The Overwhelming Importance of LOVE in Our World!

26 Oct 2024 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Matthew 22:37.        Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

Oh, it’s another sunshiny day in my area, though somewhat blustery, with seasonal temperatures, and the leaves are now truly beginning to fall. But that’s what fall is all about; blowing wind and falling colourful leaves with some rain. And though it’s all good when the sun shines, we haven’t seen the other part of the equation, that’s rain, for almost a couple of weeks now, although it’s been promised several times by the weather people. 

And until such time as the rain decides to bless us, we’ll just have to grin and painfully bear the sunshine. (smile) And I did have a nice li’l lazy day Saturday reprieve, as I went to bed rather late this morning. But enough with the unimportant stuff, let’s get to our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer and offer it up with all sincerity and truth. 

As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’ 

Ah friends, there’s’ nothing better than achieving more intimacy with God, of going deeper and deeper into His presence! And that’s only possible when we sincerely seek Him, as Jesus explains. ‘Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ (Matt. 22:37-40) 

Yes my fellow believers, the abiding principle in the law of God, is LOVE! That’s His greatest attribute, and what should be the prevailing sentiments and emotions on His earth. But it certainly is not. For hate, anger, resentment, strife, greed, jealousy and all the other negative sentiments and emotions are currently ruling the world. LOVE is a forgotten word, and even when remembered, it’s merely bandied about trivially, with no real respect for it’s true meaning. 

And with the negative emotions in prominence, there’s no wonder that our world is in a state of chaos, and fading fast away as the negatives become even more prevalent, and LOVE recedes even further into the background. And the scriptures warn us about the very bad effects of those negative attitudes. 

Listen to this one from that famous Psalm 37 – Trust in the Lord. Bruh David spells it out loud and clear. ‘Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil (for it only causes harm). For evildoers shall be cut off (destroyed): but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.’ (Ps. 37:8-9) 

And Jesus said it thus in the Sermon on the Mount, as He taught the Beatitudes: ‘Blessed are the meek, for thy shall inherit the earth.’ (Matt. 5:5) Yes, my brethren, the meek are those that have humbled themselves before God, have strength and power, but don’t abuse it, they can control their sinful urges, and instead wait on God’s direction to use His gifts for the good purposes He desires. 

Meanwhile, Bruh Paul had this to say to the Colossians. ‘If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection (mind) on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore (put to death) your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection (passion), evil concupiscence (desire), and covetousness, which is idolatry: 

For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:’ (Col. 3:1-10) 

And that’s how it ought to be when we receive Christ as Saviour! We put away the sinful things of our old life and take up the new and LOVING things of God! Looking more unto the incorruptible things of heaven, than the corruptible things of the earth. Unfortunately though, too many supposed Christians are still indulging too much in the things of the world and not enough in the things of heaven. We are allowing the things of the world to influence us too much. 

Remember what Jesus said in His prayer for the disciples? ‘They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them (set them apart) through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.’ (John 17:16-19) 

Yes my fellow believers, Jesus sent us into the world to continue His task of bringing sinners to repentance, and like Him, we are NOT supposed to allow the world to instill their worldly thoughts into us, because we know the truth, which is God’s Word. We do have to dwell IN the world to be able to do His work, but we don’t have to be OF the world. And that’s where many of us are falling down in our Christian walk. We’re allowing the ungodly and sinful things of the world to seep into our souls and spirits, thus negating the work we should be doing for Christ. 

Thus Satan is winning the battle over us, as John says in his first epistle. ‘For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh (physical desires), and the lust of the eyes (personal desires), and the pride of life (self-interests), is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.’ (1 John 2:16-17) 

Oh my fellow  saints, our world is going through a very rough time right now, and consequently we are suffering more than is necessary, but we only have ourselves to blame for the terrible state of God’s great earth. For, if all the supposed Christians would get up and live more of the true Christian life, we would not be in such a dire state of tremendous trials and tribulations. And, only as we seriously stand up and fight the good fight for Christ, will things ever improve. Let’s go home considering that today nuh, in light of what it will mean for our children’s children and their children. Much LOVE!

…only as true LOVE comes back into our world…will it ever improve…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit   7 December 2022 John 13:34.

07 Dec 2022 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

John 13:34.      A new commandment I give unto you, That ye LOVE one another; as I have LOVED you, that ye also LOVE one another.

So, Wednesday has turned out to be damp and cloudy, but I’ll take that any time over the cold and snow. And today marks my fiftieth anniversary of being in this blessed country called Canada. Yes, it’s been fifty long years of snow and cold, but by nature I’m still a warm-blooded animal! (smile) Can’t get the tropics out of me, because I was born and bred there. But that doesn’t mean we can’t handle the icy climate, just that we don’t like it. For remember we can handle anything at all with the help of Jesus who strengthens us. 

