05 Dec 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a pillar of fire, abominable, adrenaline, almighty god, anointed, antidote, aura of love, blessings, by day, by night, Calvary's cross, challenges, choirmaster, Christians, compassion, confidence, dancing around aimlessly, do God's will, don't be afraid, Egypt, energy, enthusiasm, evil, excited, faith, fear not, feeling up to scratch, fellowship, frailties, friends, glorious kingdom, God is faithful, good works, gospel truth, harmony, he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, hesitation, holy spirit, humble servants, in a pillar of cloud, indisputable, invincible, irrevocable, Israel, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Joshua, joy, lies, LOVE, mighty power, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Moses, negative aspects, neither be dismayed, neither forsake thee, new day of life, passion, praise, reconcile, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, salvation, sins, soaring with confidence, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, step out, strong right hand, strong voice, thanks, the angel of God, the enemy, the Lord goes before thee, truth, unconditional LOVE, ungodly world, weaknesses, wilderness, wisdom, without doubt, worship
Deuteronomy 31:8. And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.
Well friends, I hope that our fellowship yesterday, mixed with sincere praise, worship and thanks, has paved the way for us to get this work week off with a bang! That we’re soaring with confidence and energy and a passion to just get out there and do God’s will!
But just in case we did not fellowship yesterday, or for some other reason we’re not feeling up to scratch, not excited by this new day of life, with which we’ve been blessed, we have an instant antidote for you. It’s called our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. So let’s sing it all together now, in strong voice and bubbling harmony, and make our choirmaster, Jesus 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 that rendition wasn’t bad at all my people, however it did not light up Jesus eyes and face like last week. But don’t feel badly because He understands our weaknesses and frailties even better than we do. He knows that we can’t put on a magnificent performance every week, but that doesn’t mean we can’t always give a creditable one.
So with the adrenaline that our Battle Hymn has raised in our blood, let’s stop dancing around aimlessly and get ourselves out into the serious fray that awaits us. And to help us do that, we have a most encouraging Bit; the words of Moses when he anointed Joshua, Israel’s leader.
‘And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.’
Oh my fellow believers, we ought to know that those are words of indisputable, irrevocable, gospel truth! As the Lord was with the Israelites so long ago, He is still with us…even under better conditions now that we have Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour!
The Lord our God proved His awesome, unconditional LOVE for us by sending His ONE and ONLY Son to die on Calvary’s cross to redeem us from our abominable sins, so why would He now stop caring for us eh? It simply doesn’t make sense. He broke His own heart to reconcile us to Himself, so simple logic would deduce that His LOVE and compassion for each one of us is still just as strong as it was back then.
And no, it’s not easy to accept this wonderful reassurance when all the fearful negative aspects of the world appear to be coming full speed at us. But with time and the growth of our faith, enabled by the good works God continually does in our lives, we will eventually come to a point where we can accept the words of our Bit without doubt or hesitation.
And just to give us a practical and physical example of the Lord going before us, listen to this scintillating scripture from Exodus. ‘And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light, to go by day and night. He took not away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.’ (Ex.13:21-22)
Yuh see that friends, our God is a FAITHFUL God! What more can we ask for eh? He led His people Israel, out of bondage in Egypt, through the wilderness by pillars of cloud and fire, thus assuring them of His continual presence, and also protection from the Egyptians who were following them.
Now hear this masterful plan of protection from our wise and powerful God. ‘And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them. And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all night.’(Ex.14:19-20)
So though the two camps were fairly close together, darkness completely shrouded the Israelites from the Egyptians. Who else could have devised such a simple but yet masterful plan eh my brethren? NONE but Almighty God!
So as we step out today to face the evil world and all its challenges, please don’t be afraid, for just like the Lord protected the Israelites back then, He still protects EVERY ONE of His children with His strong right hand and mighty power. That’s all we need to know and remember. Much LOVE!
…Fear not…was one of Jesus’ most used statements…believers should therefore take Him at His word…
02 Dec 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a wild and wicked weekend, Aloha, an excuse to party, another week of work, balance, be exceeding glad, behaviour we display, beloved, blessed, blessedness, celebrate the birth of Christ, character, Christ's work, Christ-like, Christian, Christmas Season, Christmas time, close proximity to God, debauchery, dispossess the child of God, each step I take, eat and drink and party, eternal destiny, evil, excellent manner, experience, exult, faith, falsely, fellowship, fiery trial, for my sake, Friday chant, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, generous help, glory in tribulations, God is real, God's deliverance, godly manner, grace, grow in faith, hope, I made it through, in Jesus' name, joy, justified, licentiousness, LOVE, patience, peace with God, persecute you, persecuted the prophets, perseverance, poured out, put through the fire, reconciliation, rejoice, rejoice in hope, relaxation, rest, restoration of our souls, revile you, reward in heaven, safely, salvation, shed abroad, some strange thing happened to you., TGIF! Thank God is Friday, thanks, the Beatitudes, the glory of God, the Holy Ghost, the LOVE of God, the reason for the season, the salvation of Christ Jesus, the Sermon on the Mount, think it not strange, to test our mettle, to try you, trials, tribulation, truth, vitality, words we speak, working for Jesus, worth its salt
1 Peter 4:12. Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.
Aloha friends, and family, Aloha! Is Friday one more time… And as expected, the place is already hopping in expectation of a wild and wicked weekend, especially with Christmas time in the air.
Yeh, mih people, all around the place yuh hearing the usual ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday! Thank God for the weekend in this Christmas season, where we going to eat and drink and party fuh so…and even fall down drunk sometimes too! Thank God for Fridays and the weekend, come Christmas time!’
And believe me, this time when we celebrate the birth of Christ, is used to cover a lot of debauchery and licentiousness. But thankfully, we believers know better, we know the true reason for the season; the birth of Christ, and we celebrate it in a much more godly manner, don’t just use it as an excuse to party.
