19 Jul 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a challenge to get on our horses and ride, a crying shame, a personal desire to sacrifice for Christ, able to stand against the wiles of the devil, after one time is two, artificial intelligence, be strong in the Lord, bounden duty, but of power love and a sound mind, endure to the end, evil doers are bullies, evil is ruling the roost, eyes fixed straight ahead, fighting the good fight, For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, girding your waist with the truth of Christ, hands on the plough, in the power of his might, life's basic behaviour does not change, LOVE, mano a mano, more pervasive and distrustful, not turning back, prayer the vital umbrella, put on the whole armour of God, putting ourselves out for Christ, ride for Jesus, sacrificing, so glad to be alive, spiritual battles, take advantage of their physical strength, the breastplate of righteousness, the breath of life is still flowing through me, the gospel of peace on your feet, the Great Commission, the helmet of slavation, the loud voices of Christians, the shiled of faith, the sword of the Spirit, the Word of god, there is no new thing under the sun, to a glorious future with Jesus, Wednesday Wail, without proper regulations
Ephesians 6:11. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.
Oh friends, this Wednesday is going to be another glorious summer’s day! It might not be boiling hot, but it’s sunny, nice and cool, just the way I like it! (smile) After being in this climate of changing seasons for so long, it seems like I can’t handle the heat as well I use to it. I guess it’s like the old people would say; after one time is two. And isn’t it amazing that for almost every scenario in our lives today, we can quote something from our fathers and forefather’s generations that tie in so nicely with them. It just goes to show that the basics of life don’t change that much from generation to generation.
As Cousin Sol so wisely said, writing as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes: ‘The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.’ (Eccl. 1:10) And that’s basically true, for though we might have some new inventions, our basic behaviour and the things we do through this life are just like the ancients did. Get up, work, eat, sleep, party, be sinful, and hopefully praise God, while LOVING each other, then die.
It’s only the how, not the why, that’s been changed down through the ages. We have invented ways to live better, but also ways to be more sinful and ungodly, and, unfortunately, the latter behaviour is what’s currently ruling the roost in our world, which is a crying shame! One would have thought that by now, with all of our enlightened accomplishments and vast learning, mankind would have realized that godliness is ever so much better than evil doing and sinfulness. But no, the devil has gotten his evil claws into so many of us, that godliness is running in second place in our world, and a far second place too.
This however is wholly unacceptable my fellow believers. We cannot allow the evil doers to control our world, especially after all the sacrifices our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ made on our behalf! No! We have to get up, put away our fear, or whatever is holding us back, and attack the enemy full force, mano a mano, not run away from him like scared rabbits, as so many of us are now doing. Jesus stood up staunchly for us, it’s now our turn to stand up staunchly for Him, and He’s already given us all the tools to do the job, the great Commission, that He desires of us.
And it’s all so easy; tell people about Him and the good things He wants to share with them, and live in a manner that will cause others to want what we have, the intimate relationship with Him. But it does mean putting ourselves out, sacrificing and not always living the easy, carefree, doh care life. And that’s what so many of us supposed believers shy away from. With all the wonderful amenities in our world, it’s become so easy to just relax on our lollies and do almost nothing, but still exist.
And with the recent upgrade and breakthrough in Artificial Intelligence, brother, we’ll be doing even less than before, because this new invention will even think for us. Are we on our way to obsolescence my people? Who knows, but it ought to give us definite cause for concern, when our society is already filled with all sorts of fakes and untruthfulness, now we’re going to be even less sure if a real person was involved in a particular situation or thing, or whether it was the work of Artificial Intelligence.
It’s already such a big part of our world, and without proper regulations, it’s only going to get bigger, more pervasive and more distrustful, like all of mankind’s inventions, especially with the evil and untrustworthy minds that are currently at the forefront of our world. And if any serious and worthwhile changes are going to be made in our world, it will have to be through the loud voices of Christians, because we are the only group who seem to want goodness, mercy and the LOVE of God to flourish.
But that’s our very problem; our voices aren’t being heard, because they’re not plentiful or loud enough to make a difference, and until we make them loud and plentiful, nothing will ever change! That’s why I’m calling on us to rise up today, as one solid and unified body of Christ, His marvellous church, and dare the evil doers to stop us from taking over our heavenly Father’s world! It’s well known that evil doers are basically bullies who take advantage of their strengths, but are basically cowards underneath, and this is indeed a challenge for us believers to get on our horses and ride, ride for Jesus, like we should have been doing long ago!
And it’s important that we don’t just rush in willy nilly without a proper plan and proper safeguards. That means before we go into battle, we must put on the whole armour of God! As Bruh Paul wrote to the Ephesians: ‘Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.’ (Eph. 6:10-11) Then in verse 12, he goes on to explain that it’s not a physical battle we’re fighting, but a spiritual one. However, we still need protection even in spiritual battles, just a different kind. And what’s that you ask?
Briefly speaking, it’s the truth of Christ girding your waist; the breastplate of righteousness guarding your chest; the eagerness of the gospel of peace on your feet; the shield of faith with which to divert the fiery arrows of the enemy; the helmet or hope of salvation to protect your head; the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God to fell your enemies, and finally prayer, which brings everything under its vital umbrella and without which no battle can be won!
So we have all that we need to fight the enemy, except the courage and desire to do it. But please, let’s remember that our great ‘God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind.’ (2 Tim. 1:7) That means the only thing holding us back is our desire to engage the enemy, because we have everything else. And, sadly, that desire must come from deep within each of us, it must be a personal desire to sacrifice on Christ’s behalf. No one can make us do it.
