15 Dec 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a beautiful garden, a branch, a compassionate heart, a positive outlook, abide in Jesus' love, abundance, answered prayer, ask what ye will, be fruitful, bear much fruit, blessings, broken, cast forth, cast into the fire, Christmas Season, consideration, courage, courtesy, creativity, curse, diligence, disciples, energy, exceptional, faith, faithfulness, family, favour, fertilizing friendships, friends, fulfillment, gentleness, glorify the Father, good relationships, goodness, grow, guiding light, he that abideth in me, human strength, I am the vine, in Jesus' name, indisputable truth, it shall be done for you, joy, judgement, judgement seat of Christ, kindness, lines of communication, long-suffering, LOVE, LOVE each other, mature, meekness, morning rush hour, my words abide in you, negative word, overnight, P.S. I Love You, Paul's immortal words, peace, purists, relationship with Jesus, relationships, rewards, self-control, self-discipline, snow, success, supernatural strength, supernatural wisdom, takes time, talent, temperance, the agent of Jesus, the Father glorified, the fruit of the spirit, the same bringeth forth much fruit, Thursday's Blessings, truth, unique, vine, weed filled jungle, weeds, white christmas, withered, without me ye can do nothing, ye are the branches
John 15:5. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
Ah friends, like this snow business seems to be rather serious yes, because it visited us again last night. Chuh! Not as much as over the weekend, but enough to make life somewhat difficult in the early morning rush hour.
Some people might be happy with that, since it might mean that we’ll finally have a traditional white Christmas ten days hence.
Over the last few years, that hasn’t been as regular an occurrence as in days gone by, and some of the purists have been disappointed. But what to do eh? If it’s winter, then there’s a very real probability of snow. (smile)
Now here’s a timely reminder from my ‘P.S. I LOVE YOU’ Poster, which says: ‘Friends are like a beautiful garden. They require regular care.’
And is that ever true my people! Unless we spend time fertilizing those friendships that we treasure, they’ll eventually grow weeds and disintegrate into what resembles a dilapidated and forgotten garden. We need to keep those lines of communication open with our friends, just like we need to keep them open to God.
So, especially at this festive and friendly Christmas season, let’s remember to reach out to our friends and family with whom we haven’t had any recent communication, so the beautiful garden we have blossoming with them, won’t be changed into a weed filled jungle.
Remember, without good relationships an important part of us goes missing and makes us less than whole. And talking about relationships, the most important one in our life is that which we have with Jesus.
Listen to Him explain it in our Bit. ‘I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.’
And that is indisputable truth my people! For without Jesus as the leading and guiding light of our lives, we are able to do precious little in our own human strength.
Hear Him continue His discourse. ‘If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto (for) you.
Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath LOVED me, so have I LOVED you: continue ye (abide) in my LOVE.’ (John 15:6-9)
Oh friends, what a wonderful promise! If we abide in Jesus and He in us, then we’ll be His disciples, be fruitful and glorify the Father, and the Father will grant us our requests. How awesome is that eh!
But we need to remember that last proviso: to abide in Jesus’ LOVE! Just like the Father LOVED Him, and He LOVED us, we need to continue LOVING Him and each other. Without that LOVE shining forth my fellow believers, all that we claim to do for Jesus is of no account.
Now here are a couple of explanations from the scholars re those verses above. ’15:6. This refers to the judgement of the believers at the judgement seat of Christ (2 Cor.5:10).’
15:7. The promise of answered prayer is based on the disciple acting as the agent of Jesus’ will (cf. 16:23-26). The promise is for unlimited resources to do the works of God.’
And as we’re talking about bringing forth fruit for Christ, let’s just share Bruh Paul’s immortal words on the subject. ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness (kindness), goodness, faith (faithfulness), Meekness (courtesy, consideration), temperance (self-control): against such there is no law.’ (Gal.5:22-23)
Yeh mih people that’s what is expected of us in terms of bearing fruit for Christ. And the scholars add. ‘5:22. The word fruit is significant for three reasons. (1) It means the result, the product, outcome, or effect produced by the Spirit in the believer’s life.
(2) Unlike “the gifts of the Spirit” (plural), only some of which are given to a Christian, each believer is expected to have all nine virtues composing “the fruit of the Spirit” (singular). (3) As fruit on a tree takes time to grow and mature, so the Spirit does not cultivate these values in the believer’s life overnight.’
Yeh, I know we’re complaining that that’s a lot of fruit to bear, but as the scholars say, it doesn’t grow overnight, or all at once, but like real fruit takes time, diligence and energy.
And as Jesus promised, if we abide in Him, and He in us, we will have the help of all heaven and earth to produce the fruit He desires of us. So there’s no need to worry; just stay close to Jesus, and all will be well.
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings. Remember, a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone.
In unison friends: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Wow! It couldn’t get any better than that my brethren! So let’s take it all to heart nuh, and put it into solid action. Much LOVE!
…the bearing of fruit for Jesus…it’s such a wonderful process…and the rewards are so unique and exceptional…
09 Dec 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a castaway, backbone, believers in Jesus Christ, belly, boxers, can't stop the party, Canada, Christian ministry, daily struggle, dampen, discipline, disqualified, earthly pilgrimage, endures to the end, essentail, evil, fight the good fight, finished my course, fleshly temptations, forfeiting rewards, fought a good fight, Friday chant, friends, fun, gay abandon, generous help, glorious kingdom, icy sections, immortal words, in Jesus' name, iniquity, Isthmian Games, Jesus Christ, kept the faith, LOVE, lusts of the flesh, maturing, meekness, not easy, ox-hide, patience, perseverance, relaxation, rest, rewards, righteousness., salvation, shall be saved, sin, snow, snowfall, spiritual life, steadfastness, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the LOVE of money, the righteous path, the song of the heathen, the song of the righteous, the victor's crown, trials, tribulations, week of work, weekend, weekend enthusiasm, wintertime
2 Timothy 4:7. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course (race), I have kept the faith.
Ah mih people, at long last a semi-serious snowfall has hit my area. Chuh! And the time was going by so nicely! But that’s the nature of this good country Canada; wintertime means snow is very likely to disrupt the situation. (smile)
However, it wasn’t too bad a snowstorm, and hopefully by now the roads would have been cleared and salted. But still, please be careful if you have to drive because there is liable to be some icy sections out there.
And you’d think that the snow would dampen the weekend enthusiasm…not on yuh life! The shouting of ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday, and the weekend is upon us!’ still rings out. ‘A li’l snow can’t stop the party. We’ll just have to stay inside and keep warm, while the drinks and whatnot flow! Thank God for Fridays and the weekends oui!’
