27 Jan 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a crown of glory, a good man, a loving man, a name, a righteous man, abominations, above every other name, accept it, All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name, appearance, as a aman, at his feet faal, at the name of Jesus, became obedient, blot out our sins, bring forth, by his grace, Christ died for the ungodly, come to Him, communication with Almighty God, crown him, dare to die, Edward Perronet, every kindred, every knee should bow, every tongue confess, every tribe, finite minds, found in fashion, given him a name, glory hallelujah, glory to the Lamb, God demonstrates his love, God hath highly exalted him, hail him, he humbled himself, hear Jesus say, in due time, in heaven, Jesus, Jesus christ is Lord, join the everlasting song, let angels prostrate fall, Lord and Saviour, Lord of all, LOVE, merciful God, missionary in India, obedience, obeisance, omnipotent, on a silver platter, paid the penealty, paid the price, puny, ransomed of the fall, repent, sacrifice, saves you, seed of Israel, selfless works, shotgun rider, slain, sweeter words, terrestial ball, the cross at Calvary, the royal diadem, thou good and faithful servant, to the glory of God the Father, unselfish, unto death, we owed, welcome, wisdom, without strength, yet sinners
Philippians 2:9. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
Well friends, it’s Sunday and there’s snow on the ground. But I’m not going to let it stop me from going to church for two Sundays in a row. And anyway I don’t think it’s all that much, although you never know how much it really is until you step out in it.
But between my trusty chariot ‘Blue’, my most amazing shotgun rider, Jesus, and myself, we ought to make it there and back safely. If we don’t, then something’s terribly wrong with this picture! (smile)
But let’s get to matters nuh, some softening up of our hearts to receive His holy word, by singing some awesome praise and thanksgiving to our heavenly Father, that He so obviously deserves.
And today’s hymn is a very popular one, sung by many Christian denominations. It’s titled ‘All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name.’ Glory to God! And so in fact should His Name be lifted up because of His great, unselfish, selfless works.
They also say that this hymn is often called the “National Anthem of Christendom.’ And it very fittingly deserves that title too. Apparently one Edward Perronet wrote the lyrics while he was a missionary in India, some where in the mid 18th century, and there have been several tunes associated with it. But let’s sing the one we know and LOVE!
So in unison, powerfully, in warmth of heart and true sincerity, let’s sing. (smile) ‘All hail the power of Jesus’ Name! Let angels prostrate fall; Bring forth the royal diadem, And crown him, crown him, crown him, And crown him Lord of all. Ye seed of Israel’s chosen race, Ye ransomed of the fall, Hail him who saves you by his grace, And crown him, crown him, crown him, And crown him Lord of all.
Let ev’ry kindred, ev’ry tribe, On this terrestrial ball, To him all majesty ascribe, And crown him, crown him, crown him, And crown him Lord of all. O that with yonder sacred throng We at his feet may fall; We’ll join the everlasting song, And crown him, crown him, crown him, And crown him Lord of all.’
Yes mih people! What a fitting name and position for our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ – LORD OF ALL! And He’s definitely earned it! As mere mortals, we can’t offer up any more fitting praise because our minds are so puny and finite, thus our vocabulary is small.
But we all know and greatly appreciate the fact that He died on the cross at Calvary to save us, to blot out our awful sins and pay the penalty we owed, thus allowing us to once again have serious and sincere communication with Almighty God!
What a mighty and LOVING man He was…and still is…and ALWAYS will be! NO ONE ELSE could have borne our sins…and please note, He didn’t have to, but because the Father, who LOVED us so much, asked Him to, He did!
Fellow believers, I don’t know if we truly realize how much our heavenly Father, our Creator really LOVES us nuh, or the awesome act that Jesus performed on our behalf. Here how Bruh Paul puts it to the Roman church nuh: ‘For when we were yet without strength, in due time (at the right time) Christ died for the ungodly.
For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure (perhaps) for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his LOVE (demonstrates His own LOVE) toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom.5:6-8)
Ah friends, that ought to drive home to us just how much our Creator and His wonderful Son LOVE and want us to spend eternity with them! Most of the other supposed deities would expect us to repent and come to them first…but not our great, omnipotent and merciful God! He paid the price for our sins first, before asking us to repent and come to Him! What a wonderful God we serve and worship my faithful brethren!
However, church is calling now, I’ve got to go and do a li’l worshipping myself (smile) so I’ll have to leave you for a spell. Soon come…
We back! The troika made it safely there and back. Some of the roads weren’t clean when we left, but most were by the time we returned. And most importantly, a good time was had at church; we raised up Jesus’ name, just like we’re doing in the Bit today. Yes friends, there’s nothing more refreshing and worthwhile than thanking and praising Jesus for all He’s done for us, is still doing, and has promised to continue doing.
Here is this awesome scripture from Bruh Paul to the Philippians explaining the Father’s response to the Son’s selfless sacrifice. ‘And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
That at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of (those) things in heaven, and (those) things in the earth, and (those) things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil.2:8-11)
And all God’s people shouted a loud, proud and grateful: ‘Glory Hallelujah! Glory to the Lamb that was slain for our abominations! All praise and honour to His gracious Name that is now exalted above every other name, in heaven on earth, and even beneath the earth! And also that every knee should bow to Him and call Him Lord!’
Oh friends, yuh see how the Father lifted up Jesus for being obedient to His will? Well, He will do the same for each and everyone of us who shows Him obeisance and obedience. We don’t have to sacrifice our lives, because Jesus has done that once and for all. We just have to believe in His Son, read His holy word and be obedient to it. And a crown of glory will eventually be in the offing for us.
It’s all laid out there for us on a silver platter; we just have to make the decision to receive it. Let’s show some wisdom and accept it today nuh! Much LOVE!
