16 Aug 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a loss for words, Aloha Friends and neighbours, anguish, ask for the old paths, darkness, death, deliverance, disaster, divine revelation, evil, false prophets, familiar spirits, find rest for your souls, for signs and wonders, glorify your father in heaven, good works, hidden under a bushel, history repeats itself, holy spirit, house of Jacob, hungry, Israel, jehovah god, Jeremiah, Judah's destruction, let your light so shine, life, light of the world, lord of hosts, LOVE, Lucifer, male soothsayers, mediums, priest, profane, profane the name of God, prophet Habakkuk, punishment, righteousness., run rampant, salt has lost its flavour, salt of the earth, secrets of darkness, seek God, slippery ways, speechless, spiritism, stand in the ways and see, stubborn refusal, though it tarry, traditional ways, troubled times, truth of the matter, ungodly world, wait for it, wait upon the Lord, way of the ungodly, where is the good way, wickedness, witches, wizards, Zion
Jeremiah 6:16. Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, we shall not walk therein.
Aloha Friends and Neighbours! The ole fella is at a loss for words this Saturday morning. Can you believe that? Chuh!
Well it happens to best of us at times, but I’m sure it won’t be for long, once the Holy Spirit jumps into the breach and shows me what our great God wants to talk to us about today.
Yeh, the anointing is taking a little while to come, (smile) but come it will. As the prophet Habakkuk says, ‘though it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” (Hab. 2:3b)
Yes Friends, the Lord will not leave me speechless for long… then look out! You might end up wishing that He had left me speechless. (smile)
Anyway my brethren, let’s get to our Bit, so hopefully I can finish it up today. ‘Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, we will not walk therein.’
And before we go any further, listen to these comments from the scholars. ‘6:16. The people’s stubborn refusal to walk in the traditional ways of true righteousness is often mentioned by Jeremiah (12:16; 18:15; 23:12; 31:21).
Moving in their own paths and following their own way could lead only to Judah’s destruction (cf. Prov. 14:12) The contrast of the way of righteousness and life with the way of the ungodly and death is often made in the Scriptures (e.g. Ps.1; Matt.7:13-14).’
Oh Friends, I shared Jer.18:15 with you yesterday, now listen to this other scripture from Jerry that the scholars identify, which deals with the fate that awaits the false prophets.
‘For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness saith the Lord. Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil (disaster) upon them, even the year of their visitation (punishment), saith the Lord.’ (Jer.23:11-12)
Oh my people, how does history ever repeat itself eh? For in these troubled times there are also many false prophets and priests who exhibit wickedness rather than righteousness and profane the Lord’s Word. Don’t worry though, eventually they will pay the price, just as the Lord promised.
But listen to this passage from Isaiah, re deliverance foreshadowed: ‘And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.
And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits (are mediums), and unto wizards that peep (whisper), and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead (hard pressed) and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves (be enraged), and curse (by) their king and their God, and look upward. And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness (gloom) of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.’ (Is.8:17-22)
Now hear how the scholars characterize that scripture: ‘8:19-22. Familiar spirits refers to witches, and wizards refers to male soothsayers. Peep and…mutter is better rendered “chirp and whisper.” In times of distress people often turn to witchcraft instead of God.
The prophet warns them not to seek these mediums for the living to the dead, that is “Do not consult the dead on behalf of the living.” This warning speaks against spiritism and calls the reader back to the law and… the testimony as the only basis for interpreting a claim to divine revelation.’
But unfortunately my brethren, in these sad, troubled and fearful times, those who trade in the secrets of darkness are seeing a renaissance of their evil work, because more and more frightened people are going to these quacks than are turning to Jehovah God, as they should. How sad, my people.
But that’s where we believers come in. As Jesus said, we are supposed to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world; therefore it’s our job to bring true flavour and light to those who are still shrouded in darkness. (Matt.5:13-14) But are we doing as He commanded?
I daresay, not to the extent that is needed. We are falling down on the job my fellow believers, that’s why Lucifer and his evil cohorts are having such a field-day in the current world.
Jesus declared to His disciples, and therefore to us: ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.5:16)
Oh Friends, today I want us to sit down and seriously and truly ponder whether we are being bright lights in a dark world, as Jesus desires. It’s imperative that we fulfill that role, otherwise Beelzebub and his evil buddies will continue to run rampant and roughshod over the earth. And that we definitely can’t allow!
So let us each consider if we’re making a serious and sincere difference in this ungodly world nuh. And if we’re not doing as well as we ought to, then let’s petition the Lord for His help in doing so. You know He will be only too glad to grant our requests in that direction.
But seriously my brethren, we definitely have to do better, if we want to win the world for Jesus. There are no ifs, ands, and buts on that score my fellow believers, that’s just the way it is; simply the truth of the matter. Much LOVE!
