15 Sep 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a modicum of circumspection, all things are possible, another week of work, barbecuing, Beelzebub, believe, blessed, calamity, carousing, Christian requirement, doubting manner, drinking, earthquakes, eating, evil cohorts, Friday chant, furthering the kingdom of God, generous help, gospel truth, great power, hedonistic ways, hurricanes, I am the Lord, impossible, in Jesus' name, iniquity, is anything too hard for me, Jeremiah, Jesus beheld them, LOVE, loving-kindness, man's consciusness, massa, money, party time, physical goods, prayer, principles, recompense, refeshed, renewed, repay, sacrosanct space, slave labour, soul body and mind, stretched out arm, summer's day, sunbathing, talent, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, Thank You Lord, the God of all flesh, the Lord of hosts, the mighty God, the most powerful force, the weekend, time, universal prayer, weather wise, wildfires, with God, with men this is impossible, workingman
Matthew 19:26. But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible, but with God ALL things are possible.
Oh my brethren, another beautiful summer’s day is forecasted for my area today! Brother! The Lord has been so good to us recently weather wise that I don’t know what to say but ‘Thank You Lord!’
Unfortunately, many of our neighbours to the south and west of us have not been so blessed, having been recently plagued by wildfires, hurricanes and earthquakes.
Friends, I can’t instill sufficiently our Christian requirement to help them as much as we can, in the giving of our time, talent, physical goods and money. And most importantly remember them in our prayers.
Remember, prayer is the most powerful force in God’s great universe, and when we use it wisely and sincerely, it can cause mighty mountains to be moved. And this is certainly a time for universal prayer, as our world is falling apart through both natural and man-made calamity.
However, the ordinary workingman might not realize the fiasco that is brewing and continue in his hedonistic ways by declaring: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday and the weekend and party time is here once again!
I can just see the eating…and the drinking…the barbecuing and sunbathing in this summer weather! We certainly going to be carousing plenty on we days off this weekend. Thank God for Fridays and weekends oui, so we can get away from massa an’ ‘im slave labour!’
Oh friends, technically speaking all of that is true, it’s just the degree to which it’s being taken. We all are entitled to enjoy our days off from work, but remember those boundaries that are necessary to stop Beelzebub and his evil cohorts from invading our sacrosanct space.
Our Friday Chant is indeed a much better ode to the weekend. (smile) So let’s chant it now nuh, with as much enthusiasm as the workingman had in his declaration. ‘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, if we’re to do God’s kingdom work diligently, sincerely and excellently, as He desires, we need to be bright and fresh and renewed in spirit every Monday morning. So let’s enjoy our weekend, but with ‘a modicum of circumspection,’ as Jeeves would say. (smile)
And as a true and faithful Christian, keeping our sinful nature in check should not be that big of a problem, for we have the ONE and ONLY Jesus, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords on our side, in our camp. What more back up and reassurance can we ask eh? None whatsoever!
And please note His plain and straightforward words to the disciples in our Bit, when they doubted about a camel being able to pass through the eye of a needle. ‘But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible, but with God ALL things are possible.’
Now isn’t that the gospel truth! If God made our marvellous and magnificent universe and all therein, then it stands to reason that He can indeed DO ANYTHING! But too many of us supposed believers don’t really and truly believe that, otherwise we wouldn’t behave in the doubting manner in which we often do.
And it’s not only from the time of Jesus that the Lord has been trying to instill this in man’s consciousness, but long before. Listen to how the prophet Jeremiah prayed after he had bought a field on God’s advice and delivered the deed to a trusted friend, Baruch. (Jer.32:1-15)
‘I prayed unto the Lord saying, Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard (difficult) for thee; Thou showest LOVING-kindness unto thousands, and recompensest (repay) the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the Lord of hosts, is his name.’ (Jer.32:16-18)
And if you don’t believe Jeremiah, then listen to the Lord Himself later on. ‘Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah, saying, Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?’ (Jer.32:26-27)
Ah mih people, I hope that solidifies our belief that our God is great and powerful and can do ANY and EVERYTHING! We need to believe that if we are to serve Him properly in this evil and ungodly world. Much LOVE!
