04 Nov 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all things were made by him, alleviate our problems, an accurate perception, atonement for our sins, be filled with the knowledge of his will, being fruitful in every good work, Bible, cease not to pray for you, christianity, cycle of life, disobeyed your word, eternal destination, faith, forbearing the faults of others, fruitful in every good work, giving thanks unto the Father, god, happiness, holy spirit, immorality, in all wisdom, in him was life, In the beginning was the Word, increasing in the knowledge of God, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, joyfulness, logic, longsuffering, LOVE, made us meet, mass confusion, meditating on god's word, mercy, misery, morality, partakes of the inheritance, pateince, perseverance, practical situations, practical ways to apply theory, qualified us, ransom, redemption, sacrifices, sacrificial death, salvation, share in the salvation, sincere repentance, sincerely expressing gratitude to god, sinned, spiritual understanding, strengthened with all might, suffering, the Christian life, the crippling clutches, the darkness comprehends it not, the forgiveness of sins, the God who heals, the grim reaper, the life was the light of men, the light shines in the darkness, the saints in light, the skillful application of wisdom, the true nature of things, the Word was God, the Word was with God, this evil world, trials, tribulations, truth, walk worthy of the Lord, wisdom
John 1:1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
And the cycle continues unabated. Yes friends, the cycle of life never stops, it just keeps rolling along from Monday to Sunday…Monday to Sunday…and back again. It’s like a constantly revolving Ferris wheel that simply keeps going up and down, round and round, but never stopping to disgorge its anxious and fearful passengers.
And the only way you can escape the crippling clutches of that forever cycle is by allowing the Grim Reaper to escort you home to your eternal destination, be it heaven or hell. That means while you’re caught in the vicious cycle of life, you have to learn to handle it with some semblance of hope and fortitude.
And the best way to do that is by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. And why is that? Because as John puts it in his gospel: ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness comprehendeth it not.’ (John 1:1-5)
Oh my people, logic dictates that if those words are true and Jesus was the Word and He made everything in creation, and life and light came through Him, then He should be the most knowledgeable about life and be the one most able to teach us how to handle it. Now, that sounds all well and good in theory, but how do we put it into practice?
And that’s the beauty of living for and serving Jesus; He doesn’t only give you theory, but also practical ways to apply the theory. And one of the best ways to put that theory above into practice is highlighted by the words of Bruh Paul’s prayer for the Colossians. He writes: ‘For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet (qualified us) to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in (the) light:
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated (transferred) us into the kingdom of his dear Son (the Son of His LOVE): In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:’ (Col. 1:9-14)
So those are some of the things we need to learn to help us handle the vicious cycle of life. Let’s try and break them down nuh. And the first thing we need to do is discern God’s will for our lives, through meditating on God’s Word and through the leading and guiding of His Holy Spirit that indwells us for those purposes. Bruh Paul says that we need to do so with all ‘wisdom and spiritual understanding.
Now what are those things eh? The scholars explain that ‘Wisdom is an accurate perception into the true nature of things, while Understanding is the skillful application of this wisdom in practical situations.’ So basically, they are knowing the truth and knowing how to successfully apply that truth to our lives. And why do we need to know God’s will for our lives? So that we can ‘walk worthy of the Lord,’ or live properly and please Him.
And what does a worthy walk entail? According to the scholars: ‘the believer is (1) fruitful in every good work, productive in Christian service; (2) constantly increasing in the knowledge of God, ever coming to know the Lord better; (3) always “strengthened with all might” or becoming spiritually stronger and stronger; (4) in the habit of giving thanks, sincerely expressing gratitude to God in both the pleasant and unpleasant experiences in life.’
Now, the first thing we must understand about walking with God as a believer in His Son Jesus Christ, is that it’s not easy; it’s filled with sacrifices, and suffering and tough times and just life itself…however, it is the most interesting and rewarding life we can ever live on God’s great earth!
And here we’re talking about things like ‘Patience, which the scholars tell us is persevering through problems, trials and tribulations, and so forth. Also Longsuffering which is forbearing the faults and offences of others.’ And in all of that we still need to be ‘thanking the Father who made us fit to share in the salvation belonging to the saints who are in the light.’
And ‘Light is the ethical condition in which God’s children live, namely that of spiritual understanding, with its accompanying morality and happiness. Then we come to ‘Darkness, which is the religious state in which unbelievers exist, namely, that of spiritual ignorance, with its attending immorality and misery.’
And last but not least, possibly the most important is ‘Blood, the Blood of Jesus, which reminds the Colossians, and also us, of the enormous price and sacrifice paid to secure our redemption. Redemption then, is achieved by the atonement wrought by Jesus’ death.’ His sacrificial death paid the price for our sins, or He ransomed us through His death, thus leading to forgiveness of sins, if one believes in Him. So, as we said before, living the Christian life can be a tough go, but by all accounts, it can’t be beat.
And to help us accomplish our earthly tasks with joy and thanksgiving, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn asking for divine help to do better than we’re currently doing. That’s also one of the big benefits of living for Christ; you can go to Him at anytime to ask for help.
Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face.
So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
Let’s remember though, that asking for divine aid also includes our sincere repentance and a serious desire to seek God more fully. Much LOVE!
…the cycle of life…can best be lived…in association with its Creator…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
06 Jul 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a realtionship with God, abundance, at Calvary, blood work, boast, can't fake joy, can't hide joy, circumstances, circumstantial, creativity, curse, dejected, earthly wealth, encouraging, exhort, Gelatin, Give God a ransom, glory to God, God's creation, godly, happiness, iniquity, inviting, Jesus Christ, joy, joy stays forever, live soberly, looking for that blessed hope, LOVE, magnificent experience, multitude of riches, my favourite word, negative word, on the right foot, One Year Book of Bible promises, our Lord and Saviour, percolate, prosper, protect it with our life, purify, ransom, rebuke, redeem his brother, righteously, Ruth Harms Calkin, sad, salvation, self-control, sleep, speak, specail people, spell check, succeed, sweetly honest, the Christian life, the cross, the glorious appearing, the grace of God, the great God, the joy of the Lord is your strength, the One and Only One, Thursday Blessings, trust in wealth, trying times, typo, ungodliness, weak, well mannered Canadians, wicked ways, wisdom, worldly lusts, zealous of good works
Psalm 49:6-7. They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him.