… Jesus asked us to be salt and light to a darkened world…but it seems our salt has lost its flavour…and our light is being hidden under a bushel…thus the empowerment of darkness in the world today…
25 Feb 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all powerful God, angel of the Lord, Asa, Azariah, Balaam, be happy, be very thankful, being close to, bless Israel, Creator, Cuddle Day, daily basis, dangerous, disobedience, don't worry, embracing another, enchantments, faithful God, find God, forsake, fortunate, generously blessed, give much praise, godless world, godly attitude, graciously, great reason, guidance, happiness, Happy Tuesday, heavenly wsidom, helpful God, holy spirit, improvement, Israel, jehovah god, Jesus, joy, joy and happiness, jump for joy, Lord god of Israel, LOVE, lovingly, magnanimous god, Mammon, mercifully, obedience to God's will, of no avail, Old Testament, play both sides against the middle, provider, radiate joy and happiness, rebellion, righteousness., sacrificial and reconciling actions, second thoughts, seek God, serve two masters, shout, significant sign, sincerely, sinful society, sorcery, Spirit of God, spread LOVE, thanks and praise, the breath of life, the Good Book, the LOVE of God, the voice of God, to sing, trouble, true believers in Christ, true God, unfortunate circumstances, ungodliness, wanton sinfulness, warning, wicked times, wise attitude
2 Chronicles 15:1. And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded.
Oh Friends, it’s Happy Tuesday! And everybody looks at me like I’m crazy or something. Well it is Tuesday, and as true believers in Christ, we ought to be full of joy and happiness. So doesn’t that qualify today as Joyful and Happy Tuesday? Well to my simple mind it does!
Just having the breath of life flowing through us, being granted it so mercifully, graciously and LOVINGLY by an all- powerful God, is great reason to sing, shout, jump for joy, give much praise and be very thankful!
As the once popular song so truthfully advised: ‘Don’t worry, be happy!’ And that’s exactly what many of us supposed believers ought to be doing; concentrating on our wonderful and magnanimous God, instead of our unfortunate circumstances.
For being worried and anxious about the circumstances is not going to solve them, but sincerely communicating with our great Creator and most generous Provider will help us do just that.
Oh by the way Friends, I also understand that today is Cuddle Day…Yeah! So please show someone or ones that you care by cuddling with them, not only today, but everyday, if possible, since there’s nothing that shows the LOVE of God, more than being close to, embracing another of God’s most beautiful creation.
Although, right now, through our boldfaced disobedience, rebellion and ungodliness, I’m sure He’s having second thoughts about us being His most wonderful creation.
However, to try and correct that opinion, let’s go out today and spread some LOVE nuh! Let’s radiate joy and happiness, while giving Jehovah God thanks and praise for all the undeserved goodness and LOVING-kindness with which He’s so generously blessed us.
And furthermore mih people, if we adopt that wise attitude and try to practice it on a daily basis, there’ll be such a wonderful improvement in our lives and the world around us, that we’ll be somewhat annoyed with ourselves for not adopting that friendly and godly attitude long before.
Now let me go and seek an appropriate Bit, because that rambling preamble is just what the Spirit filled me with as I came downstairs to begin writing. (smile)
Oh mih people, mih people, that didn’t take long at all! I just opened the Good Book at an arbitrary spot, and behold, the first words I read were: ‘And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded.’
Wow! What a faithful and helpful God! Not only nowadays, but from since the beginning of time! Back then though, under crucial and critical circumstances, He sent His Holy Spirit upon certain individuals, so that they could deliver His message to the people at large.
And today we’ll look at a couple of examples from the Old Testament, of the Lord working in that manner. And on the particular occasion referred to in our Bit, the Lord sent the king of Israel His warning through the prophet Azariah.
‘And he went out to meet (before) Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.
Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. But when they in their trouble did turn unto the Lord God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.’ (2 Chr.15:2-4)
Oh my brethren, how many, many times do we read that in the Good Book eh? Whenever a sinful society sincerely sought the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, they ALWAYS FOUND HIM! But the operative word there is SINCERELY.
Now Friends, I believe that’s a very significant sign for us in this godless world of today. We desperately need to SINCERELY seek the face and ears of our omnipotent God, before He destroys us for our wanton sinfulness, gross disobedience and unashamed ungodliness.
Now let’s check out another instance of God’s Holy Spirit coming upon an Old Testament individual. This is about the zigzag prophet Balaam, the one who tried to play both ends against the middle, to simultaneously work for God and Beelzebub. (Num.22-24)
And that we know is impossible as Jesus so wisely informs us. ‘No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and LOVE the other; or else he will hold (be loyal) to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.’ (Matt.6:24)
And we all ought to pay special attention to that my brethren, because oftimes, we are indeed trying to do just that, albeit unconsciously.
But getting back to Balaam. This time the Lord showed him the error of his ways, causing him to foretell Israel’s happiness to their enemies. ‘And when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments (to use sorcery or enchantments), but he set his face towards the wilderness.’ (Num. 24:1)
Ah Friends, yuh see how it is when we try to serve God and mammon at the same time.
And the scholars explain that verse thus: ’24:1. Saw that it pleased… went not as at other times, to seek for enchantments: He had not perceived “the angel of the Lord” standing in the way (Num.22:21-32), but he now perceived his enchantments were of no avail. At other times expresses what had been his habit, which extends to his lifestyle, not just the first two times in this account.’
Then the Good Book continues: ‘And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents, according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him.’ (Num.24:2)
Now we won’t get into what Balaam said and did after that, because it would make the Bit much too long. (smile) But we will note how fortunate we are in these dangerous and wicked times to have God’s Holy Spirit continually dwelling within us, through Jesus’ sacrificial and reconciling actions.
Now please my fellow believers, let’s use it for the purpose for which it was provided; to lead and guide us in all righteousness and obedience to God’s will. That’s heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!
