03 May 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a rose by any other name, all saints, altar of sin, answered prayer, bounden duty, care, children of God, Christian, Coincidences, Comforter, compassion, conviction, depressed, Ecclesiastes, embrace, Ephesians, eternal life, evil, fear God, fear the Lord, fellow believers, forgiveness, glory hallelujah, grace, hypocrite, I am the beloved of god, I can trust my friend Jesus, I'm not what I do, I'm not what I have, I'm not what people say about me, in a nutshell, in the nick of time, in the Spirit, inadequacy, Jesus Christ, judgement, keep the commandments, light of jesus, LOVE, lustful things, Maker, mercy, muffin batter, obedient to God's Word, on the other side of the flood, one and only true God, our Lord and Saviour, perseverance, Pharisees, prayer, praying always, provider, put away the gods, render unto Caesar, render unto God, reverence, reverencing God, Ruth Harms Calkin, sacrifice His only son, salvation, secret thing, serve him, serve ye the Lord, share His love with the world, sin, sincerity, skeptic, spring's in the air, supplication, the breath of God, the darkness, the Euphrates river, the evil one, the light of Jesus, the One Year Book of Bible Promises, the other side of the coin, the Preacher, the prince of darkness, the whole duty of man, theological discussion, tossing salads, truth, Tuesday Mantra, vocabulary, wallowing, wisdom, workings of God
Joshua 24:14. Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood (The Euphrates River), and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.
Well a good Tuesday morning to all you fellow believers in Jesus Christ! It’s bright and sunny in my neighbourhood, though a tad chilly! But spring’s in the air! Glory Hallelujah! Hope it is encouraging in your area too.
But just in case it isn’t, please remember that the bright and beautiful, positive and reassuring light of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is ALWAYS shining in and through us, and that helps us to handle the dark and dreary physically challenged days. (smile) That means there’s no need to be down and depressed because of the weather.
Now here is something from our One Year Book of Bible promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin that I thought was rather appropriate to share, especially in these difficult times of ministry. It’s simply titled ‘Coincidences.’
And it says: ‘Lord, I was intrigued With the brilliant vocabulary Of the patient sitting next to me In the reception room. I don’t remember The start of our conversation But suddenly we were discussing prayer. I shared rather freely Your pertinent answers To my day-by-day requests.
Labelling himself a skeptic He smiled and said courteously “What you consider answered prayer I choose to call coincidence.”
You know how it is with me, Lord – I’m always slightly at ease In the Big Middle Of a theological discussion. I’m much more at home in my kitchen Mixing muffin batter Or tossing green salads. Frankly I was relieved When the dentist called my name.
But one thing I do know, Lord When I pray, “coincidences” happen. When I don’t pray they stop… So thank You again and again For ten thousand “coincidences” Always in the nick of time When I pray.’
Oh friends what a rather common situation that is amongst believers. We all at times feel rather inadequate to explain our faith and why we pray, and are indeed much happier and more comfortable discussing other topics.
But despite our inadequacy in explaining that faith, we are convinced that answers to our prayers are certainly not coincidences, but the actual workings of God in our lives. And we’ll go to our graves believing that.
But if someone else wants to label them ‘coincidences,’ then we’ll very gladly receive them. Like a rose by any other name is just as sweet, so is answered prayer by any other name just as reassuring and encouraging. (smile)
And the Bible Promise for that poem is Bruh Paul’s admonishment to the Ephesians; one that we all know very well, whether we keep it though is another story. ‘Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.’ (Eph.6:18) Remember my precious people, prayer is indispensable in a Christian’s life.
Now, since it’s Tuesday, let’s declare our Tuesday Mantra with lots of spunk and plenty conviction. Altogether 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.’
All praise and glory and might and power to our wonderful God, who LOVED us so much to sacrifice His only Son Jesus Christ on our behalf! So let’s remember, every minute of every day, who and whose we are; beloved children of Almighty God!
That brings us to our Bit: ‘Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood (The Euphrates River), and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.’
And that’s the other side of the coin my fellow Christians! If we consider ourselves children of God, then we must adhere to His Will and Word with sincerity and truth, and consequently revere ONLY Him as our Maker, Provider and Comforter.