And for those of us who are willing to put up that fight, let’s go home declaring (chuh!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our wonderful, irreversible position in Christ Jesus. Altogether now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And if we endure to the very end, then that future will be even more glorious than we can ask or imagine. So let’s promise ourselves to see it nuh! Much LOVE!
…fighting the good fight for Christ…is the believer’s bounden duty…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
11 Jul 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate fire, angry, anointed, begged for mercy, blessings, bonafide believer, bounden duty, calamitous days, Christian trait, christianity, compassion, consumed, debtor's prison, delivered him, disastrous, do like christ did, doing good, dwelleth the love of God, eyes fixed straight ahead, finite minds, followers of Christ, for our benefit, forgave him, forgive not, fresh bread, from your hearts, generous to a fault, giving, glad to be alive, God was with him, God's manna, great is thy faithfulness, greed, had compassion, had pity on thee, halfway home, hands on the plough, have need, heart, his compassions fail not, hoarding, Holy Ghost, in deed, in time of need, Jeremiah, jesus of nazareth, Lamentations, lights a fire, looking to a glorious future, loving, loving-kindness, magnanimous god, mercies, new every morning, not love in word, not turning back, oppressed of the devil, owed money, power, sacrificing, sadly lacking, Scrip-Bit, sees his brother, selfishness, sharing, shutteth up his bowels, talk, talk your talk, thankful, the breath of life, the forgiven one, the land of the living, the Lord's mercies, thou wicked servant, to the tormentors, tongue, Top o' the morn, torturers, trespasses, truth, unchristian behaviour, walk your walk, Wednesday Wail, wroth
Lamentations 3:22-23. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
Well top o’ the morn to all you Scrip-Bit friends and family…and top of the afternoon to those of you faithful readers on the other side of the world! (smile) It’s just another brilliant, sunshiny day in the land of the living, with all of God’s manna, mercies and whatever brand new!
Wow! It’s like waking up to fresh bread every day! And we should be much more thankful than we are for those blessings. But our God is what we call magnanimous, generous to a fault, so He gives us stuff that we don’t truly deserve.
And yes, we’ll continue with the same Bit, because there are so many scriptures on compassion, a most important Christian trait in which we current believers are sadly lacking.
Jeremiah knew exactly what he was talking about when he declared in His Lamentations: ‘It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.’
If you are a bonafide (true, sincere) believer, then you certainly cannot argue with that statement or the sentiments contained therein since it’s only through God’s LOVING-kindness that life is not more disastrous than it is. Now let’s check out some scriptures on compassion.
The first one we’ll look at today is Jesus’ telling of the parable about the two servants who owed money they could not repay. The first owed his master thousands of dollars, and when the master threatened to cast him into debtors’ prison, he begged for mercy, and the master forgave him the entire debt.
However that same forgiven one, found someone who owed him a measly few dollars, but when he couldn’t pay, he had him and his family cast into prison. Obviously that disgusting news got back to the master, who called the first servant and castigated him.
‘O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst (begged) me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth (angry), and delivered him to the tormentors (torturers) till he should pay all that due unto him.’ (Matt.18:32-34)
And it’s sad to say friends, that that kind of behaviour is still rampant in this world, amongst Christians too, believe it or not. But listen to the moral of the story as told by Jesus: ‘So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.’ (Matt.18:35) It couldn’t be any clearer than that!
And John says it thus in his epistle: ‘But whoso hath this world’s good (goods), and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels (heart) of compassion from him, how dwelleth the LOVE of God in him?’ (1 John 3:17) Good question friends? And the answer is that the LOVE of God does not dwell in such a person.
And to provide a solution to that unchristian behaviour, John therefore recommends: ‘My little children, let us not LOVE in word, neither in tongue (talk); but in deed and in truth.’ (1 John 3:18)
Oh my people, that is oh so necessary in the calamitous days our world is currently experiencing! We just need to have more LOVING action than just mere talk, as we all are so good at doing. I don’t know if there’s ever been a time that the saying; walk your walk and talk your talk, has been more important.
And this verse from Acts shows that is exactly what our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ did. ‘How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.’(Acts 10:38)
Oh my fellow believers, we have also been anointed with the same Holy Ghost and power that Jesus had, so it’s also our bounden duty to go around doing good and helping the less fortunate as much as we can, not keeping, hoarding and/or storing our power and anointing merely for our benefit. That’s what being a Christian means.
If we are followers of Christ, then we’re supposed to do like Christ did! And unfortunately we’re not doing it as much as we ought. Our compassion level is woefully low, while our greed and selfishness meter is way too high. So let’s hope today’s writing lights a fire, a compassionate fire under us. (smile)
But it’s time to go home now. And we’ll do so by declaring our Wednesday Wail, letting the entire world know our situation in Christ Jesus. As one voice now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And yuh know what friends? Our finite minds can’t even truly imagine how glorious that future will be! Much LOVE!
…true Christianity is sharing…and giving…and LOVING…and sacrificing…and being there in time of need…
P.S. It’s a tad late because I got held up talking to a friend about the World Cup Soccer Tournament. Some things just can’t wait. (smile) Much LOVE!
