spiritual life. That is the epitome of wisdom! Much LOVE!
…truly following Jesus…transforms our hard hearts of stone…into soft ones of flesh…like His…
07 Jun 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a time of peace, a time of war, a time to every purpose under heaven, a time to hate, a time to love, afraid, and have it more abundantly, anxious, broken, Bruh Paul, celebration for peace, Christ is the only judge, church bells are tolling, Cousin Sol, cowed, depart from evil, diverse voices, do good, downtrodden, Ecclesiastes, edify another, encouraging, fearful, food and drink, friends, glory to God, God's largesse, gracious, I am come that they might have life, jeans, Jesus Christ, joy in the Holy Ghost, let not your heart be troubled, magnanimous, Mahatma Ghandi, merciful, miserable, Mother Teresa, my peace I give unto you, neither let it be afraid, not as the world giveth, one voice for peace, painted lady butterflies, peace, Peace i leave with you, Peace Pole, poor, praise, prosperity, put on our Sunday best, reassuring words, rejoice, righteousness., run life, seek peace and pursue it, shorts, sing, sloppy attire, St. Francis Parish, take the bull by the horns, the Holy Spirit, the kingdom of God, the love of power, the power of love, the return of Jesus christ, the state of our hearts, to everything there is a season, we belong to each other, with loud voice, worried, worship the Lord
John 14:27. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Well mih lovelies, it’s the first day of the week, Sunday! And would you know that all the church bells are tolling, inviting the faithful to come and sing and praise and worship the Lord, to fellowship with those of like belief, and receive the many blessings which come from engaging in those activities!
Wow! What a mouthful Friends, but nonetheless, very true sentiments. So let’s put on our Sunday best and get us hither to the sanctuary and rejoice with loud voice in our Creator and our God, for it is indeed the wise thing to do.
And speaking of Sunday best clothing, I remember the olden days when everybody dressed up to go to church, some possibly overdressed too. (smile) You wouldn’t be caught dead in church with shorts and jeans and sloppy attire.
Now it’s true that back then there was possibly too much emphasis on your clothing, and technically speaking, the Lord cares more about the state of our hearts than our dress, but I’m sure He still appreciates and prefers to see a congregation praising and worshipping Him looking good. It does say something about the people’s prosperity and reflects well on the Lord’s largesse.
If you see people gathering to worship a Deity and they are all looking sloppy, poor and downtrodden, why would you want to join them eh? All I’m saying though is that when we go to church we ought to look as decent as we can.
Now yesterday at our church, St. Francis in Meadowvale, we held a celebration for peace around the Peace Pole on the lawn of the property. Or as the bulletin put it: ‘The Diverse Voices in Meadowvale United in One Voice for Peace.’ We prayed for Peace in our World, our Country, in our Community and in our Families. And then we set free some painted lady butterflies to commemorate the occasion.
We were also graced with the presence of City Councilor Pat Saito celebrating with her annual barbecue and answering the many questions her constituents had. All in all, it was a very pleasant and successful venture.
Now here is one of the quotes from the peace service bulletin that I never knew, but which took my breath away and captured my heart. It’s attributed to Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) the Indian peace activist and leader of the fight for Indian Independence from Britain. He reputedly said: ‘The day the power of LOVE overrules the LOVE of Power, the world will know peace.’
Mama Mia! I like it! And it’s also very true. The only problem though, is when will that blessed day come eh? Most likely not before the majestic return of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who spoke the most celebrated words on the somewhat ephemeral and hard to capture or attain subject of peace.
Listen to our Messiah in today’s Bit. ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’
Wow, mih breddren! What encouraging and reassuring words! And please notice the most important words in the promise ‘not as the world giveth…’ Yes Friends, our Leader is not of this world, so the peace He offers is way different to that which the world acclaims. And because His peace is different to that of the world, we don’t need to be worried, anxious or afraid of anything or anyone in the world.
Now how do you like them beans eh? (smile) I LOVE them, and sure hope you do too, because if you don’t, then your life here on earth will be miserable and fearful. And that’s definitely not what our Saviour came to give us. He said: ‘I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ (John 10:10)
Yes my people, our Saviour came that we should enjoy this earthly life, not to live it cowed and broken. That’s why when we are filled with the peace that He offers, we won’t be terrified of life, but will take the bull by the horns and run life, instead of letting life run us.
