29 Aug 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: admonishment, almighty god, antidote, as far as the east, attitudes, aura of love, bind us up, blessings, cast out, Come and let us return unto the Lord, complaining, confession, confidence, cussing, doing nothing, drudgery, enthusiasm, evil, faith, forgiveness, friends, fun, glorious kingdom, God's mercy, grace, groaning, holy spirit, Hosea, housework, humble servants, iniquity, invincible, Jesus saving grace, joy, lazing around, lies, LOVE, loving kindness, mercy, moaning, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Monday Morning Blues, Moses, Nehemiah, Praise the Lord, rain, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, repentance, rest, scatter you abroad, seek him with all thy heart, seek the Lord, set my name there, spirits lifted, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, TGIM! Thank God it's Monday!, thanksgiving, the uttermost part of heaven, thou shalt find him, trust, unbelievers, ungodly world, wisdom, with all thy soul, witness
Deuteronomy 4:29. But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
Aye friends, that wonderful day called Monday, has rolled around again! Wow!
Are you excited enough to joyfully declare: ‘TGIM! Thank God it’s Monday! Thank God that I will be able to get out of this drudgery of housework, or of just lazing around and doing nothing constructive, and instead go out and meet people, and help bring them to Jesus and His saving grace!’
Oh my people, if you can truthfully declare that prayer this Monday morning, then you’re amongst a very few blessed souls. And may the Lord bless you and give you your heart’s desire. That’s because most of us will be moaning and groaning and cussing and complaining about how we so tired, and how the weekend finish so quick, and we just might call in sick.
But don’t worry my brethren, we have an antidote for the Monday Morning Blues, it’s called our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. So without further ado, let’s get right into it so our spirits can be lifted and our attitudes become more Christ like. (smile)
Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Oh that was good friends; better than average! It even brought a trace of a smile to Jesus, our choirmaster’s face. Now let’s keep our adrenaline fuelled motors running and get out there and live our lives for Jesus. That’s all He asks of us.
And to help us do that, let’s turn to our current Bit for the last time. ‘But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.’
Oh my fellow believers what a wonderful promise of Almighty God to lay before unbelievers when we witness to them! They can be assured that whatever their sins might be – a li’l white lie or genocide – if they seek God with sincere confession and repentance their iniquity will be washed away.
Bruh David puts it thus in Psalm 103 – Thanksgiving for God’s mercy. ‘The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous (abounding) in mercy (LOVING-kindness). He will not always chide (strive): neither will he keep his anger forever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy (LOVING-kindness) toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.’ (Ps.103:8-12)
And all God’s people declared a loud and proud:’ Glory to God for His LOVING-kindness to the undeserving children of men!’ And that He certainly is my brethren!
Now let’s turn to a couple of other scriptures which corroborate our Bit. Listen to Nehemiah when he hears that Jerusalem is a waste land. He fasts, prays, confesses the sins of his people, and asks for guidance.
‘We have dealt (acted) very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, not the judgements (ordinances), which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress (are unfaithful), I will scatter you abroad among the nations.
But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though they were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there (as a dwelling for my name).’ (Neh.1:7-9)
Yes friends, that’s the beauty of worshipping our great and awesome God; we can remind Him of His promises when we fulfill the requirements! And we’ll end with these glorious words of Hosea – Israel’s reply to God’s admonishment.
‘Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten (stricken), and he will bind (bandage) us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord (let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord): his going forth is prepared (established) as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.’ (Hos.6:1-3)
Yes my faithful brethren, regardless of the nature of our sins, sincere confession and repentance will bring forgiveness. Just remember that the Lord looks at our hearts, so mere words will not fool Him. Much LOVE!
…heartfelt confession…plus sincere repentance…equals graceful and merciful forgiveness…
28 Aug 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Anselm, Asa, awesome majesty, Azariah, be well with them, compassion, confession, disobedience, disobeyed God, do our best for Jesus, door of happiness closes, evil, failing economies, families, fear me, fight the good fight, forgiveness, forsake, from earth to the cross, from heaven to earth, from the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky, give Him thanks, God shuts a door, harmony, helping others, homelessness, hunger, I love to sing your praises, idolatry, jehovah god, keep all my commandments, looking forward, Lord I lift your name on high, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, magnify His holy name, move on, my debt to pay, opened door, outpouring of praise, peace, persecution, poverty, praise and worship, punishment, repentance, Rick Founds, saving grace, seek the Lord, sincere heart, strife, stubborn, thanskgiving, the closed door, the Sabbath, the Spirit of God, thou shalt find him, to show the way, turn to God, understanding, ungodly times, war, warm the cockles of Jesus' heart, with all thy heart and soul, with their children forever, worshipping the God of their fathers
Deuteronomy 4:29. But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
Awright my people, it’s the big day, Sunday, the Sabbath, a day of praise and worship! So let’s get straight to it nuh, let’s sing this popular song of praise and worship by Rick Founds, ‘Lord I lift Your name on high.
With strong voices and sincere hearts let’s allow our song to rise to heaven and warm the cockles of Jesus’ heart as we praise and glorify His awesome majesty, magnify His holy name and give Him thanks for all that’s He’s done for us.
‘Lord I lift Your name on high Lord I love to sing Your praises I’m so glad You’re in my life I’m so glad You came to save us You came from Heaven to earth To show the way From the earth to the cross My debt to pay From the cross to the grave From the grave to the sky Lord I lift Your name on high… Lord I lift Your name on high… Lord I lift Your name on high…’
Beautiful my people, truly beautiful! Heaven had to be moved by such an outpouring of praise and thanksgiving! Now since I couldn’t share yesterday, the two of our friend Anselm’s quotes that I usually share, I’ll include one today. And it simply says: ‘When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.’
So true friends, so true! We all know that when one door closes another is usually opened, but we pine for what’s behind the closed door so much, especially if it was good, that ofttimes we can’t see, or are not even aware of the newly opened door. We’ve got to learn that when God shuts a door, we’re to leave it alone, look elsewhere for the next thing He has earmarked for us.
But, sadly, being creatures of habit and comfort, allergic to change, we still yearn and hunger for what’s behind the closed door, although deep down we know that the Lord has something better waiting for us through the newly opened door. Yes my brethren, we have to keep looking forward not backward.
As they say, the Lord brings certain things and people into our lives for a reason and/or a season, but when that time is up, and He shuts that door, we have to let whatever it is go and move on. Otherwise we’ll spend our lives miserable, wanting and wishing for what is no longer available to us. End of sermon! (smile)
Let’s turn to our Bit; the same one we’ve had for the last couple days. Why, you ask? Because it’s such an important scripture, one on which our basic faith is based, and thus there are several references to it throughout the Good Book. And more importantly, it is very appropriate for these evil and ungodly times in which we’re now living.
