26 Mar 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adore, assured, be glad in the Lord, blessed Trinity, cherubim, cleanse us, compassion, confess our sins, confident, darkness hide thee, deliverance, divine instruction, enthusiasm, evil world, exalt, exaltation, faithful and just, floods, forgive us our sins, forgiveness, glorify, God in three persons, Hades, heavenly Father, holy, human nature, humble ourselves, humility, iniquity, inspiring word, joy, LOVE, merciful, mighty, mind boggling option, my hiding place, perfect in power, personal witness, praise and worship, purity, reform ourselves, refreshed, rejoice, renewed, righteous, saints, Selah, seraphim, shout for joy, sincerity, sins, songs of deliverance, sorrows, Sunday, thanks, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the greatest, the Lord's sanctuary, the wicked, transgressions, truth, unconfessed sin, unrighteousness, upright in heart
1 John 1:9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
And then friends, it was the glorious day of praise and worship; Sunday! The day when we go into the Lord’s sanctuary and exalt and glorify Him as one body, His church, listen to His awesome and inspiring word and leave renewed and refreshed, assured and confident to face another week in this crazy and evil world.
And as always, we’ll begin with a wonderful rendition of one of our wonderful hymns, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy.’ So let’s offer up the sacrifice of our lips to our heavenly Father with enthusiasm, sincerity and truth.
‘Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee; holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty, God in three persons, blessed Trinity! Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee, casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea; cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee, who wert and art and evermore shalt be.
Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee, though the eye made blind by sin thy glory may not see, only thou art holy; there is none beside thee, perfect in power, in LOVE, and purity. Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! All thy works shall praise thy name, in earth and sky and sea; holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty, God in three persons, blessed Trinity!’
Yeh mih people, there’s no other God like ours; merciful and mighty; perfect in power and LOVE, one God in three persons, blessed Trinity! That’s why He is the GREATEST! No wonder we need to offer up our praise and worship, our thanks and exaltation, for He rightly deserves it.
We also need to humble ourselves before Him because He is holy and does not like or overlook sin.
But in His awesome grace has provided us with an option to be cleansed of the natural evil of our human nature, as our Bit so joyfully tells us. ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’
We can’t ask much more than that nuh my fellow believers. He didn’t have to do it, but in His wonderful LOVE and compassion for us, He just couldn’t let us go down to the pit of Hades without giving us a chance to reform ourselves. So here we are with this amazing choice of being able to praise and worship Him and come to Him in humility and ask for forgiveness.
Wow! No other supposed god gives their worshippers such a mind boggling option! That’s why we’re foolish if we don’t accept it and live up to it. Now hear the words of Bruh David as he talks about the blessed of forgiveness from Psalm 32.
‘Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not (does not charge his account with) iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile (deceit). When I kept silence, my bones waxed (grew) old through my roaring (groaning) all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture (my vitality) is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.
I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come unto him. Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about (surround me) with songs of deliverance. Selah.
I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must he held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about (surround him). Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.’ (Ps. 32:1-11)
Oh friends, how wonderful it is to be touched by the power of the Lord’s forgiveness! And here is what the scholars have to say about that psalm.
‘Psalm 32. The psalm describes the blessedness of forgiveness as no other does. This is the theme of especially the first five verses, which include the happiness of the forgiven man (vs.1-2); the physical and psychological effects of unconfessed sin (vs.3-4); and the simple remedy of confession to obtain God’s forgiveness (v.5). On this basis David can experience prayer (vs.6-7); divine instruction (vs.8-9); and personal witness (vs.10-11).’
Yeh friends, what a great way to end this series of messages on confession of sin and the Lord’s faithfulness to forgive and cleanse us! So please, let’s not forget the wonderful avenues that are open to us when we sincerely serve and worship the Lord God Almighty, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
Let’s not be foolish and ignore all that He’s provided for us in His grace and tender mercies. Then we can rejoice and shout with joy! So let’s be wise and acknowledge Him nuh, lean on Him and make our way through Him, for that’s the wisdom of the ages! Much LOVE!
…to forgive is wonderful…but to receive forgiveness is even better…
12 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: All Creatures of our God and King, all things their Creator bless, Alleluia, be thankful unto him, bless His name, blessings, breath of life, burning sun, burnt offerings, cast your care, Christ our Lord, clouds that sail in heaven along, day of the lord, enter into his gates with thanksgiving, exaltation, face the music, faith, find a voice, fire so masterful and bright, flowers and fruits, flowing water, forgiving others, gather in the sanctuary, givest man both warmth and light, glory, golden beam, grace, guidance, his mercy is everlasting, his truth endureth to all generations, in humbleness, in Jesus' name, in praise rejoice, into his courts with praise, lift up your voice, lights of evening, LOVE Revolution, make music for thy Lord to hear, mano a mano, men of tender heart, mercy, Mother Earth, my mouth have spoken, pain and sorrow bear, praise God, praise him, rejoice, rising moon, rushing wind, sacrifices of praise, sad state of affairs, Selah, silver moon, softer gleam, Son, step up to the plate, strength, Sunday, that art so strong, the child of God, the fat of rams, the Father, the great works of God, The Lord is good, the spirit, the way hath trod, Three in one, through fire and water, truth, victorious, vows, walk of faith, worship Him
Psalm 100:4. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
Well friends, another Day of the Lord, Sunday, is upon us, which means it’s time to gather in the sanctuary, even though the snow is falling, (smile) and rejoice and give thanks and praise for the past week, and ask for blessings and guidance and strength for the one to come.
So let’s offer up some sacrifices of praise with our lips to our heavenly Father nuh, let Him know that we truly appreciate his wonderful grace and mercy bestowed anew, each and every day. Let’s raise our voices high by singing this favourite hymn, ‘All Creatures of our God and King.’