And who do you think enabled me to handle the last fifty winters eh? Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! And I can’t believe how quickly those fifty years have gone by. It seems like it was just yesterday I landed at Toronto airport, not yet renamed Pearson, on a cold, dark evening, coming directly from hot, tropical sunshine, with very little money in my pockets…and I still have very little. (smile)  

I remember the next day, getting up around eight a.m. and still seeing it dark outside, then walking to the subway in freezing rain in a thin, borrowed spring coat and dry-weather shoes, going downtown to Simpson Sears, the big, cheap store at the time, to buy winter clothing. And my first memory on entering the subway was wondering how all the white people in the cars looked so frigid and cold and wrinkled. I definitely wasn’t accustomed to seeing so many supposedly normal people looking unhappy and prune-like. 

I believe I asked my mother what was wrong with them, and she most likely just smiled at me in my ignorance. Then to make matters worse, my mother, bless her departed soul, made a mistake and took us off the streetcar at the wrong stop, which meant we had to walk a whole long block back to where we should have gotten off. It surely was an eventful welcome to what has become my home for the last half-century. 

And there were obviously times I wanted to go back to the sunshine and saltwater, but it’s difficult to pull up stakes once one is settled with family and other responsibilities. I must admit too, that though it wasn’t easy, it surely was interesting and adventurous, and I learned to do a lot of stuff for myself, that might not have been the case if I had remained in T&T. 

Now, I believe without a doubt, that Canada is the best big country in the world! Oh, like everybody else, we do have our problems, but we tend to be a li’l more understanding than most. Although that seems to be changing with the new generation, as all over the world impatience, resentment and lack of LOVE is becoming the norm. But that’s why we of the old generation ought to be ramping up our efforts in Jesus’ name to stop that negative turn from becoming more prevalent than it already is. 

Remember what Jesus said: ‘If ye LOVE me, keep my commandments.’ (John 14:15) And what’s His commandment? He said it loud and clear: ‘A new commandment I give unto you, That ye LOVE one another; as I have LOVED you, that ye also LOVE one another.’ (John 13:34) How could it get any clearer than that eh my people? No way! But knowing how fickle and faithless we could be Jesus repeated the commandment later on. ‘This is my commandment, That ye LOVE one another, as I have LOVED you.’ (John 15:12) And why did He harp on us LOVING each other? As He says: ‘By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one to another.’ (John 13:35) 

Yes my friends, the world will only recognize us as followers of Jesus if we not only have, but more importantly, show LOVE to each other! It’s the litmus test for Christians! But unfortunately, for whatever reason(s), many of us are failing it every day, and that’s why our world is in such an ungodly uproar. There isn’t enough LOVE in our world to quiet the raving hearts of men. And ONLY LOVE will ever conquer hate. So, if we want to get rid of the hate that’s sadly consuming us, we need to replace it with the LOVE of Jesus as quickly as possible, otherwise our world will just continue sinking into the evil and ungodly quagmire that’s the devil’s greatest desire. 

And we simply cannot allow that to happen my faithful brethren. It would be a huge injustice to Christ after He’s given His all, sacrificed His very life for us to be set free from the chains of sin and ungodliness. That means we, the faithful believers, have to make a big, bold move in Jesus’ name, if we want to right the wrongs that are being currently done in our world. And it won’t be easy, but if we are sincere and true disciples of Christ, with His help, we can certainly turn things around. 

But it’s going to take a great effort from all of us believers, for the devil is not going to roll over and play dead when we attack his strongholds. No! He’s going to have his iniquity workers ramp up their evil and ungodly efforts and try to keep us at bay. But they won’t be successful if we are determined. Remember what Bruh Paul said to the church at Rome. ‘Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors, through him that LOVED us.’ (Rom. 8:37) 

Oh my fellow saints, anytime we step out to do Christ’s bidding with a true and sincere heart, nothing or no one can stop us from achieving victory! But the problem is we need to develop the hope and faith to do it! And for those of us who are sincerely working towards that goal, let’s go home now declaring (chuh!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. 

As one strong voice: ‘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!’ 

And my fellow believers, if we endure to the end with Jesus, then I can guarantee that future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine! So please, let’s use that as an incentive to keep working for Jesus nuh, shining like bright lights, and being as salty as ever, showing the world our LOVE for each other, like He desires of us! Much LOVE!

…living for Jesus…means bright lights…plenty saltiness…and plenty, plenty LOVE…

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ    

Today’s Scrip-Bit 22 February 2014 2 Timothy 3:16

22 Feb 2014 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

2 Timothy 3:16.    All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
 
Oh Friends, it’s one of those days! The ole fella’s struggling this Saturday morning, for the old brain is refusing to function properly. (smile) I had a hard time finding a Bit which I could handle, and now that I’ve found one, I don’t know what to ramble on about in my preamble. Steups!
 
