16 May 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: an ambassador, assurance, breastplate of righteousness, chains, compassionate heart, corporate matter, curse, destiny, divine aid, eagerness, eternal glory, falling short, fiery darts, first person singular, flourish in our society, for all saints, galvanize us into action, God's Word, greedy motives, hope, in bodns, in christ's gospel, in the name of Jesus, in the Spirit, LOVE, men ought always to pray, negative word, never fulfilled, no giving up, not faint, not lose heart, of christ's heart, open my mouth boldly, prayer, praying always, preparation of peace, prosper, self-control, self-discipline, selfish, shield of faith, spiritual armour, spiritual combat, stressful, strife-filled times, success, supernatural wisdom, supplication, the flesh is weak, the gospel of christ, the helmet of salvation, the parable of the unjust judge, the spirit is willing, the Spirit of God, the Truth, the truth of God, Thursday Blessings, two edged sword, utterance, warm the cockles, watch and pray, watching, with all perseverance, with all prayer
Ephesians 6:18. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.
Oh yes, it’s bright and sunshiny and even warm too! Glory to God! Yeh friends, the day’s begun the way a day is supposed to begin; with the light of Jesus shining brightly in and through our lives! (smile) Oh, is it ever good to wake up to sunshine after all that watery precipitation.
And would you believe that yesterday afternoon with sunshine flowing, the rain still made its way down! But I guess that shower was just to wash away the remaining clouds, because after that the sun came out even brighter! Thanks be to God!
And I want to apologize for not giving us the whole story a couple of days ago when we dealt with the spiritual armour of God. Yuh know we’re fully protected once we have our loins girded with the truth of God, and the breastplate of righteousness is secured fast against our chests, and our feet are properly shod in the preparation of peace, the eagerness provided by the gospel of Christ.
Not to mention having that all important shield of faith to protect us from the fiery darts of the enemy, our heads protected by the helmet of salvation, the hope and assurance of eternal glory in God, while wielding that terrible two edged sword of the Spirit, God’s immortal, powerful and life changing Word!
Yes friends, it all looks good, but there is one necessary part, one thing is needed to get it all going, to galvanize us into action; and that’s prayer! Without prayer, our armour is not worth a whole lot. That’s why Bruh Paul warned after telling us all about the spiritual armour: ‘Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.’
Oh my people, prayer is always the most important item in any earthly situation! And the scholars’ explain that verse thus: ‘6:18. Praying is grammatically linked to ‘stand” in verse 14. Without prayer God’s armour is inadequate to achieve victory. Prayer is indispensable. Always means “on every occasion,” that is, when Satan attacks.
In the Spirit signifies that with the Spirit’s help such prayer for divine aid is to be made. Watching thereunto means “being vigilant in this very matter” of prayer. They are to pray not just for themselves but also for all saints; spiritual combat is both and individual and corporate matter.’
Oh my fellow believers that last part is especially important; we’re required not only to pray for ourselves but also for the rest of God’s church, all His saints, because we all need the Spirit of God to work productively in us, and prayer is the catalyst that gets it all going! And Bruh Paul made that abundantly clear when he continued after our Bit:
‘And (pray) for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery (the hidden truth) of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds (chains): that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.’ (Eph.6:19-20)
Yuh see friends, even though Bruh Paul was blessed with so much revelation from God, he still needed human prayer to help him do the job; speak boldly and openly about the truth in Christ’s gospel. Now tell me how much more do we, in these sad, stressful and strife-filled times need the prayer of our fellow believers eh? But sadly, because of the selfish, greedy and first person singular motives that currently flourish in our society, we don’t pray for our fellow believers as much as we ought to.
Too many of us supposed believers are focused only on our own selves, our own needs, wants and problems. But there is a lot of truth in the saying, that somebody out there is always suffering more than us, and need God’s help worse than we do! Let’s just remember that, especially we believers in this wealthy and prosperous, but ever so wasteful and selfish Western society! End of Sermon! (smile)
Oh, I forgot I wanted to add these two warnings of Jesus on the subject of prayer. First off: To His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane who should have been praying with Him, but instead fell asleep. ‘Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ (Matt.26:41) And isn’t that the awful truth!
The second warning is this: ‘And he spake a parable unto them (the disciples) to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint (lose heart).’ (Luke 18:1) And the scholars give a nice, precise explanation of that verse. ’18:1. To faint means “to lose heart.” Precisely when tempted to give up, men ought to be strong in their resolve to pray.’ And that’s for certain sure friends, because there’s NO giving up in Jesus’ vocabulary!
And by the way, the parable mentioned above was about the woman seeking justice from the unjust judge. (Luke 18:2-8) And she only received it because she kept on badgering him, until in disgust, he finally relented. That’s how we ought to pray my fellow saints; always…and with confidence and humility!
Now let’s go home declaring (right ho!) those wonderful attributes bestowed on us believers in our Thursday Blessings. We’ve got to declare them for them to take effect. So as one sincere body of faith: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And remember, those blessings are not granted for us to selfishly hoard, but to generously share with the less fortunate. So let’s go out and do just that nuh, and thus warm the cockles of Christ’s heart! Much LOVE!
…without sincere and constant prayer…a believer’s life is never fulfilled…thus falling short of his destiny…
09 May 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a very present help, agonizing repentance, allow trouble to lift you, backbone, be of good cheer, behold the beauty, belly, cast down, compassionate heart, courage, curse, desired of the Lord, distressed, dr robert h schuller, dwell in the house of the Lord, endure pain, endure suffering, face danger, faith, false friends forsake us, favour, glory to God, God is our refuge and strength, grow in Christ, hide me in his pavilion, i have overcome the world, illness strikes, in me ye might have peace, in trouble, inquire in his temple, learn courage, learn patience, learn tenderness, matured as christians, negative word, no progress without pain, no salvation, not destroyed, not forsaken, not in despair, one thing, perplexed, persecuted, prize freedom, prize true friends, seek after, Selah, self-control, self-siscipline, set me upon a rock, sons of Korah, stretch forth thine hand, success, the victory is ours, Thursday Blessings, treasure health, trouble, unwavering confidence, vanquished the devil, walk in the midst of trouble, will not we fear, your greatest opportunity
Psalm 46:1. God is our refuge and strength, a very present (an abundantly available) help in trouble.
Allow Trouble to Lift You: ‘Truly we learn courage when we face danger; we learn patience when we endure suffering; we learn tenderness when we face pain; we learn to prize true friends when false ones forsake us; we treasure health when illness strikes and we learn to prize freedom when we are in danger of losing it!
