14 Dec 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a burning fire, a compassionate heart, a discerner of thoughts, a two-part being, abundance, activities of the mind, believers in Christ, body, bone structure, burns, challenges, Christian mandate, comforts, contradictory., courage, creativity, crooked places, curse, darkness, disturbs, divine protection, easy row to hoe, enlightens, eternal life, ever-LOVING God, faithful, favour, find, flying colours, frighten, glory to God, grace, handle any situation, harsh winter, health, in the name of Jesus, intentions, invigorates, Jeremiah, Jesus dwelling in us, joints and marrow, light, living, living God, living word, LOVE, mercy, merits of the Good Book, negative word, obey its commands, of the heart, One Year Book of Bible promises, persevere, philosophy, piercing, power, powerful, powerful weapon, preserved blameless, pungency, quick, reassures, Ruth Harms Calkin, salvation, seek, self-control, self-discipline, sharper than any twoedged sword, soul and spirit, soul searching, spirit, stay strong, success, talent, the Book of All Books, the dividing asunder, the true way to, the Word of god, Thursday Blessings, topsy-turvy, tough things, white stuff, wisdom
Hebrews 4:12. For the word of God is quick (living), and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of (is able to judge) the thoughts and intents (intentions) of the heart.
And yes friends, a li’l more of that white stuff did fall overnight, but not so much that we can’t take it in our stride. (smile) And our world has become so topsy-turvy and contradictory these days, that even the weather people can’t agree on what kind of winter we’re going to have. Hn! One side claims it’s going to be rather harsh, while the other declares it’s going to be fairly mild. So whom do you believe eh?
But yuh know what, with Jesus richly dwelling within us, we can handle ANY kind of winter or situation that comes against us! Glory to God! Please remember that my people and stay strong when confronted by tough things and times, knowing that our wonderful, all knowing and ever-LOVING God will see us through them with His ever-flowing grace and mercy.
And I know that yesterday we had a poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings By Ruth Harms Calkin, but when I saw this one, I couldn’t resist sharing it, because in general it’s so appropriate. However, in particular, it is a soul searching, questioning piece that will hopefully open up our hearts and souls to the wonderful merits of the Good Book. It’s titled “Book of All Books.”
Please pray with me. ‘Lord, I am overwhelmed As I read Your living Word. What power, what pungency I find within its pages. It stirs me, burns with me It challenges me, invigorates me And often disturbs me. When I obey its commands The results are what You claim: Darkness becomes light Crooked places become straight
The more I seek, the more I find. Within its pages, God I see beyond mere philosophy I see beyond a neat package of ethics. I crash head-on with a living Person The One who makes all things new. No other book can claim as much.’
And that’s the gospel truth my brethren! No other Book that’s ever been written, or will ever be written will ever have the impact of the Bible, of the Living Word of the ONE, TRUE and ONLY Living God on humanity! And all of God’s people said a loud and proud ‘Amen!’
Yeh friends, the Word of God is extremely powerful! As the writer says, it stirs us up, challenges, invigorates, disturbs and also fires us up. How did Jeremiah put it? ‘But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones…’ (Jer.20:9)
Oh my faithful brethren, that’s exactly how the Word of our God should be in us; like a burning fire in our hearts, souls and bellies, ever present at the forefront of our lives, so that we can do justice to our claim of believers in Christ, and fulfill our Christian mandate.
And the Bible promise for that poem is also our Bit for today. ‘For the word of God is quick (living), and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of (is able to judge) the thoughts and intents (intentions) of the heart.’
Ah mih people, that just goes to show how powerful the Word of God is! It’s living, and more powerful and sharper than any man-made two-edged sword! Mama Yo! With the ability to divide and cut up the human body, right down to the joints and marrow, and discern our ungodly thoughts and evil intentions!
Brother! I wouldn’t want to come upon the Lord’s Word in the dark nuh! (smile) But yuh know what friends, when we do come upon the Word of the Lord, it doesn’t really frighten us, it works in the exact opposite way. It enlightens us, brings us out of our darkness, comforts, reassures us and shows us the true way to salvation and eternal life.
But enough of my speechifying, (smile) check out this info from the scholars on the ‘Immaterial Part of Man.’ ‘4:12. The writer here draws an interesting parallel between the joints and the marrow, which have different functions, yet both are part of a human’s bone structure. Thoughts and intents are also two distinct activities, yet both are activities of the mind. And while the soul and the spirit are distinct in function, both have an immaterial character.
When considering the nature of humanity, we must realize a person is a two-part being, that is, with body and soul. But in activity or function the body, soul, and spirit of a person each has a different function. Paul desired that his converts “whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess.5:23). (First Ref. Gen.2:7; Primary Ref. 1 Thess. 5:23; cf. Prov.4:23).’
Oh, I know from personal experience friends, that walking with Jesus is not an exactly easy row to hoe, but if we are faithful and truly believe and persevere, He will bring us through with flying colours. So please stand strong and steadfast! And please check out those references in the scholars info, they will provide a treasure trove of wisdom. (smile)
And what better way to end than by declaring all the wonderful blessings that our magnanimous God has showered down on us for being faithful followers. It’s ever so important that we speak our Thursday Blessings out loud, because a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken; remember the power of God’s Word, which created the world and all therein.
All together now: ‘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 now that we’ve declared our Blessings, let’s go out and generously share them with others, as Jesus desires of us. Much LOVE!
…God’s Word…the most powerful weapon in the universe…don’t try to fight it…you’ll lose…
P.S. Yeh it’s long, but beautiful and worthwhile! (smile) Much LOVE!
