17 Sep 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a strong will, Christ's sacrificial death, compassionate heart, convinced of victory, Cousin Sol. the Preacher, curse, demoniacal pressure, doing God's work, Ecclesiastes, faithful obedience to His holy will, fear and doubt, fear God, great family, having your loins girt about with truth, he that believes, he that believeth, his commandments are not grievous, holy character, inherent human nature, keep his commandments, let him deny himself, let us hear, lift our spirits, live life to the full, mano a mano, moral conduct, negative word, power to fight the enemy, prayer, prayer is indispensable, put on the whole armour of God, reverence our Creator, saints in Christ, searched after truth pleasure and wisdom, self-discipline, soldiers of the Lord, spiritual armour, stand against the wiles of the devil, stand up for Jesus, take up his cross and follow me, Thanks be to God, that Jesus is the Son of God, the breastplate of righteousness, the conclusion of the whole matter, the good news, the helmet of salvation, the hump of Wednesday, the knowledge of God's Word, the most powerful tool, the shield of faith, the sting of death is sin, the sword of the Spirit, the Word of god, this is the love of God, this is the whole duty of man, through our Lord Jesus christ, Thursday's Blessings, to the best of our ability, two edged sword, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, weighed down in sin and bondage, whatever is born of God overcometh the world, who gives us the victory, who is he that overcometh the world, withstand the fiery darts of the enemy, your labour is not in vain
1 John 5:5. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
Well it’s Thursday! We’ve gotten over the hump of Wednesday and every eye is now focused on Friday; that magical day that just seems to lift our spirits with the thought of the no work weekend just around the corner. So what are our plans for today eh friends? I hope they are to live life to the full, while doing the work God has set out for each of us, to the best of our ability.
For as Cousin Sol, writing as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes so truthfully proclaimed, having searched after truth, pleasure, wisdom and whatever else the world had to offer, as only he had the means and time to pursue: ‘Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.’ (Eccl.12:13)
Yes my fellow saints in Christ, that is all we’ve been called to do down here on this earth; sincerely reverence our wonderful Creator, and do whatever He has asked us to do, in other words, faithful obedience to His holy will. Now is that so difficult to do? Yes, at times, with the state of our world, it is very difficult to accomplish, as the enemy exerts all his pressure on us to follow his will instead. And with our inherent human nature of fear and doubt that evil, demoniacal pressure makes it even harder.
But the good news my brethren is that once we’re walking faithfully with Jesus, we do have the means, the wherewithal to avoid, to throw off the enemy’s evil attempts to keep us weighed down in sin and bondage. Christ, by His most sacrificial death on the cross has set us free! But as Christ so plainly said: ‘If any man will (desires to) come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.’ (Matt. 16:24) Yes friends, we have to take up our own cross, die to self, and follow Him, if we want to be truly free of the enemy and his lying, deceitful ways.
We have to fully embrace Christ and all that He stands for if we want to successfully fight the enemy. And we not talking here about physical war, but a spiritual one, because that’s where the enemy focusses most of his attacks; in our spirits, our souls, our minds, where his manipulative powers can do the most damage. But as we’ve been saying, with Christ in us, and we in Him, we can do anything, because He’s given us the power, the awesome power to fight the enemy mano-a-mano, without fear, and convinced of victory!
Yes my people, John boldly proclaims it: ‘For this is theLOVEof God; that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous (burdensome). For whatever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world even our faith.Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?’(1 John 5:3-5) Mama Yo! What powerful words of assurance and victory my bredrin! Hundreds of years later, after encountering Jesus in person, John agrees with Cousin Sol that keeping the Lord’s commandments are imperative to our well-being.
And Bruh Paul adds his own commentary on the subject in his first letter to the church at Corinth. ‘The sting of death is sin: and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain (futile) in the Lord.’ (1 Cor. 15:56-58) Ah mih people, victory and rewards are assured, but we still need to fight some battles, especially spiritual ones, and can do so very successfully with all the tools that’s been granted to us by the Lord.
So let’s take a quick look, really a remembrance (smile) of those spiritual tools in our arsenal nuh. Bruh Paul refers to them as spiritual armour in his missive to the Ephesians. ‘Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world (age), against spiritual (hosts of) wickedness in high places.’ (Eph. 6:11-12) So that means we fighting in the spiritual realm, against demons, world rulers and other forces of darkness and evil, including the prince of darkness, Lucifer himself.
And since no true soldier goes into battle without protective gear, this is the armour we, the soldiers of Christ, need to successfully stand up to the enemy. Our loins must be girded with truth; the truth, the knowledge of God’s Word. That would be the belt holding the rest of our armour in place. Then there’s the breastplate of righteousness. We talking here about Holy character and moral conduct; obedience to the truth which produces a godly or righteous life.
And we can’t go into battle without proper footwear, and in our case our feet must be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. That means a sense of eagerness or willingness to fight, to advance against the enemy, to take the fight to him. For remember the best method of defence is attack! And then mih bredrin, we need the shield of faith, so that we can stop the fiery darts of the evil one and his evil cohorts. That means taking God at His word, using the faith based promises to strengthen us in times of doubt.
And we can’t forget the head gear, protection for our heads is invaluable. There we need the helmet of salvation; that’s the hope, the certainty, assurance of salvation; knowing that we’re saved and can’t lose it. Now we can’t go into battle without some sort of weapon to fight with. And ours is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God!
Brother! I won’t want to bounce up that sword in battle nuh. For remember what they say about it? ‘For the word of God is quick (living), and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of (able to judge) the thoughts and intents (intentions) of the heart.’ (Heb. 4:12) Now that’s the kind of sword you want to go into battle with!
But yuh know what friends, with all that armour, you still can’t win the battle unless you have the most important and powerful tool in the universe; prayer. As Bruh Paul says: ‘Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.’ (Eph. 6:18) Yeh friends, prayer is indispensable; without it we can never achieve victory!
So having reviewed, rather lengthily, I must say (smile) our earthly job and spiritual protection, let’s go home now declaring (yeahhh!) our Thursday Blessings, wonderful accoutrements that have been endowed on us to help us do God’s work, for He never asks us to do anything without giving us the grace, the power, the anointing to do it.
All together in strong, sure and sincere voice: ‘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!’
And the usual corollary is now invoked: let’s go out and share those blessings just as generously as they’ve been shared with us!Much LOVE!
…stand up, stand up for Jesus…you soldiers of the Lord…
P.S. Yeh, it sorta long, but that’s how and where I was led, and I think it’s good. (smile) Hope you do too. Much LOVE!
09 Sep 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a life of faith, a lifelong process, an ongoing process, casting all your care upon him, catch a dove, Christ can give His all to us, Christ died that we might have life, Christ liveth in me, come to terms with our working life, deeper than Bible reading, depending on Christ for all things, divine guidance, Dr. Robert H. Schuler, enjoy it more abundantly, enters our mental consciousness, exalted by the Father, exciting position in Christ, eyes fixed straight ahead, gave himself for me, get used to the humdrum, giving our all to Christ, God demands a total cling to Him, God's guidance, gotten over the hump, great sacrifice, halfway home, hands on the plough, he cares for you, Hour of Power Devotional, I am crucified with Christ, I live by faith, in the Son of God who loved me, Jesus is the answer, living life through the eyes of Christ, Lord of Lords, make God the trustee of our lives, nevertheless I live, not turning back, prayer, righteousness., saints in Christ, same ole, seek the kingdom of God, self-centred desires, spend a life feeling frustrated, spiritual things, surrender, symbol of the Holy spirit, thank God, the breath of life, the celestial wavelength, the Holy spirit is god, the King of Kings, the life I now live in the flesh, the mysterious experience, the name that's above every other name, the New testament, through the Bible, to a glorious future with Jesus, to our current circumstances, tune our minds to, unfailing obedience, Wednesday Wail, worship, yield upward
Galatians 2:20. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of (in) the Son of God, who LOVED me, and gave himself for me.