Without trouble we would be like plants that have sprouted, grown, and been nurtured in the overprotected shelter of a hothouse, too tender ever to live in the open.’ Oh what words of gospel truth those are!
And furthermore: ‘We have matured as Christians when we learn that there is no progress without pain; there is no conversation without crises; there is no birth without painful travail; there is no salvation without agonizing repentance and no Easter without a Good Friday! There is no service without suffering…’
Yes friends, I couldn’t put it any better than that! Unfortunately those are not my words, but Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) from His Hour of Power Devotional. And yes, until we supposed Christians realize that a Christian life is not a sweet and fairytale life devoid of pain and hardship, but one fraught with periods of suffering, just like Christ’s, we’ll never mature, never grow in Christ as we ought to.
Because as Gramps Schuller so rightly points out, if our lives are just easy and smooth, we won’t be able to face the rough and tumble trials that are truly life in this evil and ungodly world! In good, smooth, comfortable times we don’t grow, we just float along without a care in the world. But when adversity hits, that’s when we separate the goats from the sheep, that’s when we see what we’re truly made of, how strong is our backbone and belly!
And in so doing, if we have the necessary faith and courage to stand strong in Christ, that’s when we grow! As Gramps Schuller also says later on: ‘Your trouble may be your greatest opportunity!’ And that’s no lie, because then you have to stir yourself and get yourself moving to solve your problems, in tandem with Almighty God if you’re wise!
Remember Jesus didn’t promise that His followers would have clear and uneventful sailing in this topsy-turvy world, but exactly the opposite: ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33)
And if you’re a true believer, then you’ll know that Jesus doesn’t lie. Neither does He make idle promises. So if He says that life will contain rough times, then it will, but on the other hand, if He promises His peace during those times, then that will also come to pass.
And remember He’s already vanquished the devil in his own territory; hell, death and the grave, by rising triumphantly on Easter Sunday, so we should not be overwhelmed by all the nonsense the enemy tries to tell us, for the victory is already ours! Glory to God!
So now, let’s check out some scriptures that can help us handle trouble when it comes against us. And if anybody knew trouble, though he was certainly blessed, it was Bruh David. But he stoically declares (steups, wrong again) ‘One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty (delightfulness) of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me upon a rock.’ (Ps.27:4-5)
That means friends we just can’t run to God when times become rough, but must be in good communication with Him during the good times too. Now listen to the Sons of Korah: ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present (an abundantly available) help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst (the heart) of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.’ (Ps.46:1-3)
Yes my brethren, let’s take a moment and contemplate on that nuh! Is our faith that strong? It ought to be, if we are truly walking in righteous and godly paths. And listen to Bruh David once again: ‘Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.’ (Ps.138:7)
Oh my people, that’s the kind of unwavering confidence we ought to have in our omnipotent God, for with Him ALL things are possible! And no treatise on trouble would be complete without these famous words of Bruh Paul to the church at Corinth. ‘We are troubled (hard pressed) on every side, yet not distressed (crushed); we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast (struck) down, but not destroyed;’ (2 Cor.4:8-9)
And why is that my faithful brethren? Because we’re ‘Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.’ (2 Cor.4:10) And now that we’ve conquered trouble, (smile) let’s go home declaring (right ho!) all the wonderful things contained in our Thursday Blessings.
As one strong and sincere voice now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And as always, I have to remind us that those blessings are not for us to selfishly hoard, but to generously share with others less fortunate than us! Much LOVE!
…if we are in Christ…and Christ is in us…then we can overcome ANYTHING that comes against us…
02 May 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a good foundation, abides forever, all or nothing at all, be loyal to one, be obedient to His word, compassionate heart, curse, despise the other, do good, do his bidding, earthly riches, Emmanuel, enmity with God, eternal life, Everlasting Father, faith, favour, friendship with the world, gave us His freedom, generously shared, good works, gospel truth, grace, halfway measures, hate the one, haughty, highminded, immaculate conception, King of Kings, lay hold on eternal life, laying up for themselves, Lily of the valley, Lord of Lords, LOVE, love not the world, love of the Father, love the other, lovers of God and the world, lust of the eyes, majesty, negative word, no man can serve two masters, positive outlook, pride of life, revere, Rose of Sharon, sacrificed His sinless life, self-control, self-discipline, selfishly hoarded, Sermon on the Mount, sinless character, success, surrender our lives to Jesus, the mighty God, the things in the world, the time to come, the will of God, the world passes away, Thursday Blessings, took our sins, virgin birth, Wonderful, you cannot serve God and mammon
Matthew 6:24. No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and LOVE the other; or else he will hold (be loyal) to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (earthly riches).
And yes, it’s a cloudy, foggy Thursday morning in my li’l part of the world, but hopefully the sun will push through and decimate all the fog and cloud in a short while. But even if it doesn’t, if the sun doesn’t shine, we must remember that we have a friend, a Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ who controls the calm and the storm alike and He can decimate whatever ills, or storms that are blowing through our lives with one single, simple touch of His favour, mercy, grace and/or LOVING-kindness! Give Him the thanks and praise He so well deserves my faithful brethren!
Ah mih people, our Jesus is so wonderful that there are no words in any language that can truly describe Him! We try, but all our man-made descriptions fall far short of the ideal, of the magnificent Deity that He is! Only Deity like Himself might be able to find language to truly describe Him.
But until we get to heaven and hear the Father and the Holy Spirit describe Him, we’ll have to settle for insufficient terms like: ‘Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Rose of Sharon, Lily of the Valley, Emmanuel, A name above every other Name, to whom ALL knees must bow, Heavenly Advocate, High Priest, Son of God, Saviour of the World, ‘Uniter’ of Jews and Gentiles, He of the Immaculate Conception and of Virgin Birth…etc. etc.’
Yes friends, those are only some of the many names we use to describe Jesus, but the great thing about it is that ALL of them are true and reflect some aspect of Jesus’ great and godly character and the extensive list of jobs that He performs with such grace and majesty! How can we not LOVE and revere Him eh? And if we LOVE and revere Him, then we ought to be delighted to do His bidding, be obedient to His Word and His dictates!
But unfortunately that’s where too many of us draw the line! Yes, we all claim to LOVE Jesus and spout a good talk, but when it comes right down to the nitty gritty, doing as he says, that’s an entirely different subject. We hem and haw about giving up our independence, about surrendering completely to the One who LOVES us so much that He sacrificed His sinless life for our sinful ones. He took our sin and gave us His freedom, His sinless character.
