27 Jun 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adversary, afflictions, almighty god, be subject to each other, Beelzebub, Bruh Paul, cast all your care on Him, Christ's Church, Christian, christianity, cliques, clothed with humility, conceited, crucified the flesh, daylight at the end of the tunnel, denomination, divided, dominion, dysfunctional, envy, envying each other, eternal glory, evil desires, exalt, faith, fear of God, fellowship, fractured, Friday, Friday chant, fruit of the Spirit, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, Galatians, generous help, gentleness, glory, goals, God gives grace to the humble, God of all grace, God resists the proud, goodness, governed by the Spirit, grace, harmonious, harmony, holy spirit, humility, in Jesus' name, in the reverence of God, inherit the kingdom of God, Jesus Christ, joy, kindness, leasure, led of the Spirit, like-mindedness, live in the Spirit, long-suffering, LOVE, lusts, meekness, moral life, not under the law, passions, peace, provoking each other, relaxation, religion, renewed and refreshed in soul body and mind, resentful, resentment, resist, rest, restraints of the law, reverent, roaring lion, self-control, shame, sober, spitefulness, steadfast, submitting to each other, temperance, Thank God it's Friday, the devil, the fear of God, the lust of the flesh, the mighty hand of God, the weekend, united, unity, uplifting, vainglory, values that please god, vanity, vigilant, vulture, walk in the Spirit, warring, works of the flesh
Ephesians 5:21. Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
‘Friday, oh Friday! How I LOVE that day! Friday, oh Friday! The weekend’s coming my way! Oh thank God it’s Friday! And I’m feeling okay! Friday, oh Friday! How I LOVE that day…’
Ah Friends, the amount of little ditties we can make up to celebrate Fridays eh. And rightly so, because Friday is a day when we finally see some daylight at the end of the work-week tunnel and envision a wonderful weekend of pleasure.
But please remember that the weekend is not only for pleasure, but should also include rest and fellowship with other believers. So let’s chant our Friday Chant, which gives us a better perspective on how to handle 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.’
Now that’s more like it! (smile) And today we’ll continue looking at our simple sounding, but oh so important Bit: ‘Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’
And why is it so important? Because it deals with harmony, unity, like-mindedness, goals and values that please God, in His church. And right now there’s certainly not enough of that in the body of Christ.
Christianity is way too fractured, and thus dysfunctional to the serious work it’s called upon to do. In too many churches, regardless of religion or denomination, the congregations are divided in to cliques resentful of, and sometimes outright warring against each other.
Bruh Paul saw it happening even in the young churches he founded and strenuously pointed out the error to them. Here is what he said to the Galatians on the matter. ‘This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.’ (Gal.5:16-18)
Basically, he’s saying that ‘the flesh seeks to thwart the Spirit, who in turn attempts to frustrate the flesh’s evil desires…. The Spirit-led person is not under the law. The Christian does not need the restraints of the law because his moral life is governed by the Spirit.’
And then Bruh Paul goes on to list the works of the flesh (Gal.5:19-21)…’and they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness (kindness), goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance (self-control): against such there is no law.
And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections (its passions) and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vainglory (conceited), provoking one another, envying one another.’ (Gal.5:21b-26)
Yes Friends, as true believers, the Holy Spirit ought to lead us to produce fruit that is harmonious, united and uplifting to God’s church. But unfortunately too many of us have not sufficiently crucified our flesh, and thus worldly lusts like vanity, envy, resentment and spitefulness still characterize Christ’s church today. What an awful shame!
Meanwhile, Peter, who also recognizes the problem, puts it this way. ‘Likewise ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in (experienced by) your brethren that are in the world.
But the God of all grace, who hath called us into his eternal glory by Jesus Christ, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish (confirm), strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.’ (1 Pet.5:5-11)
Oh Friends, I couldn’t say it any better! And my wish for all of us today, is that we walk carefully, recognizing that Beelzebub is constantly circling, like the vulture that he is, that we stand strong and steadfast, yet humble and reverent before Almighty God, living in harmony and unity, thus bringing untold glory to His Holy Name. Much LOVE!
…unity and harmony between God’s people…will not come simply by wishing it…but by diligently working together to make it happen…
23 Jun 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: aura of love, blessings, enthusiasm, eternal life, evil, faith, fellowship, forgiveness, glorious kingdom, glory hallelujah, holy spirit, humble servants, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, joy, lies, LOVE, mercy, Monday Morniing Battle Hymn, praise, Praise the Lord, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, salvation, spiritual armour, spirituality, St. Francis Parish, steadfast faith, trust, truth, ungodly world, wisdom
Proverbs 3:6. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct (make straight or smooth) thy paths.
Oh Friends and neighbours, the second day of summer was even better than the first yes! Glory Hallelujah!
It was also the Lord’s Day, and quite appropriately, His people, those of the parish of St. Francis were celebrating with praise, worship and thanksgiving at our annual outdoor service and picnic.
Yeh Friends, unlike the unfortunate Jews held captive in Babylon, who couldn’t sing the Lord’s songs in a strange land, we were singing the Lord’s songs on the banks of the winding Credit River, in a free and prosperous land.
Yes my brethren, on the banks of the living waters of the winding Credit River, the people of St. Francis were singing the Lord’s songs with joy and gladness, praising and thanking Him for all His goodness and mercy to us, the undeserving children of men!
And yuh know Friends, being in a physical structure worshipping Almighty God is fine, but it is somewhat restricting, in that it sort of keeps God within the walls of the edifice. However, worshipping Him outdoors is surely something special to behold and participate in!
Just imagine being present in the natural beauty of His creation, being one, under the open blue skies filled with brilliant sunshine, in the shade of the green trees, leaves dancing in concert to the riddim of the cool, gentle breeze that’s blowing, with the birds and other creatures singing their own songs of praise, and the river meandering slowly by, with nature proclaiming God’s majesty and beauty!
How could anything be better than that eh?
The praise and worship led by our own cool pastor, Fr. Jeff, were excellent. And don’t talk about the food! That too was most excellent; rich, diverse and spicy, just like the people who prepared it. The fellowship was both enticing and exciting, (smile) with fun and games for all to enjoy.