Now that’s the song of the heathen, let’s sing that of the righteous; our Friday Chant, with as much, if not more verve and enthusiasm than the heathen. All together now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yeh friends, that’s a much better way of handling the weekend, than simply giving into the lusts of the flesh and celebrating with gay abandon.
Anyway, let’s turn to our Bit; Bruh Paul’s immortal words, for the last time. ‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course (race), I have kept the faith.’
Oh precious people of God, it is essential that we believers in Jesus Christ, fight a good fight against the evil of this world! The world will not simply allow us to live our lives according to God’s will, because it doesn’t fit into their programme of sin and iniquity.
That means, at each and every chance they get, they will try to dissuade us from following the righteous path with lustful and fleshly temptations. But we have to learn to resist it.
As we saw Bruh Paul tell the Corinthians yesterday: ‘But I keep under (discipline) my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway (disqualified).’ (1 Cor.9:27)
And I worked that verse in there because I want to share a very interesting explanation of the scholars on it. ‘9:27. I keep under my body (i.e. discipline my body): The expression I keep under loses much of the original sense. It has the idea of to “give one a black eye,” “buffet,” or “bruise.”
Paul’s readers knew that in the Isthmian Games, the boxers wore gloves consisting of ox-hide hands covered with knots and nails, and loaded with lead and iron. To prepare for such an event, a man would have to brace himself to endure all forms of physical abuse.
Lest that by any means …I myself should be a castaway (lit. “So that …I myself should not be disqualified”): Paul was afraid of losing his salvation: his subject is still Christian liberty. The point is that the believer must discipline himself to avert both being disqualified from Christian ministry, and forfeiting the rewards for such service.’
Oh friends, can you imagine the bloodied bodies of the boxers in those olden times. One would have to be very brave and single minded to take part in such a carnal sport. But that’s the kind of mentality we need to have to fight off the temptations of this world and eventually win the victor’s crown.
We can’t afford to be disqualified from Christ’s ministry and also lose the rewards earned through doing it. Now hear what Bruh Paul told Timothy in his first message re the good fight of faith.
‘But thou, O man of God, flee these things: and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, LOVE, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed (confessed) a good profession (confession) before many witnesses.’ (1 Tim.6:11-12)
And the scholars explain: ‘6:11. Flee these things means shun a LOVE for money (v.10) and the striving for material wealth (v.9) with all its resulting woes. Follow after means pursue. Righteousness is practical correctness, conforming to God’s will in one’s thinking and acting.
Godliness is proper reverence for, and obedience to God. Faith is a trust in God that grows stronger. LOVE is a maturing affection for God and man. Patience is perseverance or steadfastness in life and service. Meekness is gentleness.’
‘6:12. The good fight concerns the daily struggle with sin in the Christian life, and the hardships and adversities in the ministry. A genuine believer demonstrates the reality of his faith by being engaged in this warfare.
Lay hold on eternal life does not negate the fact that a believer now possesses spiritual life (John 3:36); rather, it speaks of fully realizing or appropriating salvation as the believer matures.’
Ah friends, the life of a true believer is not an easy one. As Jesus told the disciples, we’d be persecuted just for believing in Him: ‘but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.’ (Matt.10:22)
So it’s up to us to keep persevering, keep fighting the good fight, keep maturing, obviously with God’s help, until we reach the end and are presented with the victor’s crown.
Wow mih people! What a day that will be! It will certainly be worth all the trials and tribulations endured in this earthly pilgrimage! Much LOVE!
…to fight the good fight successfully…one must have plenty belly and backbone…
18 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a food man, a right heart, Abraham Isaac and Jacob, adventure, afraid, all weekend, among the heathen, another week of work, at the forefront of our lives, blessed be my Rock, bombarding heaven, confidence, dealt bountifully, deliverance, diligently, discretion, drinking, enjoyment, esteem, evil tidings, exalted, fallacy, favour, fellowship, fete, frail minds and bodies, Friday chant, friends, from dusk to dawn, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, generous help, Gentiles, give thanks, given to the poor, gnash with his teeth, God avenges me, guide his affairs, honour, horn, I am helped, I will praise him, in Jesus' name, jamming, licentious, LOVE, loving kindness, melt away, mercy, move mountains, my heart rejoices, my heart trusted in him, my shield, my song, negative circumstances, pleasure seeking attitude, prayers, refreshed, rejoice in thy salvation, relaxation, remembrance, renewed, rewards, righteousness, salvation, seek the Lord first, spiritual strength, strain, stress, testify, tests, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, thanksgiving, the desire of the wicked, The Lord is my strength, the Lord liveth, the one and only true living God, the righteous, the weekend, trials, trust, trusting in the Lord, ungodly ways, who vex loss, wine women and song, with God's help
Psalm 28:7. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.
And then it was Friday… And mama yo, I couldn’t stand the noise in mih ears, the raucous singing of ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday! We going to be jamming all weekend! Is fete and more fete! We drinking…drinking from dusk till dawn! We doh care who vex… For as they say, who vex loss. Thank God is Friday yes! Thank God for the weekend oui!’
Oh friends, sadly, that is the pleasure seeking attitude of a large portion of our society towards the weekend.
Ah Lord eh! They think it’s okay to waste it in wine, women and song, but that’s a serious fallacy. The weekend is for some enjoyment yes, but not totally. But try as we can, we can’t get that segment of our population to give up their licentious and ungodly ways on the weekend.
Anyhow, we have a different song we sing; our Friday Chant, which shows a better and godlier way to use the weekend. Let’s chant it in all sincerity now nuh. In unison: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes my people, that is indeed the better way to celebrate the weekend! We need to refresh ourselves for another week of work, not continue to stress and strain our already frail minds and bodies.
But we can only do those kinds of things when we have a sincere faith and trust in the ONE and ONLY TRUE and LIVING God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
Where we can confidently say like Bruh David does in our Bit: ‘The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.’
Oh my people, my people, when that kind of confidence dwells in us, then our spiritual strength is so strong, that we can certainly move mountains with the Lord’s help!
Look at the amount of negative circumstances Bruh David overcame, not because he was a saint, but because he held God in the greatest esteem possible and always communicated with Him, regardless of the circumstances.
That’s how we need to live in these uncertain and confusing times my brethren! Without God at the forefront of our lives, we stand little chance of getting through this life successfully.