Awright mih people, awright! Yesterday did end much better than it began, and today’s begun on the right foot, no aches and pains like yesterday! Wow! Glory to God in the highest!
And I’m up an hour earlier than I had planned because I have to go out the street and be early in line at the lab for that blood work. The truth is, I didn’t plan on getting up this early, but I misread the clock; instead of seeing 5.30, I saw 6 30, and by the time I realized my error, I was already getting dressed.
And though another hour’s sleep did sound very inviting, I decided to forego it and come down and begin writing the Bit. Hn! Yuh see how much I care about getting it out as early as possible to you? (smile)
But before we go any further, let me apologize for a typo yesterday. It seems like I created a whole new nation called the ‘Gelatins’ to whom Bruh Paul wrote an epistle. Don’t know how many of you noticed it. And I don’t see how that escaped me, since I read the Bit several times before I send it out, and the Galatians showed up quite right elsewhere.
But I guess the spell check never picked it up because ‘Gelatin’ is also a word. However, all of that is now history and I have something wonderful for us to begin our day with. It’s simply called ‘JOY!’ And it comes from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin.
Please pray with me: ‘Joy! My favourite word. Circumstances may determine my happiness But, Lord, You determine my joy. Joy is sweetly honest. No wonder the minister said: “You can’t hide joy if you have it – You can’t fake it if you don’t.” Who can manufacture it, Lord? Joy is your creation. Who may have it? Anyone who asks. Thank You, Lord For joy!’
Mama Mia! Isn’t that beautiful and ever so encouraging my fellow believers? It certainly is! And the thing is we can only find real joy when we are in a good relationship with the Lord through His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, because those are the people the Lord made joy for – true believers like you and I!
And the big difference between joy and happiness is that the former is circumstantial, based on circumstances and flees when the circumstances are not amenable, but joy, once we have found it in the Lord stays with us forever, regardless of the circumstances! Glory to God!
And before I get carried away with the joy in my spirit, (smile) let me give us the Bible Promise associated with that poem. Obviously it’s the great verse we all know: ‘Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’ (Neh. 8:10) That’s from the New Life Translation.
But we all know when we lose our joy that we become weak, sad and dejected. That’s why the enemy is always behind us to steal it, and we have to protect it, literally with our life, for once it’s lost, it’s ever so hard to regain.
So this Thursday morning my faithful brethren, let’s decide to stay strong in Jesus and let our joy just percolate quietly and ecstatically in our hearts and souls. Let’s show the world the magnificent experience that we gain by sincerely serving the Lord, and they too can have, if they change their wicked ways and accept Him as Lord and Saviour.
Now there’s not much time or space left for out Bit, but we’ll push on regardless. ‘They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him.’
Yeh friends, that’s exactly why our souls are filled with joy! We know that no earthly wealth can redeem us, so we don’t focus on it. But Jesus Christ is the ONE and ONLY ONE who can redeem us!
And He did just that by dying on the cross at Calvary, carrying our sins to the grave and burying them there. That’s why we concentrate our focus on Him and not anything that’s in the world.
Anyway, got to run out now. See you in a bit…
I’m back friends, an hour and a half and several vials of blood later. (smile) I got out there about ten after seven and was the fourth in line. So it wasn’t too bad, just the standing around waiting for them to open. And you’d be proud to know that as well mannered Canadians, we all stood nicely in line as we got there. (smile)
And like all we have time and space for now are these immortal words of Bruh Paul to Titus, as he tells him how to live the Christian life. ‘For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men. Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world (age);
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar (his own special) people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.’ (Titus 2:11-15)
Those words also pertain to us in these trying times my brethren. So please let’s hold on to them diligently, so that we don’t lose our joy in the Lord, and can also go home now, sincerely declaring and truly believing the words of our Thursday Blessings.
As one now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And since blessings are made to be shared, let’s go out now and bless others nuh, as Jesus desires of us. Much LOVE!
…the truly redeemed…can be known by their joy in the Lord…
05 Jul 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a hot date, abominable sins, aches and pains, addiction, belief in Jesus, blood test, boast, challenge, Christ is the way, crash and burn, cursed, earthly wealth, eternally grateful, evil thoughts and actions, favour, getting old, give to God a ransom, glad to be alive, God's kingdom, good works, halfway home, hanged on a tree, heaven, Jesus Christ, live righteously, Lucifer, of the spirit, on the wrong foot, only One, open the doors, our heavenly Father, our Lord and Saviour, possessions, ransom, receive the promise, redeem, redeem his brother, redemption, refresh our souls, relationship with Jesus, riches, see God's face, thanks, the blessing of abraham, the breath of life, the cross at Calvary, the curse of the law, the fires of hell, the Gentiles, the Life, the multitude of riches, the Truth, the wicked, through faith, trust in jesus, trust in wealth, undeserving children of men, Wednesday Wail, what a wonderful God we serve and worship, what starts our wrong ends right, when the roll is called up yonder
Psalm 49:6-7. They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him.
Oh friends, I surely hope that the old adage that states what starts wrong turns our right is true yes, because my day certainly got off on the wrong foot.
I got up early, partly because of some aches and pains in the ole body, then discovered that a blood test I had planned to take in the afternoon actually stated early morning. So I got myself together and rushed out to the nearby lab, which opens at eight.
But lo and behold when I got there at seven forty five, there were already people sitting inside waiting, and a line that ran from the desk, all through the office and halfway up the corridor.
Steups! No way was I going to get blood work done early enough to satisfy the doctor’s request, with at least twenty people before me. So I just turned around and came back home. And that’s actually to your benefit, because you’ll get the Bit earlier than if I had stayed at the lab. (smile)
Ah mih people, it’s certainly a challenge getting old yes, because you don’t know what aches and pains and illnesses will suddenly show up at some unexpected time. (smile)
But yuh know what, in spite of all the challenges, I’m still glad to be alive and I give our heavenly Father plenty, plenty thanks for keeping me going, as He also helps me handle the challenges that come against me.
And I’ll say it one more time: What a wonderful God we serve and worship my faithful brethren! There’s none LIKE Him anywhere else in this whole wide world! Please give Him some thanks and praise for being so wonderful to the undeserving children of men!
That brings us to our Bit. ‘They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him.’
