27 Jan 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ambassadors, apathy, ascension, aura of love, benefits, birth, blessed, blessed be the Lord, blessings, brand new day, breath, cast out, children of God, Christ, christianity, church of Jesus, circle the wagons, confidence, conquerors, darkness, death, dim, disaster prone, disciples, displeases Jesus, do good, enemy's wicked taunts, enthusiasm, eternal life, evil powers, faith, fear, flavour, flavourless life, forgiveness, frail and mortal bodies, frogiveness, get our act back together, glorious kingdom, God of our salvation, God's Word, good for noting, good news, grace, great commission, heal wounds, heavens and the earth, hidden, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, humbly ask, illuminate the darkness, invincible, Jesus Christ, Jesus' sacrifice, jobs, lies, light, LOVE, lust, make Jesus proud, makes a mockery of, mercy, Monday, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Oh Lord God Almighty, praise, preservative, proud and faithful, put God first, quality of life, Red Letter Day, regroup, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renaisance, renewed vitality, resurrection, revival, rise up victoriously, salt, salvation, selfless sacrifice, shining examples, sit up and take notice, spiritual armour, spread the gospel, steadfast faith, straight and narrow path, strength and guidance, sufficiently, surrender our all, thanksgiving, the day the Lord has made, things of the world, trodden underfoot, troubled world, true meaning, turn around, undesirable situation, ungodly world, walk obediently, we shall rejoice and be glad, well enough, while there's life there's hope, wiles
Psalm 68:19. Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.
Aye mih people, it’s Monday, a brand new day! And like every day that there’s breath in our frail, mortal bodies, it deserves the same opening sentence of praise and thanksgiving, namely: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we SHALL rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Psalm 118:24)
So as proud and faithful children of God, let’s rise up this Monday morning, the first day of the new work week, with supreme faith and confidence in our great, most wonderful and faithful God, asking for His strength and guidance to go out today and face the evil, ungodly world in which we live. And we’ll do that by boisterously, but also harmoniously singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn.
All together now, let’s make both the heavens and the earth sit up and take notice. ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Oh Friends, that was an awesome rendition! We got a standing ‘O’ from the angels in heaven. Jesus beamed with delight, and the Father was seen to be tapping His toes and keeping time to the riddim with His right hand on the arm of His throne. Mama Mia!
So let’s take this excitement and enthusiasm out into the imperfect world today and do good, like Jesus did, when He walked this earth two millennia ago, for that’s what He desires of us. As He said, we’re to be His disciples, His ambassadors here on earth, the salt and light, shining examples of His grace, mercy, LOVE and forgiveness. (Matt.5:13-16)
And these troubled times certainly call for us to exhibit those heavenly and godly qualities more than ever before. Our salt has recently been losing its flavour, and our light has indeed been dim, because we have been hiding it under a bushel, a basket. But my fellow believers in Christ, what’s the purpose of having flavourless salt and hiding our light eh?
None whatsoever! The salt is supposed to add flavour to our food, act as a preservative, melt coldness and heal wounds. And when it stops doing those things, then it’s of no use, like Jesus said, ‘good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden underfoot of men.’ (Matt.5:13b)
The same goes for the light, which is supposed to illuminate the darkness. However, when it’s hidden it cannot do so. That’s why the darkness of the world has recently become so expansive and powerful; the supposed children of God have not been effectively lighting and showing the way on that straight and narrow path that leads to heaven.
And we know that displeases both the Son and the Father. Why you ask? Because then it only makes a mockery of the Father engineering the Son’s sacrifice to pay for our abominable sins, and thus enable us to be reconciled to Him.
So at about twenty to six this morning, as I sit on the balcony of my little bungalow in Lowlands, trying to wear off the effects of an unusual headache which caused me to go to bed early last night and also rise up early, I’m pleading with us, my fellow believers, to regain the flavour and all the other wonderful properties of our salt, and remove the covering from around our brightly burning lights, so that we may show the unbelieving world the true meaning of Christ and Christianity.
Remember Friends, that’s the great commission that Jesus entrusted to each and every one of His followers. To go out into all the world and spread the gospel, the good – no great news of His Birth, Death, Resurrection and Ascension, the selfless sacrifice He made so that mankind could have salvation and eternal life. (Matt.28:19-20)
Now isn’t that a most worthy cause to give our all to? Absolutely! But unfortunately we haven’t been doing it sufficiently, or well enough, that’s why the darkness has enveloped, has taken over so much of our beautiful world.
My Friends, it’s high time we circle the wagons, regroup and seriously and sincerely get our act back together, cause that’s the only way the church of Jesus here on earth will ever rise up victoriously against the evil powers of this troubled and disaster prone world.
Now it’s not too late to turn this thing around, for remember while there is life, there’s always hope. And we still have lots of life left, which means that there’s also lots of hope that we can turn this undesirable situation around, thereby improving the quality of life for ourselves, this young generation and those to come.
I’m sure we’ll all prefer our legacy to be one of successfully building Christ’s church, like our forefathers did, rather than one of destroying it, as our current, fear, apathy and lust for the things of the world are doing. So please, let’s make this Monday morning at the end of January, in the year of our Lord 2014, a RED LETTER DAY nuh!
A day on which we can truly look back and say that it was the end of our dim and flavourless life, but enthusiastically and ecstatically, the beginning of our revival, our renaissance, when we truly put God first in our lives and began doing what we ought to. My Fellow believers, that is the ONLY WAY that Christ’s church will ever stand strong and grow.
And likewise, the only way we will ever be able to truly repeat the words of our Bit. ‘Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.’
Now let’s go out and make Jesus proud of us. Much LOVE!