And the Lord looked down from His high heaven and saw that it was good. And He smiled and said, ‘Amen! It is good! So let it be!’
But Friends that was yesterday, and hopefully some of the joy and gladness has spilled over to today, Monday, when we have to get up and go to work….
Unfortunately though, I still heard some moans and groan when I mentioned the word Monday. (smile) So let’s join together and sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to get those adrenalin juices flowing nuh.
As one 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!’
Awright my brethren, that was a worthy enough rendition, so let’s go out and do the things we have to do with the Spirit of Jesus leading and guiding us. That brings us to these wise and faithful words of Cousin Sol, before, after and including our Bit
‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct (make smooth or straight) thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel (body), and marrow (strength) to thy bones.’ (Prov. 3:5-8)
What wisdom my people, what awesome wisdom!
Now here are some notes on those verses from the scholars. ‘3:5-6. Three commands are given: trust, meaning “rely on, depend on”; lean not, meaning do not depend on your own native instincts; and acknowledge him, meaning have fellowship and intimacy with God in all of life. The result of such devotion is that God will make the paths straight before you.’
Oh Friends, please, I implore us to take those wise and sincere words to heart as we walk our journey of faith, today and every day, so that our paths will be directed by our Creator along smooth and straight lines. That is the wisdom of a true believer. Much LOVE!
…walk good…talk good…do good…live good…just like Jesus did…and your efforts will be richly rewarded…both here on earth…and in heaven on high…
20 Jun 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a rudderless ship on a stormy sea, almighty god, another week of work, as per how the Spirit moves me, blessings, blood, civil disobedience, command you not to teach in Jesus' name, contrary to te explicit commands of God, courage, decadence, direct connection to Jesus, direction, doctrine, earthly dominion, enabling faith, everlasting love, evil, exalted, exciting, faith, feared the people, fellowship, floundering, forgiveness of sins, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, God will not leave us in the lurch, God's direction, God's Word, gospel truth, guidance, Holy Ghost, holy spirit, Holy Trinity, honouring God's word, in Jesus' name, in prison, Jerusalem, Jewish Council, lest they stoned them, life threatening, LOVE, most important aspect of our earthly lives, moving of the Holy Spirit, new mercies, not waiver, obey civil government, obey God, obey god rather than men, one day at a time, plan for our lives, power and purpose, power of the holy spirit, Praise the Lord, Prince, purpose, raised up Jesus, relaxation, renewed and refreshed in soul body and mind, repentance, responsibility to man and God, rest, right perspective, righteousness., saviour, set us free, sloth, slumber, steadfast, strength, strong, suffer the consequences, teaching in the temple, thank god for every day we draw breath, Thank God it's Friday, the apostle, the god of our fathers, the Holy Spirit, the how and why, truth, truth of Jesus, unconditional LOVE, understanding God's spirit, ungodly world, uplifting, weekend, wisdom, without violence, witnesses, worldly trait, wrong and right
Acts 5:29. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
‘Friday, oh Friday, beautiful and blessed Friday! Thank God for it yes! Thank God it’s Friday, and the work week is drawing to a close! Thank God for Fridays!’
Yes my people, we ought to thank God for Fridays as our work week winds down. But even more importantly, we are to thank Him for every day that we draw breath, every day we open our bleary eyes to a new, exciting and uplifting day filled with His faithful promises of new mercies, blessings and the same old, same old but beautiful, unconditional and everlasting LOVE!
And all God’s children said ‘Praise the Lord!’
Now let’s chant our Friday Chant to give us the right perspective for handling the big two days off over the weekend. As one, holy chanting voice 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.’
Now that should give us a little better guidance on how to spend the weekend; not merely in sloth, slumber and/or decadence, but in rest, relaxation and fellowship. (smile)
And we’ll continue looking at the mighty moving of the Holy Spirit in Acts… And please don’t ask me when we’ll be done with that, because I truly don’t know. I’m just taking it one day at a time, as per how the Spirit moves me. (smile)
Oh Friends, I know that too many of us have the worldly trait in us, where we don’t want to hear about anything on a consistent basis. Everyday we want it new, even though we haven’t understood what we’ve heard before. But my Brethren, the Holy Spirit is the MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF OUR EARTHLY LIVES!
Why? Because it is our DIRECT CONNECTION TO JESUS; TO ALMIGHTY GOD! It is the arm of the Holy Trinity that’s supposed to lead and guide us into all truth and righteousness!
And without our serious knowledge of its awesome power and purpose, how it worked before, and how it can still work in us, we’re lost, floundering like a rudderless ship on a stormy sea, for it’s the Holy Spirit that imparts God’s direction, strength, purpose and plan for our lives.
And having tried to convince us of the necessity of knowing about and fully understanding God’s magnificent Spirit, let’s hear what happens after the confounded Jewish council heard that the apostles weren’t in prison, where they had placed them the day before, but were teaching in the temple.
‘Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them,
Saying, did not we straitly (strictly) command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.’ (Acts 5:26-29)
And those words of our Bit my brethren are gospel truth! God’s word is way way more important than man’s!
But please listen closely to the scholars’ note on that verse. ‘5:29. Peter is not sanctioning civil disobedience, as he makes clear in his first epistle (1 Pet.2:13-17; cf. Rom.13:1-7). We are to obey civil government, but when it goes contrary to the explicit commands of God, we must obey God and be ready to suffer the consequences.’
That’s more gospel truth my people! But please take a moment and read those referenced scriptures, for they will greatly enlighten you as to what our responsibility is to both man and God.
However, as the scholars note, we must be prepared to suffer the consequences re honouring God’s word if it differs from that of man. Quite often those consequences can be very serious, even life threatening, but we must have the enabling faith to not waiver, to stand our ground, knowing that our great God WILL NOT leave us in the lurch when we stand up strong and steadfast in His Holy Name.
And that’s another reason why we so desperately need to know about and follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, because He is the ONE who also enlightens us about wrong and right! It was the power of the Holy Spirit that gave the apostles the wisdom and the courage to stand up against a group of men who had earthly dominion over them.