…to divine God’s guidance for your life…listen closely to the voice of His Spirit within you…
22 Jan 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: accedptable to God, admonishing, arise from the dead, armour of light, awake, be not unwise, beautiful morning, beautiful morning in Paradise, blessed light of Jesus, character, charles stanley, children of disobedience, Christ's return, conformity, confront hypocrites, daily decisions, dark clouds, darkness, darkness of this world, deceive, desire to do God's will, dissipation, doing good, don't be drunk, earnestly, embrace outcasts, Ephesians, equip leaders, evil power, excess, exhortations, expose, filled with the Spirit, frivolity, fruit of the Spirit, giving thanks always, goal, God's little Acre, God's plan, goodness, hearts minds and souls, heavenly blessing, heavenly wisdom, hovering overhead, humbly, humility of Spirit, hustling pace, hymns, Jesus Christ, Jesus' 2nd coming, Jesus' work, joyous coming again, light, light in the Lord, long term basis, lord jesus christ, Lucifer, making melody in your heart to god, more like Jesus, morning splendour, obedience, onerous goals, partakers, patience, perseverance, poetic licence, ponder, priorities, psalms, rain, restore broken lives, reverence of God, righteousness., secret, seek God, serve others, shame, signs, spiritual songs, teach God's Word, the sun rose, time, time's moving fast, truth, understand the will of God, unfruitful works of darkness, vain empty words, walk as children of light, walk circumspectly, walk like Jesus, ways of a believer, We could handle this, works of darkness, write indelibly
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.
Well Friends, it’s another beautiful morning in Paradise! Wow! Since I’ve been here that’s been a recurring occurrence. (smile) And would you believe that I’ve already been here for almost a week? I left T.O. last Wednesday night.
Mama! Time sure is moving fast! A little too fast for my liking though. I need it to slow down some, to just an easy walk, so that I can properly enjoy my time on God’s Little Acre, rather than the hustling pace it seems all geared up for.
And by the way, I finally experienced my first rainfall since I arrived. Sometime last evening, while we were inside, we suddenly heard an unexpected loud, drumming kind of noise on the roof, and wondered if it was rain, so I went outside to investigate the matter. And behold it was indeed heavenly blessing!
However, after a minute or so, it stopped just as suddenly as it had begun. It wasn’t all that surprising, because over the past week, there have been numerous dark rain clouds in the sky, but nothing has ever happened. Apparently the strong breezes simply blow them away. Even when I went outside earlier this morning, there were dark clouds hovering overhead, but soon thereafter, the sun rose in all its earthly morning splendour.
Ah mih people, as the Duchess and I keep on saying: ‘We could handle this, yuh know – on a long term basis.’ (smile) And hopefully, one day we will, provided it falls into line with God’s plan for our lives.
But enough of my frivolity, let’s get serious with Jesus’ work. And this morning I found this note amongst my papers, which I’m being guided to share with you. It looks like something I scribbled down from one of Uncle Charles’ (Charles Stanley) sermons. It talks about the 7 Priorities of Jesus’ Daily Decisions.
And they are: (1) He sought the Father. (2) He embraced the outcasts of society. (3) He restored broken lives. (4) He confronted hypocrites. And did He ever! (5) He taught God’s Word. (6) He served others in humility of spirit. (7) He equipped leaders – providing training in obedience and a desire to do God’s will.
So Friends, if we want to be more like Jesus, bring our character into greater conformity with His, then we too have to make those things our priorities. They’re not onerous goals, but they do take time, perseverance and patience to build, obviously with God’s help. And who knows how much time we have left on this earth eh – either in terms of our personal lives, or Jesus’ 2nd Coming?
For as our Bit so wisely and rightly reminds us. ‘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 we saw yesterday, the night refers to Jesus’ absence from the world, when the evil power of Lucifer rules, while the day hails His joyous coming again. And without a doubt my fellow believer, from all the signs He’s given us, that day isn’t as far away as many of us believe.
And having heard Jesus’ serious pronouncement on the subject of His Second Coming yesterday, today we’re going to investigate some scriptures which encourage us to give up the foolish darkness of this world and wisely move into the blessed light of Jesus’ heavenly abode.
Let’s begin with some powerful admonishing and ‘exhortatious’ words (smile – poetic licence- it just sounded better) from Bruh Paul to the Ephesians, re the ways of a believer.
‘Let no man deceive you with vain (empty) words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes (once) darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
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 (known) by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
See then that ye walk circumspectly (carefully), not as fools, but as wise. Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Spirit;
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear (reverence) of God.’ (Eph.5:6-21)
Oh Friends, I have to chuckle here because I never intended to use all of that scripture, but after reading it, I couldn’t find anywhere to break off and not lose the sense of the passage, since it all speaks so earnestly and appropriately to our Bit; being ready for Christ’s return, and the behaviour that’s necessary to achieve such a wonderful and important goal.
So please, let’s ponder all the stuff we’ve heard today, write them indelibly in our hearts, mind and souls, and walk accordingly, thereby bringing more righteousness to our lives and also improving our readiness for Jesus’ Second Coming. That’s heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!
