07 Jul 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a spoilsport, abide with me, and was dead, courage, curdle our victory, death, death is swallowed up in victory, diabolical enemy, earth's joys grow dim, escapes from death, fast falls the eventide, fellowship with other believers, foil the tempter's power, get down to brass tacks, gives us the victory, going away present, Hades, have the keys of hell and death, hear his holy word, help of the helpless, Henry Francis Lyte, His holy name, I am alive for evermore, I am he that liveth, I fear no foe, I need thy presence, I triump still, journey to his sanctuary, jump for joy, keep it alive, leave to posterity, loads us with benefits, Praise the Lord, praising and exalting, rebuke, repel the evil enemy, rest from our labour, Satan, sin, steadfast, Thanks be to God, the darkness deepens, the God of our salvation, the Lord's Day, the Sabbath, the sting of death, through our Lord Jesus christ, thy grace, unmovable, victory, where is thy sting, with Jesus in our corner, your labour is not in vain
Revelation 1:18. I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell (Hades) and of death.
Now just in case you did not realize it, I’m here to inform you that the weekly cycle of life has come full circle again! (smile) This is the Lord’s Day, the Sabbath, the day on which He rested after spending the entire week creating the universe and all therein. It’s also the day that we ought to rest from our labour and journey to His sanctuary to fellowship with other believers, praising and exalting His Holy Name, giving Him exceeding thanks for all that He’s done for us.
And last, but definitely not least, to hear His Holy Word, so that our spiritual selves can be refreshed and renewed, to enable us to rebuke and repel the evil enemy as we venture back into the ungodly working world tomorrow. And all of God’s children said a loud, proud and sincere: ‘Praise the Lord! Magnify His Holy Name!’
So let’s get right into the praise section by singing this old but much LOVED ‘Christian hymn, ‘Abide with Me,’ written by Scottish Anglican Henry Francis Lyte. He wrote it in 1847 while he lay dying from tuberculosis; he survived only a further three weeks after its completion.’ And was it ever a fitting going away present to leave to posterity, as he indeed wrote a telling, thoughtful and true hymn! So, in one accord, let’s sing it like we really mean it nuh.
‘Abide with me; fast falls the eventide; the darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide. When other helpers fail and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, O abide with me. Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day; earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away; change and decay in all around I see; O thou who changest not, abide with me. I need thy presence every passing hour. What but thy grace can foil the tempter’s power? Who, like thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me. I fear no foe, with thee at hand to bless; ills have no weight, and tears not bitterness. Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory? I triumph still, if thou abide with me. Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes; shine through the gloom and point me to the skies. Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee; in life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.’
Oh friends, those are such powerful, moving and gospel true words! Nobody else can help us in this life like Jesus can! And I like the descriptions: ‘Help of the helpless.’ That’s exactly what Jesus came to do! ‘O thou who changest not…’ More glorious truth! ‘I need thy presence every passing hour…’ And do we ever my believing brethren! Without it, we’d quickly be toast against the enemy. ‘What but thy grace can foil the tempter’s power? Who, like thyself, my guide and stay can be?’ Exactly what we were just saying: only with Jesus in our lives can we ever hope to overcome the evil and diabolical enemy called Satan!
Consequently, ‘I fear no foe, with thee at hand to bless.’ Oh my people, living with and for Christ, certainly raises our level of courage to great heights, because we know that with Him in our corner we can conquer any and every foe! And when he asks? ‘Where is death’s sting? Where, grave thy victory?’ The thrilling, victorious answer comes: ‘I triumph still, if thou abide with me.’
And that’s for certain sure friends, because Christ defeated hell, death and the grave by His sacrificial death and His awesome resurrection! Note His words to John in the vision on the isle of Patmos: ‘I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell (Hades) and of death.’
Oh friends and fellow believers, the victory is indeed ours through Christ Jesus! Never forget that! Isaiah prophesied it: ‘He will swallow up death in victory (forever); and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it. ‘ (Is.25:8) And we all know that our great and faithful God doesn’t make idle promises, His word doesn’t return to Him void, but accomplishes all its purposes.
And Jesus certainly made mincemeat of Satan! That’s why Bruh Paul could be so exuberant and cocksure when he wrote to the Corinthians: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave (Hades), where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (2 Cor. 15:54a-57) Oh mih people, shout and jump for joy, for victory is ours! Sing ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ Praise the wonderful name of the Lord for He has indeed done marvellous things on our behalf!
And Bruh David said it too in Psalm 68 – God has gone before his people. ‘Blessed be the Lord who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah. He that is our God is the God of salvation: and unto God the Lord belong the issues (escapes) from death.’ (Ps.68:19-20) But my people, all that good and wonderful news of victory through Christ, doesn’t mean we can just sit on our laurels and don’t do anything to help our cause.
That’s why Bruh Paul at the end of his victory speech, warned the Corinthians: ‘Therefore my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain (futile) in the Lord.’ (2 Cor.15:58) And it most definitely is not, for all good work will eventually be rewarded in God’s time.
Friends, I sincerely recommend then, that we all take that warning to heart and get down to brass tacks right now, standing steadfast in Christ, rebuking and repelling the enemy who is trying to be a spoilsport and curdle our victory! Please don’t let him! Much LOVE!