Anyway, since it’s Friday let’s chant our Friday Chant, which shows a better standard of behaviour in the use of the weekend. As one now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yeh friends, that’s a much better way to spend the weekend, getting some balance and restoration in our souls, without which we won’t be able to do Christ’s work in the excellent manner that He expects from His followers.
Now let’s get to our Bit, which a lot of believers still can’t fathom. (smile) ‘Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.’
Ah mih people, working for Jesus does not come easy, for at times, much of them unexpected, we are put through the fire to test our mettle, to see how our faith matches up with the words we speak and the behaviour we display. And it’s never easy to welcome these unexpected trials with the joy that is required of us.
However, as we grow in faith, as we stay in close proximity to Almighty God, taking all our problems to Him, finding joy in tribulation becomes easier. We have to go through it several times before we can truly appreciate the truth and the vitality contained therein.
Now we’ve heard James’ and Peter’s take on the subject, but no word on trials and tribulations will be worth its salt if it doesn’t contain these fiery words of Bruh Paul to the church at Rome.
‘Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience (produces perseverance); And patience, experience (character); and experience, hope:
And hope maketh not ashamed (does not disappoint); because the LOVE of God is shed abroad (has been poured out) in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.’ (Rom.5:1-5)
So friends, since we have been justified through Christ, through God’s doing, not man’s, and thus have right standing with Him through reconciliation, we can therefore rejoice in whatever befalls us, because we are sure of God’s deliverance.
Hn! Hope that makes sense. (smile) That’s why Bruh Paul says we can glory, can boast in all the negative stuff that comes upon us, since they only grow us, make us stronger in our faith, bring us closer to God and more Christ-like, which is our end-goal.
Now here is the crowning glory of it all, found in the words of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ that He delivered in the Sermon on the Mount. This is the last of the Beatitudes, and I don’t know if Jesus had a special reason for putting it last, possibly because He knew that it would be the hardest one to live by.
Nonetheless, please listen closely my brethren. ‘Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.’ (Matt.5:11-12)
And the scholars give us this interesting and uplifting explanation. ‘5:12. Rejoice is the command that grows out of the blessedness of the believer. The phrase Rejoice, and be exceeding glad means even more, exult!
Great is your reward in heaven focuses attention on the eternal destiny of all things. If God is as real as He claims, if the Bible is true, if heaven is to be gained, then no temporary earthly trouble or persecution can dispossess the child of God of joy in the prospect of the eternal glory that lies ahead.’
Oh friends, we know that our wonderful God is real, He is who He claims to be, plus the Bible is true, so no earthly trouble should take away our joy in the salvation of Christ Jesus!
So let’s go out today and just exult nuh; exult in the glory of God, knowing that our place in heaven is safe and secure! That’s what it means to be a true and mature Christian! Much LOVE!
…mourning may last for a night…but joy comes in the morning…because our faith is strong…and Christ’s salvation is real…
P.S. I visited our bubba Scotty yesterday afternoon. He is doing much better. He says he’s alive but can’t kick too hard just yet. (smile) So let’s keep on praying for him to make a full recovery very soon. Much LOVE!
28 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a li'l two step, acted presumptuously, alive and kicking, answered prayers, appreciation, attitude, aura of love, Black Friday, bondage, commandments, compassion, confidence, conquerors, Cyber Monday, dealt proudly, enthusiasm, extravagant shopping, fervent prayers, forgiveness, friends, full of compassion, glorious kingdom, glory hallelujah, good news, gracious, gratitude, heaven, higher than your thoughts, higher than your ways, holy spirit, humble servants, insolently, integral part of our family, invincible, Isaiah, Jesus Christ, Jesus' eyes, jobs, joy, lies, LOVE, mercies, mercy, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, my thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways are not your ways, Nehemiah, of great kindness, of great mercy, party animals, passion tears of joy, personal experience, praise, Praise the Lord, ready to pardon, rebelled against God, rebellion, refused to obey, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, rest, reverence, righteousness., sacrilege;i, salvation, sending up, sincerity, slow to anger, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, stiff necked, stubborn, taunts, thanks, Thanksgiving celebrations, the Lord is gracious, to the Lord our God, trust, truth, ungodly world, useful purpose, wiles, wisdom, worthwhile inroads
Daniel 9:9. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him.
Oh friends, oh friends, good news! We have good… no most excellent news this Monday morning! Our bubba Scotty is back home! Our prayers have been answered! Praise the Lord!
Scotty actually came out of the hospital on Thursday, but I didn’t know that until I went to church yesterday. All the tests came back negative, and I spoke to him on the phone in the evening. He is indeed alive, but not kicking too hard yet. (smile) However the next few weeks should see him get back to his normal bright and kicking self.
So let’s keep on praying, keep on sending up those fervent prayers to heaven, that the Lord returns him quickly to full health, because we need him, he is an integral part of our family. Hang in there Scotty mih friend!
And since we have such good news we should be in fine shape to begin this Monday morning… well except for those party animals down in the U.S. who must be suffering from the Thanksgiving celebrations and the hassles of Black Friday over the weekend.
Oh, I forgot, it’s Cyber Monday today, another day of extreme and extravagant shopping , this time though online. Steups! It’s a good thing I’m not involved in the nonsense nuh. Anyway, let’s belt out our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with sincerity and strong passion. Let’s see if we can’t bring tears of joy to our choirmaster Jesus’ eyes. (smile)
In unison now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Yes mih breddren, yes! We’ve done it: we’ve brought tears of joy to Jesus’ eyes! Wow! Even the Father had to get up from His throne and do a li’l two step, the music was so sweet! (smile)
Now with all of that excitement, passion and good news, we have no excuses for not getting a serious move on to the battlefield to fight diligently and passionately for Jesus’ cause. But let’s also keep our Bit of God’s wonderful attributes in mind, so that we don’t condemn ourselves if perchance we fall short of God’s Word. ‘To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him.’
Ah friends, our God is so wonderful that there are no words to truly describe Him! Is there any other supposed god who is merciful and forgiving even when their subjects rebel against them? Obviously not! Our God created the universe and rules it as He sees fit.