And then it was Wednesday, the mid-week day, the day we finally feel like we’ve gotten over the hump… Monday and Tuesday are gone and Friday is right there in sight! Glory be! Yeh friends, what a game of musical days we play during those many years of our working life. And sadly, too many of us don’t ever come to terms with it and thus spend a life feeling frustrated about doing the same basic things on the same basic days, over and over.
But that’s what life is all about! We can’t have fun and excitement every day, like some of us feel we ought to, we’d get bored and frustrated and tired of that too. So let’s get used to the humdrum, same ole, same ole way of life nuh, because that’s all we’re going to ever have…that is until we reach heaven. (smile)
And besides that, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ died that we might have and enjoy an abundant earthly life, and have it even more abundantly. (John 10:10) And that doesn’t mean just having plenty of earthly things, but also plenty of heavenly and spiritual things. And is only when we pursue those last two, seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, that we really find, really discover the enjoyment that life has to offer. (Matt. 6:33)
Bubba! What a day when we discover that, believe it, and truly put it into action! Our lives become so much more meaningful than they were previously, and we find that we have so much more to live for. That’s why the wisdom of heaven proclaims that ‘JESUS IS THE ANSWER!’ Yes my people, the name of Jesus is the name that’s above every other name, exalted by the Father because of His unfailing obedience and great sacrifice! He’s been made the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, to whom each knee must bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:9-11)
And how do we accomplish all of that eh? Through just one word: ‘SURRENDER!’ Yes to really take advantage of all that God has provided for us, we need to completely surrender our lives to Him and His will. Hear these words on that subject nuh, from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional.
He asks? ‘How are we guided? The answer is no secret. Surely God speaks to us through the Bible! Those who read it quietly and prayerfully find God’s guidance. And prayer is still the mysterious experience where we tune our minds to the celestial wavelength and ask God to guide us. In addition, there are thousands of people who will testify that in the quietness of worship God entered into their consciousness to illuminate them. But I would suggest that the real secret of receiving divine guidance is deeper than Bible reading, prayer, or worship.
The key word is SURRENDER! Surrender your sins, your self-centred desires, and your life to Jesus Christ. surrender your mind to the Holy Spirit. Are you sure you want guidance? Would you take it if He gave it? Do you know how to catch a dove? It is interesting that in the New Testament the dove is the symbol of the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is God who enters into our mental consciousness.
Hundreds of thousands of visitors to the San Juan Capistrano Mission in southern California try to catch the white doves that flock in the ancient mission. You may reach out with your hand, fingers open, and just as you are about to grasp the feet of the dove, it flaps its wings and flies away. So you try again. You reach out with your hand cautiously, slowly, furtively, and just as you are about to grab the bird, it escapes again.
The secret is this: Simply extend your hand. Hold it out straight in front of you. Open your palm. Wait quietly. And the dove will come and rest right in the middle of your hand. Surrender your soul, your mind, your spirit that way to God, and He will take over your life and guide you.’
Mama Yo mih bredrin! What awesome words of wisdom from Gramps Schuller! That’s the only healthy, sensible and wise way to live this life! Anything else is going to get us nothing but a wasted life! And what does total surrender to God mean and include. Listen to this definition. ‘The word surrender in this sense is derived from the Greek word “paradidomi” which can mean yield up, transmit, and entrust. Surrendering all to God means to yield upward rather than to our current circumstances. God demands a “total cling” to Him—not anyone else.’
Peter talks about ‘Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you’ (1 Pet. 5:7) That means God wants us to cast ALL of our cares, anxieties and worries upon Him, surrender everything, entrust ALL we have to Him, make Him the trustee of our entire lives; finances, emotions, health, etc. etc. Now, ‘The key to entrusting is leaving the cares with God and allowing Him to remain the trustee. This can be an ongoing process.’
Yes my fellow saints in Christ, surrendering to God is not an overnight process, but a lifelong one. And I don’t think anyone exemplified this better than Bruh Paul when he wrote to the Galatians. ‘I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of (in) the Son of God, who LOVED me, and gave himself for me.’ (Gal. 2:20)
Now that’s surrendering to God! Giving up all that you are to Him, living your life through the eyes of Christ, allowing Jesus to cultivate His desires, virtues, character and power in us. Living a life of faith, depending on Christ for our strength and ALL our necessities. That’s true surrender! So for those of us who are currently undergoing that surrender process, let’s go home now declaring (awright!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the world know of our unique and rather exciting position in Christ.
All together now, in strong voice, with sincere hearts: ‘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 that means if we stay surrendered to the end, the future will be ever so glorious, more than we ask or imagine! Much LOVE!
…only in giving our ALL to Christ…can He give us His ALL to us…
12 Aug 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a good and godly attitude, a powerful tool, a righteous man, agree in prayer, ask, ask in prayer, at noon, availeth much, Ayphia, belieiving, cast thy burden upon the Lord, confess your faults to each other, Covid-19, cry aloud, engage in sincere prayer, evening, eyes fixed straight ahead, give ear to my words, giving thanks, God searches our hearts, grace, great expectations, guidance, halfway home, hands on the plough, he shall hear my voice, he shall sustain thee, He will never allow his children, healing balm, heaven is our home, I will call upon god, in the name of Jesus, it shall be given you, it shall be opened, keep looking up, knock, magnificent and magnanimous God, morning, my god, my King, never ceasing prayer, not turning back, peace, pray always, pray everywhere, pray for one another, prayer, prayer meister, saints in Christ, seek, strength, the assurance, the breath of life, the effective fervent prayer, the Good Book, the great and awesome friend, the Lord shall save me, the surety in his voice, the voice of my cry, those who love and trust you, timely guidance, to a glorious future with Jesus, to be taken, true motives, unto thee will I pray, Wednesday Wail, will I pray, will look up, wisdom, work everything out for good, ye may be healed, ye shall find, ye shall receive
Psalm 55:17. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
Well a good morning to you my fellow saints in Christ! I do hope we’re all prepared to receive and enjoy all the new mercies, grace, forgiveness and unconditional LOVE that our wonderful God has to offer today! There will be a surfeit of blessings; an abundance, such excess like we’ve never seen before, and much much more than we can ever use! Wow! What a magnificent and magnanimous God we serve!
Anyhow, on to more serious matters. One of our Scrip-Bit family members wrote me yesterday asking for prayer for her 2 ½ year old granddaughter Ayphia, who was born with several medical complications. This morning she’s going from Atlanta to Philadelphia to see a specialist about her blood sugar situation, which is always low. The grandma says that Ayphia has come a long way and she knows that it’s because of prayers offered on her behalf. But she is very nervous this time because of the Covid-19 situation, thus she is asking for our prayers to be sent up to heaven on Ayphia’s behalf.