…Christ won the victory…but we have to keep it alive…
21 Jan 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a warrior king, atonement of Christ, believe in God, believing God's promises, blessed hope, Christ my king, deity of christ, divine power, doubt, eternal damnation, eternity, exalt God's name, exhort, faithfulness, fear, give thanks, glorious appearing, glory in the highest, God's Word, godly, good works, grace, heavy burden, howling storms, human creation, humility, I shall prevail, infallible truth, iniquity, let not your heart be troubled, live soberly, living for Jesus, logic, love touting, love's strong cord, many mansions, mercy, Messiah, my Father's house, overcoming, peaceful, praise, prayer, prepare a place for you, rebuke, redeem, reverence, righteously, Roman rule, sacrifice of praise, salvation, saviour, servitude, sincere hearts, sinful souls, speak, specail people, special time, Standing on the promises of God, strenght, Sunday, the grace of God, the living word of God, the Lord's sanctuary, the Spirit's call, the Spirit's sword, to all men, ungodliness, wisdom, worldly lusts, worship
Titus 2:11. For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.
Sunday, oh Sunday! It’s Sunday my brethren! That means all roads lead to the Lord‘s sanctuary for some special time of prayer and praise, worship and fellowship! What a glorious morning it will be as we gather to give thanks and get strength and mercy in return! The Lord will be just bubbling over with joy this morning as we come to exalt His holy name, show humility and reverence to His majestic Being and renew our faithfulness by believing His promises.
And there is no more appropriate hymn to open our worship session than the old faithful, ‘Standing on the Promises of God.’ It’s a wonder how these old hymns just seem to last forever, but that’s because they are based on the infallible truth of God’s word. So without further ado, let’s offer up the sacrifice of praise with our lips, strong lungs and sincere hearts.
All together now: ‘Standing on the promises of Christ my king, through eternal ages let his praises ring; glory in the highest, I will shout and sing, standing on the promises of God. (Refrain: Standing, standing, standing on the promises of God my Savior; standing, standing, I’m standing on the promises of God.) Standing on the promises that cannot fail, when the howling storms of doubt and fear assail, by the living Word of God I shall prevail, standing on the promises of God. [Refrain]
Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord, bound to him eternally by LOVE’S strong cord, overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword, standing on the promises of God. [Refrain] Standing on the promises I cannot fall, listening every moment to the Spirit’s call, resting in my Savior as my all in all, standing on the promises of God. [Refrain: Standing, standing, standing on the promises of God my Savior; standing, standing, I’m standing on the promises of God.]’
And isn’t that the best place to stand my fellow believers? Yes sir, right there on the faithful and everlasting promises of God, for there is none as faithful as Him! He never makes promises unless He intends to keep them. So any promise you see written in His word, will most definitely be kept. Yuh see how He promised to send the Jewish people a Messiah, a Saviour, and He did!
They just misunderstood the circumstances. They were looking for a warrior king, to lift the heavy burden of servitude from their shoulders under harsh Roman rule. However, the Lord had a peaceful, LOVE touting rabbi in mind; one to save their sinful souls from eternal damnation.
And today we’re going to listen to Bruh Paul’s words to his protégé Titus on the subject of Christian living, how we can prevent the loss of our souls to Lucifer, through accepting the faithful promise of Christ. It starts out with our Bit: ‘For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.’
Yes friends, God LOVED His human creation so much that He could not exclude any from His plan for salvation. And Bruh Paul continues: ‘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 2:12-15)
Absolutely nothing has changed down through the ages friends. It is still the way we ought to live if we consider ourselves believers in, and followers of Christ. Hear the scholars’ explanations on that passage. ‘2:11-15. The salvation that appeared to all men is based on God’s grace that has provided salvation universally for all mankind through the unlimited atonement of Christ.
That blessed hope and glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ refers to His second coming. The use of the definite article “the” with the first noun “God” and the connecting “and” indicates that the first and second “Saviour” (nouns) are one and the same person. Our “great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” is thus one and the same person, clearly proving the deity of Christ.’
Ah mih people, I guess the scholars’ are referring to the Greek text in that last sentence. But we don’t need any evidence or reassurance that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was deity. It’s evident from all that He did while He was here on earth. Only someone with divine power could have done His miracles, and endured the ‘sufferation’ He did on our behalf without going out of His mind.
But all of that aside, let’s listen to Jesus’ promise to come back for us. ‘Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions (dwellings): if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.’ (John 14:1-3)
So my friends, if we sang about standing on the promises of God earlier on, and then declared that Christ was deity, then simple logic would conclude that we should believe and stand on the promises Christ made in those verses. (smile) So let’s stand strong on them nuh, for He is coming back again, sometime soon, this time in all His glory and splendour, the warrior King that the Israelites first dreamed of.
And He is going to take us home to heaven to dwell there with Him until eternity, if we believe in Him, obey His words and live the lifestyle He desires. So what’s it to be eh friends? Let’s hope we all vote for Jesus, for that’s wisdom at its zenith. Much LOVE!
…there’s nothing as beautiful…as living for Jesus…
07 Sep 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a thief, accusations, adulterers, asaph, at the forefront, call upon me, calling us to account, calminty, Caribbean islands, cast my words behind thee, Christians, compassionate heart, conduct, courage, covenant, curse, deceit, depravity, devastation, disobedience, disobedient, divine promotion, evil, faith, foolish mortals, fools, forget God, glorifies God, God is the judge, gratitude, Gulf of Mexico, Harvey, hates instruction, help, hope, hurricanes, hypocrites, I kept silence, I will deliver thee, in the day of trouble, Irma, Jose, Katia, looming in the shadows, negative word, offers praise, pay thy vows, plenty rope to hang ourselves, prayer, prayer warriors, prosper, rebuke, repentance, reprove, self-control, self-discipline, self-disicpline, sinful, sinful society, sinful souls, slander, succeed, tear you in pieces, thanksgiving, the Most High, the salvation of God, the wicked, the word for today, thou shalt glorify me, Thursday Blessings, thy mother's son, time longer than twine, warning from God, wrongdoing
Psalm 50:15. And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
Oh my people, my people, the word for today is PRAYER: serious, sincere, heartfelt constant prayer! It’s what our world desperately needs, and we Christians need to be in the forefront of it all because we are supposed to be prayer warriors.