24 Oct 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bear hug, a gentle caress, abundant life, at the hand of God, calamity, Christian faith, circumstances, cry with it, curse God and die, earn it, emotions, energy, enthusiasm, enthusiastic about life, entrenched in goodness, faithful brethren, fight life, for evil, for good, friend of Jesus, fully yoked to Jesus, God's active will, gospel truth, hate it, have life, hide from life, hiding from reality, highs, I am come, insulate us from pain, intensely experience, Jib, joys, Jurgen Moltmann, liberation theology, live life to the full, live the drama, living fully, living of life, love for Christ, love it, love life, lows, momentary setbacks, more abundantly, on the cross, outpouring of water, passion, passion for Christ, permissive will, plodding along, rewards, sacrificing, sadly lacking, Satan, share His love, sin with his lips, sinless self, soft and gentle, special someone, stand strong, steady drizzle, the beloved of God, the joy of life, the rains fell, the thief comes to steal, the thirsty land, theology of hope, to destroy, to kill, Trinitarian theology, Tuesday Mantra, unavoidable, with the help of Jesus, wonderment
John 10:10. The thief cometh not, but for (except) to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
And then the rains fell – soft and gentle upon the thirsty land. Oh friends, what a joy it is to see and hear the rain falling gently, especially when you’re lying in bed with your special someone beside you! (smile)
Oh yes, the rain fell in my neighbourhood most of yesterday afternoon and last night. And thankfully it wasn’t a great flood-like outpouring of water, but a constant, steady drizzle that resembled a gentle caress rather than a fierce bear hug.
And I believe both the land and its inhabitants benefit more from that type of rainfall than big, gushing streams of water all at once.
Now here is a quote attributed to Jürgen Moltmann (April 8, 1926 -) a Reformed German theologian and Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology at the University of Tübingen, Germany.
He is most noted as a proponent of his “theology of hope” and for his incorporation of insights from liberation theology and ecology into mainstream Trinitarian theology. Whatever that means. (smile)
But he is obviously a man of some learning and some importance in the church, and thus we should pay some attention to what he writes. ‘The more passionately we LOVE life, the more intensely we experience the joy of life.’
And that my people is gospel truth! The more we LOVE life, and throw ourselves into it, the greater joy we receive from it. It’s all about the passion we bring to whatever we do, especially the living of life itself! We can’t always hide from life, for that’s unhealthy.
But as the devotion from our One More Day Daily Meditations for People with Chronic Illness tells us. It’s better to ‘live the drama, LOVE it, cry with it, and at times even hate it. Choosing to live life on its terms brings enthusiasm and passion into our experiences.
Our decision to LOVE life – despite the highs and lows – allows us to delight in the highs and to accept the lows as unavoidable, but momentary setbacks. Although hiding from reality can sometimes insulate us from the pain, it also blinds us to the joys and wonderment of living fully.’
Now we all know that the basic philosophy of our Christian faith is to live life to the full, as Jesus our leader declares in our Bit. ‘The thief cometh not, but for (except) to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’
And the only way to have a truly abundant life is by getting passionately involved with it, whether it be for good or for evil.
Obviously it’s much better to live a passionate life entrenched in goodness, by being fully yoked to the aims and desires of Jesus Christ, so that we can enjoy all the good things, the wonderful rewards He has in store for those who sincerely believe in and work for Him.
Unfortunately though my brethren, that passion for Christ that we’re talking about seems to be sadly lacking in His church these days.
A handful of us might be showing such passion, but most of us are simply just plodding along, taking life as it comes, which we sometimes need to do, but generally speaking, not responding with the energy and enthusiasm we need to overcome it.
Please note that Jesus didn’t just give us abundant life, He had to painfully earn if for us, by sacrificing His sinless self on the cross. So who are we now to just expect to go through life without any problems eh?
Remember what Job said to his wife in the middle of his calamity? She said to him: ‘Dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God and die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? Shall we receive (accept) good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil (accept calamity)? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.’ (Job 2:9-10)
Yeh friends, it’s not easy to accept calamity with a smile, but when we look at the overall picture, sometimes we need to do it. We just cannot afford to let life dig us into a hole in both our circumstances and our emotions, because that’s a hole from which it is often very difficult to get out of.
Now here’s an interesting explanation from the scholars on those two verses from Job. ‘2:9. Job’s wife suggested that Job do what Satan had predicted: curse God. After all she had been through, it is no wonder she was ready to give up all hope.
But Job recognized that both good and evil come from God’s hand, though one by His active will and the other by His permissive will. God can permit evil things to happen for good ends (cf. Gen.50:19-20). In all this did not Job sin is proof enough that Satan was wrong and was sorely defeated. Satan does not appear in the book again.’
Good riddance! So friends, in general, what we bring to life, is what life gives to us. But at times, life can be quite contrary, so as believers, we need to stand strong and with the help of Jesus, fight life on our terms, not on his. And we can only do that when we bring a strong and passionate LOVE for Christ to the table.
Now let’s go home declaring that passion we have for Jesus in our Tuesday Mantra. ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
Now let’s go out and action that LOVE…with passion. Much LOVE, my faithful brethren in Christ!
…from today…I will be enthusiastic about life…regardless of what it brings…
24 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: atonement, aura of love, blessed, born again, born of God, care, compassion, complaining, confidence, death, energy, enthusiasm, everlasting life, faith, faithful, frailties, friends, fun, get with the programme, glorious kingdom, glory hallelujah, God's LOVE, grateful, Hades, hell, His only begotten Son, holy spirit, humble servants, in all things, invincible, Jesus Christ, Jesus' business, jobs, joy, lies, LOVE, Love makes the world go round, Lucifer, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, muttering, nay, negative actions, our Lord and Saviour, perish, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, sacrificing, salvation, sense of purpose, serve a useful purpose, shield, son of god, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, surrender, the cross at Calvary, the fray, the grave, the propitiation for our sins, the shed blood of Jesus, the trumpet is calling, through him that loved us, time to be up and about, trust, truth, ungodly world, we are more than conquerors, wisdom
Romans 8:37. Nay, in all things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.