…there are no sweeter words to the ear…than on entering heaven…to hear Jesus say…Welcome, thou good and faithful servant…
13 Oct 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a warning, a word of warning to the wise, ambassadors of Christ, Anselm, aspires to inspire, between top and bottom, blaring forth, blaspheme, buckle down, cast out, cold winter months, compassion, compromise, dazzling the world, devastated, divisions, doesn't speak well of us, eccentric way, establish a balance, feuding, final message, flavouring the world, Florida, friend, gives light, glorify your father in heaven, golden yellow, good for nothing, gospel truth, humour, Hurricane Michael, in Jesus' name, kick around, leading the parade, let your light so shine, life is an experiment, light, light a candle, like a football, lost his flavour, LOVE Revolution, magificent examples, mission in life, Mother Nature, natural disasters, negative situations, omnipotent, our sinful ways, oust God from our society, passion, peaks, refreshing, renewing, repent, resentment, salt, saltiness, saps the energy, see your good works, Sermon on the Mount, set on a hill, sitting on our laurels, style, the hand of God, the light of the world, the more the merrier, the near future, the salt of the earth, the values of life, thrive, to survive, to the unbeliever, tough times, trodden underfoot, true calling, under a bushel, up to scratch, valleys, waste one hour of life, work itself out for good
Matthew 5:13a & 14a. Ye are the salt of the earth… Ye are the light of the world…
And Saturday has dawned somewhat cloudy, chilly and damp from early evening drizzle. And in Mother Nature’s eccentric way, a lot of the trees that only two days ago I said were surprisingly still green, are now almost all golden yellow. She’s delivered the final message; it’s time to buckle down for the cold winter months ahead. And we, people of God, should also be heeding Mother Nature’s missive, because I believe we’ll be in for some rather tough times in the near future.
And talking about tough times, I was negligent in mentioning Hurricane Michael that devastated parts of Florida a couple days ago. It came up suddenly, did, it’s dirty work and was gone again. Please let’s pray for those unfortunate people, and do whatever else we can to help them. But that might just be the pattern of natural disasters, or really any kind of disaster that might soon befall us.
You’ll notice how disasters of all kinds have happened all over the world this year with surprising regularity. I don’t want to read too much into it, but friends, if we are wise, we will at least suspect the hand of our omnipotent God somewhere about in them, sending us a warning, to repent from our sinful ways.
I don’t know if the world has ever been this evil, adding to the fact that we’re trying so desperately to oust God from our society. Do you think He’ll just sit quietly by and let it happen? I doubt it. But that’s just a word of warning to the wise.
And since today is Saturday, let’s look at some of the quotes that our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And first up is this: ‘All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.’ I’m not so sure about that nuh.
Yes, life is indeed experimental; you have to try stuff to see if it works for you. But I truly wonder if the more experiments we try, the merrier, or better off we are? I think at some stage, when we find our true calling, that the experimenting must either cease or slow down.
Then there is this: ‘A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.’ Now that’s basically true, but some will need a definition of wasting time before they agree, since to them doing nothing, is not always a waste of time, sometimes it can be a means of refreshing and renewing oneself. But generally speaking, just letting time fly by, and it does fly by, without doing positive and productive stuff, even if it’s simply regenerating oneself, isn’t a wise way to use it.
Now hear this quote: ‘All of life is peaks and valleys. Don’t let the peaks get too high and the valleys too low.’ That makes sense. We can’t afford to be moving too often from top to bottom, because that just saps the energy and spirit of our souls. We need to try and establish a nice balance between the good times and the rough times, plus don’t stay down too long, or fly too high before we develop wings. (smile)
And the last quote says: ‘My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.’
Now that is gospel truth my brethren! We were not placed down here to merely survive, to go about like ‘poor me ones,’ but to be salt and light and magnificent examples to the unbeliever: in other words to be excellent ambassadors of Christ. As Jesus so adamantly stated in His famous Sermon on the Mount: ‘Ye are the salt of the earth… Ye are the light of the world…’
Yes friends, that’s what Christ’s followers are expected to be; full of vim and vigour, showing their excellence in all matters, leading the parade in His name! Now are we leading the parade in Jesus’ name, my fellow believers? I don’t think so nuh, otherwise the evil-doers would not be having the upper hand in the world today, and we’d not be trying like hell to kick Christ out of our society.
That just shows we’re not on top of things. We seem to be more like how Christ described flavourless salt: ‘but if the salt has lost his savour (flavour), wherewith (by what) shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden underfoot of men’ (Matt.5:13b) Likewise: ‘A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle (lamp), and put it under a bushel (basket); and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.’ (Matt.5:14b-15)
Now if those two negative situations Jesus describes are true of us in these trying times, then it doesn’t speak well of us my believing brethren. And sadly, there is a whole lot of truth to it! Our efforts for Christ are simply not up to scratch; there are too many divisions, too much petty resentment and feuding between so-called believers, plus too much compromise with the heathen, and too much of just sitting on our laurels and figuring everything will just work itself out for good.
No friends, winning souls for Christ, and the world for His LOVE Revolution WILL not happen without our saltiness and light blaring forth, dazzling the entire world!
Now listen to Jesus final words on the subject. ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.5:16)
Yes friends, that’s how true believers ought to be behaving, so that God can be glorified! Remember that’s our chief mission here on earth! So let’s pull up our socks and go out and do better for Jesus nuh mih breddren! Don’t you feel bad that we’re letting the world blaspheme His holy name and kick Him around like a bloody football, after all He’s done for us? We ought to! Much LOVE!
…if you’re not flavouring the world with your saltiness…and dazzling them with your light…then you’re a poor ambassador for Christ…
12 Sep 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a flood, a glorious future with Jesus, a righteous man, Advocate, anxious, arrogant, authority, availeth much, be careful for nothing, believers, below our noses, benefits, blessing, bold face, brash, care, Christ's obedience, Christian behaviour, christianity, come boldly, come to God, comfort, communicate, confidently, destroy the world, devastation, Elijah, end times, eternal life, evil world, eyes fixed straight ahead, find grace, glad to be alive, glory to God, halfway home, high priest, holy spirit, humility, hurricane Florence, in time of need, inherent sinful nature, Jesus, joint-heirs, know our place, like passions, LOVE, made known to God, makes sense, merits, need for prayer, Noah, North Carolina, not turning back, obtain mercy, percolating, power of prayer, powerful tool, pray, pray without ceasing, prayed earnestly, prayer, privilege, provision, repent, repentance, requests, salvation, sell the caffeine, shenanigans, sincere hearts, sinful, sinful men, sovereign God, supplication, thanksgiving, the armour of God, the breath of life, the effectual fervent prayer, the only answer, the throne of grace, ungodly times, uppermost in our lives, water, Wednesday Wail, wrath
James 5:16b. The effectual (effective) fervent prayer (supplication) of a righteous man availeth much.
