18 Jul 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a resource, Abednego, assurance, begun a good work, being confident, Christ-like, comfortable living, compassionate heart, confession, curse, Daily Bread Devotiaonl, divine protection, faith, flooding in Toronto, for he is faithful that promised, from an evil conscience, generously share, god, God's faithfulness, Grady Nutt, grow, guisdance, having a high priest, having our hearts sprinkled, hold fast, hope, in full assurance of faith, in the struggle, Jesus Christ, let us draw near, mature in our faith, Meshach, negative word, not a way around it, of this very thing, one smigden, our bodies washed, over the house of God, personally testify to, prosper, pure water, self-control, self-discipline, selfishly hoard, shadrach, springs eternal from God, succeed, the best reason for hope, the less fortunate, the profession of our faith, the smell of smoke, Thursday's Blessings, until the day of Christ, warm the cockles of Jesus' heart, will complete it, witha true heart, words of wisdom, works in progress
Hebrews 10:23. Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our faith (hope) without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
Oh brother, I can’t believe it’s Thursday already nuh! The week’s flying by so fast, it gets sorta blurry! (smile) And was yesterday ever a strange sorta day. In my area we had intermittent periods of sun and rain, until in the early evening hours the sun finally prevailed. But Toronto seemed to be completely different. They apparently had long periods of steady rain that resulted in severe flooding in several areas.
And today it looks cloudy out there again, plus I’ve got to go into the city for a doctor’s appointment. What a life! But what to do eh? Nothing but put our sincere trust and hope in Jesus and believe that He will do as promised; meet all our needs through His riches in glory. (Phil.4:19) That’s what our faith is all about people, and it’s in times of adversity and trouble that we need it to show up in large amounts.
Consequently, I want to share two interesting and reassuring quotes. The first one is comprised of these wise words reputedly attributed to Grady Nutt (1934-1982) a Southern Baptist minister. It says: ‘God should be a resource in the struggle, not a way around it.’
And is that ever so true my fellow believers. We ought to use God to help us get through the adversity rather than as a way to get around it. But in these days of easy and comfortable living, no one wants to go through anything, we all want to avoid, to go around it. But the truth is that it’s only when we go through stuff with God that we really grow and mature in our faith.
And the second quote is from a Daily Bread Devotional footnote that dispenses these words of wisdom: ‘The best reason for hope is God’s faithfulness.’ Oh my people, my people, that is indeed gospel truth! Our God is so wonderfully faithful that there’s nothing we can’t face when we place our hope and trust in Him! All praise and glory be to Him, my faithful brethren! If we were even one smidgen as faithful as our great God, what amazing changes would take place in our troubled world!
That brings us to these intriguing and most interesting, uplifting and reassuring words of scripture found in the Book of Hebrews. ‘And having a high priest (Jesus) over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our faith (hope) without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)’ (Heb.10:21-23)
Oh friends, if there’s anything I can personally testify to it’s God’s faithfulness, because that’s the only way that I can write this Bit everyday. He called me to do it, and without His faithful help to do His work, I’d be lost without a prayer and /or a hope. But through His faithfulness, His guidance and assurance, I come down here every morning, not knowing what I’m going to write about most days, but eventually write more than I can ask or imagine.
Like today, I only had the beginning and the end, absolutely nothing in the middle. But look at how much I’ve written. And most of the time it does make sense. (smile) And those of you who are mature in faith know what I’m talking about, because you’ve put in the time and effort and patience and waiting and seen Him work wonders on your behalf.
For you young believers though, you just have to take our word for it and go up to bat assuredly with your great God, for that’s the only way you’ll ever discover His true faithfulness. You’ve got to go through the fire with Him and experience Him bringing you out like the three Hebrew Boys, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, without even the smell of smoke on you. (Dan.3:27)
Yes mih people, faith and faithfulness are works in progress, you’ll never stop needing them and having to grow in them until the day you go over to the other side. And don’t think that just because you seem mature in faith that you’ve conquered it all nuh, because the more you grow in faith and get promoted, the more the Lord will test you.
