22 Mar 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all things work together for good, ask and ye shall receive, come boldly before the throne of grace, Jehovah Rapha, knock and it shall be opened, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, pandemic of Covid 19, rise and shine, seek and you shall find, the God who heals, the universe is unfolding as it should, to receive grace in our time of need, wise guidance, ye shall search for me with all your heart, ye shall seek me and find me
Jeremiah 29:13. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Rise and shine mih beauties! It’s another awesome day in God’s great universe! Blazing sunshine and warm temps! (smile) And be it known that His universe is unfurling exactly as He has planned it; with all sorts of new compassions and mercies made just for today! Wow! Yes friends, in God’s economy we don’t get any stale stuff, everything is brand new every day! (smile)
But with those divine blessings, He does expect our faith and trust in Him, to grow with each passing day, and our total surrender of our will to His, just like Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, the night before His crucifixion. ‘O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except (unless) I drink it, thy will be done.’ (Matt. 26:42)
Now that’s the kind of spiritual maturity that our God desires of each of us! Our faith and trust in Him must be so strong that we don’t doubt whatever plan He has in mind for us, knowing deep down that it will indeed be a good one, even though it may be filled with some rough times thrown in for good measure. (smile) Yes precious people, when we truly believe, we don’t doubt the goodness of God towards us.
The following scriptures faithfully promise us His fatherly goodness and LOVE. Hear Bruh Paul to the church at Rome. ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.’ (Rom. 8:28) Oh mih bredrin, God is in the process of working everything out for good, but those of us who are called to do His bidding, and who LOVE Him no matter what, are best able to appreciate that fact.
Meanwhile Jeremiah puts it this way to God’s chosen people of Israel, while they were held captive in Babylon. ‘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)
And Jesus, while teaching on judgemental behaviour and prayer, wraps it up thus: ‘Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?’ (Matt. 9-11)
Yes my people, if we with our sinful nature are kind to our children, why wouldn’t our heavenly Father be kind to us eh? No reason whatsoever! But it all boils down to our coming to Him in sincerity and truth. As Jesus said earlier on: ‘Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.’ (Matt. 7:7-8) Words of divine wisdom friends!
But we didn’t even need Jesus to tell us that nuh, because Jeremiah had said it long before that on the Lord’s behalf. ‘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 shall search for me with all your heart.’ (Jer. 29:12-13) Oh my fellow saints, how much clearer and plainer can our God put it eh? He has good plans and gifts for us, but we need to sincerely seek Him with hearts whose motives are pure. Then we’ll find Him, and He’ll listen to our requests.
And the author of Hebrews tells us very clearly that because we have a high priest in Jesus up in heaven who can empathize with all our weaknesses, because He also suffered serious affliction: ‘Let us therefore come boldly (confidently) unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in our time of need.’ (Heb. 4:16)
And the website christiantoday.com has an interesting article that gives us this very appropriate info. ‘The Bible encourages, even urges us to come boldly to the throne of grace, most especially for mercy and grace that we will need in trying times. Many of us know that we should do that, but many of us don’t, because we either don’t know how, or perhaps just feel like we cannot do that even if we wanted to.
Whenever we refuse to come boldly before the throne, we deprive ourselves of our own needs. We deprive ourselves of the privileges that were already purchased for us. We deny ourselves the joy of coming to our own Father who LOVES us, waits for us to come, and longs to bless us with all the heavenly blessings in Christ (see Ephesians 1:3).’
Truer words were never spoken friends. So, in these ever so trying times that we’re currently experiencing, since our efforts have not met with any success, let’s go to God nuh, let’s seek Him with sincere and pure hearts, because deep down we know that we can’t do much without His divine help. And we have the perfect vehicle for that sincere gesture, our Monday Morning Battle Hymn.
So confidently, yet humbly, as one strong and sincere voice: ‘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 many natural disasters that now seem more prevalent than ever.
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!’
Now our next move is to prove to God that we are truly sincere, not just mouthing empty words. And as believers in Christ, we all know how to do that! Much LOVE!
…our heavenly Father has already come to us…through Jesus…now He’s waiting for us to come to Him…through Jesus…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
30 Nov 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a change in divine direction, breaking point of sinfulness, disobedience, divine intervention, every imagination of, found grace in the sight of the Lord, God hath no pleasure in fools, God saw, grace, grieving God's heart, heightened level of sin, humble ourselves and pray, implosion, in complete control, it repented the Lord, Jehovah Rapha, lost a mental screw, mercy, Noah, of all my mental faculties, one common denominator, pandemic of Covid 19, reached its capacity for sin, return to the God of our fathers, righteous purposes, rise and shine, sin, standing in faith, TGIM, Thank God it's Monday, the bucket bottom drops out, the God who heals, the thoughts of his heart, the wickedness of man, time longer than twine, was great in the earth, was only evil continually, white knight in shining armour
Genesis 6:5. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination (intent) of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (all the day).
Welcome, welcome one and all, to that great day called Monday, the first day of our new work week! Now, not because I am pledging allegiance to Monday, which so many people dislike, for one reason or another, means I have lost a mental screw. In fact, I am here to inform you that I am in complete control of all my mental faculties! (smile) Ah friends, somebody must stand up for Monday as it’s so hard done by, with so much abuse and derogatory remarks unjustly hurled at it.
And today, I’ve decided to be its white knight in shining armour! Wow! What bravery and courage! (smile) And we even going to say: ‘TGIM! Thank God it’s Monday! Time for us to rise and shine and go to work – those of us who still have jobs that is, and are actually allowed to go out in the streets!