…the three first principles of Christianity…believe…believe…believe…only believe…
28 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abhor, affectionate, avenge not, be patient in tribulation, belief, bless, bounce our heads, brotherly LOVE, caring, Christian's conduct, circumstances, cliques, condescend, curse not, dissension, dissimulation, divisions, does not hold back, Dr, epitome, evil for evil, evildoer, expects to win, faith, faithful believers, falls apart, Father of Positive thinking, fervent in spirit, fuss and fume, genuine, good, gossip, headaches, heap coals of fire, heartening, help, honest, hope, hospitality, humble, hypocrisy, I am the beloved of god, instant, life, live peaceably, LOVE, loving, low estate, lustful nature, mind not high things, motivators, necessity, needs, negative attitude, Norman Vincent Peale, overcome, pacifism., patient, persevering, positive manner, power, prayer, reassuring, recompense, rejoice, rejoicing in hope, repay, rest, revenge, rush and push, saints, sense of shame, shame, share His love, sinful, slothful, speak well of, starting point, steadfast in prayer, success, take everything to God in prayer, take it by the tail, the proverbial wall, the service of love, the winner's crown, trust my friend Jesus, truth, Tuesday Mantra, unfeigned, unfriendliness, ungodly world, vengeance is mine, weep
Romans 12:12. Rejoicing in hope; patient (persevering) in tribulation; continuing (steadfastly) instant in prayer.
Welcome to another beautiful day in God’s great realm my people!
Regardless of what our individual circumstances might be, we need to look upon everyday that we’re alive as a beautiful one, that’s the only way we will get through it without too many unnecessary headaches.
Negative stuff will come against us, whatever we do, so there’s no need to add to it with a negative attitude of our own. Life happens to all of us, but it’s the ones who take life by the tail and deals with it in a positive manner that gets the winner’s crown.
And now I want to share an interesting quote from the Father of Positive Thinking, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993) on that most wonderful of emotions and attitudes, ‘HOPE.’
Dr. Peale is reputed to have said that, ‘Hope is the great power that can move you to success. Why? Because when a man expects to win, he does not hold anything back, but gives his project all that he’s got. Most people fail not because they lack ability, intelligence or opportunity, but they fail because they don’t give it all they’ve got.’
Now that ‘s packed full of truth my brethren! For hope is one of the most powerful motivators in God’s great world. It’s the starting point of everything we want or plan to do. Without hope, why begin anything eh?
And furthermore, without hope, we can’t even have faith, which is what keeps us going during the hard times. So please, let’s never lose hope, because then it will be so much easier to lose faith, and then everything falls apart.
Now let’s declare our Tuesday Mantra with a whole lot of enthusiasm, energy and sincerity. Let’s say it like we truly believe it.
As one now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
Now ain’t that something truly wonderful friends? It surely is! For what can be more heartening and reassuring than being beloved by Almighty God, and also being a friend of Jesus, and getting to share His LOVE with a godless world? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
That means there’s nothing for us to worry about. We don’t care what others say about us, we don’t have to rush and push to just barely get by. No my fellow believers, in our strong and steadfast belief and faith in Jesus Christ, all of that is worked out for us.
So let’s not fuss and fume and bounce our heads against the proverbial wall when troubles come against us. Please remember who and whose we are, and just take everything to God in prayer!
Enough sermonizing now though, (smile) let’s turn to our Bit. ‘Rejoicing in hope; patient (persevering) in tribulation; continuing (steadfastly) instant in prayer.’
Yes friends, as faithful believers in Jesus, those are some of the things we’re required to do! It’s a part of Bruh Paul’s sermon to the Roman church re the service of LOVE to All.
Earlier on, he sets the stage by saying: ‘Let LOVE be without dissimulation (hypocrisy). Abhor that which is evil; cleave (cling) to that which is good.’ (Rom.12:9)
And what does all of that mean? The scholars explain: 12:9. Without dissimulation (lit. “without hypocrisy”). The Christian’s conduct in the local church toward fellow believers is to be a volitional (exercise of will) caring for others, loving faithfully in spite of the response received. The LOVE is to be genuine and unfeigned.’