But friends, there can only be one driver of a vehicle or ship or plane at any one time, and it’s either we surrender our lives completely to Jesus and let Him run them as He sees fit, or we don’t. There’s no halfway or in-between measure! You can’t sit on the fence and hope one side or the other will work out. With Jesus, it’s either ALL or NOTHING AT ALL!
As He says so vividly in the Sermon on the Mount: ‘No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and LOVE the other; or else he will hold (be loyal) to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (earthly riches).’
Yes my people, that’s gospel truth! In this world you have to serve somebody, but you can only truly serve ONE somebody at a time, and the choices we have are simply Jesus Christ or the riches of this world controlled by the evil Satan himself. And today I just want to look at a few scriptures that promote serving Jesus as opposed to the evil one and his lure of earthly wealth and power.
First up is Bruh Paul in his first missive to Timothy, where he warns. ‘Charge (command) them that are rich in this world (present age), that they be not highminded (haughty), nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute (to give), willing to communicate (share). Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.’ (1 Tim.6:17-19)
Yes friends, nothing is basically wrong with being rich, God gives earthly riches to many of us, but we need to be generous and godly with those blessings. As the scholars explain: ‘6:19. When wealthy believers generously share (v.18), they secure an assurance (laying up in store for themselves a good foundation) that in the future (against the time to come) they will indeed enter heaven (lay hold on eternal life).
Salvation is not purchased by the giving of money, but generosity demonstrates the reality of one’s faith. Since the believer trusts God and not money, he gives. This giving shows where his heart is and that he views his wealth in light of eternity.’
Now James says it thus: ‘Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of (with) the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be (makes himself) a friend of the world is (makes himself) the enemy of God.’ (James 4:4) Yes my people, we cannot be both LOVERS of God and the world at the same time, as John says so clearly in his epistle.
‘LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.’ (1 John 2:15-17)
Ah friends, please pay particular attention to the part that says the things of the world pass away, but he who does the will of God abides forever, because it’s gospel truth. End of sermon! (smile) Now let’s go home declaring (right ho!) our Thursday Blessings, which the Lord has rained down on us to assist us in doing his earthly work.
All together now with sincere hearts, in loud voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Oh true believers in Christ, how blessed we are! Now let’s go out and share those wonderful blessings as Jesus desires of us. Much LOVE!
…all that we’ve been given…is meant to be generously shared…not selfishly hoarded…
25 Apr 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a name above all names, a no no, a pardoning judge, a stickler for justice, abundance, appearance, as a man, became obedient, believe in Christ, best way to live, by one man's disobedience, courage, creativity, curse, disobedient creation, displeasing the Father, Dr. Charles Stanley, Easter celebrations, empathy, eternal life, every knee must bow, faithful obedience, found in fashion, frailties, God of Numerous Chances, God's Word, gracious, he humbled himself, lack of obedience, leave all the consequences to Him, LOVE, many made righteous, many made sinners, merciful, negative word, obedience of one, obey God, once and for all time, our benefit, painful death, prosper, rebellious, righteous, sacrificed his son, salvation, self-control, self-discipline, selfishly hoard, share the blessings, sinless blood, so much to gain, so much to lose, success, take up the baton, talent, tests, the death of the cross, the Good Book, Thursday Blessings, to pay for our sins, Triune God, unto death, weaknesses, wisdom
Philippians 2:8. And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Well a blessed Thursday to you my faithful Scrip-Bit brethren! I do hope that the day has and or will bring you substantive joy and peace as you walk the strait and narrow path that our Lord and Saviour Jesus desires of you. Oh, we all know that this earthly life is not an easy one to hoe, but with Jesus on our side, right beside us all the time as He sincerely promised, we do have a better chance than the unbelievers to live a life blessed with joy and peace.
But it just won’t fall into our laps, as some of us seem to think. We need to get up and do our part in this partnership, this everlasting covenant with Almighty God. If we do our part, He will certainly do His, but if we don’t, He won’t. It as simple as that my people!
And what’s our part you ask? Again, it’s pretty simple: believe in His Son Jesus Christ and walk in faithful obedience to His Word! Granted, it’s much harder than it sounds, but then again the Lord has promised to help us in any area in which we are deficient or lacking. We just have to come to Him in sincere prayer and ask for his help.
And He’s also promised not to give us more than we can handle. He’s God, and merciful, gracious and forgiving, plus He knows all our frailties and weaknesses, so why will He give us more than we can handle eh? No reason whatsoever! Oh, He will test us occasionally to see if we really believe the stuff we talk. And I can personally tell you about that, because some days before I’m even finished writing the Bit, I’m bombarded with tests about what I’ve written.
But then again, if we fail, He always gives us more chances to come back and take them. That’s why He’s known as the God of Numerous Chances! And that’s all to our benefit! Praise His holy name my people! For though He’s righteous, a stickler for justice, He’s also a pardoning judge. Because He created us, and thus knows what we’re all about, He has great empathy and LOVE for us.
And He proved it by the celebrations we just had this past Easter weekend, where He sacrificed His Son for us, to pay for our sins once and for all time. There could be no greater LOVE than that! The Creator of the universe, and all therein, sacrificing His sinless Son to appease the need for sinless blood to cleanse the sins of His disobedient, rebellious creation. He LOVED and cared for us so much that He went to such drastic lengths to provide a means of redemption for us.
How wonderful He is my brethren! There is NONE other like Him in the world! All the others are mere pretenders, jokers and fools! So since He’s provided ALL that we need to live a godly and righteous life, and come to salvation through His resurrected Son, then technically speaking, the problem(s) we face nowadays stem mainly from our lack of obedience to His Word. And if you claim that you don’t know His Word, then that’s still disobedience, because He’s admonished us many times to read, study and meditate on it.
And since we’re talking about obedience, I believe it’s only right to mention two of the most profound statements on the subject in the Good Book, both not surprisingly made by Bruh Paul. The first one is found in his missive to the church at Rome: ‘For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.’ (Rom.5:19)
Yeh friends, we all fell into sin by Adam’s disobedience. Although, come to think of it, I don’t know why Adam get’s blamed for the dastardly deed nuh, when it’s Eve who supposedly first took a bite of the apple, and Adam foolishly followed? But be that as it may, our forefathers weighed us down with sin by their disobedience, and it was only with the coming of Jesus Christ that we were granted a way to get out from under that deathly and damning sin.