Ah Lord, what a life eh? Who would have thought some months ago that life would be this disastrous eh? But it is…all over the world. So why have things deteriorated so far, so fast eh? I believe there is one common denominator: SIN! Our world is so evil, sinful and wicked that it has just reached a stage where it can’t handle it comfortably anymore. Yuh know, like when yuh have a container and you’re putting stuff in it, after a while it’s reached its physical capacity, and adding anything further will cause it to break or burst, the bucket bottom drop out, or it simply overflow?
Well that is what’s happened to our world. It’s simply reached its capacity for sin, and like a swollen river, it’s now overflowing its banks and causing havoc all over. And remember way back when, after God created man and they populated the earth, what happened? The Good Book tells us: ‘And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination (intent) of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (all the day).’ (Gen. 6:5)
And yuh know what mih bredrin? We’re approaching that breaking point of sinfulness again. That first time it so disappointed the Lord that the Good Book relates it thus: ‘And it repented the Lord (He was sorry) that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me (I am sorry) that I have made them.’ (Gen. 6:5-7)
And He destroyed the earth and all its people by means of a flood, it rained steadily for forty days and forty nights. Only Noah, who found grace in the sight of the Lord, and his family and two of each of the other creations were saved in the ark the Lord instructed Noah to build. Hn! That’s certainly food for thought!
But before we go any further, let’s clarify one thing as the scholars explain. ‘6:6-8. Repented does not imply that God made a mistake in His dealings with men, but rather indicates a change in divine direction resulting from the actions of man. It is an “anthropopathism” (a human emotion applied to God) describing the pain that is caused God by the destructiveness of His creatures. It is used 30 times with God as its subject, each time speaking of a change of mind or intention that accords with His righteous purposes, and results in action commensurate with those purposes.’
And yuh think our current sinfulness isn’t grieving God’s heart? For sure it is! Especially after He sacrificed His only Son Jesus Christ so that our sin debt could be paid in full and we receive salvation and everlasting life by believing in Him. That would hurt even the hardest heart, and our God’s heart is certainly not hard. It shows our ingratitude like nothing else can.
Now I don’t know if He’s planning to destroy the world again, cause He only promised not to destroy it by water, but it’s something we should certainly consider with the heightened level of sin that’s running rampant today. But as the ole people would say; ‘time longer than twine yes,’ and the Lord might just sit down and wait and leave us to destroy our own selves, because if we continue the way we’re going, that will be the eventual outcome.
Oh mih people, I’m sure the Lord doesn’t want to destroy us again, but if we give Him no choice, what’s He to do eh? If we continue with the obstinate and stubborn disobedience it might just come to that. But thankfully, we’re wiser and smarter than we’ve been credit for, and we’ve come to our senses and realized our behavior is indeed foolish and shortsighted and can only lead to further calamity. (smile) Thus we’ve decided to give up our sinful ways and return to the God of our forefathers in true repentance and sincerity.
And right now we’re going to go to Him through the medium that He’s appointed, prayer – our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, and tell Him just that. So all together, let’s pray:‘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!’
All I can say now is that we better had pay that vow we just made to God, for as Cousin Sol so rightly says, He hath no pleasure in fools. (Eccl. 5:4) Yes friends, it’s all up to us now! Much LOVE!
…only sincere repentance can save our world…from eventual implosion…or divine intervention…
06 Jul 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a negative self defeating idea, a shout of joy, Anself, anything is possible, as you have done it, aspires to inspire us, Christ-like, Christian community, comes from your own actions, condemning the goats, discourage others, do to help others, down here on earth, eternal damnation, eulogy, faithfulness, for a better tomorrow, forgiveness, friends, God's will and purpose, godly, grace, greedy world, happiness, hellfire, helping the poor, I was hungry, I was in prison, I was sick, I was thirsty, insignificant, joy, living to please man or God, LOVE, mercy, my brethren, not something ready made, peace, praise and glory, pursuing their dreams, resume, rise and shine, seek the Lord thy God, seems impossible, selfish, the fear of failure, the lost, the Most High God, the naked light of day, the sheep, thou shalt find him, touch your heart, troubles, unto one of the least of these, verily I say unto you, with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with Jesus, ye gave me drink, ye gave me meat, ye have done it unto me, ye visited me, you came unto me, your psyche
Matthew 25:40. Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Ah well, another glorious summer Saturday in the year of 2019! So, whenever you rise and shine, please enjoy it as though it was your last day on planet earth, for who knows, it just might well be. (smile) A lot of people who went to bed hale and hearty last night, did not get up this morning, for one reason or another. And the Lord died that we could have joy and peace right down here on this conflicted earth, not wait until we get to heaven.
So despite our circumstances, let’s all give a shout of joy and declare: ‘All praise and glory be to the Most High God, our heavenly Father, who dearly LOVES us and looks after us like His own beloved children; who has promised never to leave nor forsake us and to see us through whatever troubles come our way in this earthly life!’ Give Him much thanks and praise for His awesome faithfulness, LOVE, mercy, grace and forgiveness my believing brethren!
Ah friends, when you really get to know our heavenly Father, you’ll be amazed at how wonderful He is! But it takes time and serious commitment to get to that point; things that not too many of us are willing to spend or give, but we still want to receive all of His blessings. It doesn’t work that way though.
As Moses told the Israelites so long ago: ‘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) And in all those years, that hasn’t changed one iota my people! So let’s all seek Him sincerely nuh, starting Right Here and Now!