…the Lord blesses those…who praise Him… give Him thanks…and walk obediently to His Word…
20 Jan 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adrenalin, anointing, aura of love, blessings, call to arms, changing the world, Church of Christ, come together, confess, confidence, conquerors, day of the awakening, destruction, devastation, direct my prayer, divide and conquer, Elijah, enthusiasm, equal rights, eternal life, evil, faults, friends, further your glorious kingdom, get down to brass tacks, God's people, good news, harm, heaven, hiding their heads in the sand, holy spirit, humble servants, importance of prayer, in the morning, invincible, Jesus Christ, justice, lies, Lord God Jehovah, LOVE, make a difference, mickey-mouse stuff, Monday Morniing Battle Hymn, natural disasters, nature, one day at a time, passions, peace, powers of evil, pray for one another, prayer, prayer of faith, prayer of the righteous, rain, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, righteousness., rise up, rumours of war, saving and redeeming gospel, saviour, sins, spiritual armour, spirituality, steadfast faith, strife, suffering, taunts, things of the world, trespasses, trust, ungodly world, unified fight, victorious, wake up call, wars, weary souls, wiles, wisdom, worthwhile inroads
Psalm 5:3. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday: Monday 20 January 2014! The year that the Lord God Jehovah will make a mighty impact on this planet Earth, that He created! Fellow believers, this year we’re going to receive such a wake up call that we’ll be unable to avoid the Lord’s call to arms.
You’ll notice that since 2014 stepped in the strife around the world and the natural disasters have escalated. And believe me Friends, if we, the ones appointed by Jesus to take the good news of His saving and redeeming gospel all over the world, don’t do it, then we’ll see even worse strife and disasters, many of the latter man-made.
Oh my people, the talk about wars and rumours of wars is no longer prophetic, for it’s been currently fulfilled, with serious strife in more places than those where some semblance of peace reigns. So mih breddren, if we truly want our children to live to see a brighter day, then WE have to seriously step up to the plate and do some serious proselytizing, since it’s only by spreading the Word around the globe, that LOVE, peace, equal rights and justice will ever find a true foothold.
Oh my people, it’s high time we stop the mickey-mouse stuff we’ve been fooling ourselves with and get down to brass tacks, because the enemy; the powers of evil, Lucifer and his evil cohorts, have stepped up their programme of evil devastation and destruction. That means we have to take even bigger steps than them, if we even want to catch up, much less to pass them.
Friends, this is not just my feeling, but it’s right there out in front of us for all and sundry to see. But please remember that there’s none so blind as those who refuse to see. And sadly, a great many believers are either too taken up with the things of the world, or are foolishly hiding their heads in the sand like the ostrich, hoping that the evil tendencies will disappear on their own.
But Friends, I have news for us; that’s a fallacy, a very foolish one too! If we try to run and hide from the situation, it will only get worse, and eventually catch up to us and engulf us in its evil claws. So please, let’s stop trying to side step the problems nuh, for we’re only doing ourselves irreparable harm.
Oh Friends, this is the day of the awakening! This is the day that God’s people must rise up and take the fight to the enemy! And as our Bit so wisely advises, the best way to do that, is to begin the day in prayer, in serious communication with the Most High. ‘My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.’
So now my people, as we always do on a Monday morning, let’s look up, and raise our voices, direct our prayer, our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to our wonderful Creator, Provider and Protector. As one harmonious, blessed union, let’s pray.
‘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!’
And with that adrenalin now pumping through our veins my brethren, let’s go out into the evil world that surrounds us, this first day of the work week, and make a serious and worthwhile difference in Jesus’ name nuh. I don’t like to keep harping on it, but it’s only through our strong, indefatigable and sustained efforts, RIGHT NOW, that our grandchildren will inherit a half-decent world.
Remember how we recently talked about changing the world, one day at a time? Well now it’s become imperative that we do so!
Now let’s get into the last scripture in this series of messages on the importance of prayer in a believer’s life. It comes from the epistle of James, recognized as Jesus’ earthly half brother. One of those who, in the early days chastised Him and didn’t believe, but who later came to see the light, as I’d like us to do.
And in talking about patience in affliction, James boldly proclaims: ‘Is any among you afflicted (suffering)? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
Confess your faults (trespasses) one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual (effective) fervent (supplication) prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are (with a nature like ours), and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth (land) by the space of (for) three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.’ (James 5:13-18)
Oh Friends, I can’t say it better than that! I can only hope and pray that this Monday morning, we will all go out and stand up steadfast and strong for Jesus. In His Holy name, we pray. And all God’s people gave a loud and rousing shout of ‘So be it! Amen!’ Much LOVE my brothers and sisters in Christ!
…only as the church of Christ comes together…and fights a serious and unified fight…will it ever be victorious…otherwise the enemy will keep on dividing and conquering us…
15 Jan 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: advice, alive and kicking, appliances, attitude of prayer, be happy, begin each day with prayer, behaviour to cultivate, better late than never, boycott threat, complications, Daniel, David, deliverance from death, direct my prayer, disciples, encourage, epistle, faults and foibles, fed the five thousand, freezer problem, friends, get serious about prayer, glory hallelujah, God's grace, greatest power on earth, ground swell, heartfelt, holds us captive, importance of prayer, in the morning, intermittent cough, Jesus, joyfully declare, lighten the soul, look up, LOVE, my voice, negative, new fangled, O Lord, planet earth, plastic, poor-me-one, positive attitude, pray without ceasing, prayer, prayer for protection, pronouncement, Psalm 88, recharge batteries, rejoice and be glad, rejuvenation of spirit, see another day, service charge, sincere prayer, sincerity, sorrowful, spiritual energy, the day the Lord has made, the Good Book, the other side, the power of prayer, tip of the iceberg, troubled world, true believers, truth, year of 2014
Psalm 5:3. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
Oh Friends, once again we have been blessed with God’s wonderful grace, enabling us to see another new day on His great planet earth! Wow! How thrilling that is!
And I know that you all will agree with me, for despite all the problems in the troubled world and our individual lives, very few really are ready to leave here and go over to the other side. There’s something about earth, with all its faults and foibles that still holds us captive.
Perhaps it’s simply because we know what’s here, but aren’t truly sure about what’s on the other side, although they claim it’s much better there.
In any case, since we’re here, and most likely want to be, let’s be happy, and like the psalmist, joyfully declare: ‘This is the day which the Lord hath made; we WILL rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Ps.118:24) That positive attitude certainly helps more than a negative, sorrowful, poor-me-one behaviour.
Oh by the way, a service man did come yesterday to look at our freezer problem, at an exorbitant service charge. Hn!
Apparently there’s a small plastic cup – no surprise there, for everything’s plastic now – where the water runs through to the icemaker. But whenever that cup gets clogged with ice, and the icemaker calls for water, the water cannot run into the cup and into the icemaker. So as water is wont to do, it finds other channels to run into.