And boldly, they continued in the power of the Spirit to inform the council: ‘The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance in Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.’ (Acts 5:30-32)
Oh Friends, more gospel truth! Wow! What a morning, where we’ve heard, been bombarded by so much indisputable, unadulterated truth! (smile)
Now let’s go out into the evil, ungodly world in which we dwell, but are NOT a part of, and let that truth of Jesus set us free, through the providential guidance and direction of His Holy Spirit. Much LOVE!
…if you don’t understand the how and why of the Holy Spirit…then you can’t use it successfully…
13 Jun 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: anxieties, bequeath, brave, can't stop God's time, centre of contention, Christ's Holy Spirit, confidence, conquer our fears, consternation, courage, courageous, dissension, energy, enthusiasm, evil, evil forces, fearlessly, fears, fellowship, for our children's sake, freedom, Friday chant, Friday the 13th, frightened, fun, further God's glorious kingdom, generous help, Gentile, glorified God, hate, Holy ghost power, holy spirit, inherent power, Jerusalem, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jew, Jewish leaders, John, joyfully, kindness, lead and guide, legacy, LOVE, miracle, opportunity, Pentecost, Peter, proclaim Jesus' name, pull up our socks, quandary, relaxation, resentment, rest, righteousness., salvation, source of power, stinking cesspool, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the church body, the Lord's will, the name of Jesus, the weekend, threaten, touches a hidden nerve, trillion dollar question, troubled, truth, try in vain, wake up and smell the roses, week of work, wisdom
Acts 4:19. But Peter and John answered and said unto them, whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.
And then it was Friday…Friday the 13th to boot!
‘So what,’ shouted the people? ‘Who believes in those old-wives tales any way? We’ll still sing TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! And thank God the weekend is finally here! No evil forces can stop that. For it’s the Lord’s will and desire! So shout it out loud and proud: TGIF! Thank God is Friday, and the weekend’s here!’
Yeh Friends, sure believers in Jesus don’t worry about the evil forces who are supposed to be in the ascendance on a Friday the 13th. Simply because none of those evil forces can stop God’s time. Jesus has already defeated them all, so they are only ‘flimming and flamming’ now, without any real power at all, just working on our natural fears and anxieties.
So let’s chant our Friday Chant with much energy and enthusiasm, that some will rub off on all of those who hear us. As one harmonious voice 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.’
Good chanting Friends, good chanting! Now let’s go and put it into practice. (smile)
And we’ll continue studying the stuff that the mighty moving of the Holy Spirit wrought at that memorable Pentecost, some two thousand years ago.
Yesterday we saw the apostles, Peter and John, stand up strong and brave to the Jewish leaders, with Peter boldly declaring that the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ was the source of their power. And that Jesus was the only one by whom salvation could be obtained.
Now the Jewish leaders were obviously unhappy with the situation, but what could they do? They had a group of uneducated, lower class men speaking bravely and powerfully to them, and a lame man who had been healed through their instigation, in the sight of countless people.
Those were facts they could not deny. But how were they to handle the delicate situation, without losing face and power; that was their quandary.
So they put Peter and John outside and ‘conferred among themselves, Saying, What shall we do to these men? For that indeed a notable miracle (a remarkable sign) had been done by them is manifest (known) to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it. But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly (severely) threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name.’ (Acts 4:16-17)
Oh Friends, how the forces of evil are troubled and affrighted by the name of Jesus! So much so, that they try and stop us from speaking His Holy Name. Hn! But they do try in vain!
As the scholars so wisely and rightly declare: ‘4:12. The name of Jesus Christ is the centre of contention (v. 7, 10, 12) and ever will be. Salvation for Jew and Gentile alike is exclusively through the name of Jesus Christ (cf. John 14:6).’
Oh yes my fellow believers, you can bring up any other name in the world, in any kind of company, and none will cause as much contention as Jesus’!
Why my people? Because of the inherent power vested in that most remarkable name! It just touches a hidden nerve in our beings; a chord programmed thus by our Creator, at our creation. Else why would a single name cause so much contention, consternation and dissension eh?
Anyway, having made their decision, the Jewish leaders called the apostles back into the room. ‘And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto them, whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.’ (Acts 4:18-20)
Oh mih breddren, what a way Peter has developed into this brave and courageous believer! So that he can now look the Jewish elders in the eye and tell them to get lost. Oh the power of Christ’s Holy Spirit! For it was simply Holy Ghost power that Peter was operating on.
‘So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how (for which) they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done. For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was showed (had been performed).’ (Acts 4:21-22)
Oh Friends, I just LOVE it! I just LOVE the way our wonderful God moves in His most mysterious ways, His works to perform! The problem though is whether we are allowing His Holy Spirit to put such courage and confidence in our everyday lives? That is the trillion dollar question my people!
And it’s obvious that as a church, as a body of worshippers in the name of Jesus Christ, we are falling far short of expectations, otherwise our world would not be in such an awful mess, lacking LOVE and kindness, but full of hate and resentment.
Oh my brethren, it’s time for us to conquer our fears, anxieties, or whatever is keeping us from doing a good job in Jesus’ name. It’s full time we allow His Holy Spirit to lead and guide us in all truth and righteousness, so that we can joyfully and fearlessly proclaim His name to all the world, as He desires.
We’ve seen how the Holy Spirit moved in the early believers, and it’s still working the same way today. It’s just that we aren’t making the most of it, although we have more information, freedom and opportunity to do so.
Ah Friends, let’s wake up and smell the sweet perfume of those lovely roses nuh. Let’s see the evil and hateful world for exactly what it is – a stinking cesspool – and come to the great realization that without our best efforts, our world will only become more evil and hateful.
Is that the legacy we want to bequeath to our descendants? I greatly doubt it. So let’s hitch up our breeches, pull up our socks and allow the Spirit of Jesus to work in us as it should nuh… for our children’s sake. That’s wisdom to the nth power! Much LOVE!