12 Dec 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Antoine de St. Expury, avocations, beloved of God, born to be free, breastplate of righteousness, cast off the works of darkness, christianity, darkness, demanding, dictating, dominating, dr robert h schuller, examples, faith, figuratively, fleeting sense of pleasure, flesh and blood, friend of Jesus, gadgets, girdle of truth, gospel of peace, helmet, helmet of salvation, Hour of Power Devotional, human beings, human passage, human realtionships, in high places, Jesus, leading the way, literally, LOVE Revolution, main focus, married to a mortgage, material stuff, materialism, money, overboard, powers, prayer, precepts, principalities, push back, put into action, put on, reason for the season, rulers, salvation, secular, selfish times, share His love, shield of faith, shovelling, slaves, snowfall, spiritual armour, spiritual wickedness, stand, stranglehold, supplication, sword of the Spirit, the armour of light, the day is at hand, the evil day, the light of Jesus, the night is far spent, trudging, true believers, truth, Tuesday Mantra, tyrannical, tyranny of things, unsullied, working for things, wrestle, write with one's life
Romans 13:12. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
Oh friends of mine, it’s a beautiful white Tuesday morning in my area. Hn! Yes, we’ve finally registered our first significant snowfall of the season! It’s not too big a snowfall, and as always, it looks beautiful when unsullied by human passage through it. But trudging through it is something else…and so is shovelling it. Good thing I won’t be doing either of those activities today! (smile)
Anyway, there’s lot’s of stuff I want to share this morning, so let’s get right to it nuh. And the first one is something called ‘The Tyranny of Things,’ from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional. I don’t remember if I’ve ever shared this before, but it’s ever so appropriate for these secular and selfish times, especially this time of year.
Please read with me: ‘Materialism does not satisfy because it is tyrannical, and the human being was born to be free! We all know about the tyranny of things. We find that we don’t own a house – the house owns us. We are married to a mortgage. We become slaves to gadgets and garments.
After we have all our “things” purchased, delivered, and installed, and have enjoyed a fleeting sense of pleasure, we find that they are still dominating, dictating, and demanding. “Press me, polish me, patch me, paint me, prune me, plaster me, repair me,” they shout.
So we spend the best years of our lives and the bulk of our money working for the “things,” until, discouraged and depressed, we discover that we have no time left to pursue life’s really enjoyable avocations: visiting friends, having fun, and, yes, even going to church regularly. Thus mastered by materialism, tyrannized by things, we have no time left to do the deeds, or see the places, or visit the people, that would really give us great inner joy.’
And isn’t all of that the living truth friends? It certainly is! In this materialistic, highly commercialized society, it’s all about things and stuff, especially at this season of Christmas. And in a couple weeks time, we’ve forgotten about all the stuff we bought – on credit; even get annoyed when we see some of the stuff, as we struggle to pay for them. Hn! Hn!
So please, let’s take this advice to heart this Christmas season nuh, and not go overboard with the material stuff. Instead, let’s focus on the human relationships and spiritual processes that truly are the reason for the season, with Jesus being the main focus.
That brings us to our Bit: ‘The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.’ More words of truth and wisdom, my brethren, whether you take them literally or figuratively!
Time is flying by, and none of us knows how much we have left, so we need to use each second economically, purposefully and usefully, both in the human and spiritual realms. Darkness and evil have taken a stranglehold on our world, and as true believers in Christ, we can’t afford to let that happen. We need to push back…and push back hard too, if we want to make a difference in this crucial fight.
And we have a quote ascribed to Antoine de St. Expury (1900-1944) the French author, poet and aviator. It says: ‘In these times one must write with one’s life. This is the challenge to all of us.’
And is that ever so true friends, especially for us Christians! We need to show the dark, evil and cruel world what true Christianity is like through the way we live our lives, rather than the way we talk. For one doesn’t always reflect the other. As the saying goes; ‘examples work more forcibly than precepts.’
So please let’s concentrate on living our lives as good examples of Christ’s LOVE Revolution nuh, so that the unbeliever will see our sincerity and want to follow Jesus too. That’s the whole point for our being here yes friends.
Now let us take a quick look at the second part of our Bit; putting on ‘the armour of light.’ And all we have time for is Bruh Paul’s notable warning and brief description of God’s spiritual armour to the Ephesians. ‘Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (schemes) of the devil.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities (rulers), against powers (authorities), against the rulers of darkness of this world (world rulers), against spiritual wickedness (wicked spiritual beings) in high places. Wherefore take unto you (take up, put on) the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.’ (Eph.6:10-13)
Yeh friends, only when we’re dressed in God’s armour, can we stand strong and resist the evil one, for He will attack again and again. That means we have to be continually ensconced in our ‘girdle of truth, and breastplate of righteousness, shod with the gospel of peace, bearing the shield of faith, having on our heads the helmet of salvation, and waving the sword of the Spirit in our right hand, with prayer and supplication’ driving us ever onward and forward! That’s our spiritual armour, and how we defeat the enemy.
Now let’s go home declaring as we do on Tuesdays, our Tuesday Mantra, singing out loud and clear to the evil world who and whose we are. In full voice and sincere heart now: 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!’
Mama Mia! How blessed we are eh! Now let’s go out and put it all into action; share the LOVE of Jesus! Much LOVE!
