The Overwhelming Importance for Christians to Step Up and Spread their Salt and Shine Their Lights In these Very Dark Times!

08 Dec 2025 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Matthew 5:16.         Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Once more round the block friends on this cold Monday, the first day of this new work week, the second week in Advent, where we prepare to celebrate Christ’s coming at Christmas. And there’s already a flurry of activity with lights, Christmas trees, gifts, food preparations, and Christmas parties, but please let’s not forget that the reason for Christmas is the birth of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour, and ensure that we keep it uppermost in our minds and activities as we journey on to the big day. 

Oh, I know it’s very easy to get caught up in all the hustle and bustle of the season, especially if we follow those who don’t consider Christ as Lord and Saviour and His birth inconsequential and talk about Happy Holidays etc. I wonder how those Happy Holidays and whatever else came about eh? Let’s remember that all the festivities, the merriment and all the other hoopla, comes about because of Christ’s birth and nothing else! So, whatever we do this Christmas season, let’s allow Christ to percolate in our souls and spirits, the way He ought to. 

That brings us to some of Christ’s very meaningful and important words from the Sermon on the Mount, concerning our witness in His name, and now might just be a good time to reawaken our discipleship with so much talk of and references to Christ being in the air. We are referring to His words regarding our energizing the world. ‘Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour (flavour), wherewith (by what) shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and be trodden under foot of men.’ (Matt. 5:13) 

And sadly, it seems like many of us supposed believers have lost our salt, for the world is not flavoured with talk of and reverence for Christ, but for Satan. Evildoing is running rampant in the world instead of righteousness. And who is to blame for that? In great part we supposed believers who, for whatever reason(s) are not doing our job to the best of our ability. We have simply allowed Satan and his evil cronies to simply overtake the world without as great an effort as we should have put forth. 

And as the scholars remind us, per Ye are the salt of the earth: Again, the phrase “ye are” indicates that only the genuinely born-again person is salt and can help meet the needs of the world. Salt adds flavouring, acts as a preservative, melts coldness, and heals wounds. Thus, it is a very appropriate description of the believer in his relationship to the world in which he lives.’ And that’s particularly true in today’s world as regards melting coldness and healing wounds, for so many of us today are cold and unforgiving, and have serious wounds, especially spiritual and emotional wounds that desperately need healing. 

Now, Jesus doesn’t leave our responsibility as mere salt of the world, but continues: ‘Ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle (lamp), and put it under a bushel (basket), but on a candlestick (lampstand); and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt. 5:13-16) 

And the scholars offer this explanation on that passage. ‘Ye are the light of the world describes the essential mission of the Christian to the world. He is the condition (salt) to meet the world’s needs, and he has a mission (light) to the world. His light is to clearly shine forth into the darkness of human depravity. He is to set his light upon a candlestick, not hide it under a bushel, that is a basket. Darkness is the absence of light; and darkness alone cannot dispel the light, but the smallest light can dispel the greatest darkness.’ 

And that’s why it’s such a crying shame that our world is filled with so much darkness when there are so many supposed light carrying believers in it. Remember, as the scholars say, even the smallest light can dispel the greatest darkness! So why then is our world dark and evil minded? It’s obvious that we’re not shining enough of our supposed light on it. Our lights have possibly gone out, like our salt has lost its flavour. If so, then our world is in for a very rough and evil time, which we are currently seeing taking place before our very eyes. 

Our world has always had a lot of evil in it, but I doubt it’s ever been this evil or depraved, especially with all the new-fangled stuff we now have that can push the envelope further than ever. It’s therefore very urgent my fellow believers that we wake up immediately and begin turning things around, getting the flavour back into our salt and relighting our lamps so that they can shine brighter than ever in this diabolical world. And since we are encouraged to come to the throne of grace for help in times of need, let’s do that right now nuh, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, so that we can get divine aid to turn things around. 

Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’  

But remember friends, the basic requirements for divine aid, is humbling ourselves, praying and sincerely seeking God’s face. So, if we truly desire divine aid, let’s get together and meet those basic requirements nuh. For it’s all for our benefit! Much LOVE!

…now is the perfect time…to spread our salty flavour far and wide…and let our lights shine brighter than ever… 

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

The Urgent Need for Christians to Raise Their Level of Discipleship in this Evil and Ungodly World!