As He so nicely tells us in Isaiah. ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.’ (Is.55:8-9) Now that’s telling us what is what and who is who! (smile) He’s just on a higher plane than us!
So let’s continue looking at some scriptures which corroborate the words of our Bit. And we’ll begin with the words of Bruh David from Psalm 145 – The Lord is gracious. Halfway through the psalm, Bruh David confidently declares: ‘The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.’ (Ps.145:8-9)
And all followers of Jesus Christ know that to be the absolute truth, which we have learned from personal experience as well as those of other believers. That brings us to an interesting scripture from Nehemiah, re the confessions of the priests and Levites.
He confesses: ‘But they and our fathers dealt proudly (acted presumptuously or insolently), and hardened their necks (became stubborn), and hearkened not to (did not heed) thy commandments. And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them: but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.’ (Neh. 9:16-17)
Can you imagine that friends? Even when the Israelites made a molten calf of gold and worshipped it, especially after all the wonders that He had recently done for them, the Lord did not destroy them!
Hn! He is indeed a merciful and forgiving God! And we should be offering up much more reverence and praise and thanks to Him in appreciation and gratitude for all that He’s done, is doing and has promised to do for us in the future.
So today, let’s take a few minutes and ponder our personal response and attitude towards Almighty God nuh, and make sure it’s not anything like that of the old time Israelites. Much LOVE!
…when one experiences God’s mercy and forgiveness…it’s unthinkable …sure sacrilege…to turn away from Him thereafter…
25 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all my members, animalistic, any wicked way in me, Black Friday, Boxing Day, commercialism, communication, contrived, down on our luck, endearments, everyday lives, false, fearfully, fellowship, formed my inward parts, frailties, Friday chant, friends, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, generous help, gracious, how precious thy thoughts unto me, in Jesus' name, indisputable truth, jump to out rescue, know my heart, know my thoughts, lead me, leggo beasts, licentiousness, life plan, LOVE, loving kindness, loving thoughts of God, made in secret, marvellous are thy works, merciful, more in number, motives, my mother's womb, O Lord, on sale, outward behaviour, party hearty, possessed my reins, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rest, safely, sand, search me, searches our hearts, shop till we drop, shopping in the U.S, sincere, sincerity, skillfully wrought, sopping day, state of our hearts, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, Thanksgiving Day, the sum of them, the way everlasting, think of God, thou hast searched me, treasure chest, true intentions, truth, try me, understand God, unformed, unison, week of work, weekends, wonderfully made, you know me
Psalm 139:1. O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
So it’s Friday once again, and the roar of the working people is in full swing: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and in particular Black Friday! We going to shop till we drop, then we going to party most heartily! Shopping and partying…! Oh what a glorious weekend it’s gonna be! Wow! Thank God for Fridays and weekends yes!’
Ah friends, the commercialism of our society is getting from bad to worse. Steups! We’ve finally integrated another shopping day into the calendar with the woeful name of ‘Black Friday.’
It’s actually become the biggest shopping day of the year, substantially beating out the old Boxing Day affairs. And the behaviour has become downright animalistic, like leggo beasts, as we rush and shove and push and fight each other to get to the items we think we need.
Ah Lord eh! And it’s right after Thanksgiving too. Some stores open at midnight, so a lot of folks don’t even get to finish the Thanksgiving proceedings properly before they rush out to the supposed sales, to line up to buy stuff they often don’t need, and in many cases cannot afford. But it’s on sale! Chuh!
Even in Canada it’s taken on a life of its own; I’ve never heard so many Black Friday ads like this year. I guess that’s because the Canadian proprietors don’t want the Canadians to go shopping down in the U.S.; they’d much prefer them to spend their dollars up here. Hn!
What a life eh! Anyway, for those of us who don’t allow the commercialism and licentiousness to get to us, we have our Friday Chant to bolster our emotions. So let’s chant it in sincerity and unison nuh.
‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Now that’s a much better way to view the weekend, especially this Black Friday madness. And our Bit is the same as yesterday: ‘O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.’
And that’s indisputable truth my brethren, for our God searches and knows the hearts of all His people, all His creation! It’s on the basis of the state of our hearts that He operates, not from our outward behaviour, since that outward show can quite easily be false and contrived and not reflect the true intentions and motives of our hearts.
And today we’ll look at the section where Bruh David talks about God creating him. ‘For thou hast possessed my reins (formed my inward parts): thou hast covered (weaved) me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right (very) well. My substance (frame, bones) was not hidden from thee when I was made in secret, and curiously (skillfully) wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect (unformed); and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned (the days fashioned for me), when as yet they were none of them.
How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.’ (Ps.139:13-18)
Yeh friends, our magnanimous and omnipotent God originated us in our mothers’ wombs, knew exactly how we’d turn out, wrote down our life plan in His book before we were even fully formed, as He watched us grow in delight.
He knows all of our frailties, because He created us with them. And there’s not a moment that goes by and He doesn’t think worthily and beautifully of us, His most wonderful creation.
As Bruh David says, those kindly and LOVING thoughts of our merciful and gracious God are more than sand in number. Wow! That just goes to show how much He thinks of us.
Now the resulting and very important question is how much do we think about Him? Yes my people, how much do we consider our great and wonderful God in our everyday lives eh?
For many of us, the answer is that we don’t think about Him enough. We only seem to remember Him when we are down on our luck, or want something. Then we rush to Him with all sorts of untrue endearments, and expect Him to jump to our rescue right away.
But unfortunately, that’s not the way our God works. He expects continuous and sincere communication, from a true heart, before He opens up His treasure chest. And we’ll close with the serious and sincere words with which Bruh David closed Psalm 139.
‘Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my (anxious) thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.’ (Ps.139:23-24)
Ah friends, this Black Friday morning is a very good time for each of us to pray that prayer individually, and ask God to cleanse us of any evil ways or desires that linger in our hearts and lead us along the right path, the one which leads directly to Him and His LOVING-kindness. We couldn’t ask for anything better. Much LOVE!