And enough palavering, (smile) let’s see what words of wisdom our friend Anselm had to share with us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Listen to this first one: ‘Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.’ And that’s ever so true!
A lot of us sit around and expect others to make us happy, but that’s not very realistic, since all of us have different agendas, and very few of them in this selfish and greedy world are to make others happy. They are more self-centred and concentrate on making I, me and myself happy. So if you want to be happy, you’ve got to get out there and do it for yourself! Nobody’s going to do it for you.
And then there’s this: ‘Just remember: The people that say, ‘your dreams are impossible’ have already quit on theirs.’ More likely than not yes! Yeh friends, in this world there seem to be many more negative thinking people than positive thinking ones, even amongst our Christian community…
Brother! I can’t spell for hell this morning! I made more spelling mistakes in that last sentence than I’ve made in the rest of the Bit. Even spelled brother wrong! (smile) But moving along. Too many of us tend to discourage others from pursuing their dreams. But what’s a dream eh? Basically something that seems impossible in the naked light of day. Remember though, that with Jesus on our side, any and everything is possible!
Consequently, ‘There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.’ And is that ever so true! For once you think you’ll fail, you most likely will, because you introduce into your psyche a negative, self-defeating idea, which then tends to manifest itself in your attitude and the level of work you’re willing to put into making the dream a reality.
Like a li’l mole, it just keeps eating away at your creativity and you end up not putting in the amount of work really need to make the project a success. So don’t listen to the naysayers…listen to Almighty God! That means, the first thing to do is to find out from God, whether the dream fits His will and purpose for your life, for if it doesn’t, then it won’t ever succeed, no matter how much effort and elbow grease you put into it.
Now here’s this very interesting quote: ‘Are you living out things that will affect your résumé or your eulogy? How would your life change if you lived each day with your eulogy in mind?’ That’s a very good question! One we should all take a moment or two to ponder. It’s basically asking are we living our lives to please man or God; to meet the world’s standards or God’s?
And it’s strange, but I heard a preacher ask that very question recently, just in a different form: ‘What would we like our eulogy to be: praise for wealth and power, worldly things, or praise for being godly and Christ-like?’ I suggest the latter is the more worthwhile, but it doesn’t happen overnight, it’s a process, which means you have to start living it NOW!
And the final quote asks very significantly: ‘What needs around you touch your heart? What’s one thing you can do to help others—even if it seems insignificant?’ Right there friends is the heart of our Christian ministry; helping others. Remember Jesus said that He came to seek and to save those who were lost. (Luke 19:10)
But even more importantly listen to His words re when He comes back to set up His kingdom and He sets the sheep on His right hand and the goats on His left and invite the sheep to live with Him for ever after, while condemning the goats to hellfire and eternal damnation. Why? Because the sheep, true believers, helped those who were sick and suffering, lost and lonely, while the goats did not.
‘For I was an hungered (hungry), and ye gave me meat (food): I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison and ye came unto me.’ (Matt.25:35-36) And when the righteous ask when they did all of that, He will reply: ‘Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.’
Yes friends, our earthly job includes helping the poor, the lost and the unfortunate, just like Jesus did. So let’s get with it nuh, and stop concentrating solely on ourselves and our friends and families, because there is so much unmet need out there in today’s crazy world, that even the most insignificant help we can give will be joyfully looked upon by heaven and in due time, well rewarded. Much LOVE!
…you can’t call yourself a Christian…and don’t help anybody in need…
24 Jun 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a grain of mustard seed, according to your faith, ask in my name, aura of love, be it unto you, by fasting and prayer, Christians, confidence, enthusiasm, evil, faith, fellowship, friends, have faith in God, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, impossible to please God, Jesus answering, Jesus Christ, Jesus is waiting, joy, lies, LOVE, mercy, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, nothing shall be impossible, o ye of little fiath, on the front lines, peace, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, rise and shine, rise to the occasion, said unto them, salvation, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, the Son glorify the Father, thy faith hath made thee whole, to join the battle, truth, ungodly world, useful purpose, warm the cockles of Jesus' heart, warriors in Christ's army, wisdom, withouth faith
Mark 11:22. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
Rise and shine fellow warriors in Christ’s army! The trump has sounded! It’s time to gird ourselves in our protective armour and head for the frontlines, where our General, Jesus, the most highly named and exalted Commander in the universe is already there waiting for us. And like His snow-white steed that’s pawing the ground in great anticipation, He’s also eager to join the battle this good-looking summer morn, which just happens to be Monday, the first day of the new workweek (smile).
And yes, sometimes it’s hard to get back on the merry go round of work after a couple days off, especially with summer in the air and weekend trips to the cottage up north getting into full gear. But work we must if we want to survive, so we have this fail-safe pick-me-up we call our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. Let’s declare (yeh!) it all together now nuh, so that we can rise to the occasion.
‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
And brother, yuh see how quickly we start feeling better; our eyes light up with a new gleam, our souls suddenly feel refreshed and we feel like we could fight an army or move a mountain single handedly! Wow! That’s because the Holy Spirit is working in us to give the Lord’s answer to our humble, sincere, but ever-confident prayer! And why yuh think that is eh?
That’s because Jesus says that whenever we pray, whatever we pray for, if we believe, we will get it. ‘Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.’ (Mark 11:24) And He also says that if we ask for anything in His name, He will do it. ‘And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it.’ (John 14:13-14)
What great promises friends! But we also know that there are certain provisos to those promises, they all depend on them being in the Father’s will, timing and purpose for our lives and coming from sincere motives of the heart; they just can’t be wishy-washy, selfish, self-aggrandizing prayers.
