20 Aug 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all these things shall be added unto you, as the heavens are higher than the earth, be ready to suffer the consequences, boggles our imagination, call ye upon him while he is near, christianity, Dr Charles Stanley, endure to the end with Christ, eternity, faith, forgiving, free will, getting you into trouble with God, God created humans for good, gospel truth, gracious, halfway home, hands on the plough, have it more abundantly, he Sermon on the Mount, he will abundantly pardon, he will have mercy upon him, hold our heads and bawl, holy spirit, humans are more enamoured with evil than good, I am come that they might have life, if only I'd thought before doing it, Jesus Christ, Jesus is the best, lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, let the wicked forsake his way, LOVE, merciful, mercy, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my thoughts are not your thoughts, my thoughts higher than your thoughts, my ways are not your ways, my ways higher than your ways, negative consequences, not looking back at the past, obey God and leave all the consequences to him, our finite minds, our poor decisions end up hurting innocent people, our wonderful position in Christ Jesus, return unto the Lord, risk of flooding, salvation, Satan is all about deceit and greed, Satan's machinations, satisfying the thirsty earth, second wind day, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, seek ye the Lord while he may be found, so glad to be alive, some we cannot even comprehend, thank God, the atoning lamb of God, the awesome help of Jesus, the BIBLE, the breath of life, the breath of life is still flowing through me, the cross at Calvary, the embodiment of all we can ask for or imagine, the good life, the King of Kings, the Lily of the Valley, the Lion of Judah, the Lord is Sovereign over the earth, the Lord of lords, the material things of the world, the rains fell, the resurrection and the life, the Son of God, the thief comes only to steal kill and destroy, the unrighteous man his thoughts, the Way Maker, the way the truth and the life, thieves break through and steal, thieves do not break through and steal, to a glorious future with Jesus, truth, unwise decisions, we can handle whatever comes against us, Wednesday Wail, where moth and rust doth corrupt, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, where your treasure is there will be your heart also, wisdom, wisdom to the nth degree
Isaiah 55:6. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.
And the rains fell; from early evening through the night, until the morning hours, finally satisfying the parched and thirsty earth! Thankfully though, it was not an onslaught of powerful showers but mostly a constant drizzle, which greatly reduced the risk of flooding. Understandably then, Wednesday, our second wind day has opened damp, cloudy and cool, and we possibly ought to brace ourselves for more rain because that warning just showed up on the computer. But let’s remember that whatever comes against us, we can certainly handle it with Jesus’ awesome help! And all God’s children said a loud and grateful: ‘Thank You Jesus! You’re the Best!’
And that’s the awesome truth! For there’s none like Jesus! He’s the Son of God, and is thus godly, gracious, forgiving, merciful, the atoning lamb of God, the Way Maker, the Lion of Judah, the Way, the Life and the Truth, the Light of the World, the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Lily of the Valley, the Resurrection and the Life, and a host of other names which it would take the whole day to list. (smile) But seriously though, Jesus is the embodiment of all that we can ever ask for or imagine…and even then some that we cannot even comprehend with our finite minds.
As the prophet Isaiah writes: ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’ (Is. 55:8-9) That’s why we cannot understand a lot of what the Lord does, or is doing, both in our own lives and in the world. We know that He still sits as Sovereign of the world, but some of the stuff that He allows to happen when He can either prevent them or stop them just boggles our imagination.
However, the Lord has His own plans for the world He created and still rules, while giving us free will to make independent choices. He did not make robots, but human beings with minds that they could use to do what’s right or wrong, but must be prepared to suffer the consequences of each decision. And that’s exactly where we’re falling down. We rush to live like the world, like Satan desires, but when the negative consequences of those unwise decisions come rushing up against us, we hold our heads and bawl, saying, ‘if only, if only I’d thought about it before doing it.’
But then it’s usually too late my people, and unfortunately our decisions end up hurting not only ourselves but a lot of others around us. And that’s the really sad part about us making unwise decisions; it never hurts us alone, but other innocent ones in our proximity. That’s why Uncle Charles (Dr. Charles Stanley) always admonished us to obey God and leave all the consequences to Him. For when we do as God desires, the consequences are usually good, and if not, then he will certainly help us to handle them.
But Satan doesn’t help us to handle the bad consequences we suffer when we follow him. Not at all. He just sits back and laughs at us and considers us stupid to be following him, when all that ever comes from his machinations are negative consequences. And that’s why the prophet Isaiah, when informing Israel of God’s abundant pardons, declared: ‘Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.’ (Is. 55:6-7)
Yes friends, that’s an international call to all people, to both Jews and Gentiles, to come to the Lord for salvation, for forgiveness and the good life throughout eternity. And He certainly made it all possible by the unselfish but heartbreaking offering of His only begotten Son Jesus as a sacrifice, the Lamb of God, on the cross at Calvary. I don’t know why we keep forgetting that God is generous and merciful, forgiving and compassionate, while Satan is all about deceit, greed, and taking whatever you have and getting you into trouble with God.
It’s as Jesus so eloquently and truthfully puts it: ‘The thief (Satan) cometh not, but for (except) to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ (John 10:10) And I don’t understand why we cannot believe that and make it a part of our lives because it’s the absolute truth. All Satan wants to do is to destroy, to break down, to bring people down to damnation and hellfire with him, while Jesus wants to build, to give life, eternal life to all who are wise enough to embrace Him and what He stands for.
So, again, I don’t know why we’re so adamant at following Satan, killing ourselves to get the material things of the world, and then we don’t even have time to enjoy them. Remember the same material things Satan tempts us with, are the same material things we can get from God if we do as Jesus says: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33) And believe me, if you get these things from God, rather than through Satan’s evil machinations, you will enjoy them more and they will last longer.
But it’s all about wisdom and where your hearts truly lie. For as Jesus wisely say in the Sermon on the Mount: ‘Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ (Matt. 6:19-21) And that’s the gospel truth friends! So please, let’s stop concentrating on storing up earthly treasures and wisely decide to store up heavenly ones instead nuh! For that’s wisdom to the nth degree!