Now, prayer is that marvellous action in which the saints of Christ ought to be rather adept at, since it’s the way we communicate with our Creator and heavenly Father and it is also a very powerful tool. As James, Christ’s brother so powerfully puts it: ‘Confess your faults (trespasses) one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual (effective) fervent prayer (supplication) of a righteous man availeth much.’ (James 5:16) And since we’re all righteous in the eyes of the Lord, it means that our prayers can be very effective. Thus, I’m asking all of us to pray privately for Ayphia, but also to join me in corporate prayer here.
Please pray with me. ‘Dear Father in heaven, you’ve said in your Word that when your children come to you agreed in prayer, that you will hear and grant their request. So right now we come in agreement, with concerned hearts and minds for your daughter Ayphia, asking that You heal her, apply your healing balm to her sick and hurting body and soul. And if that healing is not in your plans for her young life, then please give her and her family the strength, wisdom, grace and peace to handle the situation with a good and godly attitude, knowing that you’ve faithfully promised to eventually work everything out for the good of those who LOVE, trust and surrender their all to you. We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour, your wonderful Son, Jesus Christ!’
Ah friends, there’s nothing else on earth as powerful and soul building as prayer! That’s why the Good Book entreats us so much to engage in sincere prayer as often as possible…. Bruh Paul says to pray always (Eph. 6:18); without ceasing, (1 Thess. 5:17); pray everywhere (1 Tim. 2:8) So, in other words, prayer ought to be a constant in our lives. As we go about our daily tasks, our communication with our heavenly Father should not be neglected, but rather, we should involve Him in all that we do; asking for timely guidance and wisdom, giving thanks, and just talking to Him like the great and awesome friend that He is.
Remember what Jesus said: ‘Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.’ (Matt. 7:7) And He further stated: ‘And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.’ (Matt. 21:22) So I don’t know why so many of us forsake the wonderful opportunity to pray always, everywhere, and sincerely. (smile) And that’s why Bruh David, despite all his faults and foibles could still be known as a friend of God and a man after His own heart. He never stopped calling on the Almighty, regardless of time and/or circumstance.
Hear that great prayer meister. (smile) ‘Give ear to my words, O Lord; Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.’ (Ps. 5:1-3) Now how can a good and LOVING God refuse or refute such prayers eh?
And hear Bruh David again in Psalm 55, his cry against deceitful friends. ‘Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick (alive) into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them. As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.’ (Ps. 55:15-17)
Oh mih people, that’s why Bruh David prospered! As I keep saying, he knew on which side his bread was buttered! And did you notice the surety in His voice, like Jesus said, the belief that God would hear his cry? Now do we come to God with such assurance? I don’t think so. That’s possibly why many of our prayers are not answered. Remember too that God searches our hearts for our true motives before He answers our prayers, so if our motives aren’t right and our belief isn’t strong then our prayers are likely to go unanswered.
But listen to these oh so true words of Bruh David that brings the full picture to life. ‘Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer (permit) the righteous to be moved (shaken).’ (Ps. 55:22) Now that encapsulates the whole thing; just cast your care on God, believing that He will never allow His children to be taken! And with that divine assurance, we can therefore go home now declaring (yeahhh!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus.
So in strong voice, with sincere hearts: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Now let’s hold on strong and steadfast to the plough, keep focusing on the future, and we’ll be more than pleasantly surprised at the eventual outcome. Much LOVE!
…heaven is our home…so let’s keep looking up…with great expectations…
P.S. Please remember Ayphia in your prayers. Much LOVE!
11 Aug 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a light unto my path, a spiritual light, all flesh is as grass, all praise and honour, all the glory of man, as the flower of grass, continues to all generations, deluged with problems, emanates from Christ, feel helpless, friendship of Jesus, glory hallelujah, God has a plan, he who has ears to hear, hold me to the facts, I can't make it, I don't have to hurry, I don't have to worry, I'm not what I do, I'm not what I have, I'm not what people say about me, in god's eyes, let him hear, no one can take that from me, ominous looking, omni-present deity, omnipotent, omniscient, our Lord and Saviour, oversized egos, physical darkness, puny minds, Ruth Harms Calkin, saints in Christ, share His love with the world, stand strong in god's promise, stands firm in the heavens, strange twistings of life, the beloved of God, the best is on the way, the fact is, the Facts, the flower falleth away, the gospel is preached unto you, the grass withereth, the greater the assurance of victory, the greater the enemy's strategy, the One Year Book of Bible Promises, the word will endure forever, there is no way out, thy word is a lamp unto my feet, to the Father Son and Holy Spirit, trust, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, twisting journey of life, your faithfulness, your word is eternal
Psalm 119:89-90. Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations: you established the earth, and it endures.
This Tuesday morning has opened somewhat dark and cloudy in my area, but the sun is valiantly trying to push through the dark, ominous looking clouds. How successful it will be though, is anyone’s guess. But I just want to remind us that despite the physical darkness or light of this world, we have a spiritual light that emanates from our magnificent Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ which NOTHING in this world can ever dim or darken! Wow! And all God’s children declared a loud, and grateful: ‘Glory Hallelujah! All praise and honour be to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit!’
Yes friends, on those three omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present deities or God-heads, is where ALL of our praise, honour, thanks and glory ought to rest. And yuh won’t believe it nuh people, but I just went upstairs to reheat my caffeine, and lo and behold, was greeted by a brilliant burst of sunshine! The sun has actually won the battle! Just goes to show the awesome power of light over darkness! (smile) And what other encouraging words or news do we have to offer today? Well just this: ‘The Facts!’
Yeh bredrin, some awesome facts of life are what we’re talking about, as released in this poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. So please pray with me: ‘Lord When I feel I can’t possibly make it When I feel deluged with problems When I feel helpless Against the strange twistings of life When I feel there is no way out The FACT is You have a plan You know what You’re about. The FACT is The greater the strategy of the Enemy The greater the assurance of victory. The FACT is The worst may seem to happen But the best is on the way. God, hold me to the facts.’
And it’s all so true my fellow saints in Christ! Whenever life seems to come against us, as the poem says so sweetly ‘the strange twistings of life,’ we need to remember that we have a heavenly Father who is the most powerful, most generous and most LOVING Being in this universe, who will not let anything evil overtake us! But the FACT is, that WE have to remember it and stand strong in His promise! And don’t worry, If we hold on to God, He will help us to hold on to the facts. The facts which are contained in these eternal words of truth, that are associated with today’s poem.
Now I’m faced with a dilemma here: you all know I’m partial to my King James version of the Word, but the NIV, the New International Version used with the poem sounds good and somewhat more appropriate than the KJV. Steups! And I was just guided by the facts: share them both! Yeah! So here goes. The KJV says: ‘For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled (stands firm) in heaven. Thy faithful ness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth (stands, endures). (Ps. 119:89-90) Now hear the NIV: ‘Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations: you established the earth, and it endures.’