And the scholars offer this explanation: ‘14:13-14. In my name means “as My agent.” The promise of answered prayer is based on the disciple acting as the agent of Jesus’ will (cf.16:23-26). It is also linked here especially in the accomplishment of the “greater works.” (vs.12) The promise is for unlimited resources to do the works of God.’
But what is Jesus really talking about here eh? It’s basically about faith; the level of our faith in Him and the Father. In the passage in Mark above, He had just cursed the fruitless fig tree and caused it to suddenly wither up. That gave Him ‘the occasion to expound concerning faith, prayer and forgiveness.’ And He began thus: ‘Have faith in God.’ And that’s the whole sermon right there in a nutshell my people!
Remember He also said these things on the subject: ‘According to your faith be it unto you,’ when He touched the two blind men’s eyes. (Matt.9:29) And when the disciples couldn’t heal an epileptic child, and wanted to know why, He admonished them: ‘Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove (move); and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.’ (Matt.17:20-21)
Some important points to notice there; even a li’l faith is a powerful thing, and some jobs call for not faith alone, but also for fasting and intense prayer. And please note that in almost every occasion on which He healed someone, Jesus made it a point to invoke his or her faith into the healing.
Note the occasion when the Roman centurion approached Him for his servant’s healing, then said that Jesus did not need to come to his house to do it, He had the power to do it right there. Jesus replied in astonishment: ‘Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.’ Matt.8:10) Yes friends, a heathen Roman centurion showed more faith in Jesus’ awesome power than any of His own people!
And what a wonderful example of great faith is the woman with the twelve year issue of blood who fought through the throng believing if she only touched the hem of Jesus’ garment she would be healed. And when she did, she was healed instantly. But Jesus also noticed that something was wrong, because He felt some of His power go out of Him, and asked: ‘Who touched my clothes? And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?’ (Mark 5:25-33).
But Jesus persisted in looking around to find the culprit, (smile) and eventually the woman fell down before Him and admitted the truth. ‘And he (Jesus) said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague (affliction).’ (Mark 5:34) And there are many more instances of Jesus calling on people to show faith, which we have no time or space to get into today. But I’ll leave us with one of Jesus favourite jibes to those who reused to belief Him. ‘O ye of li’l faith.’
And sadly, in these ungodly and evil times, He’s saying that about a lot of us supposed Christians. Please friends and fellow believers, let’s rise up today and begin giving Him serious occasion to change it nuh to ‘How great is thy faith!’ That would surely warm the cockles of His holy and oh so LOVING heart! It’s about time we did something to cause that, don’t you think? Much LOVE!
…without faith…it is impossible to please God… (Heb.11:6)
P.S. Sorry that the Bit’s somewhat late…and somewhat long, but good, (smile) but I had some pressing problems that I had to deal with first. Much LOVE!
20 Aug 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a brand new workweek, afraid of nothing, all power, ambassadors, an awesome God we serve, aura of love, authority, bring them out unscathed, Christians, commitment, confidence, die on the cross, enthusiasm, floods, friends, get on the good foot, glory to God, go and teach, goodness of god, He will make a way, humble servants, in heaven and in earth, ingrates, invincible, James brown, Jesus Chriss, Jesus died on the cross, jobs, joy, lies, LOVE, loving kindness, make disciples of all nations, make known thy faithfulness, mercy, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, not smelling of smoke, of the mercies of the Lord, only one God, peace, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, rise and shine, salvation, save us from our evil doings, sincere hearts, sing, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, strong voice, the end of the world, the Great Commission, to all generations, trust, truth, ungodly world, victory, wisdom, with my mouth, work the works of Jesus
Psalm 89:1. I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
Rise and shine my people, it’s a brand new Monday, of a brand new work week, and it’s overflowing with brand new mercies and blessings! Glory to God my brethren, for He will never leave us to suffer unnecessarily. Where there is no way, He will make a way! And when it seems we’ll be consumed by the fires of this world, oh friends, He’ll bring us through them unscathed, not even smelling of smoke.
What an awesome God we serve my fellow believers! And it’s the same with the floods; when they seem ready to overwhelm us, to drown us, He’s promised to bring us through them safely. So what is there for us to be afraid of in this world eh? Absolutely NOTHING! Because the universe belongs to our God, our Father, and He is in total control and will not let evil overcome His children!
His commitment to that was so strong that He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross to save us from our evil doings. So if this Monday morning you are troubled, in dismay, or simply tired and down in the dumps, then please join us in singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, for it lifts our spirits and puts us back on the good foot, like Papa James Brown would say. (smile)
So without further ado, let’s get into it nuh, as one purposeful choir, in strong voice and sincere hearts. ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Now that’s the antidote for whatever ails us this Monday morning! I’m sure you can feel your spirit rising and your soul being reinvigorated, as the adrenaline courses through your body. That’s the power of the Holy Spirit working in us friends! And with such a marvellous transformation taking place, we subsequently have to go out and work the works of Jesus, with a good attitude and a joyful spirit.
It’s imperative that we let the world know, not only by our talk, but more importantly by our walk, of the abundant goodness of God and His exceeding faithfulness and their need to come to Him, just as they are, for comfort and succour. Yeh friends, we have to go out and do like the psalmist Ethan says in our Bit. ‘I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever; with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to ALL generations.’