And why you ask, do we need so much prayer? Well it’s something we ALWAYS need, but right now with three hurricanes looming in the shadows of North America, after the recent devastation caused by Harvey on the west coast, more devastation would be just too much to bear.
Yeh friends, hurricanes Katia and Jose are already in existence; Katia somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico, and Jose threatening to follow the already destructive path of the raging Irma, as she lashed islands in the Caribbean, like Guadeloupe, Antigua, Barbuda, St. Maarten and Puerto Rico, heading for the mainland.
As far as I know friends, we haven’t had three hurricanes lined up at once since 2010, so what does that mean eh? I believe the safest bet we can make is that it’s a serious warning from Almighty God. He’s tired of the dreadfully sinful society that we’ve become, and like He’s done any number of times before with other societies, is calling us to account.
And if that’s so my brethren, then the only thing that will stop the calamity is sincere repentance and prayer. As the psalmist Asaph so truthfully writes in our Bit which comes from Psalm 50 – God is the judge: ‘And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.’
Ah my people, even in the depths of our depravity, the Lord has provided a way out for us: ‘Call on me when you are in trouble, He says, and I will deliver you…’ And that’s all some of us see. But what about the rest of the verse eh… ‘and thou shalt glorify me?’
Conveniently we don’t see that. Like the sinful souls we are, we just note the words of help, not the gratitude and thanksgiving that’s supposed to follow.
But friends, in this world we don’t get something for nothing, and if we’ve been disobedient and sinful, we can repent, but it will come with a price, the least being exaltation and glorification of God’s holy name.
Now let’s hear how Asaph continues the psalm after our Bit. I think it’s good to jog our memories, wake us up to our serious disobedience and wrongdoing. ‘But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? Seeing thou hatest instruction, and casteth my words behind thee.
When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedest with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers. Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thy slanderest thine own mother’s son.’ (Ps.50:16-20)
Oh friends, Asaph is talking about the kind of society we have today. He could be alive to day and writing about us. And we’d be even bigger hypocrites and fools than we already are, if we deny the accusations. But here comes the interesting part, as Asaph continues to speak on God’s behalf.
‘These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself: but I will reprove (rebuke) thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.’ (Ps.50:21-22)
Oh my people, God’s warning couldn’t be any clearer. We sit down and think because nothing drastic is happening to punish our disobedience that God’s not noticing. But you can see we are wrong. God gives us plenty rope to hang ourselves, and as the old people would say: ‘time longer than twine.’
And if is one thing God has is plenty time…but unfortunately we foolish mortals don’t have that luxury. So let’s listen to this last verse of Psalm 50 and smarten up nuh.
‘Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation (conduct) aright will I show the salvation of God.’ (Ps.50:23) Yeh mih breddren, God said it thousands of years ago, and nothing has changed since then…except us, turning away from Him.
But there is yet hope for us. Like Asaph so rightfully says before our Bit. ‘Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the Most High.’ (Ps.50:14) That’s wisdom at its zenith!
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings, which God in His mercy and grace has bestowed on us. ‘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 having declared all of that, let’s go out now and share our bounty with the less fortunate nuh, for that’s what Jesus desires of us. Much LOVE!
…prayer is our method of communication with God…but He can’t answer us…until we pray to Him…
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…
22 Jun 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionat heart, a touch of spring, against the wiles of the devil, anxiety, belieivng God's promises, breastplate of righteousness, broken, Christian, conquer, contend with satan, control, convoluted reasoning, curse, Daily Bread Devotion, deceit, divine protection, doubts, eagerness, evil schemes, fear, feet shod, fiery darts, free gift, girded your loins, God's armour, God's grace and mercy, God's LOVE, God's power, gospel truth, greater, gusto, hidden from God's sight, in Jesus' name, invincible, lies, mere mortals, negative word, nothing, nugget of gold, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, perseverance, powerful opponent, praying always, quench, rebuke, saints, self-control, self-discipline, sincere belief, spiritual armour, stronger, summer, supplication, sword of the Spirit, take the fight to Satan, take up the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand, the best defence is offence, the devil, the evil enemy, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the gospel of peace, the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith, the Word of god, Thursday Blessing, too hard for, trust, truth, watching
Ephesians 6:11. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.
Well mih friends and family, it seems the ole fella was a tad late when he said yesterday that summer would be with us in a couple of days. Hn, hn! Apparently summer has officially been with us for three days now. (smile)
And my excuse, which by the way I’m sticking to, is that I don’t remember it being on the 20th of June, but more like the 22 or 23. Just goes to show you ought to check your calendar before you make such statements.
But be that as it may, let’s hope we have a good summer season, one worthy to be called summer; not too hot, but hot enough to make one know that it’s summer…if you follow my convoluted reasoning. So far it has been somewhat mild, with a touch of spring still present, but it’s still early days yet.
And before we get into today’s sermon (smile), here is a nugget of gold, one of the little snippets that appear at the end of each day’s Daily Bread Devotion. It says: ‘Nothing is hidden from God’s sight. Nothing is greater than God’s LOVE. Nothing is stronger than God’s mercy and grace. Nothing is too hard for God’s power.’
Now if ALL of that isn’t gospel truth, then I don’t know what is! Our God is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent, which means He is all-powerful, all seeing and everywhere! You can’t beat that friends!
And He has so generously granted some of His awesome power to us mere mortals, but we need to accept it, to graciously receive it, because there’s nothing we can do to work for or deserve it. It’s just His wonderful free gift.
Now one of the things we’re talking about here is the power to rebuke and successfully conquer and control the evil enemy, who desires to take over our lives and turn us away from sincerely worshipping the One and Only True God, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
So let’s bring in our Bit and continue our conversation from yesterday. ‘Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.’