Oh Friends, like the ole fella’s in fine form this Sunday morning, obviously being led by the Holy Spirit. Glory to God! Now let’s look at some scripture passages that deal with the very elusive term called peace. And we’ll set the scene with the well-known words of Cousin Sol in his role as the Preacher or Teacher in Ecclesiastes.
‘To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven… A time to LOVE, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.’ ((Eccl.3:1, 8) There’s no disputing those facts Friends, the only problem is that the time for peace seems to be taking rather long to come.
Then we have this very wise advice from Bruh David from Psalm 34 – The Lord hears the righteous. ‘Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.’ (Ps.34:14)
Yuh see my brethren, peace is something we ought to actively seek out, to pursue, for it doesn’t just come about automatically. It is a lifestyle that we definitely have to be actively interested in and then get actively involved in. And the peace we’re talking about here is the peace of Jesus, not that of the world.
And we’ll end with the words of Bruh Paul to the church at Rome. He’s talking about Christ being the only judge, therefore we should not judge each other, in this case in the things that we eat. ‘For the kingdom of God is not meat (food) and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost… Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify (build up) another.’ (Rom.14:17, 19)
Oh Friends, with those wise words and thoughts uppermost in our minds this Sunday morning, let’s ponder them as they pertain to our individual lives nuh, and then make the necessary improvements, of course with the help of our magnanimous, gracious and merciful God. Much LOVE!
…if we have no peace…it is because we have forgotten…that we belong to each other… (Mother Teresa)
26 May 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a healthy chance, a mirror image, a serious note, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land, arrogance, arrogant, ask for the old paths, backsliding, Beelzebub, blind leading the blind, break free, calmitous, catastrophic, Christians, commune with nature, crapaud smoke we pipe, dancing madly, deceit, destruction, dilgent, dream, drought, evil monster, flooding, friends, Friends in Christ, godless, harness our limited power, hot and humid, human errors, idolatry, in the throes of death, Jeremiah, Jesus, LOVE, Memorial Day, mind-blowing, my neck of the woods, my people which are called by my name, natural disasters, Oklahoma, our own counsel, path of destruction, persevering, pray, pride, promise, prosperity, proud, rampaging, raod to disadter, refuse to try somethig different, removing God from society, repent, rest for your souls, return to God, righteousness., seek my face, shall humble themselves, short mind spans, sincere, sinfulness, Southern California, stand ye in the ways, stranglehold, success, Texas, the annals of history, the awesome might of Jesus, the good way, the Love Revolution, the universe is unfolding as it should, the wages of sin is death, the way of the ungodly, the wisdom of a fool, then will I hear from heaven, tight grip, torrential rains, trying times, turn away from their wicked ways, walk therein, wickedness
2 Chronicles 7:14. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn away from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Oh my beautiful Friends in Christ, called by His holy name – Christians, welcome to another glorious day in the annals of history! (smile) The universe is unfolding as it should.
It’s going to be hot and humid today in my neck of the woods; something like 30 C. but the wind is not going to be rampaging like it was yesterday. Boy, was I ever sorry for those trees yesterday, for the wind had them dancing madly all day long, even into the night.
And hear this nuh; about 1:15 this morning I went outside to sit on my porch and commune some with nature, but less than ten minutes later, I had to come back in because the wind was strong and cool and I only had on shorts and a T-shirt. Hn, Hn!
But on a more serious note my brethren, what a way our world is disaster prone these days. It wasn’t a very happy Memorial Day for some of our Friends down in the Southern U.S. states, especially Texas and Oklahoma, where torrential rains caused immense flooding and damage. Meanwhile in poor Southern California, a long and fierce drought is doing serious damage of another kind.
Ah Lord eh! I don’t know what to say nuh my people, except that we should seriously consider applying the promise contained in the words of our Bit, for we obviously can’t stop the disasters that are occurring ever more often in these most difficult and trying times.
‘If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn away from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.’
But yuh know what, mankind has become so proud and arrogant and godless nowadays that even though we see what’s happening, the calamitous natural disasters and catastrophic human errors, we refuse to try something different.
But as I keep reminding us, that is the wisdom of a fool! Even the Israelites, when they hit a bad spell after a season of idolatry, were smart enough to repent and return to God, and He did as promised; healed their land and returned it to prosperity.
But this foolish and wicked generation, even in the throes of death, refuses to even consider that option, much less adopt it. They’re still more intent than ever in removing God from our midst.