Aye mih people, it looks like a glorious day is in the offing in my neighbourhood! Glory to God! But all of us are not that blessed, like the people of North Carolina who are expecting Florence, a category 4 hurricane to bombard them sometime soon.
But all most of us can do is pray for them. So let’s do that nuh! Let’s plead with the Lord to lessen the power of the storm, lessen His wrath, and even turn it away from making landfall, because we definitely don’t need any more devastation than what we already have.
What does the Good Book say? ‘Confess your faults (trespasses) one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual (effective) fervent prayer (supplication) of a righteous man availeth much. Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are (with a nature like ours), and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth fruit.’ (James 5:16 18)
Yeh friends, that’s the power of prayer…unless the Lord is really tired and fed up with our sinful and ungodly shenanigans. Who knows? But as Bruh Paul wisely advised the Philippians: ‘Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.’ (Phil.4:6)
Then to the Thessalonians he said: ‘Pray without ceasing.’ (1 Thess.5:17) That means prayer is ever so important my brethren! In fact it’s the most powerful tool we believers have in our arsenal. Yuh see, that even when you put on the armour of God, it’s not effective unless prayer accompanies it. (Eph.6:18)
And we’re ever so blessed through Christ’s obedience to God’s will, that as joint heirs with Him, we can ‘come boldly (confidently) unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.’ (Heb. 4:16) Oh what a wonderful blessing and privilege that is my fellow believers!
But we need to be careful, for when the Good Book says boldly, it doesn’t mean brash, bold face and arrogant, but with confidence and a suitable amount of humility because we’re going before Almighty God, the Creator and Controller of the universe and we must know our place. (smile)
I like how the scholars put it: ‘4:16. Only Christianity provides such boldness for sinful men before a holy God, and that boldness is possible only because of our High Priest (Jesus) The throne suggests a place of authority and provision. It is the place to obtain God’s grace when it is especially needed.’
And do we ever need God’s grace and mercy in these sinful and ungodly times friends! So prayer should be uppermost in our lives, even more than usual. It’s the only way we have to communicate with our sovereign God. So please let’s get busy nuh!
But along with the prayer must come some repentance and desire to stop being as sinful as we are and be obedient to God’s will. We obviously can’t be as obedient as Jesus was, because of our inherent sinful nature, but we all know that we can be better, even we believers can be much better. And if we are better and the world sees it, then the world will become better too.
And that’s all we’re seeking my brethren; the betterment of the world, through our Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus! That’s why He came to earth and sacrificed His sinless life, and asked those who believe in Him to help Him make the world a better place. We surely aren’t doing that by our less than true Christian behaviour, not walking out talk like we should, and making the world turn away from Jesus, even to the point of blaspheming Him.
That’s not right my people! As His disciples and ambassadors we have a bounden duty to show the world, through our lives, the vast merits and benefits available in turning to Him for salvation, care, comfort and eternal life!
Hn, hn, hn! Ah mih people, it’s one of those days when the Holy Spirit just let the ole fella loose to do his thing. So I hope it all makes sense. I guess what I’m trying to advocate is the great importance of and need for prayer in our daily lives, both as individuals and as the church, the body of Christ, especially in these sinful end times.
Remember the last time the world got so sinful, in the days of Noah, that the Lord couldn’t take anymore and He destroyed it by flood? And yes, He promised Noah that ‘the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.’ (Gen.9:15b) But friends, the Lord never promised not to destroy the world again, just not by water.
So let’s wake up and smell the caffeine nuh; it’s percolating ever so strongly right below our very noses All is not right in our world, far from it, and we need to come to God in repentance without further ado, for who knows how much longer He will withhold His wrath on this evil world of ours?
Now let’s go home now declaring our Wednesday Wail, letting the world know our position in Christ. In strong voice with sincere hearts: ‘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!’
Oh friends, I implore us to think seriously on the matters we’ve spoken about and open up our hearts sincerely to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, for He is the ONLY answer to our many problems. Much LOVE!
…the future won’t be glorious for many of us…if we don’t repent and come to God …NOW…
16 Apr 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a change of conduct, a sense of sorrow, a word to the wise, all bets are off, aura of love, bad weather, be born again, Billy Bishop Airport, blasphemous attitude, Canada, commute, confidence, courage, crapaud smoke we pipe, energize, enthusiasm, eternal life, evil, explode, faith, friends, God's mercy, greater toronto area, high winds, humble servants, ice, implode, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, leading man, lies, LOVE, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, power outages, rain, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, repent, repnetance, rest, rising temps, salvation, shining brightly, sleet, snow, spiritual armour, spread the message, steadfast faith, sufficient, talk to the world, taunts, the end times, the gulf of Mexico, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, the result of, the SON, the status quo, tornadoes, travel, trust, ungodly world, wiles, wisdom
Matthew 3:2. And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Well friends, it’s been a helluva weekend in North America! From the Gulf of Mexico all the way up to Canada, it’s been a succession of high winds, rain, snow, sleet, ice, tornadoes, and any other kind of bad weather one can experience, and it has caused havoc in all areas of life, especially travel and power outages. And in some places in the U.S it hasn’t eased up yet.
In the Greater Toronto Area we had mostly ice, high winds and rain, and outside still looks like the frozen tundra of the Arctic. At one stage at the Billy Bishop Airport in Toronto they experienced winds of 90 km/h per hour. Wow! Why would one want to be flying, or even be out in winds that strong eh? Let’s hope that the rising temps today along with the rain will melt and wash away all of that ice.
I can imagine the state of the commute this morning. And the warning still stands; if you don’t have to go out, don’t go out. And yuh better believe I’m going to take my advice, because I have a doctor’s appointment in the city at lunchtime, but I can guarantee you it’s not happening. Anyway, enough about the weather, let’s turn to our faith, which helps us to handle the inclement stuff.