And we’re going to repeat the verses that contain the description of God’s spiritual armour, so that we’ll have them right in front of us and not have to turn elsewhere to find them.
‘Stand therefore, having your loins girt about (girded your loins) with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness. And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye may be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked (one).
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.’ (Eph.6:14-18)
Now yesterday we explained up to the breastplate of righteousness, so today we’ll continue the scholars explanations with the third piece of God’s armour: ‘Preparation of the gospel of peace (vs.15) which means “eagerness that comes from the gospel of peace.”
That is, as the Roman soldier wore special shoes called ‘caligae’ on his feet, enabling him to advance against his enemy, so the Christian must have on his feet (possess) a sense of “eagerness” or “willingness” to advance against the Devil and take the fight to him.
Such “eagerness” to contend with Satan “comes from the gospel of peace.” The gospel gives peace to the believer, freeing him from the anxiety though he advances against such a powerful opponent.’
Oh friends, how wonderful is that eh? The gospel of peace frees us from fear and anxiety and allows us to courageously battle Satan. But please note one important point, we ought not to sit back and let the evil Lucifer come against us, we must take the fight to Him, battle him on our terms, on our turf. As they say, the best defence is offence.
And the fourth piece of God’s armour is ‘The shield of (which is) faith (vs.16). And that means taking God at His word by believing His promises. Such trust will prevent one from doubts induced by Satan.’
And that’s awfully important my fellow believers, for Lucifer is the father of lies and deceit and doubts, and if we’re not very careful and have a strong faith and trust in Almighty God, he can easily deceive us into thinking and doing the wrong things.
Now time and space have run out against us, so we’ll have to continue this tomorrow. And I look at it as God’s mysterious working, not giving us too much stuff to ponder in one sitting. So please think seriously on what we’ve said to day, while we walk gratefully in God’s LOVE and mercy.
And to end it all on a magnificent note, let’s declare our Thursday Blessings with much gusto and sincere belief. In unison 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 were meant to be shared, let’s go out and joyfully share them nuh, as Jesus so avidly desires of us. Much LOVE!
…having on God’s armour…makes us all invincible conquerors…
20 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future, a LOVING Father, alive, almighty god, Amen, anarchy, breath of God, brethren, Carrying a grudge, chastening, complaining, discipline, do our best, errors, exercised, expectant faith, faith, forgiveness, friends, fruit, geeks, glad to be alive, glory hallelujah, God loves us, God's children, gospel truth, grace, grateful, grievous, grudge, halfway home, hates his son, hope, horrors, human, hungry hope, I'm not loking back, Jesus, joy, joyous, Laodicea, looking ahead, LOVE, mercies, Microsoft, mistakes, my hands are on the plough, obedience, obedience to god, P.S. I Love You, peaceable fruit, plough, promises, rebuke, repent, righteousness., selfishness, sense of purpose, simpleminded, spare the rod, steal my joy, summer's day, take it to heart, the answer, the breath of life, the present, trained, trials, tribulations, troubles, truth, undisciplined, walk the straight and narrow path, Wednesday Wail, whining, wisdom, zealous
Hebrews 12:11. Now no chastening (discipline) for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised (trained) thereby.
Oh friends, another glorious summer’s day seems to be in the offing! Let’s give thanks and praise for it and ask for guidance to do our best, as we walk the straight and narrow path that leads to Jesus!
Sometimes though, the road just gets frustrating and annoying, especially when you are just an innocent victim, as I was yesterday with all the new changes in Outlook.
Yuh know, as I told some of you last night, after finally figuring out how to do my thing, I then went to send out the Bit, but I got all sorts of horrors in trying to do that. They kept telling me that there was an error message and the Bit couldn’t be sent, to try later.
Well the later trying didn’t do anything and I eventually had to send them out in smaller groups. Now all they had to tell me was the groups were two large. Steups! But that was too simple for the simple-minded geeks who run the show.
Chuh! So last night I spent a whole lot of time making my groups small enough to fit their new scheme. And they didn’t even make that easy to do.
However, it’s a new day, with new mercies and promises and grace and forgiveness, and all the other good things our wonderful God has planned for us, so I won’t let Microsoft Outlook steal my joy, as I allowed them to do yesterday! (smile)
And I have the perfect antidote for that in a quote from my ‘I LOVE YOU’ Poster, which says: ‘Carrying a grudge is like a run in a stocking – it can only get worse. Forgiveness is the answer.’ Gospel truth friends, gospel truth!
So, regardless of the troubles they cause me, I’ll just forgive Microsoft Outlook (smile) and continue to enjoy this glorious day the Lord has blessed me to see. And all God’s children declared a loud and grateful ‘Amen!’
And since today is Wednesday, it’s only appropriate that we declare our Wednesday Wail. So with expectant faith, hungry hope and a strong sense of purpose, let’s wail. ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Ah mih people, there’s not a day that goes by that I’m not thankful for that beautiful breath of God that courses through my ole bod! I surely hope that you feel the same way, because in truth, that’s the ONLY way for God’s redeemed and sanctified children to feel! Glory to God!
It’s so great to be alive, despite the numerous trials and tribulations that come against us! And we can say that with the utmost confidence and truth because our hands are securely on the plough and we’re looking forward to the glorious future that Jesus has planned for us! Oh what a future that will be my believing brethren!
But at the same time, since we’re only human and thus liable to make serious errors and mistakes, we also need to be able to accept God’s discipline without too much whining and complaining. Our God LOVES us, there’s no doubt about that, but like a LOVING Father, He also disciplines us when we go astray.
Unfortunately though, as our Bit so rightly points out, discipline makes us unhappy in the short term, but in the long run, it works significantly on our behalf. ‘Now no chastening (discipline) for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised (trained) thereby.’ Yeh friends, chastening has never been a well-liked human characteristic.