Oh we don’t want to hear that, but it’s an unavoidable fact. We like to think that once we reach a certain level, we’ll free from all temptations and tests and troubles, but Bruh Paul’s words to the Philippians seem to contradict that. ‘Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform (complete) it until the day of Jesus Christ.’ (Phil.1:6)
So friends, that seems to mean until we die or Christ comes back we’ll be growing and becoming more Christ-like every day. That’s the Lord’s plan, and once He begins it, He won’t stop until we go home to Him, so we’d better be prepared to face adversity and negative stuff throughout our lifetime. And the best way to do that is through hope, faith, trust and surrender in Almighty God.
As Cousin Sol so wisely puts it: ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.’ (Prov.3:5-6) There’s no wiser advice in all the world my brethren, so please let’s take it to heart as we go home declaring (yeh!) our Thursday Blessings. Out loud now, because a blessing is not truly a blessing until it’s declared.
‘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 every Thursday I have to warn us that those blessings are not granted for us to selfishly hoard, but to generously share with the less fortunate, with those who don’t know Christ. So let’s go out and do just that nuh, and thus warm the cockles of Jesus’ heart. Much LOVE!
…you can’t have faith without hope…and hope is that which springs eternal from God…
11 Jul 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ., a compassionate heart, a free for all, a name that's higher than any other, a pang of remorse, a reflection of, abundance, as a man, as the father hath loved me, be obedient to god's will, became obedient, behaviour patterns, being found in fashion, bring disrepute to Christ, bunkum, Christians, clear direction, courage, creativity, curse, degenerate state, doing the Father's will, even as I have kept, every tongue confess, first person singular, geneously share, goats not sheep, greater love hath no man, greetings, he humbled himself, he lay down his life for his friends, hold our heads and bawl, if ye keep my commandments, in the world, irreparable harm, kept my father's commandments, LOVE, LOVE one another, negative word, not a part of it, on his left hand, our current society, regulations, rules, sacrificial death, salt and light, salutations, self-control, self-discipline, selfishly hoard, so have I loved you, talent, tear his fellow human, than that, that Jesus is Lord, the death of the cross, Thursday's Blessings, to shreds, to the glory of God, to whom all knees must bow, unto death, walk their talk, ye shall abide in my love
John 15:10. If ye keep my commandments; ye shall abide in my LOVE; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his LOVE.
Greeting and salutations this summer Thursday morning from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, to all who truly believe in Him and sincerely strive to be obedient to His holy will! Oh friends, it is necessary to believe in Jesus if you desire to be saved, but that’s just the easy part of it. To truly be a worthwhile part of His kingdom, we also need to obey His rules and regulations.
I know some of you are going to say that is bunkum, because Christ died to get us away from the rules and regulations of religion. But just think for a moment, how can any organization survive and thrive unless there are some basic rules and regulations for those involved to follow?
It won’t. It will just turn into a free for all with everybody wanting to and doing their own thing, which is the current reflection of our society, as well as Christ’s church; strife-filled, greedy, selfish, power hungry, filled with cliques that are resentful to each other, immoral, without true LOVE and forgiveness, etc. etc.
You know that even in the kingdom of the wild animals there are basic rules, or more like basic behaviour patterns that they all uphold, because they know that if they don’t, their species are liable to suffer irreparable harm. But not the great creation, mankind, who behaves even wilder than the wildest wild animal, and will tear his fellow human being to shreds without even a pang of remorse.
That’s the kind of world we’re living in now my people! A dog eat dog kind of society; where the first person singular is the most important, and the remainder can simply go suffer as best they can! But that’s not how Jesus expects His followers to live and behave.
Listen to Him as He spells it out for the disciples. ‘As the Father hath LOVED me, so have I LOVED you: continue ye (abide) in my LOVE. If ye keep my commandments; ye shall abide in my LOVE; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his LOVE.’ (John 15:9-10) Yuh see friends, even Jesus had rules from His Father to follow… and He followed them.
As Bruh Paul puts it to the Philippians: ‘And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Phil.2:8) Yeh mih people, yuh think Jesus really wanted to die such a horrible sacrificial death as He did? No way! But because the Father asked, and He respected and LOVED the Father, He did it.