And this is one day that we definitely need our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to raise our adrenalin level as we contemplate the severe negative aspects of getting to work safely. So with sincere heart and strong voice, let’s sing:
‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Now that ought to raise our level of confidence and courage and energize us this dreadful looking morning. And please remember that regardless of the outward circumstances, the SON is still shining brightly, and is always there to help us in whatever area we may need it.
Now let’s turn to our Bit: ‘And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Yeh friends, those were the warning words of John the Baptist as he began his ministry foretelling the coming of Jesus. And I think we’d do well to seriously consider them in these evil and ungodly times. Too many out of the ordinary things and circumstances are happening all over the world for them to be just coincidence or happenstance.
And as believers, we know that NOTHING just happens by accident or chance, the hand of the Lord is always involved somehow or the other. And remember how He destroyed the world when it was so sinful in the time of Noah? Well He only promised not to destroy it by water again – possibly by fire and brimstone next time. And it just seems that we’re playing with a lot of fire and explosive material these days.
A lot of destructive stuff is happening in these especially sinful times, and I just wonder if the Lord is not giving us a not so subtle message to beware, He’s getting fed up with our endless shenanigans and trying to rid our society of His presence. Friends, I’m suggesting that we be safe, rather than sorry, and REPENT, give up our evil ways and return to the Lord’s fold.
As the scholars explain: ‘3:2. Repent (Gr. metanoeo) means a change of mind that results in a change of conduct. Repentance is not merely sorrow. It involves a complete change of attitude regarding God and sin and is often accompanied by a sense of sorrow and a corresponding change in conduct. Such repentance does not arise in man himself, but is the result of God’s mercy in leading man to it. (Acts 5:31; Rom.2:4; 2 Tim.2:25).’
Oh my people, please look at those scriptures and let them work in our hearts, for the end times are drawing nigh, and if we are not prepared then salvation and eternal life will be denied us, and that’s the worst thing that could ever happen to a human being.
The world is too sinful and ungodly for the Lord to put up with it much longer. And if we keep going the way we are, with or without His help, we’ll either implode or explode. But the status quo cannot last much longer. Remember too, that Jesus can return at any time, like a thief in the night, and once He comes back, all bets are off.
So it behooves us, believers, to talk to the world, to spread the message, to get it ready. Saying, let’s repent, let’s change our sinful, blasphemous attitude towards our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, be born again, and accept His free offer through grace, of salvation and eternal life. That’s the wisest and best offer going! Otherwise…crapaud smoke we pipe! Much LOVE!
…a word to the wise is sufficient…
11 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 99th anniversary, a better tomorrow, abuse trust, aggressive, Alexis Helmer, almighty god, an eraser, angry, Anselm, any good thing, anything is possible, Armistice Day, be wise, blessed, break faith, chances, chastened, confess, contrite hearts, cover ups, crosses, disobedience, failing hands, fallen dead, fallen world, fear the Lord, felt dawn, First world war, forgive, forgiven, forsake, glory, glory to God, grace, hold it high, honesty, honour, In Flanders Fields, inpsire us, Jesus Christ, John McCrae, lack, larks, leave, life's too short, limitations, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, loved, making mistakes, mankind's fall, modus operandi, no good thing, no want, onipotent god, overlays, peace, penitent, poppies, poppies grow, quarrel, ravages of war, refusal, Remembrance Day, repent, restore, row on row, saints, saw sunset glow, Second world war, see, seek the Lord, shield, smaller, success, suffer hunger, sun, takes control, taste, the dead, the foe, the Great War, the Lord God, the Lord hears the righteous, The Lord is good, the torch, think big, trust, Veterans Day, walk uprightly, war, war-like, warmongering nature, waste of human life, we shall not sleep, wisdom, withhold, young lions
Psalm 84:11. For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
HAPPY ARMISTICE, REMEMBRANCE, VETERAN’S DAY!
Yeh friends, it’s the 99th anniversary of the Great War; the First World War; the war that was supposed to end ALL WAR! Hn! But they didn’t count on the Second World War less than 30 years later.
And I seriously doubt that war will ever disappear from man’s agenda until our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ returns in all His splendiferous glory and takes control, for mankind from his fall, has been an angry, war-like animal. Peace and LOVE are only overlays, cover ups for his naturally aggressive and warmongering nature.
In the United Kingdom they call it Armistice Day, in Canada Remembrance Day and in the U. S of A, Veteran’s Day. And we honour our fallen dead by wearing poppies on our clothes during this sad time of remembrance and awful waste of human life.
And all over the world, this most famous war memorial poem, In Flanders’ Fields, is read on this day. It was written by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae in May 1915, on the battlefields of Belgium, after the death and burial of one of his friends, Alexis Helmer by a German shell.
Please remember with me: ‘In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place: and in the sky The larks still bravely singing fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the dead: Short days ago, We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, LOVED and were LOVED: and now we lie In Flanders fields!
Take up our quarrel with the foe To you, from failing hands, we throw The torch: be yours to hold it high If ye break faith with us who die, We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.’
Ah mih people, sadly, there are even more quarrels and foes than when this poem was written. Man has not learned anything from the ravages of war. But we won’t linger on the topic of war, instead we’ll turn to a more uplifting subject, quotes from our friend Anselm, who sincerely aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow.
Here is the first one: ‘I Am Thankful For All Of Those Who Said, “No” To Me. It’s Because Of Them I’m Doing It Myself.’ And in some respects I can attest to that, because some of the things I am doing for myself now are because others didn’t want to do them for me. Refusal often leads to your getting up and doing stuff yourself.
But in saying that, we have to realize that ‘Success Does Not Consist In Never Making Mistakes, But In Never Making The Same One A Second Time.’ We all make mistakes, but when we keep making the same one(s) over and over, then something’s definitely wrong with our modus operandi.
That leads us to this next quote: ‘Your Life Only Gets Better When You Get Better.’ Truth in a nutshell people! Then there is this one: ‘Think Big And Don’t Listen To People Who Tell You It Can’t Be Done. Life’s Too Short To Think Small.’