And we all know that to be indisputable truth, yet many of us still strive for the riches of this world, hoping that it will bring them salvation. Chuh! What a foolish generation we have raised my people!
All throughout the Good Book we’re told that the wicked will not see God’s face, for their abominable sins will cause them to crash and burn in the fires of hell. But yet many of us still insist on participating in downright evil thoughts and actions.
Friends, there is no salvation in either an addiction to procuring earthly wealth or to be a proponent of evil, for you will take none of the wealth with you, and your evil deeds will only get you a hot date with Lucifer.
And when we talk about redemption, there’s ONLY ONE who can redeem; that’s our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! And yuh see the exorbitant price He had to pay to redeem us: enormous shame and excruciating death on the cross.
As Bruh Paul told the Galatians: ‘Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made (having become) a curse for us: for it is written, CURSED IS EVERY ONE THAT HANGETH ON A TREE:’ (Gal.3:13)
Yeh friends, Bruh Paul is there quoting Deuteronomy 21:23. Please look it up. And why did Jesus take this curse upon Himself for us?
Hear Bruh Paul to the Galatians again: ‘That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.’ (Gal.3:14)
So yuh see my brethren, if Christ had not borne our sins on the cross at Calvary, we, as Gentiles, would not have received the promise of Abraham, and would have been completely shut out of God’s wonderful and generous favour.
That means we have to be eternally grateful to Jesus and live the righteous way He wants us to live. Even if we have been graced with a lot of earthly wealth, it is still very important for us to live a clean and righteous life. Why?
Because when the roll is called up yonder, our earthly wealth will mean absolutely nothing, unless we have used it to help propagate God’s kingdom here on earth. And even then, though our good works down here will bring heavenly rewards, it’s our sincere belief in Jesus that will open the doors of heaven for us.
So friends, I implore us to stop focusing on the wealth and possessions of this evil world, and instead to focus on our attachment to Jesus, develop a strong and enduring relationship with Him, because that is what will ensure our eternal life with Him!
And now, having heard all these truths re our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and having them refresh our souls and spirits, let’s go home announcing to the world our sincere faith and trust in Him, by declaring our Wednesday Wail with plenty enthusiasm and much chutzpah. (smile)
Wailing: ‘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!’
Oh friends, that’s the answer to all our problems right there; a wonderful present and future relationship with Jesus! Much LOVE!
…only Jesus saves…only Jesus redeems…only Jesus can open the door to heaven…that’s why He is indeed…the Way, the Truth and the Life…
04 Jul 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 4th of July, a time of celebration, addressing problems, better shape, boast, caught up, Christians, coming together, common grind, daily task, destinies, dictatorial attitude, disciples, Drunk or sober mind yuh business, eternal life, everyday life, family gatherings, give to God a ransom, God's goodly purposes, godly people, gospel truth, Granny's warning, individual selves, live righteously, LOVE, multitude of riches, none can redeem his brother, patriotic displays, petty, political parties, ransom, redeem, redemption of their soul, resurrected, seeking worldly wealth, sit and ponder, small-minded, the beloved of God, the friend of Jesus, the good of the country, the ungodly drive for riches, True wealth is what you are, trust in God, trust in wealth, Tuesday Mantra, U.S Independence Day, universal application
Psalm 49:6-7. They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him.
HAPPY 4TH OF JULY U.S.A!
So as one North American party winds down, another one ramps up: Canada’s 150th Birthday is now history. We have reluctantly gone back to the daily task and common grind of everyday life.
And I plead with each of us Canadians, please let’s try and live righteously together nuh, so that on our birthday next year, we can look at each other and truly declare that our great country is in better shape that it was a year earlier. And it’s only by coming together and seriously addressing our problems will that ever happen.
In the meanwhile the U.S is celebrating their 4th of July Independence in 1776 from their British colonial masters. It’s one of their biggest days, possibly matched only by Thanksgiving.
It’s a time of great celebration in the nation with lots of patriotic displays and family gatherings, and I don’t think it will be any less so this year, although the country is seriously divided due to the petty, small-minded, dictatorial attitude of its President.
So let’s hope that they too will be able to work through their many serious problems and will also be at a better position this time next year. But then again, that will only come about if they all work together for the good of the country rather than for that of their individual selves or political parties.
And we wish them a day of joyful celebration, with no untoward or negative events. And please remember Granny’s warning today, my U.S brethren: ‘Drunk or sober, mind yuh business.’ It will surely be of great help in this time of intense celebration.
And as we move along, here is a li’l mind enhancing something from my ‘P.S. I LOVE You,’ Poster. It tells us in no uncertain terms: ‘True wealth is what you are, not what you have.’
And I think it will do many of us a lot of good if we sit and ponder that truthful statement for a while, since too many of us are still caught up in the seeking of physical, worldly wealth and possessions, believing that things will make us truly wealthy and/or happy. But that’s just a fantasy my people.
Oh, don’t get me wrong, it is nice and very convenient to have worldly wealth, but that should not define us, it should not make a statement of who we are. When others look at us, the first thing they ought to say is not that we are rich, or wealthy, but that we are godly people, despite our wealth.
That brings us to our Bit. ‘They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him.’
And that’s gospel truth my brethren! No amount of wealth or riches can redeem any of us! The scholars tell us that back in the time when the psalm was written, many evil people were boasting about their riches, just like is happening today.
Thus the psalm is a means of enabling ‘God’s people to rise above the ungodly drive for riches. There is first an invitation to listen (vs.1-4): the poet calls on all men because the psalm has a universal application. Second, he demonstrates how woefully inadequate riches are (vs.5-12): on the day of one’s death they cannot redeem (vs.6-7).
Finally, the divergent destinies of the wicked and the righteous are vividly stated (vs.13-20): the wicked man has no hope beyond this life (v.14), but the righteous man will be resurrected to eternal life.’ And so it ought to be!
Now listen to how the psalmist puts it after our Bit, as he encourages us to trust in God and not worldly wealth. ‘(For the redemption of their soul is precious (costly), and it ceaseth for ever:) That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption (the pit, hell).
For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish (senseless) person perish, and leave their wealth to others. Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.
Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not (does not endure): he is like the beasts that perish. This their way is their folly (the way of those who are foolish): yet their (and of their) posterity approve their sayings. Selah.’ (Ps.49:13)
Oh friends, please let’s not be like the rich and wicked and foolish who believe that their way is the right one, because it very clearly isn’t! Man’s wealth might be able to make this life on earth comfortable, but it can do nothing for us in heaven unless we use it for God’s goodly purposes!