Unfortunately though people, we are seeing less and less of that in not only the local churches, but also the church as a whole. That’s why there is so much dissension, which ultimately leads to divisions. Contrary to God’s word and desire, cliques, gossip, unfriendliness and hypocrisy abound in today’s church.
Why is that eh friends, when we’re supposed to be the epitome of true LOVE, caring and compassion? The only reason I can come up with is that we allow the enemy to raise up our sinful, lustful nature, which causes us to think and act like the evil and ungodly world that surrounds us.
But Bruh Paul is advocating the exact opposite. ‘Be kindly affectioned (affectionate) one to another with brotherly LOVE; in honour preferring (giving preference to) one another. Not slothful in business (lagging in diligence); fervent in spirit; serving the Lord…
Distributing to the necessity (needs) of saints (fellow believers); given to hospitality. Bless (speak well of) them which persecute you; bless (speak well of), and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one to another.
Mind not (do not set your mind on) high things, but condescend to men of low estate (associate with the humble). Be not wise in your own conceits (estimation). Recompense (repay) to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men (have regard for good things).
If it be possible, as much as lieth in (depends on) you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.’ (Rom.12: 9-11,13-20)
Ah friends, it’s all laid out there for us; the basic application of our Christian faith! What more can I say eh? It’s up to us now to put it into action.
And we’ll end with this explanation from the scholars. ’12:19-21. Give place unto wrath: Paul quotes Deuteronomy 32:35 to show that only God has the right to avenge, and He certainly will avenge.
Heap coals of fire on his head (cf. Prov:25:22). This may refer to a sense of shame or remorse engendered when we treat an evildoer kindly. Paul is discussing personal, not national enemies. He is not teaching pacifism.’
So friends, let’s ponder all that we’ve said today nuh, and see how it is reflected in our own lives, and then ask God to help us fix whatever is wrong. He will NEVER turn us down, or away. Always remember that. Much LOVE!
…be not overcome of evil…but overcome evil with good… (Rom.12:21).
P.S. Excuse the lateness. I don’t understand it. I went to be earlier than usual, but still had a hard time getting up. (smile) Guess the body needs more rest than I’m giving it. Much LOVE!
01 Jul 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abounding in mercy, absolute truth, Birthday Canada, british north america act, Canada, Canada Day, celebrations, challenge, confession, covenant, Daniel, dark times, disobedience, Drunk or sober mind yuh business, epitome of wisdom, face to face, forgiveness, forgiving, glory hallelujah, God is in control, God loves a challenge, God's glorious attributes, God's promised never to leave nor forsake us, grace, Happy Birthday Canada, holy people, I'm not turning back, in the valley of the shadow of death, iniquity, interceding, kind, logic, long-suffering, LOVE, magnanimous god, mercies, merciful, mercy, Moses, Mt. Sinai, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, rebelled, rebellion, repay, repentance, responsibilities, rest in peace, signs and wonders, sinful times, slow to anger, summer, take advantage, the breath of life, the glory of the Lord, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the Lord is merciful and gracious, the people of Israel, the Promised Land, the Ten Commandments, to a glorious future with Jesus, transgression, ungodly behaviour, Wednesday Wail, why to worry
Psalm 103:8. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous (abounding) in mercy (LOVING-kindness).
HAPPY CANADA DAY!
Happy Birthday Canada! On this 1st of July 2015, we’re a bright and sparkling one hundred and forty eight years old today! Wow! And the celebrations will be enormous! I began mine last night as you can see from the lateness of the Bit. (smile)
And why not eh? Canada has been good to me. It’s where I’ve spent the last forty two years and counting of my life. It hasn’t been easy, but it has certainly been interesting and rewarding. Like most other countries we’re on somewhat of a downward slide now, but by golly, it is still the best big country in the world! Glory Hallelujah!
In 1867 the British North America Act conferred some self-governing powers on Canada and she became a Dominion of Britain. Since then she has not looked back and has gone on to take her place as one of the leaders of the free world. Let’s hope that continues as time goes by.
Ohhh! Lest I forget later on, let me remind us right now about Granny’s wise words. ‘Sonny boy… remember that drunk or sober, please mind yuh business.’