Now there is much to be said for that, but to a certain extent we also have to recognize our limitations, although with our awesome and omnipotent God, anything at all is possible. Glory to God!
And I like this last quote: ‘Trust is like an eraser, it gets smaller and smaller after every mistake.’ Now isn’t that the gospel truth! Every time we abuse the trust others have in us, the supply gets lower, until it just plain runs out, and they don’t trust us anymore, regardless of what we say or do.
In fact, we’re lucky to get more than one chance at that state of trust. The only place where second, third, fourth and even fifth chances are possible without condemnation and disgrace is with the Lord God Almighty, Maker of heaven, earth and all therein.
As our Bit tells us: ‘For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.’
But even then, in general, He expects us to walk in His will, not in disobedience all of the time. But you do have chances to repent and confess and be forgiven. And though His trust in you won’t diminish, you will feel the consequences of disobedience, you will be chastened in some form and fashion.
But He will NEVER leave you nor forsake you! You have His ever-faithful promise on that. As Bruh David so rightly declares in Psalm 34 – The Lord hears the righteous.
‘O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want (lack) to them that fear him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want (lack) any good thing.’ (Ps.34:8-10)
Oh friends, it couldn’t be put any simpler than that. So today, as we remember the fallen, and ponder the unfortunate ravages of war, let’s be wise nuh, try and walk uprightly, and reach out to our God with penitent and contrite hearts; seek Him in all honesty, so that He can bless and forgive and restore our fallen world. That is heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!
…seek…knock…ask…and you will be answered…
03 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a drunken sailor, a word of warning, acloholic beverages, balanced, be not proud, Bible, blessed day, blow yuh mind, bring an offering, come into his courts, cotton to sin, crapaud smoke we pipe, dark mountains, darkness, disasters, earthly life, fear, fellowship, fight the good fight, flow like water, food plentiful, Friday chant, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, generous help, Gentiles, give ear, give glory to the Lord, give unto the Lord, glory and strength, glory due his name, go overboard, God is faithful, God's generosity, God's sensibilities, guidance, guide book, hear ye, holiness, immortal words, in Jesus' name, Israel, Jeremiah, judge the people, licentious, look for light, move away from sin, on the serious side, partying, praise God, ready for the weekend, realistic, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, repent, rest, resting, righteously, sensible, shadow of death, sin, sinful, soul body and mind, sufficent to the wise, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, thankful, the bass line, the Good Book, the heathen, the Lord hath spoken, the Lord reigns, the music loud and heavy, the waters, the workingman, there comes a time, thumping through yuh heart, to heel, tremble, tribute, ungodliness, ungodly, vices, warning signs, warnings, week of work, weekends, well-balanced lives, worship the Lord, wrath, your feet stumble
Jeremiah 13:15. Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken.
Add another one friends! Yes, add another blessed day to your earthy life. The Lord’s just overwhelming in His generosity towards us, for which we ought to be thankful. And it’s Friday too, thus the workingman is singing his song.
‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday… And am I ever ready for the weekend! The waters (alcoholic beverages) going to flow like water…the food’s going to be so plentiful that it’ll just blow yuh mind… and the music loud and heavy, with the bass line just thumping through yuh heart… Bredder! It going to be a great weekend of simply partying….party, party, party! Thank God for Fridays and weekends oui!’
Ah mih people, I don’t know about you all nuh, but I simply cannot handle that much partying…and I definitely don’t want that bass line thumping through my chest. I’ve felt it already, and it’s not a pleasant sensation.
On the serious side though, all of that is just too much. Where is our Maker in all of it eh? Shouldn’t we find some time for Him in all the ‘kerfuffle’ of the weekend? Surely we should!
What about resting and getting ourselves ready to go back out next week and fight the good fight eh? None of that is contained in the workingman’s song, but there certainly is need for it, if we are to live well-balanced, godly lives.
That’s why our Friday Chant is a much better tribute to the weekend. So let’s sing it with much gusto now nuh. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
That’s much more realistic and sensible and doesn’t go overboard in any one direction, but keeps us balanced in God’s sensibilities. And it brings us to our Bit for today: ‘Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken.’
And yuh know what friends, until just now, I had no idea what the Bit would be. But as usual, I asked for guidance and then opened the Good Book… And lo and behold it opened unto the book of Jeremiah, and those were the first words that caught my eye.
Yuh see how our God is faithful! And today He didn’t even have me searching for long. (smile) Some days He does though. So, as I keep saying, He won’t ask you to do something without giving you the wherewithal to do it.
And in this particular case, though Jeremiah was having problems communicating with his people Israel, the Lord was still putting immortal words in his mouth. This section deals with Israel being like a drunken sailor come ashore; like the workingman above, with sin and virulent vice and ungodliness rampant in the nation.
Therefore Jeremiah is crying out to his people, the warning words of their God. ‘Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.’ (Jer.13:16)
Oh my people, I believe the Lord is giving us the same warning today, because there’s no doubt that our world is as sinful, ungodly and licentious as that of Israel back then. I’ll even wager that we are worse than them. And if the Bible is our Guide Book for earthly living, then we ought to pay careful attention to such words of warning anytime our world parallels those gone before.
And moreover, I believe that all the natural and man-made disasters that have been recently befalling our world are also warning signs from God. We can sit down and debate and contemplate all we want, but the truth of the matter is that Almighty God exists, and He does not cotton to sin in any society in His universe.
And eventually, there comes a time, after giving that society time to repent and move away from their sinfulness, that He unleashes His awesome wrath on selfsame society, and either brings them to heel, or wipes them out completely.
We just have to go back through history to see the many societies which became powerful and sinful, and not worshipping Holy God, that eventually became extinct. Some of them were so violently and rapidly wiped off the map, that we have very little information or artifacts from their ascendancy here on earth.
Oh my people, all I’m saying is that it’s better to be safe than sorry. Let’s take in front before in front takes us nuh. Let’s take God’s warnings seriously and change our sinful ways, before He obliterates us in His anger.
As the psalmist recommends in Psalm 96 – A call to praise God: Let’s ‘Give (ascribe) unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give (ascribe) unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts.