Awright friends, it’s Monday, so let’s get up and get a move on nuh. There’s no time for pushing the snooze button and rolling over. The trumpet is calling out yonder: It’s time to go to work! Time to be up and about Jesus’ business!
Yes my people, there’s no time for muttering and complaining. You weren’t muttering or complaining last night when you were up till all hours of the night having fun. So let’s cut out the negative actions now and get with the programme.
And to help us do that, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with plenty enthusiasm, energy and sense of purpose. As they say, fake it until you make it.
So let’s sing: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Oh friends, that rendition of our Battle Hymn was barely passable! How can such a lacklustre vocalization ever inspire anybody to go out and fight bravely eh? It’s obvious that our choirmaster, Jesus, wasn’t pleased. But as always, knowing our frailties, and having that great LOVE for us, He forgives us.
Nonetheless, now that our motors are running, let’s pick up the tempo and get ourselves into the fray of this new workweek, with Jesus, beside, behind and before us; in other words, all around us as a protective shield. That’s why we can so audaciously declare in our Bit: ‘Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.’
Yes precious people of God, once you are spiritually born again through the shed blood of Jesus on the cross at Calvary, then you have indeed become a conqueror through His having conquered hell, death and the grave. The same options are open to all who sincerely believe in Him and truly surrender their souls to His leading and guidance.
Now the last couple of days we have been talking about the conquering aspect of our Bit, today however, I want to talk about the LOVE portion. And isn’t that word LOVE, the greatest word in any language on planet earth? It certainly is! Why eh?
Listen to the most important verse in the God’s word. ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ (John 3:16)
That’s the major purpose behind it all my faithful brethren. God’s LOVE was so great for us, His sinful creation, that He just could not live with Himself to see us all go down to Hades with Lucifer without some option for deliverance. ‘For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.’ (John 3:17)
And all those words were spoken by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the SON of God! So they just had to be true, since God cannot lie. That’s how blessed we are my people! Our Creator’s care and compassion for us was so strong, that He broke His own heart, by sacrificing His only Son, that we could be set free from the ravages of sin and death.
Now doesn’t that touch a soft spot in your heart, make you everlastingly grateful? It ought to. And it also ought to raise up your own LOVE for God, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit in thankful appreciation for all that they’ve done for you. But such is the ungratefulness and foolish pride of man that many of us just couldn’t care less about what the Holy Trinity has done, is doing, and will do for us.
Now let’s further develop this theory of LOVE. We have a saying that ‘LOVE makes the world go round,’ and if we follow and believe what John says in his later writings, then it might just be true.
Hear John theorize. ‘Beloved, let us LOVE one another: for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE. In this was manifested (shown) the LOVE of God towards us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation (atonement) for our sins. Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4:7-11)
And that’s the crux of the disastrous situation right now in our world; we don’t LOVE one another!
And we not talking about no big setta LOVE nuh, with plenty hugging and kissing etc; (smile) but just simple brotherly kindness, goodwill, care and compassion for each other. Now that’s what will make our world go round!
Ah friends, if we want to see our world become a better place, both for ourselves and our descendants, then I implore us to start showing that goodwill, that brotherly LOVE to each other. It’s not too late, and with God’s help we can certainly do it. So let’s begin today nuh; there’s no better time than right now! Much LOVE!
…without more basic LOVE…our world WILL NOT survive for much longer…
16 Sep 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a battlefield, a God-pleasing life, a monumental task, a veritable war, balance, battle with sin, caompassionate, carnal nature, Christian, contrary to one another, desires, dissolute behaviour, do the things ye would, faithful, fellowship, forgiveness, foundation, frailties, fulfill the lust of the flesh, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, godly direction, godly success, gospel truth, grace, groundings, honesty, in Jesus' name, leggo beast, listening, living by the Spirit, meditating, mercy, patience, perseverance, praying, questioning, reading God's Word, refreshed in soul body and mind, relaxation, renewed, rest, sacrificing, sin, sincerity, sinful desires, spiritual job, stand strong and steadfast, stop and listen, storing God's word in our hearts, template, TGIF!, Thank God it's Friday, the flesh lusts against the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the law is good, the lust of the flesh, truth, two natures, understanding, walk in the Spirit, weaknesses, week of work, what I would that do I not, yield to the Spirit
Galatians 5:16. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Aye mih people, another great day is ahead of us, courtesy of our wonderful God! So please, let’s use it wisely nuh, guided by the Holy Spirit of God that dwells within us.
It’s okay to shout ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend’s here…’ and what we going to do from what we not going to do, but not if they simply relate to the lustful and dangerous pleasures of the world.
We desperately need to have better groundings, a better foundation for the way we spend our time off, if we are going to have any kind of godly success in this crazy world of ours. And our Friday Chant provides us with that solid footing, that godly balance that we need.
So let’s chant it nuh, with sincerity, honesty and truth, praying that it will help us do better than we’re accustomed doing. As one 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 template for our weekends, than just wild and crazy, dissolute, leggo beast behaviour, which so many of us unfortunately indulge in when we have the couple of days off.
That’s why Bruh Paul spent so much time warning us against just such a thing, and gave us this godly direction in our Bit. ‘This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.’
Yes my believing brethren, the Holy Spirit was sent to dwell within us so that we would follow it’s godly leading and direction, but first we have to stop and listen to it, otherwise we won’t know what it’s saying or where it wants to guide us.
And the scholars explain it thus: ‘5:16. Walk in the Spirit (i.e. “live by the Spirit”): Christians are to live with the Spirit’s help. How does one “live by the Spirit”? (1) The Christian must believe that the Spirit is with him, having been sent by God into his heart (4:6). (2) In every spiritual confrontation the believer must yield to the Spirit, that is, submit his own desires to those of the Spirit.