In perfect harmony now: ‘All creatures of our God and King Lift up your voice and with us sing, Alleluia! Alleluia! Thou burning sun with golden beam, Thou silver moon with softer gleam! (Refrain)
(O praise Him! O praise Him! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!) Thou rushing wind that art so strong Ye clouds that sail in Heaven along, O praise Him! Alleluia! Thou rising moon, in praise rejoice, Ye lights of evening, find a voice! (Refrain:)
Thou flowing water, pure and clear, Make music for thy Lord to hear, O praise Him! Alleluia! Thou fire so masterful and bright, That givest man both warmth and light. (Refrain)
Dear mother earth, who day by day Unfoldest blessings on our way, O praise Him! Alleluia! The flowers and fruits that in thee grow, Let them His glory also show. (Refrain)
And all ye men of tender heart, Forgiving others, take your part, O sing ye! Alleluia! Ye who long pain and sorrow bear, Praise God and on Him cast your care! (Refrain)
And thou most kind and gentle Death, Waiting to hush our latest breath, O praise Him! Alleluia! Thou leadest home the child of God, And Christ our Lord the way hath trod. (Refrain)
Let all things their Creator bless, And worship Him in humbleness, O praise Him! Alleluia! Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son, And praise the Spirit, Three in One! (Refrain) O praise Him! O praise Him! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!’
Oh my fellow believers that was wonderful! And that’s exactly what ought to go on on ALL the earth, ALL the time – God’s creations giving Him thanks and praise for His everlasting goodness and mercy!
And that segues very smoothly into our Bit for today. ‘Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.’
And why should we do that eh? ‘For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.’ (Ps.110:5)
Ah mih people, we couldn’t want a better reason than that to give our omnipotent, omniscient, omni-present, magnanimous and magnificent God praise and thanks!
Unfortunately though, most of the world today has either forgotten, never known, or don’t want to know His heavenly Majesty, their Creator, Provider, and the One who causes them to open their eyes each morning and breathe His breath of life. What a sad state of affairs!
But we believers will stand up and face the music, give Him His due deserts of exaltation and glory! We will fight the enemy, mano-a mano, and we will be victorious, in Jesus’ Name!
How can we not be victorious if Jesus is fighting with us eh? For as the Good Book assures us: ‘What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?’ (Rom.8:31)
And the overwhelming answer to that my people is ‘NOBODY!’ For NOBODY can stand against our triumphant God!
Now listen to the psalmist from Psalm 66, as he declares the great works of our mighty God, and corroborates our Bit. ‘Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy (an abundant) place.
I will go into thy house, with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows (promised deeds), Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble. I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams: I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah.’ (Ps.66:12-16)
Yes friends, those verses should be familiar as we read them recently when talking about keeping promises. Today though we look at them in the light of giving God thanks and praise for His succour in times of trouble. That’s the beauty of His Word: the same stuff can be used for different aspects of life!
Now let’s take a moment, as the psalmist suggested, and ponder all that we’ve said today, and see how it reflects in our personal lives, and vow, yes vow, to improve them, for it’s only in that way can we ever truly improve our walk of faith. Much LOVE!
…believers must step up to the plate…if Jesus’ LOVE Revolution is to be victorious…
05 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bind, ambassadors, better you should not vow, bind his soul with a bond, binding agreement, blemish, defer not to pay it, destroy the work of thine hands, favour, fear thou God, fellowship, forsake me never, futility, glory to God, God be angry at thy voice, God hath no pleasure in fools, God's looking at our hearts, grace, great privilege, he shall not break his word, hearsay, His godly character, his helping hand, I'll lean upon, I'll talk with god, I'll walk with God., let thy mouth cause thy flesh to sin, many words, may the Lord be ever with me, medical problems, mercy, Moses, my faith is strong, my humble pleas, my prayer, pain, pay that which thou hast vowed, pay thee my vows, personal testimony, promised to work everything out for my good, renege on our promise, sacrifices of praise, Selah, Sunday, swear an oath, than vow and not pay, The Israelites, the Lord's time, the multitude of dreams, there is no death, though eyes grow dim, uncertainty, vowest a vow unto God, walking with God, will not fail me, wisdom, worship God in all truth
Ecclesiastes 5:4. When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer (delay) not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
Oh friends, we’ve been granted the great privilege of seeing another of the first and best days of the week- Sunday! Glory to God! So let’s gather in sincere fellowship and worship Him in all truth, as we are supposed to on this special day nuh. And we’ll begin the celebrations, the sacrifices of praise by singing this popular Christian song, ‘I’ll Walk with God.’
Now let’s belt it out like we truly mean and believe it my people, because God is looking at our hearts to see if what comes out of mouths is truly what’s buried there. Now with a great outpouring of LOVE, let’s raise the roof of heaven.
‘I’ll Walk with God from this day on. His helping hand I’ll lean upon. This is my prayer, my humble plea, May the Lord be ever with me. There is no death, tho’ eyes grow dim. There is no fear when I’m near to Him. I’ll lean on Him forever And He’ll forsake me never. He will not fail me As long as my faith is strong, Whatever road I may walk along.
I’ll Walk with God, I’ll take His hand. I’ll talk with God, He’ll understand. I’ll pray to Him, each day to Him And He’ll hear the words that I say. His hand will guide my throne and rod And I’ll never walk alone While I walk with God.’
Oh my fellow believers, that was magnificent! And God heard it in His high heaven and was immensely thrilled!
However, let me remind us of what we just did there: we just made a promise, or rather several promises to Almighty God – to walk and talk with Him and hold His hand. So that means we cannot renege on those promises, for as the Preacher tells us in our Bit from Ecclesiastes. ‘When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer (delay) not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.’
And we have good authority for that from way back when in Numbers, when Moses gave the Israelites the law concerning vows. ‘If a man vow a vow unto the Lord, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond (binding himself by some agreement); he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.’ (Num.30:2)
The same applied to women too, unless her father or husband heard her sware the vow and squashed it right then and there. (Num.30:3-8) Meanwhile, the same went of widows and divorcees, unless their vows were made when they were still with their husbands and they said nothing to the contrary. (Num.30.9-15)
So you see friends, vows were taken rather seriously back in those days, and even until recently, with our sudden explosion of irresponsibility and fraudulent behaviour. Therefore it’s not only to God that we shouldn’t make vows and not keep them, but to ALL people. It should be a general way of life amongst believers.
And the keeping of vows was, and still is, so important that the writer of Ecclesiastes solemnly advised us. ‘Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. Suffer not (do not let) thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel (messenger, priest), that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice (excuse), and destroy the work of thine hands.’ (Eccl.5:5-6)
So friends, that just puts us in a beautiful bind; we just have to keep those promises now, and sincerely walk with the Lord. (smile) Believe me though friends, walking with God is not always easy, but the rewards are worth every ounce of pain and/or disappointment. And I am not talking from hearsay, but from personal testimony.