And we are not supposed to be known by what we have but who and whose we are. And that is clearly spelt out in our Tuesday Mantra. So please let’s joyfully declare that as we go home with plenty enthusiasm and true sincerity.
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 friends, that’s our definition as Christians; the beloved of God and the friend of Jesus! Now let’s go out and show that to the wicked world that surrounds us! Much LOVE!
…when others see the LOVE of Jesus in us…then are we truly His disciples…
09 Jun 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a sparkling day, a waste of time, all for nought, believe in Jesus, boundaries, Calvary, Christians, come short of the glory of God, divine provision, dry weather, enormous price, eternal life, extremes, faith, fellowship, fleshly activity, for all have sinned, forbearance of God, free gift, freed from sin, Friday chant, fun, generous help, glorious kingdom, glory to God, God's standard, grace, guiltless, hot like hell, human need, in Jesus' name, just, justified freely, justifier, LOVE, made him to be sin for us, our flesh, pardoned, party time, praise, propitiation, ransom, redemption, relaxation, remisiion of sins, rest, righteous demands, salvation, shedding of blood, slave driver, Spirit of Christ, susceptible to sin, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, Thank you Jesus, thanks, the righteousness of God, the workingman, walk steadfast, waste not want not, week of work, who knew no sin, work never dead
2 Corinthians 5:21. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Oh friends, like another sparkler of a day is in the offing in my area! Wow! Three sparkling days in a row! We need to give the Lord plenty thanks for such wonderful weather!
I know for some of you the good weather is small potatoes, because you receive it most of the time, but we’ve had such chilly and rainy days the last couple weeks that some warm, sparkling, dry weather is greatly appreciated.
And you certainly won’t hear the workingman complain. He is even zestier in his attitude as he unabashedly declares: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday yes! The weekend is upon us… And it going to be hot like hell too! Temps in the thirties! Oh party time…party time…
Steups! Look, forget the chupid slave driver and his work yes. Work never dead yet! Just let me loose here now, so we can get the party going! Much thanks to God for Fridays and the weekends!’
Oh mih breddren, how our flesh would LOVE to participate in such interesting endeavours, (smile) but our minds and spirits are crying out for us to resist such fleshly activity. And as sincere Christians, we ought to have some boundaries to our behaviour, not allow ourselves to go to such extremes.
The Christian way is more like our Friday Chant, so let’s put the lust of the flesh behind us and chant it heartily nuh. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
And that’s the way it ought to be my people, especially when we take our Bit into account. ‘For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.’
Yeh friends, after Jesus paid such an enormous price for us to be freed from sin, we just can’t go back and commit sin willy-nilly again. Oh, we are all still susceptible to sin, but with the Spirit of Christ dwelling in us, we ought to have a strong enough conscience to resist it.
And we have these powerful verses of scripture from Bruh Paul to the Roman church to help explain the situation and consequently uplift us. Hear him pontificate (smile): ‘For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely (without any cost) by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation (a mercy seat) through faith in his blood, to declare (demonstrate) his righteousness for the remission (passing over of) sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.’ (Rom.3:23-26)
Oh friends, right within those verses lies the basis of our salvation… Glory to God! Let’s see if, with the help of the scholars we can get a good understanding of what Bruh Paul is saying there.
‘3:23. For all have sinned: The human need and the divine provision are alike applied universally. Come short of the glory of God: Man can exceed his own standards but never, left to himself, can he attain God’s standard of righteousness.’
Ah mih breddren, regardless of how good we are, we will NEVER reach God’s standards. But He is so wonderful, that knowing that sin pervades and invades all our souls, He wisely provided provision for everybody, if we’d only believe in His Son Jesus Christ, who paid for our sins by the sacrifice, the shedding of His sinless blood on Calvary.
‘3:24. Being justified (Gr. dikatoumenot) indicates being declared righteous. It signifies the believer’s judicial standing before God. Freely: There is no just cause in man to warrant justification. By his grace: Unmerited favour is bestowed through the redemption (release on payment of ransom). Christ’s death is the ransom. The sinner is released on the basis of the ransom having being paid.’
So yuh see friends, we don’t have a leg to stand on, it’s all through God’s grace and Jesus paying the ransom for our sins by the shedding of His blood at Calvary.
‘3:25-26. Through faith: Christ’s death satisfies the Father’s righteous demands. Its benefits are appropriated only through faith in His finished work. In his blood: The emphasis is not on the blood as it coursed through Christ’s veins, but as it was shed for our sins. This is how the propitiation was accomplished.
Just, and the justifier: God can remain just (true to His nature) and still declare sinners to be righteous only because Christ has paid for sin and satisfied (propitiated) His holy law. The sinner is not rendered guiltless but pardoned. Christ has taken the sin on Himself and has imputed His righteousness to the sinner.’
And all believers shouted a loud and most grateful ‘Thank You Jesus! Thank You ever so much for redeeming us from our abominable sins! We LOVE You, and give You plenty thanks and praise! Please help us to walk steadfast in Your everlasting LOVE! Amen!’
Yes friends, I hope we all understand now that it was all the doing of the Father and Jesus, no thanks to us whatsoever.
So please lets be wise and accept the free gift of salvation and eternal life that’s been offered nuh. Otherwise Jesus’ sacrifice would have been all for nought, a complete waste of time. And I’m sure we don’t want that to be the case. Much LOVE!
…remember the old adage…waste not…want not…
P.S. It’s long and late, but full of redemptive grace (smile) Much LOVE!
20 Jan 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Abednego, Absalom, burned, confidence in God, divisive, Donald Trump, Egypt, faith, fell, Friday chant, friends, fun, furnace, generous help, get down time, glorious kingdom, god is still in control, gospel truth, grace, honesty, I shall not want, I will be confident, I will fear no evil, inaguration, Jesus Christ, lack, LOVE, Meshach, messenger, mine enemies, my heart shall not fear, my oyster, Nebuchadnezzar, parted the Red Sea, party time, passest through the waters, perspective, pray for the U.S.A., productive, promises, pushing the envelope, ransom, reassuring scripture, rebellious son, redeemed, relaxation, rest, scorched, seven times hotter, shadrach, sincerity, smelling of smoke, strong, stumbled, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, The Lord is my shepherd, the Lord sustained me, the river Jordan, the secret to life, the trap of sin, the valley of the shadow of death, the weekend, tho art mine, tho art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me, trust, truth, unified, walkest through the fire, war rise against me
Psalm 23:1. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want (lack).