But enough of me, (smile) let’s get to some scripture which emphasizes what we’re talking about; trust and confidence in Almighty God. Listen to Bruh David from Psalm 13 – How long, O Lord, how long?
‘But I have trusted in thy mercy (LOVING-kindness); my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.’(Ps.13:5-6)
Oh friends, I can certainly testify to that, because the Lord has indeed dealt bountifully with me. Glory to God! It doesn’t mean you have an easy life – in fact it’s often more difficult as the Lord tests you, but the rewards, the adventure and pleasure involved, are certainly worth the trials He might put you through.
Now hear Bruh David again, this time from Psalm 112 – Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord. ‘A good man showeth favour (is gracious), and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.
Surely he shall not be moved (shaken) for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed (steadfast), trusting in the Lord. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.
He hath dispersed (distributed abroad), he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever, his horn (strength) shall be exalted with honour. The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.’ (Ps.112:5-10)
That is what happens my brethren when we seek the Lord first in everything that we do. Now let’s end with some more confident words from Bruh David from Psalm 18 – Thanksgiving for deliverance.
‘The Lord liveth; and blessed be my Rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me. He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.
Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen (Gentiles), and sing praises unto thy name. Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and showeth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed (descendants) for evermore.’ (Ps.18:46-50)
Ah friends, I do hope that all that positive scripture raised our confidence level and trust in Almighty God this Friday morning, and will allow us to rise to any occasion that comes our way, for that’s its purpose. Much LOVE!
…the Lord God works diligently on our behalf…when we diligently seek Him with a right heart…
P.S. Let’s remember to keep on praying for Scotty, our Scrip-Bit family member who is currently in the hospital. I hear he’s doing a li’l better. So please, let’s keep bombarding heaven with our prayers for him. Much LOVE!
13 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adventure, adversities, affection, believers in Jesus Christ, blood, by water, charter of salvation, Christ-like, Christians, church, conforming to God's will, consummation of peace, correctness, encouragement, enthusiasm, equipped, eternal life, face the upcoming week, faith, fellowship, fight the good fight of faith, flee these things, for her life he died, fruit of our lips, furnished, God's guidebook, God's inspired Word, godliness, good works, grace, hardships, heresies, his holy bride, inspiration of God, Jesus Christ, lay hold on eternal life, live eternally, LOVE, lowly, man of God, material wealth, maturity, measure up, meek, meekness, ministry, money, new creation, obedience, passion, patience, perfect, perseverance, phenomenal, praise, progress, relaxation, Remembrance Day, rent asunder, rest, reverence, rewards, righteousness, sacrifice of praise, saints, salvation, schisms, standards of righteousness, steadfastness, strength, sweet communion, thanksgiving, the Book of answers, the church's one foundation, the Lord's Sabbath, the man of God, the morn of song, the Word, toil, tribulation, trust in God, tumult, union with God, victorious, war, weeping, woes, worship
2 Timothy 3:17. That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.
Ah friends, that wonderful day called Sunday, the Lord’s Sabbath, has rolled around once more! It’s a day of rest and relaxation, but more importantly one also of worship and fellowship amongst Christians.
That means, if we are able, we ought to get together with other believers in Jesus Christ to sing and offer praise and thanksgiving for His goodness to us, to listen to His word, as well as receive encouragement and strength to face the upcoming week.
Now let’s begin with a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of our lips, by singing the inspirational hymn, ‘The Church is One Foundation.’ With sincere enthusiasm and passion friends: ‘The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord; she is his new creation by water and the Word. From heaven he came and sought her to be his holy bride; with his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died.
Elect from every nation, yet one o’er all the earth; her charter of salvation: one Lord, one faith, one birth. One holy name she blesses, partakes one holy food, and to one hope she presses, with every grace endued. Though with a scornful wonder the world sees her oppressed, by schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed, yet saints their watch are keeping; their cry goes up: “How long?” and soon the night of weeping shall be the morn of song.
Mid toil and tribulation, and tumult of her war, she waits the consummation of peace forevermore, till with the vision glorious her longing eyes are blest, and the great church victorious shall be the church at rest. Yet she on earth hath union with God the Three in One, and mystic sweet communion with those whose rest is won: O happy ones and holy! Lord, give us grace that we like them, the meek and lowly, may live eternally.’
Glory to God my people for such a wonderful worship song, written way back at the end of the 19th century by the British pastor Samuel J. Stone! And over a century later, it’s still a worship favourite. I wonder if the songs we’ve recently penned will be sung so victoriously a century from now eh? Who knows? That’s even if the world is still around the way we know it.
But regardless of what exists then, right now we have to go back to our Bit of a few days ago. I fully intended to continue it on Friday, but that was Remembrance Day, and the other Bit about a man laying down his life for his friend, just fit better. Then yesterday, the scripture about the true light, also seemed to be a better fit, per the direction in which I was being led. (smile)
So let’s refresh our memories a tad with the verse before our Bit. ‘All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.’ (2 Tim.3:16) And we said that the Bible was God’s guidebook to us for earthly righteous living, and though it was physically written by men, it was authored by God, through His divine inspiration.
And our Bit tells us of the very important reason why the Lord authored it. ‘That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.’ And the scholars told us that ‘God’s inspired Word, properly used and applied provides all we need for life and ministry.’
Glory Hallelujah my people! We don’t need anything else to live this life proficiently, capably, righteously than God’s Book of Answers!
Now let’s check out some scriptures on the subject. Listen to Bruh Paul admonish Timothy in his earlier letter. After talking about the LOVE of money being the root of all kinds of evil, and how some have ruined themselves through covetousness, Bruh Paul tells him.
‘But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, LOVE, patience, meekness. Fight the Good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art called, and hast professed (confessed) a good profession (confession) before many witnesses.’ (1 Tim.6:11-12)
Oh friends, all of that also applies to us today, if we want to be considered a man or woman of God!
And the scholars offer these interesting explanations. ‘6:11. Flee these things means shun a LOVE for money (v.10) and the striving for material wealth (v.9) with all its resulting woes. Follow after means pursue. Righteousness is practical correctness, conforming to God’s will in one’s thinking and acting.
Godliness is proper reverence for, and obedience to, God. Faith is a trust in God that grows stronger. LOVE is a maturing affection for God and man. Patience is perseverance or steadfastness in life and service. Meekness is gentleness.’
There we have it my brethren; a chart against which we can measure our progress and success in being a true man, or woman of God.