Chuh! Beelzebub certainly has us in grip, in fact in a tight, stranglehold my people! It’s a stranglehold from which we desperately need to break free, if we ever expect to return our countries, our world, from the path of total destruction on which we’re currently headed.
To accomplish that most worthwhile dream though, will take oodles of diligent, sincere and persevering work from us, the comparatively small band of people called by Christ’s name. But it is definitely possible when we harness our limited power to the awesome might of Jesus.
Oh my brethren, please, I implore us today, RIGHT NOW, to begin working seriously on the LOVE Revolution that’s necessary to save our world and give our children, our descendants, a healthy chance of success in the upcoming years.
For without that turn around to a godly world, Friends, we don’t stand a chance of success, as much chance of success as a snowball in hell! And that’s the living and factual reality of the situation, because our God doesn’t make idle promises, and He says that the wages of sin is certain death. So nuff said on that subject.
Now let’s continue looking at some scriptures which highlight the last of the four parts of our Bit that’s necessary for the Lord to hear our pleas, forgive our sin and heal our land, that’s ‘and turn away from their wicked ways.’
Oh my people, the wickedness of this current world is so rampant, widespread and incisive that it’s mind-blowing! I don’t think our world has ever been this wicked, and it’s been helped by all the advancements we’ve made in terms of modern living. More knowledge and power and greater material wealth have led to even greater sinfulness.
The Lord must certainly be shaking His head in disgust, thinking and sadly muttering, ‘what an evil monster I have created eh!’ Listen up to these scriptures Friends.
Jeremiah proclaims: ‘Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.’ (Jer.6:16) What pride and arrogance my people!
And the scholars have this to say about that verse. ‘6:16. The people’s stubborn refusal to walk in the traditional ways of true righteousness is often mentioned by Jeremiah (12:16; 18:15; 23:12; 31:21)
Moving in their own paths and following their own way could only lead to Judah’s destruction (cf. Prov.14:12). The contrast of the way of righteousness and life with the way of the ungodly and death is often made in the Scriptures (e.g.Ps.1; Matt.7:13-14).’
Oh Friends, that is exactly what we are doing today; walking in our paths, to the tune of our own counsel, so what can we expect but destruction eh?
Now hear Jeremiah again, as he mourns the desperate state of the Jews. ‘Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return? Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding?
They hold fast (to) deceit, and they refuse to return. I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? Everyone turned to his (own) course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.’ (Jer.8:4-6)
Oh my people, there again Jeremiah is painting a mirror image of our society today! How sad it is eh. Steups! But we’ll stop there for now. I was trying to get it all in today, but it would just be too too long, and I’m having respect for our short mind spans. (smile)
Anyway my people, please, please, let’s wake up and see the destructive actions that are taking place in our world nuh, which are carrying us steadily and ever quicker down the pathway to eventual destruction. For our children’s sake, let’s do something concrete and positive about it nuh, and quickly too, else crapaud will surely smoke we pipe! Much LOVE!
…there’s no surer road to disaster…than the blind and foolish…leading the blind and foolish…away from Jesus…
23 May 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's wisdom, a friend of Jesus, a rewarder of them that diligently seek him, a slave to Lucifer, Amos, and all these things shall be added unto you, Beelzebub, blessings, bondage of darkness, damnation, death, divine judgement, eternal life, eternally separated from God, follower of Jesus Christ, forgive their sin, forgiveness, freedom of light, friendship with Jesus, glory hallelujah, going to hell in a hand-basket, gospel truth, grace, guiding light, heal their land, hellfire, humility, hunger and thirst for Christ, joy, kowtowing, LOVE, lusts of our nature, meekness, mercy, minion of Lucifer, my people which are called by my name, my soul thirsteth for god, Orion, passion, peace, pray, promise, prosperity, provision, salvation, seek my face, seek ye first the kingdom of God, seek ye the Lord, sensible, shall humble themselves, the day of the Lord's anger, the Life, the Light, the Lord is my light and salvation, the Pleiades, the Prince of Peace, the Sermon on the Mount, the shadow of death, the things of the world, the Truth, the Way, then will I hear from heaven, to be or not to be, true believers, turn away from their wicked ways, understanding, wisdom, wise, without faith it is impossible to please God, worshipping Jesus, Zephaniah
2 Chronicles 7:14. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn away from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Aye Friends, to be or not to be is the question? Whether it is better to be a follower of Jesus Christ, than to be a minion of Lucifer?