…a believer who doesn’t embrace the leading and guiding power of Christ’s Spirit…is no true believer at all…
06 Jun 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all God's works are done in truth, be filled with the Spirit, Bruh David, dissipation, drunk with wine, enthusiasm, everlasting joy, fellowship, Friday chant, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, giving thanks always, glorify God, glory hallelujah, God gives songs in the night, God my maker, goodness, harbinger of the weekend, heartfelt, heavenly wisdom, holy holy Lord God Almighty, holy spirit, hymns, it's all good, Jesus Christ, joy, joy and gladness, LOVE, magnify God with thanksgiving, making melody in your heart to god, mercy, praise and worship, praise is comely, Praise the Lord, praise the name of god, psalms, redeemed, Rejoice in the Lord, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, sacrifice in songs, saviour jesus christ, sing a new song, sing unto God, singing, Song of songs, songs, songs are an integral part of worship, spiritual songs, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, thanksgiving, the Book of Life, the Lamb of God, The Lord is my strength, the ransomed of the Lord, the seven seals, the weekend soon come, the word of the Lord is right, wisdom, with my song will I praise Him
Psalm 69:30. I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.
And then it was Friday, the harbinger of the weekend! And the working people were joyful and sang with great enthusiasm: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday, and slaving for massa done! Thank God is Friday yes! That means the weekend soon come, time to party!’
And who can really give them wrong, for after a hard week’s work, one needs to have some fun. But Friends, fun is not the most important part of the weekend, merely one of them.
Now let’s chant our Friday Chant, which will give us a better perspective on how to handle these important two days off. As one, in strong voice 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.’
Yes my people, the weekend is also a time for rest, relaxation and contemplation of God’s goodness and mercy with fellowship amongst other believers.
And then we have today’s Bit: ‘I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.’
Oh my brethren from the moment my eyes fell on it this morning I knew it was our Bit. That verse touches my heart and brings a tear to my eyes, (smile) because it’s so heartfelt, and besides that, songs are such an integral part of worshipping our magnificent and majestic God!
And as the psalmist, Bruh David, as I just discovered, tells us in the next verse: ‘This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.’ (Ps.69:31)
So Friends, we see that our God even prefers sacrifice in songs of praise and worship to that of animals. As Hebrews informs us: ‘By him (Jesus) therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name.’ (Heb.13:15)
And what better way to do that than in song? Throughout the Good Book songs are mentioned numerous times as worthy praise to God. When we check out the Psalms, most of them were written as songs, many by Bruh David, who was an especially good ‘songmeister’ and used them all the time.
Cousin Sol was also a good tunesmith. He even wrote a whole book of them – Song of Solomon or Song of Songs – bursting with LOVE for his adored.
And what I want to do today is show how very important songs were, and still are, in praising and worshipping our wonderful Most High God. Let’s delve into some of those beautiful scripture passages now.
And where else we would start eh, but with God’s own ‘songmeister’, Bruh David. (smile) Listen as he profoundly declares: ‘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.’ (Ps.28:7)
Even to Job’s buddy, Elihu, songs were important, as he bewails: ‘But none saith, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night.’ (Job 35:10) So we see here that even God puts songs in our hearts.
Now hear the psalmist as he heartily advises us to praise the Lord for His creation. ‘Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely (beautiful) for the upright. Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery (small lute) and an instrument of ten strings. Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise (joyous shout). For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth.’ (Ps.33:1-4)
Oh my people, how can we ignore such expressive feelings eh? No way!
Meanwhile, in his foretelling of Israel’s return to Zion, Isaiah positively declares: ‘And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.’ (Is.35:10)
And Bruh Paul will not be left out, (smile) as he provides us with these wise words. ‘And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (Eph. 5:18-20)
Now here’s the clincher; even in heaven, or should I say especially in heaven, songs are of great importance. Around God’s throne, John saw four ugly beasts, and what were they doing?
‘And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest (cease) not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.’ (Rev.4:8)
Yes Friends, even the ugly beasts were continually chanting God’s praises!
And that’s not all. When the Lamb of God took the Book of Life, what happened eh?
‘And he came and took the book (scroll) out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And when he had taken the book, the four beasts (living creatures) and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps and golden vials (bowls) full of odours (incense) which are the prayers of the saints.
And they sung a new sung saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred (tribe), and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.’ (Rev. 5:7-10)
Yeh mih people, songs of praise and worship are oh so important in worshipping our magnificent God and Saviour Jesus Christ! Not only do they glorify Him, but they also put joy and LOVE in our hearts too.
So please, let’s keep right on singing those glorious psalms and songs of praise to Almighty God, so that we may continually glorify Him, and also keep our hearts and minds full of joy and LOVE! Oh Friends, that’s indeed heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!
…praise Him, praise Him…Glory Hallelujah…He is LOVE…He is LOVE…
P.S. Oh Friends, please excuse the lateness of the Bit, but I was somewhat tardy in rising this morning, (smile) and then there was so much info to cull together and try to make sense of, that it took me longer than expected. But remember, it’s all good. Much LOVE!
02 Jun 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a faithful saying, a roof over your head, abuse, aura of love, be of good cheer, bonds, bread on the table, Bruh Paul, chains, chosen ones, christ jesus, confidence, deleted expletives, endure, enthusiasm, eternal life, every knee should bow, every tongue should confess, evildoer, exhorting them to continue in the faith, faint of heart, faith, faithful, faithful words, faithless, fellowship, for my name's sake, freedom of worship, glorious kingdom, good examples, good soldier in Christ, gospel, groans, hit the ground running, humble servants, i have overcome the world, inner strength, invincible, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus christ is Lord, jobs, LOVE, moans, Monday, Monday Morniing Battle Hymn, new blessings, new mercies, not giving up, persecuted, preached the gospel, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, salvation, spiritual armour, standing strong, strengthening the souls of the disciples, suffer, surrender, the name of Jesus, through tribulation we enter into the kingdom of God, timid of mind, to the glory of God the Father, tribulation, trouble, true follower of Jesus, trust, understanding, ungodly world, wisdom
Acts 14:22. Confirming (strengthening) the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
Well hello there you wonderful Friends and faithful believers and followers of Jesus Christ! It’s a new day; a beautiful one, filled with new blessings and mercies, and it’s called Monday…
And I immediately hear the moans and groans and deleted expletives and comments like: ‘Chuh! Yuh really mean is Monday already! Steups! I really have to get up and go to this stupid job!’