…dark and evil times…call for Christians…showing their light…the light of Jesus…and leading the way…out of the darkness…
11 Dec 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bad name, a new creature, adrenaline, agreement, all things are new, any man be in Christ, at hand, aura of love, bad habits, Belial, brand new day, cast off, celebrate, Christians, Christmas Season, chummy, confidence, contaminate, Corinthians, courageous, creation, darkness of unbelievers, diligently rise and shine, draw them to Christ, drive our engine, ebb of our spirits, enthusiasm, evil, evil times, faith, far spent, fellowship, fires us up, friends, generous help, glorious kingdom, greet the day, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, hypocrites, improvement, in common, infidel, insight, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy in our hearts, lawlessness, lies, light, light of Jesus followers, LOVE, make preparations, massive explosion, mercy, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, old things, overpower, passed away, peace, people of Christ, punctuality, put on, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, righteousness., room for improvement, salvation, Satan, sincerity, sinful ways, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, strong, the armour of light, the Birth of Christ, the church of Christ, the day, the LOVE of God, the nature of Christ, the night, the temple of God, the works of darkness, trust, truth, unbelievers, unequally yoked, ungodly world, unrighteousness, wisdom, work, work our fannies off
Romans 13:12. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
Arise friends, arise and greet this brand new day, filled with both mercy and work. The Lord is granting us new mercy so that we can be strong and courageous and go out and diligently do His work this Monday morning. So let’s rise and shine and greet the day with joy in our hearts and the LOVE of God in our souls!
Remember it’s the Christmas season, one of the most important times of the year, when we celebrate the miraculous birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! That alone should be enough to drive our engine this morning. But just in case it isn’t we have our favourite stand by, our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, which fires us up, even when we are at the ebb of our spirits. So without further ado, let’s sing it out with some enthusiasm and sincerity.
As one now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour.
We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Yuh see friends, when we put some zest in it, it just raises our spirits, gets our adrenaline flowing and make us just want to get out there and work our fannies off for Jesus. (smile) So having said all of that, let’s get a move on nuh, for as our Bit so rightly says: ‘The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.’
And just for this moment we’re going to take our Bit at face value; the night is almost done and day is dawning, so we desperately need to get up and make preparations for going to work, and getting there on time too, for punctuality is one of the strong points of the followers of Jesus.
Turning now to the philosophical side of our Bit, let’s see if we can get some more serious insight into what Bruh Paul is talking about. Now yesterday we saw it basically meant to give up the sinful ways in which we knowingly are involved; ways that don’t suit a follower of Christ. For as Bruh Paul tells the Corinthians: ‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.’ (2 Cor.5:17)
Yes my people, when we become people of Christ, we are to shuck the old sinful habits we had, and pick up the new ones which reflect the nature of Christ. But a lot of us are still doing the old stuff and it’s giving both Christ and us a bad name. The unbelievers keep shouting ‘Hypocrites!’ And more often than not they are right.
As Bruh Paul puts it later on to the Corinthians: ‘Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness (in common) with unrighteousness (lawlessness)? and what communion (fellowship) hath light with darkness? And what concord (accord) hath Christ with Belial (Satan)? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel (unbeliever). And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.’ (2 Cor.6:14-16)
Yes friends, individually and collectively we are the temple of God, the church of Christ, and as such we need to live a life that reflects the nature of Christ, and obviously the unbeliever’s life doesn’t reflect that, so we shouldn’t be too chummy chummy with them and pick up their bad habits.
Now that doesn’t mean we can’t associate or work with them, because how else would we show and teach them about Jesus eh? However we have to make sure that their unbelief doesn’t contaminate us, and that our belief is the more powerful nature of the relationship so that we can eventually draw them to Christ.
But seriously though my believing brethren, in these troubled and evil times, we desperately need to come up higher. There is way too much strife and evil happening in our world, not enough LOVE, joy peace and goodwill, and if it continues in the current vein, it will only lead to a massive explosion, which I’m sure none of us want. So please, please, in Jesus’ name, I implore us, let’s do better nuh, for all of us have room for improvement. If not for our sakes, then for our children’s. Much LOVE!
…the light of Jesus’ followers…ought ALWAYS to overpower…the darkness of the unbelievers…
10 Dec 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Advent, advice, ambassadors, begotten, behold him, Bethlehem, cast aspersions, cast off, chambering, choirs of angels, Christ the Lord, Christ's birth, Christians, Christmas, citizens of heaven, cloak of darkness, cradle, day is at hand, demean His reputation, disciples, drunkenness, envying, eternal life, faith, faithful, far spent, fellowship, flocks, future, glory to God, goodwill, hope, hypocrisy, improprieties, in flesh appearing, joy, joyful lips, king of angels, lewdness, licentiousness, light, light eternal, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, makes manifest, manifest works, mantle of light, O come all ye faithful, O come let us adore Him, peace, put on, raise the roof, reflected in us, revelry, sacrificial praise, salvation, sanctuary, secular society, shepherds, sin nature, sing in exultation, sinners awe, Son of the Father, strife, the armour of light, the new life in Christ, the night, the virgin's womb, the workers of iniquity, the works of darkness, triumphant, true God, unfruitful works of darkness, walk honestly, wantonness, word of the Father, worship, wrongdoings
Romans 13:12. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
And as the days of Advent, the preparatory period before Christ’s birth advances, and the Christmas season intensifies, LOVE and joy, peace and goodwill fill the air! Wow! And I naively wonder, why can’t it be like that all year round eh? But I guess that’s just asking too much of our sinful secular society. A few days, once a year is all they seem to be able to spare. But we’ll take it and just keep working to get more.
And as we gather in the sanctuary this Sunday, to worship and fellowship and give thanks, let’s burst out with a most worthy song, one of the all-time favourites of the Christmas season, ‘O come all ye faithful.’ In true Christmas spirit, let’s raise the roof of our sanctuary and that of heaven too with harmonious sacrificial praise from our joyful lips and hearts.