Now that’s our bounden duty my fellow Christians! Remember Jesus’ Great Commission to His disciples and to all subsequent believers: ‘All power (authority) is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:18-20)
Yeh friends, as the scholars explain: ‘28:18-20. The triumphant living Lord sends forth His ambassadors to proclaim His gospel throughout the world. The Great Commission is not just an order but a pronouncement of victory (mundus regium Christ) by the risen Saviour through His disciples. All power or authority (Gr. exousia) is now in the hands of Christ, in heaven and on earth. On the basis of that authority and power the Christian disciple is to carry out the Great Commission of the church.’
And it’s a joy to go out into this evil world and do that. Why? Listen to the psalmist as he further exalts the Lord, extols His wonderful attributes. ‘Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand. Justice and judgement (righteousness and justice) are the habitation (foundation) of thy throne: mercy (LOVING-kindness) and truth shall go before thy face.
Blessed is the people that know the joyful song: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn (our strength) is exalted.’ (Ps.89:13-17)
Now, with all of that going for us, how can we not be excited and enthused, and delighted to go out and extol the wonders of our God eh? We’d be truly a sorry bunch of ingrates if we felt otherwise. Much LOVE!
…the mercies and faithfulness of our God…can never be surpassed by anyone else…for there is ONLY ONE GOD…the ONE we worship…
02 Oct 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: above all gods, aura of love, battle stations, blessed be the Lord, confidence, conquerors, Corinthians, dead objects, diligence, dilly-dallying, Egyptians, enthusiasm, evil, excellence, fearless leader, friends, Gentiles, glorious kingdom, great is our God, heathen, hoarded, honour, house of god, humble servants, idle boast, idols, inroads, invincible, Jehovah, Jesus Christ, Jethro, lies, living God, LOVE, majesty, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, our father's business, Pharaoh, reconnoitering, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, rise and shine, salvation, sing unto the Lord, steadfast faith, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the good news, the Great Commission, the house I build, the trumpet's call, the wherewithal, the work of man's hands, trust, truth, ungodly world, wisdom
2 Chronicles 2:5. And the house which I build is (will be) great: for great is our God above all gods.
Rise and shine, friends, rise and shine! Hear the trumpet’s call! Battle stations all! Our fearless Leader, Jesus Christ is already at the battlefront reconnoitering the situation, waiting for us to come forward, so He can lead us into battle.
Please, no dilly-dallying this morning, there’s urgent work to be done. So let’s get a move on, let’s be up and about our Father’s business! And if you think you don’t have the wherewithal to do battle today, then join us, as we sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, which gets our adrenaline flowing and kick starts our motors.
All together now: ‘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!’
Awright mih breddren! That sounded good! Our choirmaster, Jesus was pleased. Now it’s time for us to get out there and join Jesus, our field General, on the front lines, for that’s where the battle is being fought. That brings us to our Bit: ‘And the house which I build is (will be) great: for great is our God above all gods.’
Ah mih people, what words of absolute truth from Cousin Sol as he set out to build the immaculate and magnificent House of God in the Golden Age of Israel! And this no idle boast, as you’ll realize when you hear the proud declaration of the psalmist from Psalm 96 – A call to praise God. ‘Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; show forth (proclaim the good news of) his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the heathen (gentiles), his wonders among all people. For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens. Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.’ (Ps.96:2-6)
Yeh friends, any other supposed deity beside Jehovah, is merely an idol. They are all dead objects, the work of man’s hands, or creatures of his finite imagination. That’s because the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the Only True Living God that there is! And if you don’t believe the psalmist, then listen to Bruh Paul in his first missive to the Corinthians, as he talks about Christian freedom and brotherly obligations.
‘As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and there is none other God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we (live) by him.’ (1 Cor. 8:4-6)
Oh friends, how could there logically be more than ONE God eh? More than one god would never have made such a smooth running, self-sustaining, magnificent universe. It would have been total confusion all over!
Now hear corroboration of that fact from way back when, from Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, when he brought Moses’ wife and children to meet him in the Israelite camp in the wilderness. After Moses told him all that the Lord had done for the Israelites in bringing them out of Egypt, Jethro rejoiced.
‘And Jethro said, Blessed be the Lord, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt (behaved) proudly he was above them.’ (Ex.18:10-11)
Yes friends, our God is above everybody and everything! Give Him much deserved thanks and praise, glorify and exalt His holy name throughout all the earth! Spread His word from one end of the world to the next, so that the heathen can have a chance to experience His never-ending, unconditional LOVE, His healing power and the good news of His salvation!
That’s our Great Commission, so let’s get out there today and do it with diligence and excellence as He desires nuh. Much LOVE!
…the good news of Jesus…was meant to be spread far and wide…not selfishly hoarded…
02 Mar 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a feeling of love, a light unto my path, a positive outlook, A prayer for change, a ruined life, a wasted day, after thee O god, blessings, broad highway, Christians, cleanse, commandments, compassionate heart, confession, courage, covenant, creativity, curse, depressing, destruction, disconsolate mood, divine favour, dr robert h schuller, dreary, entrance of thy words, forty days, freedom, give light, glowing sunshine, God's LOVE, God's Word, godly, good stuff, holy, hope, Hour of Power Devotional, introspective, Jesus, joy moves in, judgement, laughing, Lent, magnanimous god, magnificent, mental dial, mercies, moment of prayer, moods, morning mist, negative feelings, negative word, parted clouds, promotion, redemption, repentance, responsible, reverend, richly blessed, righteous lives, rise and shine, self-control, self-discipline, self-pity, selfishly indulge, so panteth my soul, spiritual improvement, springtime, stand fast for ever, success, temptation, testimonies, the hart panteth after the water brooks, the sun breaks through, the works of his hands are verity, Thursday Blessings, thy word is a lamp unto my feet, truth, understanding to the simple, unproductive thoughts, unprofitable, wasting God's goodness, winter, worldly stuff
Psalm 119:105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Oh my precious people, it’s Thursday, rise and shine and greet the brand new day filled with new mercies and blessings, courtesy of our magnificent and magnanimous God!