And most of us old fogies can remember those days of some serious chastening when we re growing up. Plenty of us ran and hid when we knew that it was in the offing, but oftimes that made no difference. We still got it whenever we showed up.
But you know what friends, that chastening, that sense of discipline, usually benefited us in the long run. It made us the fine, godly people we are today. Sadly though, too many of us, as parents refused to administer any chastening and discipline to our children, that’s why they are the undisciplined way they are today.
Now we didn’t need to go to some of the lengths that our parents did, but by going to the other extreme, we did them a great disservice. Because, if there’s one thing a society needs to grow peacefully it’s discipline, otherwise anarchy, a free for all and total selfishness is what we get, something like what we have today.
Enough preaching though, let’s look at some scriptures that corroborate our sentiments. First up are these words of wisdom from Cousin Sol. ‘For whom the Lord LOVETH he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.’ (Prov.3:12)
More Cousin Sol: ‘He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that LOVETH him chasteneth him betimes (promptly).’ (Prov.13:24)
And we’ll end with this one from Jesus in the Revelation of John. It’s contained in the message to the church at Laodicea. ‘As many as I LOVE, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.’ (Rev.3:19)
Yes friends, it’s all there in black and white in the Good Book! Please let’s take it to heart and do our best not to complain too much when we are rightfully chastened of anybody, especially Almighty God. That’s wisdom of the highest heights! Much LOVE!
…obedience to God…is the highest form of discipline…
02 Oct 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a brand new workweek, bounden duty, Bruh Paul, busyness, charlatans, Church of Christ, Colossians, commuting, doctrine, easily led astray, encouragement, endure afflictions, energy, enthusiasm, enticing words, evangelist, exhort, faith, false teachers, feel good, fellowship, feting, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, godliness, good news of Christ, good works, gusto, heap to themselves teachers, I am with you always, in season, in soul body and mind, itchy ears, lest any man should beguile you, long-suffering, LOVE, lusts, New Testament, observe all things I commanded you, out of season, party time, party-animal mentality, peace, preach the word, rebuke, relaxation, renewed and refreshed, reprove, rest, rested, salvation by faith, strengthened, teach all nations, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the daily grind, the end of the workweek, the gospel, the Great Commission, the weekend, this I say, Timothy, turn away their ears from the truth, unto the end of the world, warning, wisdom, with your generous help
Colossians 2:4. And this I say, lest any man should beguile (deceive) you with enticing (persuasive) words.
And then it was Friday Friends, the day we all seem to LOVE, because it heralds the end of the workweek and the beginning of the weekend, which many of us consider to be party time. (smile)
And thus it leads to the mantra that many of us declare each and every Friday: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! Work will soon be over and then the feting will begin! TGIF! Thank the Lord it’s Friday yes! Ah can’t wait for this work day to be over!’
Ah mih people that state of mind is understandable because of the daily grind and steady task that our work week has become, with all the busyness, the commuting, or rather parking lot highways and byways, that has become such a major part of our modern-day lives.
But the party-animal mentality is definitely not the best one to have each and every Friday, because it diminishes the importance of the weekend and our days off. Our Friday Chant offers a much better perspective on the way our weekend should be used. So let’s chant it now nuh, with plenty enthusiasm and thankfulness.
‘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 brethren, our weekends should be spent with elements of godliness and rest along with some amount of partying. But the end product should allow us to be strengthened and rested so that we can go back out fresh on Monday and began a brand new workweek full of gusto, energy, enthusiasm and peace.
Otherwise our week will undoubtedly be rough and dreary. And that is exactly why Bruh Paul found it necessary to often warn his readers about false teachings and teachers, and in our particular case, the Colossians, which is our Bit for today. ‘And this I say, lest any man should beguile (deceive) you with enticing (persuasive) words.’
And unfortunately my people, our world today is filled with so many charlatans and false teachers with sweet mouths and persuasive words that unless we are well grounded in the Word of God, we can be so easily led astray.
That brings us to Bruh Paul’s warning and encouragement to Timothy. ‘Preach the word; be instant (ready) in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itchy ears;
And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.’ (2 Tim.4:2-5)
What wonderful words of advice and wisdom my brethren, for that is exactly what’s happening in these sorry and sorrowful times! People no longer want to hear real truth, but what makes then feel good, and find and follow those who do so.
Listen to some explanations from the scholars. ‘4:1-4. Preach the word: Preaching is the God-ordained means to prevent defection from the truth. Teachers who appeal to itching ears tell people what they want to hear, not what they need to hear. Thus, both shall be turned into fables (myths or legends).’
‘4:5-8. Do the work of an evangelist: Paul commands Timothy to fully discharge his evangelistic ministry by preaching the gospel (Good News) of Jesus Christ. Evangelism is viewed by the New Testament writers as an essential task of the New Testament Church.’
And since we are all a part of the New Testament Church of Christ, then it means that we too should be involved in evangelism; leading people to the Saviour by our godly words and godly lifestyle.
Now many of us make the mistake of thinking that it’s only priests and pastor and preachers who should be involved in evangelism, but that’s totally wrong my brethren! Every believer in, and follower of Jesus Christ has the bounden duty to teach the gospel of Christ; the doctrine of salvation by faith, and not by good works.
Christianity can only be spread by teaching, and if you are a Christian, then you are expected to do your part in spreading it. For remember some of Jesus’ last words to His disciples. ‘Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always(s), even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20)
And that is exactly what the disciples did my people, otherwise we would never have known about Jesus and His Good News Gospel. Now the duty falls on us to carry on their work, to continue spreading the gospel, until it has reached the four corners of the earth.