That’s why the Father exalted Him thus, with the name that’s higher than every other name in the universe, and to whom all knees should bow and every tongue confess that He’s Lord, to the glory of the Father. (Phil.2:9-11) And my fellow believers, though Jesus’ sacrificial death was very important, in and of itself, what’s truly heart stopping, is His level of obedience to the Father’s wishes.
He never did anything down here on earth without first consulting the Father, and throughout His entire earthly life always noted that He was doing the Father’s will not His own. In like fashion, we, Christ’s supposed followers in this age, His church in these trying and troubled times, ought to be very concerned about doing His bidding.
Not fighting amongst each other, being hypocritical and compromising, and causing His body to get a bad reputation from the unbeliever, with people turning away from Him in droves. But that’s exactly what we’re doing these days. Yuh think if the majority of supposed Christians would behave like real Christians, walk their talk; our world would be in such a miserable, degraded and degenerate state?
Of course not! But instead of being the salt and light that Jesus expects us to be, we are behaving just like the evil world; not merely being in it, as He desires, but woefully being a part of it! That’s not good enough my brethren, because all it does is bring disrepute to Christ and all that He stands for. I don’t know how we can stand up and call ourselves Christians when we don’t abide by His commandments.
Listen to Him to the disciples again. ‘This is my commandment, That ye LOVE one another, as I have LOVED you. Greater LOVE hath no man that this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.’ (John 15:12-14)
Oh my fellow saints in Christ, it couldn’t be put any plainer than that! All Jesus requires of us is that we LOVE each other, and that simply means treat others kindly and with respect, and to do as He desires. And if we do, then He considers us His friend. The sad fact of the matter though is that right now too many of us are not His friends, because we’re not doing as He commands.
But remember friends, we each will have to stand before Him on the judgement day and give account of our earthly lives, and when He tells us to stand on His left hand, not His right because we’re goats and not sheep, (Matt.25:31-46 – Please take a moment and read it), many of us will hold our heads and bawl, but then it will be too late. So please, let’s do as He commands now nuh, while we still have the ability to improve our standing in His organization. That’s wisdom of the highest order!
And now, having preached fire and brimstone (smile) let’s go home declaring (yeh!) our Thursday Blessings, the Lord’s goodness and mercy so undeservedly showered down on us to help us do His earthly work. In full voice and sincere belief: ‘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 my people, what a wonderful God we serve and worship! No other deity would ever give us all those blessings, even if we deserved them. But remember, they are not for us to selfishly hoard, but to go out and generously share them with others as He generously shared them with us. Much LOVE!
…on the judgement day…to be counted as sheep and not goats…one must obey Christ’s commands…TODAY…
P.S. Sorry that the Bit’s a tad late, but I went to bed in the early hours of the morning, and thus got up in the late ones. (smile) Much LOVE!
27 Jun 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a candlestick, a compassionate heart, ability, absence of light, absolute truth, abundance, before men, Christian body, conspicously lacking, curse, darkness, diligent, does not hold back anything, down and out, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, evil doings, expects to win, extra effort, generously share, gives all he's got, glorify your father in heaven, go through the fire, good for nothing, hardworking, hid under a basket, hope, hypocrites, immorality, increase our faith, Jesus riding shotgun, lack, lack intelligence, lampstand, let your light so shien, lost our salty flaovur, LOVE, LOVE Jesus, move you to success, negative word, not obeying hsi commands, pursues excellence, scandals, see your good works, self-discipline, selfishly hoard, set on a hill, sitting on one's laurels, success, talent, talk a good talk, the church, the great power, the light of the world, the salt of the earth, Thursday Blessings, to be purified, trampled underfoot, under a bushel, untenable situation, walk the good walk
Matthew 5:13a;14a. Ye are the salt of the earth…Ye are the light of the world.
Well like another beautiful summer’s day is in the offing friends! Glory to our great God! How many is that eh…like four straight without any serious rain during the day! Mama Mia!