Just listen to the great promise it contains. ‘But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.’
Oh my fellow believers, what a glorious promise that is from our magnanimous and merciful God! In our most sinful times, our times of trials and tribulations, of disobedience and idolatry, it is yet possible to seek Jehovah God, through confession and repentance, a sincere heart and soul and find Him. Wow!
Oh friends, that’s something our world needs to take advantage of RIGHT NOW because everything is falling down around us. War and strife, poverty, hunger, persecution, homelessness, failing economies, failing families and societies; those are the things that are currently colouring, are currently prominent in our world.
Things like LOVE, peace, harmony, compassion, understanding and helping each other are unfortunately on the way out. And the ONLY way to change the negative aspects of our world is to turn to God in true repentance and receive His graceful forgiveness.
Now hear this warning of the prophet Azariah to the Israelites. ‘And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded. And he went out to meet (before) Asa (the king) 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 troubles did turn unto the Lord God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.’ (2 Chr.15:1-4)
Ah friends, although the Israelites were stiff-necked, stubborn and hard-headed and often disobeyed God, when the rough times, meaning God’s punishment, really caught up to them, they were smart enough to return to worshipping the God of their fathers. Now why can’t we recognize our serious plight and realize that God’s hand is working against us and turn back to Him eh?
The Israelites did it several times, and each time He welcomed them back with opened arms. He will certainly do the same for us, that is, if we can wake up before our entire world falls down, disintegrates around us. And it all depends on us my fellow believers in Christ, through the Great Commission (Matt.28:19-20), we are supposed to spread the good news of Christ all over the world. And right now we have the tools to do it.
So let’s get serious nuh, put our hands to the plough and just move forward with the saving grace of Christ’s LOVE Revolution. He is depending on His church to fight the good fight…and win it too.
Now let’s end with a rather appropriate piece of scripture, words of our wonderful God, after He had spoken to the Israelites out of the mountain of fire, and they were all afraid. And the Lord said unto Moses. ‘O that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!’ (Deut.5:29)
That says it all friends! Now let’s go out and do our best for Jesus, because that’s what He expects of us. Much LOVE!
…only true LOVE…in the guise of Jesus…can save our fast deteriorating world…
24 Jun 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a brand new day, and he shall strengthen thine heart, be of good courage, bind up the testimony, Christians, crook, deliverance, descent into Hades, exhort, expectant faith, follow God's guidance, glad to be alive, glorious appearing, Glory be, glory hallelujah, God is still on the throne, going to hell in a hand-basket, halfway home, hungry hope, I'm not turning back, immediacy, impatience, in God's capable hands, in our best interest, Jacob, judgements, looking back at the past, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my hands are on the plough, now for now, patience, place all our cares, rebuke, redeem us, salvation, seal the law., Second Coming of Christ, seek the Lord, sense of immediacy, the breath of life, the Christian life, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the love of our children, things of God, things of the world, Titus, to a glorious future with Jesus, wait I say on the Lord, wait in patient faith on the Lord, waiting patiently, Wednesday Wail, zealous of good works
Psalm 27:14. Wait (in patient faith) on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait (in patient faith), I say, on the Lord.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, the ole fella had a rough night. Mama yo!
I went to bed around twelve, much earlier than usual, but unfortunately the sleep wasn’t great, for I woke up twice during the night with cramps in both legs. Glory Be! (smile) What else can I say eh? Even now I can still feel the knot in my right calf.
But yuh know what my fellow believers? This is a brand new day, and we have to embrace it as such. The sun’s shining brightly, and the construction noise is starting up in my area. (smile)
So though this earthly life might be a bit rough at times, we desperately need to remember that our great God is still on His heavenly throne running things and consequently place all our cares in His most capable hands. I don’t understand why I’m having cramps when I believe I’m doing all the things I should do to prevent them.
But them’s the breaks, and as I keep preaching, I just have to grin and bear them, believing that God must have some higher purpose that my small, finite and fragile mind can’t comprehend.
And since today is Wednesday, let’s wail our most appropriate Wednesday Wail. ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home.
My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And that’s exactly how it ought to be my brethren! And our most encouraging and uplifting Bit demonstrates the point very nicely. ‘Wait (in patient faith) on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait (in patient faith), I say, on the Lord.’
Oh my people, if only we were a society imbued with patience eh, what wonderful and marvellous things our God would do in our midst!
But sadly we are not. All our modern inventions have driven us down the road of impatience, because they are making things happen quicker and quicker. In some respects that’s good, but in others it’s not, because it only breeds a wrong sense of immediacy in everything.
And that’s the current state of our society, where we want everything now for now, if not yesterday. And unfortunately that now for now attitude is moving us even further away from the God of our fathers, who desires us to wait patiently in faith on Him. No wonder our world is so quickly going to hell in a hand basket.
As a result, we are in desperate need of Christians to delay, or rather to stop that descent into Hades. And how do we do that?
By turning sincerely and seriously back to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, once again honouring Him with our lives and waiting patiently with hungry hope and expectant faith for Him to guide us on the straight and narrow path that leads directly to Him.
Ah mih people, it’s a sad commentary on our lives, but way too many of us supposed believers are still too hooked on the flashy, but flimsy things of the world, and are not sufficiently focused on the everlasting things of God. And until we change that, things will never get better. It certainly is sad, but it’s oh so true!
Now let’s look at some scripture that support our Bit. And we’ll begin way back in olden times, when Jacob in his last days was blessing his sons. After blessing Dan, Jacob faithfully declares: ‘I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord.’ (Gen.49:18)
And knowing the ole crook that Jacob had been earlier in life, and how he ended up, gives us a positive outlook, that we too can turn our lives around if we so desire, and if we partner sincerely with Jacob’s God.
Now listen to Isaiah as he foreshadows Israel’s deliverance. ‘Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.’ (Is.8:16-17) Yeh Friends, deliverance is in the offing, but one needs to wait for it, to seek the Lord with all thine heart, body and soul!
And again in a hymn of praise, Isaiah unconditionally declares: ‘The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh (make level) the path of the just. Yea, in the way of thy judgements, O Lord, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgements are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.’ (Is.26:7-9)
Oh Friends, what wonderful sentiments! But it’s obvious that the Lord’s judgements aren’t yet in this world, for we surely have not learned righteousness.