Yeh mih people, they say the same basic things but just in a slightly different fashion. And for today, I think I’ll use the NIV as our Bit. Now don’t get worried my purist friends, the KJV will always be our favourite, but sometimes we do need to use other resources. (smile) That brings us to this other powerful verse from Psalm 119. ‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’ (Ps. 119:105) And that’s exactly what the Word was given to us for; to lead and guide us on this strange, twisting journey that we call life on earth!
But we have to read it, study it, and then keep it, do as it says. Otherwise it is of absolutely no use to us. And that’s why so many of us supposed believers are not living the full and abundant lives that Christ sacrificed his sinless life for us to have: we don’t read, study, or put the Word into action, like we ought to.
Oh fellow saints in Christ, the Word of the Lord is our most important asset and guide for earthly living. But we have to use it. Hear how Jesus describes it nuh. ‘Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.’ (Matt.24:35) Now that’s as simple and straightforward as it can get! Everything else may, and eventually shall pass away, but the Word of the Lord will endure forever!
So why do we doubt the Word of God eh, and not put it to proper use in our lives eh? Because we’re proud and foolish and believe that we no longer need God in our lives, we can do it all on our own. But if we look closely at the state of our world right now we’d see that we cannot make it on our own, the problems of life are too big for our finite, puny minds and oversized egos!
But please listen as Peter uses the words of Isaiah 40:6-8 to address us. ‘For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away. But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.’ (1 Pet.1:24-25) What more can I say eh friends? Not a whole lot. But just remember that one day we’ll all have to stand and answer for our deeds here on earth, and as Sun Rise says, we can’t take the big house, the big car and the plenty money with us to the grave, we have to leave them all here for others to use and abuse. (smile)
So let’s go home now declaring… (brother, can’t spell that word right for LOVE nor money!) So let’s go home now declaring (yeahh!) our Tuesday Mantra telling the world who and whose we are, to whom we gloriously belong. All together now, in strong voice with sincere hearts: ‘In God’s eyes, 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!’
And the obvious corollary to all that is for us to now go out and share the wonderful LOVE, trust and friendship of Jesus that’s supposed to distinguish us from the rest of the world. Much LOVE!
…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…
08 Aug 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: action changes things, Anselm's quotes, aspires to inspire, become our limits, believers, benefit our world, blaspheme against holy god, bring to fruition, Christians, complaining, compromising, daydreamer, don't face, even as I am not of the world, fears, followers of Christ, for a better tomorrow, get it done, heaven on high, hypocrites, keep them from the evil one, light of the world, live a life that's pleasing to god, not take them out of the world, notice things that others don't, pay close attention, pilgrims, raise a glass, raise a toast, ruminating, saints in Christ, salt of the earth, Saturday, social media, take chances, the most accommodating day, they are not of the world, words of wisdom
John 17:16. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Raise a glass friends! Raise a toast to the most accommodating day of the week – Saturday! That’s the only day that welcomes you to do exactly as you please; work, laze, party, clean, shop, etc. etc. So let’s all declare: (yeahhh!) ‘Welcome Saturday! Welcome in the best way possible! And we gratefully thank the Lord Jehovah for you!’ Yes, we can’t forget to thank the Lord for all that we have, for it’s through His generosity, mercy, grace and forgiveness that we have all we have. (smile)
And having said all of that, deep down, I don’t know if I’m all that thankful for Saturdays nuh, (smile) since the next task at hand is for me to interpret the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Sometimes they are simple and straightforward, but at other times I have a heck of a time figuring out what the quoter really meant. Take for instance this first one today. ‘Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it’s the only way you can do anything good.’
Now I’m not sure whether the last word in that first sentence is really ‘down,’ or he meant ‘done.’ That’s my first dilemma. (smile) But I’m going to take it that he meant ‘Get it done.’ Because that makes more sense to me. In this life, we certainly need to step out and take chances, especially when we’re in the employ of Jesus Christ, for that’s the only way we’ll ever know or do anything, be it bad or good. We need to get things DONE! Especially in this social media society where there’s way more talk than action. But it’s really action that changes things and situations!
And that segues nicely into this next quote: ‘Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.’ Yeh friends, the daydreamer, not the night dreamer, is the one who usually effects the most change in our society. They consciously dream during the day (smile) for things that might be, things that they might be able to bring to fruition and benefit our world. That’s how many of our inventions have come about. Some thoughtful person ruminating on how to fix a stubborn problem, or simply ruminating period, then coming up with a bright idea and changing everything, hopefully for the better. That’s not to put down might dreamers, for they too have a useful purpose… just don’t ask me what. (smile)
And then we come to this interesting quote: ‘Look for the thing you notice, but no one else notices.’ Now that’s ever so important in all walks of life, especially business and commerce, for it’s the person who has the uncommon or unnoticeable idea who has the best chance of benefiting from it. Don’t know if I put that in a very understandable manner, (smile) but a lot of stuff; inventions and things like drive-ins and drive thru restaurants and motels did not always exist, but came from day-dreamers and those who noticed things that others didn’t. Now they are all the rage in our society. That’s the benefit of noticing, of paying close attention to your surroundings and the people around you.
So what’s next you ask? Well the next quote gives us the answer in spades: ‘Just do your best and to hell with the rest.’ Ah mih people, that’s about all we can ever do; our best. And once we’ve sincerely done that, we ought not to worry about anybody or anything else, that’s because we can’t ever do better than our best. And as Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) likes to say: ‘Do what you can, and the Lord will do the rest. But He won’t ever do what you can do.’ Certainly words of wisdom my fellow saints in Christ!
And yuh know that our Lord and Saviour expects nothing but the best from each of His followers! That means we have to be full of salt and shine as brightly as possible in this dark, sinful. evil and salt-less world! But unfortunately too many of us are not doing our best, being that effervescent salt and light Jesus desires in His followers. Remember we said above that we need to do things, and that it’s those who get things done that make the major difference in our society.
So obviously, if we were getting the supposedly Christian things done in our society, the world would definitely not be as ungodly, sinful and evil as it is, and be so desirous of kicking God out of our midst, rather than being wise and welcoming Him with open arms. The question we then need to ask, is why the saints of Christ are not truly behaving like the saints of Christ? And I think this last quote has quite a lot to do with it. ‘The fears we don’t face become our limits.’
Yes friends, too many believers are too afraid to stand up and witness for Christ. That’s the long and short of the story! If all Christians were witnessing as we ought to, our world would never be so ungodly and evil! That’s a definite fact! And whoever refuses to admit that is… I won’t write what I think, because we’re a family blog. (smile) And the said part is we don’t have to go out on the street corners or shout it from the rooftops, but just live a life that’s pleasing and worthwhile to God, cut out the compromising and the complaining about what we don’t have, and be grateful for all that we have!
We’re living better than 90 something percent of the world! So why the hell are we so complacent but yet so complaining eh? Ah Lord eh! I get so upset when I see so many supposed believers behaving worse than the world, because they are afraid to behave like true believers. That’s why the heathen mock and blaspheme holy God and laugh at us and call us hypocrites! And as the quote above says, the fears we don’t face become our limit.