…to know… and to understand God…one must have frequent and sincere communication with Him…
18 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a food man, a right heart, Abraham Isaac and Jacob, adventure, afraid, all weekend, among the heathen, another week of work, at the forefront of our lives, blessed be my Rock, bombarding heaven, confidence, dealt bountifully, deliverance, diligently, discretion, drinking, enjoyment, esteem, evil tidings, exalted, fallacy, favour, fellowship, fete, frail minds and bodies, Friday chant, friends, from dusk to dawn, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, generous help, Gentiles, give thanks, given to the poor, gnash with his teeth, God avenges me, guide his affairs, honour, horn, I am helped, I will praise him, in Jesus' name, jamming, licentious, LOVE, loving kindness, melt away, mercy, move mountains, my heart rejoices, my heart trusted in him, my shield, my song, negative circumstances, pleasure seeking attitude, prayers, refreshed, rejoice in thy salvation, relaxation, remembrance, renewed, rewards, righteousness, salvation, seek the Lord first, spiritual strength, strain, stress, testify, tests, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, thanksgiving, the desire of the wicked, The Lord is my strength, the Lord liveth, the one and only true living God, the righteous, the weekend, trials, trust, trusting in the Lord, ungodly ways, who vex loss, wine women and song, with God's help
Psalm 28:7. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.
And then it was Friday… And mama yo, I couldn’t stand the noise in mih ears, the raucous singing of ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday! We going to be jamming all weekend! Is fete and more fete! We drinking…drinking from dusk till dawn! We doh care who vex… For as they say, who vex loss. Thank God is Friday yes! Thank God for the weekend oui!’
Oh friends, sadly, that is the pleasure seeking attitude of a large portion of our society towards the weekend.
Ah Lord eh! They think it’s okay to waste it in wine, women and song, but that’s a serious fallacy. The weekend is for some enjoyment yes, but not totally. But try as we can, we can’t get that segment of our population to give up their licentious and ungodly ways on the weekend.
Anyhow, we have a different song we sing; our Friday Chant, which shows a better and godlier way to use the weekend. Let’s chant it in all sincerity now nuh. In unison: ‘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 people, that is indeed the better way to celebrate the weekend! We need to refresh ourselves for another week of work, not continue to stress and strain our already frail minds and bodies.
But we can only do those kinds of things when we have a sincere faith and trust in the ONE and ONLY TRUE and LIVING God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
Where we can confidently say like Bruh David does in our Bit: ‘The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.’
Oh my people, my people, when that kind of confidence dwells in us, then our spiritual strength is so strong, that we can certainly move mountains with the Lord’s help!
Look at the amount of negative circumstances Bruh David overcame, not because he was a saint, but because he held God in the greatest esteem possible and always communicated with Him, regardless of the circumstances.
That’s how we need to live in these uncertain and confusing times my brethren! Without God at the forefront of our lives, we stand little chance of getting through this life successfully.
But enough of me, (smile) let’s get to some scripture which emphasizes what we’re talking about; trust and confidence in Almighty God. Listen to Bruh David from Psalm 13 – How long, O Lord, how long?
‘But I have trusted in thy mercy (LOVING-kindness); my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.’(Ps.13:5-6)
Oh friends, I can certainly testify to that, because the Lord has indeed dealt bountifully with me. Glory to God! It doesn’t mean you have an easy life – in fact it’s often more difficult as the Lord tests you, but the rewards, the adventure and pleasure involved, are certainly worth the trials He might put you through.
Now hear Bruh David again, this time from Psalm 112 – Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord. ‘A good man showeth favour (is gracious), and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.
Surely he shall not be moved (shaken) for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed (steadfast), trusting in the Lord. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.
He hath dispersed (distributed abroad), he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever, his horn (strength) shall be exalted with honour. The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.’ (Ps.112:5-10)
That is what happens my brethren when we seek the Lord first in everything that we do. Now let’s end with some more confident words from Bruh David from Psalm 18 – Thanksgiving for deliverance.
‘The Lord liveth; and blessed be my Rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me. He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.
Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen (Gentiles), and sing praises unto thy name. Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and showeth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed (descendants) for evermore.’ (Ps.18:46-50)
Ah friends, I do hope that all that positive scripture raised our confidence level and trust in Almighty God this Friday morning, and will allow us to rise to any occasion that comes our way, for that’s its purpose. Much LOVE!
…the Lord God works diligently on our behalf…when we diligently seek Him with a right heart…
P.S. Let’s remember to keep on praying for Scotty, our Scrip-Bit family member who is currently in the hospital. I hear he’s doing a li’l better. So please, let’s keep bombarding heaven with our prayers for him. Much LOVE!
13 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adventure, adversities, affection, believers in Jesus Christ, blood, by water, charter of salvation, Christ-like, Christians, church, conforming to God's will, consummation of peace, correctness, encouragement, enthusiasm, equipped, eternal life, face the upcoming week, faith, fellowship, fight the good fight of faith, flee these things, for her life he died, fruit of our lips, furnished, God's guidebook, God's inspired Word, godliness, good works, grace, hardships, heresies, his holy bride, inspiration of God, Jesus Christ, lay hold on eternal life, live eternally, LOVE, lowly, man of God, material wealth, maturity, measure up, meek, meekness, ministry, money, new creation, obedience, passion, patience, perfect, perseverance, phenomenal, praise, progress, relaxation, Remembrance Day, rent asunder, rest, reverence, rewards, righteousness, sacrifice of praise, saints, salvation, schisms, standards of righteousness, steadfastness, strength, sweet communion, thanksgiving, the Book of answers, the church's one foundation, the Lord's Sabbath, the man of God, the morn of song, the Word, toil, tribulation, trust in God, tumult, union with God, victorious, war, weeping, woes, worship
2 Timothy 3:17. That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.
Ah friends, that wonderful day called Sunday, the Lord’s Sabbath, has rolled around once more! It’s a day of rest and relaxation, but more importantly one also of worship and fellowship amongst Christians.