And we’ll close with these words of Bruh Paul on the Christian life to Titus. ‘For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men. Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world (age);
Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing (Second Coming) of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar (His own special) people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.’ (Titus 211-15)
Oh my brethren, those words of heavenly wisdom also apply to us today. As we look with expectant hope and faith for the Second Coming of Jesus, let us make sure that we do the best we can in all aspects of our lives. We know exactly what is required of us, so please, let’s do it nuh. It’s all in our best interest. Much LOVE!
…if for nothing else but the LOVE of our children…Christians would be well advised…be wise…to follow God’s guidance…
28 May 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: acts of contrition, almighty god, appreciate, arrogance, Asa, association with God, at peace with the world, attention spans, Azariah, benjamin, calm, Cleanse your hands, cleansing, commune with nature, contented, contrition, cool breezes, dearest of all delights, delights, doubleminded, draw near to God, enjoy, evil, foolish pride, force His will on us, forge that relationship, forgiveness, forsake the Lord, gloom, glory hallelujah, glory to God, God will draw near to you, gospel truth, grace, hate, he shall lift you up, heaviness, humble yourselves in the sight of God, Intimate closeness, joy, Judah, lament, laughter, LOVE, mercy, mourn, mourning, necessity, night insects, peace, positive aspect, pride, purify your hearts, quiet, reaching out to God, relationship with Christ, revere God, rustling of the leaves, seek the Lord, sing their songs of thanksgiving, sinners, stress, teach me, tension, the healing aspects of nature, the Lord is with you, the Lord's presence, the One Year Book of Bible Promises, the onus, the right foundation, the Spirit of God, the wisdom of heaven, therapeutic miracle, this is the day the Lord has made, through eternity, to go to bed late is to be up early, tragedy, unconditional LOVE, ungodly world, use to our benefit, usefulness of nature, walk arm-in arm, we will rejoice and be glad in it, weep, what a wonderful God we serve and worship, William Shakespeare, winding path, wisdom
James 4:8. Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye dobleminded.
Aye Friends, welcome to another terrific Thursday! Glory to God! We are alive and kicking strongly and diligently in God’s name, so let’s maintain that positive aspect by saying, ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’
What a wonderful God we serve and worship my people! All thanks be to Him and His grace, mercy, forgiveness and unconditional LOVE!
And you know that somewhere in Willie Shakespeare’s vast repertoire of works, he says something to the effect that to go to bed late is to be up early…. Well my people, you can say that the ole fella was up rather early this morning, after three, so if I’m not all that coherent you will understand why. (smile)
And believe me, the early morning commune outside with nature was beautiful. Some of you might laugh, but when I sit out on my porch in the late hours of the night or early morning, just enjoying the peace and quiet of the time, whatever stress and tension I’ve built up during the day seems to evaporate as I feel the cool breezes wash over me, while they sigh in the rustling of the leaves, and the night insects sing their songs of thanksgiving to their Creator.
After a short while, I am relaxed and at peace with the world and all therein, and can go to bed calm and contented, regardless of whatever problems might exist. It certainly works therapeutic miracles for me. (smile)
And it’s sad that so many of us can’t, or don’t want to embrace the healing aspects of nature. Friends, God made it so beautiful so that we can appreciate, enjoy and use it to our benefit.
Anyway, I won’t try to convince you of the beauty and usefulness of nature, for like the same way you came to Jesus, you will have to come to that conclusion…on your own. (smile)
Now hear is a little prayer from The One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, that I believe we all can, or need to say. It’s titled ‘Intimate Closeness.’
Please pray with me: ‘You promise, dear God That when I draw close to You You will draw close to me. Lord, I give myself to You unreservedly. Teach me more and more Of intimate closeness And fill my heart with You alone. To walk arm-in-arm with You Down every winding path. Seems to me The dearest of all delights.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth my brethren? Walking arm-in arm with Jesus, any and everywhere is certainly the greatest delight we can enjoy on this earth!
And if you don’t believe that, I’m sorry for you, because you don’t know what you’re missing. That’s because with Him beside, inside and around you, there’s no power on earth, in hell or in heaven can touch you! Glory Hallelujah!
And the scripture verse for that prayer was the first part of James 4:8; ‘Draw nigh (near) to God, and He will draw near to you.’ However we will use the entire verse as our Bit for today. ‘Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded.’
Ah Friends, so many of us in this ungodly world desperately need to do those acts of contrition, that it borders on a worldwide tragedy. No, it doesn’t border nuh, it is a worldwide tragedy! That’s why there’s so much hate and evil in our world. But when we turn to Jesus we preach peace and LOVE, which is the right foundation for us to build our lives upon.
And I like how James continues after our Bit, in the same cleansing and reaching out to God manner. ‘Be afflicted (lament), and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness (gloom). Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:9-10)
Oh my people that’s shades of our last Bit. One of the things this generation certainly needs to do is to give up their foolish pride and arrogance, and humble themselves before Almighty God, if they want to ever receive a positive association with Him. That’s an ultimate necessity before we can even consider coming into the Lord’s presence, before His throne.
And one of the scriptures associated with our Bit, is one we just recently looked at, but it’s worthwhile looking at again. It’s the warning of the prophet Azariah.
‘And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: 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.’ (2 Chr,15:1-2)
Yes Friends, that’s no lie! If you sincerely seek the Lord, then you will find Him. But if you forsake Him, then He will do the same to you. Please remember that the Lord doesn’t really need anything from us, but we do need His saving grace and mercy, so the onus is on us to seek His face, not the other way around.
And with that thought foremost in our minds, I think we’ll end for today, because the rest of stuff I have to add will make it much too long for our short attention spans. (smile)
So please, as we go about today, let’s seriously ponder the state of our relationship with Christ, and let wisdom enter our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, and thus enable us to make the wonderful decision to seek God and revere and worship Him for the rest of our lives, and down through all eternity. Now that is certainly the wisdom of heaven! Much LOVE!