Oh, I know some of you have been up a long while ago, but have you invoked the new blessings and mercies provided especially for today? I do hope you have, otherwise you’re missing out on a whole lot of good stuff, and wasting God’s goodness.
Anyway, it’s the second day of Lent, that time when Christians become especially introspective, giving up worldly stuff, concentrating on confession and repentance, seeking to cleanse their souls, bodies and minds. It’s a time about spiritual improvement and upliftment that coincides with Jesus’ forty days of temptation in the wilderness.
Now here is ‘A Prayer for Change,’ from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional, which I believe can be of much benefit to us today.
Please pray with me. ‘O God, when a life has been so richly blessed as mine has been, it’s not right for me not to be laughing! I confess that I am responsible for my moods. I have no right to selfishly indulge in negative feelings of self-pity. It’s time for me to change my mental dial, Lord.
You are helping me. This will be the moment when the sun breaks through the parted clouds, and springtime returns after winter. Thank you, Lord!
The dreary, depressing, disconsolate mood disappears like the morning mist in the glowing sunshine of your LOVE. And joy moves in! And hope begins to build up within me! And a beautiful feeling of LOVE starts to surround me!
Thank you, God, for the great things you are doing within me now in this moment of prayer. Amen.’
Yes friends, with God’s amazing help, we can all change for the better! But as Gramps Schuller states early on in the prayer, we need to change our mental dial to bring about that improvement. Remember it all begins in the mind, with our thoughts. And if our mind and our thoughts aren’t right, then our lives will never be right.
And this is what the Lenten season is all about, changing our mental dial; looking deep inside, with God’s help obviously, to weed out the unprofitable and unproductive thoughts and replace them with God-centred ones that enrich our lives.
And to help us do that, we desperately need to delve into the truth of God’s Word, so that it becomes as the psalmist says in our Bit: ‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’
Ah mih people, until and unless, we allow God’s Word to lead and guide us in this earthly life, we’ll most likely go astray and end up on the broad highway that leads to destruction. And believe me, that’s not a very nice place to be.
Yes it looks good, and there’s lots of freedom, but the end of it all is just a ruined life. So let’s look now at some scripture that corroborates our Bit and encourages us to get into the Word like never before.
This first piece, like our Bit, comes from Psalm 119. ‘Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them. The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple. I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.’ (Ps.119:129-131)
Oh friends, is that the way we feel about God’s Word? Do we long for it? Do we pant for it? And do we keep it? Now if we are serious believers, then we should be doing all those things.
As the Sons of Korah put it in Psalm 42 – An intense longing for God: ‘As the hart panteth after (the deer longs for) the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.’ (Ps.42:1)
Yes my brethren, that’s how we ought to feel about our God: long for Him in our souls like the thirsty deer longs for a drink of cold, sweet water! And believe me friends, when we find Him, a joy comes into our souls just like when the deer drinks that thirst quenching water.
And this last bit of scripture reinforces all that we’ve said so far. ‘The works of his hands are verity (truth) and judgement; all his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness. He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.’ (Ps.111:7-9)
And those are all facts, not alternative ones (smile) but facts of gospel truth! So please let’s take them to heart nuh, so that we can live godly and righteous lives.
And finally, it’s time to declare our Thursday Blessings. Remember a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone.
So with sincere enthusiasm and belief let’s declare them: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Now let’s go out and bless others! Much LOVE!
…a day that’s not filled with God…is indeed a wasted day…
27 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adrenalin, affection, as for me and my house, aura of love, banished, blessed is the man, blessings, choose, Christians, compass, complaining state, condemned, confidence, conquerors, conviction, desolate, encouragement, enthusiasm, envy, eternal life, evil, excellent, falsehood, favour, found guilty, friends, fruit, glorious kingdom, good cheer, gospel truth, grouse, harmoniously, hearsay, holy spirit, human beings, humble, humble servants, in season, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, lies, LOVE, maketh the Lord his trust, mama yo, miserable, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, on the cross, overcome, peace, personal experience, promise, prosper, quagmire, redeems, rejoice, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, resistance, respects not the proud, rest, righteousness., rise and shine, rivers of water, sacrificial death, salvation, sins, slay the wicked, sour, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, surround, the enemy, the right foot, the soul of his servants, trust, truth, truthful, turns aside to lies, ungodly world, we will serve the Lord, whining, whom you will serve, wisdom, wise decision, wither
Psalm 40:4. Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
Well friends, it’s a brand new day called Monday! Mama yo! (smile)
And we all know what means; time to rise and shine and get to work. Now we can either do that in a sour, miserable, complaining state, or we can do it filled with the peace and LOVE and good cheer of Jesus. It’s your choice. But believe me the latter way is the best way.
One way or the other you have to go to work, so who are you hurting if you go there whining and complaining eh? Most likely yourself.
What I don’t understand about human beings is that we have to go to work, that’s a given, so why constantly grouse and complain when the work day rolls around, especially when, as Christians we have God’s peace and LOVE and otherwise that will enable us to overcome our natural resistance?
Anyway, that’s for each of us to figure out individually. Right now let’s try to help the situation by singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with much enthusiasm and positive conviction. All together now, harmoniously and in strong voice.