And as Bruh Paul says to the church at Philippi: ‘And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’
Oh friends, do you think Jesus wanted to die, and even more, such a murderous, unfair and painful death! Obviously not! But He knew that the Father wanted to save us more than anything else, and that He was the ONLY ONE who had the parts to accomplish the Father’s plan. So He obediently went along, even to that disturbing and horrible death on the cross because displeasing the Father was a no no in His mind.
And all I’m trying to point out here, by saying so much (smile) is that if Jesus, God’s Son was obedient to the point of giving His life for us, we, mere mortals, mere puny and flimsy creations of God, should also be very obedient to God’s Word because we have so much to gain and so much to lose. Please remember that ALL the Father and the Son did, was purely for OUR benefit not theirs.
And Jesus has already been exalted for His sacrifice with a name above all names and to whom each knee must eventually bow, and sits comfortably at the right hand of the Father, so we are the ones who now need to take up the baton and lead a righteous and obedient life, if we want to enjoy salvation and eternal life with our Triune God. Sermon done! (smile)
Now for those of us who are sincerely attempting to do as Jesus asks, let’s go home declaring (right ho!) our Thursday Blessings, those wonderful aspects of life that He’s showered down on us to help us do the job.
So altogether now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And the corollary to all that is that we must now go out and share them with others, not selfishly hoard them for ourselves, because that’s why we were given so much! Much LOVE!
…the best way to live…obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him… (Uncle Charles – Charles Stanley)
18 Apr 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a place called Gethsemane, as thou wilt, clear direction, coconut water, corruption, courage, creativity, curse, disciples, fear of death, forgiven, fruits, God willing, Good Friday, good news, guilty mankind, hoard, Holy Thursday, humble prayer, I go and pray yonder, in high places, last day in Paradise, Lent, let this cup pass from me, level of our faith, light, LOVE, necessity of drinking the cup, negative word, northern climes, not as I will, prosper, rampant, sacrificed, self-control, self-discipline, set free, share the blessings, show appreciation, sincere hearts, sinless life, sit ye heree, sons of Zebedee, sowrrowful, spiritual wickedness, Store Bay, substitutionary death, succeed, tasted death, the will of the Father, then cometh Jesus, Thursday Blessings, triumphant Easter resurrection, ungodly fashion, unto death, watch with me, wisdom
Matthew 26:36. Then cometh Jesus with them (His disciples) unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder (over there).
Well it’s the last day in Paradise…Steups! But I guess all good things must come to an end at some time or another! And being in sweet Tobago was indeed a good thing, or rather a wonderful thing! I don’t know where all the time went nuh, because I still haven’t seen or spoken to several people I wanted to connect with. I haven’t had a coconut water since I’ve been here…Imagine that nuh!
I only bathed in my favourite beach, Store Bay once! Brother that sure is shocking! (smile) I did bathe in other beaches several times though. And the rain has continued through the night and the early morning. Think it might clear up later though.
And yes, it’s Holy Thursday too, the day before Good Friday, when believers hunker down and consider their faith in light of Jesus’ upcoming crucifixion! The night when He bared His hurting soul and spirit in the Garden of Gethsemane in a futile attempt to change the course of His destiny.
Jesus knew deep down that the Father wasn’t going to change His plans, but the human element in Him, and the upcoming separation from the Father, the first time in their long existence, plus the great weight of sin that would be placed on His shoulders forced Him to His knees in humble prayer. ‘Then cometh Jesus with them (His disciples) unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder (over there).
And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee (James & John), and began to be sorrowful (grieved) and very heavy (deeply distressed). Then said he unto them, My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye (stay here), and watch with me. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will but as thou wilt.’ (Matt. 26:36-39)
Ah friends, yuh see the heavy sorrow that Jesus felt! It wasn’t easy for Him, although He was the Son of God. And I like the scholars’ explanation here. ‘The prayer for the cup to pass is not due to Jesus’ fear of death. Jesus questions the will of the Father as to the necessity of drinking the cup.
While this may refer to death (“he tasted death”) it is more likely that the cup represents the wrath of God against sin, the divine wrath Christ would incur on the cross as man’s sin-bearer. In the awful anguish of that moment, the sin of the world was poured on Christ and he became “sin for us” (2 Cor.5:21). Thus the Righteous One dies a substitutionary death for guilty mankind.’
So true friends, so true! He sacrificed His sinless life so that we could be set free from the bondage of sin and death, and have eternal life; the greatest gift ever given to mankind, and yet we still don’t appreciate Him the way we should! Why is that eh friends? I don’t know the answer, neither do I understand it. We should be so grateful and jumping with joy, and living so sincerely for Him, that the world would open their mouths and wonder in astonishment at our godly and righteous lifestyle.
But instead in our hypocrisy and lust for the things of the world, we make a mockery of His sacrifice with mostly a lot of talk and no real substance in our actions. Chuh! When I see how the leaders of Christ’s church, and consequently the followers behave in such ungodly fashion, it’s no wonder that the unbelievers don’t take us seriously. Christ’s church has as many scandals and unrighteousness as the evil world does. In fact, we seem to take our lead from the world and not from Christ! As they say, spiritual wickedness and corruption is rampant in high places!
Oh my people, I do hope that this season of Lent has been one of deep concern and pondering on our faith and how we live it daily, because that’s how the world and the Lord will judge us; how good were our fruits, and how bright was our light? And when we come to the tremendous conclusion in a triumphant Easter resurrection, let’s hope that we will all have raised the level of our faith and practice of it thereof, so that we can be better witnesses and disciples for Christ! For that’s what it’s all about; spreading the good news of His gospel far and wide!
Now let’s go home thankfully declaring (right ho!) our Thursday Blessings that the Lord has so generously bestowed on us. In strong voice with sincere hearts: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
And the next movement is to go out and share it all with the less fortunate as Christ intends for us to do. It’s not for us to hoard, but to share! Much LOVE!
…He died that we might be set free…forgiven…the least we can do…is show some sincere appreciation…
P.S. Tomorrow, God willing, I’ll be writing from the northern climes…good and bad… (smile) Much LOVE!
11 Apr 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abundance, advanced age, be quiet, best laid plans, breakfast, bribery, bubol, choose me, circumstances, cockles of Jesus' heart. love, confidence, corruption, crime, curse, destruction, distractions, dwell safely, fear, fear of evil, Galleon, headlines, lunch, negative word, noise, promises, prosperity, rest, self-control, self-discipline, T&T Spirit, talent, terror, Thursday's Blessings, walk hand in hand with Jesus, whoso hearkeneth unto me, wisdom crying out, word return void
Proverbs 1:33. But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet (secure, at ease) from fear of evil.