Yes that’s as far as we will ever go, until believers learn to face their fears of this evil world, and don’t just spout scripture like we can do all things through Christ who strengthen us, but actually put the scriptures into action. That’s why they were given to us; because there’s power in the Word of God and right now we desperately need to use that power contained therein! Oh friends, I got a li’l worked up there, was pounding the keyboard real hard, so I hope what I’ve written makes sense. (smile)
But truthfully, we seem to have forgotten that Jesus desires us to be in the world, but not of the world. Remember how He put it in John 17, when He laid it all before the Father, in what is the real ‘Lord’s Prayer,’ or what some call the ‘High Priestly Prayer of Christ.’ ‘I pray not that thou shouldest take them (His followers) out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from evil (the evil one). They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.’ (John 17:15-16)
Let’s remember that nuh friends, remember that this earth is not our home, we’re only pilgrims passing through on the way to our real home, heaven on high. Now let’s go out and behave appropriately nuh. In Jesus name. Amen! Much LOVE!
…of the world…or in the world…that is the question…
04 Aug 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a chosen generation, a holy nation, a royal priesthood, a temple of the Holy Ghost, bought by the Lord, called you out of darkness, covered me, different characteristics, disease, distinct, enough sleep and exercise, feel undue pressure, for a specific purpose, formed my inward parts, God has created you for a reason, God has for each individual, grow in wholeness, guide the life energy, hurry, I am fearfully and wonderfully made, I will praise thee, I'm not what I do, in god's eyes, intelligence, into his marvellous light, line up right well, mental health, my soul knoweth right well, not what I have, on a rainy note, profound significance, purity among beleivers, realing all negative thoughts, respect for God, reverence, right eating, roll off and assembly line, saints in Christ, sanctified, set aside for God's special purpose, share His love with the world, spiritual faith, take comfort, teach my body, the beloved of God, the specific plan, thou hast possessed my reins, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, unique, weakness, weaved me in my mother's womb, web site what Christians want to know, Wholeness, with the precious bllod of His son, worry, your body
Psalm 139:14a. I will praise thee: for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:
Well it looks like this summer Tuesday has begun on a rainy note. Wonder if we’re going to have a recurrence of yesterday with rotating rain and sunshine? It’s an interesting situation if you have nowhere to go or no weather restricting duties to perform. (smile) And thankfully I don’t have anywhere to go, or any weather restricting duties to perform… Chuh! I just remembered I have a church meeting to attend later, but that’s not until the evening time. So I should be fine with whatever happens during the day.
And do we ever have some interesting facts apparently on ‘Wholeness’ to share with you this morning. And I say apparently because there is no title to the stuff on the piece of paper and no mention of where I got it from. I just found it in my ever-growing, untidy bits of paper with great info. (smile)
And today’s info goes like this: ‘Your intelligence can guide the Life Energy in your body – I began to teach my body and got marvellous results. Speaking words of Strength and Power. Raise the life in every part of your body. Pray, asking for strength to think only kind, LOVING and sincere thoughts about your body. Release all thoughts of weakness or disease. In steadfast faith, praise and bless the life energy, the cells of your body and mind. Realize Wholeness!!! See Wholeness!!!’
That’s it friends! A teaching moment: one to raise your Life Energy and bring Wholeness to your body! But to grow in Wholeness, just like growing in spiritual faith, we have to not only talk the talk but also walk the walk. It won’t happen on its lonesome, but through our actions. So let’s begin teaching our bodies today nuh: releasing all negative thoughts of weakness and disease, while embracing wholesome ones of health in mind, body and soul. Yes, thinking only kind and LOVING thoughts about our wonderfully and marvellously made bodies!
How did Bruh David put it in Psalm 139 – The everlasting presence and power of God? ‘For thou hast possessed my reins (formed my inward parts): thou hast covered me (weaved me) in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee: for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right (very) well).’ (Ps. 139:13-14) Yeh friends, the Lord made each one of us to be a unique and different individual! We didn’t roll off an assembly line, all one size or kind or whatever. But we each have different characteristics that line up right well with the specific plan God has for each individual.
And the web site ‘What Christians want to know,’ per David Peach, says these very true and interesting things about verse 14 above. ‘Verse 14 praises God because God created the psalmist, as well as each one of us, in a wonderful way. God made us the way we are and for a specific purpose. When we understand that, then we can have peace that whatever ailments or perceived problems we have in life are there because God ordained them. Let’s look at some beautiful truths that we can learn from this short verse.
While these truths apply to everyone, only people who have accepted Christ and have become a child of God can truly appreciate all the meaning in these verses. As you grow more in your Christian life you will probably enjoy this verse even more as you look back and see how the Lord has uniquely made you. Are you completely happy with your body and mind? What about your mental health? Take comfort in knowing God has created you the way you are for a reason. You don’t have to feel undue pressure to be like other people because God didn’t make you like other people.’
And isn’t that an awesome truth! You were made ‘fearfully’ – with reverence and respect for God, and also ‘wonderfully’- distinct or unique, which means we have to be thankful and respectful to God for our bodies as well as look after them. For as Bruh Paul says in talking of purity among believers: ‘What? Know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.’ (1 Cor. 6:19-20)
Yes mih bredrin! We have been made in the spiritual image of God, so that means our bodies are very important since the Spirit of God lives within them. We don’t even belong to ourselves anymore because we have been bought by the Lord with the precious blood of His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and this ought to have profound significance for all believers.
As Peter puts it in describing God’s own people: ‘ But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people (God’s own special people); that ye should show forth (proclaim, manifest) the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.’ (1 Pet. 2:9-10)
Oh my fellow saints in Christ, we are indeed special; in body, soul, spirt and God’s individual as well as corporate plans! We have been sanctified, set aside for God’s special purpose to proclaim His sovereignty and thus we need to keep ourselves, bodies, souls, and minds as clean and healthy as possible, so that we can do the job to which we have been called in a diligent and excellent manner. That means right eating, enough sleep and exercise, right thinking, reading and meditating on the Word, and generally doing good and showing compassion like our leader and example Jesus did. (Acts 10:38)
So let’s get all of that going on from today nuh, or improve it with God’s ever-available help. Now it’s time to go home, declaring (steups!) our Tuesday Mantra, boldly and confidently telling the world who and whose we are. In strong voice with sincere hearts: ‘In God’s eyes, 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!’
And the natural consequence of such a bold statement is for us to now go out and share that wonderful and amazing LOVE and friendship of Jesus with those who don’t know or recognize Him as their Lord and Saviour! Much LOVE!
…it’s time to concentrate on wholeness…of body, soul and mind…
18 Jul 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bed of roses, a better tomorrow, a continuous process, a negative emotion, a series of small things, a small leak will sink a big ship, abhor that which is evil, aspires to inspire, busy, capable of saving, Christ's church very leaky, Christians, cleave to that which is good, cliques, different functions, distracting quality of social media, divisions over petty stuff, excellence, faithfully care for each other, focus on being productive, Friend Anselm, genuine, gossip, great things, have a gander, Help Lord, hypocrisy, I came down from heaven, I had fainted, Joyce Meyer, let love be without dissimulation, LOVE, many members in one body, no belly and/or backbone, not to do mine own will, ONE body in Christ, our physical bodies, pandemic of Covid 19, physical distancing, resentment, saints in Christ, social media, the Father's will, the human body, the land of the living, the One who died, the seed that falls on barren ground, the will of him that sent me, to save our spiritual selves, to see the goodness of the Lord, tweeting, unfeigned, unless I had believed, vein of evil, walking with Christ, worry is like a rocking chair
Romans 12:9. Let LOVE be without dissimulation (hypocrisy). Abhor that which is evil; cleave (cling) to that which is good.