Consequently, by the time he checked it yesterday, everything was clear and free, and the only thing we can do is keep a close eye on it, because there’s no finding out why it happens. Ah Lord eh! And last night we had to turn off the icemaker because the bucket was already full of ice.
And the techie agreed with my contention that the earlier appliances worked much better than these new fangled ones, neither did they have as many complications when something went wrong. Although it gave him more work, he wasn’t thrilled with the new stuff, and suggested that we complain to the manufactures themselves, not to the service people.
But which big manufacturer listens to the small man eh, unless there’s a big ground swell and a serious threat of boycotting their products?
Anyway, that’s enough preamble for today. (smile) Yesterday’s Bit was one of the longest, if not the longest one I’ve ever written, and I promise today’s definitely won’t be as long. So in keeping with that promise let’s get to our Bit from Bruh David’s prayer for protection.
‘My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.’
And I was up early enough today to do my prayer thing and still get the Bit to you at a reasonable hour. Glory Hallelujah! And we’ll continue looking at scriptures that show us the importance of prayer, as well as encourage us to get more involved in it.
And there’s lots of truth in the advice to begin each day with prayer. Bruh David and Daniel (6:10) did it, and in Psalm 88, a Maschil (Contemplation) of Heman the Ezrahite, a cry for deliverance from death, the psalmist also proclaims: ‘But unto thee have I cried, O Lord; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent (come before) thee.’ (Ps.88:13)
Now we already know that Jesus got up very early every morning to go out into a quiet place and pray. (Mark 1:35) But that wasn’t the only time He availed Himself of the power of prayer. And we have a good example of that after He fed the five thousand, (Matt.14:15-22) and sent His disciples over to the other side of the lake by ship, then went off by Himself to pray.
‘And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart (by Himself) to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.’ (Matt.14:23)
Apparently after using up all that spiritual energy, He needed some recharging of His batteries, some rejuvenation of His Spirit. And believe me Friends, nothing recharges or rejuvenates us like sincere prayer!
Now let’s move on to Bruh Paul. Oh my brethren, I don’t know if anyone has spoken about the importance of prayer more than him! In every epistle he encourages his readers to pray. And his most astounding pronouncement on the subject is simply this: ‘Pray without ceasing.’ (1 Thess.5:17) Plain and straightforward my people!
The scholars dissemble the verse thus: ‘The Greek word here rendered without ceasing is used in secular literature to denote a man suffering from an intermittent cough – one that is not continuous, but occurs at intervals. Just as the individual has the tendency to cough, though does not always do so audibly, so the believer ought to remain in the attitude of prayer though not always praying audibly.’
Therefore Friends, as true believers, we ought always to have that attitude of prayer about us, though not necessarily praying aloud. It’s a most wonderful behaviour to cultivate. And as promised, we won’t ramble on any more today.
But my brethren, that’s only the tip of the iceberg concerning prayer in the Good Book. However we’ll leave you to ponder those few verses today. Don’t want to complicate your busy minds and lives more than they’re already complicated. (smile) .
But please, please, let’s get serious about prayer in this important year of 2014 nuh, both for others and ourselves, because it’s the greatest power on planet earth, when entered into with heartfelt sincerity. Much LOVE!
…there’s nothing like prayer…to lighten the believer’s soul…
P.S. Aye mih people, the Bit will most likely be plenty late tomorrow, because I’m going out of town this evening, and I don’t know when I’ll find the time to write it. But rest assured that once I’m alive and kicking, you will receive it. It’s just a matter of when. And as they say; better late than never. (smile) Much LOVE!
13 Jan 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a believer's life, adrenalin flowing, aura of love, awaken joyfully, blessings, courageous leader, crass demeanour, crossroads of decision, cursing, direct my prayer, diseased soul, early in the morning, earnest prayer, enemy's ranks, enemy's wicked taunts, enthusiasm, evil ungodly world, excellent advice, faint, fearless, further God's glorious kingdom, groaning, guidance, healing, holy spirit, humble servants, humbly ask, imperative, importance of prayer, important decisions, inspiring words, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, keeping families together, lies, man's body, meditation, men ought to pray, miracles, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, motors revved up, necessary changes, new week of work, not afraid, not lose heart, Oh Lord God Almighty, persitent prayer, positive frame of mind, praise Your Holy Name, preaching of the gospel, protective spiritual armour, public preaching, recognition, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, sally forth with confidence, seek guidance, sinful mortals, Son and Saviour, son of god, spiritual strength, standing 'O', steadfast faith, suffering, sure conquerors, surrender our all, temper tantrums, the Father's wisdom, visible fruit, voice of my cry, weary souls, weekend, wiles, wisdom, worthwhile inroads
Psalm 5:3. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee.
And now Friends, it’s Monday… Easy now…easy does it… No cursing…no temper tantrums. So you overdid the weekend, and now your mental and physical states are not what they should be. As a believer you ought to know better, but it’s too late to worry about that now. Just take a deep breath and control yourself…
Now release it and thank the Lord for allowing you to see another day on His glorious planet earth, and ask for His guidance and blessings. Regardless of your mental or physical state, you know you have to get up and go to work, so why not do it the easy and smart way eh, by communicating with your heavenly Father?
Oh mih people, I’m still trying to get us to awaken joyfully, instead of right away developing a crass and miserable demeanour when the alarm goes off, especially on a Monday morning. And we’ll keep doing it until victory is achieved! (smile) Until then…and even after that, we’ll continue to sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to get our adrenalin flowing and our motors properly revved up.
So as one harmonious choir now, let’s sing: ‘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!’
Awright mih breddren, that wasn’t a bad rendition, though we’ve done better. It didn’t get us a standing ‘O’ in heaven, but the applause was polite enough. (smile) But seriously Friends, I can’t impress on us enough, the utmost importance of prayer in a believer’s life. Remember yesterday we saw Jesus tell His listeners a parable about how men ought to pray and not faint, not lose heart? (Luke 18:1) Now if He says so, then of a truth, it must be so!
Bruh David takes that a step further though. In Psalm 5, his prayer for protection, he solemnly declares these sentiments. ‘Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation (groaning). Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. ‘My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee.’ (Ps.5:1-3)
In our Bit there, Bruh David proclaims that in the midst of his suffering, he will make his supplication to the Lord early in the morning. And that’s excellent advice Friends, whether you’re in the midst of suffering or not!