Yes Friends, provided you want to earn a living, keep a roof over your family’s head, and bread on the table for your LOVED ones. And I am somewhat disappointed in us my brethren, because it was just last week we woke up with a better perspective, LOVING Mondays and all that it entailed.
Oh, so that’s what it was eh; just a dream, as someone in the penny section cried out. (smile) However Friends, the reality is that it’s Monday, and if you’re a true follower of Jesus, you have to get up and go and labour, whether you want to or not. End of story!
And remember, as Jesus promised, He will always help us to do whatever He desires of us. And His first helping tool today is that we sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn in full, sweet voice. So let’s raise our heads, hearts, eyes and hands heavenward and sing as though there’s no tomorrow.
‘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!’
Not bad mih people, not bad, though I did hear some hoarse, cackling voices. (smile) Now let’s get ourselves together and hit the ground running for Christ; living up to the words of our Bit! ‘Confirming (strengthening) the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.’
Yes Friends, that’s what all believers are called to do; strengthen the faith of others, encouraging them through faithful words and good examples, because walking in the big footsteps of Jesus is not an easy job, definitely not for the faint of heart or timid of mind.
The unfortunate fate of the believer is to pass through many trials and tribulations, like Jesus did, before we enter God’s heavenly kingdom. But as I keep saying, the rewards for enduring are fantastic, and totally worth it.
Look at what happened to Jesus eh, after He endured His heart-rending tribulation, the Father anointed and exalted Him; ‘and given Him a name to which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow… And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil.2:9-11)
So if the Father did it for Jesus, why wouldn’t He do it for us eh? No reason whatsoever!
Our Bit comes from the section of Acts where Bruh Paul and Barnabas were on a missionary journey, including Lystra, where Bruh Paul was stoned, dragged out of the city and left for dead. (Acts 14:19)
But as the Good Book so famously declares: ‘Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. And when they had preached the gospel to that city and had taught many (made many disciples), they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and to Antioch.’ (Acts 14:20-21)
Fortunately though my people, most of us won’t have to endure such tribulation. But just being a believer WILL bring us trials. As Jesus said, simply ‘For my name’s sake.’ (Luk2 21:12) But please remember Friends, that true faith, trust in and surrender to Jesus brings us an inner strength that nothing or no one can match or take away.
Just look at our still severely persecuted brethren all over the world. Despite disastrous persecution, they are still standing strong, not giving up. So why can’t we in this fairly free Western society do the same eh? I guess life’s just too easy for us, we take freedom of worship for granted and thus abuse it.
Enough batting of my gums though (smile), time to share this most appropriate scripture from Bruh Paul to Timothy, re being a good soldier in Christ.
‘Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things. Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel: Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evildoer, even unto bonds (chains); but the word of God is not bound (chained).
Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s (chosen ones) sake, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer (endure), we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not (are faithless), yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.’ (2 Tim.2:7-13)
Oh Friends, please let those words encourage us, let them sink deeply into our consciousness, so that we can develop into good and faithful soldiers of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Why? Because that’s the ultimate wisdom of life! Much LOVE!
…in the world ye shall have tribulation…but be of good cheer…I have overcome the world….’
P.S. Yes Friends, it’s long, but it’s good. (smile) Much LOVE!
30 May 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a li'l jig, a walk of faith, Aloha, Aloha Friends and neighbours, awe inspiring god, awesome wisdom, backbone, balanced, belly, brought men to the end of themselves, Bruh Paul, condemn the sinner, contented, Corinthians, covenant, curb that negative attitude, danced off into the sunset, daunting tasks, everyday lives, externalism, faith, fellowship, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, get a grip, God's Word, godly knowledge, good, holy, holy spirit, insight, internalism, just, living for Jesus, LOVE, magnanimous, ministers, missing out on god's goodness, Mosaic Law, Moses' law, omnipotent, our sufficiency is of God, patience, persecuted the church, perseverance, ponder, positive, power, power and authority of Jesus, put it into practice, put on blinders, relaxation, renewed and refreshed, rest, satisfied, setting a good example, skills, soul body and mind, spiritual blessings, sufficent of ourselves, Thank God it's Friday, the enabling of Christ, the grace of God, the law kills, the least of the apostles, the New testament, the Old Testament, the resurrection of Christ, the right way to live, the spirit, the spirit gives life, time to be about Christ's business, trust, was not in vain, week of work, weekend, what a shame, winning souls for Jesus, wisdom of heaven, with the Lord's help, worthy, your faith is worthless
Philippians 4:13. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Aloha Friends and neighbours! It is Friday…
And all the people just began dancing a li’l jig and chanting: ‘Friday, oh Friday! Thank God it is Friday! The stupid work soon finish, then the fun shall begin! Friday, oh Friday! Thank God it is Friday!’
And then they danced off into the sunset, just chanting the chorus: ‘Friday, oh Friday! Thank God it is Friday! Friday oh Friday…’
Ah mih people, what a hold Fridays and the weekends have on us eh! Some of us just live for that time. Monday to Thursday isn’t important, simply doesn’t exist for some people. They put on their blinders on Monday morning then drift through the week, only taking them off on Friday.
But my Friends, that’s not the right way to live. We need to have some balance in our lives, not necessarily esteeming some days more important than the others, for good things as well as bad things can happen on any day whatsoever.
And remember too that during the work week we’re supposed to be out in the world living our lives for Christ, setting a good example, letting people see in us the wonderful benefits that can be derived from a walk of faith with Him.
We shouldn’t be just drifting through it, as though we don’t have a care in the world. It’s a serious time my brethren; a time to be about Christ’s business, winning souls for Him.
And so, to try and curb that negative attitude, (smile) let’s chant our real Friday Chant nuh. 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.’
Now doesn’t that sound a little more positive and balanced, as it should be? It surely does!
And don’t tell me you can’t adopt that more rational and balanced attitude, because then you’ll be negating the very power of our Bit; the affirmation of the awesome power, the omnipotence of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me!’
That’s a blanket power and authority in Jesus my people! And if you don’t practice it, your faith is worthless!