And the scholars continue: ‘6:12. The good fight concerns the daily struggle with sin in the Christian life, and the hardships and adversities in the ministry. A genuine believer demonstrates the reality of his faith by being engaged in this warfare. Lay hold on eternal life does not negate the fact that a believer now possesses spiritual life (John 3:36); rather, it speaks of fully realizing or appropriating salvation as the believer matures.’
Yes friends, those few words do say a lot about our Christian faith, and I think it’s a good time for us to take stock of our personal faith, or maturity, whether we’re making any progress or not. So let’s take a few moments sometime today, find a quiet spot and see how we measure up against those standards of righteousness nuh.
Let’s see if we are truly fighting the good fight, really involved in the spiritual warfare; see how we doing with shunning the LOVE of money and the material things of the world. Let’s check to see if our faith is as strong as it ought to be, if we’re persevering and steadfast and gentle…and all the other righteous attitudes and capabilities we need to live a Christ-like life, for that’s supposed to be our earthly goal.
And as always, wherever we find ourselves lacking, let’s turn to our heavenly Father and confidently ask for His always available help. Much LOVE!
…a Christian’s life is not an easy go…but the adventure involved is worth it…and the rewards at the end are truly phenomenal…
03 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's wisdom, a true Christian, adrenaline, aligning oneself, all the earth, antidote, aura of love, confidence, Creator of the universe, do good work for Jesus, endureth for ever, energizes, enthusiasm, enthusiastic, evil, evil hordes, exalth themselves, faith, fellowship, foolish, friends, fun, Gentiles, glory hallelujah, halfhearted, hit the road, holy spirit, homage, humble servants, hymn of praise, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, lies, LOVE, loving kindness, magnificent and magnanimous God, make like jack, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, omni-present, omnipotent, omniscient, play favourites, Praise ye the Lord, rebellious, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, rewards, salvation, Selah, sing to thy name, sing unto thee, sometime thing, sovereignty, spiritual armour, spreading the good news of Jesus, steadfast faith, the Great Commission, the truth of the Lord, the weekend, the works of God, trust, ungodly world, unwise, wisdom, work time, worship
Psalm 66:4. All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.
Ah friends, the second big day of the week is here, and our journey through it will depend on how we handled the first big day of the week. (smile) Yeh mih people, it’s work time once again, and if we’ve used the weekend properly, we’d be all set and ready, enthusiastic and can’t wait to get out into the world and show the godless and the heathen how a true believer in Jesus, a true Christian behaves.
But since many of us have compromised ourselves on the weekend, consequently, we are not ready and able, or willing to face the evil hordes that abound in the working world. But there’s no reason to be anxious or afraid, for we have the right antidote for your problem. It’s called our Monday Morning Battle Hymn and it energizes us, gets our adrenaline running so that we can go out and do good work for Jesus.
So without further ado, let’s raise our voices heavenward in harmony and praise. ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Oh friends, that wasn’t too hot nuh; out of tune and not very enthusiastic, and our choirmaster, Jesus, definitely wasn’t pleased. You could see that by the serious look on His comely face and His unsmiling eyes. Nevertheless, most of us now have our motors idling smoothly, so let’s make like jack nuh, hit the road and do Jesus’ bidding, as per the Great Commission. (Matt.28:19-20)
That brings us to our Bit: ‘All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.’
Oh my brethren, that is ever so true! In due course of time, everyone on planet earth will be singing the praises of our wonderful God! Why? Because He is just such a magnificent, magnanimous, omnipotent, omniscient, omni-present, ever-LOVING, ever-caring, ever-faithful, kind, forgiving and compassionate Deity! Wow!
He’s also the Creator of the universe and all therein! And there’s NO OTHER like Him! So why wouldn’t we worship and sing praises to Him eh? Not unless we’re foolish and unwise. And, unfortunately, there are way too many of that type in today’s world. They think that God is a joke, or He just doesn’t exist.
But that’s the furthest thing from the truth my fellow believers, and we know that because God is at work in us, doing all sorts of wonderful things in our lives, as we work for Him down here, spreading the good news of Jesus, while storing up eternal rewards in heaven. Glory Hallelujah!
Listen to how the psalmist continues after our Bit. ‘Come and see the works of God: he is terrible (awesome) in his doing toward the children of men, He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood (river) on foot: there did we rejoice in him. He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.’ (Ps.66:5-7)
Now that last statement is a very serious warning to the unbeliever; they ought not to think too highly of themselves, for with the same speed that they are exalted, the Lord will pull them back down for their false pride and egotistic disregard of His sovereignty. Not aligning oneself with the Creator and Controller of the universe and paying Him great homage is a fool’s wisdom my people.
Hear the psalmist from Psalm 117, the shortest chapter in the Bible. ‘O Praise the Lord, all ye nations (gentiles) praise (glorify) him, all ye people. For his merciful (LOVING) kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Praise ye the Lord.’ (Ps.117:1-2)
And the scholars offer up these explanations on the psalm. ‘Psalm 117. This little psalm contains a great message. Though some have denied it an independent existence, attaching it to Psalm 116, Psalm 117 has all three elements of the hymn of praise: a call to praise (v.1), a cause for praise (v.2a, b), and a conclusion, which in this case is a simple praise ye the Lord (v.2c).
The fact that the nations and people (lit. “peoples”) are addressed in verse 1 makes this psalm the only one in the Psalter addressed in its entirety to the Gentile world. Its evangelistic mood was still baffling to some of Paul’s readers. This is one of four passages that Paul quotes from the Old Testament, in Romans 15, to prove that God is interested in saving Gentiles.’
Yeh friends, that’s one of the reasons Almighty God is worthy of much praise; He’s interested in saving EVERYBODY, not just some. Our God doesn’t play favourites, He wants all of His creation to come to Him, and that’s a part of our job. So please let’s get out there today and do it to the best of our ability nuh, obviously with the help of God, through His Holy Spirit that dwells within us. Much LOVE!
…praising our God should be an automatic, joyful and continuous response from believers…not a halfhearted, sometime thing…
30 Sep 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a name above every name, a rainy day, at the right hand of God's throne, be of good cheer, caring, Christian, compassionate, complaining, dark clouds, despising the shame, doing my own thing, endured the cross, every knee shal bow, every tongue confess, exalted, faith, fellowship, finisher, freedom, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's kingdom, generous help, glorious days, Glory be, glory to God, good and faithful servant, humanity, humbled himself, in Jesus' name, in the form of God, in the likeness of men, ingrates, intercession, Jesus, Jesus christ is Lord, looking unto Jesus, loving kindness, lusts of pleasure, no reputation, obedience, obedience to God's will, originator, overcome the world, peace, perfector of our faith, Philippians, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rest, rewards, sacrificial end, servant, set before him, shame, sinless soul, stalwart resolve, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the author, the death of the cross, the joy, the SON, to the glory of God, trials, tribulations, way of life, we reap what we sow, welcome, when the trump is called
Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author (originator) and finisher (perfector) of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Well my people, it was indeed a rainy day in my area yesterday, and today looks like it’s going to be more of the same. But as always, even when we can’t see the sun, we know it’s somewhere behind the dark clouds hovering overhead.