…to be truly ready for Jesus…we must daily walk like He walked…humbly doing good…
31 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 2013, 2014, Abraham, actions dispute claim, actions speak louder than words, all the law, anger, angry spirit, avast security system, Beelzebub, calamitous, christianity, cops, courageous, deceitful, disatrous, do as God commanded, do the right thing, don't turn aside, don't worry, drink, drunk drivers, drunk or sober mind your business, eat, evil, evil cohorts, faithfully believe in, fellow believers, focus on Almighty God, forgiveness, Gentiles, Granny's advice, great god, have success, headeaches, heavenly Father, hope, in the church, interceded with god, Internet Explorer, intimate walk with Jesus, jesus name, Joshua, kingdom of god, LOVE, Love god ourselves and neighbours, loving kindness, lying, mantle of leadership, mercy, Moses, needs, negative emotions, New Testament, New Year's Eve, New Year's resolution, Old Testament, our benefit, prosper, rampant, rant, reverence, righteous people, righteousness., ringing in the New Year, run around, save the world, second chances, seek, seek God, serve and worship, sincerity, Sodom, strong, tenderness, to the left, to the right, topsy-turvy, ungodliness, wear, wisdom, wise, wrong foot
Deuteronomy 5:32. Ye shall (carefully) observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
Oh Friends, sorry this is somewhat late. I wanted to wish you a Happy New Year’s Eve, but right now my spirit is somewhat angered. I’ve been using a free avast security system on my desktop computer for a while now, just simple net surfing stuff, and I never really had a problem with them. However, they’ve been bugging me to buy their advanced system, so since I’d been using their protection for free and it wasn’t bad, I decided to do the right thing and purchase their system.
Lo and behold this morning when I came down to write the Bit, I decided to finally download the new avast system. Hn! What a mistake! It seems to have downloaded the system properly, but then said it need to close so everything could take effect. So I agreed to do it then. But upon rebooting I could not get back into Internet Explorer, which I use. I tried several times, but with no luck.
Then I tried logging in with Firefox, and was successful. However I don’t like the other servers. That’s just me. (smile) Then when I tried to contact avast, I got the usual run around, with oodles of screens to fill out questions, to which I’ve had no reply, except acknowledgement of my query.
Then when I got on to my laptop, which I’m on now, I got on to Internet Explorer without a problem, so I decided to check the site showing on my desk top, only to find that the avast system was blocking Internet Explorer from opening up. So the long and short of the story is that I’m on the verge of cancelling the avast system.
Ah Lord eh! Yuh see why I don’t like computers and all the nonsense they entail! And they never seem to cause problems until you need them most. Steups! And that’s my rant for the day. (smile)
Now dear Lord, please free up the ole fella’s mind, take away the anger and all the negative emotions, so that I can write a Bit worthy of You. In Jesus’ name, I pray.
So what’s new and exciting in your lives this New Year’s Eve morning, my fellow believers? (smile) I surely hope it’s better than mine, for who needs the unnecessary headaches eh? Life is already filled with enough necessary ones. Many of you will no doubt be ringing in the new year at some party or other, but please remember Granny’s advice: ‘Sonny Boy, drunk or sober, please mind yuh business.‘
And we all know that this is a time when Beelzebub is at his deceitful and lying best. So let’s not begin the new year off on the wrong foot, getting trapped by him and his evil cohorts.
As for me, I’m going to be doing my usual stay at home thing, spending it with my family. Going out in all the cold weather isn’t appealing anymore, and then you have to be careful with the cops and the drunk drivers on the road. Plus it’s supposed to snow in my area today. Who needs the headache eh, when I can enjoy it just as much at home?
Anyway, let’s finally get to our Bit. ‘Ye shall (carefully) observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.’
Ah mih people, we couldn’t have a better Bit to ring in 2014! Why, you ask? Because it brings, and hopefully keeps our focus on Almighty God, whom we claim to so faithfully believe in. Unfortunately though, too many of our actions dispute that claim. And remember that actions do speak louder than words.
Just look at our world, at the church, the body of Christ nuh. We certainly can’t say that we’re living up to our Bit, to God’s Word, to our promise to faithfully serve and worship Him? Evil and ungodliness are so rampant all over, even in the church, that it would be difficult, like when Abraham interceded with God to save Sodom, (Gen.18:22-32) to find enough righteous people to save our world.
However Friends, we’re indeed fortunate to have a God who gives second chances, and while we’re alive it means that there’s still hope for us. But for that to happen my people, we have to have a serious return to the dictates of Christianity; faithfully LOVING our wonderful God, ourselves and our neighbours.
We desperately need to do as the Lord instructed Joshua when he took over the leadership mantle from Moses. ‘Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper (have success) whithersoever thou goest.’ (Josh.1:7)
Oh my fellow believers, it doesn’t get any simpler or plainer than that! And if like some, you believe that’s Old Testament stuff, then listen to Jesus saying the same thing.
‘Therefore take no thought (don‘t worry), saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.‘ (Matt.6:31-32)
There we have it Friends, the New Testament version, of doing what the Lord commands, then all your needs will be met! And isn’t our God a great God? I couldn’t have chosen a better ending for this last Bit of this topsy-turvy, often disastrous and calamitous year of 2013.
Please my people, please let’s make 2014 a much better year in seeking God and His righteousness that we did 2013 nuh. Remember it’s all for our benefit, especially our children. There’s nothing the Lord wants from us except our sincereLOVE and reverence, but we need oh so much from Him; His mercy, His tenderness, His forgiveness, His LOVING-kindness, etc.etc.
So let’s be wise this new year and return to Him with a new found sincerity. That’s truly wisdom at its highest. Much LOVE!