That means, if we are able, we ought to get together with other believers in Jesus Christ to sing and offer praise and thanksgiving for His goodness to us, to listen to His word, as well as receive encouragement and strength to face the upcoming week.
Now let’s begin with a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of our lips, by singing the inspirational hymn, ‘The Church is One Foundation.’ With sincere enthusiasm and passion friends: ‘The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord; she is his new creation by water and the Word. From heaven he came and sought her to be his holy bride; with his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died.
Elect from every nation, yet one o’er all the earth; her charter of salvation: one Lord, one faith, one birth. One holy name she blesses, partakes one holy food, and to one hope she presses, with every grace endued. Though with a scornful wonder the world sees her oppressed, by schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed, yet saints their watch are keeping; their cry goes up: “How long?” and soon the night of weeping shall be the morn of song.
Mid toil and tribulation, and tumult of her war, she waits the consummation of peace forevermore, till with the vision glorious her longing eyes are blest, and the great church victorious shall be the church at rest. Yet she on earth hath union with God the Three in One, and mystic sweet communion with those whose rest is won: O happy ones and holy! Lord, give us grace that we like them, the meek and lowly, may live eternally.’
Glory to God my people for such a wonderful worship song, written way back at the end of the 19th century by the British pastor Samuel J. Stone! And over a century later, it’s still a worship favourite. I wonder if the songs we’ve recently penned will be sung so victoriously a century from now eh? Who knows? That’s even if the world is still around the way we know it.
But regardless of what exists then, right now we have to go back to our Bit of a few days ago. I fully intended to continue it on Friday, but that was Remembrance Day, and the other Bit about a man laying down his life for his friend, just fit better. Then yesterday, the scripture about the true light, also seemed to be a better fit, per the direction in which I was being led. (smile)
So let’s refresh our memories a tad with the verse before our Bit. ‘All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.’ (2 Tim.3:16) And we said that the Bible was God’s guidebook to us for earthly righteous living, and though it was physically written by men, it was authored by God, through His divine inspiration.
And our Bit tells us of the very important reason why the Lord authored it. ‘That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.’ And the scholars told us that ‘God’s inspired Word, properly used and applied provides all we need for life and ministry.’
Glory Hallelujah my people! We don’t need anything else to live this life proficiently, capably, righteously than God’s Book of Answers!
Now let’s check out some scriptures on the subject. Listen to Bruh Paul admonish Timothy in his earlier letter. After talking about the LOVE of money being the root of all kinds of evil, and how some have ruined themselves through covetousness, Bruh Paul tells him.
‘But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, LOVE, patience, meekness. Fight the Good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art called, and hast professed (confessed) a good profession (confession) before many witnesses.’ (1 Tim.6:11-12)
Oh friends, all of that also applies to us today, if we want to be considered a man or woman of God!
And the scholars offer these interesting explanations. ‘6:11. Flee these things means shun a LOVE for money (v.10) and the striving for material wealth (v.9) with all its resulting woes. Follow after means pursue. Righteousness is practical correctness, conforming to God’s will in one’s thinking and acting.
Godliness is proper reverence for, and obedience to, God. Faith is a trust in God that grows stronger. LOVE is a maturing affection for God and man. Patience is perseverance or steadfastness in life and service. Meekness is gentleness.’
There we have it my brethren; a chart against which we can measure our progress and success in being a true man, or woman of God.
And the scholars continue: ‘6:12. The good fight concerns the daily struggle with sin in the Christian life, and the hardships and adversities in the ministry. A genuine believer demonstrates the reality of his faith by being engaged in this warfare. Lay hold on eternal life does not negate the fact that a believer now possesses spiritual life (John 3:36); rather, it speaks of fully realizing or appropriating salvation as the believer matures.’
Yes friends, those few words do say a lot about our Christian faith, and I think it’s a good time for us to take stock of our personal faith, or maturity, whether we’re making any progress or not. So let’s take a few moments sometime today, find a quiet spot and see how we measure up against those standards of righteousness nuh.
Let’s see if we are truly fighting the good fight, really involved in the spiritual warfare; see how we doing with shunning the LOVE of money and the material things of the world. Let’s check to see if our faith is as strong as it ought to be, if we’re persevering and steadfast and gentle…and all the other righteous attitudes and capabilities we need to live a Christ-like life, for that’s supposed to be our earthly goal.
And as always, wherever we find ourselves lacking, let’s turn to our heavenly Father and confidently ask for His always available help. Much LOVE!
…a Christian’s life is not an easy go…but the adventure involved is worth it…and the rewards at the end are truly phenomenal…
11 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a child of God, a free world, a man lay down his life for his friends, a sacrifice to God, aroma, as I have loved you, bowels of compassion, break faith, Christ-like behaviour, Christian, commandment, eternal life, fellowship, felt dawn, free-all, freedom, Friday chant, fun, generous help, glorious kingdom, God's love in Christ, godlier perspective, greater love hath no man, heart, hold it high, honour, In Flanders Fields, John McCrae, leggo beast, licentiousness, lives, loss of lives, LOVE one another, loved, melancholy day, modicum of circumspection, motor, offering, passed the torch, peacemaker, precious possession, relaxation, Remembrance Day, rest, salvation, saw sunset glow, sweet-smelling savour, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, thank God, the LOVE of God, the poppies blow, the torch, time to fly, touch the sky, true meaning of love, truth, ungodliness, warmonger, week of work, weekends, were loved, World Wars
John 15:13. Greater LOVE hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Well friends, it’s Friday, and many of us are singing our Friday jig: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! At last it’s our time to do as we please. No more massa looking over we shoulder to see what we doing. It’s our time to fly, as high as we want to; to touch the sky even. Thank God for Fridays and the weekend!’