As we said yesterday, and I advised right at the beginning today, it’s always best to start our day with prayer, because it starts us off in a positive frame of mind, gives us the necessary spiritual strength to face the day. And the good thing is that it doesn’t have to be an overly long session for the Lord knows how busy we are, but acknowledging Him as soon as we wake, certainly pleases Him.
And if you don’t believe me, then listen to these inspiring words from the Good Book. ‘And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary (quiet, deserted) place, and there prayed.’ (Mark 1:35)
Yuh know who Mark’s talking about there Friends? It’s our own beloved Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, while out on His first preaching tour!
So my people, fellow believers and otherwise, if our wonderful, wise, fearless and courageous Leader, the Son of God, could get up early to pray, why can’t we eh? Because we’re too lazy, or just don’t believe that early prayer is valuable, or just don’t believe in prayer at all, who knows? The truth of the matter though my brethren is that prayer is extremely important, and praying as soon as we awaken is best.
Anyway, here is an interesting note on that verse from the scholars. ‘Mark emphasizes that it was a great while before day. Showing that Jesus began each day of His earthly ministry with prayer is only the secondary intention of this verse. The primary aim is to show how Jesus made important decisions: by earnest, persistent prayer. Here Jesus stands at the crossroads of decision.
His first year of public preaching (vv. 9-20) has borne little visible fruit. But His miracles of healing are drawing huge crowds (vv.31-32) and bringing Him recognition (v. 28). So the question is whether He should continue to put the stress of His ministry on the preaching of the gospel for the healing of man’s diseased soul, or place the stress of His work on the more popular performing of miracles for the healing of man’s body. To make the proper choice, He seeks by prayer the Father’s wisdom.’
And that my people, is the truest and highest state of wisdom that exists! So please, let’s ponder all that we’ve learned today, then, as always, get the Lord to help us make the necessary changes in our lives. Much LOVE!
…again I ask…if it was imperative for Jesus…the Son of God…to seek guidance through prayer…why should it be any less so for us…sinful mortals that we are…
10 Jan 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a life of Love, agape, anger, Beelzebub, bounden duty, careening, Christ's followers, commandments, culture, devilish path, diligent efforts of Love, dissipation, dominating, earthly pilgrimage, eternal darkness, eternity, evil powers, fellowship, first heartbeat, foolish pride, forgive, Friday chant, fulfilling of the law, fun, generous help, glorious kingdom, godlessness, godly sentiments, godly wisdom, gospel truth, greatest feelings, human weakness, importance of Love, Jesus Christ, jesus name, Job, lawlessness, leggo-beast, life-saving opportunity, LOVE, Love does no harm, Love God, Love shines brighter, Love shines brighter every day, Love your neighbour as yourself, lower standards, negative and evil things, party time, perspective, Pharisees, positive and godly things, rebellion, reconciled to God, reggase song, rejuvenation of spirit, renewal, revolution of Love, right perspective, separation, sinful nature, spread LOVE, strife, Thank God is Friday, the children's sake, the essence of God, the morning sun, the necessity for Love, the weekend, too far for comfort, unbelievers, unfathomable reason, unwise, wisdom
Romans 13:10. LOVE worketh no ill (does no harm) to his neighbour: therefore LOVE is the fulfilling of the law.
Hello there mih people, it’s Friday… And the raucous shouting begins: ‘Oh Lord, oh Lord, the weekend’s here! Work soon finish, then is time to behave like leggo beast! Oh Lord, oh Lord, it’s Friday… party time! Thank the Lord is Friday yes!’ (smile)
But Friends, you better believe that there are a lot of us out there with that mentality, that the weekend’s the time to go crazy. However, that’s a sad fallacy.
Granted, you do deserve to let down your hair some, after a long and hard week’s work, but definitely not to behave like leggo beast and put a big, broad grin on Beelzebub’s evil face. It’s supposed to be more a time of renewal than dissipation.
And to help us use the weekend the right way, let’s chant our Friday Chant as one loud, harmonious, groovy chorus. ‘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.’
Now that’s how we should approach the weekend my brethren, not with the earlier carryings on! It’s all about perspective people; about having the right perspective to this earthly pilgrimage.
And what better perspective to life is there than the godly sentiments contained in our Bit? ‘LOVE worketh no ill (does no harm) to his neighbour: therefore LOVE is the fulfilling of the law.’ None whatsoever!
Oh my fellow believers, we’re talking about LOVE, the essence of the omnipotent God Jehovah, Creator and Controller of the universe!
LOVE was the emotion that drove Him to save us from our sinful selves, thus giving us the wonderful, life-saving opportunity to be reconciled to Him, and not spend eternity in eternal darkness and separation.
In light of all that, what could be a better perspective to living, than a life of LOVE eh? Nothing really my brethren!
As the old reggae song by Culture states: ‘It was LOVE that caused our first heartbeat.’ Gospel truth indeed!
And Culture also declares that ‘LOVE shines brighter than the morning sun.’ And it sure does Friends, if we allow it to.
That’s why Jesus kept reiterating the importance of and the necessity for LOVE in our lives. When asked by the ole hypocrite Pharisees about the greatest commandment, what was His reply eh?
‘Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ (Matt.22:37-40)
Now why would Jesus expand and expatiate (smile) on the importance of LOVE, if it wasn’t a big deal eh?
But for some unfathomable reason, be it foolish pride, persistent rebellion, or our basic sinful nature, we seem to find it very difficult to LOVE; to show it, to put it into action. And that deficiency covers the whole spectrum; from God, right back to ourselves and our neighbours.
However my brethren, without that ‘agape’ LOVE, the spiritual kindness, consideration and decency towards, God, ourselves and each other, our world will only keep sinking into a dreary and murky mire of lawlessness, Godlessness, anger and strife.
In fact, we’ve already gone too far for comfort, down that unwise, devilish path. And the only thing that can bring us back is a serious revolution of LOVE, engendered by Christ’s followers!
Yes my fellow believers, it’s only through our combined and diligent efforts of LOVE that our world will ever be turned around!