O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear (tremble) before him, all the earth. Say among the heathen (gentiles) that the Lord reigneth: the world also shall be (is firmly) established that it shall not be moved (shaken): he shall judge the people righteously.’ (Ps.96.7-10)
All I can say friends, is that for our own sakes, we had better take that wise advice, otherwise…crapaud will eventually smoke we pipe! Much LOVE!
…a word of warning to the wise…is sufficient…
23 Oct 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a wily general, all the way, Andrew, aura of love, charles stanley, confidence, consequences, disasters, disobedience, do battle, energy, enthusiasm, eternal life, evil, evil foes, face the world, fishers of men, follow me, friends, gentle, get in line, giant, glorious kingdom, glory hallelujah, glory to God, godless ways, grace, he saith unto them, holy spirit, humble servants, in the thick of the fray, invincible, James John, Jesus Christ, Jesus' business, lay the groundwork, leader, left their nets, lies, lordship of Christ, LOVE, loving, magnanimous offer, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, obedience, obeisant, obey God, Peter, raise our spirits, reaction, reconitre the situation, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, repent, rest, reveille, salvation, sense of purpose, soldiers, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, surrender, taunts, truth, turn back to God, ungodly world, up and at them, wiles, wisdom, Zebedee
Matthew 4:19. And he saith unto them, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
Spananananana! Awake oh friends, the bugle calls reveille; time to be up and at them on this glorious Monday morn. (smile) True soldiers can’t afford to sleep in when the battle awaits. So let’s be up and about Jesus’ business! Let’s get in line as He arrays His troops in battle formation, so He can then go before us to reconitre the situation and lay the groundwork for today’s battle.
What a wily General we follow my fellow believers. There’s NEVER been one like Him; neither will there EVER be another in His class. He is in a class all by Himself. That’s why we follow Him. And for those of us finding it difficult to get ourselves together, here is something to raise our spirits and help us find the energy we need to face the world.
So in strong voice, let’s proclaim our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Now we’re cooking friends! I can see us finally coming alive, as a strong sense of purpose rises up in our souls and spirits. That conversation with Jesus has miraculously put us over the top. Now we’re ready to go out and do battle against our evil foes, with Jesus fighting right beside us.
Glory be, my brethren! What a leader we have! One who doesn’t just send us out to fight His battles, while He remains back at HQ, safe and comfortable, but a leader who fights right alongside of us, in the thick of the fray, all the day and all the way!
Wow! No wonder we LOVE and admire and exalt Him so much! He is the kind of Leader who brings out the very best in us; truly inspires us to aspire to greater things, when we receive His magnanimous offer, His free gift of salvation and eternal life. What a giant is our Jesus! And a gentle and LOVING one at that too! That means we have everything we need in Him! We need No One or Nothing beside Him! Glory Hallelujah!
Just look at the unnatural reaction those early disciples had to our Bit. ‘And he saith unto them, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ Peter and his brother Andrew were fishermen and were casting their net into the sea when Jesus passed by and made that offer. And it’s truly interesting to see what happened immediately thereafter. The Good Book tells us: ‘And they straightway left their nets and followed him.’ (Matt.4:20)
Now why would they just give up their livelihood to follow this, poor, itinerant Rabbi eh? Most of us would not have done something so drastic when there seemed to be no good reason for it. But that’s not the best part of the story. The Good Book continues: ‘And going on from thence, he (Jesus) saw two other brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.’ (Matt.4:21-22)
And what would entice four grown men, of apparently sane and sound mind to just give up their successful fishing business to follow a man whom they knew nothing about eh? Who knows, they must have heard something in His voice, or saw something in His demeanour, His heavenly aura might even have overcome their spirits. Or, as the scholars say: ‘The statement in verse 22 that they immediately responded to His call gives us the perfect picture of true obedience to the lordship of Christ.’
Yes my fellow believers, our response to Jesus should be immediate. As Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) likes to say: ‘Obedience is doing what Christ says, when He says and how He says.’ Anything else is disobedience, which will have negative consequences. However friends, in these godless and evil days, the majority of mankind doesn’t seem at all interested in being obedient or obeisant to their Creator.
That’s obviously not a good sign, for as we said above, disobedience brings negative consequences. And I truly believe that the disasters, natural as well as man-made, that are currently besieging our world is God’s response to our bold-face disobedience. You might not believe me, but the only way to find out is for the majority of us to cease our evil and godless ways, repent, turn back to God and receive His wonderful offer of salvation and eternal life. Now that is wisdom to the nth degree! Much LOVE!
…obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him… (Uncle Charles)
09 Oct 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 24/7 society, a wake up call, a warning, aura of love, Babylon, blessings, bondage, boundary, calamity, Christians, Columbus Day, confidence, covenant, disaster, drink the sweet, drunk or sober, earthly journey, eat and drink, eat the fat, Egypt, enthusiasm, evil, feasting, festivity, for whom nothing is prepared, forsake our evil ways, freedom, friends, from whom all blessings flow, generosity, giving thanks, glorious kingdom, go your way, God's Word, good graces of almighty God, grace, Granny's warning, holy spirit, humble servants, hurricane Nate, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, lies, Louisiana, LOVE, magnanamity, mind your business, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, neither be ye sorry, praise God, recovery, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, repent, rest, salvation, send portions, sharing mode, showered down, spiritual armour, standard of living, steadfast faith, taunts, thanks and praise, Thanksgiving Day, the goodness of God, the joy of the Lord is your strength, the power to get wealth, this day is holy, trials, tribulations, truth, undisputed God, ungodly world, wiles, wisdom
Nehemiah 8:10. Then he said unto them, go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
So friends, it’s Monday…But the good news is that both in Canada and the U.S it’s a public holiday. In the U.S it’s Columbus Day, celebrating the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas in the 1490’s. Meanwhile, in Canada, we’re celebrating our Thanksgiving Day with feasting and festivity, and hopefully thanks and praise to Almighty God for all the blessings He’s recently showered down on our land.