Well friends, circumstances do have a natural way of disturbing our best laid plans. And so it was with me and the Bit this morning. (smile) And I guess you’re wondering what’s my excuse today eh? (smile)
Well it’s simply that I had to catch a boat to Trinidad at 6.30 this morning and thus had to be up and about early to get to the docks on time, and there was no way I could write the Bit on the boat because of excessive noise and distractions and no Wi-Fi, and by the time I got to Trinidad and the hotel it was 11 o’clock and we were famished.
Unfortunately breakfast had already ended and we had to wait another half an hour for lunch, so by the time that was done, it was one p.m. and the advanced aged people had to rest, and now I’m finally up and about, so here we are. That’s the living truth, I swear it by my Boy Scout’s honour! (smile) You wouldn’t believe how difficult it is to get a plane ride from Tobago to Trinidad and back!
The boat’s not much better, because I only wanted to spend a couple days in Trinidad but ended up having to spend four. And that’s by the fast boat, the T&T Spirit, that only takes about three hours. Nobody wants to ride the other boat, the Galleon or something so, because it’s slow, about five hours and cramped.
To besides, there’s an awful political row going on right now in T&T about the buying and leasing of boats from all over the world, for oodles of dollars, but unfortunately boats that apparently don’t suit the situation for which they have been purchased. But as they say: ‘Only in T&T oui!’ Like most countries T&T always have some scandal hitting the headlines, and right now it’s the boat business intermingled with all the bubol (bribery) and corruption and crime taking place in the country, and nobody not doing much of anything to lessen it.
But yuh know, as long as mankind has anything to do with power and money, our natural greed is going to surface and always cause problems for the majority, who always seem to be poor and powerless. And as all we believers know the only way to handle these disturbing matters of life is walk hand in hand with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. That’s wisdom and common sense personified!
Listen as Cousin Sol spells it out for us long before Jesus did. Wisdom, the fear, reverence and awe of the Lord, is like a prophetess, constantly crying out for us to come to her. But in our haughty and prideful arrogance, with insouciance, total indifference and lack of concern we skin up our mouths and turn up our noses at her.
Thus Cousin Sol warns: ‘When your fear (terror) cometh as desolation (a storm), and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early (diligently), but they shall not find me. For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord: They would (have) none of my counsel: they despised all of my reproof.’ (Prov.1:27-30)
And unfortunately my people, that’s exactly what’s happening in our ungodly, evil, narcissistic, greedy, power-hungry and strife-filled world! Too many of us have rejected the wisdom and knowledge and reverence to Almighty God! In fact, instead of hungering for, and hunkering down more with Him in these turbulent times, we’re trying our best to remove Him completely from our society! Now if that isn’t utter madness and stupidity, I don’t know what is!
And if you don’t believe me, then I hope you believe Cousin Sol, as he speaks on the Lord’s behalf. ‘Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. For the turning away (the waywardness) of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity (complacency) of fools shall destroy them.’ (Prov.1:31-32)
And aren’t we seeing a whole lot more waywardness and complacency today than we’ve ever seen in man’s history? We certainly are! And all our nations are now in total uproar because we have defied the Lord, rejected Him, and chosen to go our own way and sit on our fat fannies! I don’t know why so many of us refuse to believe the Lord’s promises both of prosperity and destruction nuh?
By now we should realize that whatever He says, He does. His word does not return to Him void, and if He promises destruction, then it is destruction you will have. ‘But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet (secure, at ease) from fear of evil.’ What an enormous promise friends!
And Cousin Sol repeats it in greater detail on the Lord’s behalf, later on. When the Lord is the light of your life: ‘Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. Be not afraid of sudden fear (terror), neither of the desolation of (trouble from) the wicked, when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken (caught).’ (Prov.3:23-26)
That says it all friends! It’s a choice we all have to make. And for those of us who have made the right one, walking with the Lord, let’s go home declaring (right ho!) our Thursday Blessings, which the Lord in His magnanimity and generosity has bestowed on his saints. All together now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
One important reminder my faithful friends; those blessings were meant for us to share with others, not to hoard for our own use. So let’ go out and do that nuh, and thus warm the cockles of Jesus’ heart. Much LOVE!
…true wisdom is crying out…choose me…choose me…won’t you be wise…and choose her…
22 Mar 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a busy week, a hundredfold, answer for our words and deeds, bear much fruit, boundary lines, brought forth fruit, burgers, compromising, cook on the grill, create havoc, drinking something cold, earthly lives, electronic gadgets, faith, faithfulness, fateful day, fearful stuff, fell upon stony places, fellowship, finally spring, firmly planted, fowls devoured them, Friday chant, fruit fo the Spirit, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, generous help, gentleness, getting me through another week, goodness, had no root, he who hath ears to hear, hypocritically, immediately sprung up, in Jesus name, joy, judgement day, kindness, let him hear, let our guards down, lock up whole winter, lolling on the deck, long-suffering, lose our joy, LOVE, March break, meekness, my time, no deepness of earth, other fell into good ground, outside in shirtsleeves, parable of the sower, party, peace, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rest, rooted in his soul, scorched, seeds fell by the wayside, self-control, sixtyfold, steaks, temperance, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, the enemy, the word of the Lord, thirtyfold, thou good and faithful servant, too far apart, video games, weekends, welcome, welcoming words, wisdom, wishy-washy, withered away, workingman's song
Matthew 13:8-9. But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. He who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Well at last it’s Friday! And many tired but grateful sighs emanate from many tired lungs and bodies, especially those who returned right at the last minute from the March Break and had no time to rest before heading back out to work on Monday. It’s a cruel world friends, a mighty cruel world, especially if you don’t have Jesus as your Lord and Leader.
Yeh, Christians have it hard too, but they have the internal peace and LOVE that Jesus brings to the hearts and souls of His followers, and thus we are able to handle the cruel world with much more sense and sensibility (smile) than the unbeliever. So if you want to be able to handle this cruel world with greater confidence, then the answer is JESUS! Give Him some much deserved thanks and praise my fellow believers!