‘O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, Come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem. Come and behold Him, born the King of angels; ( Chorus: O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.) True God of true God, Light from Light Eternal, Lo, he shuns not the Virgin’s womb; Son of the Father, begotten, not created; (Chorus) Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation; Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above! Glory to God, all glory in the highest; (Chorus)
See how the shepherds, summoned to His cradle, Leaving their flocks, draw nigh to gaze; We too will thither bend our joyful footsteps; (Chorus) Child, for us sinners poor and in the manger, We would embrace Thee, with love and awe; Who would not love Thee, loving us so dearly? (Chorus) Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning; Jesus, to Thee be glory given; Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing. O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.’
Ah friends, what a beautiful and grateful way to praise our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for all that’s He’s done, is still doing and will do for us in the future. Praise His Holy Name. He is the reason why we have hope for the future, faith in salvation and joy in the promise of eternal life! All the more reason to LOVE and adore Him! Not to despise and cast aspersions and try to remove Him from our society.
But I guess there will always be doubters and evildoers, so it’s up to us believers to raise His profile and make His LOVE Revolution a success. For we are His ears, arms, mouths, legs, and hands in the world, His ambassadors, His disciples, and as we go, so will His movement, His church. Some parts of it are thriving, who knows why, but most are finding it difficult to survive, and many are even closing.
That’s not a very good vibe my people, and means that we’re not doing as good a job as we should. Christ is not being reflected in us as fully as He should be. That’s why we need to take the wise advice in our Bit, from Bruh Paul to the church at Rome. ‘The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.’
Yeh friends, it’s almost dawn, Jesus will soon be coming back, and right now our efforts are sadly lacking, so we need to improve dramatically. As Bruh Paul continues to the Roman church: ‘Let us walk honestly (properly), as in the day; not in rioting (revelry) and drunkenness, not in chambering (licentiousness) and wantonness (lewdness), not in strife and envying.’ (Rom.13:13)
And it’s no secret friends that too many of us so-called Christians are deeply involved in too much of those worldly improprieties. We need to stop the hypocrisy; narrow the gulf between the Christian stuff we mouth, and the worldly trail we walk. As Bruh Paul warns: ‘But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.’ (Rom.13:14)
And the scholars offer this explanation re that verse. ‘13:14. Make not provision for the flesh: One should not seek opportunities to satisfy deep-seated desires of the sin nature, but should seek occasion to manifest works that are consistent with the new life in Christ.’
And that’s all Christ is asking of us yes friends: if you claim to believe in Him, then please live the way He desires you to live. He doesn’t expect us to be perfect, because we don’t have the capacity for that, but He does expect us to be excellent and diligent in doing His work, like He was excellent and diligent in doing the Father’s work here on earth. When we don’t walk our talk, we just cause others to bad-mouth our Saviour and further demean His reputation, thus playing into the hands of the workers of iniquity.
Therefore my faithful brethren, let’s do like Bruh Paul suggests to the Ephesians nuh. ‘And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove (expose) them). For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved (exposed) are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.’ (Eph.5:11-14)
Oh friends, if we sincerely want to help the cause of Jesus, then we have to stop indulging in those sins that we know are ‘unfruitful works of darkness,’ sins of the unsaved, and instead expose them, bring them into the light, show them for the wrongdoings that they are. It’s time friends, time for less talk and more action, time to throw off the cloak of darkness and put on the mantle of light that Jesus offers. That’s the ONLY way our world will ever improve. Much LOVE!
…Christians…oh Christians…where is your light that’s supposed to shine in the darkness…to light up the world…
04 Dec 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adrenaline, ambassadors, aura of love, bombarded, buffeted, Christians, Christmas, compromise, confidence, conquerors, diligent, disciples, drinking, eating, enthusiasm, eternal life, evil, evil forces, excellence, faithful, fear, festive season, forgiveness, friends, glorious kingdom, glory to God, holy spirit, humble servants, invincible, Jesus, jobs, laziness, lies, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, mercy, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, negative pangs, no man can work, not afraid, of him who sent me, peace, preparations, presnets, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, run away from work, salvation, Samaritan, servants, shopping, spiritual armour, state of mind, steadfast faith, suffering, the last days, the night cometh, the reason for the season, trust, truth, ungodly world, up to par, useful purpose, week of work, while it is day, wiles, wisdom, work, work the works
John 9:4: I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
So friends, as we rush headlong into the festive season of Christmas, let’s not forget the real, the ONE and ONLY reason for Christmas: Jesus! Not the shopping, the presents, the eating and drinking and otherwise.
And yuh know, life is so strange, that on most Monday mornings many of us have a hard time getting out of bed to go to work, but in this Christmas time we eagerly roll out because we have shopping and other preparations to make before the big day! Don’t know if some of our employers are, or will be very thrilled by that nuh, because this is when we take a lot of paid time off, in other words, run away from work to go shopping etc.
Thank the Lord that I don’t have any personal preparations to make! (smile) I’m just trying to keep my life on an even and balanced keel during this crazy time. I think I’ll spend the time I would normally devote to preparations in pondering on Jesus and all that He means and stands for. That ought to serve me in better stead than busily running around the place trying to accomplish what the world considers important at this time of the year.
And having said all of that, let’s turn to our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, our picker-upper to help us get out the door in a Jesus state of mind. In loud, enthusiastic voice now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN! ‘
Yes mih people, that was an excellent rendition! Our choirmaster Jesus was pleased with it. So now let’s get out on the road and keep that level of adrenaline flowing and our spirits bubbling with His energy and Spirit, as we do His ambassadorial work, furthering His LOVE Revolution! Mama Mia! The ole fella’s in good form this morning! (smile)
That brings us to our rather appropriate Bit: ‘I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.’