…God desires to have a positive relationship with each and every human being…but He’s not going to force His will on us…we must wisely seek Him and His blessings to forge that relationship…
19 Mar 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a rough note, a teaching tool, Abraham, Ark of the Covenant, asaph, begun a good work, being confident of this very thing, breath of life, Bruh David, come naturally, compalin, cramp, crushing, declare his glory among the heathen, easy life, Ethan the Ezrahite, faithfulness, friends, give thanks unto the Lord, glad to be alive, glory hallelujah, glory in his holy name, glory to God, God's nature, great is the Lord, grin and bear it, hammering, hidden crevice, I will sing of the mercies of the Lord, image of Christ, impatience, inconveniences, inheritance, Isaac, Israel, Jacob, Lord have mercy, LOVE, loving kindness, make matters worse, make something out of nothing, Martin Luther, Master Builder, Master Potter, mea culpa, mercies, One Year Book of Bible promises, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, pain, promise, psalm of thanksgiving, reduce me to nothing, rejoice, remember His marvellous works, reverential awe, salvation, seek God's face continually, seek the Lord, sing unto the Lord, smile, steups, strangers, take it in stride, thanksgiving, the joy of the Lord, the Land of Canaan', the Lord always fufills His promises, the potter's wheel, touch not mine anointed, true followers of jesus, turned and tossed, unfortunate circumstances, waiting, will perform it until the day of Jesus, wisdom, with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness, woes, working it out for our good, ye seed of Israel
Psalm 89:1. I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
Oh Friends, mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa! Truthfully, I don’t know what happened this morning. I went to bed at my normal hour, around two o’clock, expecting to get up by seven. Unfortunately though I got up after five to go to the bathroom and after that… Lord have mercy, I just turned and tossed, trying to find a comfortable position to ease the pain in my aching shoulders. Steups!
Somewhere along the line, I must have eventually fallen asleep because when I did open my eyes, it was after eight. And to make matters even worse, I got up with a cramp in my left thigh! Glory Hallelujah! What more can I say eh? (smile) And now I’m drinking a cup of caffeine that really doesn’t thrill me – not strong or sweet enough, but since I’m trying to cut back on my coffee and sugar intake, I just have to grin and bear it.
And those are my early morning woes! (smile) But yuh know what my people, I’m still very glad and thankful to be alive, regardless of my petty inconveniences. Lots of others have it much worse than you and I, so please let’s not complain too much when we’re beset by unfortunate circumstances.
Let’s just learn to take it in our stride, knowing that our wonderful God is looking after our every move. And though we might not understand how and why, He’s working it all out for our good. He has promised that and He ALWAYS fulfills His promises. So though the morning has begun on a somewhat rough note, I’m sure it will end up very well. Glory to God!
And my Friends, this morning I have a poem to share with you from the One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It describes us to a T. When I read it yesterday, I just had to laugh. It’s titled ‘What Is Your Schedule, God?’
And it reads: ‘Lord Many years ago Martin Luther said “It’s God’s nature To make something out of nothing. That is why God cannot make anything Out of him who is yet nothing.” In ways I had never anticipated, Lord Slowly but persistently You continue Your hammering and crushing In every hidden crevice of my life.
You seem determined to reduce me to nothing In order to make me something. I wonder… What is Your schedule, God? As You creatively continue To reshape and remake me How long will the process last? Lord, could You hurry a little?’
Oh Friends, doesn’t that sound just like us? The Lord’s trying to remake us in the image of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, but it doesn’t happen easily or quickly, and having become accustomed to the easy life and impatience of our times, we can’t stand the pain or the waiting. We want to be a beautiful image of Christ, but we don’t want to suffer the changes or spend the time necessary on the potter’s wheel of the Lord.
And the promise for that poem is a rather appropriate one. ‘Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform (complete) it until the day of Jesus.’ (Phil.1:6)
Yes my fellow believers, our God will continue whatever work He has begun in us until that day that Jesus returns in all His splendour and glory. So there’s no need to worry about what we’re going through, for we have a Master Builder and Master Potter looking after us.
That’s why Friends, we can confidently say like the Ethan the Ezrahite in our Bit: ‘I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.’
Yes my people, though it is indeed our duty to pass on the Lord’s goodness and faithfulness to the up and coming generations, our souls should be so full of the joy of the Lord that all those things should just come naturally to us.
And there’s no better example of that than Bruh David in his songs. Listen to this one, his psalm of thanksgiving, when the Ark of the Covenant was brought up to Jerusalem.
‘Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to thank the Lord into the hand of Asaph and his brethren. Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works.
Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually. Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgement of his mouth; O ye seed of Israel his servant, ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
He is the Lord our God; his judgements are in all the earth. Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations; Even of the covenant which he made with Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac; and hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant,
Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot (allotment) of your inheritance. When ye were but few, even a few, and strangers in it. And when they went from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another people. He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes, Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.
Sing unto the Lord, all the earth; show forth from day to day his salvation. Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all the nations. For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared (held in reverential awe) above all gods.’ (1 Chr.16:7-25)
Oh Friends, we have to stop there, because the psalm is at least half as long again, and we don’t have the time nor space to capture it all. But it does show how Bruh David tied in all the different aspects of Israel’s dealings with their God. It was also a teaching tool, so that the people could learn of Israel’s history, something to be orally passed down to the generations, since writing and reading weren’t as universal as they are today.
Let us therefore remember Friends, not only the Lord’s goodness to Israel in their time, but also His LOVING-kindness to us in these trying days. And thus cause our voices to be raised in song, in thanksgiving for His everlasting mercies to us, His people, the flock of His pasture, so that others can hear it, and come to know Him like we do. That is indeed heavenly wisdom. Much LOVE!
…to true followers of Jesus…singing His praises…ought to come naturally and constantly…as breathing His breath of life…
10 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Acts of the Apostles, answered prayer, Archimedes, awesome God, calamitous winter, christianity, commitment to prayer, communal, confession, confusing times, covenant, Daniel, divine judgement, Elementary my dear Watson, Eureka, evening sacrifices, faithful and loving God, faithful life, fool's wisdom, friends, glorify God, glory hallelujah, God has heard my supplications, God has heard my voice, great man of faith, Greek imperfect tense, heavenly wisdom, Holy Ghost, honest report, hot day, hour of prayer, humble, humility, I Love the Lord, I will call upon god as long as I live, John, joy, judgement, justice, life, LOVE, loving kindness, meek, meekness, mercy, ministry of the word, new mercies, ninth hour, offering of incense, outdoor activities, personally experienced, Peter, praise and glory to God, pray, prayer, prayer is the best form of communication with god, praying, rightousness, seek the Lord, Sherlock Holmes, sincere heartfelt prayers, spreading the gospel, testimony, the gospel, the Lord's anger, the voice, those that keep god's commandments, those that Love God, troubled times, whopping hot, wisdom, Zephaniah
Psalm 66:19. But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
All praise and glory to our wonderful God this Thursday morning my people! And that’s not just for life and new mercies, but also for what promises to be a whopping hot day, with temps in the mid teens! Glory Hallelujah!