Remember, as the scholars told us yesterday, it is God who ordered Bruh Paul’s various situations and gave him the strength to be satisfied and contented in all of them, regardless of how trying and perplexing they were. And our wonderful, omnipotent and magnanimous God also does the same for each and every believer today.
It is through Him that we get the power to do most things here on earth. So if you don’t believe and practice that tenet, then you’re missing out on a whole lot of God’s goodness. What a shame Friends!
Now let’s look at some scriptures that corroborate our Bit. In 1Corinthians where Bruh Paul is talking to them about the resurrection of Christ, he declares to them: ‘For I am the least of the apostles, that I am not meet (worthy) to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.’ (1 Cor.15:9-10)
So you see my brethren, although Bruh Paul wasn’t what mankind would consider worthy of being an apostle, because of his earlier brutality towards the church, God in His awesome wisdom, transformed him and used him to do His work.
And Bruh Paul also in his wisdom recognized that although he worked harder than the other apostles, it wasn’t his doing really, but the grace, the power, the enabling of Christ that gave him the necessary skills, patience, perseverance, backbone and belly to perform the daunting tasks he performed.
Oh Friends, I can’t help but say it: What a most awe inspiring and magnificent God we serve and worship!
Now hear Bruh Paul again, this time in his second missive to the Corinthians. Here he’s talking about ministers in the New Testament. ‘And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
Who also made us able (sufficient as) ministers of the new testament (covenant); not of the letter, but of the spirit, for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.’ (2 Cor.3:4-6)
And the scholars explain that last verse: ‘3:6. The new testament (lit. “New Covenant”) is both new in time (not being inaugurated until Christ – Matt.26:28; Luke 22:7-23: 1 Cor.11:25; Heb.8:8) and new in quality (providing better spiritual blessings than did the old Mosaic covenant).
Letter, but of the spirit: This expression corresponds to the thought of verse 3 contrasting “ink” with the “Spirit.” The contrast is between the externalism inherent in the Old Covenant and the internalism inherent in the New Covenant.
The letter killeth: Since certain Jews in the assembly at Corinth were concerned with Paul’s defection from Moses’ law, Paul here explains his position. The best the law could do was to condemn the sinner. It is not here implied that the law of Moses was evil. On the contrary, it is holy, just, and good (Rom.7:12). This can be asserted because it brought men to the end of themselves, to Christ (Gal.3:24).’
Oh Friends, I hope that helps you to understand what Bruh Paul is talking about, and please check out those scripture references, for they will definitely give you greater insight into the subject. I know that many of us dislike, or rather are too lazy to check out the references, (smile) but believe me, they do help, and I try to check them before I write them down.
Anyway, I guess that’s enough for today. Don’t want to encroach too much on your weekend thoughts and plans. (smile) But please do ponder the stuff we’ve spoken about, and as much as possible, obviously with the Lord’s help, do get a grip on the aspects on which you are not up to scratch, for that is indeed the wisdom of heaven. Much LOVE!
…our godly knowledge and wisdom will not improve…until we spend more serious time in God’s Word…then put it into practice in our everyday lives…
26 May 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: arrogance, aura of love, bless, cavalier, complaining, corruption, dreams, evil, evildoers, expectant faith, exuberance, foolish ways, further God's glorious kingdom, God's mercy, going to hell in a hand-basket, greed, greet Monday with joy, hate, have good success, holy spirit, humble servants, hungry hope, immorality, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, joy, keeping families together, let the nations be glad, let the people priase thee, Libya, lies, lord god almighty, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, make thy way prosperous, meditate on God's Word, Memorial Day, merciful, mercy, Monday Monday, Monday Morniing Battle Hymn, Mother Africa, negative attitude, peace, pigheaded, pride, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, removing God from our lives, repenting, righteously, serve a useful purpose, sing for joy, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, strife, struggle for freedom, stubborn, stupidity, sure conquerors, Syria, taunts, the earth shall yield her increase, the Good Book, the Lord shall judge righteously, the Ukraine, theatres of strife, total destruction, true believers, turning back to God, ungodliness, ungodly world, war, we surrender our all to you, wisdom, worthwhile inroads
Psalm 67:4. Oh let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon the earth. Selah.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday…! And much to my surprise, my people began sweetly singing: ‘Monday, Monday! Oh how I LOVE that day! Monday, Monday, don’t ever go away! For whenever Monday comes, it finds me bright and eager, full of joy, peace and LOVE!’
Okay Friends, so I’m dreaming. But isn’t that why God made dreams; so that we can have those big, bright, beautiful visions? For sure! And I’m still living with hungry hope and expectant faith, that I’ll yet see the day when the majority of God’s people will greet Monday with the joy that they are supposed to, instead of the petty complaining and the disgusting negative attitude that prevails today.
If we only knew the staggering amount of the world’s six billion people who would give their eye teeth – long time I haven’t heard that – just for a taste of the jobs and standard of living that we so unappreciatively enjoy, we wouldn’t treat our jobs so don’t care and cavalier.
However, it’s time to put aside the dream. Please note I didn’t say kill it, but merely leave it simmering in our unconscious selves, and return to real reality. And to help us do that, to jump start our motors, to get us going in the fashion that Jesus desires of His followers, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with the exuberance worthy of true believers.
And to those of you in the U.S. who don’t have to work today, who are celebrating Memorial Day, in honour of the many who have fallen in the long and arduous struggle for freedom, please raise your voices loud and clear to help your less fortunate comrades who have to go out and face the ungodly world.
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!’
Not bad mih people, not bad at all! But it’s obvious that some of you are already in your cups, while others haven’t recovered from theirs as yet. (smile)
Ah my people, all we’re trying to do here is what our Bit advises: ‘O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon the earth. Selah.’
Yes Friends, contemplate that for a moment nuh. There’s a whole lot of truth to that statement – and not only truth, but also wisdom of the highest order. We all know that our God is a God of justice and righteousness, and He can do nothing else but judge justly and rule righteously. So once we live according to His rules, we have nothing whatsoever to fear.