And with Jesus riding a sure shotgun with us, how can we not make assured and confident declarations (steups!) as these: ‘I am an overcomer through Christ!’ I am above and not beneath. The head and not the tail.’ (Deut.28:13) ‘I am more than a conqueror, through Christ who LOVES me!’ (Rom.8:37) ‘And the God of all grace, who has called me to His eternal glory in Christ, after I have suffered a little while, will Himself restore me and make me strong, firm and steadfast.’ (1 Pet.5:10)
Glory to God my brethren! And I can speak personally to that last acclamation because that’s exactly what our God is doing in my life right now, making me strong and steadfast after all the medical problems I’ve experienced over the last few years. Yes friends, our God won’t allow us to go through what He’s not prepared to bring us through.
But please remember, oftimes we need to go through the fire, not escape it, if, like silver and gold we need to be purified, and thus increase our worth and value with greater faith. And to help us believe that, here is this encouraging quote from Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, the pastor, positive thinker, and author of several books, amongst which is the memorable one, ‘The Power of Positive Thinking.’
Dr. Peale reputedly said: ‘Hope is the great power that can move you to success. Why? Because when a man expects to win, he does not hold anything back, but gives his project all that he’s got. Most people fail not because they lack ability, intelligence, or opportunity, but they fail because they don’t give it all they’ve got.’
Words of absolute truth my people, especially in this lazy, sitting on one’s laurels, expecting someone else to do it society in which we’re currently living! We’ve become so addicted to easy and cheap and right away, that putting out any extra effort is anathema, repellant, repugnant, to us, even when the extra effort will assure us of success.
But friends, if we’re living and working for Jesus, then we’re required to make that extra effort, to go that extra mile, because that’s what His economy is based on. In fact no economy whatsoever can succeed unless that extra effort becomes a basic part of it. Only when one is diligent and hardworking and pursues excellence, will one be successful!
No wonder our society is on its way down and out, because those elements are conspicuously lacking from it. But if we supposed believers actually behaved like real believers, and not like worldly people, you’d be surprised to see the difference in our world. But we only talk a good talk, and not walk the good walk we’re supposed to. That’s why the evil element of the world is now holding the upper hand.
Remember what Jesus declared and expected of us: ‘Ye are the salt of the earth…Ye are the light of the world.’ But somewhere along the way we have lost our salty flavour and have hidden our lights under a bushel? Why? Perhaps through fear of the enemy, or more likely the extra effort it takes to be bright and salty.
But look at what Jesus said about those situations nuh: ‘but if the salt have lost his savour (flavour), wherewith (by what) shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.’ (Matt.5:13) And also: ‘A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle (lamp), and put it under a bushel (basket), but on a candlestick (lamp stand); and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.’ (Matt.5:14-15)
Oh my fellow believers, as a group, the church, the body of Christ, we have lost our salty flavour and our light is no longer shining forth into this evil world as brightly as it ought to, and thus we are being trodden underfoot by the rulers of darkness. Now that is a most untenable situation in the sight of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who admonished us to: ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.5:16) And unless we obey that command, then the church, Christianity will be of very li’l or no use to mankind.
Hear this most interesting explanation from the scholars on all that nuh. ‘5:14-16. Ye are the light of the world describes the essential mission of the Christian to the world. He is the condition (salt) to meet the world’s needs and he has a mission (light) to the world. His light is to clearly shine forth into the darkness of human depravity. He is to set his light upon a candlestick, not hide it under a bushel, that is a basket. Darkness is the absence of light, and darkness alone cannot dispel the light, but the smallest light can dispel the greatest darkness.’
Oh friends, the Christian body, the church today is certainly not helping to reduce the world’s depravity, in fact it is contributing greatly to it, because we have become like the world, seeking the things of the world more than the things of God! Just look at the immorality, the scandals, the evil doings that are daily being uncovered in our churches eh! No wonder the unbelievers look at us and laugh and rightly shout out ‘Hypocrites!’
But to those of us who sincerely try to be salt and light, let’s go home today declaring (right ho!) our Thursday Blessings that the Lord has generously granted us to help us in our earthly work. As one, with sincere 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!’