Words of absolute wisdom my brethren! For we all know that when we get into celebrating, we tend to get a tad loose and that only gives the wily old fox Lucifer a chance to invade our souls. And we definitely don’t want to do that. So let’s just keep our wits about us in the celebrations today.
And since it’s Wednesday, let’s do some wailing nuh. On the count of three: one, two, three. ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Yes my people, is it ever so good to be alive on this first day in July, although the temperature is only supposed to go up to something like 21, and it is a tad chilly and cloudy outside. The summer doesn’t look to be shaping up too good nuh. But why to worry eh? Our great God is in control and He knows our wants and needs.
Plus He has faithfully promised never to leave nor forsake us, so if the true summer weather is a bit tardy in coming, we just have to take it in stride and rely on His wonderful promise to bring us safely through our dark times in the valley of the shadow of death.
Therefore we can now unconditionally declare: ‘The Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is a mighty and magnanimous God! We will rest in peace, safety and joy in His holy and everlasting, LOVE, mercy and grace! Amen!’
And now let’s turn to our Bit which so wonderfully proclaims all that we’ve said so far. ‘The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous (abounding) in mercy (LOVING-kindness).’
Ah Friends, if our God didn’t possess all those glorious attributes, I don’t know, and fear to think what might have already become of us, with our truly disobedient and ungodly behaviour.
And as we’ve been doing for the last few days, let’s look at some scripture that shore up our Bit, beginning with Moses interceding with God for the people of Israel after they had foolishly rebelled against Him.
‘And now I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, The Lord is long-suffering and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.
Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.’(Num.14:17-19)
Oh Friends, Moses wasn’t as stupid as he claimed to be nuh. The Lord was about to destroy the Israelites for their rebellion, but Moses used God’s own words back at Him, those He had used to Moses when He passed before Him on Mt. Sinai, while getting the second version of the Ten Commandments.
And I like the logic he used on God: If He destroyed the Israelites, then the other nations would say it was because He was unable to bring them safely through the wilderness. And we all know that our God LOVES a challenge! (smile) Tell Him He can’t do something, and you know He’ll prove that He can.
And though the Lord pardoned the Israelites, He promised, ‘But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.’ (Num.14:21) He rose to Moses’ challenge, and also declared that none of those who came out of Egypt and saw all His signs and wonders would step foot in the Promised Land. And so it was.
So my brethren, though our God is wonderful and merciful and kind, He won’t allow us to take advantage of His goodness and mercy, so please remember that there are consequences for continual disobedience.
Now hear Moses again, this time warning the Israelites that they were a holy people to the Lord and thus had great responsibilities. ‘Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that LOVE him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him (delay with those who hate Him), he will repay him to his face. Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments and the statutes, and the judgements, which I command thee this day, to do them.’ (Deut.7:9-11)
Oh Friends, we have it right there in black and white! We have also seen it in action down through the ages. So why do we in these unfaithful, ungodly and rather sinful times believe, or simply ignore the fact that we will not suffer God’s punishment for our boldfaced disobedience eh?
I assure us that we will, in God’s own time. He is indeed long-suffering and will give us plenty of rope, in the hope that we will wake up and smell the roses, or on the other hand, to hang ourselves.
Now let’s end with these words of absolute truth, as spoken by the great prophet Daniel in his prayer for his people, Israel. ‘To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against him.’ (Dan.9:9)
And that’s no lie Friends! But we can’t keep on rebelling and keep expecting mercy and forgiveness forever. It’s not realistic from a holy, righteous and just God, and it will not happen.
So please let’s take the necessary precautions and turn once more in confession and repentance to the One who created us, the universe and all therein. That is the zenith and epitome of wisdom. Much LOVE!