(3) One must depend on the Spirit for help, enabling him to lead a God-pleasing life (v.5). (4) The believer should anticipate the effects of the Spirit’s help in his daily life. The believer who “lives by the Spirit” will not fulfill (accomplish, carry out) the lust (strong desires) of the flesh (sinful desires).’
There you have it friends, a scholarly guide as to how the Holy Spirit should operate in our lives. Oh, we know it’s not easy living a godly and spiritual life; it takes patience, perseverance, listening, sacrificing, questioning and praying, but with God’s help we can do it all.
And why is it so difficult to lead that godly life we so ardently desire? Bruh Paul gives us some indication in the verse after our Bit. ‘For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things ye would.’ (Gal.5:17)
Ah mih people, it can be a monumental task, a veritable war, if we’re not strong, faithful and persevering.
Hear how the scholars tell it. ‘5:17. One’s sinful human nature (flesh) and the Holy Spirit lusteth against one another, that is, they have desires and yearnings that are contrary to one another. The Christian, then, is a battlefield, having desires to do good and evil. The outcome is that ye cannot do the things that ye would: the flesh seeks to thwart the Spirit, who, in turn, attempts to frustrate the flesh’s evil desires.’
Gospel truth that my people! As Bruh Paul told the Roman church in his missive to them, talking about the struggle of our two natures. ‘For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal (fleshly), sold under sin.
For that which I do I allow (understand) not: for what I would (want to do), that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto (agree with) the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.’ (Rom.7:14-17)
What a battlefield of life my brethren! Now listen to this important explanation of the scholars. ‘7:14. The law is spiritual: The law has the characteristics of the Spirit and is consistent with the character of God. I am carnal: What follows is autobiographical and designed to reveal the real struggle the apostle experienced in the flesh. His experience is also exemplary, for it shows the problems all believers experience in their battle with sin.’
So friends, if you are experiencing problems in fighting your fleshly desires, don’t beat yourself up, for it’s just a natural part of this earthly life. We will always have problems trying to be godly, even Bruh Paul had a hard time doing what he wanted to do, as per living by the Spirit.
What we need to do is to be patient and persevering; keep on reading God’s word, studying it, meditating on it, storing it in our hearts for future use, praying, fellowshipping, and listening intently to what the Holy Spirit tells us.
And we won’t always be successful, but our compassionate and understanding God knows our weaknesses and frailties, and once He sees us sincerely trying, that our hearts and motives are right, He will be forgiving and compassionate. So please, let’s all stand strong and steadfast in His great LOVE, mercy, compassion and grace. Much LOVE!
…fighting our carnal nature…is a full time spiritual job…
19 May 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a beacon, a feeling of peace, a relationship with Christ, almighty god, Anselm, background noise, behave godly, bounden duty, called by God's name, celebration, Christ-lie, Christians, come up higher, communing with nature, desires, disastrous state of our world, downfalls, duty, eternal life, evil, evil cohorts, fear not, forgive their sin, free gift of grace, friends, gentle breezes, give men for thee, God's chosen people, God's people, gospel truth, grace, guide others to Christ, heal their land, honoured, humble themselves, I am the Lord thy God, I will be with thee, individual hurts, ingrained in our nature, insincere pleas, Inspire us for a better tomorrow, irresponsibly, Isaiah's declaration, Israelites, Jesus Christ, light of the world, LOVE, low over me, Lucifer, mesh with God's will, more beautiful than silence, Moses, motives, my neck of the woods, negative actions, negativity, night insects, peace, people for thy life, people which are called by my name, ponder, pray, precious in my sight, Queen Victoria, quick communication, quiet of the morning, ransom, refresh our memories, rejuvenating the spirits, responsibility, responsible society, right conclusion, rocket science, rustle the leaves of the trees, sacrificing, salt of the earth, salvation, scans our hearts, seek God, seek my face, silence is golden, silence., sinful nature, sing songs of praise, social media, sounds of the highway, spread Christ's gospel, strife, talking nonsense, the blessings of obedience, the children of Israel, the flame scorch thee, the heathen, the Holy One of Israel, the lust of the flesh, the only redeemer, the rivers shall not overflow thee, the things of the world, the unbeliever, think before we talk, thou shalt not be burned, trillion dollar question, turn away from their wicked ways, turn back to God, ungodly society, when thou passest through the waters, when thou walkest through the fire, will I hear from heaven
2 Chronicles 7:14. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn away from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Aye Friends, please blame the lateness of this Tuesday morning Bit at the feet of Queen Victoria, as I was up till late last night, early this morning, celebrating her day. (smile) But not to worry, it was celebration of the good kind.
And then, before I went to bed, I obviously had to spend some time sitting out on my front porch enjoying the peace and quiet of the morning, communing with nature and my most wonderful God.
Oh my people, you wouldn’t understand how peaceful and quiet it is in my neck of the woods at that time! I sit out there and just let the gentle breezes blow over me, as they rustle the leaves of the trees, and the night insects sing their songs of praise to their Creator, with the sounds of the highway acting as background noise in the distance.
Such a feeling of peace washes over me, that this morning I had to force myself to get up and go to bed, the atmosphere was so amenable to sitting out there for much longer. (smile)
Ah Friends, what’s the point of God giving us these natural amenities for rejuvenating our spirits, if we don’t make use of them eh? None whatsoever!