But as always, that jig is a little too expansive with room for things that ought not to be indulged in. And we have our Friday Chant that offers a much better, healthier and godlier perspective.
So let’s chant it now nuh. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes my Christian brethren, that’s a much better way to use the weekend. Behaving like leggo beast, with all sorts of licentiousness and ungodliness isn’t appropriate behaviour for a child of God, a follower of Jesus Christ. So as Jeeves would say, let’s moderate our behaviour with a modicum of circumspection nuh. (smile)
Now this Friday is a special and somewhat melancholy one in man’s memory, as we celebrate Remembrance Day, in honour of all those brave people who died in the Great Wars, especially the First World War. We remember those who gave their most precious possession, their lives, so that we could have a basic freedom in our lives.
Now unlike what some think, freedom isn’t just granted, more times than not it has to be fought for. And those brave men and women did just that for us. So it’s essential that we remember them and give many thanks for their Christ-like behaviour, as least one day in every year.
And in their honour, I’d like to share the world’s most famous War Memorial Poem, ‘In Flanders Fields,’ written by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae on the morning of May 3 1915, at the battlefront during the second battle of Ypres, Belgium.
Please read with me: ‘In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place: and in the sky The larks still bravely singing fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the dead: Short days ago, We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, LOVED and were LOVED: and now we lie In Flanders fields!
Take up our quarrel with the foe To you, from failing hands, we throw The torch: be yours to hold it high If ye break faith with us who die, We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.’
Oh my people, the many wasted lives created by that war eh! Young people died by the thousands. We claimed there’d never be another war like that, yet some thirty years later we’re fighting another World War, and several smaller ones after that.
Steups! Mankind just seems to like war yes; innately he is a warmonger, rather than a peacemaker.
And on this Remembrance Day of 2016, I believe that our Bit serves as a most appropriate reminder of all those deaths. Listen to Jesus, as He talks to His disciples about LOVE and friendship. ‘Greater LOVE hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.’
And that’s indisputable, irrefutable, gospel truth! Yes my precious people of God, those soldiers laid down their lives for us, so that we could have the opportunities we now have and to continue their efforts to have a free world. They have passed the torch to us.
It’s just like Jesus laid down His life so that we could have salvation and eternal life and show others the way to Him.
However, though we seem to appreciate to some extent the loss of lives back in the war, we don’t seem to particularly like or adopt Jesus’ words before our Bit. ‘This is my commandment, That ye LOVE one another, as I have LOVED you.’ (John 15:12)
Now, if friends give up their lives for us, because they LOVED us, in keeping with Jesus’ commandment, we ought to LOVE and cherish those who remain. But unfortunately, in these times of worldwide anger and strife, the true meaning of the word LOVE is still eluding us.
We tend to talk it a lot, but seldom do the acts required of it. How can we call ourselves true Christians then eh my brethren, when we are not following the commandment of Jesus?
Now hear how John puts it in his first epistle. ‘Hereby perceive we the LOVE of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good (goods), and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion (heart) from him, how dwelleth the LOVE of God in him?’ (1 John 3:16-17)
That’s a very good question, friends! And the scholars offer this explanation of those verses. ‘3:16-17. The standard for our LOVE is God’s LOVE in Christ, who died for us. LOVE that observes need, and does not act to minister to it, is NO LOVE at all. Bowels of compassion in modern English would be “heart,” proceeding from our inward core of awareness and action.’
Ah mih people, sadly that does not happen in our poverty-stricken and sickly world as much as it ought to. That means we are falling down as Christians. Anyway, let’s close with the words of Bruh Paul while explaining to the Ephesians, the ways of a believer.
‘Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in LOVE, as Christ also hath LOVED us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour (aroma).’ (Eph.5:1-2)
I couldn’t have said it any better, so please friends, let’s see if we can’t ramp up, improve the incidence of true LOVE in our lives and our societies nuh. It’s the ONLY thing that will stop our world from the current free-fall that it’s currently in. Much LOVE!
…true LOVE is the motor that should drive our lives…
07 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's voice, a godsend, antidote, aura of love, broken promises, burnt offerings, cause thy flesh to sin, Christ-like, Christians, complain, confidence, conquerors, do evil, energy, enthusiasm, fired up, friends, glorious kingdom, gospel truth, holy spirit, hope, human beings, human frailties, humble servants, idolatry, iniquity, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, joy-filled attitude, keep the pedal to the metal, keep thy foot, let our words be few, lies, LOVE, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, multitude of words, Old Testament, outward show, Pharisees, promises, rash with thy mouth, ready to hear, rebellion, rejected the word of the Lord, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, religious ritual, renewed vitality, rest, sacrifices, salvation, Saul, sin, sovereign Lord, spiritual armour, spiritual reality, steadfast faith, take the bull by the horns, taunts, the fat of rams, the house of God, the sacrifice of fools, thy mouth, to obey is better than sacrifice, total allegiance, true believers, trust, ungodly world, useful purpose, walk prudently, wiles, wisdom
Ecclesiastes 5:1. Keep thy foot (walk prudently) when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear (draw near to hear, rather) than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.’
Awright friends, it’s Monday, so what’s it going to be eh? Are we going to be grumpy and complain, or are we going to rise and shine with a good, joy-filled attitude, ready and eager to go out and face this new workweek? The choice is up to us, but I do hope that as true believers in Jesus Christ we would adopt the latter option, for it is the more Christ-like one.
However, I know that all of us are human, filled with human frailties, so it’s not every Monday morning we’ll be filled with energy and enthusiasm to take the bull by the horns and wrestle him to the ground. (smile)
That’s why we have an antidote for such days. It’s called our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. It gets us all fired up so we can meet the enemy head on and defeat him.