Ah mih breddren, in the last little while I’ve been going through a whole set of medical problems, and though at times I was tired of the pain and uncertainty, I could always see the Lord’s grace and mercy and favour riding along with me. And even though I’m feeling somewhat better now, the fact is that none of my medical problems have been solved or corrected. But at least we know about them and are in the process of doing something about them.
But even then, making things right will still take time, the Lord’s time, so all I can do is stay faithful and walk with God, because He has promised to work everything out for my eventual good. And I know from past experiences that He is ever faithful to His vows. He NEVER reneges on any of them. How yuh think I can write the Bit every day, despite my unfortunate circumstances eh? So why should I get all worried and anxious eh? That’s not going to solve the problem(s), only make me feel worse.
Now listen to the psalmist talk about vows, as he extols the great works of God in Psalm 66. ‘I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows (promised deeds), which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble. I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams: I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah.’ (Ps.66:13-15)
Yuh see friends, that is how we must behave as true believers in Jesus Christ our wonderful Lord and Saviour! Anything else will just place a serious blemish on His godly character. Remember we are His ambassadors down here on earth, and all that we do reflects on Him, for either good or bad.
And we’ll close with another pearl of wisdom from the Preacher. ‘For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities (futility abounds): but fear thou God.’ (Eccl.5:7)
That’s indeed the long and short of the story my people, so let’s pursue it diligently and sincerely nuh. Much LOVE!
…walking with God…is the ONLY path of wisdom in this crazy world…
21 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a present help in trouble, a shield around me, a sincere heart, all or nothing at all, all them that love him, an integral part, balance, bet yuh bottom dollar, Bless His Holy Name, burn out, Creator, despair, direction, disgrace, fellowship, Friday chant, from one extreme, fulfill the desire, fun, furthering God's kingdom, generous help, give God the glory, glory hallelujah, God is our refuge and strength, help, illness, in black and white, in Jesus' name, in truth, Israel, judgements, live it up, LOVE, Moses, never to leave nor forsake us, no help in God, obedience, praise God, problems, provider, refreshed, refuge, relaxation, renewed, rest, righteous, Selah, shame, statutes, strength, stress, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the affairs of men, the Lord sustained me, the right mix, the weekend, the workweek, trouble
Psalm 46:1. God is our refuge and strength, a very present (an abundantly available) help in trouble.
So how do we begin this morning eh friends? I don’t have a clue as to how to engage your attention on this cloudy Friday morning in the fall of 2016, except to say: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the workweek is almost done! The weekend is here…
Give God the glory for that, because if the slave master had his way, we’d work seven days a week. Steups! The greedy fool! But thanks be to God for the weekend where we can do as we please… And am I going to live it up? You could bet yuh bottom dollar on that! Just watch me!’
Ah mih people, just like us eh? We go from one extreme to the other, from working too hard to partying too hard. But that only causes undue stress, burn out and eventually illness. What we need is some kind of balance in our lives, and our Friday Chant gives us direction on that.
So let’s chant it nuh. ‘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 friends, rest, relaxation, fellowship and play are all necessary for us to live full and godly lives, but we need to mix them in the right proportion, don’t over do any of them. And if we find it difficult to get the right mix, the right balance, there is always our great God to turn to for advice and help.
What does our Bit say: ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present (an abundantly available) help in trouble.’ And that’s the living truth in a nutshell!
Our Creator and Provider is always there for us. In times of trouble we only need to call upon Him with a sincere heart and He will guide us to victory. Remember, He promises never to leave nor forsake us, and He stands by His promises.
And my brethren, we all have problems that we can’t solve, or handle, so there is no shame or disgrace in turning to the Lord for help. In fact, that’s what He wants us to do; come to Him for every purpose in life, be they big or small. The Lord wants to be an integral part of our lives, involved in EVERYTHING that we do.
But foolishly, we only want to allow Him to become involved in certain things, the others we want to deal with ourselves. Unfortunately though precious people, the Lord doesn’t work like that. He wants to be involved in ALL or NOTHING AT ALL!
So please, let’s check our lives and see if there are any areas that we are keeping God out of nuh, and then wisely invite Him to be a part of those areas. Yuh know that might be a part of our problem, why our lives aren’t going right at the moment; God isn’t totally involved in them.
Now let’s check out some scripture which reinforces our Bit. Hear Moses as he exhorts Israel to obedience. ‘For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh (a God so near) unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call him for?
And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgements so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?’ (Deut.4:7-8)
And the answer to both questions friends is NONE! Truly, there is no other God who is so involved, who takes such great interest in the affairs of men! And that’s the way it ought to be. We don’t need a God who is far off, unconcerned about our trials and tribulations, but one who is around when we need help.
Listen to Bruh David from Psalm 3 – A prayer of confidence in God – as he cries out in despair. ‘Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah. But thou, O Lord, art a shield for (around) me; my glory, and the lifter up of (the one who lifts up) mine head.
I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill (mountain). Selah. I laid down and slept; I awaked: for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.’ (Ps.3:2-6)
Oh what a glorious God we serve my people! That’s the kind of confidence He instills in us when we walk obedient to His will! So I really can’t understand why we refuse to walk steadfastly with Him. There is so much to be derived from a genuine walk with Christ, that it would take me a whole day to list them. (smile)
Now let’s go home with these wonderful words of Bruh David echoing in our minds, souls, bodies and hearts. From Psalm 145 – the Lord is gracious – he faithfully proclaims. ‘The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy (gracious) in all his works. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. The Lord preserveth all them that LOVE him: but all the wicked will he destroy. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.’ (Ps.145:17-21)
Wow! Oh my fellow believers right there we have the gospel truth in black and white! Please, please, I implore us, let’s take it heart nuh, so that our lives can be fulfilled! Let’s continually praise our wonderful God and bless His holy name at all times, for that is wisdom at its highest level! Much LOVE!