Now let’s go home declaring our Wednesday Wail letting the whole world know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. As one strong and sincere 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!’
Now there’s an addendum to that declaration which states, whoever endures to the very end with Jesus will enjoy an even more glorious future than we can ever comprehend or imagine. So let’s plan to meet at the very end and enjoy that more than glorious future together nuh! Much LOVE!
…why is the human being more enamoured with evil…than with good…when he was created by God…for good…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
08 Mar 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: added joy, all these things shall be added unto you, choose life, christianity, Christians, cleanse your hands ye sinners, communion with god, crowns thee with lovingkindness, deepen my breath, delight thyself in the Lord, draw nigh to God, enjoy the comforts of home, faith, for your unceasing nearness, forget not all his benefits, forgives thine iniquities, give thee the desires of thine heart, God so loved the world, God will abundantly pardon, he gave his only begotten son, heals your diseases, holy spirit, humble yourselves in the sight of God, I call heaven and earth, I may know you all the more, I praise you, I will hearken unto you, if from thence, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul, increase my awareness of you today, Jesus Christ, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, Lord I want to be with you now, LOVE, mercy, my neck of the woods, out frolicking, pray unto me, purify your hearts, quiet my soul, receive our love in return, redeems thy life from destruction, relax my muscles, resist the devil, return unto the Lord, salvation, satisfies thy mouth with good things, search for me with all your heart, seek me and find me, seek the Lord thy God, seek the Lord while he may be found, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, set before you life and death, should not perish but have everlasting life, shower us with love, slow my thoughts, stay inside, submit yourselves to God, tender mercies, thank you for this tenderness, that you and your seed may live, the BIBLE, the breaks you get, the choices you make, the quality of life, then shall ye call upon me, thou shalt find him, thy youth is renewed like the eagle's, to witness against you, trust in the Lord and do good, truth, under the mighty hand of god, whosoever believes in him, wisdom, with all sincerity and truth, you can't be contianed, your peace and love are present
Today’s Scrip-Bit 8 March 2025 Deuteronomy 4:29.
Deuteronomy 4:29. ‘But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him, with all thy heart and with all thy soul.’
And it’s another sunshiny, clear, dry day in my neck of the woods, although some snow fell during the midnight hours. But that’s all gone now. So, we can be out and about frolicking on this lazy-day Saturday, or simply stay inside, and enjoy the comforts of home, with the added joy of knowing that it’s beautiful outside. (smile) And to ramp up our joy even further, let’s offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, with all sincerity and truth.
As one strong 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!’
And there’s nothing more pleasant or desirous than having God’s peace and presence increased in our souls! And it’s assured when we pray sincere prayers like those, because our God LOVES nothing more than to hear us asking Him to come deeper and more plentiful into our lives, spirits and souls. For that’s why He made us; to have good and strong communion with us; to shower His LOVE on us, and receive our LOVE in return.
Now that’s why there are so many scriptures in the Lord’s Word about seeking Him. So, let’s check out a few today nuh, starting with this one from Jeremiah that we all know. ‘Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto (listen to) you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye search for me with all your heart.’ (Jer. 29:12-13) It could not be any clearer or more straightforward than that my fellow believers!
And, earlier on, Moses told the Israelites the very same thing when cautioning them about repentance of sin. ‘But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him, with all thy heart and with all thy soul.’ (Deut. 4:29) Then Isaiah, in his reminder that God abundantly pardons, tells his people: ‘Seek the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.’ (Is. 55: 6-7)
Oh my people, that is exactly what our evil and ungodly world desperately needs RIGHT NOW! A return to God and acceptance of all the good things He has to offer. As Bruh David so sincerely and truly puts it in Psalm 103: ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with LOVINGKINDNESS and tender mercies. Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.’ (Ps. 103:2-5)
Wow mih bredrin! Who wouldn’t want all those wonderful benefits eh? Well, they are readily available by simply turning to the Lord God in repentance and becoming the new man that requires, with the awesome help of His Holy Spirit. And if you’re wanting more scripture about getting good things from God, listen to these two nuh. The first from Isaiah, from that scripture on God’s continual strength and unsearchable understanding: ‘But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.’ (Is. 40:31)
We all know it, but do we practice it? Now that’s another quandary, or difficult position in which we find ourselves; there’s something that we want, but apparently are not willing to do what it takes to get it. The same goes for this scripture from Psalm 37, titled Trust in the Lord. Bruh David writes: ‘Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (feed on his faithfulness). Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass.’ (Ps. 37:3-5)
And that’s only a few of the things we can do to get the desires of our heart from God! So who’s to blame if we don’t get them eh? No one else but us! But let’s get back to some more modern scriptures that blatantly tell us to seek the Lord. Here’s this one from James, where he admonishes us: ‘Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you. Cleanse your hands ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded….Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:7-8, 10)
And Peter echoes the same sentiments: ‘Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.’ (1 Pet. 6-7) And we spoke about that early on when we said that God created us to LOVE us, and be LOVED in return. That’s because He cares the whole world about us. Why else would He send His Son to earth to die for our sins eh? The basic reason was LOVE for his sinful, disobedient creation, as Jesus so eloquently puts it. ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ (John 3:16)
That’s as good as it gets my fellow saints, and why Jesus therefore strongly advised us; ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33) The long and short of the story then is we have all the information and tools before us, it’s our choice how we choose to use them. But please, please hear this last admonition from the scriptures; where Moses tells the Israelites as they are preparing to enter the Promised Land. ‘I call heaven and earth to record (witness) this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.’ (Deut. 30:19)
I offer this same admonition to us today my people. Why? ‘Because the quality of your life isn’t determined as much by the breaks that you get, as its determined by the choices that you make.’ Much LOVE!