Likewise, even if we don’t see the Son, we know for sure that He’s around, bright and beautiful, dwelling in our hearts minds, bodies and souls! Glory to God!
Now it’s Friday, and despite the gloomy weather, I’m still hearing joyful shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday, and two glorious days of freedom are on the horizon! Oh, the weekend is mine, to do what I want with it! Glory be! And even though the rain is falling, it’s not going to stop me from doing my own thing! Thank God for Fridays and the weekend yes!’
Ah friends, the lusts of pleasure are rearing their ugly heads, so let’s counteract them with our more sensible way of spending the weekend nuh, by chanting our Friday Chant. In one strong voice now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
And please people, let’s not just chant the chant, but let’s work it too, put it into action, so that we can have a great upcoming workweek, for remember whatever we sow on the weekend we’ll reap during the week. (smile)
And that segues quite nicely into our Bit. ‘Looking unto Jesus the author (originator) and finisher (perfector) of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.’
Yes my fellow believers, to run this race of life successfully, we have to keep looking to Jesus every day, for He is the one who designed the Christian way of life, and faithfully lived it right through to its sacrificial end. We can do no better than emulating Him, for therein lies eternal wisdom.
Now yesterday we continued dissecting our Bit by looking at the statement ‘who for the joy that was set before him.’ And though there was no joy in the real sense of the word, Jesus ‘endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.’
His obedience to the Father’s will was outstanding. The joy came much later; after He had sacrificed His sinless soul for a bunch of ingrates. And these words of Bruh Paul to the Philippians explains it all.
‘Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of (those) things in heaven, and (those) things in earth, and (those) things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil.2:5-11)
Yuh see friends, Jesus came to earth as a man for the specific purpose of dying on the cross for our sins. Remember, He was God, but took on our humanity and humbled Himself as a man, without complaining, so that He could do the Father’s will.
And yuh see what happened afterwards? The Father exalted Him; made His name higher than every other, and caused every tongue to declare that Christ is Lord, and He’s now set down at the Father’s right hand, offering intercession for us.
Wow! That’s how the Lord rewards us when we stand in obedience to His word, despite the trials and tribulations involved in our circumstances. It’s not easy, Jesus proved that, and He also promised it. ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33)
Yes mih breddren, though the world will be full of calamity, we can afford to be peaceful and of good cheer, because our Lord and Saviour has already overcome the sinful world. So let’s keep on looking to Jesus nuh, being humble and obedient, caring and compassionate, enduring our trials and troubles with a stalwart resolve, backed by Jesus’ promise never to leave nor forsake us.
Let’s keep on keeping on, with no thought whatsoever of giving up, until that day when we come to stand before the Father, and He invites us to live with Him forever, by uttering these wonderful words: ‘Welcome, thou good and faithful servant,’ and hugs us to His breast, the way a caring and compassionate father does his child.
Oh friends, we couldn’t ask for a better welcome than that! So please, let’s get ourselves together and do the things we ought to do nuh – we all know what they are – so that when the trump is called up yonder we’ll be there, getting a heavenly welcome. There’s no better reward than that! Much LOVE!
…true humility and obedience to God’s word on earth…will bring untold rewards and exceeding LOVING-kindness in heaven…
07 Sep 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new creature, abundant life, actions, all-out effort, be friendly, blessed day, break the chains, Christ, christ lives in me, Christian Manifesto, crucified, crucified with Christ, delivered from guilt, dr robert h schuller, faithfully serving, freed from sin, freedom, freedom from sin, gave himself for me, glorious future with christ, glory hallelujah, God-given, golden words of advice, halfway home, hands on the plough, happiness, hitching your wagon to a star, holy spirit, Hour of Power Devotional, I live, I live by faith, in the flesh, in the likeness of his death, in the likeness of his resurrection, inoperative, joy, laziness, lazy attitude, living for Christ, LOVE, make a positive difference, newness of life, old things are passed away, people of excellence, praise, price of success, rewards, slaves to sin, source of power, strength, Thanks be to God, the breath of life, the foundation of wisdom, the highest joy of life, the music of the soul, the road to happiness, the ruling passion, the secret of youth, the Son of God, time to dream, time to laugh, time to love, time to play, time to read, time to think, time to work, to serve Christ, understanding, united, Wednesday Wail, wisdom, words, you reap what you sow
Galatians 2:20. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of (by faith in) the Son of God, who LOVED me, and gave himself for me.
Ah mih people, it’s another God-given, blessed day in our lives! All praise and thanks be to our great and generous God!
The first thing I want to do is to apologize for the error in the dates in yesterday’s titles. I know that many of you missed it, but that’s what comes from laziness, meaning copying the titles from the day before and not remembering to change the dates. One title says the 6th while the other says the 5th.
Chuh! It annoys me when I make those lazy attitude errors, but as we all know, you only reap what you sow. So if you sow laziness, errors and mistakes are what you’ll reap. (smile)
However, on the good side of the ledger, let me now share some wonderful advice from an anonymous Irishman, taken from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional. I believe I’ve shared it before, but as we say, when it’s nice, we can share it twice, or even thrice. (smile).
And the golden words of advice are: ‘Take time to work, it is the price of success. Take time to think, it is the source of power. Take time to play it is the secret of youth. Take time to read, it is the foundation of wisdom. Take time to be friendly, it is the road to happiness. Take time to dream, it’s hitching your wagon to a star. Take time to LOVE, it is the highest joy of life. Take time to laugh, it is the music of the soul.’
Oh friends, those are not only wise words for the ordinary man, but they also sound like the Christian Manifesto! For those are all the things that a true, Jesus –LOVING and faithfully serving Christian ought to be following, if we sincerely hope to make a positive difference in this crazy, misguided, corrupt, and evil world.
The truth is though, we can only do those things properly if and when we have Jesus in us and we are in Him. Hence our Bit. ‘I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of (by faith in) the Son of God, who LOVED me, and gave himself for me.’