And please note the picking of that Bit wasn’t my doing; it was divine guidance. As always, I asked for guidance on what to write on, and as I opened the Good Book, my eyes fell on that verse. Glory to God! He is such a wonderful, LOVING and faithful Deity! That’s the only reason why I can write the Bit every day.
Oh friends, just as Jesus had to do the work of the Father who sent Him, as His disciples and ambassadors, we too need to do the work that Jesus’ commissioned us to do. ‘…Teaching all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always(s), even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20)
And Jesus was very diligent in doing the Father’s work. Listen to Him as the disciples offered Him food after He had spoken to the Samaritan woman at the well. ‘My meat (food) is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.’ (John 4:34)
Oh my fellow believers, Jesus certainly wasn’t skylarking on the Father’s job. Likewise we should all be diligent in doing Jesus’ work. Unfortunately though, too many of us are not as diligent as we should be, and thus Jesus’ work is suffering; suffering from the negative pangs of fear, compromise, and simple laziness. That’s not good my people.
Remember Jesus said we should be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, so that the world could look to us and see His wonderful reflection in us, and thus want to come to Him for succor; to enjoy His awesome LOVE, grace, mercy, forgiveness, redemption, salvation and eternal life. And it’s obvious to even a blind person, that we’re not doing a bang up job, because people are turning away from God in droves.
If our diligence and excellence were up to par, unbelievers would be beating down Jesus’ door to get into His kingdom. Now that shoddy work doesn’t look very good on us my brethren, especially as the last days come into view. So please, I implore us to take very seriously the words of Jesus in our Bit, and let’s go about His business as He went about the Father’s business. That’s the only way we’ll ever conquer the evil forces of this evil world and win the unbelievers to Him. Much LOVE!
…until He comes again…Jesus’ work is never done…
27 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: aura of love, blues, charged up, charities, climactic, complain, complete, confidence, conquerors, Creator of the universe, dangerous, deeper in debt, do life with Christ, dragging, dreams, economy crashed, enthusiasm, events, express image, food banks, fragmentary, friends, fun, glorious kingdom, glory, glory to God, God-filled day, greedy businessmen, heir, high heavens, holy spirit, humble servants, incarnation, incomplete, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, joy, labour, lies, LOVE, message, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, motive, not feeling too hot, Old Testament, peace, prophets, pumpkin pies, purged our sins, quick to fire, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, Revelation, righteousness., sales gimmicks, salvation, sat down at the right hand, slave master, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, tempo, thanksgiving weekend, the agent of God, the brightness of his glory, the bucket bottom drops out, the day of calamity, the end of time, the land of plenty, the Lord in favour, the Majesty on high, the medium, the word of his power, traffic jams, trust, truth, Turkey, unfair, upholding all things, visions, warm beds, week of work, wiles, wisdom, zest
Hebrews 1:3. Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person , and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged (cleansed) our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Awright mih breddren, it’s the big one – one more time! Yes my people, it’s that most wonderful day called Monday, where we unwillingly exit out warm beds, put on warm clothing and head for the big city, mired in traffic jams, to labour, to labour…and yet to labour.
Down in the U.S. this was Thanksgiving weekend, so you can imagine the state of many workers; definitely not the greatest. And after the turkey and pumpkin pie, you had the crazy shopping on Black Friday, and more shopping today on Cyber Monday… Steups!
It’s all about commercialism, when half the people don’t have any jobs, and many of those who do have jobs, don’t even have sufficient money to make ends meet. Just look at the recent proliferation of food banks and charities providing food to unfortunate families in this land of plenty nuh.
But yet they keep coming up with sales gimmicks to get people deeper and deeper in debt. And when the economy crashes, when the bucket bottom drops out, because debt was too cheap and easily available, the same ones who made it so, complain to the high heavens. Chuh! Just a bunch of foolish, greedy businessmen!
Anyway friends, those of us who have jobs had better get up and get a move on, else we soon might not have one. Yuh know how the slave master quick to fire! And if yuh not feeling too hot this morning, and yuh just dragging, then please sing along with us, as we sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, to get us all charged up and ready to go out and do life with and for Christ.
With plenty zest and good tempo now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Oh friends, that prayer never fails to work! It just drives away all the early morning blues and gets the adrenaline going, so we can concentrate properly on Christ’s work, as we steadfastly seek Him, His kingdom and His righteousness. Glory to the Most High God my faithful brethren!
And when we talking about glory, we definitely need to put Jesus in the highest category, as the author of Hebrews explains in the first four verses of his book, which contains our Bit. ‘God, who at sundry times (in many instances) and in divers manners (many ways) spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds (ages);
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged (cleansed) our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.’ (Heb.1:1-4)
Now let’s look at some explanations from the scholars. ‘1:1-2. The author immediately shows that Jesus Christ, as the agent of God’s revelation, is far superior to the Old Testament prophets. Their message was fragmentary and incomplete. It came bit by bit through visions, dreams events, and direct communication as men were ready to receive it. Christ’s revelation is climactic and complete, because He is the Son and because His is the message for the last days. His incarnation initiated the end time, and it will be fulfilled when He returns to earth to reconcile and restore all things (cf. Acts 2:16-17; 3:19-21; 1 Pet.1:20).’
Yeh friends, it’s all about Jesus Christ! He is the medium, the motive and the message! (smile) Everything revolves around Him, and until we realize that, our lives will not be complete, nor will we have the peace and joy that He desires, that He died for us to have.
So please take a few moments to ponder all we’ve said, and check out those scriptures listed by the scholars, as they will provide invaluable information on our topic. Till tomorrow then, the Lord in favour, I pray that we all will have a blessed and beautiful, God-filled day. Much LOVE!