Well friends, it’s Friday…and what a big Friday too! One that will eventually decide what our world will look like in the future. We’re talking about the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States of America!
Wow! As the man says, only in America! I don’t know if there has ever been a more divisive leader in the free world! But as a friend keeps telling me: ‘Don’t worry, Trump might be riding high now, but GOD IS STILL IN CONTROL!’
And that’s the gospel truth my people, our Creator is still in control, and always will be, and His plans are the ones that will eventually prevail.
But it’s also necessary that we pray fervently for the U.S. of A, because unfortunately, as they go, so does a majority of our world. That means we need for them to be strong and productive and unified, else our lives will also be affected in some negative way or another.
But yuh know what? Some people don’t care about all the hoopla surrounding Trump’s inauguration, they are still basically concerned about having the weekend off and being able to do whatever then want, when ever they want.
That’s because they know that come next week, they will still have to go back out and labour under the same strenuous and unfair circumstances.
So they are still singing: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday yes, and the whole weekend is my oyster! It’s party time! It’s get down time! It’s whatever I want, when ever time! So thank you Lord for Fridays and the weekend!’
But as always, that’s simply pushing the envelope too far. Our Friday Chant brings a much better perspective to the situation. So let’s declare it with sincerity and strong faith nuh. ‘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!’
Yes my fellow believers, that’s a much better way to characterize our weekend, so let’s move on now to our Bit. ‘The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want (lack).’
And tough t’s (smile) to those who don’t like our continued use of that awesome line of scripture! Don’t blame me, I’m just the messenger, doing what I’ve been led to do. It’s the Lord’s will, and as we said earlier on, it will ALWAYS prevail!
Now let’s look at verse 4 of that amazing Psalm, 23, which we all know and continually quote. ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.’ (Ps.23:4)
Mama Mia! What a most reassuring scripture! And in Psalm 3 – A prayer of confidence in God – when running from his rebellious son, Absalom, Bruh David again declares his immense faith and trust in the God of his forefathers.
‘I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.’ (Ps.3:5-6)
Oh my brothers and sisters in Christ, can we make such a declaration in all honesty and truth? I do hope so, for we need that stage of maturity to help us handle this evil world without fear.
Listen to Bruh David again from Psalm 27. ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up (devour) my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.’ (Ps. 17:1-3)
Oh friends, those are the kind of words we need to confidently declare in these cruel and tumultuous times, if we hope to win this world for Christ.
And we’ll end with this momentous promise of our omnipotent God from Isaiah, as he talks about ‘The Lord, the only redeemer.’
‘But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon (scorch) thee.
For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee (in thy place).’ (Is.43:1-3)
All I can say to that amazing set of promises is that the Lord fulfilled them all in some form and fashion! He created us, then when we fell into the trap of sin, He redeemed us through Jesus Christ. He parted the Red Sea and the Jordan River for the Israelites to walk over on dry land.
Then remember the three Hebrew children, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who refused to bow to the golden image that the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar made, and were thrust into the furnace, heated to a temperature seven times hotter than normal.
And what happened? They cane out alive, not even smelling of smoke! Wow! And the Lord God of Israel will do the same for all those who sincerely believe and trust in Him! Please ponder seriously on all that today my brethren, for therein lies the secret to life. Much LOVE!
…if God doesn’t save…then who does eh…
P.S. Please excuse the lateness of the Bit, but I did a lot of successful running around yesterday, obviously buoyed by the Lord’s help, and my penchant for late nights have simply not abated as yet. (smile) Much LOVE!
01 Dec 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 2017, a compassionate heart, a majority, adventurous, affirmation, be perfect, beloved, blessings, broken, Christians, Christmas, clear direction, closer relationship with Jesus, comfort, conquering power, count it all joy, courage, creativity, curse, divers temptations, divine protection, drinking milk, eating solid food, evil world, faith, faithful promises, family, favour, fear not, fiery trial, friends, fulfillment, God and us, God has bruised, God play a more significant role, greater is he that's in you, grow in our faith, guidance, he that is in the world, health, I am the Lord thy God, I have redeemed thee, I will be with thee, in the likeness of Jesus, in the name of Jesus, interesting, Isaiah, journey, joy, lacking nothing, leading, LOVE, mature, more than conquerors, negative word, New Year, no condemnation, nothing to fear, omnipotent god, open arms, pass through the waters, passion, personal relationship with God, prince of darkness, produces patience, promotion, prosper, ransom, rejoice with Christ, rough and rocky, rules, self-control, self-discipline, sinless Son, some strange thing happened to you., spiritual growth, strength, strong belief, succeed, success, suffer with Christ, talent abundance, the cross of Calvary, the flame scorch thee, the Holy One of Israel, the Holy Spirit, think it not strange, thou art mine, thou shall not be burned, through him that loved us, Thursday Blessings, thy Saviour, to mold, to test us, to try you, trials, trying of your faith, various trials, victory, walk through the fire, wisdom, working for the Lord
1 Peter 4:12. Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.
Oh friends, can you believe that it’s already the beginning of December? Wow! This year of 2016 has passed rather quickly, and before you know it, we’ll be into Christmas and then the New Year of 2017.
Wonder what that will hold for us eh? Hopefully it will be better than this one, more blessings and less trials and tribulations. But what we need to ask ourselves right now, is did we grow and mature in our faith this year?
Did we have a closer relationship with Jesus? Did God play a larger, a more significant role in our lives? Are we closer to where we’re supposed to be, and further away from where we started? Have we matured to the point where we are eating solid food and not drinking milk still?
I do hope the answer to all those questions are in the affirmative, otherwise we have wasted precious time, lost our way in the most important aspect of our lives; our personal relationship to Almighty God.
But the good news is that it’s not too late to begin, we can begin right now! Our God ALWAYS receives those who sincerely come to Him with open arms. There is no condemnation, just lots of LOVE and affirmation.