…disobedience and rebellion NEVER pays…regardless of who or what we think we are…
24 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Spiritual Living
Tags: abominable transgressions, abounding in the work of god, appreciation, Beelzebub, believers in Jesus Christ, blessings, bounden duty, Calvary's cross, Christ defeated death and the grave, Christ triumphantly rose from the dead, cold spring wind, confident in the glory and victory of Jesus, damnation, death, death is swallowed up in victory, Easter Season, eternal death, eternal life, ever-faithul, ever-Loving, everlasting victory, faithful, first Easter Sunday, forgiveness, furthering God's glorious kingdom, futile, give thanks and praise, give you much thanks and praise, glorifying God's name, glory hallelujah, grace, grateful, Hades, heavenly Father, holy character of Jesus, holy spirit, Jesus Christ, joy, lord jesus christ, LOVE, loving, Lucifer, magnify Your Holy Name, mercy, o death where is thy sting, o grave where is thy victory, oodles of optimism, optimism, our labour is not in vain, pardon sin, praise, prince of darkness, reconciliation, repay, right standing, righteous God, sacrifice, saviour jesus, set us free, sincerely worship and adore you, sinful undeserving children, sinless soul, sins, Son Jesus, song of praise, spring has sprung, stark naked, steadfast, thankful Lord and Saviour, thanks, Thanks be to God, the birds are singing praises to God, the blood of Jesus, the gift of God is eternal life, the Good Book, the LOVE of God, the price of sin, the shedding of blood, the sinless One, the sting of death is sin, the strength of sin is the law, the wages of sin is death, trials and tribulations, unconditional LOVE, unmovable, victory, wallowing in the misery of our sins, we truly Love you, wonderful news of Easter
1 Corinthians 15:57. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Oh Friends, it seems like spring has finally decided to stay sprung! Glory Hallelujah!
And I say that because there’s finally some green colour appearing in the previously dead looking brown grass, the temps are staying fairly standard between 7 and 12 degrees Celsius, and when I got up just now I heard some birds singing their early morning praises to their Maker!
How wonderful eh! It’s so refreshing and revitalizing to hear the birds singing praises, because they are ever so faithful in it. Sometimes I think the Lord should have made us like the birds, without a mind of our own, for then we would have been much more faithful than we currently are.
Unfortunately though, the trees don’t seem to be buying into this optimism that spring is finally getting serious about coming, for there is not one single green bud on any of them. They all still dancing stark naked in the oftimes brisk and cold spring wind.
We believer in Jesus Christ however, are filled with oodles of optimism, through, and for the LOVE of God! We are so filled with it that it’s overflowing, and consequently filling others with the wonderful news of this Easter Season, where Christ so triumphantly rose from the dead – Mama Mia! – and in the process defeated the twin evils of death and the grave, and therefore the ruler of Hades, Lucifer.
Oh Friends, this Easter Thursday morning, let’s put a big smile on our faces, and release the immense joy that’s in our hearts and souls with a song of praise to our Maker nuh!
Like the birds, let’s show Him our great appreciation for designing, putting into action and successfully carrying out His incredible plan of reconciliation, which so LOVINGLY brought us back into right standing with Him.
Please pray with me now: ‘Dear heavenly Father, You are so wonderful to Your sinful, undeserving children! We continually make You sad and mad at our misdoings, but You just keep on LOVING us! You keep on granting us Your awesome forgiveness, mercy and grace, blessing us with stuff we definitely don’t deserve.
Oh Father, this morning we’re here to tell You that we truly LOVE You! We sincerely worship and adore You! We do magnify Your Holy Name and give You much thanks and praise!
Oh gracious Father in heaven, we are especially grateful and thankful for Your most wonderful Son Jesus, who became our Lord and Saviour on that first Easter Sunday two millennia ago, by sacrificing His holy life to pay for our abominable transgressions.
Oh Father, we are truly sorry that You had to put such trials and tribulations on Jesus for our sakes, but we know that You are a just and righteous God and cannot just pardon sin; a price, including death and the shedding of blood must be paid for it.
And You LOVED us so much, considered us so worthy, that You gave Your Only son, Jesus Christ, the ONLY sinless soul beside Yourself, to pay for our sins!
Oh heavenly Father, You know that we can NEVER repay You for that awesome, unconditional LOVE, but we will try our best to live lives down here on earth that will magnify You. Lives that will continue to grow in the holy character of our Saviour Jesus, thus glorifying Your great Name and furthering Your glorious kingdom. We pray this on the blood of Jesus that was shed for us on Calvary’s cross. Amen!’