And a mighty shout of unanimous, universal approval rose up to high heaven: ‘It is far far better to be a follower of the Prince of Peace, the One who is the Way, the Truth, the Life and the Light than a to be a minion of the prince of darkness! Glory to God Almighty, who sent His Son Jesus to bring us out of the bondage of darkness into the freedom of the Light!’
Yes my people, it is indeed much better, from all points of view, to be a Friend of Jesus than a slave to the evil Lucifer! For Lucifer has nothing worthwhile to really offer us. All the things of the world and the fleshly lusts of our nature will eventually rot and be destroyed.
But when you have friendship with Jesus… Oh fellow followers, you have peace and LOVE, joy, wisdom and understanding, forgiveness, mercy and grace, and are assured of salvation, which leads to eternal life in heaven with Jesus as our guiding light. What can be better than that eh? NOTHING really my brethren! Being a slave to Beelzebub will only cause us to be separated from our Creator for eternity; the worst thing that can ever happen to a human soul.
So having said all of that, can someone explain to me why so many of us are still minions and slaves to Lucifer? I guess we’re just bedazzled by the bright and gaudy wares that he has to offer and the lusts that he promotes. And that is exactly why our world is going to hell in a hand basket! Too many of us are kowtowing to Lucifer rather than worshipping Jesus.
But that’s a fool’s wisdom my brethren! For there’s nothing substantial or long lasting that Lucifer has to offer… except death, hellfire and damnation! And I don’t think any of us really want to experience that, so why not do the right and wise and sensible thing RIGHT NOW eh? Turn to Jesus while there is still time, for once He comes back in all His majestic glory, all bets will be over.
And it’s not like our wonderful God didn’t make provision for just such occasions. Our Bit spells it out loud and clear. ‘If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn away from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.’
Ah Friends, I don’t understand when we have such a glorious opportunity for all around improvement and prosperity, we choose to ignore it. I guess the problem is just too big for my small mind to comprehend. (smile)
Anyway, let’s continue looking at scriptures that involve ‘seek my face.’ But my people, there are so many, I don’t know where to begin. But as they say, when in doubt, begin with Jesus. So here goes.
Remember Jesus’ famous admonition in the Sermon on the Mount? ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt.6:33) That’s the gospel truth Friends, but so far, not too many of us seem to be seriously interested in doing it. It’s the same idea as our Bit, just said in a different manner.
Meanwhile the prophet Zephaniah told the Israelites, re the scope of divine judgement: ‘Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgement (upheld his justice); seek righteousness, seek meekness (humility): it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger.’ (Zeph.2:3) Again my people, it’s the same idea as our Bit.
And Amos, in his call to repentance, informed the children of Israel. ‘For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live… Seek him that maketh the seven stars (the Pleiades) and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with (as) night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name:’ (Amos 5:4; 8) More wisdom and gospel truth my brethren!
And no discourse on seeking God could ever be complete without the sentiments of Bruh David. Hear him proclaim from Psalm 27 – the Lord is my light and my salvation. ‘One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty (delightfulness) of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple…
Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.’ (Ps.27:4, 7-8) Glory Hallelujah!
Now here is a favourite from Hebrews. ‘But without faith it is impossible to please him (God): for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek him diligently.’ (Heb.11:6)
Oh Friends, I can personally vouch for that, because the Lord has rewarded me with untold blessings for having faith in Him and diligently seeking Him. And He will do the same for you if you seek him with all your heart, mind, body and soul! That’s His faithful promise.
And we’ll end with another gem from Bruh David; this one from Psalm 63 – God satisfies the thirsting soul – when he was in hiding from his enemies in the wilderness of Judah. ‘O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry land, where no water is.’ (Ps.63:1)
Oh my people, do we feel that way; that hunger and thirst for our magnificent and magnanimous God? Well we ought to…that is if we’re true believers. So today, please let each of us seriously ponder our individual hunger and thirst for Christ , so that we might attain unto true righteousness. For that’s the wisdom of the ages! Much LOVE!