…praise Him, praise Him…Glory Hallelujah…He is LOVE…He is LOVE…
05 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a name higher than any other, alive and kicking, all the earth, appreciation, blessings, call Him Lord, come unto me, comforted me, communion, dr robert h schuller, encouraged, essential, every knee shall bow, exile in Babylon, faith, feast of Tabernacles, forgave me, glorified forever, glory, gospel truth, gracious, halfway home, heavy laden, His sinless, honour, Hour of Power Devotional, I am meek, I will give you rest, intimate friend, Israel's deliverance, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, joyous feast, labour, learn from me, life, lifted me, lonely, LOVE, loving kindness, lowly in heart, mercies, merciful Deity, millenial reign of Jesus, my burden is light, my hands are on the plough, my yoke is easy, not looking back, obedient to the Father, our Lord and Saviour, pilgrimage, pledge loyalty, praise, reconciled to God, rejoiced with me, reneges, renewed me, Selah, selflessly sacrificed, showered down on us, sing to thy name, sing unto thee, sinking, sinning, striving, struggling, succeeding, supported me, take my yoke, thanks and praise, the breath of life, the glory of God, the great invitation, the great trumpet, the holy mount of Jerusalem, trust, Wednesday Wail, What a Friend, worship, worship the Lord, worthy is the Lamb, Zechariah
Psalm 66:4. All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.
And then it was Wednesday… another glorious day to be alive and kicking! All thanks and praise be to our wonderful Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who selflessly sacrificed His sinless life so that we could be reconciled to the Father, and thus enjoy sincere communion with Him once again!
And all God’s people declared a loud and grateful ‘Praise be to Jesus the Son for being obedient to the Father’s wishes! May He be glorified forever and ever. Amen!’
And the Father did just that by making His name higher than every other name, and having every knee bow to Him and call Him Lord, to the glory of God. (Phil.2:10-11)
But you know what my fellow believers, Jesus is more than just our Lord and Saviour, He is also our best friend. Listen to this poem from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional, titled ‘What a Friend!’ I’m sure I’ve shared it before, but as we say, once it’s nice, we can share it twice, and even thrice. (smile)
Please read with me: ‘You have never failed, Lord, to be my one, essential, intimate friend. When I was: Lonely in striving – you encouraged me. Lonely in struggling – you lifted me. Lonely in serving – you supported me. Lonely in suffering – you comforted me. Lonely in sinning – you forgave me. Lonely in sinking – you renewed me. Lonely in succeeding – you rejoiced with me. What a friend I have in Jesus! Thank you, Lord. Amen.’
And all of that is gospel truth my people! There is no better friend in the entire universe than Jesus! Please remember that so you can take ALL your concerns to Him and be received with comfort and LOVING-kindness. He will NEVER turn you away, regardless of the evil you’ve done.
Remember His Great Invitation: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble): and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt.11:28-30)
Oh friends, what a marvellous invitation! Please don’t let it go to waste! Now let’s wail our Wednesday Wail, confirming our great appreciation, LOVE, trust and faith in Jesus.
Wailing: ‘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!’
Oh my fellow believers, we need to be ever thankful for the wonderful breath of life that God has blessed us with! We must also stop allowing the past to control us, but instead stay strong and steadfast in our duties and look to the beautiful future Jesus has promised us. Remember He NEVER reneges on a promise.
Consequently, with all wonderful mercies and blessings and grace that God has undeservedly showered down on us, we ought to honour Him by acclaiming our Bit. ‘All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.’
Yes friends, the Lord our God certainly deserves all the honour, praise and glory that we can give, for He is a most awesome, gracious and merciful Deity! Now hear what the prophet Zechariah has to say, re the glorious time when Zion shall reign supreme, with Jesus as the Judge.
‘And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of the tabernacles.’ (Zech.14:16) Oh mih breddren, everybody will be trekking to Jerusalem to worship King Jesus! What a pilgrimage!
And the scholars offer this explanation. ’14:16-21. The feast of tabernacles is the joyous feast of ingathering, rest, and thanksgiving. Israel celebrated it when they returned from the Exile (in Babylon). (Neh.8:14-18). The millennial reign of the Messiah is the realization of the Feast of Tabernacles. No other feast will be observed because the realities they foreshadowed will have been realized.’
Ah my faithful brothers and sisters in Christ, what a time of celebration that will be! Now let’s end with Isaiah’s take on the subject of Israel’s deliverance. ‘And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt; and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount of Jerusalem.’ (Is.27:13)
Yes my fellow believers, ALL roads lead to Jerusalem, where Christ will sit on the throne of His forefather, Bruh David, and rule the world! And all God’s children gave a loud shout of ‘Glory Hallelujah! Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to enact justice in the world, now and forever more. Amen!’
So friends, yuh see what a wonderful life and time we have to look forward to when we sincerely hook up with Jesus and obediently do His bidding? Please, let’s not be foolish and pledge our loyalty to any other, for there is truly NONE like Jesus! Much LOVE!
…oh what a friend we have in Jesus…all our sins and hopes to bear…
04 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abundant life, all the earth, chew slowly, china, Christians, cloth napkins, comfort, Daily Menu, eat desert, economic prosperity, enjoy life, enthusiasm, everyday miracle, faith, fresh flowers, fresh herbs, give thanks, glorious, good manners, good news of Jesus, goodness, great conversation, have Jesus in our lives, heads hung down, in the last days, invite someone, Jerusalem, joy, judge, learn war no more, Leila's, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, living in LOVE, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, loving kindness, make a joyful noise unto God, make his praise glorious, make love not war, martyrs, morose existence, mysterious ways, negative sentiments, out of Zion, Papa Joe's, plowshares, prepare every meal with love, pruninghooks, roti, savour every morsel, Selah, set a table, share His love, shoulders drooped, shout joyfully, silverware, sincerity, sing forth, sing to thy name, sing unto thee, spears, swords, the beloved of God, the bright light of Jesus, the day of the Lord, the friend of Jesus, the god of Jacob, the happiest people in the world, the honour of his name, the house of God, the law, the millennial age, the word of the Lord, tools of peace, Tuesday Mantra, war, wash your hands, weapons of war, worship
Psalm 66:4. All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.