Oh mih people, mih people! What the Holy Spirit can do in your soul eh! I have to chuckle here, because I never intended to even have a prayer, much less such a long one. But as usual, the Holy Spirit guided me there. In any case, it is right, and also our bounden duty to pray and give thanks and praise to our heavenly Father, especially at this Easter season, when He so faithfully caused us to be reconciled to Him!
And believe me Friends, that is no small undertaking or unimportant event! In fact it’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened to mankind! If our wonderful, ever-faithful and ever-LOVING Creator didn’t care so much for us, we’d still be wallowing in the misery of our dreadful sins, headed for eternal death and damnation in the foul and vile company of the prince of darkness, Beelzebub.
For remember, as the Good Book so pointedly states: ‘For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through (in) Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (Rom.6:23)
But then Bruh Paul further clarifies the situation to the Corinthians, and consequently us: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave (Hades), where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (1 Cor. 15:54b-57)
Yes my fellow believers, don’t ever forget those memorable, momentous and most important words of our Bit! Let’s plant them deep, deep, deep in the inner recesses of our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, because that is indeed why we are able to laugh, sing and shout ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ this Thursday morning two thousand years after Jesus gave us that everlasting victory!
Wow! What a mighty God we serve and worship my brethren!
So as we prayed above, and Bruh Paul so timely reminds us: ‘Therefore my BELOVED brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain (futile) in the Lord.’ (1 Cor.15:58)
Absolutely not my fellow believers! So please, let’s stand steadfast and strong this morning, and all the remaining days of our lives, confident in the glory and victory of Jesus Christ! Much LOVE!
…oh how could we not LOVE Jesus…the sinless One…who made our sins His own…and LOVINGLY set us free…to some day dwell with Him in heaven…and always faithful be…
10 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ability to choose, ability to think, advice, affectionate, anger, avenge not, believers, bless, brotherly LOVE, Bruh Paul, bundle of good, Christ's Church, Christian nation, complain, conceit, condescend, curse not, diligence, dissensions, disturbed sleep, dividing, divisions, drifitng apart, enemy, estimation, evil, evil for evil, eye teeth, feed, feel rotten, fervent, followers of Jesus christ, functions, give drink, glorify God, grow, growth, harmony, heap coals of fire, honesty, hospitality, human animal, humble, hypocrisy, in christ, in the end, Jesus Christ, live peaceably, longevity, LOVE, Love God, LOVE your neighbour, low estate, meaningful, members, message, miserable, needs, negative stuff, not always easy, One Body, option, overcome evil with good, overcome of eveil, patient, peace, perplexed, persecute, petty jealousies, petty woes, please Jesus, politice, prayer, preference, preseverance, prized creation, problems, rampant, rebels, recompense, reconciled, rejoicing in hope, repay, resentment, right decision, Romans 12, rumours of war, sacrifice, sad, saints, selfish, serving the Lord, sinless life, slothful, steadfast, talk a good talk, thirst, tired, tribulation, truth, ungodly world, unity of brethren, values of God, values of the world, vengeance hunger, walk, walk in sync, wars, weep, wisdom, work together, works out for good, wrath
Romans 12:4-5. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office (function): So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one (individually) members one of another.
Oh Friends, have you ever experienced the unparalleled joy of going to bed feeling fairly okay, but waking up a few hours later feeling terrible? Well I experienced that joy this morning.
Chuh! I went to bed at a decent hour, feeling good enough, but lo and behold when I got up… brother did I ever feel rotten, tired and miserable! I could barely get myself together. I don’t know if it’s because the phone rang during the night and disturbed my sleep, but I sure had a hard time coming around.
Enough of my petty woes though, a lot of people would give their eye-teeth (smile) to have my problems, compared to their own. And I truly don’t have that much to complain about, for the Lord’s been looking after me fairly well.
Now that doesn’t mean it’s always easy, but it always works out for good in the end. And that is basically the message Bruh Paul is trying to convey to us in our Bit, which continues from yesterday.
‘For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office (function): So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one (individually) members one of another.’
Oh my brethren, as members of Christ’s church, though we have different gifts and different functions we desperately need to work together for it to be successful! That’s the ONLY way the church will ever grow and become meaningful in this evil and ungodly world!