…one can only find God….when one seeks Him diligently and sincerely…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
19 Oct 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all that call upon him in truth, at thy right hand, be content with what you have, call upon him while he is near, faith, found grace in thy sight, God faithfully keeps all His promises, have mercy upon him, holy spirit, I may know you all the more, I will give thee rest, I will hearken unto you, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee, in thy presence is fullness of joy, increase my awareness of you today, Jesus Christ, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, let the wicked forsake his way, lo I am with you always, LOVE, mercy, my presence shall go with thee, our God will abundantly pardon, pleasures for evermore, pray into me, quiet my soul, relax my musclesslow my thoughts, return unto the Lord, search for me with all your heart, seek me and find me, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, seek ye the Lord while he may be found, seeking God's presence, seeking intimacy with God, show me now thy way, show me the path of life, slow my thoguhts, thank you for this tenderness, that I may know thee, The Lord is nigh unto all that call upon him, the purpose of life, the unrighteous man his thoughts, truth, warms the cockles of God's heart, wisdom, your peace and love are present
Psalm 145:18. The Lord is nigh (near) unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
Oh, how wonderful it is to wake up to a nice sunshiny and warm lazy-day Saturday! Just the thought of not having to get up early and rush off to work is oh so comforting. And being able to simply loll around in bed or on the couch or wherever you choose, just makes it all the nicer. And I did enjoy some of that lazy-day Saturday bliss, but unfortunately, for some of us the bliss cannot last all day, as we have God’s work to do. So here we are writing the Bit. (smile) And our first activity is to offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer with all sincerity and truth. Please pray with me:
‘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!’
And by the time we’ve finished the prayer, we can feel our spirits lightened and calmed through God’s awesome presence, because that is one prayer the Lord always rushes to answer. There is nothing that warms the cockles of His heart more than us sincerely seeking His presence and greater intimacy with Him. And doing that is so important, that the Bible contains many scriptures which encourage us to seek the Lord’s presence.
So let’s look at a few of them today nuh, starting with this wonderful wake up call from Isaiah, where he advises his people Israel thus: ‘Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.’ (Is. 55:6-7)
Now friends, that’s exactly what so many of us in this ungodly and sinful world need to do; return to God, seek Him sincerely so that He can pardon us, and make our lives so much better than they currently are. Meanwhile in Psalm 16 – God Preserves His People, Bruh David poignantly writes: ‘Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.’ (Ps. 16:11)
And there’s no denying that my fellow believers! In God’s awesome presence there’s abundant joy, and that joy rises up, simply because we know that He will take care of us. As the author of Hebrews so assuredly tells us: ‘Let your conversation (conduct) be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he (God) hath said I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.’ (Heb. 13:5) And we know that our faithful God keeps all His promises. So there’s no need to worry when we’re in His presence.
There’s also this interesting prayer from Moses for God’s presence to go with him and the children of Israel on their journey to the Promised Land. He offered up to God: ‘Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. And he (God) said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he (Moses) said unto Him (God), If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.’ (Ex. 33:13-15)
Oh friends, yuh see how important God’s presence was to Moses, that if He wasn’t going to be with them along the way, he’d prefer to stay right where he was. And that’s exactly how important God’s presence ought to be in each believer’s life! If He’s not with us, then we’re not moving from where ever we are!
Then there are these encouraging words from the sons of Korah in Psalm 46: God is our Refuge and Strength. ‘Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.’ (Ps. 46:10-11) And until we truly believe that my brethren, we will never be able to fully enter into the Lord’s presence, we will always feel as though we’re on the outside looking in at a joyful scene.
And we all know these words of assurance from Jeremiah to the Israelites re their captivity in Babylon. After seventy years the Lord would cause them to return to their homeland ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope). Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto (listen to) you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye search for me with all your heart.’ (Jer. 29:11-13)
That’s it friends, our God only has good thoughts toward us, but we have to seek Him sincerely and be obedient to His will, if we desire to get into the fullness of His presence. And that is totally borne out by these words of Bruh David from Psalm 145 – God’s Unsearchable Greatness. ‘The Lord is nigh (near) unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of them that fear (reverence) him: he will also hear their cry, and will save them.’ (Ps. 145:18-19)
Oh my fellow saints, it could not be more explicit than that…except possibly with these words of Jesus. ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things (that you need) shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33) That’s another faithful promise. But we’ll close with this marvellous and soul strengthening promise from Jesus at the end of the Great Commission. He left the disciples, and consequently all future believers, with these simple but oh so true words: ‘and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt. 28:20b)
Now if that doesn’t hit you right in the heart, then I don’t know what will! But it’s ever so important that we believe that Jesus is always with is, through the Holy Spirit, and is doing His best to lead us along the straight and narrow way that ends in eternal life at His side. Much LOVE!
… if we’re not in God’s presence…then we’re missing the whole purpose of life…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
03 May 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new crop of believers, a word to the wise is sufficent, abundantly pardon, as the rain waters the earth, backsliders, Bible, bread to the eater, call ye upon him while he is near, christianity, crying out for help, destroy the earth, divine aid, error of their ways, faith, foolish pride, free choice, Friday chant, give seed to the sower, god, good examples of godly living, great sinfulness, have mercy upon him, in the thing which I sent it, it shall accomplish that which I please, it shall prosper, Jesus, Jesus Christ, let the wicked forsake his way, LOVE, mercy, my thoughts are not your thoughts, my thoughts higher than your thoughts, my ways higher than your ways, my word shall not return void, mysterious ways, neither are your ways my ways, only lasts for a short time, our sinful world, payback is hell, puny minds, return unto the Lord, salvation, season of rebellion, seek ye the Lord while he may be found, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the example we faithful believers set, the heavens are higher than the earth, the pleasures of righteousness, the pleasures of sin, the snow from heaven, the sweetness of sin, the throne of grace, the unrighteous man his thoughts, truth, ungodly ways, wake up and and smell the coffee, wisdom
Isaiah 55:6. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
And this Friday morning in early May, as we shout ‘TGIF! Thank God It’s Friday!’ we celebrate the rebirth of the flora around us. Yes friends, spring has finally shown it’s green and wonderful face after such a long absence. And what amazes me, is that a couple days ago, trees that had no leaves, merely some brown buds, today are overflowing with greenery. But that’s how the awesome plan of God for the smooth running of the universe works; in mysterious ways that our finite and puny minds can never grasp or fully understand.