Ah mih breddren, what a joy it is when Christ is the ruling passion in our lives! First of all He gave His holy and sinless life as a sacrifice, so that we could be saved by the generous grace of God! Then, when His Holy Spirit indwells us, He gives us, strength, wisdom, understanding, and all the other wonderful things we enjoy in association with Him.
No wonder Bruh Paul could make the powerful and true statement he makes in our Bit! If we allow our old, sinful selves to be crucified with Christ, that means we will also be resurrected with Him in a new life, with Him living in us and we in Him. Glory Hallelujah!
As Bruh Paul says in his letter to the church at Rome, when talking about freedom from sin’s power. ‘For if we have been planted together (united) in the likeness of his death, we (certainly) shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed (rendered inoperative), that henceforth we should not serve (be slaves to) sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.’ (Rom.6:5-7)
Yes my brethren, isn’t it wonderful that when we die to self, we are raised with Christ in newness of life! ‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold all things are made new.’ (2 Cor.5:17) That’s Bruh Paul talking about us to the Corinthians! (smile)
Now here are some explanations from the scholars on the earlier verses from Romans. ‘6:6. Our old man: This is our old self, the person we were before we were crucified with Christ. Might be destroyed (lit. “rendered inoperative”). The believer now has the power to serve Christ instead of his old master, sin.’
‘6:7. Freed from sin: The believer has been delivered from the guilt and penalty of sin and is set free to serve Christ.’
And believe me friends, nothing is more interesting and wonderful than serving Christ! It’s not easy, but it makes us people of excellence… and brother, let me tell you, the rewards are certainly worth it!
So why aren’t we supposed Christians doing better than we are eh? I’m not sure, but maybe, just maybe it’s because we don’t truly believe all that we read and hear, re Jesus, and thus we don’t put our all-out effort into living for Him. And on top of that, the material things and ways of the world still exert a powerful pull on us, and keep us wanting what the world offers.
Anyway my people, it’s time for us to break those chains that the world still have us bound and wrapped up in, else we’ll never really enjoy the freedom, the LOVE, the joy, the abundant life that Christ died for us to have.
Now let’s go home joyfully and sincerely declaring our Wednesday Wail. No I haven’t forgotten it. (smile)
Wailing as one: ‘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 having so gloriously declared that, now let’s go out and put it all into action nuh, make it reality and not just a bunch of insincere words. Much LOVE!
…the words and actions of a true believer…ought to show Jesus truly living in them…
24 Aug 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a perfect man, alive and kicking, answer for our words, bad, beam at a moment's notice, blessed ones, cautious speech, childlike faith, Christian life, cloudy day, death, depth of understanding, dreams, eat good fruit, enthusiasm, Father of all grace and mercy, forbid them not, glad to be alive, Glory Hallelujah1, good, grace, great day to be alive, greet a new day, guards, he that keeps his mouth, hopes, innocence, keepeth his soul, keeps his life, life, life-changing words, listen more, LOVE, love it, major aspects, mercy, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, never let a cloudy day ruin your sunshine, none is perfect, not looking back, obits, offend, One More Day Devotional, our heavenly Father, out of the mouth of babes and sucklings, perfected praise, personal sunshine, Praise the Lord, repercussions, responsibility, rewards, sense of purpose, shall eat the fruit thereof, simplistic, sincerity, smiles, stumble, suffer the little children, sunshine, thankful, the breath of life, the judgement day, the kingdom of heaven, the power of the tongue, think carefully before we speak, through the eyes of a child, to a glorious future with Jesus, troubling times, trust, understanding, unnecessary trouble, Wednesday Wail, whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue, wisdom, words, work for Jesus, zenith
Proverbs 18:21. Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that LOVE it shall eat the fruit thereof.
Oh friends, what a great day it is to be alive! If you’ve read the obits and haven’t seen your name and/or your picture there, then you are one of the blessed ones! (smile)
And everyday we open our eyes and greet a new day, we ought to be immensely thankful to the Father of all grace and mercy for enabling us to partake, to participate in whatever activities He has planned for us.
And believe you me, He does have activities planned for us, that’s why we’re alive and kicking today. So please let’s do whatever we’re called to do today with a true sense of purpose and of responsibility. End of sermon! (smile)
Now let me share a wonderful quote with you – I’m pretty sure I’ve shared it sometime aback, but it is truly worthy of sharing again in the restless and troubling times we’re currently undergoing. It’s taken from my One More Day Devotional – Daily Meditations for People with Chronic Illness.
It’s the last stanza of a poem written by Amy Michelle Pitzele. And it says: ‘So never let a cloudy day ruin your sunshine, for even if you can’t see it, the sunshine is still there, inside of you, ready to shine when you will let it.’
Words of great truth my brethren. But can you believe that Amy was only nine years old when she wrote the poem? No wonder Jesus quoted Bruh David in Psalm 8:2: ‘Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings (infants) thou hast perfected praise?’ (Matt.21:16)
Yes friends, wisdom is not allotted only to the mature and elderly, but also to the young. As the Devotional says: ‘Life seen through the eyes of a child can be serenely simplistic. Where does a child get that kind of wisdom and that depth of understanding?’ From our heavenly Father of course!
Remember too what Jesus said to His disciples when they were turning away children from coming to Him. ‘Suffer (allow the) little children; and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.’ (Matt. 19:14). It just goes to show that childlike faith and innocence and trust are major aspects of our Christian life.
And the Devotional also tells us: ‘We can struggle to keep the child in us alive. We, too, can recognize that even when the cloudy days come, the sunshine – our smiles, our hopes, our dreams – is still there, ready to beam at a moment’s notice.’
So friends, regardless of the weather, let’s make sure that the personal sunshine that’s within us, shines today nuh, as we go about doing the work of Jesus. And all God’s children said ‘Praise the Lord!’
Now let’s further ramp up our faith by declaring our Wednesday Wail with plenty enthusiasm and sincerity. ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home.
My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Oh my people, what a joy it is to feel God’s breath of life flowing through us as we work for Jesus and focus on the wonderful future He has in store for us! It can’t get any better than that my brethren!
However my fellow believers with all of that comes the responsibility and life changing words of our Bit. ‘Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that LOVE it shall eat the fruit thereof.’