Welcome to a glorious Tuesday morning friends! Oh I know it’s still dark outside as I write this, but I’m also sure that the bright light of Jesus is shining through the darkness, both physical and spiritual, bringing light and comfort to our hearts, minds, bodies and souls! What a wonderful Lord and Saviour we have my people. And there’s truly NONE like Him!
Oh, and what mysterious and fabulous ways He operates! Check out this small, everyday miracle that happened to me yesterday. I was down the street going to get a roti from the recent hot roti shop, Leila’s. But when I got to the little plaza where it’s situated, I discovered that Leila’s was closed on Mondays.
However, just across the plaza I saw a place called Papa Joe’s, with roti also on its menu. So I decided to check it out. When I entered, Papa Joe was attending to another customer, so I walked around looking at the décor.
And lo and behold on the wall I saw this black, marble like plaque with white italic writing on it, surrounded by a fancy white border, with a place setting of a fork on the left side and a knife and spoon on the right.
Obviously it piqued my interest and I went over to read it. And though I had the Duchess take a picture of it with her phone, I still felt the need to write it down. But now I’ve discovered that my description won’t do it justice, so I’m going to try and send an attachment.
And this is what I read: ‘Daily MENU Give thanks Fill a vase with fresh flowers Set a beautiful table Use fresh simple ingredients Use your best china and silverware Prepare every meal with LOVE Use fresh herbs Invite someone Practice good manners Wash your hands Use cloth napkins Chew slowly. Savour every morsel Have great conversation Eat desert Wash your own dishes’
Oh friends, isn’t that just beautiful! I certainly find so. And I believe the Lord meant me to see it so that I could share it with you today. It’s just a nice, easy, but wonderful way to live our lives!
However, we can’t do that if we don’t have Jesus in our lives, for it is only through Him that we can rise to such simple, but glorious heights. I hope the attachment came out properly and you shared my enthusiasm for it. (smile)
Now let’s do what we do every Tuesday; declare our Tuesday Mantra with sincerity, faith and mucho enthusiasm.
All together now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
Glory be, my people! NOTHING can beat being a beloved child of God and a trusted friend of Jesus! Wow!
Now with all of that goodness and LOVING-kindness, why aren’t’ we Christians the happiest people in the world eh? I certainly don’t know. But we ought to be.
Sadly though, too many of us walk around with our heads hung down, shoulders drooped, with guilt and whatever in our spirits, behaving like martyrs, believing that we should not be happy, enthusiastic and enjoy life.
But that’s totally wrong my brethren, for Jesus said that He came so that we could have life and have it in abundance! (John 10:10)
That means we don’t need to go around sad and miserable to be considered a true Christian. In fact, as true believers, we should be doing what our Bit says: ‘All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.’
Now that’s how real Christians should behave. And the psalmist was even more specific and enthusiastic before our Bit.
He begins the psalm thus: ‘Make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto God, all ye lands. Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious. Say unto God, How terrible (awesome) art thou in thy works! Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.’ (Ps.66:1-3)
Yeh friends, that ought to be the everyday behaviour of the true and devout believer, not a sad and morose existence. Now listen to how Isaiah characterizes the day of the Lord.
‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
And many people shall go and say, come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks (pruning knives): nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.’ (Is.2:2-4)
What a blessed day that will be my people! And the scholars tell us: ‘The setting is the millennial age, when the nations of the world will come to the Holy City (Jerusalem) to learn the ways of God.
Christ Himself is pictured as the Judge who will direct the affairs of the nations during His millennial kingdom. Thus the weapons of war will be turned into tools of peace and economic productivity.’
Oh friends, how I look forward to that day; that day when war shall be no more! But why do we have to wait till then eh? We can start right now by pursuing peace, by spreading the good news of Jesus and living in LOVE with God and each other!
So I implore us today, to begin turning our weapons of war, our negative sentiments into tools of peace, LOVE, joy and economic prosperity, for that is indeed wisdom at its zenith! Much LOVE!
…the motto of the true believer…make LOVE…not war…
P.S. Sorry friends, but I could not put the attachment in the Blog, so you will just have to rely on my description. (smile) Much LOVE!
03 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's wisdom, a true Christian, adrenaline, aligning oneself, all the earth, antidote, aura of love, confidence, Creator of the universe, do good work for Jesus, endureth for ever, energizes, enthusiasm, enthusiastic, evil, evil hordes, exalth themselves, faith, fellowship, foolish, friends, fun, Gentiles, glory hallelujah, halfhearted, hit the road, holy spirit, homage, humble servants, hymn of praise, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, lies, LOVE, loving kindness, magnificent and magnanimous God, make like jack, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, omni-present, omnipotent, omniscient, play favourites, Praise ye the Lord, rebellious, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, rewards, salvation, Selah, sing to thy name, sing unto thee, sometime thing, sovereignty, spiritual armour, spreading the good news of Jesus, steadfast faith, the Great Commission, the truth of the Lord, the weekend, the works of God, trust, ungodly world, unwise, wisdom, work time, worship
Psalm 66:4. All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.
Ah friends, the second big day of the week is here, and our journey through it will depend on how we handled the first big day of the week. (smile) Yeh mih people, it’s work time once again, and if we’ve used the weekend properly, we’d be all set and ready, enthusiastic and can’t wait to get out into the world and show the godless and the heathen how a true believer in Jesus, a true Christian behaves.
But since many of us have compromised ourselves on the weekend, consequently, we are not ready and able, or willing to face the evil hordes that abound in the working world. But there’s no reason to be anxious or afraid, for we have the right antidote for your problem. It’s called our Monday Morning Battle Hymn and it energizes us, gets our adrenaline running so that we can go out and do good work for Jesus.
So without further ado, let’s raise our voices heavenward in harmony and praise. ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Oh friends, that wasn’t too hot nuh; out of tune and not very enthusiastic, and our choirmaster, Jesus, definitely wasn’t pleased. You could see that by the serious look on His comely face and His unsmiling eyes. Nevertheless, most of us now have our motors idling smoothly, so let’s make like jack nuh, hit the road and do Jesus’ bidding, as per the Great Commission. (Matt.28:19-20)
That brings us to our Bit: ‘All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.’
Oh my brethren, that is ever so true! In due course of time, everyone on planet earth will be singing the praises of our wonderful God! Why? Because He is just such a magnificent, magnanimous, omnipotent, omniscient, omni-present, ever-LOVING, ever-caring, ever-faithful, kind, forgiving and compassionate Deity! Wow!