That ought to remind us of these magnificent and oh so true words of the Lord, spoken through the prophet Isaiah, informing the Israelites, and us too, that God abundantly pardons. ‘Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.’ (Is. 55:6-7)
Ah mih people, that call which was issued to the Israelites in their season of rebellion and sinfulness so many years ago, is again being issued to us in our great sinfulness and ungodly ways, for few, if any other generations have been more wicked and ungodly than ours is today. And we badly need to seek the Lord for His mercy and pardon if we expect to survive for any length of time on this earth, because as we continue in our sinful and ungodly ways we keep destroying God’s planet as well as ourselves. And if we play the scenario out to its complete fulfillment then we’ll simply destroy the earth and all therein.
That’s the foolish and arrogant plan we’re following right now. And the only way to put a stop to it, is to turn back to the God of our forefathers, who created and still controls the universe. And these further words of Isaiah ought to wake us up to reality, help us take our foolish heads from the sand in which it’s so thoroughly buried that we don’t know right from wrong, or whether we’re coming or going.
Listen up: ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void (empty, without fruit), but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing which whereto I sent it.’ (Is. 55:8-11)
Oh friends, we certainly cannot deny the truth of those statements! The Lord’s ways and thoughts are certainly higher than ours. His omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence far outweighs what little power and understanding we possess, and we cannot begin to understand His person and purposes. That’s why He is God and we are simply His creation! Although in our foolish pride we ofttimes behave as though it’s the opposite way, and we end up paying a hefty price for that unwise thinking. But unfortunately the high price of disobedience doesn’t stop us from being rebellious and ungodly.
Let’s remember that our gift from God of free choice was not meant to choose the ungodly things of Satan, but the everlasting and wonderful things of God. But as always, mankind has abused that gift, turning more to the pleasures of sin advocated by Satan, than the pleasures of righteousness advocated by God. And that’s why our world is in such a mess right now, with strife and all the negative emotions of the evil one overwhelming our world.
But here’s what the Lord promised the Israelites if they turned back to Him. ‘For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall calp their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up a fir (cypress) tree, and instead of the brier (thorny plant) shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.’ (Is. 55:12-13)
Now doesn’t that scenario sound so much better than the one in which we’re currently enveloped? It surely does! So why don’t we turn from our evil ways, embrace the righteousness of God and make it come to pass eh? Remember, the sweetness of sin only lasts for a short while, then comes the payback. And payback is …hell! And that’s exactly what we’re suffering right now here on earth. Remember God’s Word will not be spoken in vain. Whatever it’s sent out to do, it will accomplish. And He sent it out in the first place promising salvation to all mankind, which has been accomplished by the work and sacrifice of Jesus.
So please, let’s get smart nuh, use the wisdom that God gave us and turn back to Him while He can still be found. And to help us do that, let’s go to the throne of grace through the prayer of our Friday Chant, seeking the help we so desperately need in these evil and ungodly times. Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you.
Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Now friends, there’s an interesting proviso to receiving divine help…we must first show that we’re turning from our evil ways and being good examples of godly living. That’s what drives divine help! Much LOVE!
..a word to the wise is sufficient…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
19 Feb 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a future and a hope, anointed me to preach the gospel, beautiful believers in Christ, brotherly fellowship, call upon him while he is near, can't find your direction, courage fails, dreams are broken in the dust, face the overwhelming world, forgiveness, God's way or the Highway, grace, Grace and Gratitude, he will have mercy upon him, heal the brokenhearted, I know the thoughts that I think toward you, Let Go-and Let God, let the signs remind you to surrender, let the wicked forsake his way, lost the will to trust, LOVE, mercy, Olivia Newton John, praise, preach deliverance to the captives, preach the acceptable year of the Lord, recovery of sight to the blind, repentance, return unto the Lord, sacrifical praise, seek ye the Lord while he may be found, thanksgiving, the day of the Lord, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, the unrighteous man his thoughts, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end, with vim and vigour, your heart won't guide you home
Jeremiah 29:11. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).
Well hello there you beautiful believers in Christ Jesus! As you’ve probably guessed, (smile) it’s that blessed day again, Sunday, the day of our Lord God Jehovah! That means it’s time once more to gather in brotherly fellowship and celebrate with worship, praise and thanksgiving, Jehovah’s amazing, unconditional LOVE and mighty deeds to His children!
And there’s no better time in the lives of believers than when they gather to honour and acclaim our wonderful Creator, for then our faith, hope and dreams are revitalized and our confidence in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is renewed, and we can go out and face the evil world with overwhelming vim and vigour, letting the unbelieving world know that Christ is the answer: the answer to all of life’s questions!
And today’s song is a gentle reminder to all of us, of where to turn when the problems of life get us down, and our faith is somewhat on the low side. It’s a song by the late Olivia Newton-John titled ‘Let Go – And Let God,’ from her album ‘Grace and Gratitude,’ something we ought to have a lot of because of the awesome grace we receive from God. So, let’s offer up our sacrificial praise this morning in an easy, soulful, heartfelt version of the song.
Singing: ‘When you can’t find your direction, and your heart won’t guide you home – Let go – and let God. When your dreams are broken in the dust, and you’ve lost the will to trust – Let go – and let God. (Chorus: Let the signs remind you, we are passengers. Let the signs remind you to surrender, to surrender – Let go- and let God. (Background vocals – When you’re holding in, when you’re holding in, when you’re holding in, when you’re holding in.) When your faith is a dying fire, and there’s no spark to feed the flame – Let go – and let God. When your courage fails you, and the well of hope runs dry – Let go – and let God.
(Chorus: Let the signs remind you, we are passengers. Let the signs remind you to surrender, to surrender – Let go- and let God. (Background vocals – When you’re holding in, when you’re holding in, when you’re holding in, when you’re holding in.) Let the signs remind you -to surrender, to surrender, to Let go – and let God, let go- and let God’
Oh my fellow saints, those five words – ‘Let go – and let God,’ are ever so important in lives. In fact, they are very crucial and critical, because we cannot access God’s goodness and mercy unless we let go, unless we surrender our will to His! That’s the only way He can help us. The problem though is that too many of us want to hold on to our will and also have God’s grace and mercy. But unfortunately my brethren, it doesn’t work that way. God has specified many times in the scriptures that it’s either His way or the highway!