So let’s sing out in full, harmonious and melodic voice now. ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Yes mih breddren, except for a few hoarse voices, that was a decent rendition. Our choirmaster, Jesus, had an amused twinkle in His eyes as He guided us with His baton. And once Jesus is happy with us, then all’s right with the world! (smile)
So now that we’ve jump started our engines, let’s keep them running at high speed, keep the pedal to the metal, so to speak, and just go out there in a good frame of mind and do excellent work for Jesus, for that’s what He expects of us.
And I do hope, for our sakes, we kept the wisdom of our Bit yesterday: ‘Keep thy foot (walk prudently) when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear (draw near to hear, rather) than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.’ What awesome words of wisdom my fellow believers!
And here’s how the Preacher ended that passage. ‘Suffer not (do not let) thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel (messenger) that it was an error, wherefore should God be angry at thy voice (excuse) and destroy the work of thy hands? For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities (futility abounds): but fear thou God.’ (Eccl.5:6-7)
Ah mih people, more wonderful words of wisdom! Yuh know, if we’d just follow the first 7 verses of that chapter, we’d be almost perfect! We can start by walking prudently, drawing near to hear, rather than that to expatiate, not give the sacrifice of fools, thinking that we’re not evil. That’s an awesome beginning!
As Samuel admonished Saul when he disobeyed God’s order to fully destroy the Amalekites. ‘And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft (divination), and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.’ (1 Sam.15:22-23)
Yes friends, obedience to God’s word is the zenith of wisdom! And the scholars tell us, re those verses: ‘15:22-23. These verses reinforce the Old Testament viewpoint that religious ritual devoid of spiritual reality and of a life of total allegiance to a sovereign Lord is worthless (cf. Ps.40:6-8; Is.1:10-20; Mic.6:8).’
And that’s gospel truth! Why do you think the Lord checks our hearts instead of just simply accepting our outward show eh? Because He knows that the real you is on the inside, and it doesn’t necessarily match with what you are showing on the outside. Many of us today, are just like the Pharisees in Jesus’ time; put on a great religious outward show, but are empty and evil inside.
Now let’s continue looking at those 7 verses at the start of chapter 5. The 2nd verse warns us not be rash with our mouths and make hasty statements to God; to let our words be few. Oh friends, what a godsend it would be to this world, if most of us would stop talking as much as we do! And that lines up nicely with the wisdom of verse 3; ‘a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.’
And we’ll end with the best advice; don’t make a promise to God and not keep it, because He doesn’t take pleasure in broken promises. It is better not to promise, than promise and not pay. And as I said yesterday, that also pertains to our dealings with fellow human beings.
So let’s keep that in mind as we go out to labour today nuh, for it will certainly stand us in good stead, both with God and man. Much LOVE!
…it’s time Christians learn to do less talking and more listening…
04 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: another glorious day, assurance, be not dismayed, blame, blessed, boggles the imagination, condolences, different perspective, diligently, encouragement, end times, evil world, fail thee, faith, faithful God, faithfully, fear not, fellowship, forsake thee, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, God the Good, godlessness, godly upbringing, gospel truth, hold thy right hand, I am thy God, I am with thee, I will help thee, I will uphold thee, in Jesus' name, Isaiah, Israel, judgement, leadership, like there was no tomorrow, live it up, miracles, mortality, of a good courage, omni-present, omnipotent, omniscient, on God's great earth, our work for christ, plodding on, promises, rampant, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rest, righteousness, sad news, security, Selvin Goldson, sincerely, smell the roses, stand strong, strong, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the grim reaper, the Holy One of Israel, the Holy Spirit, the onus, the right hand of my righteousness, the weekend, the Word of god, thy Redeemer, time of grief, wake up, week of work, widespread, worm of Jacob
Isaiah 41:10. Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Ah friends, the working people as usual declaring their loud shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! Hurray! The weekend finally here and we going to live it up like there was no tomorrow. Thank God for Fridays and the weekend yes!’
But my heart really isn’t in the celebration nuh, because once again I turned on my computer this morning and received the sad news of the passing of one of my University mates, Selvin Goldson in Jamaica.
Apparently he died of a heart attack while driving. That’s all I know. But…Chuh! This scenario is playing out too often these days yes! One day I might just turn on the computer and see news of my own demise. (smile)
But seriously friends, each passing of our friends and associates makes us think more acutely about our own mortality. We know we all have to go over to the other side at some time or other, but for some reason or other we never seem prepared for it. It always seems to take us unawares.
Anyhow, there’s not much we can do when the Grim Reaper comes a calling, and I’d like to extend sincere condolences to the Goldson family, and let them know that our thoughts and prayers are with them in their time of grief.
Those of who remain though, have to keep diligently and faithfully plodding on in our work for Christ, and since today is Friday, let’s chant our Friday Chant with sincere appreciation for being blessed to see another glorious day on God’s great earth.
All together now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yeh mih people, we need to handle our weekends differently than the majority of the world. We need to put a different perspective in place if we truly want to be followers of Christ. And our God is so wonderful that He gives us oodles of encouragement and security in these difficult times.
Listen to our Bit: ‘Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.’
What awesome promises my brethren! The problem though is that God makes them, but we have to receive them, and that’s where we often fall down. Our faith sometimes doesn’t allow us to accept and believe them, since they seem contrary to what we’re facing in this evil world.
But friends, by now we should all know that our wonderful God is also a faithful God! He never promises stuff that He can’t deliver. And since He’s the Creator and Controller of the universe, since He’s omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present, then there’s absolutely NOTHING He can’t do.
That means the onus is on us to build our faith, to stand strong on His word. That’s why He also gave us His Holy Spirit; to help and comfort us in times of need and sorrow. And if we don’t find strength in our Bit, then listen to Isaiah a few verses later.
‘For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.’ (Is.41:13-14)
How much more encouragement and assurance do we need eh my brethren? With all the Lord has done for us, the many miracles He’s wrought in our lives, our faith should be much stronger by now.
And the scholars offer these insights on that section. ’41:10-20. In view of the judgement that is coming upon Israel, God reminds her, I am with thee…I am thy God.