No wonder the psalmist begins by invoking God’s mercy: ‘God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us. Selah. That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health (salvation) among all nations.’ (Ps.67:102)
Yes my people, we need to know God’s ways and vigorously apply them to our everyday lives. And the only way to do that is by reading and studying His Word; the Bible and getting proper guidance from those who are more enlightened than us. That’s why it is ever so important for us as individuals to constantly delve into the Good Book and try to fashion our lives around it.
As the Lord so emphatically told Joshua when He appointed him leader of the Israelites after the death of Moses: ‘This book of the law shall not depart out of (shall be constantly in) thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.’ (Josh.1:8)
Oh Friends, that is so straightforward and simple that there’s nothing to question in it. If you want to have success and be prosperous, then read and constantly meditate on the Word. But we the creation, the created, have gotten so big and bumptious with ourselves, that we now think we know more than our Creator. What arrogance, pride and stupidity my brethren! That’s why our world is snowballing downhill faster and faster every day.
And the psalmist is also trying to show us the right way, when he declares after our Bit: ‘Let the people praise thee O God; let all the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase (give her produce); and God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.’ (Ps.67:5-7)
Ah Friends, I don’t know what to say nuh, what will make us change our evil and foolish ways. We’re so stubborn and pigheaded, that though our world is going to hell in a hand basket, especially since we’ve begun removing God from being an integral part of our lives, we simply refuse to turn back to Him.
Man’s leadership is only bringing negative things like war, hate, greed, corruption, immorality, and ungodliness to our nations. Every day a new battleground of strife and enmity arises, while none of the ongoing ones are quelled.
The Ukraine has just started up, while Syria has been ongoing for about three years, and we have now forgotten that Libya is still a lawless, ungovernable country. And we won’t even talk about the many theatres of strife in Mother Africa.
So unless we want our children’s children to pay the terrible price for our ungodliness, then we’d better make a positive move RIGHT NOW my people! The evildoers are quite happy with the status quo, since they are profiting quite handily from it, so it’s up to us, true believers, to turn this world around.
And we can only do that by repenting and turning back to the omnipotent, but merciful, forgiving, just, righteous and merciful God of our Fathers. Consider ourselves warned, my brethren! Much LOVE!
…only the rapid spread of Jesus’ LOVE Revolution…can save our world…from total destruction…and that’s no lie…
23 May 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: advice, blessings, bolstering our spirits, caveat, chastised, Christians, common sense, Cousin Sol, cracked the whip, crux of the problem, destruction, fellowship, forgiveness, forsook the counsel, Friday chant, friends, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, Glory Hallelujah! the weekend, good judgement, gospel truth, Guide, heavy yoke, in the multitude of counsellors there is safety, indisputable truth, Jesus Christ, long and short of the story, LOVE, man's inhumanity to man, mercies, mercy, moaning, mourning, multitude, new-found power, oppressed, patience, peers, plans go awry, poor judgement, Praise the Lord, pray in Jesus' Name, Proverbs, rebelled, Rehoboam, relaxation, rest, scorpions, servant, slaving for massa, speak good words, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the Good Book, the way of a fool, undeniable wisdom, valuable lesson, wealth, where no cousnsel is the people fall, wisdom, wonderful god, work shall cease
Proverbs 11:14. Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.
And finally it was Friday… Glory Hallelujah! At long last the big day – the harbinger of the weekend is here! And all work shall cease, and the people shall rest their weary souls and bodies from slaving for massa!
And a loud cheer went up from the workers: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’
Yes Friends, let’s thank our great and wonderful God that it’s not only Friday, but a new day! A new day of life has been granted to us here on planet earth, where His blessings, mercies and forgiveness will pour down on us, as He so generously does, each and every day!
And all God’s people declared a loud and grateful: ‘Praise the Lord! Amen!’
Now to continue bolstering our spirits this Friday morning, let’s chant our Friday Chant with much sincerity. ‘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, please let that be our guide for handling the weekend, for those two simple days off are very important in the general scope of our lives. How we handle them will dictate and determine what our new workweek will generally be like. So if you want to have a good workweek, you have to begin with a good weekend. End of sermon! (smile)
Now let’s see what our Bit has to say. ‘Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.’
What undeniable wisdom Friends! For as the scholars tell us: ’11:14. The wise man gets advice from many people of good judgement before making a decision.’
However my brethren, there is one caveat, or rather two caveats to that statement, as well as our Bit. The first thing to beware of is advice from ‘many people.’
The problem there is that advice from too many people tends to be overwhelming, sluggish and all over the place. Sometimes it’s also incomprehensible, simply because of the number of voices giving advice.
So we need to winnow, to scale down the number of our advisers to a select few; a handful, or not much more, so we won’t have too many voices and opinions ringing in our ears.
And the second, but even more important thing to be very careful of, is that we recruit people of ‘good judgement’ to give us advice. That’s the crux of the problem right there Friends! Too often we end up with people of poor judgement, even though they may be Christians.
Remember, not because someone claims to be a Christian that they possess sound judgement. Now it’s always desirous, or preferable to get advice from Christians with good sense, but the good judgement aspect is more important than the Christian part.
And we see the perfect example of this in the Good Book, in 1 Kings 12. At that time Cousin Sol’s son, Rehoboam was made king of Israel and the people came to plead with him for mercy, because Cousin Sol had laid a heavy yoke on them, in order to support his vast enterprises.
Unfortunately though, Rehoboam listened to the group of his peers, the young men, rather than the group of older and wiser men.
The latter advised patience and mercy: ‘And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever.
But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him. And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer to this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter?
And the young men that were grown up with him, spake unto him saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins.
And whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.’ (1 Kin.12:7-11)
And the scholars give us this info: ’12:11. Scorpions means the multi-tailed whips to which barbed points or hooks were attached. Their sting was as severe as that of a scorpion.’
Ah Lord eh! Man’s inhumanity to man is surely a great instrument of moaning and mourning!
The long and short of the story though Friends, is that Rehoboam cracked the whip even harder than his father did, because of advice from people with poor judgement. And their advice was bad, not necessarily because they were young, because the young can be wise and the aged unwise.
But obviously they were revelling in their youth, their wealth and new-found power. And believe me Friends, those latter two things, wealth and power can work very negatively in the hands of the young, can cause them to bring destruction on themselves and those they rule or advise.