Wow! Another beautiful day in the land of the living! And who says life isn’t great eh? It might not be easy, but it sure is wonderful! (smile) No wonder Bruh David could confidently write in Psalm 27: ‘I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.’ (Ps. 27:13) Yeh friends, we need to believe if we’re going to see God’s goodness in and on our lives!
Remember, He never said that life would be easy, but faithfully promised to be with us every moment of every day and help us get through all our difficulties. The problem is that many of us seem to think that once we start walking with Christ, life will just be a bed of roses…
Hn! But I have news for you…ofttimes it gets harder before it gets better! That’s why so many of us turn back before we can encounter the real treasure of following Christ, like the seed that’s fallen on barren ground and betwixt thorns and weeds. No backbone and/or belly! But please remember that walking with Christ is not for the faint of heart, but He does strengthen and enable you if you step out in faith! End of monologue! (smile)
And since it’s Saturday, let’s have a gander at the quotes our fine friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Let’s hope I can do them justice. And the first one declares (awright!): ‘Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.’ And that’s generally true! Just look at all the wonderful inventions in our world; very few of them come in one piece, but are made of several, if not many small pieces melded and welded together to make one big whole.
That’s just like the human body. How did Bruh Paul put it? ‘For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office (function): So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one (individually) members one of another.’ (Rom. 12:4-5) Yeh friends, it takes many small parts of different functionality to make a great whole, like we of many people, creeds and races are one big body of Christ!
But the next quote is even more vital and important for great things to run properly. ‘Watch the little things; a small leak will sink a great ship.’ And isn’t that the gospel truth! Comparatively speaking it wasn’t a big leak that sunk the Titanic. But sink it, it did! And it’s even more important with us, the body of Christ, His church, which is very leaky these days, with all the gossip, divisions over petty stuff, the resentment, the many li’l cliques and the vein of evil that unfortunately can be found within it.
No wonder the body of Christ is so disjointed and not moving together as one big, great, smoothly working machine! That’s why Bruh Paul pointedly said to the church at Rome: ‘Let LOVE be without dissimulation (hypocrisy). Abhor that which is evil; cleave (cling) to that which is good.’ (Rom. 12:9) That means Christians must faithfully care for each other in spite of the circumstances and responses. The caring must be genuine and unfeigned.
And having said all of that, we come to the next quote: ‘Worry is the most wasteful thing in the world.’ I don’t know if it’s the most wasteful thing, but I do know that it’s up there amongst the top wasteful things. Consequently we can’t worry about what’s happening in our lives, our church or our world, because worrying won’t help in the least bit. It only makes things worse by taking away what li’l positivity we have left to use on righting the ship. As Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) likes to say. ‘Worry is like a rocking chair, you can sit and rock in it all day and still not move anywhere!’
And that’s so true, since worry is a negative emotion that only keeps you back from seriously tackling your problem. It’s also why this next quote is ever so timely: ‘Focus on being productive, instead of busy.’ And isn’t that the living truth! It’s the best advice our world can have and take right now! Why? Because we all talk about being so busy – busy doing what eh? It’s the first excuse that we come up with nowadays. We’re too busy to call each other, too busy to get together, too busy to read God’s Word and spend time with Him, etc. etc.
But what the hell are we so busy doing? Not a darm thing! Except if you want to call the anemic pandemic of texting and all the other unnecessary foolishness that goes on social media, which is our go to for all of our needs these days. Hn! Just imagine how important social media has become when the most powerful leader in the world does most of his business there, spends more time tweeting than reading his briefings. (grimace)
But that’s the new normal…and with the current pandemic of Covid-19, with physical distancing being such a big thing, it’s become an even bigger part of our lives, and thus also a bigger and more important tool for those who wish to spread evil and lies and stir up unnecessary disturbances.
That brings us to this last quote: ‘Excellence is a continuous process and not an accident.’ Oh so true my people, oh so true! A life of excellence is the ONLY thing that we should all aspire to. And you’ll note from the quote that it’s a continuous, life- long process, and it doesn’t happen by accident, we have to consciously seek it and pursue it. It’s like true, divine peace, and the righteousness of God. And if you are, or want to be a true follower of Jesus then you need to embrace the word ‘excellence’ and all that it stands for, because that’s Jesus watchword! While here on earth, He followed the Father’s will diligently and with excellence.
You’ll note that He never did anything on His own, or took credit for anything, but it was always the Father’s will, and likewise the credit. As he said so plainly: ‘For I came down from heaven , not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.’ (John 6:38) And He did a bang-up, most excellent job my brethren! That’s why the Father gave Him the highest name possible, to whom all knees must bow and all voices declare that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
So my fellow saints in Christ, on this Saturday morning when we are surrounded by all sorts of known and unknown predicaments and circumstances, let’s not be fearful or worried, but let’s sincerely turn to the One who died to save our spiritual selves, Jesus Christ, for He is also capable of saving our physical bodies. That’s what He’s there for: for us to cry out to Him in times of desperate need: ‘Help Lord!’ Much LOVE!
…who is the ONLY ONE that can help us…JESUS CHRIST….
P.S. Just to prove my point about the distracting quality of social media. The Bit is partially late because early on I was interacting with three different people at the same time. (smile) Much LOVE!
24 Jun 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: be of good cheer, broken down the middle wall, Christian behaviour, cool and crazy wind, dangerous and contrary times, essential truth, exciting, find His wisdom on its pages, for he is our peace, fresh, fundamental principle, Gentiles, God the Good Omnipotent, halfway home, hands on the plough, i have overcome the world, in me ye might have peace, in the world, Jesus' sacrifice, Jews, Joyce Meyer, lack of adherence, legacy, let not your heart be troubled, light of the world, made both one, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my peace I give unto you, neither let it be afraid, never repay the debt, not as the world giveth, not looking back, one power one presence, pagan corruptions, Peace i leave with you, read study meditate on God's Word, reality of the weather, relevant, saints in Christ, salt of the earth, shame shall be, stand up and be counted, sufferation, thank God, the Bible is God's Word, the breath of life, the Prince of Peace, the promotion of fools, the wise shall inherit glory, to a glorious future with Jesus, Top o' the morn, tribulation, true living God, truth, Wednesday Wail
John 14:27. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Top O the morn my people! A cool and crazy wind is blowing through my area this morning, making it feel more spring-like than the summer time it’s supposed to be. But that’s the current reality of the weather in these dangerous and contrary times! More importantly though my friends, today I’ve been asked to inform us, to remind us of three of the most salient facts in this our earthly lives.
And these cardinal truths are: ‘There is only ONE Power and ONE Presence here – God the Good Omnipotent! And the next essential truth decrees: ‘The Bible is God’s Word to us! Furthermore, it is still fresh, exciting and relevant. It has been thus down through all the ages and will continue to perform it’s God given function till the end of time. No ifs and buts about that! And if we read, study and meditate on it, we WILL find God’s wisdom on its pages. And the third maxim, or fundamental principle is this: ONE Truth from the Bible is worth more than all the wisdom of man!’