Oh, I know to you folks down south that’s cold, but to us Northerners, that’s almost like a summer’s day, especially after the crazy and calamitous winter we’ve had. And I’m sure that there’ll be lot’s of folks out and about half-naked, running, walking, bicycling, playing games, and trying to do all the things we do come the summer time.
Good for them yes! But I doubt that I’ll be joining in any outdoor activities just yet, for I’m still trying to get rid of this nagging cough and cold. Let’s just hope that the temperature stays high from now on. And no doubt a whole lot of people are praying for that. Why?
Because as we’ve been saying for the last few days, prayer is the best form of communication with our Maker! And if we sincerely believe that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob created us, then it is only logical to pray to Him for whatever we desire. As Sherlock Holmes would undoubtedly tell his sidekick: ‘Elementary my dear Watson!’
And also, as we’ve seen from our Bit, our faithful and LOVING God does answer prayer. ‘But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.’
Oh Friends, I don’t see how we can doubt the awesome power of prayer nuh, especially if you claim to be a true believer in Jesus Christ! Therefore, today we will continue to show scriptures that deal with the mighty workings of prayer.
Hopefully something there will cause something in us to go off like the ‘Eureka’ effect that the Greek scientist Archimedes experienced when taking a bath, discovering that the level of the water rose when he got into it. That helped him to solve a scientific problem he was then working on.
First off, listen to the psalmist as he opens Psalm 116; praise for deliverance from death. ‘I LOVE the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me (hath listened to me), therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.’ (Ps.116:1-2)
Oh what a beautiful testimony my brethren! That’s how ALL God’s people should be declaring their never-ending commitment to prayer!
Now hear how that great man of faith, Daniel, began his prayer for his people. ‘And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful (awesome) God, keeping the covenant and mercy (LOVING-kindness) to them that LOVE Him, and to them that keep his commandments.’ (Dan.9:3-4)
Oh Friends, we all know the wonders the Lord worked in Daniel’s long and faithful life – and it was all done through sincere and heartfelt prayer! Now there’s no reason why the Lord cannot work wonders in our lives too, wonders that glorify Him, if we also turn to Him in serious prayer.
And the prophet Zephaniah, in talking about the scope of divine judgement, declared to Israel, and consequently to ALL OF US: ‘Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgement (upheld his justice); seek righteousness, seek meekness (humility): it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger.’ (Zeph.2:3)
And how do we seek the Lord? First and foremost through PRAYER, my brethren!
And we’ll end with a couple of instances of prayer being ultra important from the Acts of the Apostles. Chapter 3 of Acts begins thus: ‘Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.’ (Acts 3:1)
Now if two of the most important apostles could be involved in regular prayer, why shouldn’t we be too eh?
And the scholars explain that verse thus: ‘3:1. According to Jewish reckoning, the day began at 6.a.m. Hence, the ninth hour is 3 p.m.. The Jewish prayer time was held in conjunction with the evening sacrifices and offering of incense (cf. Luke 1:8; Rev.8:3-4). Peter and John commonly went to the temple to pray at this hour. The Greek imperfect tense could well be translated “used to go up.’
That makes it a habit Friends! One that we all should adopt!
And finally, from Acts 6, where the number of believers and disciples had multiplied and Christianity had become so communal, it created a problem for the disciples to serve everybody’s needs and still continue with their own duties of prayer and spreading the gospel.
‘Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason (desirable) that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore brethren, look ye out (seek from) among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word,’ (Acts 6:2-4)
Oh Friends, yuh see that prayer and spreading the Word were so important that the original 12 disciples desired to devote their time to do just that. So how can we, especially in these very troubled and confusing times, not turn to prayer and the Word in like manner eh? It’s a fool’s wisdom, if we don’t my brethren!
So please, let’s get right on the prayer scene and into the Word nuh, and thus show our heavenly wisdom. Much LOVE!
…there’s a joy that comes from praying…and then having those prayers answered…a joy which words cannot fully explain… but must be personally experienced to understand it…
27 Mar 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abundance, almighty god, blessings, buy and eat, call upon God, come and drink for free, come unto me, comfort, Controller, courage, Creator, drunks, dwell with humanity, eternal life, excellent job, faithful believers, faithfully, faithfulness, for our benefit, free gift, glorified, God is the greatest, God works on our behalf, God's purpose, God's thoughts higher than mans, God's ways higher than man's, gospel, grace, highway 401, Holy Ghost, holy spirit, hunger and thirst after righteousness, in Jesus' name, indulge in sin, indwelling of the holy spirit, Jesus Christ, keep on doing it diligently, knowledge, let the wicked forske his ways, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, magnanimous, mercy, milk, mind-boggling offer, motivate the believer, omnipotent, pardon, peace, Pothole Season, potholes, provider, put it into serious practice, return unto the Lord, righteousness., rivers of living water, roads in bad shape, salutations, salvation, seek the Lord, sgnificant cracks in the roads, source of new life, Spirit of God, spiritual experiences, spring, take all this to heart, teetotallers, unconditional LOVE, understanding, walking in Jesus' footsteps, whoever is thirsty, wicked world, wine, winter weather, wisdom, without money, without price, workmanship
Isaiah 55:1. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.’
Oh my Friends, salutations and blessings, and courage and comfort, with wisdom and peace to all you who desire to walk faithfully in the tough but energizing footsteps of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, this chilly Thursday morning at the end of March 2014! May He, in His wisdom and great faithfulness, grant us all that we need to go out and do an excellent job in His Holy Name! Amen!
Now today I want to share something from a comic strip called Rhymes with Orange, posted in the newspaper a couple of days ago. This particular scene shows two police officers, one white, one black, sitting in a patrol car, with the white one telling the black one: ‘Look for the cars driving straight… They’re the drunks. It’s the teetotallers swerving all over the road.’ And at the bottom of the strip, there’s a sign that says: ‘POTHOLE SEASON.’
And although all that is meant as a joke, right now it could be taken quite seriously in Toronto and its environs, because I’ve never seen our roads in such bad shape. This winter’s been real hard on them. The potholes are usually prevalent, but this year there are also significant cracks extending for long distances on all the roads.
I recently drove down the major highway 401 that runs north of Toronto, it’s one of the busiest in the world, and right by the airport, the cracks and potholes were so bad that it didn’t make sense to try and avoid them. In some places you’d think you were driving in some impoverished third world country.
And on my street, the cracks go almost all the way down, on both sides of the yellow, dividing line. I also noticed yesterday like they attempted to patch up some of the more serious cracks and holes, but that only makes the ride bumpier. Chuh!
And despite the calendar saying it’s now spring, don’t fool yuh fat nuh, the winter weather is still here, though the weather people have promised us a short break this week.