…to truly LOVE Christ…is to show a burning passion …for all things and people associated with him…
20 May 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a decision, a dream, a gift, a proud look, a sound mind, a tad on the chilly side, abomination to God, absence of fear, absolute truth, alive and kicking, all is right in God's world, all my fears are gone, arrogance, assurance, be filled with courage, be fruitful and multiply, bear our burdens, bet your bottom dollar, beyond yourself, Bless His Holy Name, Bruh Paul, calm, chutzpah, common sense, communing with nature, courage, Courage is not the absence of fear, deliverance, disastrous state of our world, do god's work, do it afraid, encouraging words, entrance to the Lord's presence, evil world, fear mongering, fears, forgive their sin, friends, going going gone, Gramps Schuller, halfway point of the week, haughty eyes, he shall lift you up, heal their land, Hour of Power Devotional, humble yourselves, humility, in the sight of the Lord, Jerusalem, Judah, king of Egypt, let us rejoice and be glad in it, life, LOVE, my people which are called by my name, mysterious, no looking or turning back, peace, perverse mouth, power, Praise the Lord, pray, presence of a calling, pride, prosperity, Rehoboam, Scrip-Bit land, seek my face, servants, shall humble themselves, Shemaiah, spirit of courage, straight ahead to the finish line, Thank You Lord, the core of my invisible soul, the evil way, the Holy Spirit, the Lord is righteous, the presence of God, the spirit of fear, the sun is shining, them's the breaks, then will I hear from heaven, this is the day the Lord has made, tranquil, turmoil, turn from their wicked ways, turning away from God, what a relief, wisdom, wonderful Wednesday morning, working peace, wrath, ye have forsaken me, zenith
2 Chronicles 7:14. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn away from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Well a wonderful Wednesday morning to you readers out there in Scrip-Bit Land! It’s a tad on the chilly side today, as it was yesterday. Ah Lord eh! What is the weather coming to eh? We had a beautiful Victoria Day weekend, then yesterday it suddenly turned cold and windy.
As one Friend told me yesterday evening, ‘you were boasting in the Bit about sitting on your porch last night communing with nature. Let me see if you will do it tonight too.’ (smile)
And Friends, sad to say I didn’t. It was just too so and so cold. But them’s the breaks! And furthermore, the sun is shining, we are alive and kicking and all is right in God’s world! Bless His Holy Name. That’s why we can say, as the psalmist did eons ago: ‘This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Ps.118:24)
We might as well my brethren, because the only other alternative is to be sad and miserable, and God gave us the day to be fruitful and multiply, both in terms of children and in His work here on earth. Anyway, we’ve reached the halfway point of the workweek – rather quickly and easily I must say – (smile) so there’s no turning or looking back now, just straight ahead to the finish line.
And to help us do that, here’s something from Gramps Schuller (Robert H. Schuller) from his Hour of Power Devotional, on the subject of courage, which we can never get enough of. He claims that courage isn’t a gift, but a decision. And ‘Courage is not the absence of fear, it is the presence of a calling – a dream that pulls you beyond yourself. Hence it is something you can never lose. It is always something that you can choose. So, choose it today!’
And then, in a little poem, he declares: ‘I have it! My fears are going, going, gone! I feel a mysterious, calm, quiet, tranquil assurance rising deep within my being. This remarkable spirit of courage is overpowering me. It is the very presence of God working peace at the core of my invisible soul. Thank You Lord. All my fears are gone. What a relief! Amen.’
Yes my people, courage, like all other good things, comes from Almighty God! It is He who gives us the wherewithal to bear our burdens with chutzpah, and not give up to the fear the enemy tries to instill in us. So please, today, let’s be filled with courage, as we endeavour to do God’s work and be fruitful.
And we will need plenty of courage if we are to fulfill the words of our Bit, especially with the power of the unbeliever in today’s world, and his determined purpose to remove all aspects of God from our society. ‘If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn away from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.’
Ah mih breddren, what a most worthy promise! One that should allay all our fears. But even if we’re still fearful, we can do like Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) likes to say: ‘Do it afraid.’ We just can’t afford to let fear hold us back in these very difficult and trying times.
And we can punctuate that with these encouraging and uplifting words of Bruh Paul to Timothy. ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound mind.’ (2 Tim.1:7) And that’s the absolute truth Friends, so please let’s not give into the fear mongering of this evil world, for the power that’s within us, the Holy Spirit, is greater than that which is in the world.
And all of God’s people gave out a loud shout of, ‘Praise the Lord! Amen.’
Now let’s turn to some scripture that pertains to the first of the four things in our Bit, that we need to do to turn back to God, so that He can heal us and our land. That’s ‘humble themselves.’
Oh Friends, one of the things our God thoroughly dislikes is pride. As Cousin Sol says in Proverbs 8: ‘The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the forward (perverse) mouth do I hate.’ (Prov.8:13) And in Proverbs 1.17, he mentions ‘a proud look (haughty eyes)’ as one of the seven things that are an abomination to our God.