So if you haven’t done as well as you should have this year, then simply turn to Him right this moment and ask for His help. He will not refuse it. But be forewarned, the journey with Jesus will not always be smooth, but oftimes rough and rocky, just like Jesus’ earthly life was.
However, with all of His faithful promises and the guidance, leading and comfort of His Holy Spirit we will be able to overcome anything that comes against us. Remember we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us. (Rom.8:37)
So we have conquering power over what’s in the world, ‘because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.’ (1 John 4:4) Yes friends, our Lord and Saviour is greater than the prince of darkness who rules this evil world!
That means we have nothing to fear in our earthly pilgrimage, for God and us, are a majority against any foe.
This brings us to our Bit, which can be very discouraging to some. ‘Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.’
Yeh mih people, we should not be afraid when trials come upon us because God uses these trials to test us, to mold and grow us in the likeness of His wonderful, sinless Son Jesus Christ.
None of us likes these trials, especially when they suddenly spring up against us, but as I keep on saying, with God’s help we can over come any and everything. Listen to this awesome promise of our omnipotent God from Isaiah.
‘Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon (scorch) thee.
For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.’ (Is.43:1-3)
What an awesome promise my brethren! And the Lord kept it by redeeming us through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary. So what’s there to fear eh? NOTHING, once we are in league with Jesus!
Now, remember yesterday, we saw after our Bit, Peter talking about rejoicing in trials and tribulations, because if we suffered with Christ, we will eventually rejoice with Him. Hear now James’ take on the subject.
‘My brethren, count it all joy, when ye fall into divers temptations (various trials). Knowing this, that the trying (testing) of your faith worketh (produces) patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire (complete), wanting (lacking) nothing. (James 1:2-4)
And the scholars give us this info: ‘1:2-3 …These “negative” experiences are to be accepted with great joy, not for the sake of the trial itself but because of the positive work God can accomplish through the testing….
It is not merely one’s presence in such trials but one’s victory over them that brings spiritual growth and maturity. Those Christians whom God can use the most are those whom God has bruised the most.’
Ah friends, that says it all; unless we are bruised, victoriously come through fiery trials, we are of no use to God. Anyway, let’s end on a brighter note; instead of trials, let’s end with blessings. Remember, a blessing is not a blessing, until it’s been spoken over someone.
So, as one strong voice, let’s declare our Thursday Blessings with sincere passion and strong belief. ‘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!’
And don’t forget to also bless those around us, our friends and families, for they need blessings too. Much LOVE!
…working for the Lord is not easy…but it’s surely interesting and adventurous…
16 Jun 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a miracle is happening, almighty god, bare witness, blessings, blessings of grace, christ jesus, Christian advancement, come short of God's glory, compassion, die on the cross, faith in his blood, for all have sinned, for by grace you have been saved, friends, friends and neighbours, glory to God, God meets all our needs, God's grace, God-filled life, grace, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, grace for grace, Gramps Schuller, gratitude, he that cometh after me, heartfelt prayer, heartwarming, Hour of Power Devotional, I thank and praise you, I want to improve, I'm not perfecct, it is the gift of God, Jesus, Jesus Christ, justified, LOVE, maturity, mercy seat, miracle, motives of our hearts, not of yourselves, obedient to God's will, of his fullness, preferred before me, propitiation, ransom, redemption, remission of sins, righteous life, righteousness., salvation, serve you faithfully, sinners, Thank You Lord, the brilliant light, the forbearance of God, the Holy Spirit, the law was given by Moses, the SON, through faith, truth, understanding, unmerited favour, what a wonderful God we serve and worship, wisdom
Ephesians 2:8. For by grace are ye (you have been) saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Morning Friends and neighbours! Welcome to a rainy Tuesday morning in my area, although the weather office says it’s supposed to be 25 and sunny.
Hn! Hopefully that will happen later in the day, but in the meanwhile let’s enjoy the brilliant light and blessings provided by the Son, Jesus Christ, for we know that regardless of the weather His Son is always shining. Glory to God!
And this morning we are going to start the proceedings with a simple but heartfelt prayer from the Hour of Power Devotional. This one Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) calls ‘I Want to Improve,’ something that I know we all want to do, since it’s an essential part of our ongoing Christian advancement and maturity.
Please pray with me. ‘O God, how thankful I am that you have come into my life through the Holy Spirit. I’m willing to say: “I’m not perfect, Lord! I want to improve. Show me where I can.” So, Father, I sense that a miracle is happening in my life right now. You are doing something beautiful in my heart this very moment. I thank and praise you! Amen.’
And if you sincerely prayed that prayer my people, I’m sure that the Lord is doing exactly that; making the moves necessary, setting the scene that you can improve.
I can’t resist saying it Friends: ‘What a wonderful God we serve and worship!’ If we are obedient to His will, He meets all our needs. How much more than that can we ask eh? Nothing really.
Now let’s turn to our ever intriguing and most heartwarming Bit. ‘For by grace are ye (you have been) saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:’
And there is no more gospel truth that that Friends, for it is only through God’s LOVING-kindness are we able to avoid eternal separation from Him, and death and damnation with Lucifer.
And all God’s children cried out in sincere gratitude: ‘Oh thank You Lord for sending Jesus to die on the cross for us! Thank You for Your grace and mercy which we don’t deserve, but which You nonetheless bless us with! We praise and glorify Your Holy Name this morning, and pledge to serve You faithfully all the days of our lives! Amen.’
And we had better take all those prayers we’re praying this morning very seriously my brethren, for remember that God doesn’t only listen to the words of our mouth, but even more importantly, checks out the motives of our hearts. So please don’t be found wanting when He checks our motives.
Now let’s hear some scriptures that deal with grace. Oh Friends, there are so many that we can only share a few, and I believe that we might have at least one more day with this Bit. Let’s begin with this declaration of John’s.
‘John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me (ranks higher than I): for he was before me. And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.’ (John 1:15-17)
Words of immortal and everlasting truth my brethren!
And here are some explanations from the scholars. ‘1:15. After me: Jesus came into this world about six months after John (for human chronology, see Luke 1:56-57). He was before me: Jesus existed in eternity, so had precedence over John in authority.’