As Jesus told the ole hypocrite Pharisees, when they tried to tempt and confuse Him: ‘Render (pay) therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things which are God’s.’ (Matt.22:21)
Yes friends, as true believers, that’s how we ought to behave! And things like reverence, supplication, LOVE, care, compassion, wisdom, forgiveness, mercy and grace, ALL belong to the ONE and ONLY TRUE LIVING God; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
So let’s give Him His rightful due nuh my brethren, and stop worshiping at the altar of sin and the lustful things of the world, which belong to the evil one, the prince of darkness. Let’s stop wallowing in the darkness of evil, and instead fully, gratefully and graciously embrace the LIGHT and LOVE that’s Jesus, and which offer us so much more, especially salvation and eternal life!
And we’ll end with these wonderful and true words of the Preacher, Cousin Sol, from Ecclesiastes. ‘Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’ (Eccl.12:13-14)
Ah mih breddren, as true believers, that’s our bounden duty right there in a nutshell! Please, let’s wisely follow it as long as there is the breath of God in our bodies nuh. Much LOVE!
…true wisdom is simply…faithfully reverencing God and being obedient to His Word and Will…
22 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: absent from the body, administer justice, aspire, awesome gift, be glad, birth of Jesus, Bruh Paul, Christmas Season, church at Corinth, comfort, conclusion, condemnation, confident, deeds understand, duty of man, earthly pilgrimage, epic proportions, ever-loving kindness, every work, evil, fateful day, fear God, friends, gift of grace, God's mercies, God's Word, good, grace, Guide, hampering Christmas shopping, haphazard weather, heavenly Father, holy, immortal truth, immortal words, important event, integrity, judgement, judgement day, judgement seat of Christ, just Deity, justice, keep God's commandments, labour, LOVE, man's history, merciful, ministers of reconciliation, not by sight, potent wisdom, Praise the Lord, precious gift, present with the Lord, problems, psalmist, reconciliation, rejoice, Roman magistrates, secret thing, the Preacher, things of the world, this is the day, trial, trouble, walk by faith, warning, wisdom, wreaking havoc
Ecclesiastes 12:14. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
And the weather follies continue! (smile) Yes Friends, there’s been rain, freezing rain, wet snow, dry snow (smile) and all sorts of haphazard weather in my neck of the woods this weekend. And it’s not done yet! The weather people are still calling for more uncertain weather over the next few days.
Steups! And it has certainly been wreaking havoc on the roads, pavements, driveways, keeping people in, and thus hampering the Christmas shopping too.
But you know what Friends? That might just be a warning to us that we’re paying too much attention to what the world considers important – shopping, food, gifts, etc – and not enough to the true reason for the Christmas season – the birth of Jesus.
The precious gift that God the Father gave us to begin the process of the most wonderful and important event in man’s history, since his creation, reconciliation with our heavenly Father.
Wow Friends! That surely was an awesome gift! And along with it came grace; grace to live through each and every trial and trouble in our lives… And that grace is still coming every single day my people!
So today, regardless of the weather, or any other problems we might be undergoing, let’s loudly declare, believe and live out these immortal words of that wise psalmist: ‘This is the day which the Lord hath made; WE WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!
Yes my brethren, every day we’re granted on planet earth is a special day, a day for rejoicing in our God’s great mercies and ever-LOVING kindness, for every day is a gift of grace from Him.
However mih people, in the midst of all that rejoicing, grace, mercy and LOVING-kindness, we need to also pay close attention to the evil that’s in the world; how it affects us, and how we interact with the world, consciously remembering the immortal truth of our Bit.
‘For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’
We absolutely cannot forget that Friends, else come the judgement day, we’ll certainly be in for some tough LOVE and justice. So let’s never forget that our God is a holy and just Deity, and though He’s also merciful, to retain His integrity, He must see that justice is done.
And speaking of reconciliation, as we did earlier on, listen to these words of epic proportions contained in Bruh Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth. Here he’s telling them, and us, about being ministers of reconciliation.
‘(For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour (make it our aim), that whether present or absent, we may be accepted of (well pleasing to) him.
For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.’ (2 Cor.5:7-10)
Now here is some info from the scholars on that last verse. ‘5:10. The judgement seat of Christ: The judgement seat (Gr. bema) was an elevated seat in the square of Corinth where Roman magistrates sat to administer justice, and where the athletes who distinguished themselves in the arena received their reward.