Aren’t you tired of seeing our beautiful world constantly careening to lower and lower levels and standards, where the negative and evil things in life are dominating the positive and godly things? I surely am!
So please help me fix it nuh! It’s our job, our bounden duty! And if we don’t fix it, who will eh? Surely not the unbelievers and evil powers that be!
So Friends, in Jesus’ Name, today I’m asking us to all come together, as ONE, as the church, the body of Christ, and spread LOVE all around the world! Because as Culture also says: ‘LOVE shines brighter every day.’ That’s provided we allow it to.
So if we truly LOVE Jesus, then let’s allow the LOVE that’s buried deep in our hearts and souls to shine brighter today, and each and every day hence; for our world, and our children’s sake That’s godly wisdom! Much LOVE!
…oh, to LOVE…and be LOVED…are the greatest feelings in the world…
P.S. Sorry the Bit’s a tad late, but the ole body just couldn’t get up very early this morning. Please show some LOVE, and forgive my human weakness. (smile) Much LOVE!
06 Jan 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abandoned, admonish, adrenalin, all year round, aura of love, be proud, believe, best present, blustery winter's morn, bright sunshine, brother, Bruh Paul, busybodies, Christ-like feeling, Christmas Season, commanded, confidence, conquerors, correct, Creator of the universe, death row, Devil's workshop, disobedience, enemy's wicked taunts, enthusiasm, evil, excommunication, faithful Being, forgiveness, further your glorious kingdom, good works, goodwill to men, grace, heavenly Father, hoopla, humble servants, idle hands, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, joy, judgement morn, jump start, keeping lives and families together, lies, lord god almighty, lord jesus christ, LOVE, meddlesome ways, meddling, meet the enemy in battle, mercy, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, new year 2014, New Year's hangover, obedience, peace, Praise the Lord, praise Your Holy Name, pray, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, sally forth, second chance, serve a useful purpose, shame, should not eat, sing God's praises, snow, snow-white Monday, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, strength and energy, surrender, Thessalonians, ungodly world, valiant fight for Jesus, walk disorderly, warm temps, warn, we're not afraid, weary souls, week of work, well doing, wiles, wonderful god, work ethic, worthwhile inroads, would not work
2 Thessalonians 3:10. For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday, a beautiful snow-white Monday in my area, and the ole fella’s feeling a tad better. Praise the Lord!
However for those of you going to work in the Greater Toronto Area, please leave early, and be very careful, for there’s a fair amount of snow on the ground. And for those of you enjoying bright sunshine with warm temps, please enjoy it and pray for us who unfortunately don’t have that luxury. (smile)
Anyway Friends, it’s Monday and all the hoopla from the Christmas season is now over, but please let that Christ-like feeling of joy, peace and goodwill to men reign all year round. It’s the best present we can give to Christ.
And I know that many of us are still suffering from the New Year’s hangover and don’t want to go back to work, but that’s life mih people, for as Bruh Paul says, if you don’t work, you shouldn’t eat. But though we find it extremely difficult to get up and get back in the flow of things, we just have to.
And as always, our Monday Morning Battle Hymn is here to help us do just that. So with all the strength and energy we can muster this blustery winter’s morn, let’s sing it out loud, believe and be proud.
‘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!’
Now my people, let’s allow that adrenalin build up to jump start our motors and get us going, so we can get out there and fight a valiant fight for Jesus, thereby enabling us to walk closer with Him this new year of 2014. For remember, that’s what we’ve resolved to do.
And Friends, I can’t help but sing and extol our wonderful God’s praises everyday, because everyday He does something that amazes me. Now, after writing above, about Bruh Paul saying that if you don’t work, you shouldn’t eat, I went looking for that particular scripture, so I could note it.
And, lo and behold, I not only found it, but found in it a Bit that nicely dovetailed with the work ethic that we were talking about on this first Monday in the new year. Up until then, I had absolutely no idea what I was going to write about.
That’s why I keep saying that our great God is the most faithful Being there is, if we sincerely try to adhere to His dictates. We might not understand all that He says or does, but we can be assured that He will never leave us suspended in mid-air without a safe way to escape.
Now let’s turn to that most interesting Bit. ‘For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.’
And there’s a lot of sense to that my people! As Bruh Paul continues: ‘For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.’ (2 Thess.3:11-12)
And there are undoubtedly many amongst us who fall into that category; spend more time meddling than working. And the scholars have this to say about those verses.
‘3:10-12. Paul expounds his simple and straightforward work ethic; If a person will not work, he should not eat! The Thessalonians’ diversion encouraged their meddlesome ways, demonstrating that “idle hands are the Devil’s workshop.’ Or as we would say; the devil finds work for idle hands.
However my fellow believers, please note Bruh Paul’s next words. ‘But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing. And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish (warn, correct) him as a brother.’ (2 Thess.3:13-15)
So though there are annoying and meddlesome people amongst us, we still need to keep up with our good works.
As the scholars put it: ‘3:14-15. This instruction falls short of excommunication. Paul intends his readers to shame the brother, who is not an enemy, into obedience.’
Yes Friends, we ought to try our very best to get our misbehaving brothers and sisters to see the light, not simply abandon them because of their disobedience.
Remember that if God had simply abandoned us because of our disobedience, right now we’d be sitting on death row, waiting for the judgement morn to come, when we’d be separated from Almighty God forever. But He, in his great mercy, LOVE and forgiveness, gave us a second chance, and so should we to our brethren.
And we’ll end with Bruh Paul’s words. ‘Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all… The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.’ (2 Thess.3:16, 18) Much LOVE, my brethren!