…in the day of calamity…who yuh going to call…Jesus Christ…because He has all the answers…
20 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a believer in Christ, an expected end, assurance, aura of love, Babylon, boost spirits, breath of life, bring to fruition, calamity, concrete jungle, confidence, conquerors, curtains for us, earthly life, enthusiasm, eternal life, eternal separation, everlasting life, excuses, families, foolish, friends, fruitful vine, future, glorious kingdom, God's plans, hard worker, he who has ears to hear, hope, human being, humble servants, hunker down, I think toward you, in His own image, invincible, Israelites, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, joy, joyless enormous price, laziness, lies, lose nothing, LOVE, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, negative effects, not of evil, peace, privilege, procrastination, raise it up again, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, reverse, salvation, sins, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, the last day, the will of God, the worst thing, thoughts, to die for us, trust, truth, undisciplined, ungodly world, weary souls, week of work, welcomed in heaven, wiles, will not cast out, wisdom, worthwhile intentions
Jeremiah 29:11. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith, the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).
Ah friends, the days are rolling by quickly and who knows how much time we have left to successfully perform any tasks, or bring to fruition whatever plans God has in store for us. That means we’ve got to get with the program right away; no excuses, laziness or procrastination, but be a diligent, hard worker and fruitful vine bearer for Christ. So that at the end of our days, He’ll greet us with that wonderful, big smile, a tantalizing bear hug, and the overwhelming invitation: ‘Welcome! Welcome home, thou good and faithful servant!’
Wow mih breddren, there can’t be any better welcoming words than those anywhere in the universe! But for our lives to play out that way, means we have to begin by being fired up this Monday morning; no whining and complaining; just seriously, sincerely and conscientiously going about the Lord’s business. Oh, I know some Monday mornings it’s difficult to roll out of the warm and comfortable bed to face our cruel and evil world, especially as the chills of winter descend upon us, in the northern climes.
But that’s why we have our Monday Morning Battle Hymn; to boost our spirits, reverse all the negative effects of an undisciplined weekend (smile) and get us ready to face whatever comes against us with the energy, assurance, joy and peace that come from being a believer in, and a follower of our wonderful Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. So let’s blast it out as passionately as we can nuh.
‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Awright mih people, yuh see how our Battle Hymn changes our entire perspective, how our passion rises as we trill it to the high heavens? So let’s keep that adrenaline flowing nuh, as we get out onto the highways and byways and make our way to the concrete jungles and hunker down to labour for another day. But all the while keeping the unbreakable promise of our Bit solidly grounded in our hearts, bodies, minds and souls. ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith, the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).’
Yeh friends, even when God punished the Israelites by having Babylon take them captive, He promised to bring them back to Jerusalem after seventy years. Hopefully, they would have learned their lesson by then. And it’s the same way my faithful brethren that the Lord has good plans for us, plans to give us hope, joy and peace. Why would He create us in His own image, give us His breath of life and then, when we screw up, send His Son Jesus to die for us, if He didn’t have good and worthwhile intentions towards us eh?
Listen to Jesus tell it like it is: ‘All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise (certainly not) cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.’ (John 6:37-40)
Oh my people, does that sound like a God who has bad intentions towards us? Certainly not! He wants only the best for us, that’s why He sent Jesus to die for our abominable sins; to give us a hope and a future; otherwise it would have been curtains for us, certain calamity through eternal separation from Him. And believe me, eternal separation from Almighty God is the WORST thing that can ever happen to a human being!
So friends, please let’s take this earthly life seriously, let’s take Jesus seriously, because if we don’t, we’ll end up paying an enormous price for the dubious privilege of being foolish. We don’t have to be miserable and joyless, because Jesus came to give us joy, but we do have to be sensible, thoughtful and wise if we want to be welcomed in heaven. Much LOVE!
…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…else he will certainly feel…
13 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a joyful feeling, a roof over our heads, antidote, ask, aura of love, branches, Christians, confidence, enthusiasm, eternal life, evil, faith, feeling up to scratch, forgiveness, full of glory, glorious kingdom, grace, gusto, holy spirit, humble servants, in my name, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, lies, LOVE, mercy, merry-go-round, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, negative emotion, pitifully, rejoice, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, ride the rails, righteousness., salvation, salvation of your souls, spiritual armour, spunk, steadfast faith, stirs up, strength, the blues, the end of your faith, the gravy train, the joy of the Lord, trust, ungodly world, vine, wisdom, workweek, ye shall receive, you have asked nothing, your joy may be full
John 16:24. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
Welcome once again friends, to the merry go round that’s our workweek. We’ve got get back on that train, the gravy train, (smile) and ride the rails again, because it’s Monday; the day that stirs up so much negative emotion in us. So if we want to eat, and have a roof over our heads, then it’s simple, we have to work, and it makes much more sense working with a joyful feeling than with a miserable, unhappy one.
But just in case this morning you are not feeling up to scratch, we have the perfect antidote for whatever is ailing you. We call it our Monday Morning Battle Hymn! Yeh friends, it drives away the blues and gets our spirits up and running in fine form. So let’s just sit back, relax and sing it out with as much spunk and gusto as we can muster nuh.
As one now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Ah mih people, I hear you sigh, like a breath of fresh air wafted over you and raised you up from your misery. (smile) I told you, our Battle Hymn will fix whatever is wrong. Consequently, it’s time for us to get out on the road and run our race with excellence, diligence, humility, forgiveness, grace, mercy and LOVE as our Lord and Saviour, our fearless Leader, Jesus Christ expects of us.