The judgement in view here is not of the unbeliever but of the believer (cf. 1 Cor.4:5; Col.3:4). While it is true that for the Christian there is “no condemnation” (Rom.8:1), it is not correct to assume that God will not hold him responsible for deeds done in the body. Paul has already stated this truth in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15.’
Please read those references Friends, as they are most valuable in helping us to understand God’s Word.
And we’ll end this series of messages on God’s judgement, with some very appropriate and extremely potent wisdom from the Preacher. ‘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) Don’t ever forget that Friends, because it’s wisdom at its zenith!
And now may the Lord comfort and guide us safely and wisely, as we traverse the paths of our earthly pilgrimage, so that when we come to stand before Him on that fateful day, He’ll say to each of us: ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant!’
There’s no better judgement that that my people, so let’s all be wise and aspire to it nuh! Much LOVE!
…in the day…when God shall judge the secrets of men…by Jesus Christ…according to my gospel… (Rom.2:16)
P.S. It’s so short Friends, that I’m truly amazed. And all God’s people said a loud and thankful: ‘Praise the Lord!’ (smile) Much LOVE my fellow believers in Christ!
21 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ability, Abraham, admissible evidence, assurance, Athens, authority, balancing act, being fearful, black and white, blatant, boggles the imagination, boldfaced, Bruh Paul, brutality, calamitous state, called to account, Christian, Christmas, confidence, conscience, consitent, corruption, crime, crimes against humanity, culprits, destruction, disobedient, economics, emotional, evil, followers, God-given responsibility, Godhead, good, greed, help, homelessness, hunger, ignorance, incompetence, Jesus, judged, judgement, judgement day, justice, justice of God, letting voices be heard, life, light of the world, loss of jobs, LOVE, marginalization, Mars Hill, mental, mercy, military presence, needy, newspapers, obedient, offspring of God, ordained, parable, pay heed, petty excuses, physcial tiredness, piddling wages, plead, police, politics, poor getting poorer, poverty, prayer, public protests, raised from the dead, relationships, resistance, retribution, rich getting richer, righteousness., rule the roost, rumours of war, salt of the earth, secret thing, selfishness, serious action, Sodom, sorry picture, standards, standing up to wrongdoers, step up to the plate, strife, talents, technological prowess, throw the book, under a bushel, understanding, ungodly, unhappiness, unknown God, walk earhtly paths, wars, wisdom, wrongdoings
Ecclesiastes 12:14. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Oh Friends, the ole fella’s tired and unhappy this Saturday morning before Christmas. It’s not physical tiredness nuh, but mental and emotional unhappiness. But it’s all my fault, for I fell behind in my newspaper reading this week, then unwisely tried to catch up on several days reading, all at once. From now on though, I’m going to try my best to stay current, because the news from one day is bearable, but for several…no way Jose!
And what a sorry picture it all painted. We start of with wars and rumours of war, strife in almost every area. Then we have economic and political incompetence and corruption all over the world. And not only that, but the boldfaced and blatant manner in which these crimes against humanity are being carried out, boggles the imagination, especially when very little, if any retribution is being meted out to the culprits.
At least in earlier times we had the good sense to hide our wrong-doings, but not today. Today the greed and selfishness is all out in the open, nobody seems to have a conscience anymore. And in the balancing act that’s life, it only means that the rich are noticeably getting richer, while the poor are not only getting poorer, but also that their numbers are daily increasing at an alarming rate, what with the great loss of jobs and the piddling wages most of the remaining ones now pay.
And since there’s only one pie to be split up amongst several groups, if one group unilaterally increases their portion, then obviously all the others will have theirs curtailed. And consequently, we end up with astronomical rates of marginalization, abject poverty, homelessness, hunger, escalating crime and public protests, more police and military presence and brutality, etc. etc. And who would ever have expected such a calamitous state in a world that is at the height of its technological prowess eh?
Ah mih people, when and where will it all end eh? I guess the Lord alone knows. But we, His people down here on earth also have a serious, God-given responsibility to help, to do our best not to let matters deteriorate any further. And we can only do this by taking serious action; a combination of prayer, letting our voices be heard publicly, standing up to the wrongdoers, and helping those in need.