Glory be mih bredrin! Now I don’t want to preach, (smile) but I’m sure that if we sincerely embraced those three truths our earthly lives would be oh so much better than they currently are. And I am willing to bet that a lot of our ‘sufferation’ stems directly from our lack of adherence to those three great, fundamental and foundational truths.
And as I look at a page of that same Bible, God’s mighty Word to us, that’s open in front of me, my eyes confront this amazing and oh so true statement from the wisest man who ever lived; Cousin Sol. And it says: ‘The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion (legacy) of fools.’ (Prov. 3:35) Oh friends, never were truer words spoken!
And just for argument sake, (smile) let’s consider who made Cousin Sol, not only the wisest but the richest man ever; the ONE and ONLY, TRUE, LIVING GOD of his ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! What does that tell us eh? That the God we worship, the God who gave us the Bible, is indeed a powerful, magnanimous and magnificent Being! There is none other like Him in all the world, in all creation! And until we, finite fools that He created in His own image and gave breath and life to through the inbreathing of His Spirit, take those facts seriously and bow down and worship and obey Him the way He deserves, our lives will be filled with unnecessary pain and hardship.
That’s not to say if we humble ourselves and live the way He desires, that there will be no pain and troubles, because in this world of evil and sin, those things come automatically, as Jesus said: ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33) And that, basically, is why it’s so sensible, so wise to sincerely believe in Jesus. Despite all the troubles and torment of this world, through Him we are able to stay peaceful and joyful and deal positively with whatever situations come against us.
But because so many of us think that believing in Jesus will curtail our sinful behaviour and opportunities – and it will to a certain extent – we shy away from embracing Him as our Lord and Saviour. But friends, as, I believe it’s Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) I heard say: ‘The worst day with Jesus is better than the best one without Him!’ And that’s gospel truth my brethren! Supposedly good days without Jesus just don’t compare favourably with any kind of day in His fold.
And why is that you ask? It’s simple. As Bruh Paul explained to the church at Ephesus: ‘For he (He Himself) is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition (division) between us. Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make (create) in himself of twain (the two) one new man, so making peace.’ (Eph. 2:14-15)
And the scholars offer this insightful explanation: ‘2:14-15. Who hath made both one: Jesus has formed the two antagonistic groups of Jew and Gentile into a single new party, the Christian Church. He did this by removing the middle wall of partition, that is the Mosaic Law. The law was meant to protect Jews from pagan corruptions, but by misconstruing the purpose of the law, the Jews felt superior to Gentiles, who were incensed at this arrogance. So Jesus abolished this enmity (hatred), caused by an abuse of the law, by making the law invalid for His church. Of twain one new man: As above, Christian Jews and Christian Gentiles now compose this “one new man” or Christian church.’
Ah friends and fellow believers, we can never repay the debt, the sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf. And He doesn’t want or expect us to. He made the sacrifices so we can sincerely follow Him, if like so many of us claim, we want to live in peace and have eternal life. For He is our peace; NO ONE and NOTHING ELSE serves that wonderful purpose! Listen to him nuh, as He reassures us: ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ (John 14:27)
Oh friends, how can those sincere sentiments not grip your heart eh? His peace is not peace like the world offers, but an eternal, everlasting peace which the world doesn’t know, and will never know until and unless they accept Him as Lord and Saviour! That’s why He is called ‘THE PRINCE OF PEACE!’ And having established all those truths this morning, let’s go home now declaring (yeahhh!) our Wednesday Wail, telling the world of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus!
As one strong voice, with sincere hearts: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Oh my fellow saints in Christ, in these turbulent and troubled times, we need more than ever to manifest, to show the world true Christian behaviour, because that’s the ONLY thing that will truly bring our world together! Much LOVE!
…right now… Christians need to stand up and be counted… be the true salt of the earth…and light of the world…
13 Jun 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Anselm's quotes, aspires to inspire, being confident, bite the bullet, bring the third part through the fire, discover our strengths, don't underestimate small doings, don't wait for opportunity, failure is not the end, focus on your goals, for a better tomorrow, God left him, hard does not mean impossible, he which hath begun a good work, I shall come forth as gold, I've failed over and over again, it is my people, keep going regardless, living truth, LOVE, lustful souls, never stop trying, of this very thing, one more time to the breach, one one cocoa full basket, promise of God, refine them as silver is refined, rest assured, saints in Christ, self-motivation, selfishly desire, tested not to show our weakness, the cleansing of Jerusalem, the key to success, the Lord is my God, to know all that was in his heart, to make a difference, to try him, try them as gold is tried, until the day of Jesus Christ, when he hath tried me, will perform it, with God all things are possible, with men it's impossible, working for Jesus
Philippians 1:6. Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform (complete) it until the day of Jesus Christ.
One more time to the breach, dear friends, one more time! Yes my faithful brethren we’ve been given another day on God’s great earth to make some sort of difference, no mater how small or insignificant it might be. Please don’t only seek to do the big things which you believe will bring lots of glory, because ofttimes many small things put together bring more glory, may be more valuable than one big thing.
And that’s the word for today; don’t disparage or underestimate small doings, for as my Jamaican people wisely say; one one cocoa full basket. (smile) And that’s the living truth! So today, let’s focus on the many small things we can do rather than search out the big thing that our lustful souls selfishly desire. Now, they tell me it’s Saturday, (smile) so that means we have to look at the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow.
And the first one hits the proverbial nail right on the head: ‘Don’t wait for opportunity, create it.’ That’s gospel friends! We can’t always wait for opportunity to come along before we get up and get going, for sometimes opportunity never comes. It’s often left up to us to create our own opportunity. Just look at many of the great inventors, they had an idea or ideas and didn’t wait for opportunity to present itself on a silver platter, but went ahead and created the opportunity they needed. I guess in these times of fancy words and phrases they might call it something like ‘self-motivation.’
And all we believers in Christ need to have lots of self-motivation seeing that we have lots of demanding work to do in His name. That leads to this next quote: ‘It’s going to be hard, but hard does not mean impossible.’ Yeh mih people, very few worthwhile endeavours in this life come easily, so if you want to do anything worthwhile, especially for Jesus, you have to learn to bite the bullet and just keep going regardless of the problems and hardships you face. Remember Jesus’ words to the disciples re a rich man entering heaven? ‘With men this is impossible; but with God ALL things are possible.’ (Matt. 19:26)
So if you’re working for Jesus, you don’t have to worry about impossibilities, because there are NONE! And that brings up this quote: ‘Sometimes we’re tested not to show our weaknesses, but to discover our strengths.’ Now isn’t that the living truth…especially if you’re in Jesus’ employ! (smile) Yes friends, our Lord tries us continually to see what we’re made of, how strong our faith is, to see if what’s in our hearts really lines up what we claim through our mouths. The Good Book mentions testing many times.
Let’s check out a few. Look at King Hezekiah, who seems to have sincerely trusted the Almighty. The Good Book recounts: ‘Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to inquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try (test) him, that he might know all that was in his heart.’ (2 Chr. 32:31) And if you want to know more about that story please check it out in 2 Kings 20:12-19.