Anyway my people, all of that is small potatoes – until you have to take your vehicle to the mechanic (smile) – and we can handle whatever comes against us because our God is the GREATEST; not only omnipotent, but also magnanimous to a fault, and He always works on our behalf, for our benefit!
How awesome my people! We have a powerful and magnificent God who is always with us, working for our good. And it is all shown right here in our Bit: ‘Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat: yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price.’
Now how can we ever refuse such a mind-boggling offer from our Creator, Controller and Provider eh?
But unfortunately many people are doing exactly that. Only because they don’t really understand what this life is all about, whom Almighty God truly is, and how He operates.
However Friends, that’s where we come in. It’s our job, as faithful believers, to get out into our extremely violent and wicked world and tell them about Jesus; of His unconditional LOVE, and free gift of grace that leads to salvation and eternal life.
We need to get the unbelievers -and many supposed believers too – to a place where they can truly appreciate these verses: ‘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.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’ (Is.55:6-9)
Yes my brethren, only when mankind fully understands, appreciates and believes those words, will he be able to sincerely seek refuge in our most wonderful Deity, Jehovah God!
And all of what Isaiah says is no lie my people, because we’ve seen Jesus saying the same thing. And we’ll quote another of Jesus’ immortal sayings on people hungering and thirsting for righteousness.
‘In the last day, that great day of the feast, (feast of the tabernacles) Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly (heart) shall flow rivers of living water.’ (John 7:37-38)
Oh fellow believers, that’s the third time that Jesus has spoken of giving living water to those who believe in Him. Now what does He mean by that eh? The next verse clears that up.
‘(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe in him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)’ (John 7:39)
Yes mih breddren, it’s the Holy Spirit which indwells ALL believers, that Jesus is referring to! And we’ll close with some interesting comments from the scholars, re the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
‘7:39. One of God’s purposes since the beginning has been to dwell with humanity and enjoy fellowship with us. He does it in this dispensation through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit (1) occurs automatically when a person is saved; (2) is not an “experience,” but produces spiritual experiences; (3) remains permanently; (4) is the basis of all the other ministries of the Holy Spirit; and (5) is the source of new life in the believer:
Illustration: When Paul met 12 disciples of John who did not know of the Holy Spirit, he knew they needed to be saved. So he preached the gospel to them (Acts 19:1-5).
Application: The Holy Spirit’s indwelling should motivate the believer to be careful not to harm his body nor indulge his body in sin. (1 Cor.6:19-20). (First Ref. Ex.35:31; Primary Ref. John 7:37-39; cf. 1 Cor.12:13.)’
Oh Friends, please, please let’s take all this to heart and either put into serious practice, or if we have already done that, then let’s just keep on diligently doing it nuh! In Jesus’ name, I pray. Much LOVE!
…and he hath filled him (Bezaleel)…with the spirit of God…in wisdom…in understanding…and in knowledge…and in all manner of workmanship… (Ex.35:31)
25 Mar 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adventuresome, afflictions, alive and kicking, anger, apathy, assured, awesome wisdom, bad, bless God's Holy Name, blessed, buy and eat, call upon the Lord, christ's character, come to the waters, covenant, delight in abundance, diligent, dr robert h schuller, dread, engourage, everlasting, exhilarating, faith, faithful promises, faithfulness, false dead pretenders, fear, filled, forgiveness, free gift of salvation, free offer, frutiful and faithful plans of god, Gentiles, good, goodness, gospel truth, hearsay, Hour of Power, humbly praise, immortal words, into forever, invitation, Isaiah, Israel, Jeremiah 29:11, Jesus Christ, joy, leading and guiding, life with Jehovah god, light of Jesus Christ, long-winded, LOVE, magnanimous, mercy, negative emotions, negative things, no money, omnipotent god, one and only true God, our benefit, our Lord and Saviour, pain, paths of righteousness, personal experience, planet earth, promises, reaction to circumstances, reaction to problems, reflection, refresh your minds and souls, refreshing, refreshing attitude, righteousness., Romans 8:28, salvation, scriptures, seek the Lord, self-pity, semblance of peace, Sermon on the Mount, soul, spend money, spiritually hungry and thirsty, stand strong, steadfast, strife, take them in stride, tests, thirsty, to all and sundry, unfortunate situations, universal offer, unsatisfactory labour, ups and downs, walking with God, wisdom, wisdom from heaven, wise advice, with God's help, without money, without price, wonderful adventure
Isaiah 55:1. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Oh Friends, through the great and tender mercy of our wonderful and omnipotent God, we’ve been blessed to see another beautiful day upon His exotic creation, Planet Earth!
And all God’s children declared a loud and grateful: ‘Thank You Lord for bringing us through another dark, dreary and scary night into the bright, awesome and most refreshing and secure light of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! We humbly praise You and bless Your Holy Name! Amen.’
Yes mih people, when you’re walking with God, or at least faithfully trying to do so, your life becomes a wonderful adventure, filled with ups and downs, goodness and mercy, LOVE and forgiveness, good and bad, tests and afflictions!
But please know that it all works out to our benefit in the end, according to God’s fruitful and faithful plans for our lives, as entrenched in the promises of Jeremiah 29:11, and Romans 8:28. Please read those scriptures and refresh your minds and souls, so that you can stand strong and steadfast on them.
And to further encourage us, here is some very wise advice from Gramps Schuller – Dr. Robert H. Schuller – from his Hour of Power Devotional. ‘Learn to live by this refreshing attitude: “It’s not what happens to me that matters most; it’s how I react to what happens to me.”
And that my Friends, is the gospel, gospel truth! What happens to us is indeed important, especially when it involves stuff like pain, anger, strife and other negative things. But even more important is how we react to those circumstances.
We can take them in our stride, obviously with God’s help, and maintain some semblance of peace and/or joy in our spirits. Or we can just give in to self-pity, apathy, dread, fear, and all the other negative emotions that tend to bombard us when unfortunate situations occur.
And today we have a rather appropriate Bit that addresses that problem. ‘Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.’
Oh mih breddren, what a magnanimous and universal offer from our most marvellous God! That’s a free offer of mercy to ALL and SUNDRY!
There’s NO other supposed deity who has ever, or can ever offer such a wonderful gift to their believers, because they are not true deities, but false, dead pretenders, while the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the ONE AND ONLY TRUE GOD, IS ALIVE AND KICKING! And kicking mightily too… right into forever!
Now here are some interesting comments from the scholars on our Bit and subsequent verses: ’55:1-7. God’s free gift of salvation is offered to all who will receive it. Those who are spiritually hungry and thirsty may come and eat and drink without money (or freely).