‘1:16-17. Fullness. (cf. Col.1:19): Here the fullness looks back to verse 14, “full of grace and truth.” Grace for grace means “grace heaped on grace.” Grace is evident in the Old Testament (cf. Gen.6:8; Ex.34:6) but not in the fullness now experienced in Jesus Christ. Grace is God’s unmerited favour toward sinners for their salvation (cf. Eph.2:8-9).’
Oh Friends, can you imagine the sad and sorry state we’d be in if Almighty God, our Creator and Provider had not seen fit to bestow us with His blessings of grace. Mama Mia!
Listen to Bruh Paul explain it to the Roman church nuh: ‘For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely (without any cost) by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation (a mercy seat) through faith in his blood, to declare (demonstrate) his righteousness for the remission (passing over) of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.’ (Rom.3:23-25)
Now listen to these important explanations from the scholars. ‘3:23. For all have sinned: The human need and the divine provision are alike applied universally. Come short of the glory of God: Man can exceed his own standards but never, left to himself, can he attain to God’s standard of righteousness.’
‘3:24. Being justified (Gr. dikaioumenoi) indicates being declared righteous. It signifies the believer’s judicial standing before God. Freely: There is no just cause in man to warrant justification. By his grace: Unmerited favour is bestowed through the redemption (release on payment of ransom). Christ’s death is the ransom. The sinner is released on the basis of the ransom having been paid.’
‘3:25. Through faith: Christ’s death satisfies the Father’s righteous demands. Its benefits are appropriated only through faith in His finished work. In his blood: The emphasis is not on the blood as it coursed through Christ’s veins, but as it was shed for our sins. This is how the propitiation was accomplished.’
Ah mih breddren, I do hope that those explanations of the scholars helped us achieve a better understanding of God’s grace and all that it stands for, because it is ever so necessary if we truly want to live a God-filled and righteous life.
And we’ll end there for today. I know there’s a lot of heavy stuff involved and I surely don’t want to burden us with too much stuff to read, mark and inwardly digest at once. (smile)
Now may the Lord go with us and grant us His peace, mercy, grace, compassion, wisdom and understanding, as we go out to do His work today. Much LOVE!
…who but our great and wonderful God…would heap grace and more grace…on undeserving sinners eh…
19 May 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a beacon, a feeling of peace, a relationship with Christ, almighty god, Anselm, background noise, behave godly, bounden duty, called by God's name, celebration, Christ-lie, Christians, come up higher, communing with nature, desires, disastrous state of our world, downfalls, duty, eternal life, evil, evil cohorts, fear not, forgive their sin, free gift of grace, friends, gentle breezes, give men for thee, God's chosen people, God's people, gospel truth, grace, guide others to Christ, heal their land, honoured, humble themselves, I am the Lord thy God, I will be with thee, individual hurts, ingrained in our nature, insincere pleas, Inspire us for a better tomorrow, irresponsibly, Isaiah's declaration, Israelites, Jesus Christ, light of the world, LOVE, low over me, Lucifer, mesh with God's will, more beautiful than silence, Moses, motives, my neck of the woods, negative actions, negativity, night insects, peace, people for thy life, people which are called by my name, ponder, pray, precious in my sight, Queen Victoria, quick communication, quiet of the morning, ransom, refresh our memories, rejuvenating the spirits, responsibility, responsible society, right conclusion, rocket science, rustle the leaves of the trees, sacrificing, salt of the earth, salvation, scans our hearts, seek God, seek my face, silence is golden, silence., sinful nature, sing songs of praise, social media, sounds of the highway, spread Christ's gospel, strife, talking nonsense, the blessings of obedience, the children of Israel, the flame scorch thee, the heathen, the Holy One of Israel, the lust of the flesh, the only redeemer, the rivers shall not overflow thee, the things of the world, the unbeliever, think before we talk, thou shalt not be burned, trillion dollar question, turn away from their wicked ways, turn back to God, ungodly society, when thou passest through the waters, when thou walkest through the fire, will I hear from heaven
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, please blame the lateness of this Tuesday morning Bit at the feet of Queen Victoria, as I was up till late last night, early this morning, celebrating her day. (smile) But not to worry, it was celebration of the good kind.
And then, before I went to bed, I obviously had to spend some time sitting out on my front porch enjoying the peace and quiet of the morning, communing with nature and my most wonderful God.
Oh my people, you wouldn’t understand how peaceful and quiet it is in my neck of the woods at that time! I sit out there and just let the gentle breezes blow over me, as they rustle the leaves of the trees, and the night insects sing their songs of praise to their Creator, with the sounds of the highway acting as background noise in the distance.
Such a feeling of peace washes over me, that this morning I had to force myself to get up and go to bed, the atmosphere was so amenable to sitting out there for much longer. (smile)
Ah Friends, what’s the point of God giving us these natural amenities for rejuvenating our spirits, if we don’t make use of them eh? None whatsoever!
Anyway, here’s an interesting piece of advice from my Friend Anselm, as he attempts to inspire us for a better tomorrow. He says: ‘Open your mouth only if what you are going to say is more beautiful than silence.’
What a wonderful bit of advice that is my brethren! It brings to mind the saying that ‘silence is golden.’ And it surely is, especially when what we’re planning to say is just going to provoke strife and negativity.
Oh, the many negative actions we can avoid if we’ll only think before we talk! But that seems to be one of our big downfalls, especially in this age of quick communication and social media.
Instead of cutting back on our talking, we seem to be talking even more than usual, and consequently talking more nonsense than usual too. The amount of confusion this social media is causing it’s not funny, yet we still insist on using it irresponsibly.
Ah mih people, until we put the words of our Bit into serious action, we’ll never become a responsible 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.’
As we said yesterday, there are four areas we need to deal with if we are called by God’s name, and we are, as Christians. The first is to humble ourselves before Almighty God, then pray to Him, sincerely seeking His face, while turning away from our evil ways.
Oh Friends, it’s right there in black and white! And it’s not rocket science either. But the evil is so ingrained in our nature, and the lust of the flesh and our LOVE for the things of the world are so great that we don’t seem to want to turn back to God, or we find it difficult to do so.
But Friends, please be assured of one thing; if we truly want to seek God, we’ll find Him, because the Lord will certainly enable us to do it. The problem is that when He scans our hearts, He discovers that our motives and desires are wrong, they do not mesh with His will and desire, so He ignores our insincere pleas.