…but let none of you suffer…as a busybody (meddler)…in other men’s matters… (1 Pet.4:15b)
30 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 2013, 2014, Anglican Journal, anxiety, appreciation, astute generation, aura of love, battle, blessings, blues, commandments, confidence, consequences, correct behaviour, covenant, Creator of the universe, curses, Deuteronomy 28, diligently, disastrous, disgusting behaviour, disobedience, disobedient, disobey, do as God commands, don't turn aside, edicts, enemy, enthusiasm, error of our ways, evil, further God's glorious kingdom, Holy Name, holy spirit, humble servants, invincible, Israelites, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, jobs, judgement, keeping lives and families together, lead and guide, lies, lord god almighty, LOVE, Love God, Love your neighbour as yourself, material things, modern times, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Moses, negative emotion, New Year's Eve, obedience, Old Testament, opinions, praise, Praise the Lord, promise, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, sally forth, saviour, sinful, sovereign God, spiritual armour, statutes, steadfast faith, stimulus, sure conquerors, surrender, Ten Commandments, the Good Book, tightening the screws, tiredness, to the left, to the right, truth, ungodly world, useful purpose, walk in God's ways, weary souls, wicked taunts, wiles, wise, work week, worthwhile inroads
Deuteronomy 5:32: Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
And another bright Monday morning dawns my Friends; the last one in this topsy turvy year of 2013! But the good news is that we don’t have to work for the whole five days, because New Year’s falls in the middle of the week… And all working people gave a joyful shout of ‘Praise the Lord!’
Well mih breddren, please let’s allow some of that enthusiasm to flow into our spirits this morning nuh, so that we can leave the blues, the tiredness, the anxiety and whatever other negative emotion that has us in grip, far behind. Let’s concentrate on the mid-week joy of New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day and consequently belt out our last, but also our most emphatic and enthusiastic Monday Morning Battle Hymn of 2013. That’s the least we can do to show our appreciation for a shortened work week. (smile)
As one now mih people, let’s bring the roof down: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Oh Friends, that was most wonderful! We obviously can’t wait to ring out the old year and ring in 2014. But yuh know what? I have to tell us that if we behave the same sinful, disobedient way like we did in 2013, 2014 won’t be any better. In fact it might just be worse, be more disastrous, because I believe our God is truly getting tired of our disgusting behaviour and is intent on tightening the screws.
Again, I’m calling on us people, to walk in God’s ways, as He directed the Israelites so long ago in our Bit. ‘Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.’
Now is that so difficult to do my fellow believers, especially when the very existence of our way of life and our world is involved? I should think not!
I read recently in a copy of the Anglican Journal where one reader was castigating another for trying to hold this generation to the same edicts as the Israelites in the Old Testament. Now some of what he said was true, and he put forward the argument that what we should concentrate on in these supposedly modern times are the two commandments that Jesus gave us: LOVE your God, and your neighbour as yourself.
Now that’s all well and good, but the simple truth is that we can’t even seem to obey those two simple commands. Judging from the behaviour of our society and our world in general, too many of us obviously DON’T LOVE GOD, OURSELVES, OR OUR NEIGHBOURS!
So what kind of world do we expect to have under those conditions eh? Not a very good one. And in any case, to fulfill those two commandments of Jesus, we basically still have to live the life set out in the Old Testament; e.g. the Ten Commandments.
Ah my fellow believers, if we truly believe that the Good Book was inspired by God, and what it says is true, then we definitely need to refresh our minds by reading Deuteronomy 28, where Moses spells out the blessings of obedience, as well as the consequences of disobedience to the Israelites.
And remember, the Word of our Sovereign God DOES NOT CHANGE! That means those words still apply to us TODAY!
Listen up as I quote the first two verses of Deuteronomy 28: ‘And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth: And these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.’ (Deut.28:1-2) Then the blessings are spelled out from verses 3 to 14.
Now hear the Good Book re the consequences of disobedience. ‘But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto (obey) the voice of the Lord thy God to observe to do (observe carefully) all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day, that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee.’ (Deut.28:15) And the curses are then spelled out from verse 16-68. That should tell us something people; that the curses are much worse than the blessings.
The scholars note: ‘This is probably due to human nature. The threat of severe judgement on the covenant-breaker seems to act as a stronger stimulus to correct behaviour than any promise of blessing.’
I beg to disagree though, for if it did, we would not be as sinful, evil and ungodly a society and world, as we are today. It’s obvious that we don’t care about the blessings or the curses, we’re just interested in the foolish material things and opinions that the evil world holds dear, considers so important that we must even disobey Jehovah God to have and do them.
Anyway Friends, enough for today. But Friends, please, please read Deuteronomy 28, for yourselves, and hopefully it will bring a lot of us to our senses, and we’ll finally realize the error of our ways, and try to do better, so that the curses of Almighty God won’t rain down on us anymore than they are currently doing. Then will we be considered a wise and astute generation. Much LOVE!
…in any language…or court of opinion…the blessings of obedience…are much, much more valuable…than the curses of disobedience…
23 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: accidents, adrenalin, ascension, aura of love, blues, circumstances, cold, commandment, confidence, crucifizion, damage, dangerous, deity, enthusiasm, evil ungodly world, faith, fallen trees, foot dragging, further your glorious kingdom, Gentiies, gospel, hazards, heavenly Father's business, heavens declare his righteousness, Holy Name, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, ice, invincible conquerors, Jesus Christ, jobs, judge, judge of the quick and the dead, keeping lives and families together, king, lawgiver, lead and guide, lies, lord god almighty, LOVE, meet the enemy in battle, Monday Morning, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, northern climes, ordained of God, our end all and be all, our Saviour, pain, Pentecost, Peter, power loss, ravages of storms, rejuvenation of spirit, remission of sins, renewed vitality, resurrection, sacrificed, sacrificially, Selah, sincere prayer, sinless life, sins, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, strength, surrender our all, taunts, tiredness, truest truth, useful purpose, walk of faith, weary souls, weather, weight of ice, wiles, wintry
Isaiah 33:22. For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king, he will save us.
Oh Friends, on this gloomy Monday morning, the eve of Christmas Eve, my area is still suffering from the ravages of the rain, freezing rain and ice storm. The storms themselves have abated, but the damage is there to be cleaned up now.
We’re talking about the emotional and physical pain of the populace, the numerous accidents, vehicular and human, the many trees that have fallen or lost sizeable portions of their limbs from the weight of the ice, the neighbourhoods that are still without power, the lanes and minor roads that are still ice covered or are slushy, making it very hazardous and unpredictable.
Yesterday morning I salted my drive way, and half an hour later when I came out to go to church, it seemed as though I’d never put down any salt at all, because it was covered with a clear sheet of ice. And later, on my way from church, I stopped to buy some more salt, and would you believe I couldn’t put them in the trunk of my car, because the ice wouldn’t allow the trunk to stay opened.