Let’s also be thankful that hurricane Nate did not do much damage to the part of Louisiana that it passed over yesterday. Ah Lord eh! Hopefully this will be the last storm for this year, for the area could not handle much more disaster. Don’t forget to include in our prayers those who have recently suffered serious setbacks and that they are on their way to recovery and rebuilding their lives. Remember too the ones who are still undergoing trials and tribulations.
And let’s hope that all this unexpected calamity serves as a wake-up call for us to repent, to forsake our evil ways and get back into the good graces of Almighty God, for it’s difficult not to consider the unparalleled circumstances that have recently afflicted us as a warning from Him. So let’s pray that we will take the warning to heart and wisely make amends for our sinful ways, and once again make Him the undisputed God of our society.
Anyway, it’s Monday, which means that in our 24/7 society, some people must go to work, regardless of the public holiday, and there’s no time harder to get up and go out to labour than on days like these, when the majority of people are off. So let’s send them out on a high note with a wonderful rendition of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn.
In strong voice now, with lots of enthusiasm: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
And as always, the voices of those not going out to work are the loudest and most raucous since many of us have already been celebrating for the past couple days. (smile) And whether you like it or not, I have to remind us of Granny’s warning; that drunk or sober we need to mind our business very closely, as too much celebrating can make us cross over the Christian boundary line without even noticing it, thus giving the enemy a gleeful chance to invade our space, something we want to avoid at all costs.
That brings us to our Bit, the words of Nehemiah to the people of Israel after they had rebuilt Jerusalem and had heard for the first time God’s Word read from His Holy Book by the scribe Ezra. ‘Then he said unto them, go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’
It was indeed a day of rejoicing for those Israelites, many of whom had recently returned from captivity in Babylon and were enjoying freedom for the first time in many a day, if not the first time in their lives. We should also be in rejoicing and sharing mode, but more importantly, making sure that we give God His rightful deserts of thanks and praise for bringing us to this high standard of living, for it’s only through His generosity and magnanimity that it’s possible.
Remember what we sang yesterday? ‘Praise God from whom all blessings flow…’ And that’s the truth in spades! For as the Good Book tells us: ‘But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish (confirm) his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.’ (Deut.8:18)
Yeh friends, the Lord brought Israel out of bondage in Egypt and kept them in the wilderness for forty years, then enabled them to go into the Promised Land and take it over. Without His help, none of that would have been possible. Likewise without God’s help, our current prosperity would not have ever been realized.
So I’m imploring us, that as we gather today, with friends, families and neighbours, let’s spend some time remembering and talking about the goodness of God towards us, and giving Him appropriate thanks and praise, glorifying and exalting His precious name, for each and every one of us has so many things to be thankful to God for in this our earthly journey. We didn’t reach this stage of evolution through our own efforts, but through God’s blessings. Consequently we ought to show the necessary gratitude. Much LOVE!
…it’s not about eating and drinking…but giving thanks…to be able to eat and drink…there is a big difference…
21 Sep 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a message, a sound mind, armour, be not afraid, calamity, Christian, comfort me, complain, Controller, covenant relationship, creativity, Creator, curse, death, devastating consequences, disappointments, disasters, discouraged, disobedience, earthquakes, faith, fear, fear not, for what we still have, generously sharing, give thanks, glorify God, God will work everything out for good, going forward, haunt us, hope, hurricanes, I will fear no evil, little flock, LOVE, magnify, man-made idols, negative word, no other gods before me, not mourn over what we've lost, obedient to God's Word, overcome, pagan gods, power, prosper, remove God, repent, securely planted, stand strong, strayed away, succeed, surrendering to God, talent, terror, the Good Book, the spirit of fear, the valley of the sahdow of death, the wages of sin, the wicked, the word of jesus, Thusrday Blessings, thy confidence, thy rod and thy staff, to give you the kingdom, trust, turn back to God, whimper, Yahweh, your Father's good pleasure
Luke 12:32. Fear not little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Ah friends, though the disasters and their devastating effects continue to haunt us, we must ALWAYS remember to give thanks for what we still have, most importantly life, and not mourn too much over what we have lost.
It’s not easy going forward after the calamitous results of hurricanes and earthquakes, I can testify to that personally after experiencing hurricane Flora in 1963 in Tobago. But we have to move forward; that’s the only way that’s open to us.
And we can ONLY truly move forward my people by truly surrendering to Almighty God, our Creator and Controller, by putting our sincere faith and trust in Him, and being obedient to His word. Who knows if that is the message He’s trying to relay to us through all these disasters eh?
The wise thing to do would be to repent and turn back to Him, since we have strayed away from His fold and embraced pagan gods and man-made idols. And remember, from the very beginning, He commanded us in no uncertain manner: ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me.’ (Ex.20:3)
So although there have been numerous arguments as to what the words ‘before me,’ actually mean, the long and short of the story is simply as the scholars put it: ‘Thus the first commandment teaches that no deity, real or imagined, is to rival the one true God, who is the only One who matters. It demands an exclusive covenant relationship with Yahweh (cf.Ps.81:9-10).
And we all know that we have not kept that covenant relationship, and the Good Book further tells us that ‘the wages of sin is death.’ (Rom.6:23) So that means all kinds of consequences are possible, up to and including both physical and spiritual death, for our blatant disobedience and intense desire to remove Him from all aspects of our society.
Now the good thing about being in true covenant with Almighty God is that in times of trouble and disaster we need not be afraid. Oh we must be concerned, but bone-chilling fear is not necessary since the Lord has made several faithful promises to believers, including that He will eventually work everything out for our good.
So, tough times and calamity are to be expected, but with the word of Jesus securely planted in our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, we can stand strong and overcome whatever comes against us.
Listen to Jesus’ words in our Bit, as He talks to His audience about care and anxiety. He tells them to first seek God’s kingdom and not the things of the world, because when they do, God will give them all that they need. Then He reassures them: ‘Fear not little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.’
Now would Jesus lie to us? Certainly not! But we have to first believe in Him, and obey His commandments, and that is exactly what we are not doing in this ungodly society. Fear is no part of the Christian’s armour or ammunition. Our weapon is FAITH!