He’s also the Creator of the universe and all therein! And there’s NO OTHER like Him! So why wouldn’t we worship and sing praises to Him eh? Not unless we’re foolish and unwise. And, unfortunately, there are way too many of that type in today’s world. They think that God is a joke, or He just doesn’t exist.
But that’s the furthest thing from the truth my fellow believers, and we know that because God is at work in us, doing all sorts of wonderful things in our lives, as we work for Him down here, spreading the good news of Jesus, while storing up eternal rewards in heaven. Glory Hallelujah!
Listen to how the psalmist continues after our Bit. ‘Come and see the works of God: he is terrible (awesome) in his doing toward the children of men, He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood (river) on foot: there did we rejoice in him. He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.’ (Ps.66:5-7)
Now that last statement is a very serious warning to the unbeliever; they ought not to think too highly of themselves, for with the same speed that they are exalted, the Lord will pull them back down for their false pride and egotistic disregard of His sovereignty. Not aligning oneself with the Creator and Controller of the universe and paying Him great homage is a fool’s wisdom my people.
Hear the psalmist from Psalm 117, the shortest chapter in the Bible. ‘O Praise the Lord, all ye nations (gentiles) praise (glorify) him, all ye people. For his merciful (LOVING) kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Praise ye the Lord.’ (Ps.117:1-2)
And the scholars offer up these explanations on the psalm. ‘Psalm 117. This little psalm contains a great message. Though some have denied it an independent existence, attaching it to Psalm 116, Psalm 117 has all three elements of the hymn of praise: a call to praise (v.1), a cause for praise (v.2a, b), and a conclusion, which in this case is a simple praise ye the Lord (v.2c).
The fact that the nations and people (lit. “peoples”) are addressed in verse 1 makes this psalm the only one in the Psalter addressed in its entirety to the Gentile world. Its evangelistic mood was still baffling to some of Paul’s readers. This is one of four passages that Paul quotes from the Old Testament, in Romans 15, to prove that God is interested in saving Gentiles.’
Yeh friends, that’s one of the reasons Almighty God is worthy of much praise; He’s interested in saving EVERYBODY, not just some. Our God doesn’t play favourites, He wants all of His creation to come to Him, and that’s a part of our job. So please let’s get out there today and do it to the best of our ability nuh, obviously with the help of God, through His Holy Spirit that dwells within us. Much LOVE!
…praising our God should be an automatic, joyful and continuous response from believers…not a halfhearted, sometime thing…
16 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a gift of God, a great day to be alive, a job, a modicum of circumspection, a roof over our heads, a stranger, abode, abundance, accumulation of wealth, affliction, all that glitters is not gold, Anselm, beautiful things, better car, bigger, bitch, brevity of life, children, christianity, cleaning, clothes, common among men, complain, corrupt, deceased, desperate, dishonesty, do better in school, do your best, enjoyment, eternal life, evil, evil disease, flimsy, food, foolishness, for the wind, foundation, futility, good, gospel truth, grocery shopping, grumbling, heritage, higher ground, his portion, hit the nail on the head, honesty, honour, in heaven, in the Mirror, insubstantial, integrity, Jesus Christ, keeping up with the Joneses, laboured, lacks nothing, laundry, litigation, living like cat and dog, loving kindness, lustful, mercy, miserable, misfortune, money, naked, partake, power to eat, prettier, Prince, privileged circumstances, promises, prosperity, proud, reap the rewards, reputation, rewards, riches, run down riches, sacrificed, salvation, Saturday, Selah, shameful, sinful nature, sinless life, smarter, sour, sullies the name, sure bet, the Be All, the End all, the Preacher, travail, trickery, under the sun, unfortunate, ungodly behaviour, vanity, virtues, virtuous living, wealth, wealthy prime, wisdom
Ecclesiastes 6:1. There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men.
Oh friends and fellow believers, today is a great day to be alive! And why is that you ask? Because today is not like any other day. It’s filled with wonderful promises and beautiful things to look forward to, like no work, since it’s Saturday…
And I hear some of you ‘steupsing’ and grumbling in the background, for although there is no outside work to go to, there is a lot of stuff to be done around the house; stuff to clean up from the past week and more to get ready for next week.
But that doesn’t mean we have to be sour and miserable. Just being alive is a great joy in itself, especially in our privileged circumstances.
I wonder how we’d react if we didn’t have any money, a roof over our heads, food on our table, a job to go to and no decent clothes to wear? And believe me, there a great many people in our universe, and right in our own backyards too, who are undergoing such desperate and unfortunate circumstances.
So please don’t bitch and complain because you have some cleaning and laundry and grocery shopping to do. Just stop for a moment and consider what your life would have been like if the good Lord in His mercy and LOVING-kindness had not smiled down on you with abundance and prosperity eh. Selah.
Now give Him some thanks and praise for your well-being and promise not to complain again – well at least not for today. (smile)
And here are a couple of quotes from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us. They hit the nail on the head re the worldly lifestyle that’s so prevalent today. The first quote is called ‘In The Mirror.’ And it tells us that: ‘Someone will always be prettier. Someone will always be smarter. Someone’s house will be bigger. Someone will drive a better car. Someone’s children will do better in school.’
And the sad part is that we know all of that, we know it’s gospel truth, but yet we still allow the flimsy, insubstantial and ungodly behaviour of the world to corrupt our hearts, souls, bodies and minds with its proud and lustful foolishness – the keeping up with Joneses nonsense!
And hear the other hit the nail right on the head, rather appropriate quote from our friend Anselm. ‘Cherish…the virtues you possess. At the end of the day, there will always be trickery and dishonesty. But if you are standing on higher ground, and you believe in honesty and integrity, and all that is good, trying at all times to do your best and nothing less, you will surely reap the rewards of virtuous living.’
Oh my people that is Christianity 101! We ought to know that backwards and forwards! That’s why Jesus left His comfortable abode in heaven and came down here to earth and sacrificed His sinless life for us – so that we could be empowered to lead virtuous lives and reap its wonderful rewards – salvation and eternal life!