So Friends, it’s obvious that we can’t come before our heavenly father in pride and arrogance, for He will just ignore us, possibly just have us thrown out from His presence. (smile) Now hear how He rewards humility.
Way back when, in the days of the apostasy of Rehoboam, king of Judah, Shishak, the king of Egypt, came to fight against Jerusalem with a mighty army. And he captured several cities of Judah before he came to Jerusalem.
‘Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith the Lord, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore I also left you in the hand of Shishak. Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The Lord is righteous.
And when the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. Nevertheless, they shall be his servants; that they may know my service (distinguish my service from) the service of the kingdoms of the countries.’ (2 Chr.12:5-8)
Yuh see Friends, even though God provided them with some relief for their humility, they still had to pay a price for their earlier pride and arrogance. And I wonder why our world is in so much turmoil eh? Could it be partly because of our pride and arrogance and turning away from the ways of God?
You can bet your bottom dollar that our intransigence plays a big part in the disastrous state of our world my people!
And we shall close with one of the most notable scriptures on the subject. This from James: ‘Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:10)
Oh my people, my people, there is no better advice to be had than that! So please, let’s just grab it and run with it nuh, so that our world, our children, will stand a much better chance of life and prosperity than we now do. That’s wisdom and common sense at the zenith! Much LOVE!
…humility…it is the first…and most important requirement…for gaining entrance to the Lord’s presence…
12 May 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's wisdom, a lost art, a very present help in trouble, action, almighty god, arrogance, be not conformed to this world, be transformed, broken dreams, Bruh David, Bruh Paul, by the renewing of your mind, calm to my soul, Christians, communed with nature, communication with nature, current society, embellishments, ever-busy, evidence, exhortations, eye candy, followers of Jesus, foolish pride, foundation, friends, glory, God commanded, God is our refuge and strength, God's handiwork, God's supremacy, Gramps Schuller, happy, Hour of Power Devotional, humming on all cylinders, ifs ands and buts, impatient society, in the sight of nations, in the world, judgements, lack of admiration, let go and let God, LOVE, Moses, my Friend, my refuge is in God, now for now, obedience, of the world, peaceful, pour out your heart, prideful, prosperity, quiet of the night hours, return to worshipping Jehovah God, righteous, sage words, salvation, satisfied, Selah, serene, serenity, sinful, sinful nature, source of refuge, statutes, take to heart, the Creator of the universe, The Israelites, the Lord God of, the Promised Land, the rock of Christ, the rock of my strength, the things of God, the things of the world, the trees dance a slow waltz, the wicked ways of the world, times of need, to the music of the wind, true believers, trust in god at all times, truth, turn back, under the weather, understanding, warning, will of God, wisdom, wise, you never did let go
Psalm 46:1. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help (an abundantly available help) in time of trouble.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, it’s one of those days when the ole fella is a tad under the weather. Nothing to really talk about, but just not humming on all cylinders yet. (smile)
But you know what, last night, or this morning, if you prefer, for the first time this year, I sat out on my porch around 1.30 and communed with nature and my Maker.
Oh Friends, it was so serene and peaceful that I didn’t want to come inside and go to bed. (smile) Just feeling the cool breeze wash over me in the quiet of the night hours, after the rain had washed everything clean, and watching the trees dance a slow waltz to the music of the wind… Ah, it brought such peace and calm to my soul!
You know, I believe one of our big problems in this current society is a lack of admiration and communication with nature in its natural state. Just sitting and admiring God’s handiwork seems to be a lost art these days.
We’re too busy to just sit and enjoy and admire the things God made for us to just sit and admire and get His peace and serenity in our souls. What a waste that is my people!
But here is a poem from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H Schuller) Hour of Power devotional, which I shared last year, and feel the need to share again this year, that addresses that problem; our basic busyness and impatience. It’s titled: ‘Let Go and Let God.’
And it says: ‘As children bring their toys with tears for us to mend, I brought my broken dreams to God, because He was my Friend. But then, instead of leaving Him in peace to work alone, I hung around and tried to help with ways that were my own.
At last I snatched them back and cried, “How can You be so slow?” “My child,” He said, “what could I do? You never did let go.”
And that, my people, is exactly how we operate with God. We come to Him in prayer, but then don’t give Him the chance to do it in His own time and pace, because we are programmed by this ever-busy, impatient society, to want things now for now.