That means that whatever we say will have repercussions, and according to the words we speak, those repercussions will either be good or bad, and we’ll have to answer for them come the judgement day. As Cousin Sol so wisely informs us: ‘Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue, keepeth his soul from troubles.’ (Prov.21:23)
Meanwhile, James declares; ‘For in many things we offend all (all stumble). If any man offend not (does not stumble) in word, the same is a perfect man, and also able to bridle the whole body.’ (James 3:2) Unfortunately though friends, none of us is perfect, which means we all stumble and offend to some degree with our words.
But that doesn’t mean we necessarily have to shut up and say nothing, or only utter a few words. It means though that we have to do more listening, and then think carefully before we speak. That’s the only way for us to eat good fruit from our words and not bad ones.
And we’ll close off this topic with more of Cousin Sol’s wisdom. ‘He that keepeth (guards) his mouth keepeth (guards) his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.’ (Prov.13:3) And isn’t that the gospel truth my people!
As the scholars explain: ’13:3. The reward of cautious speech is fuller life and the avoidance of unnecessary trouble.’
Oh friends, I couldn’t put it any better! Now let’s go out today and earn rewards through our cautious speech nuh, for that’s wisdom at its zenith! Much LOVE!
…words are so powerful…that they are what the Lord used…to create the universe and all therein…
23 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a run for his money, a word of warning, adulterous realationship, advice, anointed king of Israel, Bathsheba, be wise, believers in Jesus Christ, best employer, blessed day, bondage, bring my soul out of prison, busy society, Christian, common criminal, complaint, couch potatoes, Creator, David, deal bountifully, deceitful world, defeated, deliver me, devil, diligence, doesn't play favourites, down the garden path, dwelling in us, ego, enticing, eternal life, eye-opening, fears, foolish, fraudulent, fresh, giant killer, give heed to my cry, glory in the name of Jesus, health, heavenly Father, I cried unto the Lord, I made my supplication, indisputable truth, junk food, led astray, live for, long-lasting, Lucifer, mad, material asset, miraculous, on which side his bread was buttered, pay careful attention, persecutors, plea for help, pride, Psalm 142, quality of advisers, refuge, release our souls, rewards, rich, salvation, screen watchers, sickness, sincerity, sinful world, stimulating, stress, take a page, talk about Jesus, testomony, tests, thanksgiving, the Holy Spirit, the land of the living, the righteous compass me about, the state of our health, Thou art my refuge, to die for, trials, tribulation, troubles, truth, untested chemicals, unto the Lord, wisdom, with my voice, working for Jesus, worries
Psalm 142:1. I cried unto the Lord with my voice; with my voice unto the Lord did I make my supplication.
O glory be friends! Another blessed and wonderful day of working for Jesus is upon us! Hn! Without a doubt, He is the best employer there is! Working for Him is so stimulating, eye-opening and ofttimes miraculous, plus His rewards are to die for; salvation and everlasting life in His company! Wow! Nothing could be better than that my people.
Oh I know tests, trials and tribulation will often beset us in this sinful world, but when we have the Holy Spirit of Jesus dwelling within us, we can withstand anything that comes against us. That’s His promise, and we all know that He is ever-faithful where promises are concerned. So what say you that we give the foolish, defeated devil a run for his money today eh?
Let’s just glory in the name of Jesus and do His will with diligence and sincerity. There’s nothing that gets Lucifer madder than having people truly live for and talk about Jesus. So let’s talk up a Jesus storm today friends, and rile Lucifer for a change, instead of him always trying to rile us. (smile)
Now here are this week’s two quotes from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us. The first one is plain, simple and straightforward. ‘Health is your greatest material asset; if you’re healthy, you are rich.’ And that my brethren is indisputable truth, especially in this sickly society of ours today!
One would think that in our supposed advanced society, sickness would not be as prevalent as it is, but unfortunately it is, and all of us would be wise to carefully guard and look after our health. But sadly it’s not that easy to do with the busy society we live in, plus all the junk food we’re eating, with all the untested chemicals that are being put in even the simplest things nowadays.
Just try reading the label of one of your favourite snacks nuh, you’ll be amazed at the amount of stuff that’s in it, most of them you’ve never even heard about before. But they need something to keep it fresh and long-lasting, while making it look enticing. So please friends, let’s pay careful attention to our health, especially that giant killer stress, which doesn’t play favourites, and will knock you down with the same intensity whether you sixteen or sixty.
And the opposite of that is also true; we have too many couch potatoes and inactive screen watchers. And sadly that lifestyle begins from young, so what will they turn out to be as adults eh? Anyway, they say that a word of warning to the wise is sufficient. You have been warned… so please be wise. (smile)
And the second of Anselm’s quotes tells us: ‘Never discuss your problems with someone incapable of contributing to the solution because those who never succeed themselves are always first to tell you how.’
Now there is also truth in that my people. Everybody and their brother have good advice to give. Meanwhile some of them can’t even spell the word. That’s why so many people are being led astray in today’s supposedly wise, but really fraudulent and deceitful world.
And my Christian brethren, please pay special attention to that, because the first person we’re to go to for advice is our Creator and heavenly Father, not the last, after everybody else have led us down the garden path. Then if God so desires, He will lead you to another human being for help.
So there are two things for us to ponder today; the state of our health, and the quality of our advisers. And then ask God to help us improve them. You know He’ll never refuse our sincere requests, once they fall into line with His will.
And we have a wonderful testimony of that from Psalm 142- Thou art my refuge – a contemplation of Bruh David, when he was hiding in the cave from his enemies, who wanted to take his life. Listen to our Bit. ‘I cried unto the Lord with my voice; with my voice unto the Lord did I make my supplication.’
Yes friends, as I keep saying Bruh David knew on which side his bread was buttered. Most of the time he sought the Lord’s help and guidance; the main exception being his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba. But nonetheless, the Lord heard him and kept his pursuers from harming him.
And Bruh David continues: ‘I poured out my complaint before him; I showed (declared) before him my trouble. When my spirit was overwhelmed (fainted) within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily (secretly) laid a snare for me. I looked on my right hand, and beheld, there was no man that would know (acknowledge) me.
I cried unto thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my refugee and my portion in the land of the living. Attend unto (give heed to) my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about (surround me); for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.’ (Ps.142:2-7)
Ah friends, can you imagine the magnitude of Bruh David’s situation. There he was, the anointed king of Israel, running and hiding like a common criminal. But he never allowed his faith in the God of his fathers to waiver. His pride and ego did not prevent him from crying out for help to his heavenly Father.
Likewise my fellow believers, in times of trouble, we should never let pride and/or ego prevent us from crying out to Almighty God for help! It’s the wisest thing we can do, for our wonderful God never turns away a sincere plea for help. And please note the last verse. Bruh David believes that God will save him, and promises to offer thanksgiving when it occurs.