He promises an everlasting covenant to the Gentiles like the one He established with Israel. His invitation to all men is clearly stated by the appeal, Seek ye the Lord, and call ye upon him.’
Oh Friends, it’s so sad when people deliberately choose not to follow Jehovah God, for they know not what they are missing! Doing life with Jehovah God is a most exhilarating, refreshing and adventuresome experience… and this not hearsay, but personal experience!
That’s because you never know what He’ll be up to next, but you do know, you’re completely assured that whatever happens, He’s walking with you, leading and guiding you along paths of righteousness, working you into a reflection of Christ’s character, all for His Name’s Sake. Wow!
And though the road may be rocky and rough, there’s faith in your heart, based on His faithful promises, that eventually things will be fine.
And I like how Isaiah continues after our Bit: ‘Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness (abundance).’ (Is.55:2)
Ah mih people, what a wonderful invitation! And there’s a lot more to say, but since I’m endeavouring to keep the Bit short and sweet we’ll end shortly with some immortal words from Jesus.
And please don’t ever think that I don’t try to keep it short, but sometimes that’s how the Spirit leads me, or there just isn’t enough to spread over two days, plus the fact that I’m just naturally long-winded. (smile)
Anyway, here are Jesus’ immortal words on the subject, which come from the Sermon on the Mount, one of the Beatitudes. ‘Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.’ (Matt.5:6)
Oh my fellow believers, another faithful promise for us to stand on! So please let’s stand on it, today and everyday, and thus be filled with righteousness, every day of our lives!
That’s awesome wisdom – wisdom that can only come from heaven! Much LOVE!
…to seek…to seek… and yet to find God…in His everlasting mercy and forgiveness…
07 Feb 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: appropriate scripture, Babylon, bad choices, blind lead the blind, burned with fire, cause them to err, consequeneces, consider, contemptible, corruption, covenant, critical position, death, decision making, destroyed, disasters, disobedience, disregard, enormous ramifications, equal rights, evil cohorts, evil path, famine, fellowship, Friday chant, friends, frivolity, fun, further your glorious kingdom, gay abandon, generous help, glorious kingdom, go with the flow, God's Law, God's principles, God's Word, gospel truth, greed, heartfelt rendition, heartrending, heavenly wisdom, hedonistic, hold my head and bawl, holiness, holy spirit, horrific price, in Jesus' name, ineptitude, insightful words, Isaiah, Israel, Jesus Christ, joy of the lord, justice, knowledge, Leaders, leading people astray, led of them, life, LOVE, Lucifer, man-made idols, messenger of God, mourning, natural laws, no place like Home, one day, one true God, partiality, peace, plagues, pleasure driven lifestyle, ponder, poor decisons, prophecies, proven fact, rat-race, refreshed in soul body and mind, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, repent, rest, retribution, Revelation, right perspective, righteousness., routine, rude awakening, seek the Lord, strong is the Lord, stumble, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the head and tail, the Lord's anger, the priest's lips, the prophet Isaiah, think on, truth, turn back to God, understanding, ungodly society, virtual reality, warnings, welcome back, wisdom
Isaiah 9:16. For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.
‘Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back!’ Oh Friends, the snow and cold gave me a very warm welcome back last night. Wow! But in spite of the rude awakening, it’s good to be back, because there’s just no place like home!
And like I’ve fallen right back into the early morning routine. Chuh! How nice it was the past three weeks not to have a set routine and just go with the flow of life. But that was the virtual reality, the frivolity of the situation, this is the real reality, and the two are definitely much different.
So as most workers rejoice with shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday! Payday and time to party!’ let’s get the right perspective on the situation right away, with a soulful, heartfelt rendition of our Friday Chant.
As one chanter now. (smile) ‘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.’
Yes my people, the wise and sensible thing to do on the weekend is to make sure you get enough rest, relaxation and fellowship with other believers, so that come Monday you’ll get out there bright, spunky and full of the joy of the Lord! That’s the only way we can successfully handle this rat race we so nicely term life.
That my Friends, brings us to today’s Bit; a very interesting and rather appropriate verse of scripture, which has enormous ramifications for our present society and way of life. ‘For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.’
And that’s gospel truth my people! This is the prophet Isaiah declaring the Lord’s anger against the Northern kingdom of Israel, for their overwhelming disobedience and turning away from Him to worship other supposed gods and man-made idols. But my fellow believers, we know that there is ONLY ONE TRUE GOD IN EXISTENCE, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
And you don’t have to look very far or dig very deep to see the gross ineptitude, corruption, greed, poor choices and decision making of today’s leaders.
But listen to what Isaiah says before our Bit. ‘For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth (strikes) them, neither do they seek the Lord of hosts.’ (Is.9:13)
That my Friends is so relevant to our current society, that it’s heart rending. A substantial part of our society has turned away from the ONE TRUE GOD, and refuses to repent and turn back to Him, despite the many warnings found in His Word, and the many unusual and severe disasters that are happening on a more frequent basis than that to which we are accustomed.
So what do you think will the consequences of this disobedience eh? ‘Isaiah details it: ‘Therefore the Lord will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch (palm branch) and rush (bulrush), in one day.’ (Is.9:14)
And if you don’t believe Isaiah, then listen to what Revelation says about the eventual fall of Babylon, the evil, ungodly society in which we’re presently living. ‘Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord who judgeth her.’ (Rev.18:8)
And we’ve seen all Gods’ prophecies come true, so why not that one eh? Yes my brethren, the Lord will eventually destroy our society, like He’s done to so many others before us, who proudly and foolishly refused to accept His warnings.
Then Isaiah further explains: ‘The ancient and honourable (elder) he is the head; and the prophet that teaches lies, he is the tail.’ (Is.9:15)
For as the prophet Malachi said way back when, and still applies today: ‘For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts.
Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial (shown partiality) in the law.’ (Mal.2:7-9)
Again Friends and fellow believers, that is gospel truth, for the priesthood nowadays is definitely not up to the level or standard of righteousness and holiness that it ought to be, people no longer look up to them as they used to, and unfortunately they are leading a lot of people astray!
Ah Lord eh! Some of the things I see and hear about, regarding our leaders and priests, it just makes me want to hold my head and bawl!
Oh my brethren, it truly amazes me, that with so many societies, shown by history to have bitten the dust because of blatant disobedience to God’s holy law, we, supposedly the wisest and most knowledgeable of all humans, are still pursuing, unabashed and unashamed, in fact with total disregard and gay abandon, to flout the natural laws of justice, peace, LOVE and equal rights!