The designation thou worm Jacob is a reminder to Israel of her frailty and need for God who is pictured as her redeemer and the Holy One of Israel. The latter designation is Isaiah’s favourite expression for God and appears equally throughout both halves of the book…’
And friends, do we ever need God’s help in these end times. I believe we’re in even worse shape, even frailer than Israel back in those days, for godlessness is so rampant and widespread now that it’s unbelievable to us of the older generation.
We have seen it go from being pretty good to being pretty bad in such a short time, that it boggles the imagination. But then again, a lot of the blame lies with us; we weren’t as strong and faithful as we ought to have been, therefore this generation doesn’t have the same godly upbringing that we had.
But it’s not too late for us to try and recapture some of what we’ve lost, if we sincerely and diligently get in the groove with Jesus and work steadfastly towards it.
Now let’s end with some help from Moses, as he passes on the mantle of leadership to Joshua. He tells him: ‘Be thou strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go before thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.’ (Deut.31:6)
And that’s gospel truth precious people of God! Therefore, let’s wake up and smell the roses and try to make the world a better place than it currently is nuh. Not so much for us, but for our children, and our children’s children. That is wisdom for all time! Much LOVE!
…there is only one Power…and one Presence here…God the Good Omnipotent…!
31 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adrenaline, almighty god, alone, antidote, aura of love, beaming from ear to ear, buoys my heart, calamity, Christians, complacency, complaining, confidence, covenant, curse God and die, David, David encouraged himself, desertion, dig deep down inside, dredge up, encouraging one's self in God, enthusiasm, faith, forlorn, friends, futile, glorious kingdom, heavenward, holy spirit, humble servants, in the Lord his God, invincible, Jesus Christ, Job, Jonathan, lack of energy, lethargy, lies, LOVE, misfortunes, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, pain, pick up the pace, punishment, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, salvation, salve their wounds, Satan, Saul, seek God's advice, self-pity, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, strengthened his hand, succour, sufferation, the army of Christ, the front line, Though he slay me, time to rock and roll, to give up all hope, tooth and nail, trials and tribulations, trust, truth, ungodly world, unquenchable faith, victories, wisdom, yet will I trust in him, Ziklag
1 Samuel 30:6b. …but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.
Okay friends, it’s Monday, the last day of October 2016, time to get a move on, time to rock and roll! (smile) The battle has already been joined and we need to be there to help our fellow soldiers in the army of Christ. The army of the evil one is already fighting tooth and nail, and without our help our brothers and sisters already on the front line will suffer innumerable loss.
And as always, we have the antidote for our lethargy and complacency, our lack of energy and enthusiasm, our complaining and self-pity; our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. So let’s belt it out so that we can be uplifted and enthused to get out and do Christ’s work nuh.
All together now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Good show mih breddren, good show! Our choirmaster, Jesus, was quite pleased with that rendition. The harmony and full voices were all that He expected. He was beaming from ear to ear. And you know there’s nothing more rewarding than putting a smile on Jesus’ face!
So with our human motors now running smoothly on the fuel of adrenaline, let’s pick up the pace and enthusiastically get into the fray of this new workweek without further ado.
That brings us to our Bit. ‘…but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.’
Oh friends, you won’t know how that small bit of scripture touches and buoys my heart. I can just see Bruh David sitting alone and forlorn at the entrance to the burnt out city of Ziklag, while his men mutter and complain around him, seriously talking about stoning him. He’s probably sadly shaking his head and thinking: ‘Why Lord, why eh?’
But then he remembers all the other misfortunes the Lord has successfully brought him through, the many victories the Lord had caused him to have, and his spirit lifts with the strong faith that he’s cultivated in the God of his forefathers over the years. And his next move is obviously to seek God’s advice.
The problem here though my people, is that Bruh David had to raise that faith on his own, by himself, because there was no sympathetic human being to turn to. Likewise, there will be times when we find ourselves in the same situation; alone, with others crying out for our head, like they did for Jesus’.
Friends, at those times, we have to dig deep down inside of us and dredge up the necessary faith that will lead us to Almighty God for help and guidance. For He is the ONLY One who can help us under those trying circumstances.
That reminds me of another instance in Bruh David’s life, where he was encouraged in God, but this time by his covenant brother Jonathan, Saul’s son and heir to the throne. At that time Bruh David was on the run from Saul.
The Good Book tells us. ‘And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood. And Jonathan Saul’s son arose, and went into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God (encouraged him).
And he said unto him, Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth. And they two made a covenant before the Lord: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.’ (1 Sam.23:15-18)
Oh my brethren, how blessed we are when we have even one friend to offer us that sort of encouragement! Job was another man of faith who had to encourage himself in God when God allowed Satan to cause him untold calamity. His wife told him to ‘curse God, and die,’ (Job 2:9b)
That was exactly what Satan desired. But Job was not ready to give up all hope, and he reasoned that both good and evil came from God, so one had to learn to accept them both. (Job 2:10)
But better yet, when his supposed friends were tongue lashing him, Job stalwartly proclaimed: ‘Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain (defend) mine own ways before him.’ (Job 13:15)
That’s what we call unquenchable faith my fellow believers! Do we have that kind of faith? We should, but the problem is that kind of faith can only be acquired by undergoing true calamity.
And the best example of encouraging one’s self in God is obviously our Lord and Saviour Jesus. Just look at how Judas betrayed Him, Peter denied Him thrice and all His other followers deserted Him when His time came. How do you think He stood up under the total desertion and the enormous physical and emotional punishment that followed eh?
By encouraging Himself in His heavenly Father! Otherwise He would not have been able to bear the intense pain and terrible ‘sufferation’ without complaining.
So friends, I just hope that we can appreciate the importance of strong faith in our Christian walk, and that it can only be built on the foundation of trials and tribulations. Much LOVE!
…when life seems oh so futile…Christians turn their eyes, hearts and voices heavenward…where they find succour to salve their wounds…
Previous Older Entries Next Newer Entries
SCRIP-BITS 