Remember how the prophet Isaiah stated it, when reminding his people, Israel, that God abundantly pardons. He said: ‘Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’ (Is. 55:6-9)
That puts the whole thing in its proper perspective my people. God calls the shots, not us! He is the Creator, and we are simply the created. And if we know our place, then He will overwhelm us with His goodness and grace, as He said through the prophet Jeremiah. ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).’ (Jer. 29:11)
That’s the second aspect of the situation; God has wonderful plans in store for us, if we will only listen and follow His will. But the truly marvellous and awesome thing about our God is that He forgives, and doesn’t ever turn anyone away. So even if we are bent on doing it our way and encounter problems, if we turn to Him, surrender our will to His, He will enable us to keep on keeping on.
As the song says, let the signs remind us that we are only passengers, and instead of holding in our doubts, fears, anxieties and whatever negative stuff that’s baffling us, to surrender, to let go and let God handle it, for He is omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present, which means He can handle any and everything! And it’s sad, because God gave us free will, hoping that we would be wise enough to walk this life with Him. However, we’ve taken that free will and abused it, foolishly thinking we could do it all on our own.
But that’s impossible, because God made us so that we can only live this life successfully with Him as our guide and enabler. And it’s because we don’t walk in His light that we get lost, lose our direction and our courage, while our faith withers, as our dreams lie broken in the dust, our well of hope runs dry and we can’t find a spark to feed the flames of our passion.
And Jesus said it all, when He read from the Book of Isaiah on the Sabbath Day in His hometown of Nazareth. ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised (oppressed), To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.’ (Luke 4:18-19)
Now that’s what our wonderful God is all about through His Son Jesus! That’s why He allowed Him to be crucified on the cross of Calvary; so that the lost could be found, the blind given sight, those living in darkness, light, those without hope, strong faith, those bound in the captivity of sin, freedom and eternal life. But we must surrender to God’s will, let Him fill that empty space in our souls that He’s reserved especially for Himself, that ONLY He can fill.
Please realize friends, that God didn’t create us on a whim and a fancy, but on a well thought out plan, that took everything that could possibly happen into account. So He’s not surprised when we get lost and go astray, because He’s already planned for that eventuality; for all eventualities. But the ball is still in our court, we must play our part before He can play His. Much LOVE!
… surrender and repentance must be made…before forgiveness and grace are offered…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
19 Oct 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abundantly pardon, action our words, as the heavens are higher than the earth, as the universe unfurls, bring light to the darkness, call ye upon him, Christ bashes some sense in our heads, Christ comes back, come short in obedience, common sense dictates, confirmation of our sincerity, continual turmoil, death, ease their suffering, evil, hardhearted, have mercy upon him, humble servants, Jehovah Rapha, joy, lays down the law, let the wicked forsake his way, LOVE, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, my thoughts are higher than your thoughts, my thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways are not your ways, my ways higher than your ways, need your divine help, our Father who art in heaven, pandemic of Covid 19, peace, praise Your Holy Name, return unto the Lord, roll along with the tumbling tunbleweed, seek ye the Lord, sin, sincere repentance, standing in faith, stubborn, the days of man, the fool say in his heart, the Garden of Eden, the God who heals, the mass confusion, the only one, the power to solve our many problems, the unrighteous man his thoughts, there is no god, Togetherness, tumultuous times, until we implode, violence, we have all sinned, wherever the unseen wind blows us, while he is near, while he may be found, whomsoever will may come, wise guidance and direction
Isaiah 55:6. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.
And the days pass, one after the other, just like they were programmed to do since the beginning of time. Likewise, the days of man, with God fulfilling them as He promised. (Ex. 23:26) And from the day that our forefathers fell for the deception of the enemy, and were kicked out of Paradise, the Garden of Eden, there has been sin, death, evil, violence and every ungodly thing that the devil and fallen man could devise corrupting the world. And I guess it will remain like that until Christ comes back and lays down the law; sets up His eternal kingdom, because mankind doesn’t seem to truly want, desire or like the things of God, like LOVE, joy, peace and togetherness.
So it’s no wonder our world has been in continual turmoil down through the ages, and right now is experiencing one of the most tumultuous times ever. And just to show that we’re not as brilliant or wise as we believe, we can’t seem to get a handle on any of the problems we’re currently facing, because we can’t even agree that there’s a problem. And those who do agree that we have problems, can’t agree on how best to fix them either. Thus, it looks like we’ll just roll along with the tumbling tumbleweed, wherever the unseen wind blows us, until we implode, or Christ comes back and bashes some sense in our heads.
But thankfully, on this Monday morning, as the universe unfurls like it ought to, I am here, on Jesus’ behalf, to try and put a li’l sense in our heads, so that we at least don’t get any worse than we currently are. We’ll bring a li’l light to the darkness that’s covering way too much of our wonderful world. And we’ll try to do that by expounding the Word of God, through His prophet Isaiah, as He generously offers free mercy to all and sundry. ‘Whomsoever will may come.’ That’s it in a nutshell.
Now hear the words the Lord put in Isaiah’s mouth, way back then, words that are still applicable to us today, since our world has not changed, possibly gotten worse, if anything. ‘Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.’ (Is. 55:6) Now isn’t that marvellous advice my brethren, especially in these rough and tough times? It surely is, especially since we can’t seem to solve our many problems in our own strength. And common sense dictates that if you can’t solve a problem, then you go to a higher power for help.
And the highest power we can ever go to is Almighty God. And He spells it out for us in no uncertain terms. ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’ (Is. 55:8-9) Now if that isn’t putting us in our place then I don’t know what it is nuh! (smile) And the scholars tell us that ‘While God may certainly be known by men, He is still incomprehensible in the totality of His person and purposes.’