That’s what Jesus did, and what He fully expects of anyone who calls him or herself a Christian. But there again my fellow believers, we’re not truly living up to the standards that Jesus desires of His followers, and are allowing the ungodly to rule the roost without much resistance. But Friends, please, let’s listen to, and pay serious heed to the words of our Bit. ‘For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’
Yes my brethren, all our actions will be judged. And when the Lord asks us why we didn’t do better with the talents He gave us like the servants in Jesus’ parable, (Matt.18:23-35) what are we going to tell Him eh? Remember too that ignorance will not be admissible evidence. So it’s full time, or rather overdue time that we get our act together and do something concrete for the world, instead of making petty excuses and being fearful, or being selfish and greedy like the world around us.
Remember we’re supposed to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth, but it seems that in fits of anxiety we’re hiding our lights under a bushel and the salt in us has become seriously diminished and thus useless. But Friends, we need to step up to the plate like so many others have done before us, and we’ll use this example of Bruh Paul in our Bit, as he stood up on Mars hill in Athens, explaining to its citizens about the altar they had erected with the inscription; ‘TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.’ (Acts 17:23)
‘Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead (Divine Nature) is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven (shaped) by art and man’s device (devising). And the times of this ignorance God winked at (overlooked); but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; wherefore he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.’ (Acts 17:29-31)
And we’ll close with some notes from the scholars’ re the Justice of God. ’17:31. The justice of God is the active extension of the holiness of God into matters of decision. It implies that God has the authority and ability to establish the standard for all relationships and that He will be consistent in relating to His obedient and disobedient creatures. The justice of God is both legislative and distributive.
Illustration: When Abraham attempted to prevent the destruction of Sodom, he appealed to God’s justice: he knew that the Judge of all the earth would do right (Gen.18:25). Application: So today, everyone can have confidence that God will deal with him justly, but the believer may additionally plead God’s mercy. (First Ref. Gen.3:14; Primary Ref. Acts 17:31; cf. Mark 10:18)’
There we have it Friends, in black and white! Now we can’t say we didn’t know, and anyway, as we said above, ignorance will not stand as a plausible plea on judgement day. Therefore let’s come together, TODAY, and clean up our acts, so that the just judge, on judgement day, will not have to throw the book at us. Much LOVE my people!
…and may the Lord grant us wisdom and understanding…to walk earthly paths…that will not bring harsh judgement…when He calls us to account…
20 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: actions, admonish, advice to the young, alive and kicking, awesome truth, bad, balancing act, Bruh Paul, care, cheer, childhood, choices, church at Corinth, consequences, controlling factor, dangerous day, dark days, deceitful conception, decisions, enjoyment, every work, evil, excuses, expectantly, eyes, fear of repercussions, fellowship, firmly grounded, flesh, followers, forearmed, forewarned, freezing rain, Friday chant, fun, futility, generous help, gladness, glorious kingdom, God is judge, God's judgement, good, heart, hedonistic sense, hidden things of darkness, impulses, in faith, jesus name, jobs, joy, judgement, judgement day, justified, life, lifetimes, live it out, LOVE, magnanimous god, magnificent, mighty, motives, perspective, praise of God, prayer, precipitation, prime of life, propagated by evildooers, prosper, real judgement, refreshed in soul, rejoice, relaxation, renewed, rest, reveal, righteousness., secret thing, Selah, self-indulgence, sight, snow, sorrow, sow diligently, straight and narrow, struggle, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, thanks, the Preacher, the world's our oyster, total commitment, trial, umbrella, vanity, vexation, warning, ways, week of work, weekend, words, wrong, youth
Ecclesiastes 12:14. For God shall bring every work into judgement with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
And then it was Friday – a wintry Friday! There’s already some precipitation on the ground in my area – not much, but precipitation nonetheless. And who knows what’s going to follow eh; snow or freezing rain, or a combination of both? Anyhow we cut it, if the weather people are right, today’s going to be a dangerous day.
So please people, let’s all take very good care as we go about our business outside, for the weather conditions will not be ideal… Hn! And we don’t want any accidents or misfortunes just before Christmas. So if you don’t HAVE to go out, then DON’T GO OUT! Words of true wisdom Friends. (smile)
I also noticed that the weather warning somewhat dampened our usually glorious shout of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ But with prayer and care, we ought to make it safely through another winter’s day.