…there’s only one New Year’s resolution that’s necessary…to develop a closer and more intimate walk with Jesus…for then…as promised… everything else will be taken care of…
27 Oct 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: after effects, almighty god, awareness, Beatitudes, blessings, bright eyed, bushy tailed, change the world, clean hands, comfort, communication with God, cultivate a pure heart, don't lose sight of tomorrow, edification, encouraging promise, enlightenment, face of god, false motives, fellow believers, fool mankind, fuel, glory hallelujah, God of our salvation, God's great earth, good news, grace of God, hearts and souls, holiness, holy hill, hypocrisy, idols, Jehovah, Jesus, keep your eyes on today, miserable, negative stuff, New Birth, outward actions, rejuvenation, rest, righteousness., rough row to hoe, saving grace, see God, seek God, Sermon on the Mount, sincerity, succour, suffering, sworn deceitfully, tabernacle, the pure in heart, things of the world, tired, truth, upheaval, vanity, walk upright, wisdom, wise way to live, worldly lusts and desires, worship, zenith
Matthew 5:8. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Aye Friends, a good Sunday morning to all of you, wherever you may be on God’s great earth! And I do hope that most of you are getting ready to go and worship with other believers, or have already done so, because we do need to come together every so often, preferably at least once a week. Our systems are set up so that it’s essential for us to get the refreshing rejuvenation that the fellowship of God’s children brings to our hearts and souls. Just like an engine can’t function without fuel, likewise Christians can’t function properly without fellowship.
And don’t forget that this is the most important day of the week because it also calls for us to rest properly, so that we can be up and about early tomorrow morning, bright eyed and bushy tailed, to go out and both face and change the world for Jesus. And we can’t do that if we’re all tired, miserable and suffering from the after-effects of negative stuff.
Enough of that sermon for today though, tomorrow will look after itself. (smile) But as a wise man once said: ‘Keep your eyes on today, but don’t lose sight of tomorrow.’ To tell the truth, I don’t know who that wise man was, it might even have been me, because I sort of just made it up. (smile)
But regardless of the identity of the wise man, the good news is that we can do both those things by simply living the words of our Bit: ‘Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.’
Oh Friends, that’s certainly a most encouraging promise! Wow! If our hearts are pure, then we shall see God… Glory Hallelujah!
And having said all of that, the pertinent question then becomes, why aren’t we all pushing and clamouring for pure hearts eh mih people? Is it because we don’t want to see God, or that the pull of the things of the world is greater than our desire to see our heavenly Father?
It’s sad, but I believe that the latter answer is the true one. We’d really like to have both, but that’s not possible. And for too many of us, it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to cultivate a pure heart, since it would mean giving up a lot of our worldly lusts and desires. But please remember, that if we do decide to seriously give up the things of the world, IT IS POSSIBLE with the help of Almighty God.
Anyway, listen to what the scholars have to say on this Beatitude from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. ‘5:8. Those who are truly saved shall see God. These are the pure in heart. Their lives have been transformed by the grace of God. They are not yet sinless but their position before God has been changed. They have the New Birth, saving faith, and holiness. The process of sanctification is ever conforming them to the image of Christ (Rom.8:29), which image consists in “righteousness and true holiness” (Eph.4:24).’
Please read those references my brethren, because they are given for our edification, our enlightenment, and you never know when one of these scripture references might just speak to your heart with an upheaval or awareness of a tremendous magnitude. (smile) Now let’s look at some scripture that corroborates our Bit.
Regarding our pureness of heart, Bruh David puts it nicely and wisely in Psalm 15. He begins by asking: ‘Lord, who shall abide (sojourn) in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.’ (Ps.15:1-2)
Yes Friends, if our hearts aren’t right, then we’ll be at a serious disadvantage, for as we all know, it’s our hearts that Jehovah checks when He wants to know what’s really going on with us. So though we may fool mankind with our outward apparently pure actions, we can’t fool God, because He’ll surely see all our false and hypocritical motives when He examines our hearts.
Then, in Psalm 24, the King of glory, Bruh David again addresses the question: ‘Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity (unto an idol), nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.” (Ps. 24:3-6)
Ah Friends, what wonderful rewards for simply living the way God desires us to! And I do wish that I could say like Bruh David that this was the generation of those who are truly seeking God, but it would be a lie, for the majority of the world right now is trying to get away from God, instead of turning to Him for comfort and succour.
Oh, I know that living for God is oftimes a rough row to hoe, but it is definitely a wise, or rather the wisest way to live this earthly life! No doubt about that my brethren!
Therefore, let’s ponder on, and consider our individual situations today nuh, then prayerfully go to God, and in all sincerity and truth, ask Him to help us fix whatever is wrong, whatever is hindering our communication with Him. That my Friends, is the zenith of wisdom! Much LOVE!
…oh, for a heart that’s pure…that we may see the wondrous face of God…
23 Mar 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: antichirst, believers, blessings, constant threat, everyday occurrences, evil, false prophets, Great Tribulation, holy spirit, jesus is god, Love for Jesus, new mercies, New Testament, proactive, seek God, Spirit of God, spirituality, stressful work, the Truth, ungodly world