Now I had planned to share some scriptures that deal with the four areas in which we need to come up higher, so that God can hear us and heal our individual hurts, as well as our ungodly society. But before we can do that, we need to refresh our memories that we are indeed God’s people, called by His name.
Yesterday we saw one example of that through Moses laying out the blessings of obedience to the Israelites. Now listen to Isaiah’s declaration to the children of Israel, as he details to them the gospel truth that God is the only redeemer of mankind.
‘But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel. Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon (scorch) thee.
For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Sheba for thee (in thy place). Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable (honoured), and I have LOVED thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.’ (Is.43:1-4)
Yes my brethren, the bunch of modern day people called Christians, belong to the Lord! We are called by His name, He has saved and redeemed us through the sacrificing of His Son Jesus Christ!
That means we have a responsibility, a serious duty to behave and act according to His desires and commands. But obviously we’re not doing that on a wide or strong enough scale, which results in our even more sinful nature and the disastrous state of our world.
Ah Friends, we are God’s chosen people, let’s behave like it nuh, and not like Lucifer’s evil cohorts. Our bounden duty is to behave godly, and spread Christ’s gospel, so that the heathen, the unbeliever, will have a chance to turn to God, to accept His free gift of grace that leads to salvation and eternal life.
Now, if we, God’s people, called by His name, don’t do it, then please tell me who will eh?
And we’ll end with that trillion dollar question. Friends, please, let’s seriously and sincerely ponder it today nuh, and with God’s help, come to the right conclusion. Much LOVE!
…Christians are meant to be Christ-like…the salt of the earth…and the light of the world…a beacon to guide others to a wonderful relationship with Christ…
02 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adrenalin, alive and kicking, aura of love, be wary, bow, Christ's death, clarion call, cleanse, confess, confidence, Creator of the universe, Cyber Monday, divine provision, earthly behaviour, enemy's taunts, energized, enthusiasm, eternal life, faithful, faithfulness, falter, famiies, forgiveness, friends, glorify, glorious kingdom, God's standard, gospel truth, grace, greedy merchants, Holy Name, holy spirit, human need, humble servants, immortal God, incentive, inroads, invincible, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, jobs, join the fray, judge, judicial standing, just, justice, justification, justified, lead and guide, lies, Lord and Saviour, loving kindness, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, mortals, nature, obedience, Oh Lord God Almighty, on Jesus' behalf, praise, ransom, redemption, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, righteous God, righteousness., salvation, saviour, shop on-line, shop till you drop, sinful disposition, sinful souls, sing with joy, sins, snares and traps, steadfast faith, succumb to temptation, sure conquerors, the glory of God, ungodly world, unmerited favour, unrighteousness, useful purpose
1 John 1:9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday…Cyber Monday! So jump and shout and get on your computers and start shopping on-line, as the greedy merchants would have you do! Shop until you drop!
Ah Lord eh! I hope you all realize though that I’m only being sarcastic, facetious and any other terms that are synonymous with those two. Steups! I have to shake my head in both wonder and disgust, for everyday we’re encouraged to buy more stuff.
And we come up with such foolish names; Black Friday, Cyber Monday, etc. And the sad part is that they are all consolidated around some important holiday, which tends to suck the life and true meaning out of the holiday, so that it soon becomes a mere opportunity to spend what we don’t have, and buy what we often don’t need, thereby enriching the already rich.
But please remember Friends, that there’s an immortal and righteous God in heaven looking down on us mere mortals, who will eventually judge us on our earthly behaviour. So please let’s be wary, and don’t fall into the snares and traps of the ungodly world. For we’re only supposed to be IN the world, not OF it.
Anyhow, enough sermonizing from me, (smile) let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with much gusto, so that we can get energized to go out and face the evil world, and be strong enough to repel them.
As one loud clarion call 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!’
Yes mih people, that ought to get our adrenalin flowing and give us the wherewithal to join the fray on Jesus’ behalf!
But just in case we unexpectedly falter and succumb to worldly temptations, it’s very important to know that relief is possible by following the guidelines of our Bit. ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’
Now Friends, isn’t that a real powerful and heart-warming incentive to believe in Jehovah God? It surely is! For there’s no other supposed deity who displays such LOVING-kindness, and the ONLY ONE, who can do what He did, cause He’s alive and kicking, while all the others are dead and of no use.
We talk about His faithfulness, justice and forgiveness, all truthful facts. Bruh Paul hit the nail on the head when he declared: ‘For all have sinned and come (fallen) short of the glory of God.’ (Rom.3:23) Sadly though my brethren, that sinful disposition has been bred into our very nature down through the ages.
The scholars reinforce this by saying: ‘3:23. For all have sinned: The human need and the divine provision are alike applied universally. Come short of the glory of God: Man can exceed his own standards but never, left to himself, can he attain to God’s standard of righteousness.’
And that’s gospel truth people! However my fellow believers, please listen carefully to what our wonderful God has done for us nuh. ‘Being justified freely (without any cost) by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.’ (Rom.3:24)
Now doesn’t that just make your hearts sing with joy my brethren? It surely ought to. And after listening to how the scholars explain it, I surely hope it does.
‘3:24. Being justified (Gr. dikaioumenoi) indicates being declared righteous. It signifies the believer’s judicial standing before God. Freely: There is no just cause in man to warrant justification. By his grace: Unmerited favour is bestowed through the redemption (release on payment of ransom). Christ’s death is the ransom. The sinner is released on the basis of the ransom having being paid.’
Yes Friends, we only have that marvellous, soul-saving opportunity to be set free from sin, because of the monumental ransom that Jesus paid. Without Jesus’ sacrificial gift of His sinless life, we would have been held in bondage to sin forever, with absolutely NO hope of escape.
But thanks to Jesus’ selflessness, we now have that opportunity to tell the lying, deceitful Lucifer, ‘Bye bye,’ and instead move on to live with Jesus through salvation, in eternal life. What a glorious God we serve and worship! Let’s keep that first and foremost in out thoughts please my fellow believers.
And all God’s people gave a mighty shout of ‘Thank You heavenly Father for sending Jesus to die for us. And thank You Jesus for being obedient to the Father even unto death, when You didn’t have to. We praise and glorify Your Holy Name and bow to You as our Lord and Saviour. Amen!’
Much much LOVE, my fellow believers in Christ!
…only the true Creator of the universe…could have done what He did…to save our sinful souls…
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