Mama Mia! You really can’t imagine the damage an ice storm can do, until you experience it. But believe me, it possibly does more damage, or is potentially more dangerous than just the normal snow. I remember one in Montreal some years ago, and couldn’t believe the serious damage it did. But now I believe! (smile)
A big, beautiful tree in my neighbour’s backyard is now a shadow of its former self, having lost about two thirds of its limbs, while a big one in my front yard has lost several branches, and has another sizeable branch dangerously hanging over the road. I will most likely have to find and pay someone to cut it down.
And the sad part is that we’re not quite sure what kind of weather to expect in the next few days, except that it will be cold and wintry. But nuh must! It’s winter in the northern climes! (smile) Anyway Friends, regardless of our circumstances this Monday morning, be they good, bad or indifferent, we need to get up and be about our heavenly Father’s business.
And to help us do that, to alleviate the blues, the tiredness and the foot dragging, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with grateful hearts, thankful that we’re still alive and full of the joy of our wonderful God.
In close harmony now, let’s sing: ‘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!’
And we can all feel the adrenalin flowing now my brethren! Our hope, faith and strength are on the increase, because our God is a most excellent Deity, He answers sincere prayer. Remember Friends, that our God is our EVERYTHING; OUR END ALL AND BE ALL!
As our Bit puts it: ‘For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king, he will save us.’ And that my fellow believers is possibly the truest of all truths that exist in this universe.
Now let’s corroborate our Bit with pertinent scriptures, taking each aspect of God’s majesty separately. Don’t know how much we’ll accomplish today because there’s lots of scripture to share, but let’s begin with the Lord being our JUDGE. In Acts 10, we find Peter preaching to the Gentiles, after the apostles had received the gift and power of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
And having told them about Jesus; His crucifixion, resurrection and ascension (Acts 10:34-41), he then informs them of Jesus’ command. ‘And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of (the) quick and (the) dead. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission (forgiveness) of sins.’ (Acts 10: 42-43)
Oh Friends, we obviously can’t argue with Peter, because he walked with Jesus, was one of His inner circle of disciples, and saw and heard all that happened. Therefore we need to take what he says very seriously, and adjust our lives so that we can meet the Judge without too much anxiety.
And I like the scholars’ comment on that passage. ’10:36-43. Peter’s preaching presents in clear fashion the gospel: how Christ lived and died, was raised from the dead, and how He did this sacrificially and vicariously for our sins.’
And right there we have the answer my brethren! Because Jesus sacrificed His sinless life for our sins, the Father made Him JUDGE over all His creation, both living and dead. Please let that sink deep into our consciousness my people, because it’s ever so important in our earthly walk of faith. Much LOVE!
…and the heavens shall declare his righteousness…for God is judge himself… Selah (Ps.50:6)
16 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Abraham, actions of care, all praise and glory to God, aura of love, battle, believers in Christ, blessings, bombarded, buffeted, camels, children of men, confidence, counter-productive, Cousin Sol, damsel, drink, earthly pilgrimage, encouraging, enemy, enthusiasm, evil, exhorting, eyes of faith, eyes of the world, faithful, families, favour, friends, glorious kingdom, good speed, gratitude, guidance, Holy Name, holy spirit, humble servants, hymn, in faith, inroads, invincible, Isaac, Jesus Christ, jobs, kindness, lead and guide, lies, lives, living examples, lord god almighty, LOVE, make rich, Mesospotamia, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Nahor, no sorrow, not afraid, peace, prayer, productive, protective spiritual armour, Rebekah, reflected in our spirits, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, requests, sally forth, searching heart, sense of awe, shaking it rough, smart, steadfast faith, success, supplication, sure conquerors, the Good Book, the Old Testamnet, truly blessed, ungodly world, useful purpose, valuable truths, weary souls, wicked taunts, wiles, worship the Lord
Proverbs 10:22. The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, on this Monday morning in mid December, cold and snowy in my area, I want us to remember one outstanding thing about our situations on this earthly pilgrimage; that as believers in Jesus Christ, WE ARE TRULY BLESSED!
Yes my people, like the song says; ‘Oh we, we are blessed. Let’s tell the world that we, we are blessed!’ (my version)
And that’s exactly what Jesus would have us do my brethren! And not only tell them, but even better yet, show them by our gratitude to God, our actions of care, kindness and LOVE for each other, being living examples of His true LOVE for us!
So no matter how our situations look this morning, whether we’re shaking it rough or not, let’s remember that it’s only because we are truly blessed that we can sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn in faith, and have it eventually reflected in our spirits.
So with that in mind, let’s sing that awesome hymn of prayer and praise to get us ready to face the outside world in this new workweek. All together now in one melodious voice.
‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Ah mih breddren, reading that prayer always brings a chuckle to my spirit, as well as a sense of awe and gratitude.
Why? Because I don’t even remember the how, where, when and why of writing it. But I do know that I was indeed blessed, and had plenty of God’s help and guidance to write it, for I certainly could not have done it all in my own strength.
That’s why I keep preaching…oh no, not preaching…but what…possibly exhorting…because I’m much more an exhorter, an encourager, than a preacher.
So yes, that’s why I keep exhorting and encouraging us to turn to our Heavenly Creator first, and ask for guidance, before we embark on any task whatsoever!
Though sometimes that might seem foolish and counter-productive in the eyes of the world, yet through the eyes of faith in Jesus Christ, that move is ALWAYS PRODUCTIVE, since our God WILL NEVER lead us astray, if we come to Him in true gratitude and a sincere, searching heart.
That’s why Cousin Sol tells us in our Bit today: ‘The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.’
And that’s one of the many valuable truths contained in the Good Book my people!
Now we only have time and space left for two corroborative scriptures, and both come from the Old Testament. The first relates to Abraham, when he sent his servant to his homeland to seek a wife for his son Isaac. And what happened?
The servant took ten of Abraham’s camels loaded with goods, and went to Mesopotamia, to the city where Nahor, Abraham’s brother lived.
‘And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of evening, even the time that women go out to draw water. And he said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed (give me success) this day, and show kindness unto my master Abraham.
Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast showed kindness unto my master.’ (Gen.24:11-14)
Oh Friends that servant was truly smart and faithful! Wish more of us could be so inclined. (smile) For the Lord heard, and responded with favour and blessing.