1 John 4:2. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is God.
And then it was Saturday! One of the two days a body can sleep in, if it so desires. However, some of us are still not that lucky because we either have to get up and look after young children, or get out and do the weekly shopping, which we’re too tired to do after a stressful work day. But please remember Friends, that whether you can sleep in or not, God’s new mercies and blessings are still showered down every day, and if we look for them, we’ll surely find them. I believe that’s possibly the biggest reason why believers don’t see God’s blessings. We hear a lot of talk about new mercies and blessings every day, but many of us are left wondering about the whereabouts of God’s riches. That brings us to one of two problems; we expect whatever God offers us to just fall directly into our laps, without any work on our part. But that’s not always the case my people. Oftimes we have to seek out, search for those blessings, cause God will not always spoon feed us with whatever we want or whatever He offers. As He says, if you seek me, you’ll find me. (Deut.4:29) That refers to everything that has to do with God. We should always be seeking Him, talking to Him, praising and thanking Him. Many times we whine about not receiving a blessing, when it’s right in front of us, if we’d only look for it. That brings us to the second problem; the size of the blessings. Many of us subconsciously think of blessings and mercies as being large in size and provide bountiful resources. But the truth is that most are small, everyday occurrences that just make our lives a tad easier, or puts a smile both in our hearts and on our faces. So it’s time to stop looking for the big prize all the time, for that makes us miss the small ones that are there everyday. The whole point is we should try to be more proactive than reactive. Let the passion and LOVE for Jesus cause us to want to know Him, to want to work diligently on His behalf. But we also need to be careful and not allow that passion to run away with us, by examining things very carefully before committing to them. It’s like our Bit. ‘Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is God.’ Yes Friends, we need to know that what we’re doing and believing is truly of God, as our Bit warns. Then John continues his exhortation: ‘And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.’ (1 John 4:3) And yuh better believe mih people that the antichrist spirit is alive and kicking throughout the world right now, more widespread and with better deceptive tools than in John’s day. And as John earlier declares: ‘I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.’ (1 John 2:21-22) Now here’s a note from the scholars on the antichrist. ‘The term antichrist refers to anyone usurping the place of Christ or opposing Christ. But the title of the Antichrist identifies a person who emerges during the Great Tribulation to lead Satan’s strategy on earth. The term is used five times in the New Testament and only by John, although the Antichrist of the Great Tribulation is identified by many other names and titles in Scripture: “that wicked” (2 Thess.2:8); “the son of perdition” (2 Thess.2:3); “the wilful king” (Dan.11:36) He is chiefly depicted in the Scriptures as an immensely powerful political leader. He apparently heads the revived Roman Empire, but will not be revealed until after the Rapture (2 Thess.2:3). He is the ultimate opponent of God, God’s plans, and God’s people. The presence of so much false teaching, John implies, reminds believers of the constant threat posed by evil to believers. Yet they need not fear; they need only be diligent and not slack.’ And the main reason believers need not be afraid is stated in John’s next verse. ‘Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.’ (1 John 4:4) And all God’s people shouted a glorious ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ because Jesus is stronger than Lucifer. The scholars note it thus: ‘Christ indwells believers; Satan is likewise the lord of his own followers. But Christ is greater than he who wreaks havoc in the world. Have overcome is in the perfect tense, stressing the abiding nature of their victory. Their strength lies in the fact that they are (born) of God.’ Now that’s sure refreshing and assuring! And John continues: ‘They are of the world; therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.’ (1 John 4:5) That’s so true! Those who bow to the spirit of the antichrist are of the world, a world which prefers the teachings of the false prophets and antichrist agents to that of God’s truth. How sad Friends. But thankfully my fellow believers, as John further declares: ‘We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.’ (1 John 4:6) And here’s how the scholars explain that verse. ‘Those who acknowledge the truth of the apostolic (New Testament) witness to Christ will recognize and conform to the teaching John is presenting. Those who do not are animated by a common and unifying spirit of error. John warns his readers against this spirit by contrasting their false views of Christ with the views that he, a personal follower and witness of Christ proclaims.’ Yeh Friends, it’s only logical that we should accept John’s proclamation, since he personally walked with Christ here on earth. In any case though my people, the important thing is that we always seek to find the truth…and not the world’s truth, but that of Jehovah God, which has the divine ability to set us free from both spiritual and physical bondage in this evil, ungodly world. So please, let’s try and make that our life’s goal, because it is wisdom at its highest level, and our diligent efforts will also be highly rewarded at the end time. Much LOVE!…the enemies of Christ seek ways to defame Him…but true believers know the truth…because of His Holy Spirit that dwells in them…
14 Oct 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: a pure heart, build on today, effort, idols, Jesus, seek God, speak truth, thanks and praise, today is here, tomorrow never comes, vanity, walk uprightly, work righteousness, yesterday's gone
Psalm 15:1. Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