22 Sep 2025 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Matthew 5:13a, 14a.        Ye are the salt of the earth: Ye are the light of the world.

Another Monday…another new work week friends, and everything should be nice and clean after the thunder, lightning, and showers of heavenly blessings we received during the night. And did we ever need the rain, for it’s something we haven’t seen for almost a couple of weeks, what with all the unaccustomed warm, sunshiny weather we’ve been having in this month of September 2025. But I do have the feeling that things will soon return to normal, and the customary cooler and wetter weather at this time of year, will shortly assert itself.

However, be that as it may, even in the cold, wet, cloudy weather, we are still required to keep the fires of Christ burning hot and bright, and make a proactive, positive and productive difference in these uncertain and ungodly times. And right now, when faith is being besieged by evil, and many of us are having a hard time to simply hold on, much less to grow in spiritual maturity, we do need a reminder of that most salient fact.

It’s like Christ said in the Sermon on the Mount. ‘Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has lost its savour (flavour), wherewith (by what) shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.’ (Matt. 5:13) And sadly friends, in these disastrous and strife-filled times, it would certainly seem that Christ’s people have lost their salt, their salty flavour, since we’re not making much of a positive difference in the world today.

And I like how the scholars explain that verse. They say: ‘Again the phrase “ye are” indicates that only the genuinely born-again person is salt and can help meet the needs of the world. Salt adds flavouring, acts as a preservative, melts coldness, and heals wounds. Thus, it is a very appropriate description of the believer in his relationship to the world in which he lives.’

The question now is whether we can genuinely say that we are living up to those important responsibilities of helping our world, of helping the lost and blind find life and light in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? And if we are truthful, we would have to say that we are indeed NOT living up to our responsibilities, that’s why so many still don’t know about Christ, and many who do know about Him, refuse to accept Him.

And if being the salty, mouthwatering, wanting more flavour of the world wasn’t enough, then listen to what Jesus also says of His loyal followers. ‘Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle (a lamp), and put it under a bushel (basket), but on a candlestick (lampstand); and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt. 5:14-16)

Now that’s another aspect of our discipleship of Christ; letting our lights shine brightly so that others can see it and come to know, understand and worship our great God Jehovah! That makes it necessary for us to again ask the question, are we shining our lights sufficiently to make, not even a big difference, but simply a recognizable one, in our needy and dysfunctional world? And sadly, again, if we are truthful, we would have to say NO, we are not making a worthwhile difference in the world, otherwise it would not be currently overrun with evil and evildoers!

And what do the scholars say about those verses? ‘Ye are the light of the world describes the essential mission of the Christian to the world. He is the condition (salt) to meet the world’s needs, and he has a mission (light) to the world. His light is to clearly shine forth into the darkness of human depravity. He is to set his light upon a candlestick, not hide it under a bushel, that is, a basket. Darkness is the absence of light; and darkness alone cannot dispel the light, but the smallest light can dispel the greatest darkness.’

That means we don’t have to go overboard with either our salt or light, but simply have our saltshakers constantly sprinkling our salty flavour, and our lights also constantly shining to light up the world’s darkness. It cannot happen overnight, but persistence and perseverance are the keys to unlocking those closed doors behind which all kinds of evil and darkness lurk. So please, let’s try and do better nuh. We all know that we have much room for improvement, and right now we are not doing a commendable job as followers of Jesus.

And to help us get things turned around, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking divine aid for our lackadaisical discipleship! Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

And our prayer shows us some important aspects that need improving before we can receive divine aid; like praying, humbling ourselves, sincerely seeking God’s face and turning from our evil ways. Those are only some of the things we need to do friends to recover our salty flavour, and clean our lampshades, so that bright light can emanate from them again! Much LOVE!

…Jesus’ followers…must take discipleship much more seriously…than they are currently doing… 

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit   6 December 2022 Ephesians 5:2.

06 Dec 2022 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ephesians 5:2.       And walk in LOVE, as Christ also hath LOVED us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet -smalling savour (aroma).

Well, it’s Tuesday… we’re alive to see it and are ever so thankful for that grace and mercy of our great God! And all God’s people said a loud and grateful: ‘Thank You Lord for allowing me to see another day on this wonderful planet earth!’ And I know some of you are disputing my terminology there about the wonders of this planet, but God made it wonderful, it’s we the disobedient and evildoers who have made it ugly and however it is today! 