Look at it nuh Friends, everything else that the Lord made without brains function perfectly in His universe. However, the human animal, His most prized creation, the one thing that He made with the ability to think, constantly rebels against Him.
We cannot seem to work together in peace, LOVE and harmony, as He desires. Even those of us who proclaim to be followers of Jesus Christ, who profess to keep the two great commandments – LOVE God, and LOVE your neighbour as yourself – we’re way too often hypocritical on the matter.
And sadly, that hypocrisy seems to be rampant in Christ’s church, where it has absolutely no place. Why is that eh? Possibly because we’re still too selfish, still holding on to the foolish values of the world as our templates for life, instead of the values of God.
Now let’s continue from where we left off yesterday, with Bruh Paul’s advice to the Romans about what should be happening in their church.
‘Be kindly affectioned (affectionate) one to another with brotherly LOVE; in honour preferring (giving preference to) one another; Not slothful (lagging in diligence) in business; fervent (boiling over) in spirit; serving the Lord;
Rejoicing in hope; patient (persevering) in tribulation; continuing instant (steadfastly) in prayer; Distributing to the necessity (needs) of saints (believers); given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you: bless (speak well of), and curse not.
Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not (don’t sent your minds on) high things; but condescend to men of low estate (associate with the humble). Be not wise in your own conceits (estimation).
Recompense to (repay) no man evil for evil. Provide things honest (have regard for good things) in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in (depends on) you, live peaceably with all men.
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.’ (Rom.12:10-20)
Oh my people, how much of all that can we say is truly happening in our world eh? Not a whole lot, otherwise there would not be as many wars and rumours of war.
And what about Christ’s church eh? How much of that wise advice are we showing in the church of today?
Unfortunately not a whole lot either, because if we were doing a good job the anger, resentment, petty jealousies, politics and all the other negative stuff would not be as rampant as they are, and the divisions and dissensions would thus be much less amongst our Christian nation.
But sadly, everyday we hear about more negative stuff happening in the church, and instead of coming together as we ought to, we’re dividing and drifting further and further apart.
As I said yesterday, Jesus must be sad and perplexed about how to solve our problems. But my people, He did the best He could; He did His part by sacrificing His sinless life so that we could be reconciled to the Father. Now we’re foolishly behaving as though we never needed that option, and it’s not important.
Jesus can’t come and hold everybody’s hands yuh know. It’s now up to us to make the right decision. That’s why our Creator gave us a mind and the ability to choose.
Oh my fellow believers, we talk a very good talk, but our walk surely doesn’t reflect that talk. That’s our major problem. And until we get both our talk and walk in sync, make them jive, Christ’s church will never come together as it should.
Now we’ll end our discourse today, the same way Bruh Paul ends Romans 12, with some of the best advice we can ever receive. ‘Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.’ (Rom.12:21)
Now that my brethren is all the different kinds of wisdom and truth wrapped up in one small, but very powerful package! Let’s endeavour to truly heed it nuh, to sincerely adopt it in our lives, for it will do us a bundle of good.
And even more importantly, it will please Jesus and glorify our heavenly Father, the main purpose for which we were originally created. Much LOVE!
…the unity of the brethren…is essential…of the utmost importance… for the longevity and growth of Christ’s church…
P.S. In yesterday’s Bit I left an empty bracketed space between ‘volitional caring’ in the scholars’ note, because I wanted to find a simpler synonym for it, but with all the technical problems I forgot to fill it.
It basically means ‘will or desire,’ a caring that we raise up from deep within our very souls for others. And that’s something we very much need to do these days my people. Much LOVE!