Ah Friends, unfortunately or otherwise, yesterday has bitten the dust! But don’t worry, our God is such a wonderful Deity, that He’s sent today to replace it. Wow! And talking about today, I found this most appropriate quote in one of my devotionals. It’s attributed to U.S. writer/editor, Veronica Shoffstal, who confidently declares: ‘You learn to build your roads on today, because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans, and futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.’ And isn’t that the gospel truth my people? We know not what the future holds, or will bring. And as they say; yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, plus it never comes. That means the only sort of sure thing we have is TODAY! It’s both the present time, as well as a present, a gift from God, that’s why we have to make the most of it, use it wisely, grow today, don’t leave it for tomorrow, for who knows what will happen then. So please my brethren, let’s all seriously concentrate on making today, the best today we can, beginning of course with giving God thanks and praise, then going out and living a life worthy of Him. And how does one live a life worthy of Almighty God? Bruh David asks that question in our Bit: ‘Lord, who shall abide (sojourn) in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?’ Technically speaking, he’s asking who is qualified, what qualifications are necessary to sojourn, to work in the tabernacle, God’s house? But it certainly affects us all, for it should be the desired aim of every believer to walk worthily enough to serve in God’s holy of holies. And here’s the answer Bruh David gives: ‘He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up (receives) a reproach against his neighbour. In whose eyes a vile person is contemned (despised); but he honoureth them that fear the Lord, He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.’ (Ps.15:2-5) Ah mih people, Bruh David has certainly laid out a hard row there for us to hoe, for it’s not easy to live righteously and worthily when surrounded by an evil, ungodly world as we are today. But we need to remind ourselves everyday, and sometimes several times a day, that with our generous, LOVING, merciful, forgiving, omnipotent God, ALL things are possible! We just have to keep the lines of communication open to Him, and He will lead us along the path He’s planned for us. That means constantly seeking Him, my brethren, not sitting around waiting for Him to come to us. And on that note, hear these wise and encouraging words of Bruh David to Cousin Sol: ‘And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: If thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.’ (1 Chr.28:9) That’s the unvarnished truth Friends! If we don’t seek God the Father, through Jesus the Son, in conjunction with the Holy Spirit, then we’ll be lost for all eternity, forever separated from the Holy Trinity, THE ONE TRUE GOD! And as I keep saying, that’s the worst fate that can ever befall a human being. Now in Psalm 24, the king of glory, Bruh David asks almost the same question: ‘Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place?’ (Ps.24:3) And the answer is roughly the same: ‘He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity (to an idol), nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness form the God of his salvation.’ (Ps.24:4-5) Yes Friends, the answer to our question, what it takes to walk worthily of God is basically to be humble, contrite, generous, truthful, merciful, and all the other attributes of Jehovah. When we so walk, then we will be abundantly blessed. Now we will never be perfect in all those things, and our heavenly Father knows that, He just wants to be able to give us an A+ + + for effort. As in all doings and dealings, the effort is always number one, for whatever effort we put out, that’s how much success we’ll have. Thus the more effort we put into living worthily for God, the more successful we’ll be. And as Bruh David said of his generation, so long ago: ‘This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.’ (Ps.24:6) Yes Friends, ponder that for a moment. And now, if we want to enjoy heavenly blessings down here on this ungodly earth, then I implore us to make those words also applicable to our generation today, by diligently seeking the Most High God Jehovah, by continuously seeking His face, His LOVE, His grace and His mercy. Doing that is nothing but pure and simple wisdom. Much LOVE!…sow good seeds…and you shall reap abundant harvests…seek the Lord diligently…and you shall find Him speedily…those are His ever-faithful promises…
26 Sep 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: abundance, blessings, compassion, encouragement, forgiveness, god, God's image, graciousness, LOVE, mercy, redemption, rend your heart, right heart, seek God, sincerity, strong faith, trials, tribulations
Psalm 130:7. Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.
Oh mih people, it’s a brand new day, with brand new mercies, blessings and forgiveness from our wonderful God! Wow! What a God! So let’s rejoice and be thankful in it nuh. And all God’s people shouted a loud and grateful, ‘Praise ye the Lord, for He is worthy to be praised!’ Yes Friends, our God is indeed worthy of all the praise we are capable of giving, and then some more, for He’s promised that all who come to Him in sincerity of heart will be accepted, LOVED and cared for until eternity. That’s why I’m telling you today, that ‘In dreams and in LOVE, there are no impossibilities!’ Now I don’t remember where I got that quote from, but it’s been up on my office wall, in big red letters, for the longest time, and after noticing it earlier on today, I decided to share it with you. At times like these, I ask myself why put up all those words of encouragement around the office, when I don’t pay any attention to them? I guarantee that there’s enough stuff on the walls, my desk, and my filing cabinet to encourage me in whatever situation is necessary. But do I go to them, as I should, when my spirit is at low ebb, or do I even read them as I pass by them everyday? No. And as I look over to the wall on my right, I notice a calendar that’s still turned to May, while we’re in September, almost October. Hn! I have an excuse for that though; two other smaller calendars on my desk. (smile) But that calendar still shouldn’t be saying May in September, when I pass by it quite a few times everyday. Anyway friends, please don’t be like me. If you put up stuff to encourage you, then read them, so that you’ll be encouraged, otherwise it’s a waste of time and effort. And I promise to do better also. (smile) Now let’s turn to our Bit. ‘Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy (LOVING-kindness), and with him is plenteous (abundant) redemption.’ Yesterday we dealt with the first part that speaks of HOPE in the Lord. Today we’ll check out the second half that talks about His mercy, LOVING-kindness and plentiful redemption. And believe me Friends, our God is full to overflowing with all those things. If we live till eternity, we’ll never see the end of His awesome cache of mercy and redemption because that’s simply a part of His nature. And it would certainly stand us in good stead if we developed some of those attributes ourselves, for we’re supposed to be a reflection of our Creator, made in His own image, which means we also need to have plenty mercy and forgiveness. Now let’s check out some scriptures that validate the truthfulness of the second half of our Bit. We’ll start with Psalm 86, a prayer of Bruh David, when he bemoans: ‘Teach me thy way O Lord.’ In verse 5, he declares with strong faith: ‘For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.’ (Ps.86:5) Then again in verse 15, he staunchly declares the goodness and mercy of our God. ‘But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.’ (Ps.86:15) Ah mih breddren, I don’t know what would become of us with our sinful, rebellious nature if our God wasn’t so kind, patient and merciful with us nuh. Next we’ll turn to Psalm 145, where Bruh David talks about the Lord’s graciousness. He states these facts with utter certainty. ‘The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.’ (Ps.145:8-9) There is no hint of doubt in them Friends, because Bruh David lived them; saw and experienced the mercy, kindness and compassion of the faithful God of his fathers. So if Bruh David, a man like us with plenty faults, and bigger problems than we’ll ever encounter, can put his trust in and depend wholeheartedly on the Most High God, why can’t we do likewise eh? Please remember though that the Lord didn’t just flood Bruh David with His mercies and kindness, he had to work and struggle too, with the many personal enemies, including Saul and his own son Absalom, plus those of His nation Israel. But whatever came against him, he stood strong and firm in his faith, and for that the Lord considered him righteous. Please note my brethren that Bruh David’s heart was right from the very beginning, as Samuel told Saul when the Lord took away the kingdom from him. ‘The Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart.’ (1 Sam.13:14) We obviously have to clean up our own hearts too, and bring them into right standing with God, before we can expect a whole lot of good stuff to happen to us, amongst all the trials and tribulations we’re normally going to bear in this sinful world, and even more so as followers of Jesus, since that’s where the Lord looks before He decides how to react to our prayers and actions. Hn! A sentence worthy of Bruh Paul. (smile) As Isaiah so rightly proclaims: ‘Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.’ (Is.55:6-7) Oh my people, there is NO God like ours; Jehovah, the ONE, TRUE GOD, Creator and Controller of the universe and all therein! Please believe that and act accordingly. And we’ll end with some more wonderful words on the nature of our God from the prophet Joel, when he called Israel to repentance. ‘Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning; And rend (tear) your heart, and not your garments, and turn (return) unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great (LOVING) kindness, and repenteth him of the evil (relents from doing harm).’ (Joel 2:12-13) Yes Friends, that’s the wonderful Deity that we serve and worship! But as His word dictates, we have to draw near to Him, seek Him with all our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, if we want to enjoy His many blessings and mercies. Much LOVE!…let him who has ears…hear and repent…or he will eventually feel…the might of God’s wrath…
04 Jul 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: affliction, doing good, faith without works, giving thanks, meditation, natural disasters, obedience, peace, prayer, prosperity, seek God, singing praise to God, suffering
James 5:13. Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
Oh Friends, we’re together again! Thank the Lord! Yes, He saw fit to leave the breath of life in us for at least one more day, so please, let’s all be thankful and do our best to serve, worship and reverence Him in a most worthwhile manner today. And all God’s people shouted with great passion: ‘Oh yes Lord, we will serve and worship You, both today and forever more, because You are such a kind, wonderful, generous, merciful, forgiving and LOVING God!’ Oh my brethren, that surely brought a smile to God’s face, but now we have to go out and walk that talk, because faith without works is useless. As James so rightly says: ‘Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone…Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.’ (James 2:17-18) Remember too that Jesus basically went about every day, ‘doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.’ (Acts 10:38) Therefore so should we, His followers, go about doing good and helping others as best we can, because the Most High God Jehovah is also with us, in the form of His Holy Spirit. And now, turning to our Bit: ‘Is any among you afflicted (suffering)? let him pray. Is any merry (cheerful)? let him sing psalms.’ Those are very truthful sentiments my people, as we saw yesterday. But today we need the first part, praying more than ever, for more people are being afflicted more than ever. Just look at the natural disasters in the last few days; disastrous and damaging storms on the U.S. East coast, raging fires in Colorado, a tornado in Saskatchewan, Western Canada, floods in India and Japan, war and strife in so many parts of our world, plus famines, economic distress and home loss, wanton sinfulness that’s spreading far and wide, with a power structure that’s keeping the ungodly and evil in high places. Now if that isn’t affliction, I don’t know what is. And we haven’t even gotten down to the individual level yet. So Friends, if there’s one thing our world needs more than anything else right now, it’s PRAYER – and lots of it too. If there’s to be any hope for our world, we need to move away from the ungodly, unrighteous state in which we’re currently living, and move back to a GODLIER situation, where the Lord can bless us, and where we’ll prosper once again. Moses strongly warned the Israelites about disobedience. ‘And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways; and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore (plundered continuously), and no man shall save thee.’ (Deut.28:29) Likewise the Lord verily impressed upon Joshua when he took over the leadership of the Israelites: ‘This book of the law shall not depart out of (shall constantly be in) thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.’ (Josh.1:8) And what did Jehoshaphat tell Judah as they were going out to battle: ‘Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.’ (2 Chr.20:20) Oh Friends, why are we so surprised then that our world is in such a state of confusion, oppression and strife eh? It’s obvious that if we’re not obeying God’s Word we will suffer. There are so many examples of it through the Israelites, that I don’t know why we think we should be different. God’s Word doesn’t change, that means what He’s said at the beginning, will still be valid at the end. Oh mih people, let’s help our world to wake up nuh. As Eliphaz said to Job: ‘Acquaint now thyself with him (God), and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee…For then thou shalt have thy delight in the Almighty, and shall lift up thy face unto God. Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows.’ (Job 22:21,26-27) And though Eliphaz was wrong about Job personally, his prescription for peace and prosperity were correct. Only belief, trust, faith and obedience to God’s Word bring peace and prosperity to a people, my Friends! But instead of rising to greater heights, unfortunately we are sinking to deeper depths because of our unfaithfulness. And in closing, let’s hear the proper way a believer should live this earthly life, in the words of Bruh Paul to the Ephesians. ‘See then that ye walk circumspectly (carefully), not as fools, but as wise. Redeeming the time (making the most of every opportunity), because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation), but be filled with the Spirit. Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph.5:15-21) Oh Friends, that prescription is still as good today for the overwhelming ungodliness that currently exists in our world, as it was some two thousand years ago! Please, let’s do our best to implement it now nuh, before it’s too late. That’s wisdom at its highest. Much LOVE!…to LOVE, serve and glorify the Lord our God…that’s man’s avowed purpose…
Next Newer Entries
SCRIP-BITS 