But because of our inherent sinful nature, and the bright beckoning lights of the world, we continue to allow its worthless things and ways to hold too much sway over us. Please remember that all that glitters is not gold, especially in this fraudulent and deceptive world!
That brings us to our Bit. ‘There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men.’ More truth friends on the vanity of riches, this time from Cousin Sol, in his capacity as the Preacher!
And he continues in the next verse. ‘A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth (lacks) nothing for his soul (himself) of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity (futility), and it is an evil disease (affliction).’ (Eccl.6:2)
Yes friends, you can be rich as Cousin Sol himself and not be able to enjoy those riches. As the scholars declare: ‘6:1-2. Prosperity is not necessarily good. Accumulation of wealth does not always result in the use of it.’
And just look at how many wealthy people have departed this life without being able to enjoy their wealth nuh, while others, even strangers, who hadn’t laboured for it joyfully partake of it. Not only that, but the sad and sorrowful litigation that takes place when a wealthy person dies is so shameful, that it just sullies the name and reputation of the deceased.
And look no further than the recent death of Prince in his wealthy prime, who left no will, and now so many people are coming out of the woodwork claiming to be entitled to some of the spoil. In the long run, perfect strangers, the lawyers might just end up getting the most of it.
It’s a good thing that I don’t have anything for anybody to fight over – at least not yet, but it is possible, since my best days are still ahead of me. (smile) And as I’ve always told my children, the day I see them living like cat and dog, I’m going to come back and haunt them.
Now listen to the Preacher again. ‘There is a sore (severe) evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners to their hurt. But those riches perish by evil travail (misfortune): and he that begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand.
As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand. And this also is a sore (severe) evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?
All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness. Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely (fitting) for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun (in which he toils) all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion (heritage).’ (Eccl.5:13-18)
And the scholars tell us this re those verses. ‘5:13-17. Wealth is easily lost and is therefore an unsure foundation for life.’ ‘5:18-20. Enjoyment is a gift of God, and man should be motivated by the brevity of his own life to experience it.’
Ah friends, Cousin Sol was the richest man in the world, and if he could declare that riches wasn’t the end all and be all, then who are we to say him nay eh? So please, let’s not run down riches, but if it does come, let’s enjoy it, though with a modicum of circumspection, for that’s wisdom at its heavenly best! Much LOVE!
…the only sure bet in this world is…JESUS CHRIST…
13 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a brand new day, a glorious future, a load of care, alive and kicking, all is lost, angels, believers in Jesus Christ, blessed shalt thou be, blessings, burdened, cattle, Charels Stanley, comfort, commandments, consequences, count your blessings, day and night, discouraged, enthusiasm, every doubt will fly, every sphere of life, everyday actions, eyes fixed straight ahead, focusing, fractious, glad to be alive, glory, glory hallelujah, glory to God, God is over all, God's will, great or small, halfway home, hands on the plough, hearken to God's voice, heavenly Father, help, home on high, honour, in the city, in the field, insignificant thnings, journey's end, joyful time, keep singing, kine, life's billows, LOVE, LOVE of God, loving kindness, magnanimous, magnificent, mea culpa, miracles, miserable, money cannot buy, name them one by one, new mercies, not turning back, obedient, obey God, offspring, overtake thee, praise, praise and worship, reward in heaven, see what God has done, Selah, sense of purpose, set thee on high, sincere, stipulated condition, take for granted, tempest tossed, thankful, the breath of God, the breath of life, the conflict, the cross, the fruit of thy body, truth, watches over us, Wednesday Wail, wisdom, zenith
Deuteronomy 28:3. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
Welcome to another brand new day with brand new mercies and LOVING-kindness my fellow believers in Jesus Christ!
Now I’ve been guided to open today’s proceedings with this li’l ditty that we all know and LOVE, but don’t, or very seldom practice. Otherwise we wouldn’t be so fractious and miserable, and there’d be much more of the LOVE of God in us, shown through our everyday actions.
So let’s all sing now in joyful but serious and sincere enthusiasm, truth and belief, ‘Count Your Blessings.’ And let each of us count the blessings in our own lives as we sing, so that it will be more real to each of us.
‘When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done. Refrain: Count your blessings, name them one by one, Count your blessings, see what God has done! Count your blessings, name them one by one, Count your many blessings, see what God has done.
Are you ever burdened with a load of care? Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear? Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly, And you will keep singing as the days go by. Refrain: Count your blessings…
When you look at others with their lands and gold, Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold; Count your many blessings—money cannot buy Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high. Refrain: Count your blessings…
So, amid the conflict whether great or small, Do not be discouraged, God is over all; Count your many blessings, angels will attend, Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end. Refrain: Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.’
Yes friends, if we have counted our many blessings as we sang that wonderful hymn of praise and worship, I am sure that we all have been surprised and amazed at all the wonderful things our magnificent and magnanimous God has done in our lives.
The problem though is many of those things might be small and somewhat insignificant, so we just roll along taking them for granted. But just stop for a moment and consider what our lives would be like if all those blessings we’ve named were absent from our lives eh. Selah!
Yes my brethren, our lives would be nowhere near as happy and comfortable as they now are. So the lesson is to never take those small, insignificant things for granted, because that’s where God works most of His miracles in our lives.
And all God’s children loudly and gratefully declare: ‘All praise, honour and glory be to our heavenly Father, who watches over us day and night. Guides and protects us, And never lets us out of His sight!’
Ah mih people, I can’t help but be amazed at the greatness and wonder of the awesome God we serve! Now, since it’s Wednesday, let’s declare our Wednesday Wail with enthusiasm, truth and a strong sense of purpose.
Wailing: ‘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!’
Oh my fellow faithful believers, this world might not be the greatest, but every morning we awake, we should be exceedingly thankful for that breath of God that’s still flowing through our bodies, because it means we’re alive and kicking and have so much to look forward to as we make our pilgrim’s journey with the Lord on our side.
We just have to put our hands strong and steadfast to the plough and keep looking ahead to the promise of a great and glorious future with Jesus! Believe me friends, it will be such a joyful time! Glory Hallelujah!
That brings us to our Bit; such a glorious promise! ‘Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.’
Yes my precious people of God, like the scholars inform us: ’28:3-6. These verses contain six blessings that extend to every sphere of life.’