Anyway, here’s an interesting piece of advice from my Friend Anselm, as he attempts to inspire us for a better tomorrow. He says: ‘Open your mouth only if what you are going to say is more beautiful than silence.’
What a wonderful bit of advice that is my brethren! It brings to mind the saying that ‘silence is golden.’ And it surely is, especially when what we’re planning to say is just going to provoke strife and negativity.
Oh, the many negative actions we can avoid if we’ll only think before we talk! But that seems to be one of our big downfalls, especially in this age of quick communication and social media.
Instead of cutting back on our talking, we seem to be talking even more than usual, and consequently talking more nonsense than usual too. The amount of confusion this social media is causing it’s not funny, yet we still insist on using it irresponsibly.
Ah mih people, until we put the words of our Bit into serious action, we’ll never become a responsible society. ‘If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn away from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.’
As we said yesterday, there are four areas we need to deal with if we are called by God’s name, and we are, as Christians. The first is to humble ourselves before Almighty God, then pray to Him, sincerely seeking His face, while turning away from our evil ways.
Oh Friends, it’s right there in black and white! And it’s not rocket science either. But the evil is so ingrained in our nature, and the lust of the flesh and our LOVE for the things of the world are so great that we don’t seem to want to turn back to God, or we find it difficult to do so.
But Friends, please be assured of one thing; if we truly want to seek God, we’ll find Him, because the Lord will certainly enable us to do it. The problem is that when He scans our hearts, He discovers that our motives and desires are wrong, they do not mesh with His will and desire, so He ignores our insincere pleas.
Now I had planned to share some scriptures that deal with the four areas in which we need to come up higher, so that God can hear us and heal our individual hurts, as well as our ungodly society. But before we can do that, we need to refresh our memories that we are indeed God’s people, called by His name.
Yesterday we saw one example of that through Moses laying out the blessings of obedience to the Israelites. Now listen to Isaiah’s declaration to the children of Israel, as he details to them the gospel truth that God is the only redeemer of mankind.
‘But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel. Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon (scorch) thee.
For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Sheba for thee (in thy place). Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable (honoured), and I have LOVED thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.’ (Is.43:1-4)
Yes my brethren, the bunch of modern day people called Christians, belong to the Lord! We are called by His name, He has saved and redeemed us through the sacrificing of His Son Jesus Christ!
That means we have a responsibility, a serious duty to behave and act according to His desires and commands. But obviously we’re not doing that on a wide or strong enough scale, which results in our even more sinful nature and the disastrous state of our world.
Ah Friends, we are God’s chosen people, let’s behave like it nuh, and not like Lucifer’s evil cohorts. Our bounden duty is to behave godly, and spread Christ’s gospel, so that the heathen, the unbeliever, will have a chance to turn to God, to accept His free gift of grace that leads to salvation and eternal life.
Now, if we, God’s people, called by His name, don’t do it, then please tell me who will eh?
And we’ll end with that trillion dollar question. Friends, please, let’s seriously and sincerely ponder it today nuh, and with God’s help, come to the right conclusion. Much LOVE!
…Christians are meant to be Christ-like…the salt of the earth…and the light of the world…a beacon to guide others to a wonderful relationship with Christ…
29 Jul 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a child of God, a righteous man, access by faith, accptance, advice, Advocate, ashamed, assurance, at all times dare to be the best, attempt to, awesome word, be prepared to believe, bless your Holy Name, Bruh Paul, certainty, challenge, character, Christ died for the ungodly, comfort zone, commandment, courage, courageous, DARE, dare to be the best, daring, daring believers, defy, disappoint, echoing Jesus' words, enmity, even dare to die, evil, experience, fear, feel sure that, followers of Jesus christ, for a good man, friends, get up off of our fat fannies, glory in tribulation, God rested on the seventh day, God's business, God's deliverance, God's great love, grace, heavenly wisdom, Holy Ghost, hope, I can do attitude, impudence, in Jesus' name, ingeniously reasons, iniquities, justification, justified by faith, kindness, lay down his life, lord jesus christ, LOVE, LOVE one another, mea culpa, mercy, not being afraid, pain, patience, peace with God, perseverance, plaintive plea, poured out in our hearts, praise and adore, presence of god, reconciled, Redeemer, rejoice in hope, rest, rest is an integral part of our lives, rise up and meet challenges, run amuck, sacrificing, servants, stand up strong and steadfast, Steve Marshall, stress, take the risk, Thank you Jesus, the glory of God, the LOVE of God, ungodly state, venture to
Romans 5:7. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure (perhaps) for a good man some would even dare to die.
Ah Friends and neighbours, it was one of those days where at getting up time, the old body plaintively cried out; ‘More rest! In the name of God, more rest please!’
And being a child of God, a reflection of His mercy, LOVE and kindness, how could I refuse such a plaintive plea eh? (smile) To tell the truth, the ole bod could still use some more rest, but sometimes we just can’t let it have it’s own way and must say enough is enough, else it will simply take over and run amuck on us.
So Friends, when your bodies seriously cry out for rest, don’t constantly ignore it, because it often knows better than us, what it needs. And remember too that rest was a big part of God’s concern when He created the universe.
For as the Good Book says: ‘And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.’ (Gen.2:3)
So Friends, if God needed rest from His labours, or rather saw fit to rest, then why shouldn’t we also. Please be aware that rest is an integral part of our earthly lives, though the world, in its evil, ungodly state, strives to keep us continually busy, but that only causes us considerable and unnecessary stress and pain.
And now that I’ve formally made my excuses, my mea culpas, (smile) let’s see what good word our almanac has for us today. And though it’s a small in stature word, it is big, bold, beautiful and mighty in its impact. Believe me, it’s an awesome word that ALL God’s children ought to heed.