So please, let’s go out today and every day that we’re alive and do just that nuh, for it is indeed the wisdom of heaven. Much LOVE!
…ALL believers are expected to uphold the Great Commission of Jesus…
26 Jul 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abominable sins, be destroyed, blessings, blind, buy of me gold tried in the fire, chasten, denominations, divisions, ecstatic, examples speak more forcibly than words, eyesalve, faithfulness, fellowship, forgiveness, friends, give thanks, God's grace, he that hath an ear let him hear, heavenly Father, heavenly things, hypocrites, I am rich, I know thy works, I will spew thee out of my mouth, indifferent, Jesus, Jesus' demise, Jesus' resurrection, joy, joyful, jump for joy, lack of genuine faith, Laodicea, live a lie, LOVE, lukewarm, material things, materialistic church, mercies, miserable, mock, naked, nausea, our Creator, passion, passionate about faith, petty differences, playing both ends against the middle, poor, praise, promises, rebuke, repent, righteousness., rot, scorn, seek thou first the kingdom of God, Sermon on the Mount, sincerity, sing, sitting on the fence, spiritual things, spiritual understanding, spiritual value, Sunday, the church has lost its way, the heathen, the joy of the Lord is our strength, the shame of thy nakedness, the unbeliever, things of God, things of the world, thou art neither cold not hot, Togetherness, truth, ungodly world, unity, virtue, vision, wealthy, what the Spirit says to the churches, white raiment, worship, worthless, wretched
Revelation 3:15. I know thy works, that thou art neither cold or hot: I would (wish) that thou wert (were) cold or hot.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, it’s Sunday once again! Time to gather in fellowship; to sing, praise, worship and give thanks to our magnificent Creator and heavenly Father. Wow! Isn’t that amazing? It surely is!
Oh I know some of you might think what’s all the fuss about? But if you have the blessings and the promises and faithfulness and all the other good stuff that stems from Jesus’ demise and then His ultimate resurrection, how can you not be joyful, ecstatic and passionate about your faith eh?
Unfortunately we supposed believers are not a very passionate lot. We treat our faith as though it wasn’t that important. But wait until we get a new car, a new house, or some such worldly stuff that will eventually rot and be destroyed, we jump for joy and carry on. But for the mercies, forgiveness of our abominable sins and the blessings that the Lord pours down on us every day, we are lukewarm and indifferent.
However my people, those are the things that we should be joyful and expressive about. Nothing in this evil and ungodly world will ever beat those heavenly things. So let’s show some passion about our faith nuh, let’s talk it up, live it up, enjoy it and behave like we truly appreciate it, for remember, the joy of the Lord is our strength. So if we don’t have joy in God, then we won’t be strong and useful. It’s as simple as that my people.
We are behaving just like the church at Laodicea, to whom Jesus sent this message in our Bit. ‘I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would (wish) thou wert (were) cold or hot.’
Yeh Friends, it’s the same message that Jesus is sending us today, for we’re neither hot nor cold, just sort of indifferent, kind of doh-care, sitting on the fence trying to play both ends against the middle. But my brethren that attitude, that modus operandi seldom ever works positively, but negatively most of the time. We have to stand up and choose a side, else we’ll be levelled by both.
Now here’s a little history on Laodicea per the scholars. ‘3:14. Laodicea was located about 50 miles southeast of Philadelphia, in the Lycus River valley near Colossae and Hierapolis (cf. Col.4:13-16). Its name means “People Ruling,” and represents the unbelieving, materialistic church of all ages…’
Ah Friends, we can certainly fall under that heading, because we don’t behave like we truly believe and we’re extremely materialistic. And consequently, the message from Jesus continues: ‘So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew (spit or vomit) thee out of my mouth.’ (Rev.3:16)
Now my people, we don’t want Christ to spit us out or regurgitate us, do we? Certainly not! For if He does that, we won’t have a relationship with Him again, and thus lose all the blessings and other wonderful things that He represents.
And the scholars have this to say about those last two verses. ‘3:15-16. The church is likened to lukewarm, or as being virtually worthless. Christ says He will “spew them out,” or eject them from His company. The hot waters of nearby Hierapolis were known for their medicinal qualities, whereas Colossae was known for its cold, pure water. But Laodicea was forced to receive water by aqueduct from other areas.
By the time it arrived in Laodicea it was lukewarm and provoked nausea. The works of the Laodicean church were as worthless as the city’s lukewarm water. The description does not refer to a backslidden condition, but rather to their lack of genuine faith.’
Oh Friends, does that sound like our church today? Sadly I will have to answer yes. To a great extent the church has lost its way. We no longer practice what Christ taught, plus there are too many denominations, divisions, petty differences and grievances and consequently not sufficient unity and togetherness to make a worthwhile assault on the enemy.
And we obviously can’t make any inroads against enemy since we’re not seeking first the kingdom of God and its righteousness as Jesus directed in the Sermon on the Mount. But instead we are too taken up with the things of the world, rather than the things of God. Our faith is not demonstrated in the way we live our lives, that’s why the heathen, the unbeliever, mocks and scorns us and calls us hypocrites and are not interested in coming to Jesus.
As I keep telling us friends, examples speak more forcibly than words. So if we sincerely want people to come to Jesus, then we have to begin living the truth, with passion and sincerity, and not the lie that so many of us live nowadays.
Now hear how Jesus puts it. ‘Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods (have become wealthy), and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind and naked. I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire (refined), that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment (garments), that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear (may not be revealed), and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I LOVE, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous therefore, and repent.’ (Rev.3:17-19)
And the scholars explain all of that thus. ‘3:17-19. Laodicea was famous for its wealth, its bankers, its medical school, its popular eyesalve, and its textile industry. Christ says that spiritually the people of the church are poor, blind, and naked. True wealth is found only in God’s grace. This church had no spiritual value (gold), virtue (white raiment), or vision (eyesalve). He urges the Laodiceans to repent of their lack of genuine faith and of spiritual understanding.’