But since it’s Friday, the workingman is also waiting in the wings to sing his Friday song. So let’s hear what gems of wisdom on life, that he has to offer us today. And he shouts out his usual opening: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday oui! It’s been a busy week…but the weather’s not been bad! And yes, it’s finally spring! So we’ll soon be outside in shirtsleeves and such, barbecuing, lolling on the deck drinking something cold and waiting for the burgers and steaks to cook on the grill!
Wow! Yuh believe it? Springtime is here once again…and then it will be summer! Chuh! Gway with this winter business yes! Time to get the children and them outa the house too, where they lock up whole winter playing foolish video games. Children suppose to be outside playing, be it rain, snow or shine!
But sadly not these modern-day ones who have so much electronic gadgets to play with. Some of them don’t even know what outside looks like nuh! But I not going to kill mihself over them nuh, I know what I like to do and I’m going to do it, especially when it comes to the weekend – party, party, party! Mama Yo! That’s my time! Thank God for Fridays and weekends yes!’
Ah mih people, the workingman does make some good points in his weekly song, but it’s just that it’s usually too far over the edge, too far out on the limb for us believers in Jesus Christ! The boundary lines are set too wide apart, too much freedom to wander into the evil world, when Jesus desires His people to follow the narrow but safe path that leads to and through Him to eternal life.
Consequently, our Friday Chant differs a lot from the workingman’s song. So let’s chant our Friday Chant now with just as much enthusiasm as the workingman had in his song nuh. (smile) Altogether now: ‘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, believers are also entitled to fun, to a natural enjoyment in Christ, but we cannot let out guards down, for as soon as we do, the enemy will just jump in there and try to create havoc in our lives. Remember that’s his main aim; to disrupt our lives in Jesus! And we can’t afford to let him do that, otherwise we’ll lose all our joy and peace and become even more miserable than the unbeliever. And believe me, there’s nobody as miserable as a miserable believer! (smile)
That’s why we need to remember Jesus’ parable about the sower and keep it first place in our minds. ‘Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up. Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith (immediately) they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
And when the sun was up, they were scorched, and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. He who hath ears to hear, let him hear.’ (Matt.13:3-9)
Yeh friends, he who has ears to hear let him hear! Let him hear the Word of the Lord, and let it be firmly planted and rooted in his soul, so that neither thorns, nor the sun nor the fowls of the air can uproot or scorch it, and thus it will bear much fruit in their lives.
Oh how Jesus desires us to bear the fruit of the Spirit in our earthly lives so that we can teach others about Him, but more importantly live the life we preach, that we’re currently so good at talking about but unfortunately living it very hypocritically.
Ah my fellow believers, if we’d only seriously read, study and meditate on God’s Word, so that it becomes deeply rooted in our hearts, then we’d be more likely to produce things like LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness (kindness), goodness, faith (faithfulness), meekness and temperance (self-control), which make up the basic fruit of the Spirit! (Gal.6:22-23)
Now that’s what the world needs to see from believers! Not the wishy-washy, compromising, fearful stuff we’re currently showing them!
Remember though friends, that each of us will have to answer individually for our words and deeds come the judgement day, so please let’s try our best to do what is right, to run a worthy and worthwhile race, so that when that fateful day comes, the Lord will embrace us and joyfully say: ‘Welcome thou good and faithful servant!’
Friends, there are no better welcoming words than those, so let’s live the kind of life that will cause the Lord to eventually say them to us nuh. That’s wisdom of untold proportions! Much LOVE!
…only with the Word…deeply rooted in our souls…can we produce…the fruit of the Spirit…
21 Mar 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a righteous man, appointed unto men, Beelzebub, believe in Jesus, blaspheme His holy name, broken right now, bruised and battered, Christ died for the ungodly, Christ died for us, crapaud smoke yuh pipe, cried out in anguish, curse, embodiment of evil, eternal hell fire and damnation, eternal life, eternal souls, fallen angel, favour, filled with, finite minds, for a good man, forsake his only son, free offer of grace, God commendeth his love, God so loved the world, good health, grace, guidebook, hanging helplessly, have everlasting life, he gave his only begotten son, heartbreaking deed, in the name of Jesus, LOVE, Lucifer, My God my God, my soul is still, negative word, once to die, our earthly lives, peaceful, positive outlook on life, prosper, salvation, satanic majesty, self-control, self-discipline, share the blessings, should not perish, sinful creation, sinful exploits, sins, some would dare to die, spins on only one thing, succeed, the BIBLE, the Good Book, the heart of God, the heart of his universe, the wonderful love of God, then the judgement, Thursday Blessings, ultimate destination, unconditional LOVE, ungrateful sinners, while we were yet sinners, whosoever believeth on Jesus, why hast thou forsaken me, without strength, wooden cross
Romans 5:8. But God commendeth his (demonstrates his own) LOVE towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Ah mih people, the ole fella doesn’t have a jump out at you, in your face intro for this morning! (smile) Neither does he have anything explosive to talk about today. His soul is still and peaceful, filled with the wonderful LOVE of God! So I guess that’s what we’ll talk about then…the wonderful LOVE OF GOD! (smile)
And I guess there’s nothing better to talk about in these evil and trying times than God’s amazing, awesome and unconditional LOVE for His sinful creation. Sorry Lord, you did not create anything sinful, you created mankind very holy like yourself, it’s just that the creation turned sinful when it came into contact with Beelzebub, so we can’t blame you for that.
But you were so enamoured of that creation that even though it turned against you, you couldn’t leave it to die and suffer eternal hellfire and damnation on account of it’s unholy and sinful exploits. Bless Your holy name our heavenly Father! But what’s truly amazing and incomprehensible about God’s LOVE, are the unbelievable facts noted in these immortal words of Bruh Paul to the church at Rome.
‘For when we were yet without strength, in due time (at the right time) Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure (perhaps) for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his (demonstrates his own) LOVE towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom.5:6-8)
How can you beat that show of LOVE eh friends? NO WAY! Can you imagine the size God’s heart had to be to be able to do that overreaching deed? To put the sins of the whole world on the shoulders of His wonderful Son; to commit such a heartbreaking deed to forsake His only Son!
Can you imagine the state of the Father’s heart when His Son, hanging helplessly from that wooden cross, all bruised and battered, cried out in anguish: ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ (Matt.27:46b) It’s the only time that Jesus ever really cried out to the Father in true despair, because it’s the ONLY time that the Father had ever turned away from Him!
My fellow believers, I don’t think our puny and finite minds can really comprehend it nuh! That’s why we don’t appreciate and don’t pay as much attention to it like we should. It must be a godlike thing to sacrifice one’s sinless Son to pay for the debts of ungrateful sinners! But He did it!