Now isn’t that a lovely position for a supposed writer to find him or herself in? No words of wisdom are tumbling from my pen this morning, as they are won’t to do. There’s no inspiration from above.
 
But Friends, I’m assured that inspiration will soon be forthcoming, and with the Lord’s most generous help, we’ll soon turn this negative situation around. Then I’ll have too much to write about, and you’ll be going on about my long windedness. (smile)
 
But what’s there to talk about anyway eh? All the topics are so depressing. Like the weather? I’m tired of talking about it and its recent unpredictable behaviour. So what about politics, you ask? Chuh! Not that either! Too much incompetence, greed, corruption and deceit.
 
And we definitely don’t want to talk about the numerous wars and rumours of war that are being currently fought on this small planet. It surely seems like warmongering is our main, our favourite pastime, because that’s what we’ve been doing from the beginning of time.
 
So then, how about economics? No, that’s too heartbreaking! Too many people are out of work, too many homeless, too much sickness and poverty and inequality of wealth.
 
Well then the only thing left is religion… Oh no! Not that at all! Religion is what’s causing most of the wars, strife, anger and resentment littering our world. Then what should we talk about?
 
Oh my people, there exists only one completely positive and perfect topic of conversation; and that’s God!
 
All the other stuff we talk about don’t really uplift us, because they are all getting worse. Only God – not religion, which are man made rules and observances – stands the perfect test of time. And we’re talking here about the ONE and ONLY TRUE, LIVING GOD; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! 
 
I truly believe that if we talked more about Him, and less of the petty, often useless, disposable and inconsequential things of the world, we would all be much better off. But unfortunately, talking about Jehovah God is becoming rather unfashionable in these modern times.
 
In fact, in many places, even mentioning His Holy Name can be downright dangerous, and a serious threat to one’s health and life. So having an enlightened discussion on Him, and consequently His Word can be severely frowned upon, even in supposed Christian countries.
 
That brings us to our rather provocative Bit, where Bruh Paul is encouraging the young pastor, Timothy, to stand steadfast in the scriptures, because: ‘All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.’
 
Oh my fellow believers, there have been arguments over what is supposedly God’s Word since the beginning of time, and there will be disagreements over it until the Day of Judgement when the unbelievers finally discover its truth, though sadly too late to take advantage of it.
 
And in this modern, technological world, where we place so much emphasis on science, it’s easy to dispute the words of our Bit. And before I began writing the Bit, I was somewhat sceptical too, and could have been drawn into negative arguments about it.
 
Hn! But no longer my brethren, for over the years I’ve written the Bit, I’ve had so many inspirational moments, that I can now clearly see how those early writers of the Word could have been divinely inspired.
 
And why did God do that? ‘That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.’ (2 Tim.3:17)
 
Yes Friends, our wonderful God, in His great wisdom, having known of and seeing our disobedient qualities from the very beginning, decided to give us a manual, a guide book for our travel along our earthly paths.
 
Unfortunately though, not enough of us spend sufficient time poring over those divinely inspired words, otherwise we wouldn’t be living in such an evil, negative, God-forsaken world. If we were to take up the Good Book and ponder it even half as much as we do the vacation brochures and weekly sales flyers, we’d all be much more contented.
 
But that’s how the evil powers of the world have set up their domain; with negative and wicked plans to keep us wallowing in anxiety, fear, uncertainty, and thus subjugation to their oppressive regimes!
 
But my fellow believers, if we stick to the divinely inspired Word of our Creator, we can beat Beelzebub and his evil cohorts at their own game. However, as with all things in this world, it first takes belief, and strong belief too, to go out on a limb and declare that the Good Book is truly inspiration from the holy, immortal God, given to lowly, mortal men for their distribution to His most blessed and LOVED creation. 
 
And we’ll end today’s message with some words from the scholars, re Inspiration. ‘3:16. This refers to the supernatural guidance of writers of Scripture by the Spirit of God, so that what they wrote was the divine Word of God, transcribed accurately, reliably, and without error in the original manuscripts (“autographs). The word ‘inspiration’ itself pictures God breathing out His Word to men.
 
Illustration: Not everything written by an apostle or a prophet was necessarily inspired. Paul wrote at least three epistles to the Corinthians, but apparently only two were an inspired record (1 Cor.5:9). Samuel, Nathan, and Gad each wrote accounts of David’s life; only one of these prophets produced an inspired record (1 Chr.29:29).
 
Application: Since the Scriptures are given to help Christians grow in maturity, they should rely upon them for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness (right living). (First Ref. Gen.1:3; Primary Ref, 2 Tim 3:16-17; cf. 2 Pet.1:21.)’ 
 
That should hold us for today Friends. But please, let’s not forget the great importance attached to the Good Book in the lives of ALL believers! It’s our guide book to heaven! Much LOVE!
 
…if you don’t read the Lord’s guide book…you won’t know where He’s at…or how to reach Him…