And that powerful word is ‘DARE!’
Now I’m not sure which Steve Marshall the following quote can be attributed to, because there are so many. But whichever one it is, he is supposed to have said these simple but powerful words of advice: ‘Dare to be the best you can – at all times, dare to be the best!’
What wonderful words of advice my brethren, especially for followers of the Lord Jesus Christ! Why is that you ask? Because daring allows us to move out of our comfort zone, to get up off of our fat fannies and do the things Jesus desires of us.
The dictionary generally defines ‘DARE’ as ‘venture to, have the courage or impudence to, feel sure that, attempt to, take the risk of, defy, challenge, be prepared to believe.’
So you can see Friends, that daring involves getting up and doing, meeting challenges full on, not being afraid of and running from stuff.
And that stand up strong and steadfast, courageous, believing I can attitude is necessary in ALL believers if we seriously intend to do God’s work here in this evil, ungodly world, because the enemy will not allow us to just go about God’s business without any challenges and evil input.
Yes my people, believers are called to be daring, so daring that we would follow our Bit. ‘For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure (perhaps) for a good man some would even dare to die.’
Wow! It surely is a hefty dare, but one that we should not shy away from if necessary. Oh my brethren, I know that ALL of us are praying that it won’t be necessary in our own lives. (smile) But Bruh Paul was simply echoing Jesus’ words there in our Bit, when He told the disciples:
‘This is my commandment, That ye LOVE one another, as I have LOVED you. Greater LOVE hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.’ (John 15:12-15)
Then He went out and died for His FRIENDS; laid down His life for us!
And all God’s children gave out a mighty and grateful shout of: ‘Oh thank you Jesus for sacrificing your holy and sinless life for us! We praise and adore You, and bless your holy name, now and forever more! Amen’
Yeh mih people, that’s what daring does! It causes us to rise up and meet challenges, even though we may be sorely afraid.
As Bruh Paul so ingeniously reasons before our Bit; ‘Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also; knowing that tribulation worketh patience (produces perseverance); And patience, experience (character); and experience, hope:
And hope maketh not ashamed (does not disappoint); because the LOVE of God is shed abroad (has been poured out) in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due (at the right) time Christ died for the ungodly.’ (Rom.5:1-6)
Oh Friends, what marvelous scripture! Scripture that assures and ensures us of God’s great LOVE!
And it’s only fitting that we end with some scholarly explanations of those verses. ‘5:1-4. Justified by faith (lit. “because we have been justified by faith”): It was God’s doing, not man’s.
Peace with God: This is not a feeling but a standing. God and the believer are no longer at enmity but have been reconciled (cf. 5:10-11; 2 Cor.5:18). This is a primary result of our justification.
Access: We can come directly into the presence of God. Jesus Christ is not only our Redeemer, but He is also our Advocate. By Him we gain entrance and acceptance before the Father (cf. 1 John 2:1)
Wherein we stand: This is the answer to the psalmist’s question: “If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?” (Ps.130:3) Rejoice (lit. “we boast”) in hope denotes the absolute certainty the believer has of God’s deliverance.
5:5. Holy Ghost…given: The believer has the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. This is not a “second blessing,” but is just as much a certitude as the believer’s justification (cf. 1 Cor.12:13).’
Oh my people, with all that assurance and certainty expressed in God’s Word, there’s no way we should fear to go out and ‘DARE!’
So starting today, right now, let’s put all that stuff deep in our souls nuh, bury God’s assurance deep in our hearts and thus allow it to make us not only believers, but even more importantly, daring believers. That’s heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!
…to dare…to dare…and yet to dare…in Jesus name…is what we’re called to do…
07 Sep 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: agree to disagree, air canada centre, Amen, bestowed on mankind, bring forth fruit, brotherly LOVE, cedars of Lebanon, cheerful, child, Christ's Church, Christians, clean up our act, cleansing, co-worker, come short of God's glory, condemn, criticize, cross at Calvary, dead, deeds, destroy, downbeat, downcast, earthly lives, encouragement, encouraging, entertain angels, enticement, eternal destiny, eternal life, faith, fellow believers, forgiveness, founder, friend, God likes service to others, God's great earth, good example, good name, greatest gift, growing relationships, happiest, have life, healing, heavenly rewards, help, helping, hinder, hypocrites, innocent life, inspiration, Jesus Christ, job to do, Joel Osteen, judge others, judgement day, judgemental, kill, lacking, miracles, more abundantly, more harm than good, most joyful, my rock, negative aspects, negative invective, negativity, no-good, old age, on the rocks, optimistic people, orphans, palm tree, pit of despair, planted in God's house, positive Christianity, positive things, power behind the throne, Praise the Lord, prideful, psalm 92, put down others, quick to judge, redeem, religion, respect, respectfully, ridicule, righteous judge, righteous shall flourish, sacrificing, salvation, sensible, sinfulness, sinned, sins, spirituality, spouse, success, suffering, the Good Book, the Lord's upright, the thief comes to steal, total stranger, trials, tribulations, unbeliever, unconditional LOVE, understanding, ungrateful sinners, unrighteousness, unstinting support, upbeat, uplifting message, victorious living, widows, words
Psalm 92:12. The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, the ole fella went to se Bubba (Joel Osteen) at the ACC, Air Canada Centre last night. That’s the money making machine at the corner of Bay and Lakeshore, the home of the Maple Leaf’s Ice Hockey Team.