But that’s not how our God works, my brethren. And until we realize that, and give Him the time and space to work on our problems, we’ll never be happy or satisfied with Him.
Please remember though, the wise and sage words of our Bit. ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help (an abundantly available help) in time of trouble.’
Yes Friends, Almighty God, the Creator of the universe and all therein is our source of refuge and strength in times of need! It seems only logical to seek the help and advice of the One who created us, and all else that there is!
But we, through foolish pride and sinful arrogance simply refuse to bow to God’s supremacy, instead choosing the evil and wicked ways of the world to base our lives upon. Friends, the Bible calls that a fool’s wisdom.
Please remember Moses’ exhortation to obedience to the Israelites during their journey to the Promised Land: ‘Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgements, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.
Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
For what nation is there so great, who hath (a) God so nigh (near) unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgements so righteous as all this law, which I have set before you this day?’ (Deut.4:5-8)
Yes my people, great nations follow the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! That is how they become great. But once they get too big for their britches, and start moving away from God, then a time of hardship and decline is ushered in, because of their folly.
You see it in the history of the Israelites and many other powerful nations of the world, and of course in our current society, where we became great because our society was built on the foundation of the rock of Christ.
But as all the others, once we got powerful, we foolishly thought that it was our strength that got us there, and now we’re trying move God out, and our problems are quickly multiplying, while our prosperity is declining with each new day.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, unless we turn back to sincerely worshipping and serving the Most High God Jehovah, our society will end up in ruins. There are no ifs, ands and buts about that! So please, let’s wake up and be wise nuh.
Let’s accept the truth of Bruh David’s words from Psalm 62. ‘In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.’ (Ps.62:7-8)
Oh my people, that is such obvious truth, that I can’t understand how we don’t see it, especially with all the supporting evidence to prove it. But I guess that stems from our natural prideful and sinful nature, in conjunction with all the embellishments and eye-candy that’s constantly been bombarded on us by the evil society in which we live.
However Friends, as true believers in, and sincere followers of Jesus, we’re not supposed to embrace the things of the world, but the things of God.
And we’ll end with this most appropriate warning from Bruh Paul to the church at Rome. ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.’ (Rom.12:2)
Words of absolute wisdom my brethren! Please, I implore us to take them to heart, and put them into serious action, if we desire our society to be prosperous and powerful. Much LOVE!
…Christians should be IN the world…but not OF it…
22 Apr 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a future, agenda, all is well, basic tenet of our faith, bestows on us, bleary eyes, blessings, Bruh Paul, called to do his bidding, caring, Christ-like, corrupt, cruel, cruelty, empathy, empowering strength, empowers, endures forever, enlightened times, ever-changing circumstances, evil, evil powers of darkness, faith-feeding scriptures, faithful promise, fellow believers, forgiveness, forgiving, from head to foot, glory hallelujah, glory to God, God is on His heavenly throne, God works everything out for our good, God's comforting presence watches over us, God's power protects us, God's unconditional love enfolds us, good news of Jesus' gospel, good plan, gospel truth, gracious, grees, gruesome crime, his goodness to the children of men, hungry, I AM, I can do all things through Christ, I have learned, in full control of all activities, in regard of need, in respect of want, integrity, Jesus Christ, joy, judge others, kindness, lead me astray, LOVE, mercies, merciful, moral character, motherly type, motives, of good over evil, on the other side of the coin, outward appearances, perpetrated by a woman, perplexing, practical experience, Praise the Lord, prosperity, rectify the situation, refined ways, sadistic, selfishness, Spirit-induced, spiritual superman, standards, suffer need, the joy of following Jesus, the light of Jesus surrounds us, the long and short of the story, the Lord sees into our hearts, the universe is unfolding as it should, there's no need to worry, to be abased, to be content, to be full, to sleep in, toabound, ungodliness, uphill battle, what a marvellous God we serve and worship, whatever he wills, which strengtheneth me, wicked stuff, win the battle
Philippians 4:13. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Oh Friends, I really don’t know what to say this cold, wet and windy Wednesday morning nuh. I was most surprised when I opened my bleary eyes and saw that it was after eight o’clock. But I guess the Lord saw that the body needed more rest than I was prepared to give it and He allowed me to sleep in. Hn!