‘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 was excellent! Or as Nuculer, a long ago friend would say ‘most excellent man, most excellent!’ And Jesus, our choir director thought so too, going by the big smile on His face and His energetic working of the director’s baton.
That means mih people, that we’re getting off on the right foot, with plenty enthusiasm and adrenalin coursing through our bodies, so let’s get out there in the ungodly world and show them what’s what nuh!
Show them the true LOVE and affection of Jesus, so that they can envy us and want to come to Him too to receive the salvation and eternal life that we possess through His sacrificial death on the cross, which banished our sins forever!
Ah mih breddren, I’m chuckling here as the Spirit moves me, and the brain is thinking faster than the pen can write. (smile) But enough fooling around, let’s get to our Bit, the same one as yesterday: ‘Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.’
Oh friends impeccable truth and wisdom for all of us to live by! If we would only truly trust in God and live a decent, humble, truthful life, this world would be such a wonderful place, instead of the deep, dark and evil quagmire that it now is!
The sad part about it all is that only we Christians can do anything positive with it. That’s why we have to do things like go out to work on Monday mornings with a joyful and peaceful attitude, and thus set a good example. That’s the only way the heathen will come to heel and seek Jesus.
Let’s move on now to some scriptures that corroborate our Bit. Listen to Bruh David from Psalm 34 – The Lord hears the righteous. ‘Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate (condemned, found guilty). The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate (condemned, found guilty).’ (Ps.34:21-22)
What wonderful words of promise and encouragement my brethren! And as we always note, Bruh David isn’t speaking from hearsay nuh, but from personal experience. That means we can trust his words without fear of falsehood. And listen to Bruh David once again, this time from Psalm 5 – A prayer for protection.
‘But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that LOVE thy name be joyful in thee. For thou Lord wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass (surround) him as with a shield.’ (Ps. 5:11-12) Friends, Bruh David certainly knew what he was talking about.
And we’ll end at the beginning; (smile) Psalm 1- Blessed are the righteous – which clearly spells out the kind of life the righteous can expect. ‘Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly (wicked), nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate (ponder) day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers (channels) of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.’ (Ps.1:1-3)
Oh friends, oh friends, what more encouragement do we need to live a righteous and godly life eh? I certainly don’t need anymore, for me to at least try and live right. So I’ll leave us to ponder those thoughts today, to decide whether you want to live a godly or ungodly life. It’s all up to you. Please make the wise decision. Much LOVE!
…choose you this day…whom ye will serve…but as for me and my house…we will serve the Lord. (Josh.24:15)
14 Mar 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abhor, adrenaline, asaph, atonement, aura of love, backsliding, blessings, calamitous, calamity, Christian, confidence, conquerors, covenant, disgrace, enthusiasm, evil, expectant faith, famine, fireworks, Frank Lloyd Wright, friends, glorious kingdom, glory hallelujah, God of our salvation, grace, greatness, holy spirit, hope, hungry hope, idols, iniquity, inroads, invincible, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jesus Christ, joy, labouring, lethargy, lies, life, look at life, LOVE, mature in Christ, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, new eyes, patience, peace, pitfalls, problems, purge away, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, rise and shine, sacrificial death, salvation, sentimentality, sinned, sleep, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, substitutionary, superlative, the glory of thy name, the weekend, thy name's sake, two step jig, ungodly world, wickedness
Psalm 79:9. Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away (provide atonement for) our sins. for thy name’s sake.
Awright mih people, the weekend is over, it’s time to rise and shine and get back to labouring, for Monday calls us to battle once again. Shake off the sleep and lethargy and get thee hither! (smile) There’s no time for pussyfooting and complaining, because the Lord’s work is out there waiting to be done.
So to help us get in the right spirit, the right frame of mind, let’s deliver one of our best renditions ever of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. As one glorious, heavenly choir, let’s blow them away my brethren, put a spark in Jesus’ eyes and get the Father to dancing and thus even more eager to bless us than normal.
All together now. ‘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!’
Yes friends, yes! That was superlative! You could see the pride in Jesus eyes as He realized that we were poised for greatness today. And you better believe, we were so sweet that the Father had to come down of his throne and do a li’l two step jig. Glory to God!
Yes mih breddren, it’s the right beginning to a new day, especially a Monday. So let’s keep that spiritual fire burning nuh as we go out into the evil and ungodly world, with expectant faith and hungry hope and do the will and work of Jesus!
And today I have a quote to share, attributed to Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) the famous American architect, interior designer, writer and educator. And it says: ‘The longer I live the more beautiful life becomes.’
And I definitely agree with that, simply because the longer you live the more you know and learn about life, especially if you are a Christian, for as you mature in Christ, you find life much more rewarding and interesting, despite its many problems and pitfalls.
So for all of us who are getting older, entering the winter of our years, please let’s look at life with new eyes nuh, let’s expect that we will achieve the best each day has to offer, as we journey on, in and with Christ.
Oh friends, the ole fella’s on a roll this morning. The Holy Spirit is working… no doubt about that… and our beautiful rendition of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn just has the adrenaline gushing through my veins.
That brings us to our Bit: ‘Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away (provide atonement for) our sins, for thy name’s sake.’
And that strikes me as being a rather appropriate one during this Lenten season, where the Lord did just what the psalmist Asaph asked; ‘purge away ( provide atonement for) our sins,’ through the substitutionary, sacrificial death of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ on Good Friday.