11 Dec 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: anger, avenge, Christian faith, coals of fire, enemy, fabulous earth, faith, feed thine enemy, give thanks and praise always, glorious day, God is sovereign, holy spirit, honesty, hunger, morning star, overcome, overcome evil with good, patience, perseverance, recompense, remorse, repay, sense of shame, shame, thirst, vengeance, victory, winning the battle
Romans 12:21: Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
Ah mih people, welcome to another glorious day on God’s fabulous earth! And all true believers responded with a heartfelt, ‘Praise the Lord!’ Yes Friends, that’s what our Leader and Saviour wants us to do, under any and all circumstances. Regardless of how rough life might be, we are called upon to always give thanks and praise to the Father. As Bruh Paul says so poignantly in the verses before our Bit: ‘Recompense (repay) to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest (have regard for good things) in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in (depends on) you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: For in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.’ (Rom.12:17-20) Those are definitely tough rules to live by my people! But before going any further, let’s hear from the scholars; ‘Give place unto wrath: Paul quotes Deuteronomy 32:35 to show that only God has the right to avenge, and He certainly will avenge. Heap coals of fire on his head (cf. Prov.25:22): This may refer to a sense of shame or remorse engendered when we treat an evildoer kindly. Paul is discussing personal, not national enemies. He is not teaching pacifism.’ No Friends, Bruh Paul is certainly not teaching pacifism, which makes these rules even tougher to live by, because we then have to find a fine and healthy balance between completely giving in (pacifism), and taking matters into our own hands (vengeance). But to be true to our Christian faith, we must endeavour to live that way. And how do we do it? By focusing on our Bit: ‘Be not overcome of (by) evil, but overcome evil with good.’ By having that advice as our constant mantra, by writing it indelibly in our hearts and minds, we’ll be reminded that whenever evil shows its ugly face, we have to show a good one in response. Oh fellow believers, that’s not an easy task, especially in these cruel, greedy and evil times. But with all that Jesus asks us to do, so many of which are contrary to the mores of the world, He’s also given us all the tools necessary to accomplish them. Yes, in His LOVING-kindness, mercy and grace, He’s provided His Holy Spirit to guide and protect us, to help us live the kind of life He desires us to live. And with that wonderful Spirit indwelling us, plus things like our prayers, faith, patience, perseverance and fortitude, we can accomplish His will, overcoming the foolishness and folly of Lucifer’s wicked world. It’s up to us now Friends, to use those tools wisely, to be strong and sensible, using them to propagate good and not evil. Now the word I want to focus on today is ‘overcome.’ It’s one that conjures up thoughts of difficulties and hard times, but in the end winning the battle. Let’s listen to some scripture that encourages us to overcome, starting with John’s first epistle. ‘For this is the LOVE of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous (burdensome). For whatsoever (every believer who) is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?’ (1 John 5:3-5) The scholars explain that last verse thus: ‘There is conquering power through this confession because God is sovereign over the world, and only through the Son does man have access to and find favour with God.’ And all God’s people joyfully declared: ‘Thank You Jesus!’ Yes my brethren, we do indeed have a lot to be thankful for to Jesus; His selfless sacrifice on the cross to pay for our sins, and then His advocacy in heaven on our behalf. We can never repay those things. But the good part is that Jesus doesn’t want repayment, He just wants us to live a certain way, to overcome the evil of this world. Now let’s hear what He has to say about overcoming. Remember yesterday we saw where He spoke about Him already overcoming the world. (John 16:33) Today we’ll listen to Him from the Revelations of John. In His message to the church at Ephesus, He warns. ‘He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.’ (Rev.2:7) The scholars say: ‘The promise to him that overcometh probably applies to all Christians with genuine faith (cf. 1 John 5:4-5) (above) and will be fulfilled as believers enjoy the blessings of New Jerusalem (22:2,14), the paradise of God.’ And in the message to the church at Pergamos, Jesus declares: ‘But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of the potter shall they be broken to shivers (pieces): even as I received of my Father. And I will give him the morning star.’ (Rev.2:25-28) Oh Friends, according to the scholars; ‘The obedient believer will be given a reward of power or authority in the millennial kingdom as he reigns with Christ (12:5; 19:15; 20:4). The morning star is probably a reference to the eternal presence of Christ Himself.’ In Rev.22:16, Jesus does refer to Himself as ‘the bright and morning star.’ And we’ll end with some uplifting words from Bruh Paul to the Corinthians. ‘But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (1 Cor.15:57) Oh my people, it’s all over but the shouting! So let’s get on our horses and ride nuh; ride to victory with Christ! Much LOVE!…he that hath an ear…let him hear…what the Spirit saith unto the churches…(Rev.2:29)…wise words indeed…
SCRIP-BITS 