And to top it all off, let’s chant out Friday chant, with joy and gladness, simply because we’re alive and kicking, have jobs to go to, and live under the umbrella of a mighty, magnificent and magnanimous God!
So my brethren, let’s chant: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Now let’s get that perspective firmly grounded in our beings, so that we can live it out over the weekend. And do we ever need stuff like that to keep us on the straight and narrow, especially when we have a Bit like today’s: ‘For God shall bring every work into judgement with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’
Yeh mih people, all our words and actions WILL indeed be judged on the big day! But as the saying goes; to be forewarned is to be forearmed. So now that we know what’s going to eventually happen, we have no excuses for making bad, or wrong, or evil decisions and choices.
Yesterday we saw the Preacher telling us to sow diligently in the mornings, then in the evenings, hold out our hands expectantly, in faith, because we don’t know which seed that we planted will prosper. But then again, in our rejoicing, we also have to pay attention to the many dark days of trial and struggle that will surely come during our lifetimes. It’s a fine balancing act my brethren! That’s what life is.
Now hear this wise advice from the preacher to the young. Oh if many of us had heard it when we were young!
‘Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways (impulses) of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes (as you see to be best): but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgement. Therefore remove sorrow (vexation) from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth (prime of life) are vanity.’ (Eccl.11:9-10)
And isn’t that the awesome truth my people! When we are young, we feel the world’s our oyster, and we can do whatever we want to, without fear of repercussions or consequences. But that’s a deceitful conception, propagated by evildoers, for as we are seeing, God will one day judge all that we ever did here on planet earth.
And please note the scholars’ take on the situation. ‘Once again the exhortation to enjoyment is put in the imperative mood. Here the appeal is particularly addressed to the youth to admonish him to enjoy life before the onset of the feeble years described in 12:1-7.
Verse 9 can hardly be taken in a hedonistic sense, because the controlling factor in the youth’s enjoyment is said to be God’s judgement. Rather, it is a warning against a life misspent in self-indulgence.’
Oh Friends, the sooner we learn these lessons, the better off we’ll all be! For yesterday we saw Jesus declare the truth of the judgement day. (Matt.12:35-37) Now listen to Bruh Paul in his first missive to the church at Corinth, talking about real judgement.
‘For I know nothing by (against) myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest (reveal) the counsels (motives) of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.’ (1 Cor.4:4-5)
Ah mih people, more words of divine truth, which will do us a lot of good to hear and inwardly digest!
And here’s an interesting note from the scholars’. ‘4:4. I know nothing by myself (lit. “I know nothing against myself”). This sort of total commitment gave Paul the authority to make such a statement as “be ye followers of me” (cf. 1 Cor.4:16; 11:1).’
Yes Friends, let’s be followers of Bruh Paul nuh, as he was a follower of Jesus! We certainly can’t go wrong if we follow his example. Much LOVE!
…and the heavens shall declare his righteousness…for God is JUDGE himself… Selah (Ps.50:6)
19 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a part of the world, actions, almighty god, Amen, ask for, behold the sun, best interest, blessings, calamitous days, cautionary note, comparison, condemned, consciousness, constancy in prayer, constancy of weather, corrupt, cursed, day of judgement, days of darkness, deceitful world, decision, desired reults, divine guidance, doing godly stuff, embracing ungodly activities, encouraged, enemy, engulfed, enjoyment of life, enlist, enthused, evening, every work, evil, evil stuff, evil world, eyes, faithful, feeding connection, friends, futile life, futility, give account, gladness, good, good fruit, heavenly Father, hold out our hands, hopeful, Hour of Power, idle word, immortal words, insights, Jesus Christ, Jesus' desires, joy of the lord, joyful fellowship, joys, judged, judgement, judgement day, justified, lead us away, lifeblood, light, light is sweet, live for Jesus, living truth, LOVE, machinations, mistakes, moment of prayer, morning, mysterious ways, new day, new week, omnipotent god, pleasant thing, possibilities, prayer, prosper, puzzling, receive, rejoice, righteous, robert h schuller, sap our strength, secret thing, share, sink deeply, solve problems, sow seed, sown, stand the test, strong sensation, succeed, sunlight, sure of success, testing flames, the help of God, things of God, thwart, treasure of the heart, true believers, trust God, umbilical cord, upright in heart, vanity, wicked designs, wisdom, word of warning, workings, wrested
Ecclesiastes 12:14. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Oh Friends, wonder of wonders! It’s supposed to go up to 4 degrees above freezing with sunshine in my area today! Bubba! From minus temps during the last few days to plus temps today, then back to minus tonight. That’s going to cause much icing up, then freezing rain and possibly snow on the weekend.