Yeh friends, though our God is close to us, our minds are too puny to even contemplate His true greatness. And despite His awesomeness, He’s most magnanimous and merciful. Hear how Isaiah puts it. ‘Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.’ (Is. 55:7)
Oh mih people, what a wonderful promise from our Creator! And we all know that He faithfully keeps all His promises, so why are we so reluctant to turn back to Him and receive forgiveness and mercy, grace andLOVE, reconciliation, righteousness, justification and sanctification, all earned on the strength of Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross at Calvary eh? It just doesn’t make sense. As I keep saying, when the Israelites messed up and suffered for it, they were quick to run back to God and receive forgiveness.
Why won’t we eh? Why are we so stubborn and hardhearted, revelling in our disobedience, as we pay an exorbitant price for it? I really don’t know nuh. I guess my mind is just not big and wise enough to fathom such mighty things. (smile) Anyhow, for those of us who are willing to stand by the promise of God, let’s seek His face right now nuh, let’s call upon Him through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, so that we can find Him and receive forgiveness and all the other wonderful things He has to offer.
As one now, in confident humility: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You that this Monday morning we’re alive and standing in faith despite the mass confusion that’s currently prevailing in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems; the pandemic of Covid -19, the racial, political, and religious strife that’s ignited worldwide, plus the natural disasters like storms, famine, drought, plagues, climate change, wildfires, earthquakes and erupting volcanoes that suddenly seem to be blossoming more and more as time goes by.
Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously come short in obedience and compliance to Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, and You have faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us, ordinary folks, as well as our leaders, employers and medical personnel, wise guidance and direction to bring our problems under control.
And for those who are currently suffering from the many negative situations, we pray that You will ease their suffering and heal them. Father, please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again we say: Amen!’
The next move is for us to action those words, and begin showing sincere repentance in our hearts, for that’s where the Lord is looking for confirmation of our sincerity.Much LOVE!
…the fool says in his heart…there is no God…how foolish…
22 Mar 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: disobedience, economic disaster, fall on our knees, Gladys Knight, God's awesome promises, grace, gracious, guidance, hatred, he will abundantly pardon, he will have mercy upon him, hear us when we call, Heaven help us all, help the black man, help the white man, Israelites, let the wicked forsake his way, man-made idols, merciful, mercy, molten calf, of great kindness, on which side bread buttered, pagon gods, praise, pray, Ray Charles, ready to pardon, repentance, return unto the Lord, Ron Miller, slow to anger, Stevie Wonder, struggles one more day, thanksgiving, the boy who never had a home, the girl who walks the street alone, the unrighteous man his thoughts, turns his back away, uncharted times, war
Isaiah 55:7. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
And it’s the Lord’s Day once again, meaning it’s church time… Glory be! But since we can’t participate in corporate fellowship because the physical sanctuaries have been closed on account of the rapidly spreading and dangerous Coronavirus, we just have to make do with our li’l internet-based worship. (smile) Oh, you might think it silly, but the fact of the matter is that any which way you can communicate God’s Word and have praise and worship and thanksgiving, it will be considered worthy and appreciated by our heavenly Father.
So enough talk, (smile) let’s get to today’s song of praise. And it’s a most appropriate soul song composed way back when, by one Ron Miller and first recorded by Stevie Wonder in 1970. But today we going to sing a churchier version, (smile) one done by Ray Charles and Gladys Knight. And by the way, the name of the song is ‘Heaven Help Us All.’ Yes friends, in these scary, dangerous and uncharted times, all of us do need all the help we can get from heaven above. So let’s raise our voices in harmonious praise and thanksgiving, but also in a sincere plea for help in these most trying times.
Let’s get soulful with Ray and Gladys: ‘Heaven help the boy who never had a home Heaven help the girl who walks the street alone And Heaven help the roses if the bombs begin to fall Lord, won’t you help us all? Heaven help the black man if he struggles one more day Heaven help the white man if he turns his back away Heaven help the man who kicks the man who has to crawl Heaven help us all. (Chorus: Heaven help us all, Heaven help us all, help us all Heaven help us, Lord, hear our call when we call)
Oh, yeah Heaven help the boy who won’t reach twenty-one And Heaven help the man who gave that child a gun And Heaven help the people with their backs against the wall Lord, won’t you help us all? (Chorus: Heaven help us all…when we call) Gladys monologue – ‘I want everybody within the sound of my voice this evening to fall down on their knees and say a prayer; asking for His guidance, His grace, His mercy. You might want to say: Lord, Lord, Lord, have mercy! –
Now I lay me down before I go to sleep In a troubled world, I pray the Lord, the Lord to keep Keep hatred from the mighty and the mighty from the small Heaven help us all, Heaven help us all, help us all Heaven help us, Lord, hear our call when we call. We need You Jesus so won’t you hear us when we call. We can’t do without You, so please hear us when we call. Heaven help us all, Heaven help us all, help us all Heaven help us, Lord, hear our call when we call.’
Ah friends, I do hope our plea was sincere so that the Lord will act on it. Because, as the song says, our backs are against the wall, both literally and figuratively. This generation has never dealt with a problem of this type and magnitude, so we don’t really know how to handle it. We can deal with war and economic disaster, but we certainly aren’t prepared for an unknown germ on a worldwide scale. And more than ever before, we do need to fall on our knees and pray; offer a pray of sincere repentance first, just in case this tragedy has befallen us because of our very sinful and disobedient condition. Then pray for guidance, grace and mercy to handle it successfully.
I might be wrong, but I do think this is the Lord’s way of reminding us of how small and truly insignificant we are, and how little control we have over His universe. But that’s just my opinion, though it certainly won’t do any harm for us to come to our senses and repent. Yuh know we always think that the Israelites were foolish, for having experienced God’s mercy and miracles in bringing them out of bondage from Egypt, they still turned away and worshipped pagan gods and man-made idols.
However, whenever the Lord made them pay for their disobedience, they were quick to run back to Him. They wisely remembered on which side their bread was buttered. But my people, we have been behaving just as foolishly as they did, by trying to push God out of our society, blaspheming His holy name and considering Him of no account. Now, I believe it’s time for us to do the same wise thing they did on so many occasions; return to the ONE, TRUE and LIVING GOD, He of Abraham, Issacs and Jacob, who created us in His wonderful image and still scrutinizes and macro-manages all of our goings and comings, though we don’t seem to think so.