Remember, it’s all about Him friends, about His LOVE Revolution, not about us. We’re just His servants, His friends, His brethren, His saints, His warriors, here to do His awesome bidding. And according to our Bit, He wants us to do His bidding with joy. ‘Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.’
Oh my people, contrary to a popular opinion, Jesus did not come to earth to be sad and miserable and make sad, miserable followers out of us. We all know His famous pronouncement: ‘The thief cometh not, but (except) to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ (John 10:10)
What part of that says that Christians ought to walk around as though they were suffering so much and on their last breath eh? None of it! So why do so many of us supposed Christians go around like a bunch of ‘poe (poor) me ones’, like we’re struggling so much, with no real joy in our souls. Chuh man! That’s not why Jesus died. Hear what He told the disciples when talking about the vine and the branches. ‘These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.’ (John 15:11)
Yeh mih breddren, Jesus had joy in His soul, and wherever he went others felt and experienced it. And John in his second set of writings, his epistles, penned the same message to the believers. ‘And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.’ (1 John 1:4)
And the scholars tell us: ‘1:4. The major purpose of 1 John is stated in 5:13 (tell of salvation and eternal life), but another purpose is stated here: for the recipients, and no doubt John as well, to enjoy and share in the deep sense of satisfaction and purpose that knowing Christ and walking with Him brings.’
Why then are so many of us believers joyless eh? If we are to be truly His followers, we must cultivate a reasonable amount of joy in our souls too. Remember what they say in Nehemiah: ‘for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’ (Neh. 8:10b) That means, if you don’t have any joy, then you won’t have any strength either.
And Peter, talking about Christ declares: ‘Whom having not seen, ye LOVE; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.’ (1 Pet. 1:8-9)
Oh fellow Christians, if we are saved and believe the promise of salvation and eternal life, then that’s the biggest reason to be joyful! And we’ll end with this prayer request of Jesus to His heavenly Father on behalf of the disciples, and consequently to us. ‘And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.’ (John 17:13)
What more can we ask eh friends? Jesus even prayed to the Father that we might be filled with His joy. So let’s get ourselves together and stop behaving so pitifully, like we’re orphans or something nuh, with no one to LOVE us. We have Jesus…and that’s more than enough! Much LOVE!
…Christians…should be the most joy-filled and joyful people…on God’s good earth…
06 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a grain of mustard seed, a pain in the butt, assurance, aura of love, blow the trumpet, cacphony, Christians, confidence, contrariness, cursing, enthusiasm, evil, evil cohorts, faith, fearless leader, fight the good fight, folish world, friends, glorious kingdom, glory hallelujah, God is our refuge and strength, God's sustaining power, gospel truth, hissing of teeth, hope, humble servants, impossible to you, in trouble, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, joy, lies, lift up mine eyes unto the hills, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, man to man, mercy, Monday blues, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, move mountains, my help cometh from God, negative feelings, negative noises, planned properly, prescription, present help, prince of darkness, reap what we sow, refuge, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, righteousness., salvation, sleep, slumber, sound the horn, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, strength, taunts, the good news, the LOVE of God, trust, truth, unbelief, wiles, wisdom
Psalm 46:1. God is our refuge and strength, a very present (abundantly available) help in trouble.
‘Blow the trumpet, sound the horn… And welcome another ‘loverly’ Monday morn!’
Now that just raises a cacophony of negative noises in the background; hissing of teeth, cursing, and complaints like ‘Yuh mad or something boy? Where you ever hear them welcoming Monday as a lovely morn eh? Steups! Monday morning is more a pain in the butt than anything else yes!’
And I respond by saying that’s because we have not planned properly for it. We all know that after Sunday is Monday and we have to get up to go to work. So why don’t we prepare ourselves as needed to do so eh? I guess it’s just the innate contrariness in us. (smile)
But anyway, we have the right prescription for any negative feelings you have this morning. It’s called our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. And when we sing it lustily, it just chases away all those Monday morning blues. So let’s put down a real lusty rendition now nuh.
‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Wow mih breddren! That was certainly lusty! And yuh see how it drove away all your negative feelings. So let’s get a move on, make hay while the sun shines and the irons are hot and get out into the feckless, fickle, foolish world and spread the good news, the wonderful LOVE of our Lord and Saviour, our fearless Leader, Jesus Christ.
Yes friends, we can go out and battle the enemy mano a mano (man to man) because of the assurance we have in scriptures like our Bit. ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present (abundantly available) help in trouble.’
And if that is not written deep and indelibly in your soul, then you are in trouble. For without the backing of Almighty God we cannot successfully fight the evil prince of this fallen world and his numerous evil cohorts. But with God sincerely entrenched in our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, we can move mountains!
Remember how Jesus put it to His disciples when they could not heal an epileptic man? ‘Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence unto yonder place; and it shall remove (move); and nothing shall be impossible to you.’ (Matt.17:20)
Ah mih people, we certainly have to believe, if we want to achieve. Now let’s check out a couple of other scripture passages which reassure us of God’s help and place of refuge in times of trouble. First up are these verses from Psalm 33 – Praise to the Lord for his creation.
‘Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our shield. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.’ (Ps.33:18-22) Please note the psalmist’s sentiment in the last verse – for God’s mercy to fall on us in proportion to our hope in Him. As we sow, we shall reap.