And wonder of wonders too many of His creation are not thankful or grateful for it, because they blaspheme His holy name and totally reject His salvation through His free offer of grace. And the sad part is that all it takes to receive eternal life is to believe in and on His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
And Jesus proclaimed this fact so strenuously Himself: ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ (John 3:16) But unfortunately, a large portion of God’s creation prefers to believe on the fallen angel Lucifer; his satanic majesty, the embodiment of all evil and sin!
How sad my brethren! We take the Lord’s words for a joke when He says that those who believe on His Son will have everlasting life, while those who reject Him will be cast out into hell fire and eternal damnation! It’s amazing how foolish we can be, believing the parts of the Good Book that serve our purposes and not believing the rest!
Friends, I’m here to tell you that the Good Book is ALL TRUTH! So you either believe ALL of it, or NONE of it! You can’t be like so many of us, just sitting on the fence hoping that our number will play sometime and we can fall either which way the wind blows. Friends, our number’s been played already!
Two thousand years ago Jesus died to pay for our sins! Nothing else is needed! And furthermore, the Lord wrote the Bible for us, as a guidebook for our earthly lives, not for His benefit. He knows it all already! So those of us who choose to ignore Him, His Word, His Son and His Holy Spirit are playing a real dangerous game with the ultimate destination of their eternal souls.
For as the Good Book so rightly proclaims: ‘And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement.’ (Heb.9:27) Yes friends, mankind dies once, please note that, ONLY ONCE, and after that he will be judged by God Almighty! And even more importantly, if you don’t make your peace here on earth before you die with Jesus, then all bets are off, unfortunately crapaud smoke yuh pipe, then it’s TOO LATE!
So please, please, I implore us to be wise and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour RIGHT NOW nuh, because you never know when you’ll be called home, it can happen at anytime. And even if you don’t want to believe, then be wise and hedge your bets nuh; accept Him just in case it’s all true. And if it happens that it isn’t, then you haven’t lost anything.
However, if it all turns out to be true, then you’d have won and be on the inside looking in! Glory to God!
Now for those of us who truly believe, let’s go home declaring (steups – wrong again- going to have to stop using it yes (smile)) our Thursday Blessings, wonderful benefits that our great, merciful, forgiving, generous and ever-LOVING God has magnanimously bestowed on us.
In strong voice and full belief now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Now don’t forget that those wonderful blessings weren’t given to us to hoard, but to share with the less fortunate of this sorry world, so please let’s go out and do the now nuh! Much LOVE!
…the heart of God…and thus the heart of His universe…spins on one and only ONE thing…LOVE…
07 Mar 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a brand new day, Aaron, against a stone, bear thee up, better to give than receive, cast thyself down, Christian nature, compassionate heart, con artist, crook, curse, dash thy foot, deceitful manner, dwelling place, get Jesus to sin, give his angels charge, in their hands, into the wilderness, it is written, Jesus was led up of the spirit, joy, Kidron Valley, Lent, LOVE, meditiate upon Scripture, Moses, Most High, my refuge, negative word, no evil, of the devil, pinnacle of the temple, powerful statements, prosper, read, Satan, Satan's power, scripture, second temptation, self-control, self0disicpline, serpent, shall befall thee, stop him in his tracks, succeed, supernatural wisdom, the cobra, the devil, the dragon, the Lord thy God, the Son of God, thou shalt not tempt, Thursday Blessings, thy habitation, to be tempted, trample underfoot, tread upon the lion, ultimate victory
Matthew 4:1.
Then Jesus was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
Yes mih people, it’s a brand new day, and it ‘s cold out there, but the sun’s shining and the ole fella didn’t want to get up this morning, but like the obedient soldier that he is, he forced himself to get up so he could get these precious words of godly wisdom out to you at a reasonable hour.
Wow! That’s why they say b.s. baffles brains! (smile) But I guess I was just tired from my outing in the big city yesterday, which went quite well, as it ought to, since the Lord carried me there on His broad, strong shoulders and brought me back safe and sound. That’s what He promised, and that’s what He delivered! Yuh know He’s One to always keep His promises.
And today, on this second day of Lent, we’ll continue to look at the temptations that Satan threw at Jesus in His hungry state in the wilderness during His forty days and nights of fasting. ‘Then Jesus was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.’
We saw yesterday where in the first major temptation Satan tried to get Jesus to make bread from stone to curb His hunger, but He came back with Old Testament scripture stating that man doesn’t live by bread alone but by God’s Word. (Matt.4:4; Deut.8:3)
Satan’s next attempt to get Jesus to sin was as the Good Book says: ‘Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple. And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.’ (Matt.4:5-6)
What a crook and con artist is the devil eh! There he uses scripture incorrectly to tempt Jesus, and does the same thing to us nowadays, in his very deceitful manner. Friends, what we need to realize is that the devil knows scripture much better than us and thus can use it in deceitful ways to trap us. But we have to do like Jesus and stop him in his tracks with powerful statements like Jesus did: ‘Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt (test) the Lord thy God.’ (Matt.4:7)
There Jesus retorted with scripture from Deut.6:16, where Moses reminded the Israelites: ‘Ye shall not tempt (test) the Lord your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.’ When they were ready to rebel and stone him and Aaron and go back to Egypt and the Lord was ready to destroy them but withheld His wrath on Moses’ plea.
And the scholars offer an interesting explanation of those verses above. ‘4:5-7. The second temptation took place in the holy city (Jerusalem) on the pinnacle of the temple, which towered above the Kidron Valley. Evidently, Jesus was transported there by Satan’s power, and this time the devil quoted Scripture (out of context) in order to get Him to sin and ultimately shake His faith in the Word.
Satan used Psalm 91:11-12 urging Jesus to cast thyself down. Again Jesus replied with Scripture (Deut.6:16) that he was not to tempt…God by such a presumptuous action. The very passage of scripture quoted by Satan actually goes on to promise God’s ultimate victory over him!’
And because I’m so sweet and LOVING and like to spoon-feed you all, (smile) I’ll quote the scriptures that the ole crook Satan used in his second temptation on Christ. ‘Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation (dwelling place);
There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear (lift) thee up in their hands, lest thou dash (strike) thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder (cobra): the young lion and the dragon (serpent) shalt thou trample underfoot.’ (Ps.91:9-13)
Yes friends, that same serpent that the Lord promised us we should tread upon is the devil, Satan himself! So as I said earlier on, we have to be very careful when he comes to tempt us, because he knows his scripture and can use it in very deceitful ways to cause us to fall into all kinds of evil and temptation.