And what amazes me is that despite all the promises of our God, we still stubbornly refuse to repent and return to Him. Listen to a few of them. Nehemiah says it all: When the Israelites refused to obey and wanted to rebel against Moses and go back to Egypt, the Lord didn’t punish them: ‘for thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.’ (Neh. 9:17)
And even when they made a molten calf to worship, despite such provocation: ‘Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way wherein they should go. Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst.’ (Neh. 9:19-20)
And Isaiah said it straight up on the Lord’s behalf: ‘Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.’ Wow! Friends, if we can’t accept and believe that scripture in light of all the other faithful promises God has made, then I don’t know what else to say. I can certainly try to persuade you with more promises of pardons for repentance, like in Jeremiah 33:6-9, but I won’t because it will make the Bit too long, and furthermore, at this level of our faith, we shouldn’t need a whole lot of scripture to convince us of God’s awesome promises. Much LOVE!
…what’s the point of having promises…if you don’t believe them eh…
27 Aug 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a lust for power, acknolwedged my sin, an old friend, Anselm, anything is possible with our God, aspires to inspire, blessedness of forgiveness, blessing, callaloo, childhood toys, Christian faith, compassion, confession, cowfoot, curse, disbelief, disobeyed, dutch pots, faith, forgiveness, fun, glory, glory to God, god, goodness, gospel truth, grace of God, gungo peas, honour, hope, household chores, I can, I found it, I must, I will, inhibitions, iniquity, iron pots, Israelites, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, magnanimous, magnificent, material possessions, mercy, my past, New Goals, New Growth, new philosophy, obey his voice, Out with the Old, peace, pigeon pease, prayer, proper example, refreshing sea breeze, relaxation, repentance, rest, return unto the Lord, rocket science, seek him with all thy heart, seek the Lord thy God, sinful, soup, spiritual housekeeping, the floods, the good news of Jesus, the Lord's urging, thou shalt find him, Tobago, transgressions, trouble, try it yourself, turn thy captivity, ungodly, with all thy soul, worry, worrying
Deuteronomy 4:29. But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
Well mih people, it’s Saturday! What’s on the agenda for today eh? Hope it includes some fun, rest, and relaxation and not too many household chores. I don’t know about you all nuh, but I wish I could be in Tobago, enjoying the early morning refreshing sea breeze, biding my time to go up Calder Hall Road and get some of the soup from those three big iron (dutch) pots. (smile)
Oh friends, I still can’t get over the size of those iron pots nuh! Hn! I’ve never seen any as big before that, or since. But some pigeon (gungo) peas soup, or cowfoot, or even callaloo soup would certainly go down good this Saturday morning, even here in good ole Toronto.
But I guess I’ll just have to keep on dreaming about that until hopefully with the good grace of God I go back there next year – unless the duchess, under the Lord’s urging, decides to make some gungo peas soup today. Oh glory to God!
I know I won’t get any of the other two from her, because those are T&T specials and she is a Jamdown lady. (smile) I’ll just keep hoping though with a strong Christian faith, for anything is possible where our God is concerned.
Anyway, since it’s Saturday, I guess we should have a look at one of our friend Anselm’s quotes. He always aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And this week there were several good ones, but this one was definitely the winner! It’s long so we only have space for one today. It’s called: ‘Out With The Old.’
And it says: ‘Last Week I threw out WORRYING, It was getting old and in the way. It kept me from being me; I couldn’t do things my way. I threw out those inhibitions; they were just crowding me out. Made room for my New Growth, Got rid of my old dreams and doubts. I threw out a book on MY PAST (didn’t have time to read it anyway). Replaced it with New Goals, Started reading it today.
I threw out childhood toys (remember how I treasured them so)? Got me a NEW PHILOSOPHY too, threw out the one from long ago. Brought in some new books too, Called I CAN, I WILL, and I MUST. Threw out I might, I think and I ought. WOW, You should’ve seen the dust. I ran across an OLD FRIEND, Haven’t seen him in a while. I believe his name is GOD, Yes, I really like His style. He helped me to do some cleaning and added some thing’s Himself. Like PRAYER, HOPE and FAITH, Yes I placed them right on the shelf.
I picked up this special thing and placed it at the front door. I FOUND IT – it’s called PEACE. Nothing gets me down anymore. Yes, I’ve got my house looking nice. Looks good around the place. For things like Worry and Trouble There just isn’t any place. It’s good to do a little house cleaning, Get rid of the old things on the shelf. It sure makes things brighter; maybe you should TRY IT YOURSELF.’
Amen, my brethren! Now doesn’t that sound like a very good idea for this Saturday morning? It surely does! A little spiritual housekeeping never hurt anyone. So let’s try it today ourselves nuh. By the way, the boldface type was my idea, not Anselm’s.
And yuh know what too friends, it jives so nicely with our Bit, like they were just made to run one into the other. (smile) ‘But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.’ Gospel truth my people, pure, unadulterated gospel truth!
And we do need to kick out some of the old stuff, like a lust for power, material possessions and other things of the world, like worry and trouble, when we sincerely go seeking God, because those things have no place in His realm. Now listen to our God’s conditions for restoration and blessing as spoken by Moses to the children of Israel.
‘And it shall come to pass, when all those things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind (remember them) among all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee, And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;
That then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity ( bring you back from captivity), and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee.’ (Deut.30:1-3)
Oh friends, there’s no rocket science in that statement. If, or rather when the Israelites disobeyed God’s commandments and turned to worshipping idols and other pagan rites, He sent them into captivity all over the world. However, when they remembered His goodness and mercy and decided to return unto Him, He promised to welcome them with open arms.
My fellow believers, it’s the same thing the Lord our God is saying to us today. It’s not too late. If we stop trying to remove Him from our society and instead turn to Him with sincere confession and repentance, He is more than willing to forgive us. That’s how magnanimous and magnificent is the God we serve!
But my people it’s become a hard sell to bring others to Jesus, especially when we believers are not setting a consistent and proper example of Christian faith and behaviour. Remember, we are the only group that’s really concerned with the sinful and ungodly state of the world, and if we don’t lead by proper example, we can’t blame others for not wanting to get involved with Jesus’ LOVE Revolution.