Ah mih people, what’s left to be said eh? Nothing really, because we are behaving just like the Laodiceans. We talk a lot, but don’t have the serious actions to back it up. And we are definitely showing more interest in the material things of the world than the spiritual things of heaven. Please remember Friends that the things of the world will rot and be destroyed, they will pass away, but the things of heaven don’t rot, and will never pass away. Much LOVE!
…he that hath an ear…let him hear…what the Spirit saith unto the churches… (Rev.3:22)
24 Jun 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a brand new day, and he shall strengthen thine heart, be of good courage, bind up the testimony, Christians, crook, deliverance, descent into Hades, exhort, expectant faith, follow God's guidance, glad to be alive, glorious appearing, Glory be, glory hallelujah, God is still on the throne, going to hell in a hand-basket, halfway home, hungry hope, I'm not turning back, immediacy, impatience, in God's capable hands, in our best interest, Jacob, judgements, looking back at the past, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my hands are on the plough, now for now, patience, place all our cares, rebuke, redeem us, salvation, seal the law., Second Coming of Christ, seek the Lord, sense of immediacy, the breath of life, the Christian life, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the love of our children, things of God, things of the world, Titus, to a glorious future with Jesus, wait I say on the Lord, wait in patient faith on the Lord, waiting patiently, Wednesday Wail, zealous of good works
Psalm 27:14. Wait (in patient faith) on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait (in patient faith), I say, on the Lord.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, the ole fella had a rough night. Mama yo!
I went to bed around twelve, much earlier than usual, but unfortunately the sleep wasn’t great, for I woke up twice during the night with cramps in both legs. Glory Be! (smile) What else can I say eh? Even now I can still feel the knot in my right calf.
But yuh know what my fellow believers? This is a brand new day, and we have to embrace it as such. The sun’s shining brightly, and the construction noise is starting up in my area. (smile)
So though this earthly life might be a bit rough at times, we desperately need to remember that our great God is still on His heavenly throne running things and consequently place all our cares in His most capable hands. I don’t understand why I’m having cramps when I believe I’m doing all the things I should do to prevent them.
But them’s the breaks, and as I keep preaching, I just have to grin and bear them, believing that God must have some higher purpose that my small, finite and fragile mind can’t comprehend.
And since today is Wednesday, let’s wail our most appropriate Wednesday Wail. ‘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 that’s exactly how it ought to be my brethren! And our most encouraging and uplifting Bit demonstrates the point very nicely. ‘Wait (in patient faith) on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait (in patient faith), I say, on the Lord.’
Oh my people, if only we were a society imbued with patience eh, what wonderful and marvellous things our God would do in our midst!
But sadly we are not. All our modern inventions have driven us down the road of impatience, because they are making things happen quicker and quicker. In some respects that’s good, but in others it’s not, because it only breeds a wrong sense of immediacy in everything.
And that’s the current state of our society, where we want everything now for now, if not yesterday. And unfortunately that now for now attitude is moving us even further away from the God of our fathers, who desires us to wait patiently in faith on Him. No wonder our world is so quickly going to hell in a hand basket.
As a result, we are in desperate need of Christians to delay, or rather to stop that descent into Hades. And how do we do that?
By turning sincerely and seriously back to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, once again honouring Him with our lives and waiting patiently with hungry hope and expectant faith for Him to guide us on the straight and narrow path that leads directly to Him.
Ah mih people, it’s a sad commentary on our lives, but way too many of us supposed believers are still too hooked on the flashy, but flimsy things of the world, and are not sufficiently focused on the everlasting things of God. And until we change that, things will never get better. It certainly is sad, but it’s oh so true!
Now let’s look at some scripture that support our Bit. And we’ll begin way back in olden times, when Jacob in his last days was blessing his sons. After blessing Dan, Jacob faithfully declares: ‘I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord.’ (Gen.49:18)
And knowing the ole crook that Jacob had been earlier in life, and how he ended up, gives us a positive outlook, that we too can turn our lives around if we so desire, and if we partner sincerely with Jacob’s God.
Now listen to Isaiah as he foreshadows Israel’s deliverance. ‘Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.’ (Is.8:16-17) Yeh Friends, deliverance is in the offing, but one needs to wait for it, to seek the Lord with all thine heart, body and soul!
And again in a hymn of praise, Isaiah unconditionally declares: ‘The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh (make level) the path of the just. Yea, in the way of thy judgements, O Lord, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgements are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.’ (Is.26:7-9)
Oh Friends, what wonderful sentiments! But it’s obvious that the Lord’s judgements aren’t yet in this world, for we surely have not learned righteousness.
And we’ll close with these words of Bruh Paul on the Christian life to Titus. ‘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 (Second Coming) 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 211-15)
Oh my brethren, those words of heavenly wisdom also apply to us today. As we look with expectant hope and faith for the Second Coming of Jesus, let us make sure that we do the best we can in all aspects of our lives. We know exactly what is required of us, so please, let’s do it nuh. It’s all in our best interest. Much LOVE!