I know that some of you don’t like Bubba, find him too simplistic and smiley smiley, but I like him, and he’s been a great inspiration of mine over the years. I was first introduced to him by my mother, and when I found amongst her stuff, a little devotional booklet he’d written called ’30 Thoughts for Victorious Living,’ it became the last part of our daily prayer time, after I began reading prayers for her over the phone.
Now I don’t remember how we came to call him Bubba, maybe it was because of his Texas connection, but what’s really amusing is that some days neither of us could remember his right name, because we seldom used it. However from the moment we said ‘Bubba,’ we both knew exactly whom we were talking about.
Yeh Mols sugar, your Sonny Boy went to see Bubba last night, on the eve of what would have been your 86th birthday, and I know you’re up there smiling with joy for that. But I promised to uphold your good name, and I’m trying my best.
Anyway Friends, Joel was his usual bright, upbeat, smiling self, teaching his message of positive, upbeat Christianity, despite all the problems we face. And you already know I consider that the true way to celebrate all that Christ has done for us.
Just look at Jesus nuh; we would never be called on to face more ridicule and suffering than He faced, but even in His most bitter time, He was still positive and encouraging, because He knew that He had a job to do despite all the trials and tribulations.
The same thing applies to us my fellow believers. And as I’ve said so often, Christians should be the happiest, most joyful cheerful and optimistic people on God’s great earth, especially when we have all that Jesus died to provide for us; cleansing, healing, forgiveness of sins, salvation and eternal life, just to mention a few.
Joel’s mother, Jodie was there, and she shared a few thoughts on how she was miraculously saved from cancer some 20 years ago. And we can’t forget the real power behind the throne, his wife Victoria. She also shared a positive uplifting message.
And as I’ve seen from their interaction, and as Joel always says, it’s Victoria who has buoyed him up over the years, giving him the unstinting support and encouragement to do what he’s doing. As she said, they don’t always agree, but they agree to disagree respectfully.
But sadly my brethren, that principle, of respect and support, which is absolutely necessary to sound and growing relationships, is lacking in too many marriages and relationships today. We get angry and curse each other, spouting a whole lot of negative invective, and right there the respect that’s so badly needed disappears, causing so many relationships to founder on the rocks.
But Friends, please hear these words, believe and implement them in your own lives: ‘Behind every successful person, man, woman or child, is a sensible, understanding and encouraging person or group of persons.’
None of us can make it without the help and encouragement of others, who believe in and have faith in us. So please my brethren, let’s start seriously helping and encouraging each other nuh, whether it be our spouse, friend, child, co-worker or even a total stranger, since service is well pleasing to God.
‘Let brotherly LOVE continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.’ (Heb.13:1-2) Yes Friends, we never know whom we are helping, so let’s just help with LOVE, as Jesus did, for our God champions widows, orphans and strangers.
So fellow believers, if you see something in anyone that’s worth raising up, encouraging, please do so. Look for the positive things in people, for we all have some, and focus on those, instead of concentrating on the few negative aspects, as we tend to do.
You’ll notice that Jesus, God Almighty, never put down anybody, regardless of how abominable their sins might have been. But we, sinful, worthless creations that we are, are always quick to judge, ridicule and put down others, even though we don’t have a clue about why they are the way they are.
That brings me back to Bubba, where people are quick to criticize him, but thousands of people delight in him, as shown by the sold out crowd at the ACC last night, and the many who stood up and renewed their relation
ship with God.
The fellow is only doing what he’s been anointed to do, in the manner he sees fit. But too many of us equate success with negativity, a lot of it stemming from pride and envy. And when you get right down to it Bubba’s only reiterating what the Good Book says, a very good example of that being our Bit. ‘The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.’
Now does that mean we should walk bowed down, miserable and unhappy? Absolutely not! Remember Jesus’ words: ‘The thief cometh not, but for (except) to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.’ (John 10:10) He certainly doesn’t want or expect His followers to be dead, downcast and downbeat!
Now listen to the psalmist as he continues after our Bit. ‘Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat (plump) and flourishing (green); To show that the Lord is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.’ (Ps.92:13-15)
And all God’s true believers said a loud and grateful: ‘Praise the Lord! Amen!’
Oh my people, it doesn’t make sense to talk about all our God’s done, doing and plans to do for us, then walk around as though we’re living in the pit of despair. That’s why so many people consider us Christians hypocrites of the highest order! And in many instances they are quite right.
Our attitudes toward each other, the way we walk and talk and live our lives should be an enticement to the unbeliever to want what we have, to draw him into the body of Christ, not like it too often is, driving them away from the greatest gift and blessing ever bestowed on mankind – Jesus Christ.
So as of today my people, RIGHT NOW, let’s stop putting others down, especially when we don’t know anything about their circumstances. We’ve become so judgemental and prideful, like the Pharisees of old, that we’re doing more harm than good to Christ and His church.
We’re never going to like everybody and everything about them, but that’s no reason to be judgemental and condemn them. Remember that all of us have sinned and come short of God’s glory, (Rom.3:23) so we have no right to judge others.
And in any case, what was God’s reaction to our sinfulness eh? He opened His abundant storehouse of unconditional LOVE, and though it broke His heart, sent His only Son Jesus Christ to redeem us, by sacrificing His holy and innocent life on the cross at Calvary for a bunch of no-good, ungrateful sinners.
Now if He, the righteous judge, can do that, why can’t we forgive and stop judging others eh?
Oh Friends, that’s our ‘ponderation’ for today. And please do it seriously, for the way we live our earthly lives, will dictate our heavenly rewards and eternal destiny. Much LOVE!
…come the judgement day…will our words and deeds on earth, help or hinder us…now is the time to clean up our act.
SCRIP-BITS 