And with the Lord’s help and our sincere dedication, we can make it great again! But we’ve got to wake up very soon and smell the disgusting aroma of sin and evil that surrounds us, because it’s definitely not a sweet savour or smell. Nowhere close to what God expects and what Bruh Paul writes to the Ephesians. ‘Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in LOVE, as Christ also hath LOVED us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet -smelling savour (aroma).’ (Eph. 5:1-2) 

No friends, we’re not living up to the sacrificial offering that Christ made to God on our behalf. And that’s rather sad and pitiful. Jesus could put His life on the line for us, and we don’t even have the courage and or courtesy to live for Him! What a bunch of ingrates! And as Christ Himself so plainly put it in His sermon on the Mount: ‘Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt have lost his savour (flavour), wherewith (by what) shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.’ (Matt. 5:13) 

Unfortunately though my supposed Christian brethren, too many of us are not meeting that requirement at this present moment, that’s why sin and ungodliness are so rampant in our world. Too many of us have lost our saltiness and are therefore only worth to be trampled underfoot. 

And I like how the scholars explain that verse. The say ‘5:13. The Beatitudes are followed by a summary statement of the basic character of the Christian’s life as salt and light. Ye are the salt of the earth: Again, the phrase ‘ye are’ indicates that only the genuinely born-again person is salt and can help meet the needs of the world. Salt adds flavouring, acts as a preservative, melts coldness, and heals wounds. Thus it is a very appropriate description of the believer in his relationship to the world in which he lives.’ 

And that’s the gospel truth my people! We need to be like salt and add a good and pleasant Christ-like flavour to the world around us, and then preserve that beautiful flavour, don’t let it disintegrate or disappear and turn to something that’s not a sweet savour to our wonderful God. And when we talk about the power of salt to melt coldness, do we ever have a big job to do in this oh so cold and selfish world. But how could it be otherwise if we’re not spreading the LOVE of Christ sufficiently eh? It’s ONLY the LOVE OF CHRIST that will melt the coldness and selfishness of this world. 

And then, last but not least, we come to the power of salt to heal wounds. Wow! And all you old people (smile) know of that marvellous power, for when we were young the first thing our parents put on our cuts was salt, bathe them in salt-water before putting anything else on them And ofttimes they put nothing else, and in the blink of an eye those cuts would be healed. I remember experiencing the dreaded feeling of warm Epsom salts water on my cuts. It burned like the fires in Hades! (smile) But the cuts were healed very quickly. 

And likewise, if we take the saltiness embedded in the LOVE and friendship of Christ to the world, we will be able to heal so many wounds, that our world would turn into a completely different and better place! But we have to first lose our fear of the world, then develop the desire and the chutzpah to turn it around, reclaiming the saltiness that we’ve lost along the way. Otherwise, our world is just going to keep on going to hell in a handbasket! And I don’t think we desire that for either us or our children. 

Oh my fellow believers, it’s high time we stop allowing ourselves to be simply trampled underfoot like flavourless salt and be the light and flavourful salt that Jesus desires and also empowered us to be! The fault lies with us, not with the world or with Christ. We have all the tools we need to do His work, but, for whatever reason, we just are not doing it, and that obviously saddens our Lord and Saviour. Because, say whatever you want, after sacrificing so much for us, He will be deeply disappointed that we are not putting up a better effort on His behalf. 

After He’s made the devil a toothless lion, with only a big bark, taken away the keys of hell, death and the grave from him, and given us the victory, how could we in all good conscience not step up to the plate and do a better job for Him eh? There’s no good reason whatsoever! Therefore, I am pleading with us to seriously examine our consciences today and discover where we are going wrong, or just not doing what we should, and for our sakes, our children’s and Jesus’, rise up and do better. We can certainly do it if we try! 

And for those of us who are already trying to live sincerely for Christ, let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Tuesday Mantra letting the whole world know to whom we belong lock, stock and barrel. As one strong and sincere voice! ‘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 my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’ 

And having declared those heartfelt words, let’s go out now and put them into action, sharing the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

and the ole adage applies…time for Christians to stop being the old brooms that know the corners…and start being the new brooms that sweep clean… (smile)  

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