‘And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.’ (Gen.24:15)
And she did all that the servant had prayed to the Lord for. (Gen.24:16-25) Please read it my people, either to familiarize yourself with it, or to refresh your memory.
‘And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the Lord. And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute (forsaken) my master of his mercy (LOVING-kindness) and his truth: I being in the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren.’ (Gen.24:26-27)
And all God’s people declared a loud and grateful: ‘Praise the Lord, for His undeserving kindness to the children of men!’ Yes Friends, the Lord works with us when we work with Him.
Hn, hn! But apparently I wasn’t working with Him when I said that we had time for two examples of scripture, (smile) because we only have time for one. So tomorrow, God willing, we’ll continue with this topic.
Till then, may the Lord bless and keep us safe under His mighty umbrella of LOVE and safety, give us His wonderful peace, and cause us to live faithfully for Him. Much LOVE!
…be careful (anxious) for nothing…but in every thing… by prayer and supplication…with thanksgiving…let your requests be made known unto God… (Phil.4:6)
P.S. Oh Friends, it’s Monday, so it must be a bit long. (smile)
09 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: #One, abhor, advice, almighty god, aura of love, battles, Bruh Paul, caring, cheerfulness, Christ's Church, Christian's conduct, cleave, cling to, cockles, communion, confidence, conquerors, Creator of the universe, denominations, detest, diligence, dissimulation, divide and conquer, divisions, duties, enthusiasm, evil, evil doers, exhortation, exuberant, faith, fighting against each other, functions, further your glorious kingdom, genuine, gifts, giving, good, grace, guilty, harmonious choir, heavenly Father, holy spirit, humble servants, hypocrisy, infeigned, inroads, invincible, Jesus Christ, jesus name, jobs, joy of the lord, keeping families together, lead and guide, liberally, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, members, mercy, ministry, Monday Morniing Battle Hymn, ONE body in Christ, Oneness, overcome, problems, prophecy, prosperity mode, razor-like sharpness, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, reverence, righteous fruit, rule, salutations, simplicity, soar to great heights, Son and Father, spirits, spiritual lives, stand up strong, steadfast faith, teaching, umbrella, under the weather, ungodly world, useful purpose, vanquish, warrior mentality, wisdom, working together, worldly circumstances
Romans 12:4-5. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office (function): So we being many, are one body in Christ, and every one (individually) members one of another.
Aye mih people! How you all doing this bright and picturesque Monday morning eh? Oh, I know that many of us are under the weather, probably undergoing serious problems, be they physical, material, financial or emotional. But I sincerely hope that at least our spiritual lives are in prosperity mode this morning, which will allow us to at least stand up strong to, if not overcome, whatever problems are coming against us.
For remember that the joy of the Lord is indeed our strength, (Neh.8:10) and it’s only when our spirits are in good communion with our heavenly Father that we are able to bear up under unfortunate worldly circumstances and eventually vanquish them. Wow! What a mouthful! (smile)
And Monday is the day that we most desperately need perfect communication with Almighty God, that we can be lifted up, enabled to go back out and labour after overdoing it on the weekend. Chuh! Be quiet nuh Lucifer! God’s people aren’t overdoing it… stop trying to make them feel guilty! Hn! Hn!
Anyway Friends, just in case, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with proper reverence and sincere salutations, so that our spirits can be lifted, our joy in our great and wonderful God restored, and our warrior mentality honed to razor-like sharpness for the upcoming battles of this new work week.
Now, as one big, exuberant and harmonious choir, let’s sing: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Oh mih people, yuh know that our singing is getting better and better each week! And it not only warms the cockles of my heart, but also those of the heavenly host. Mama Mia! They’re delighted, in fact overjoyed to see that their earthly family is finally coming together in the ONENESS that the Son and the Father so avidly desire.
And logically speaking Friends, the only way we can ever improve in any area of life is by working together. And please remember that Jesus died that we could all be gathered together as ONE; ONE BODY, ONE CHURCH, ONE SAVIOUR, ONE SPIRIT, and ONE GOD!
As Bruh Paul so eloquently puts it in his letter to the church at Rome, featured in our Bit: ‘For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office (function): So we being many, are one body in Christ, and every one (individually) members one of another.’
Yes my fellow believers, though we are individuals with differing functions, yet we are all expected to operate as one overwhelming body under the harmonious umbrella that’s Christ’s church.
Then Bruh Paul further explains: ‘Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity (liberality); he that ruleth with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.’ (Rom.12:6-8)
Hn! So my brethren, though we all have different gifts and different duties to perform as a part of Christ’s church here on earth, we’re supposed to perform, to operate like the smooth, well-oiled, awesomely engineered, finely synchronized apparatus that’s the human body!
But unfortunately that’s the furthest thing from the truth these days, for instead we’re all fighting against each other with all the denominations and divisions within those denominations. I’m sure that Jesus sometimes sits down, shakes His head and sadly sighs: ‘What else do I have to do to make them work together eh?’
And that’s the gazillion dollar question Friends! For until we stop working against each other and begin working more closely together, the way Jesus envisions it, His church will never soar to great heights that He desires, and sadly Lucifer will continue to have a field day at His expense. And I’m sure that’s not what we truly want to see happen.
Now listen to this telling verse from Bruh Paul in the same sequence as above. ‘Let LOVE be without dissimulation (hypocrisy). Abhor that which is evil; cleave (cling) to that which is good.’ (Rom.12:9)
What wonderful advice my brethren!
And the scholars have an interesting note on that verse. ’12:9. Without dissimulation (lit. “without hypocrisy”). The Christian’s conduct in the local church toward fellow believers is to be a volitional (desire, will) caring for others, LOVING faithfully in spite of the responses received. THE LOVE IS TO BE GENUINE AND UNFEIGNED.’
The bold capitals are my doing, because I consider that statement to be rather important, and right now we’re nowhere close to achieving that desired result. So my people, if we truly want to please Jesus and grow His church substantially, we have to start working seriously together, embrace and uplift the LOVE REVOLUTION, and stop allowing the evil doers to divide and conquer us.
That, my fellow believers, is both earthly and heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!
…only by working together as one…can we truly bear righteous fruit…in Jesus’ Name…
P.S. Oh Friends, please excuse the lateness of the Bit, but I had some technical problems. Much LOVE!
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