The only way to cancel that out is for us to know our scripture too, so like Christ, when the con-man brings his deceitful scripture to us, we can blast him back like Jesus did! That means we have to keep on seriously and steadfastly studying and meditating on the word, so we can recall it at a moment’s notice, because oftimes we don’t have much time to make our decisions, and the sooner we can call up scriptures to help us, the better off we will be.
Now let’s move on to this most wonderful part of Today’s Bit, where we declare (right ho) our Thursday Blessings. As one, in strong voice and sincere, heartfelt sense of purpose: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Oh friends, just having any one of those blessings is sufficient, but our Lord and God is so generous and magnanimous that He lavished oh so much more on us! Wow! What a wonderful God we serve and worship! But wait a minute here, don’t get too carried away, those blessings aren’t only for us to hoard and keep, but more importantly for us to share, and generously too like Him, with others less fortunate than us. So let’s go out and do just that now nuh and show our true Christian nature to the fullest! Much LOVE!
…to give.. is so much better than…to receive…it brings more joy to the heart and soul…
14 Feb 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a beaten foe, a positive outlook, a power glitch, a seal, abides for ever, abundance, blip, brand new world, burns like a blazing fire, cannot be bought, cannot be dastroyed, cannot be extinguished, cannot quench love, coals, commercial set, compassionate heart, curse, day of Love, death, despised, dinosaur, dislike computers, easily shut down, evil desires, experienced, flames of fire, floods drown love, give all the substance for love, go home rejoicing, God is LOVE, Happy Valentine's Day, hold on tightly, horror of social media, human existence, increase their fortune, indestructible element, infiltrated, inhumane treatment, jealousy is cruel as the grave, love is strong as death, love not the world, LOVE Walk, loving-kindness, lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, many waters, morbid thoughts, negative word, outward appearance, prosper, provocateurs of evil, self-control, share with the less forunate, sins, success, talent, technological contraptions, the enemy, the grave, the love of the Father, the pride of life, the will of God, the world passeth away, Thursday Blessings, ungodly world, unquenchable nature of love, upon thine arm, upon thine heart, vehement flame
Song of Solomon 8:6. Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for LOVE is strong as death; jealousy is cruel (severe, hard) as the grave: the coals (flames) thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.
Happy Valentine’s Day my people! I guess this is what we call the Day of LOVE in our current ungodly world. And even though it’s mostly about outward appearances and another chance for the commercial set to increase their fortune, I guess we’ll have to take it, since we won’t get anything better.
And I don’t know why I read some of the news headlines before I began writing the Bit nuh, because they made me later than I already was, and are the farthest things from LOVE and consequently dampened my spirit! It’s just about greed and power hungry people seeking the aphrodisiac of power through any means, and immense inhumanity to man from his fellow man.
It’s surprising that with all the supposed wonderful improvements we’ve made, that the inhumane treatment we mete out to each other is still so widespread and gut wrenching! And the horror of social media has just made it easier to do it from afar, anonymously, and get away with it too.
But what does the ole fella know eh friends? Apparently not a whole lot. And they will quickly say that I’m from another time and place; a minted dinosaur in a brand new world! And they might just be right. But the fact of the matter is that I prefer my dinosaur status to that of this brand new, unfair and oh so unjust world. Enough of my morbid thoughts though on this Valentine’s Day. (smile) It’s a day to celebrate LOVE, so let’s see what the Good Book has to say about it nuh.
And in my searching, I was led to this most interesting, but li’l known passage of scripture, most appropriately from Cousin Sol’s Song of LOVE. ‘Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for LOVE is strong as death; jealousy is cruel (severe, hard) as the grave: the coals (flames) thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.
Many waters cannot quench LOVE, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance (wealth) of his house for LOVE, it would utterly be contemned (despised). (Song 8:6-7)
Ah friends, what powerful and heart-warming words on that most valuable, but most elusive attribute of our wonderful and ever-LOVING God! And the scholars offer this interesting explanation: ‘8:6-7. These verses are clearly the climax to the story. The maiden describes in the most vivid terms the unquenchable nature of true LOVE: it cannot be destroyed by death or the grave; it burns like a blazing fire that cannot be extinguished, and it cannot be bought.’
Wow! What an amazing thing is LOVE! It’s an unquenchable fire; an indestructible element, and most of all it has no price; it cannot be bought, it has to be experienced! So on this supposed day of LOVE my faithful brethren, please let’s remember those things and work seriously on our LOVE experience! (smile)
And to help us do just that, let’s review these memorable words of John in his first epistle. This verse sets the stage: ‘He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God IS LOVE.’ (1 John 4:8) That’s the first thing we have to know and believe friends if we want to be a part of God’s kingdom; that God IS LOVE!’ If we don’t wholeheartedly acknowledge that, then all bets are off, we can’t be a part of God’s realm.
But having faithfully acknowledged that, we then come to this next ever so important step in our LOVE walk. ‘LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.’ (1 John 2:15-17)
Ah my people, to truly walk in step and in LOVE with God, we have to deny the evil desires and the sins that are so much a part of our human existence.
And you wonder why I dislike computers…I just turned aside to check the spelling of a word, and next thing a blip in the electricity occurred and the computer shut down. Then I had to reboot it twice to get it back up, losing more than ten minutes of time and also the two lines I had just written and not saved. Can’t even remember what it was now! Steups!
And that is what we are basing the entire future of our world on; technological contraptions that can be infiltrated and easily shut down by a simple power glitch. Chuh! That’s why I like being a dinosaur yes! (smile)
Yeh I remember now, I was writing about paying special attention to the provocateurs of evil who are always trying to turn us away from God. And yuh see that, the enemy didn’t like my warning, so he tried to expunge it by setting up the glitch. (smile) But li’l does he realize that he’s a beaten foe and the time of his eventual demise is near. So please let’s hold on dearly and tightly to the LOVE of God, which will NEVER be extinguished, destroyed or bought! Glory be!
Now let’s go home rejoicing in what we call our Thursday Blessings; the blessings our most magnanimous God has bestowed on us to use in His work down here on earth. All together now in strong faith and loud voice! ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
So with all of that LOVING-kindness poured out on us, let’s go out now and share it with the less fortunate, as Jesus so greatly desires of us. Much LOVE!
…only true LOVE…can save our dark, evil and dismal world…
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