And we all know the famous words of Psalm 121 – God’s sustaining power. ‘I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved (slip): he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is thy keeper (protector): the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve (keep) thy soul. The Lord shall preserve (keep) thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.’ (Ps.121:1-8)
And all God’s people gave a loud and grateful shout of ‘Glory Hallelujah! What a mighty God we serve and worship!’ And that’s the gospel truth my fellow believers. So with that assurance bubbling up in us, let’s go out now and fight the good fight with Christ, as we battle diligently in His LOVE Revolution, to retake the world from the evil prince of darkness. Much LOVE!
onward Christian soldiers…to fight…to fight…and to keep on fighting…with Jesus at our helm…
05 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a man after God's heart, a safe place, a very present help, admonition, almighty god, amid the seas, anger, available help, awe inspiring hymn, awesome power, be content, body clocks, conduct, confidence throw it into gear, covetousness, Daylight Savings Time, debatable question, defense, destroyed thyself, drama-filled, encouragement, expectaion, faith, fear, fellowship, figments of imaginations, glory, glory hallelujah, god, God is our refuge and strength, God Most High, hear God's word, heavenly Father, hills, honour, hope, Hosea, idols, Israel, its helper, life in london, living God, loud voice, make glad, Maker, morning dawns, never forsake thee, never leave thee, obedience, overjoyed, perfect harmony, pour out your heart, privilege, promises, reassurance, refuge, rejoice, reverence, Rock, sacrifice of praise, safety, salvation, Selah, sincerity, strength, strong abode, succour, Sunday, surrender to God, the city of our God, the earth be moved, the god of Jacob, the holy place, The Lord is my helper, the Lord of hosts, the Lord's Day, trouble, trust God, truth, waters roaring, we will no be afraid, worship, wrath
Psalm 46:1. God is our refuge and strength, a very present (abundantly available) help in trouble.
Well friends, Daylight Savings Time has ended. Steups! And it’s still a debatable question as to whom it helps, if anybody. However, the night shift will work an hour longer, and the day shift will get an hour more sleep…then a lot of people’s body clocks will be screwed up.
Anyway, the good news is that it’s Sunday; the Lord’s Day, time for worship and gathering in fellowship, to hear His word, rejoice with each other and go home overjoyed and full of faith, strength and confidence to face whatever comes against us. Oh how special are our Sunday worship sessions!
So let’s throw it into gear nuh, as we sing this awe inspiring hymn, ‘God is our refuge and our strength,’ which describes the omnipotence of our Maker and our God. With loud voice, in perfect harmony, sincerity and truth, let’s raise our sacrifice of praise to heaven and let our heavenly Father know how much we truly appreciate Him.
‘God is our refuge and our strength, a very present aid, and, therefore, though the earth be moved, we will not be afraid, though hills amid the seas be cast, though waters roaring make, and troubled be, yea though the hills by swelling seas do shake. A river’s there, whose streams make glad the city of our God, the holy place, where God Most High hath made a strong abode.
For God our refuge dwelleth there; that city shall not move. God is its strength when morning dawns, and will its helper prove. The Lord of Hosts is on our side, our safety to maintain; the God of Jacob doth for us a refuge high remain.’
And is that last sentence ever so true my fellow believers! Almighty God is definitely on our side, looking after our safety and being a safe place of refuge for us in time of need. Glory Hallelujah! What more can we ask eh? Not a whole lot. And the song we just sang was based on Psalm 46 – God is our refuge and strength, from which our Bit is taken.
The sons of Korah, who possibly wrote it and sang it back in olden times, were in absolutely no doubt as to where their help lay: ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present (abundantly available) help in trouble.’ And neither should we doubt my faithful brethren. We are the children of the Most High God to whom we can run for succour and reassurance at any time, day or night.
No other faith has that privilege! Why? Because our God is the ONE and ONLY TRUE LIVING GOD! All others, be they dead or alive, are mere idols, figments of their believers imaginations. NONE of them can do what our God can, or has the awesome power that He has. End of story!
Hear how Bruh David puts it in Psalm 62. ‘My soul wait (silently) thou only upon God; for my expectation (hope) is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defense; I shall not be moved (shaken). In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.’ (Ps.62:5-8)
And who should know better than Bruh David eh, with the drama filled life he lived? Who, despite his iniquity was still considered a man after God’s own heart! And knowing that we won’t always walk perfectly in God’s will or be obedient to His dictates, Bruh David’s story should give us great assurance and encouragement my brethren.
Consequently we should not be afraid to surrender our lives to God, to place our sincere trust in His mighty and capable hands, especially since He has also blessed us with His unconditional LOVE, by giving us His ONE Son, Jesus, as an atoning sacrifice for our sins, and His Holy Spirit as our Guide and Comforter.
As the old people would say; ‘we living life in London!’ (smile) That simply means we’re living a good life. No doubt about it, precious people of Christ! Yes friends, when we’re living with and for Christ, our lives are so enriched and we’re so confident that we can adhere to the admonition from the author of Hebrews without too many problems.
‘Let your conversation (conduct) be without covetousness; and be ye content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall (can) do unto me.’ (Heb.13:5-6)
Ah mih people, with such a powerful and dynamic God, who also faithfully keeps His promises, why should we be afraid of mankind eh? If we should be afraid of anybody, it’s God, who has the power to do whatever He wants with us. And we’ll end with this li’l power play that the Lord put down on Israel during one of their disobedient times, as related by the prophet Hosea.
‘O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help. I will be thy king (where is thy king): where is any other that may save thee in all thy cities? and thy judges of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes? I gave thee a king in my anger, and took him away in my wrath.’ (Hos.19:9-11)
Yuh see who is the real power, friends? Almighty God! So let’s be wise this Sunday nuh…to whom is honour and glory due… and just praise and worship Him in all His glory; exalt His Holy Name, give Him His just desserts, and let Him be our help and refuge in these abnormal times of strife and evil. That’s wisdom at its highest level. Much LOVE!
…to whom is honour and glory due…fear and reverence…obedience and worship…Almighty God…
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