What a mish mash of weather conditions! There’s just no constancy to it these days. But my people, there is constancy in prayer; the lifeblood of the faithful, of the true believers in Jesus Christ!
And here is a prayer I’ve been trying to include since the day we spoke of prayer being the umbilical cord, our feeding connection to Almighty God. It comes from Dr. Robert H. Schuller’s Hour of Power Devotional, and says.
‘Father, I have a strong sensation that you brought me to this moment of prayer because you plan to share with me insights to solve my problems. So I will go out and face the sunlight of a new day and a new week crammed with undiscovered possibilities. I am encouraged! I am enthused! I am more hopeful than I have been in a long time! Amen.’
Yes Friends, I do hope that encouraged us some this morning, because in this cursed and evil world, we desperately need to build hope, encouragement and enthusiasm, if we’re going to live sincerely for Jesus. The world tries to sap our strength, energy and enthusiasm and lead us away from the things of God.
But we need to enlist the help of our God through prayer to thwart the evil stuff that comes against us. And right now, too many of us are still being a part of the world, involved in, and embracing its ungodly activities, instead of just being in it, doing godly stuff, as Jesus desires. And that is definitely not in our best interest. Why?
Because as our Bit so plainly states: ‘For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’
Yes my brethren, all our work will be judged by the Almighty at some stage, and it won’t go down well with the judge if our works were evil, were too tied up with the ungodly machinations of this ungodly world. So what are we to do then?
The Preacher wisely declares: ‘In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper (which will succeed), either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good. Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun.’ (Eccl.11:6-7)
Yes Friends, since we don’t understand the mysterious ways and workings of our omnipotent God, and are never totally sure of success, we need to get involved in the good and godly things that life has to offer, and trust God to produce the desired results.
However, the preacher includes a word of warning here. ‘But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity (futility).’ (Eccl.11:8)
And isn’t that the living truth! Now here some notes from the scholars. ‘The comparison with light (v.7) speaks of the enjoyment of life (cf. Ps. 97:11).’
Ah mih people, I’m going to spoil us here by quoting that referenced scripture, since I know that very few of us will take the time to look it up. (smile) “Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.” (Ps.97:11)
Now getting back to the scholars’ notes. ‘Verse 8 adds a cautionary note to enjoyment that may be summarized in two ideas: (1) There will be many days of darkness, calamitous days. (2) All that cometh is vanity: That is, joys will not come easily, they must be wrested from a puzzling and futile life.’
And don’t we all know that my fellow believers! Real joy in this unstable and deceitful world is hard to come by, unless we are tied by that umbilical cord of prayer to our heavenly Father, and ask for and receive His divine guidance and blessings.
That’s why the Good Book so staunchly advises us that the joy of the Lord is our strength. (Neh.8:10) For only when we have a joyful fellowship with the Creator and Controller of the universe, can we really be strong and thus resist the wicked designs of the enemy.
Oh Friends, I wish I could impart the true importance of all that we do on this pilgrimage down here on earth, because it’s going to make a substantial difference in our after-lives. And if you don’t believe me, listen to Jesus, as He talks about good and corrupt fruit.
‘A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.’ (Matt.12:35-37)
Now those aren’t my words Friends, but the Master’s, the Son of God, our Lord and Saviour, so it is certainly reasonable to expect that He knows what He’s speaking about.
Oh my people, we can’t do much about what’s already passed, but we surely can do something about the days to come. Therefore my fellow believers, from today, RIGHT NOW, let’s try to get those immortal words of Jesus to sink deeply into our consciousness nuh, so that we can more closely watch our words and actions, thereby cutting down the mistakes we make, and consequently the judgement we’ll face, come that judgement day.
That’s wisdom at it’s highest and very best my brethren! Much LOVE!
…on that fateful day…our words and actions…will either stand the test…or they will be engulfed by the testing flames…the decision is ours to make…NOW…
SCRIP-BITS 