Now let’s check out the other five. ‘Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body (offspring), and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine (cattle), and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store (kneading bowl). Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.’ (Deut.28:4-6)
Now what could be better than that eh mih breddren? Nothing really! But unfortunately there’s a stipulated condition of God’s before all of that can happen.
Listen up: ‘And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.’ (Deut.28:1-2)
Yes Friends, for the blessings to flow, we need to be obedient to God’s will and purpose! But the beautiful part is that when we’re obedient, the blessings shall overtake us! We don’t have to go chasing them, they will chase us, and eventually overtake us! Glory to God my people!
So please, let’s be wise today, be obedient and sincere, and dwell on God’s word, so that the promised blessings can run us down and overtake us. Now that is indeed wisdom at its zenith! Much LOVE!
…as Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) so rightly says…the best way to live this life…is to simply obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him…
P.S. Sincere mea culpas. The computer and I were both slow this morning. (smile) Much LOVE!
16 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a new song, a pillar of cloud, a pillar of fire, all the earth shall worship thee, beneficial, blessed, bread and butter, caught up, Christians, cleave to the Lord, comfort, Creator, disappointed, eaxalted, end all, error, eternal life, exceedingly rejoice, excited in Jesus, exhortation, faithful readers, fear the Lord, glad to be alive, glory, glory hallelujah, God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, goodness, heal our hurts, History, hold fast, honour, how awesome art thy works, I am halfway home, I'm not looking back, Jesus, Jesus the only answer, joyful, judgement, justice, King of Kings, let the righteous be glad, Lord of Lords, LOVE, loving kindness, make a joyful noise, manna, merciful giver, Moses, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my hands are on the plough, our be all, pains, part the Red Sea, Pharaoah, Praise the Lord, problems, rejoice, rejoice before God, righteous, righteousness, ruler of heaven and earth, salvation, Selah, sing forth the honour of his name, sing to thy name, sing unto God, stars of heaven, swear by his name, tendencies, testimony, the breath of God, the days of the week, the First and the Last, the greatness of thy power, thine enemies submit, this is the day the Lord has made, time of sorrow, under the weather, wailing, water from a rock, we will rejoice and be glad in it
Psalm 68:3. But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.
Oh friends, the ole fella’s somewhat disappointed this morning. First in myself, for writing that yesterday was Thursday when it was only Wednesday. And second because none of my supposed faithful readers saw it fit to write me and point out the error.
But all of that’s history now. It’s become a testimony; that one can get so caught up and excited in Jesus that you don’t even know the days of the week! (smile)
So what shall we do today? I guess we’ll just preach yesterday’s sermon today, beginning by wailing our heads off. There’s nothing that says we must wail on a particular day. For that matter we can do anything on any given day.
So let’s wail nuh. ‘Thursday, Thursday, Thursday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Thursday! Thursday, Thursday, Thursday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Thursday! 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!’
Yes my brethren, the day’s not as important as what we declare in it! And I’m sure glad to be alive on this Wednesday or Thursday, (smile) although I’m a tad under the weather, with a touch of the flu. But it’s certainly great to be alive, and I’m trying my best to keep my hands on the plough and look straight ahead to that glorious future with Jesus!
I sure hope that you all are feeling the same way too. If not, you’d be doing yourself a huge disservice, for Jesus is the ONLY answer to our problems! He ALONE can heal our hurts and pains, give us comfort in time of sorrow, feed us with manna from heaven, and bring us to salvation and eternal life!
Give Him some thanks and praise for His wondrous deeds on our behalf nuh! And all God’s people declared a loud and proud: ‘Praise the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for He is our Be All and End All; the First and the Last; King of Kings and Lord of Lords; Ruler of heaven and earth! There is NONE else like Him! NONE worthy to be exalted above Him! All glory and honour be to Him!’
Yeh mih people, that’s how important Jesus is to us. And we’ll continue with our Bit, the same one from yesterday: ‘But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.’
Ah friends, if we’re Jesus’ people, and we’re righteous – well as righteous as we can be – then we ought to be glad and rejoice in the presence of our great and wonderful God.
As the psalmist so rightfully says: ‘This is the day which the Lord hath made; we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’ (Ps.118:24) It would be good, very beneficial, if we can remind ourselves of that fact each and every day my people.
Now let’s check out some more wonderful scripture passages that deal with praising Almighty God. Listen to the psalmist from Psalm 66 – The great works of God.
‘Make a joyful noise (shout) unto God; all ye lands: sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious. Say unto God, How terrible (awesome) art thou in thy works! Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.’ (Ps.66:1-4)
Yeh friends, ponder that for a moment nuh! Now listen to Moses exhort the Israelites. ‘Thou shalt fear the Lord they God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave (hold fast), and swear by his name.
He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible (awesome) things, which thine eyes have seen. Thy fathers went down into Egypt with three score and ten persons; and now the Lord thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.’ (Deut.10:20-22)
Ah mih people, what mighty and awesome works the Lord our God did indeed do in the sight of those Israelites of old! Who else could part the Red Sea and allow them to walk across it on dry land eh, then swallow up the army of Pharaoh in a wall of water?
Who else could have led them through the wilderness by a pillar of cloud in the day and a pillar of fire at night, assuring them of His presence and safety from their enemies? And who else could have given them water from a rock, manna and meat more than sufficient for their needs in the wilderness eh?
NONE but the mighty, ever-lasting and ever-living God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! No wonder we praise and thank Him as much as we do!
Now let’s end with this exhortation from Psalm 33 – Praise to the Lord for His creation. ‘Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for his praise is comely (beautiful) for the upright. Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.
Sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise (shout of joy). For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth. He LOVETH righteousness and judgement (justice): the earth is full of the goodness (LOVING-kindness) of the Lord.’ (Ps.33:1-5)
And indeed it is my fellow believers! So today, as we go about the Lord’s business, please let’s remember to be thankful and give Him praise for all that He’s done, is doing now and has promised to do in the future for us.
Remember, He is our Creator, our bread and butter, our calm in the time of storm, and the merciful giver of salvation and eternal life! Much LOVE!
…Christians are the most blessed people in the world…therefore they should also be the most joyful… P.S.
Please excuse the lateness of the Bit, you know the ole fella’s late night tendencies. (smile) Much LOVE!
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