But then when I did get up, the ole body was aching all over, from head to foot, which also shows that too much rest is not good for it. (smile)
But the long and short of the story Friends is that I’m up and about, though not kicking as strongly as I would like – yet. However, I do know that our wonderful God is on His heavenly throne in full control of all activities in His beautiful universe.
The brilliant light from His awesome Son Jesus surrounds us. His never ending and unconditional LOVE enfolds us. His unimaginable power protects us, while His faithful and comforting presence continually watches over us. And that means that ALL is well my people!
So there is no need to worry, because the gracious and merciful and forgiving I AM, has everything under control, the universe is proceeding and unfolding as it should. What a marvellous God we serve and worship my brethren! Never let anybody tell you differently nuh!
On the other side of the coin though, this morning I read where a farmer, a middle aged woman in Oregon, U.S.A was found guilty of murdering two men over a period of a year and feeding their remains to her pigs. How gruesome a crime – especially to be perpetrated by a woman!
We certainly don’t expect that sort of crime to be committed by women. And the sad part is that her picture shows her like a caring, motherly type. It just goes to show that we truly can’t judge others by their outward appearances, and unfortunately only the Lord has the power to see into our hearts and discern our real motives and agenda.
That means we have to be very careful of whom we allow in to our lives and associate with. What a sad time we’re living in my brethren. How ironic that at the most enlightened and advanced time in man’s history, that we’re possibly the most corrupt, cruel and sadistic, though in more refined ways.
We’re certainly not using the advances and enlightenment for good purposes like we should, but rather for evil and wicked stuff. Things like moral character, integrity and high standards are disappearing from our world, only to be replaced by stuff like greed, selfishness, heinous cruelty and ungodliness.
However my fellow believers in Jesus Christ, the good news is that we’re here to try and rectify the terrible situation that now exists in our world. And though it looks like a long, uphill battle, with our kindness, caring, empathy and the good news of Jesus’ gospel, we can prevail over the evil powers of darkness and win the battle of good over evil.
Glory Hallelujah! And we are assured of this in the wonderful words of encouragement that flow from Bruh Paul through our Bit. ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.’
And all God’s people shouted a loud and delirious; ‘Glory to God who empowers us to do whatever He wills!’
Yes my fellow believers that’s gospel truth and a basic tenet of our faith, which we must clearly and dearly believe and then act upon it with faith. But before we go any further, let’s hear the scholars’ important explanation on that verse.
‘4:13. The apostle’s ability of knowing how to live skillfully on little or in prosperity does not mean that he is a spiritual superman. The reason he can live in such extremes is not owing to his own ability.
Rather he can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth him, thus enabling him to adapt to his various, ever-changing circumstances. God orders Paul’s various situations, and God gives him the strength to be content in them all, trying and perplexing though they may be.’
Oh my people, my people, those words also resonate with heavenly truth in our modern day situations. God allows us to be in different kinds of situations, then gives us the wherewithal to endure them and come out more Christ-like on the other side.
Thus we can, or ought to be able to say like Bruh Paul does before our Bit. ‘Not that I speak in respect of want (in regard of need): for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
I know both how to be abased (live humbly), and I know how to abound (live in prosperity): every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.’ (Phil.4:11-12)
Oh Friends, all of that also pertains to us today! But please note one thing, that process of being content in any situation does not come easily, neither from book learning or overnight, but from hard practical experience. It has to be learned, as Bruh Paul says: ‘I have learned.’
So too we must learn from all the experiences that God allows us to go through, remembering that with His empowering strength, we can do whatever He calls us to do, and also that He has a good plan and a future for our lives, as well as He works everything out for the good of those who LOVE Him and are called to do His bidding.
Oh Friends, I had to chuckle at that last Spirit-induced sentence, as it contains three basic but ever-faithful tenets of our faith and the everlasting LOVING-kindness of our God. I’m not going to elaborate on them, because they are three faith-feeding scriptures that we all should know.
So let’s ponder them this fateful day, as we give thanks for the breath of life that God has allowed in us, and all the other mercies, blessings and forgiveness that He daily bestows on us, many of which we are totally undeserving of.
And all God’s people gave a loud and grateful shout of ‘Praise the Lord! For his goodness to the children of men endures for ever!’
And that’s gospel truth Friends! So with all that stuff in mind, let’s go out and show the world the real joy of being a follower of Jesus, so that they too can want, can greatly desire to follow in His footsteps. Much LOVE!
…where He leads me…I will follow, follow…for He will never lead me astray…that’s His faithful promise…
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