Listen to Bruh Paul to his protégé Timothy. ‘For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound mind.’ (2 Tim.1:7) So once Jesus lives in us, we should not be overwhelmed by fear.
And all of us know and often claim this famous verse of Bruh David’s words from Psalm 23: ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.’ (Ps.23:4)
So why are we so quick to whimper and complain and fall apart when troubles befall us eh? Is it that we don’t truly believe? Who knows?
But here are a few more comforting words, this time from Cousin Sol. ‘Be not afraid of sudden fear (terror), neither of the desolation of (trouble from) the wicked, when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken (caught).’ (Prov.3:25-26)
The problem is friends, that we have to learn to deal with disappointments without being discouraged, without thinking we’re failures, but to have faith and hope and get up and start all over again.
And why shouldn’t we be able to do that when our magnanimous God has been so beneficent towards us in our Thursday Blessings. Let’s declare them now, so that our spirits can be uplifted and we can magnify and glorify our great and wonderful God.
As one now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Now let’s continue by generously sharing these blessings with others, as Jesus desires of us. Much LOVE!
…oh…how blessed are believers in Christ…especially when they generously share their blessings…
17 May 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, all-pervasive God, assurance, be as wool, bright sunshine, calamity, Christ's Church, Christian doings, cleanse me, clenched fist, colourful abundance, condemnation, contradiction, courteous words, disaster, disobedience, escape, forgiving, generous approaches, get rid of God, glad to be alive, God's gracious invitation, God's Searchlight, grace shattered, guilt, hypocrisy, I'm not turning back, individual decision, let us reason together, light of revelation, LOVE, loving, masked motive, my hands are on the plough, obedient, One Year Book of Bible promises, out in full force, penetrating gaze, penitent heart, purify me, race of life, rebel, rebellion, red like crimson, refuse, remorse, repent, run and hide, Ruth Harms Calkin, selfish act, spring blossoms, strife, the beauty of nature, the breath of life, the Holy Spirit, the wonders of Jesus, war, Wednesday Wail, white as snow, wicked ways, willing, wisdom, your sins be as scarlet
Isaiah 1:18. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Well a fine Wednesday morning to you and yours my Scrip-Bit friends and family! Today has begun in brilliant fashion; bright sunshine, birds singing sweetly as they go about God’s work, and the new spring blossoms are also out in colourful abundance!
Wow! What a day it is when both the Sun and the SON are out in full force! There’s nothing to beat it! So please, let’s grab a hold of the beauty of nature and the wonders of Jesus and run with them nuh, run this glorious race of life in which we’re entered!
Now I’m going to spoil the mood some, (smile) by sharing this poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. When I read it recently, I couldn’t help but think how appropriate it is to so many of us believers. It’s titled ‘God ‘s Searchlight.’
Please pray with me. ‘O God If suddenly You were to reveal To my family, my friends, my neighbours Every real thought behind my courteous words If you were to point to my clenched fist While my other hand is openly extended
If you were to bring to light Every masked motive, every selfish act I would cringe with remorse And beg You to remove Your light of revelation. Yet, Lord, when the searchlight of the Holy Spirit Begins to reveal me to myself I so often close my eyes and turn my back In a frantic but impossible effort To escape Your penetrating gaze.
What a staggering contradiction, Lord What appalling hypocrisy. Apart from Your grace I am utterly shattered. I ask You to sweep through me Purify me, cleanse me completely. From the depth of my penitent heart I thank You for Your continual assurance
As I turn toward Your splintered cross: Because of Your LOVE I became Your child Because of Your grace I remain Your child.’
Ah friends, how genuinely that reflects so many of us a lot of the time! Our smiles and generous approaches aren’t always what they seem to be, neither are our outward motives.
And when the Lord deals with us on the matter, we try to run and hide. But remember, we can run, but we can NEVER hide from our all-pervasive God.
Yeh mih people, there is way too much hypocrisy in our Christian doings today. That’s one of the reasons why Christ’s church is having so many problems reaching and retaining members.
But our God is so wonderful, forgiving and LOVING, that this is what He says in answer to our cry. ‘Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’
Yes friends, that’s the Bible Promise for our ‘God’s Searchlight’ poem, as well as our Bit for today. How reassuring it is eh. It doesn’t condemn us, but offers us a chance to repent and change from our wicked ways.
And listen to how the Lord continues through Isaiah. ‘If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.’ (Is.1:19-20)
Simple and straight forward words of our God! You repent and become obedient, you prosper; you refuse and rebel, you suffer calamity.
And the sad part is that these are times of much rebellion and refusal to accept and be obedient to Almighty God! Instead of drawing closer to Him, we’re trying our very best to get rid of Him from our society.
Hn! No wonder there is so much calamity and disaster, so much war and strife in our world! Everybody seems to be up in arms against his or her fellow man. Now could that be because of our disobedience and rebellion?
You can bet your bottom dollar some of it is! God is trying to get our attention, but we’re too busy doing our own thing and going our own way to notice. However, listen to this explanation from the scholars re the verses above.
‘1:18-20. The prophet’s appeal to come and reason together reveals God’s gracious invitation to all men. It literally means to be “reasonable” by repenting and turning to God. Their sin is described as scarlet and red like crimson, referring to their bloodguiltiness before God.
The term ‘crimson’ also means “worm,” referring to the colourfast red dye of the scarlet worm. The eradication of this stain turns it snowy white and is symbolic of the life-changing grace of God, which delivers men from guilt and condemnation of sin. Thus the prophet reminds his readers that God stands ready to cleanse and forgive all who will turn to Him.’
Oh friends, I am also trying to remind us of God’s grace and mercy to all who will come to Him in repentance and obedience! But all I can do is put it before us, everyone has to make the decision individually whether to accept or reject it. I implore us though, to please accept it, because that is eternal wisdom.
Now for all of us who have accepted Jesus, let’s go home declaring with joy and contentment our Wednesday Wail. In unison now: ‘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!’
Oh doesn’t that just work wonders in our souls, my believing brethren! It certainly ought to. Much LOVE!
…only as one is surrounded by and ensconced in God’s LOVE…can one feel safe and secure…
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