And remember this promise in Zechariah, re the cleansing of Jerusalem? ‘And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try (test) them as gold is tried (tested): they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.’ (Zech. 13:9)
But this is what we believers ought to be saying in our time of testing: ‘But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.’ (Job 23:10) Mama Mia! What words of awesome faith from Job even though he was going through hell here on earth! How many of us can make such a definitive statement eh? Not too many of us. But it’s what we ought to aspire to, if we truly want to be strong, faithful Christians.
And this next quote gives us some wise direction. ‘The key to success is to focus on goals, not obstacles.’ That’s for certain sure! We need to keep our minds focused on the goals we’re working towards, rather than the obstacles we encounter while working towards them. The obstacles will try to take away our focus, but we must not let them. We can’t ignore them, for sometimes they do present more and even better opportunities, but our minds ought to be stayed on our goals, assuming they are worthwhile ones.
And this last quote says it all. ‘I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.’ It’s obviously comes from some sports figure. But he makes the very salient point all of us need to write deep in our hearts, failure is not failure until we stop trying. And in God’s economy there is no giving up, which means there’s no failure.
We’re not going to win every round, but we MUST get back up each time we fall and continue keeping on. That’s the nature of the truly successful person in any walk of life! Get back up on your horse and ride again; that ought to be the believer’s motto. And we have this awesome promise of God to help us do all that we need to do. ‘Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform (complete) it until the day of Jesus Christ.’
Yes, my fellow saints in Christ, we can rest assured that whatever good work the Lord begins in us, He will keep on doing it, and complete it when Christ returns. So let’s hang in there and do the right things nuh. We all know what they are, but allow our sinful fleshly desires to thwart our righteous ones. Much LOVE!
…you can’t fail…if you never stop trying…
07 Jun 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a friend beyond compare, a lifeline, a man after God's own heart, a physical space, a powerful presence, a revolution, a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, an explosion of life, attend unto my prayer, breaks in from the future, casting all your care upon him, come unto me, comfort, darknights of rejection, discouragement, empathy, fellowship, gentle and humble, given me life, God's destiny for humanity, godly greetings, he careth for you, hear my cry, hope, hugs and kisses, humble yourselves, I am meek and lowly, I will give you rest, in a world marked by death, it changes everything, John W. Peterson, join Jesus, lead me to a rock, learn of me, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, my burden is light, my comfort in my affliction, my heart is overwhelmed, my yoke is easy, No one understand like Jesus, pain and suffering, peace, praise and worship, sacrifice of praise, saints in Christ, soulful harmony, succour, take my yoke upon you, thanksgiving, that is higher than I, the days are dark and grim, the gospel truth, the great invitation, the living truth, the throne of mercy, the ultimate revolutionary, this time of sickness and strife, thy word hath quickened me, transforms today, turn to Jesus for help, under the mighty hand of god, understanding
1 Peter 5:7. Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
One more Sunday, one more day of technological fellowship and thanksgiving. Hn! And are we ever getting good at it! But it’s never ever going to be the same as worshipping our great God in a physical space together, with hugs and kisses and handshakes and godly greetings, because the Lord made us to be people of physical fellowship, not this over the airwaves stuff. (smile) But since we don’t have much choice right now, let’s enjoy what we have, because the Lord is ALWAYS pleased with praise and worship however, or wherever we perform it.
So let’s get to some praise with this awesome and oh so appropriate hymn for these turbulent times, written by John W. Peterson (1921-2006) and titled ‘No One Understands Like Jesus.’ And if that isn’t the living truth friends, then I don’t know what is nuh! Therefore, with raised voices, in heartfelt sincerity and soulful harmony let’s thank our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for His unbiased understanding and sincere empathy, because as a man, He experienced the trials and tribulation of earthly life, like we’re currently doing.
Now let’s unleash our sacrifice of praise which our God LOVES to hear. ‘No one understands like Jesus; He’s a Friend beyond com-pare. Meet Him at the throne of mercy; He is waiting for You there. (Chorus: No one under-stands like Jesus When the days are dark and grim. No one is so near, so dear as Jesus; Cast Your every care on Him.) No understands like Jesus; Every woe He sees and feels. Tenderly He whispers comfort, And the broken heart He heals.
(Chorus ….) No one understands like Jesus When the foes of life assail. You should never be discouraged; Jesus cares and will not fail. (Chorus…) No one understands like Jesus When you falter on the way. Though you fail Him, sadly fail Him, He will pardon You today. (Chorus: No one under-stands like Jesus When the days are dark and grim. No one is so near, so dear as Jesus; Cast Your every care on Him.)
Ah mih people, in this time of sickness and strife, there’s no better place to cast our care than upon Jesus, for remember He understands what we’re going through, since He also went through dark nights of rejection, discouragement and enormous pain and suffering. So our troubles are nothing new to Him. That’s why Peter tells us so emphatically: ‘Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.’ And that’s gospel truth or God would not have sacrificed Jesus and have Him pay for our sins.
And Jesus Himself dearly and desperately wants us to come to Him for hope, comfort and succour, peace, LOVE and joy; all the wonderful things that heaven allows. Hear Him in the Great Invitation nuh… and don’t tell me yuh tired hearing it either, because if we’d only listen and accept it, we wouldn’t have half the problems we now have. So please listen up and positively action the invitation, the greatest one that’s ever been offered! ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble): and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt. 11:28-30)
Oh friends, I don’t understand us nuh; man is supposed to be the wisest creature in the universe, but when we find ourselves in trouble and can’t get out of it on our own accord, we still refuse to turn to Jesus for help. We prefer to suffer in our despair and tribulation. Now is that wisdom? Not in my book! And the sad part is that the scriptures have so many encouraging and comforting words, if we’d only wake up and own them. Let’s check out a couple nuh. Hear this one from the longest chapter in the Good Book, Psalm 119: ‘Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope. This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me (given me life).’ (Ps.119:49-50)
Oh my people, we were created to use the Word as a lifeline; to give us hope and comfort from our afflictions! So why aren’t we using it eh? And hear Bruh David from Psalm 61: ‘Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I; For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.’ (Ps. 61:1-3) Oh my fellow saints in Christ, if Bruh David, a man after God’s own heart, could cry unto the Lord when his heart was overwhelmed and find succour, why can’t we eh?
Now hear Bruh Paul to the church at Rome. ‘For whatsoever things were written aforetime (beforehand) were written for our learning, that we through patience (perseverance) and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.’ (Rom.15:4) Yes mih bredrin, the scriptures were indeed authored so that we could have hope! And if in these disastrous times you don’t have hope, then turn to the scriptures, that’s simple common sense! If there’s one thing we need to live this life successfully it’s hope! Without it, we’re dead in spirit.
And here’s something I believe I’ve quoted before, but it’s ever so timely right now. It comes from an article titled ‘Prisoners of Hope,’ by one Joshua Ryan Butler. And he unequivocally states: ‘Hope is a revolution, a powerful presence that breaks in from the future and transforms today. Jesus’ arrival has brought God’s destiny for humanity crashing into now – an explosion of life into a world marked by death. It changes everything.’
And that’s the kind of world we’re currently living in; one marked by death, and the only real hope for us to move from death to life, is to embrace Jesus and His wonderful revolution of hope, which ultimately fosters His LOVE Revolution. Yes friends, Jesus is, was, and always will be the ultimate revolutionary! Much LOVE
…want to be in a successful revolution… then join Jesus’…
Previous Older Entries
SCRIP-BITS 