Now that’s a Bruh Paulian sentence! (smile) But it’s irrefutable truth!
Oh Friends, we desperately need a change of mind and heart, one filled with crucial but true understanding of God’s principles, so that we can turn back to Him, repent and diffuse His holy and just anger against us. And unless you are really foolish, you’ll realize that God is indeed very angry with us for our evil, hedonistic, material and pleasure driven lifestyle.
Oh my people, I don’t know what else to say to get us to understand the critical position we’re currently in nuh. We’re behaving just like Israel did long ago, not heeding God’s warnings. And they paid a horrific price for their disobedience. And the same will eventually happen to us, if we keep going down the evil path we’re being led down by Lucifer and his evil cohorts, many of them our elders, teachers and prophets.
And we’ll end with some interesting, but oh so true words of Jesus on the topic. ‘And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?’ (Luke 6:39)
Oh Friends, please, let’s ponder, seriously think on and consider those very insightful words of our Lord, Saviour and Leader, Jesus Christ. Then with God’s help, let’s try to make any necessary corrections in our own lives. Now that’s undoubtedly heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!
…disobedience to God’s holy law…will always bring painful retribution…and that’s a proven fact throughout history…
P.S. Please excuse the lateness Friends, for although I got up fairly early, I had lot of other important stuff to first rectify, and then a sudden bout of tiredness hit me and slowed me down. But it’s still an excellent Bit. (smile) Much LOVE!
13 Oct 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a leap of faith, anger, assurance, backsliders, bless, bring others to Christ, Bruh David, contrition, covenant, dive in heart first, encouragement, encouraging, faith, fasting, friends, God is full of compassion, God is gracious, God's glorious majesty, God's glory, God's kingdom, God's power, heavenly wisdom, iniquities, Israel, long-suffering, loving kindness, merciful, mercy, obedience, obeisance, pardon, patient teacher, personal relationship with Christ, personal testimony, project our faith, redemption, rend your heart, repentance, reverence, saints, seek the Lord, shout of praise, sins, slow to anger, step up to the plate, takes two to tango, terrible mess, testify, the Good Book, The Lord's the greatest., trust, truth, unbelievers, undeniable truth, unrighteous man, wicked man, wisdom, word to the wise
Psalm 145:8. The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion: slow to anger, and of great mercy.
Oh Friends, our God is definitely the greatest yes! And I’m saying that for the umpteenth time because yesterday, after writing that I had nothing to say, was bereft of words, He kindly informed me that believers ALWAYS have something to say. And when I didn’t understand, like a patient teacher, He gently explained that whenever our mental apparatus shuts down, we can always testify.
Obviously I chuckled at hearing that information, but people, there is logic to it. We might not be able to come up with any new, fanciful stuff to enthral our listeners, but our personal testimony, what the Lord has already done in our lives, and is currently doing, doesn’t change or ever grow stale.
And in fact, personal testimony is the best way to project our faith, to bring others to Christ. We can know the Good Book from cover to cover, but that information is useless to all and sundry unless some aspect or aspects of it are occurring in our lives. That’s why it’s called a personal relationship with Christ.
The tough part though is that you cannot find out what Jesus is all about until you get personally involved with Him. That’s where faith and trust come in – plenty of both. And that’s why they call getting involved with Jesus a leap of faith! You don’t know what’s going to happen, because He has different plans for each of us, but you’re nonetheless willing to dive in heart first.
As they say, you can’t learn to swim in shallow water, it must be deep enough for you to manoeuvre properly. So anyway, we now know that when our word source dries up, we can testify. (smile)
That brings us to our warm, wonderful and most encouraging Bit. ‘The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion: slow to anger, and of great mercy.’ And all God’s people gave Him a big shout of praise!
But that’s not all Friends, for Bruh David continues: ‘The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.’ (Ps.145:9) Even more assurance there Friends!
But here’s where our endeavours come in. ‘All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power, To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.’ (Ps.145:10-12)
Now that’s where we have to step back and view the reality of the current situation my brethren. Are we, God’s saints, speaking of His majesty and power, of His glorious kingdom, and also letting men know about His mighty acts down through the ages?
I strongly believe that we’re not doing it to the best of our ability, otherwise there wouldn’t be as many backsliders and unbelievers, and consequently our world wouldn’t be in the terrible mess that it’s in.
Now let’s turn to some scripture that confirms our Bit. The psalmist in Psalm 130 – My soul waiteth for the Lord – says with much wisdom and truth. ‘Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy (LOVING-kindness), and with him is plenteous (abundant) redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.’ (Ps.130:7-8)
What glorious words of encouragement, my brethren! There’s certainly no doubting them!
Meanwhile, Isaiah, in chapter 55, God’s free offer of mercy to all, he also reassuringly declares: ‘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)
Then, in one of the many instances when Israel was backsliding, the Lord commanded Jeremiah: ‘Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not cause my anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger (remain angry) for ever.
Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers (favours to foreign deities) under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the Lord.’ (Jer.3:12-13)
Please note Friends, that it’s all well and good to come back to God, but we must acknowledge our transgressions with sincere repentance, and He will know it by searching our hearts.
And here are two verses from Psalm 86, where Bruh David is entreating the Lord to teach him to pray. ‘For thou Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee… But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.’ (Ps.86: 5,15) Bruh David certainly knew what he was talking about from personal experience.
Now listen to Joel, with a call to fasting and more 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 kindness (LOVING-kindness), and repenteth him of the evil (relents from doing harm.’ (Joel 2:12-13)
Ah mih people, NO OTHER GOD shows such grace and mercy towards repentant sinners!
Now here’s a note from the scholars I think we should share. ‘2:12-13. The customary way a Jew showed his grief was to tear his outer garment. This external sign could be meaningless. The tearing of the outer garment is useless, unless the heart is broken in repentance and contrition.’
And that’s the undeniable truth Friends! So though our God is wonderful, with all those glowing attributes, we still need to show Him true reverence, obeisance and obedience. For as the old people would say; it takes two to tango. We can’t expect to reap all of God’s goodness without doing our part. But sadly that’s the way a lot of us, supposed believers behave.
We must remember Friends that we’re in a covenant relationship with Almighty God, our Creator, Controller and Provider, and right now we need to step up to the plate and become better keepers of that covenant, for we are definitely backsliding. And as we’ve seen in all our scriptures, the Lord is only too willing to forgive and forget, if we turn back to Him in sincere repentance and heartfelt contrition. That’s heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!
…a word to the wise is sufficient…
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