Oh friends, today we need to take a page from Bruh David’s book and cry out to God! With a sincere heart, let’s lay all our troubles, fears and worries before Him, so that He can release our souls from the bondage that Lucifer’s trying to keep it in. There’s no greater wisdom that that my fellow believers in Jesus Christ! Much LOVE!
…it’s not wise to put your trust in fallen, finite man…but in the risen, infinite Being called Jesus…
16 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a gift of God, a great day to be alive, a job, a modicum of circumspection, a roof over our heads, a stranger, abode, abundance, accumulation of wealth, affliction, all that glitters is not gold, Anselm, beautiful things, better car, bigger, bitch, brevity of life, children, christianity, cleaning, clothes, common among men, complain, corrupt, deceased, desperate, dishonesty, do better in school, do your best, enjoyment, eternal life, evil, evil disease, flimsy, food, foolishness, for the wind, foundation, futility, good, gospel truth, grocery shopping, grumbling, heritage, higher ground, his portion, hit the nail on the head, honesty, honour, in heaven, in the Mirror, insubstantial, integrity, Jesus Christ, keeping up with the Joneses, laboured, lacks nothing, laundry, litigation, living like cat and dog, loving kindness, lustful, mercy, miserable, misfortune, money, naked, partake, power to eat, prettier, Prince, privileged circumstances, promises, prosperity, proud, reap the rewards, reputation, rewards, riches, run down riches, sacrificed, salvation, Saturday, Selah, shameful, sinful nature, sinless life, smarter, sour, sullies the name, sure bet, the Be All, the End all, the Preacher, travail, trickery, under the sun, unfortunate, ungodly behaviour, vanity, virtues, virtuous living, wealth, wealthy prime, wisdom
Ecclesiastes 6:1. There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men.
Oh friends and fellow believers, today is a great day to be alive! And why is that you ask? Because today is not like any other day. It’s filled with wonderful promises and beautiful things to look forward to, like no work, since it’s Saturday…
And I hear some of you ‘steupsing’ and grumbling in the background, for although there is no outside work to go to, there is a lot of stuff to be done around the house; stuff to clean up from the past week and more to get ready for next week.
But that doesn’t mean we have to be sour and miserable. Just being alive is a great joy in itself, especially in our privileged circumstances.
I wonder how we’d react if we didn’t have any money, a roof over our heads, food on our table, a job to go to and no decent clothes to wear? And believe me, there a great many people in our universe, and right in our own backyards too, who are undergoing such desperate and unfortunate circumstances.
So please don’t bitch and complain because you have some cleaning and laundry and grocery shopping to do. Just stop for a moment and consider what your life would have been like if the good Lord in His mercy and LOVING-kindness had not smiled down on you with abundance and prosperity eh. Selah.
Now give Him some thanks and praise for your well-being and promise not to complain again – well at least not for today. (smile)
And here are a couple of quotes from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us. They hit the nail on the head re the worldly lifestyle that’s so prevalent today. The first quote is called ‘In The Mirror.’ And it tells us that: ‘Someone will always be prettier. Someone will always be smarter. Someone’s house will be bigger. Someone will drive a better car. Someone’s children will do better in school.’
And the sad part is that we know all of that, we know it’s gospel truth, but yet we still allow the flimsy, insubstantial and ungodly behaviour of the world to corrupt our hearts, souls, bodies and minds with its proud and lustful foolishness – the keeping up with Joneses nonsense!
And hear the other hit the nail right on the head, rather appropriate quote from our friend Anselm. ‘Cherish…the virtues you possess. At the end of the day, there will always be trickery and dishonesty. But if you are standing on higher ground, and you believe in honesty and integrity, and all that is good, trying at all times to do your best and nothing less, you will surely reap the rewards of virtuous living.’
Oh my people that is Christianity 101! We ought to know that backwards and forwards! That’s why Jesus left His comfortable abode in heaven and came down here to earth and sacrificed His sinless life for us – so that we could be empowered to lead virtuous lives and reap its wonderful rewards – salvation and eternal life!
But because of our inherent sinful nature, and the bright beckoning lights of the world, we continue to allow its worthless things and ways to hold too much sway over us. Please remember that all that glitters is not gold, especially in this fraudulent and deceptive world!
That brings us to our Bit. ‘There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men.’ More truth friends on the vanity of riches, this time from Cousin Sol, in his capacity as the Preacher!
And he continues in the next verse. ‘A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth (lacks) nothing for his soul (himself) of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity (futility), and it is an evil disease (affliction).’ (Eccl.6:2)
Yes friends, you can be rich as Cousin Sol himself and not be able to enjoy those riches. As the scholars declare: ‘6:1-2. Prosperity is not necessarily good. Accumulation of wealth does not always result in the use of it.’
And just look at how many wealthy people have departed this life without being able to enjoy their wealth nuh, while others, even strangers, who hadn’t laboured for it joyfully partake of it. Not only that, but the sad and sorrowful litigation that takes place when a wealthy person dies is so shameful, that it just sullies the name and reputation of the deceased.
And look no further than the recent death of Prince in his wealthy prime, who left no will, and now so many people are coming out of the woodwork claiming to be entitled to some of the spoil. In the long run, perfect strangers, the lawyers might just end up getting the most of it.
It’s a good thing that I don’t have anything for anybody to fight over – at least not yet, but it is possible, since my best days are still ahead of me. (smile) And as I’ve always told my children, the day I see them living like cat and dog, I’m going to come back and haunt them.
Now listen to the Preacher again. ‘There is a sore (severe) evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners to their hurt. But those riches perish by evil travail (misfortune): and he that begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand.
As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand. And this also is a sore (severe) evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?
All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness. Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely (fitting) for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun (in which he toils) all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion (heritage).’ (Eccl.5:13-18)
And the scholars tell us this re those verses. ‘5:13-17. Wealth is easily lost and is therefore an unsure foundation for life.’ ‘5:18-20. Enjoyment is a gift of God, and man should be motivated by the brevity of his own life to experience it.’
Ah friends, Cousin Sol was the richest man in the world, and if he could declare that riches wasn’t the end all and be all, then who are we to say him nay eh? So please, let’s not run down riches, but if it does come, let’s enjoy it, though with a modicum of circumspection, for that’s wisdom at its heavenly best! Much LOVE!
…the only sure bet in this world is…JESUS CHRIST…
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