And what happens eventually? Like it always does when people are oppressed beyond measure. Israel rebelled, overthrew Rehoboam and replaced him with Jeroboam. Rehoboam lost it all because of a lack of common sense and mercy on his and his young advisers part.
So my brethren, I surely hope that this teaches us a valuable lesson. For as Cousin Sol declares later on in Proverbs: ‘Without counsel purposes are disappointed (plans go awry): but in the multitude of counselors they are established.’ (Prov.15:22)
It’s indisputable truth! But again my people, please beware of that word ‘multitude,’ and make sure that your advisers are people, preferably Christians, of sound judgement. That’s wisdom of the highest order! Much LOVE!
…the way of a fool is right in his own eyes…but he that hearkeneth to counsel…is wise… (Prov.12:15)
16 May 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a modicum of circumspection, a sound mind, abolished death, adoption, afflictions, all in vain, another week of work, anxiety, ashamed, awesome value, blood of jesus, bondage of sin, bring you to your knees, celebration, christ jesus, Christian joy, christianity, concern, confronting it head on, courage, died for me at Calvary, distill our fear, eager beavers, encouraging words, eternal life, exasperation, fear, fellowship, freedom, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, gentle, Glory Halleujah, God's family, God's unconditional LOVE, gospel, grace, heathen, heaven laden, holy calling, humble, humble apologies, I will give you rest, immortality, insight, intimacy, Jesus Christ, jesus name, Jesus' great invitation, joy, joy in Jesus christ, labours, let's dance, let's party, let's shout, let's sing, life, LOVE, lowly in heart, meek, my burden is light, my yoke is easy, no fear, power, power of God, privilege, problems, promises, purpose, realtion to God, reconciled to God, reconciliation, relaxation, renewed and refeshed, rest, sacrificed on the cross, sacrificial death, sacrificial lamb, salvation, sense of responsibility, sin, sinless life, spirit of adoption, spirit of fear, sufferings, testimony, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the gift of God, the importance of the weekend, ungodly world, uplifting promises, wisdom, wisely, with God's help, woe, yokes of bondage
Romans 8:15. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Oh Friends, it’s Friday! Let’s dance, let’s sing, let’s party, let’s shout: ‘Praise the Lord! TGIF! Thank God is Friday and the workweek finish! Just imagine nuh, for two whole big days, no more early morning rising and facing the ever-worsening traffic twice a day! Wow! Glory Hallelujah! Thank God is Friday in true yes!’
Yes my people, it’s indeed a wonderful feeling that Friday brings to most of us, but let’s do it as Jeeves, our major domo would advise – with a modicum of circumspection please.
That’s right Friends, the weekend is upon us, and it is indeed a time for some joy and celebration from our labours, but we have to use it wisely, so that it doesn’t cause us problems later on.
So with all of that in mind, let’s chant our Friday Chant with a sense of circumspection and responsibility nuh. 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.’
Hopefully my brethren, that will give us some insight into the importance of the weekend besides just for partying, and we can wisely do our do, so that come Monday morning we’ll be bright and fresh, like eager beavers, just panting at the bit to go out and do Jesus’ work amongst the heathen and ungodly world.
Okay, okay mih breddren, I hear you. (smile) So you’re not thrilled that it’s barely Friday and I’m already talking about Monday, the nemesis of so many of us. Please accept my humble apologies, but the only way I know to fight fear or exasperation is by confronting it head on.
So if Monday’s bring you woe, then face it full in the face and say: ‘Mondays, I will defeat you! With God’s help, I WILL bring you to your knees! No longer WILL I allow you to steal my joy and bring me woe. This I pray on the shed blood of Jesus, who died for me at Calvary to give me freedom, salvation and eternal life! Amen!’
Yeh mih people, only by confronting stuff that’s keeping us back from enjoying all the stuff that Jesus has in store for us, can we be set free from their unpalatable yokes of bondage. For as our Bit so wisely and encouragingly declares: ‘For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.’
That’s for sure my brethren! Otherwise, Christ’s horrific and sacrificial death would be all in vain! And we definitely can’t have that now, can we?
And the scholars’ say this about our Bit. ‘8:15. ‘The Spirit of adoption: The Holy Spirit places the believer as a son in God’s family. Abba (Aramaic for “father”). This is the intimate name used only by members of the family. It’s use here denotes the intimacy of the believer’s relation to God.’
Oh Friends, I can’t help saying it nuh: What a wonderful God we serve and worship! Mama Mia!
Now hear this powerful passage of scripture, where Bruh Paul exhorts Timothy to endure: ‘Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on (laying) of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound mind.
Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions (share with me the sufferings) of the gospel according to the power of God;
Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began (time),
But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:’ (2 Tim.1:6-10)
Oh my fellow believers, what encouraging words! Please, let them stir up our courage and distill our fear! For in Christ Jesus there is no real fear for the true believer!
Yes, there is concern and some anxiety, but NO FEAR, especially when we truly receive Jesus’ great invitation: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble): and ye shall find rest in your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt.11:28-30)
Oh my people, my people, there could be no more encouraging words than those of our Lord and Saviour! Wow!
And what better way is there to greet the upcoming weekend than with those uplifting promises buried deep in our hearts, minds and souls eh? None really my Friends!
For remember that’s why Jesus gave up His easy, sinless life in heaven to come to earth and die as a sacrificial lamb on our behalf – so that we could be free from the bondage of sin and be reconciled to God – so that we could once again be part of His family, such an intimate part, that we now have the overwhelming and everlasting privilege of calling Him, Abba – Father!
It’s all so wonderful my fellow believers, that we should just be jumping and shouting and thanking Jesus every moment of everyday for putting His life on the line for us because of the Father’s great LOVE for His most wonderful creation!
So please, let’s show our Christian joy and gratefulness on the outside today and everyday nuh, so that others will see it, and recognize it’s great and awesome value, and eagerly come to want what we have – plenty, plenty joy in Jesus Christ! Much LOVE!
…without the Father’s great and unconditional LOVE…there would be no Jesus sacrificed on the cross…thus no reconciliation…no salvation…no eternal life…no adoption…and no calling out to Abba, our Father…
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