And we’ll end with these immortal words of Bruh David from Psalm 32 – The blessedness of forgiveness. ‘I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.’ (Ps.33:5-7)
So friends, it’s now left up to us to spread the good news of Jesus all around the world, but in a manner that brings Him glory and honour. Much LOVE!
…God’s word is real…many have lived to tell it…but many more have died in disbelief…
.
27 Mar 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abundance, almighty god, blessings, buy and eat, call upon God, come and drink for free, come unto me, comfort, Controller, courage, Creator, drunks, dwell with humanity, eternal life, excellent job, faithful believers, faithfully, faithfulness, for our benefit, free gift, glorified, God is the greatest, God works on our behalf, God's purpose, God's thoughts higher than mans, God's ways higher than man's, gospel, grace, highway 401, Holy Ghost, holy spirit, hunger and thirst after righteousness, in Jesus' name, indulge in sin, indwelling of the holy spirit, Jesus Christ, keep on doing it diligently, knowledge, let the wicked forske his ways, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, magnanimous, mercy, milk, mind-boggling offer, motivate the believer, omnipotent, pardon, peace, Pothole Season, potholes, provider, put it into serious practice, return unto the Lord, righteousness., rivers of living water, roads in bad shape, salutations, salvation, seek the Lord, sgnificant cracks in the roads, source of new life, Spirit of God, spiritual experiences, spring, take all this to heart, teetotallers, unconditional LOVE, understanding, walking in Jesus' footsteps, whoever is thirsty, wicked world, wine, winter weather, wisdom, without money, without price, workmanship
Isaiah 55:1. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.’
Oh my Friends, salutations and blessings, and courage and comfort, with wisdom and peace to all you who desire to walk faithfully in the tough but energizing footsteps of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, this chilly Thursday morning at the end of March 2014! May He, in His wisdom and great faithfulness, grant us all that we need to go out and do an excellent job in His Holy Name! Amen!
Now today I want to share something from a comic strip called Rhymes with Orange, posted in the newspaper a couple of days ago. This particular scene shows two police officers, one white, one black, sitting in a patrol car, with the white one telling the black one: ‘Look for the cars driving straight… They’re the drunks. It’s the teetotallers swerving all over the road.’ And at the bottom of the strip, there’s a sign that says: ‘POTHOLE SEASON.’
And although all that is meant as a joke, right now it could be taken quite seriously in Toronto and its environs, because I’ve never seen our roads in such bad shape. This winter’s been real hard on them. The potholes are usually prevalent, but this year there are also significant cracks extending for long distances on all the roads.
I recently drove down the major highway 401 that runs north of Toronto, it’s one of the busiest in the world, and right by the airport, the cracks and potholes were so bad that it didn’t make sense to try and avoid them. In some places you’d think you were driving in some impoverished third world country.
And on my street, the cracks go almost all the way down, on both sides of the yellow, dividing line. I also noticed yesterday like they attempted to patch up some of the more serious cracks and holes, but that only makes the ride bumpier. Chuh!
And despite the calendar saying it’s now spring, don’t fool yuh fat nuh, the winter weather is still here, though the weather people have promised us a short break this week.
Anyway my people, all of that is small potatoes – until you have to take your vehicle to the mechanic (smile) – and we can handle whatever comes against us because our God is the GREATEST; not only omnipotent, but also magnanimous to a fault, and He always works on our behalf, for our benefit!
How awesome my people! We have a powerful and magnificent God who is always with us, working for our good. And it is all shown right here in our Bit: ‘Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat: yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price.’
Now how can we ever refuse such a mind-boggling offer from our Creator, Controller and Provider eh?
But unfortunately many people are doing exactly that. Only because they don’t really understand what this life is all about, whom Almighty God truly is, and how He operates.
However Friends, that’s where we come in. It’s our job, as faithful believers, to get out into our extremely violent and wicked world and tell them about Jesus; of His unconditional LOVE, and free gift of grace that leads to salvation and eternal life.
We need to get the unbelievers -and many supposed believers too – to a place where they can truly appreciate these verses: ‘Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’ (Is.55:6-9)
Yes my brethren, only when mankind fully understands, appreciates and believes those words, will he be able to sincerely seek refuge in our most wonderful Deity, Jehovah God!
And all of what Isaiah says is no lie my people, because we’ve seen Jesus saying the same thing. And we’ll quote another of Jesus’ immortal sayings on people hungering and thirsting for righteousness.
‘In the last day, that great day of the feast, (feast of the tabernacles) Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly (heart) shall flow rivers of living water.’ (John 7:37-38)
Oh fellow believers, that’s the third time that Jesus has spoken of giving living water to those who believe in Him. Now what does He mean by that eh? The next verse clears that up.
‘(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe in him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)’ (John 7:39)
Yes mih breddren, it’s the Holy Spirit which indwells ALL believers, that Jesus is referring to! And we’ll close with some interesting comments from the scholars, re the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
‘7:39. One of God’s purposes since the beginning has been to dwell with humanity and enjoy fellowship with us. He does it in this dispensation through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit (1) occurs automatically when a person is saved; (2) is not an “experience,” but produces spiritual experiences; (3) remains permanently; (4) is the basis of all the other ministries of the Holy Spirit; and (5) is the source of new life in the believer:
Illustration: When Paul met 12 disciples of John who did not know of the Holy Spirit, he knew they needed to be saved. So he preached the gospel to them (Acts 19:1-5).
Application: The Holy Spirit’s indwelling should motivate the believer to be careful not to harm his body nor indulge his body in sin. (1 Cor.6:19-20). (First Ref. Ex.35:31; Primary Ref. John 7:37-39; cf. 1 Cor.12:13.)’
Oh Friends, please, please let’s take all this to heart and either put into serious practice, or if we have already done that, then let’s just keep on diligently doing it nuh! In Jesus’ name, I pray. Much LOVE!
…and he hath filled him (Bezaleel)…with the spirit of God…in wisdom…in understanding…and in knowledge…and in all manner of workmanship… (Ex.35:31)
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