…if for nothing else but the LOVE of our children…Christians would be well advised…be wise…to follow God’s guidance…
23 Jun 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a frightening thought, a smell of cleanliness, after the storm, agonized, and he shall strengthen thine heart, be of good courage, begged, bewildered, busyness, christianity, construction work, dancing leaves, deceived, desire of my heart, disservice, dusty summer, encouragement, God will never lead us astray, God will never renege on His promises, God will wipe away tears, God's awesome might and power, God's glory, God's majesty, God's timing is impeccable, grime, hallmarks of Christianity, hypnotized, impatience, inspiration, intolerance, invigorating, Isaiah's song of praise, know or understand God, LOVE, love nature, nature, now for now attitude, personal testimony, pleaded, pollution, prayed with confidence, puzzled, rebuke, refreshing experience, riddim of the singing breeze, Ruth Harms Calkin, the harmful desire, the Lord is my light and salvation, the Lord will swallow up death in victory, the One Year Book of Bible Promises, the peaceful calm, the Prayer, Thor's hammer, thunder, wait in patient faith on the Lord, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation, wisdom, zaps of lightning
Psalm 27:14. Wait (in patient faith) on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait (in patient faith), I say, on the Lord.
Oh Friends, it was really an invigorating and refreshing experience sitting out on my front porch at minutes to two this wet, and rainy Tuesday morning in the early summer days of 2015! A smell of cleanliness was in the air, as the rain had washed away all the day’s grime and pollution. I listened with joy as the mild breeze sang to the dancing leaves as it blew through them. Even the two flower baskets hanging at the front of the porch were gently swaying to the intriguing riddim of the singing breeze and dancing leaves. (smile)
But please note that that was after the torrential downpour of rain had passed, having been preceded by many zaps of bright and dazzling lightning illuminating the dark and cloudy skies, and several bursts of thunder, loud roars of Thor’s mighty hammer had rolled across the heavens.
Thankfully though, while that was all happening I was safely ensconced in my family room watching the tube, and had to laugh when at times Thor’s roar blocked out the volume of the TV.
Oh how I wish I could block out some of the noise that’s now happening right behind me in the lane, as this area has been flooded with construction work and the associated noises as they claim they are fixing the curbs so that we can have better water flow in the drains.
This stuff has been going on now for at least a month, and we still have to have the lanes and the main street resurfaced afterwards, so it looks to be a noisy and dusty summer. So you can I imagine how I felt earlier this morning as I experienced the peaceful calm that usually comes after the storm. (smile)
And having experienced, having witnessed all those exciting and thrilling aspects of nature, how can I not LOVE what the Lord has provided us eh? No way Jose!
I believe that any Christian who doesn’t LOVE nature, doesn’t truly know or understand God, for that’s where He has revealed so much of Himself to us. His awesome might and power, His ever increasing glory and His solemn majesty are all visible through the wonders of nature. Glory Be!
But enough of my rambling, listen to this most realistic poem from The One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings from Ruth Harms Calkin. This one is simply titled ‘The Prayer.’
‘For so many anguished months I’ve been waiting for you to answer The one longing desire of my heart. I’ve begged, pleaded, agonized. I’ve prayed at times fumblingly At other times intensely. I’ve knelt and prayed. I’ve buried my head in my pillow and prayed.
I’ve prayed before breakfast and after lunch. I’ve prayed before dawn And after dark. I’ve prayed with spontaneous outbursts while tears washed my face. I’ve prayed over our kitchen sink And as I shopped for groceries. I’ve prayed amid screeching traffic.
At times I’ve prayed with confidence at other times with fear. And yet, Lord, though I have waited Though I have strained to listen There is no answer. I hear nothing…just nothing.
O God, I am so puzzled, so bewildered. A frightening thought haunts me. Could it be true Lord? Don’t You LOVE me anymore?
My child Because I LOVE you so much I wait for you to let Me remove the harmful desire.’
Oh my people, doesn’t all of that ring so loud and truthfully in our ears this morning? Of course it does! Because all of us have had times like those, when with anguished cries we reached out, desperately called out to God in our trials and temptations, but unfortunately never seemed to receive an answer.
And I like God’s answer: He LOVES us so much, that He is just waiting for us to let go of whatever is bothering us so that He can solve our problems. He can’t solve them if we keep holding on to them.
And you know my brethren, that’s a real problem with many of us; we insist on holding on to stuff that we want God to fix, but that is not realistic. He can’t fix it unless we let it go.
And the promise that is held out for that poem is a well-known passage of scripture from Psalm 27 – The Lord is my light and my salvation. Hear these wise and encouraging words of Bruh David which have the pleasure, the honour of being our Bit for today.
‘Wait (in patient faith) on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait (in patient faith), I say, on the Lord.’
What awesome words of encouragement and wisdom my people! And nobody knew the power of waiting patiently in faith on our magnificent and magnanimous God better than Bruh David!
Sadly though, in these days of excessive busyness, intolerance and impatience, many of us have lost that power, that ability to wait patiently on our wonderful and ever-faithful God.
Most of this young generation don’t even know or have that capability, because all they have been taught and become accustomed to is the now for now realization of all their desires.
In this respect Friends, we have certainly done the young generation a great disservice by not teaching them to wait patiently in faith on the Lord our God. Unfortunately, we too, the older generation, have also moved away from that standard, having been hypnotized, been deceived and taken in by the now for now attitude of our society.
This is not a good sign my people. We need to move back to the realistic and faithful waiting for God to work in our lives. We need to get back to what Isaiah says in his song of praise by the redeemed.
‘He will swallow up death in victory (forever); and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth; for the Lord hath spoken it.
And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited (patiently in faith) for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited (patiently in faith) for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.’ (Is.25:8-9)
Oh Friends, what marvellous words of faith, encouragement and strength! Please, please, let’s hold on to them this and every day, as we again learn to wait patiently in faith on our heavenly Father, for that is the zenith, the epitome of wisdom and common sense!
He will never lead us astray, will never renege on any of the many promises He’s made in His Word, if we are obedient to and wait patiently in faith on His timing, which is always impeccable. That much I can vouch for through personal testimony. Much LOVE!
…to wait…to wait…and yet to wait patiently in faith on God…is one of the hallmarks of Christianity…
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