And you know what I particularly like about that plea? How Asaph invokes God’s sentimentality re His glory and His name: ‘for the glory of thy name… for thy name’s sake.’ We all know how touchy He is about His glory and His name, as He declares through Isaiah. ‘I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.’ (Is.42:8)
Yes friends, nothing gets our God angry as not giving Him His rightful praise and glory. But Asaph’s plea was no doubt sincere as the heathen; the Babylonians had destroyed Jerusalem and taken its citizens into captivity. The Lord had allowed this because of Israel’s backsliding and worshipping of idols.
And he continues in the same vein. ‘Wherefore should the heathen (nations, gentiles) say, Where is their God? Let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging (avenging) of the blood of thy servants which is shed.’ (Ps.79:10)
During a time of severe famine in Judah, the prophet Jeremiah also prayed a similar prayer to Asaph’s. ‘O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name’s sake; for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee.’ (Jer.14:7)
Oh my people, I believe the very same thing can be said about our recent behaviour. We have tossed God out of our public institutions, with the worship of all sorts of man-made idols daily increasing, while parents no longer seem to instruct their children in the Word of God, which leads to their utter sinfulness.
And I like how Jeremiah continues pleading for his people, although God tells him not to. ‘We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee. Do not abhor us, for thy name’s sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.’ (Jer.14:21)
Oh friends, our society right now is in the same khaki pants that Israel was in back then, and only acknowledgement of our sinfulness and repentance will cause God to possibly relent from whatever calamity He has planned for us. And yuh better believe He has something big planned, if we continue our wicked ways, something that will eventually evolve out of all the relatively small stuff that’s happening now.
All I can ask is that we wake up and do our best to turn things around, a.s.a.p. otherwise the ending will be real calamitous, and our children will bear the brunt of it. Much LOVE!
…the Lord’s patience endures for long…but when it snaps…then come the fireworks…
11 Jan 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a crying shame, a voice crying in the wilderness, all fired-up, around the mulberry bush, aura of love, boring, common task, confidence, covenant, Creator of the universe, darkness, elbow grease, enlightened, enthusiasm, evil, facade-filled lives, faithful believers in Jesus, fictitious, glamour, glory to God, graven images, gusto, hanker after, his inheritance in the saints, holy spirit, humble servants, hunger, I am the light of the world, invincible, Isaiah, Jesus Christ, jet-set life, jobs, John the Baptist, let your light so shine, lies, LOVE, loving kindness, mercy, Messiah, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, open the blind eyes, praise, prison, prisoners, quit complaining, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, righteousness., rise and shine, salvation, sit in darkness, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, surrender, taunts, the children of men, the daily grind, the dayspring, the eyes of your understanding, the Gentiles, the hope of his calling, the light of life, the rich and famous, the riches of his glory, the shadow of death, truth, ungodly world, walk in darkness, wiles, worked their butts off, Zechariah
Ephesians 1:18. The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.
Well friends, here we go again; one more time around the mulberry bush. (smile) It’s Monday, that means getting into the daily grind and common task of work for another week. Obviously it’s no fun, but it needs to be done.
Too many of us look for and covet the exciting life we seem to think that others have, but believe me, most of what passes for glamour today is boring and fictitious. So please let’s not hunger and hanker after the façade-filled lives of the supposed beautiful people, the rich and famous who tool around in fancy cars and live the jet-set life, for many of them are not what they seem to be.
Oh I know we tend to say it’s better to be rich and unfulfilled, than to be poor and fulfilled. And besides, many of the rich actually worked their butts off to get to that position, so it’s not like you can just daydream and get rich and powerful, you do have to put in some elbow grease, whatever kind it may be, to reach those heights.
So quit the complaining, let’s rise and shine and get ourselves together like the faithful believers in Jesus Christ that we are! And as always, we do have our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to get us all fired-up. So let’s sing it with plenty gusto and enthusiasm.
‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Good job mih people, good job! It wasn’t spectacular, but it was certainly good enough to please our choirmaster, Jesus, to bring a smile to His handsome face.
Now let’s turn to our Bit, the same as yesterday. ‘The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.’
And I do hope we pondered what we spoke about yesterday and the eyes of our understanding were enlightened, (smile) because today I want to look at some scriptures where the Lord promised to open our eyes to what He was about.
And we’ll begin with this promise from Isaiah, when the servant (Christ) comes to glorify the Lord. ‘I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of (to) the people, for a light of (to) the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring them out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.’ (Is.42:6-7)
Yes my fellow believers, from way back then, the good Lord promised to open our eyes and show us the light, which He did through the incarnation of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Now listen to the prophecy of John the Baptist’s father Zechariah when he regained his speech, re John’s mission. ‘And thou, child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission (forgiveness) of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring (dawn, Messiah) from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.’ (Luke 2:76-79)
And that’s exactly what John the Baptist did! He was a voice crying in the wilderness, preparing the path for Christ. Oh friends, our God is and has been so wonderful to us, that it’s a crying shame the way we respond to His LOVING-kindness!
Those prophecies take us back to Isaiah, where He declares: ‘I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. Behold the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.’ (Is.42:8-9)
Now that we cannot dispute, because all the Lord’s prophetic dispensations have come to pass!
And we’ll end with the words of Jesus on the subject. ‘Then spake Jesus again unto them (the scribes and Pharisees) saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’ (John 8:12)
Oh my brethren, Jesus was indeed the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy! And did He ever open our eyes and lead us out of the dark prison that we were languishing in! All praise and glory to the Most High God for His goodness to the children of men!
Now let’s go forth in that light this Monday morning in this leap year of 2016, and light up the world through the strength and wherewithal of Jesus, for that’s what we are called to do! Much LOVE!
…ye are the light of the world…let your light so shine…
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