And unfortunately, I have to remind us every week, that those blessings were not granted to us to selfishly hoard, but to share with the less fortunate, as we spread our salty flavour and shine the light of Jesus throughout this dark world! Much LOVE!
…how can we say we LOVE Jesus…and are a part of His body…his church…when we ‘re not doing as He commands eh…
20 Jun 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a name above every name, a positive outlook, appearance as a man, at the name of Jesus, became obedient, Calvary's cross, comapssionate heart, come back for us, curse, death of the cross, divinely appointed ruler, do christ's work, eternal life, every congue confess, every knee should bow, Father, favour, for ever and ever, found in fashion, given him a name, God hath highly exalted him, God's mighty power, good health, heavenly places, his body, His name, Holy Ghost, humbled himself, interceding for us, Jesus is Lord, Living Deity, made right with God, negative word, only one God, penultimate day, promotion, prosper, put all things, raised him from the dead, sacrificial work, sacrificing Himself, saints of God, salvation, see the Lamb's face, self-control, self-discipline, sins could be forgiven, sitting at the father's right hand, Son, succeed, take us to dwell with Him, that filleth all in all, the church, the fullness of him, the God of Abraham Issac and Jacob, the head over all things, the Holy Trinity, the mansions of heaven, the workweek, Thursday Blessings, to the glory of the Father, Triune combination, under his feet, unto death, wriiten on their foreheads
Philippians 2:9. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
And it looks like it’s going to rain today… Hn! The whole truth though is that it has already rained today, sometime in the early morning hours. And if we do get some rain today, we really can’t complain because we’ve gotten such beautiful warm weather for the last few days.
And anyway, we’re down to the penultimate day of the workweek, and our souls are all bursting with the heavenly fire of Jesus as we mingle in the evil, ungodly world, His assured ambassadors, bringing peace, LOVE, joy and the good news of His wonderful gospel to all and sundry. That’s why we can all declare: ‘I am ONE with God’s perfect order, I am calm and poised, knowing that all is well with my life.’
And that’s only because ‘the Light of God surrounds me. The LOVE of God enfolds me. The Power of God protects me. And the Presence of God watches over me! That means All is Well!’ Glory be my precious people! That’s what happens to us when we become true disciples of Jesus!
Though circumstances may not be the best, there is a radiant joy, an uplifting and encouraging attitude, a supreme peace, one which surpasses all of man’s understanding, alive in our souls and spirits placed there by our Leader, Lord and Saviour – Jesus Christ!
Give Him some sincere thanks and praise ye saints of God, for all that He’s already done for us – sacrificing Himself on Calvary’s cross so that our sins could be forgiven and we’re made right with God the Father, plus making us entitled to salvation and eternal life.
And let’s remember to also thank and praise Him for what He is doing right now – sitting at the Father’s right hand interceding on our behalf. Then there’s the Big One, what’s He’s promised to do in the future – come back for us and take us to dwell in the mansions of heaven with him and the other parts of the Holy Trinity…for ever and ever and ever…!
Wow! What’s there not to like about all that eh friends? Who else has even thought about doing anything like that for us lowly humans eh, much less actually doing it, like Jesus has done? Not a single supposed god! And that’s simply because there is ONLY ONE GOD; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Living Deity; the Triune combination of Father, Son and Holy Ghost, Creators and Rulers of this awesome universe!
That’s why nobody else can do what Jesus has done, is doing and has promised to do for us. And that’s why we need to glorify and exalt His Holy Name: that awesome name that’s set above every other for His selfless sacrificial work As Bruh Paul declared to the Philippians: ‘And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:’ (Phil.2:8-9)
Mama Yo! Yuh see how the Father exalted Jesus mih people for obediently doing His bidding! It’s the same way He’ll exalt us if we humbly and obediently do His holy will. Obviously our names won’t be as exalted as Jesus’, but we will be recognized enough by the saints. (smile)
And just think about the awesome recognition that Jesus’ exaltation wrought nuh: ‘That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of (those) things in heaven, and (those) things in earth, and (those) things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil.2:10-11) Yeh friends, that’s how important the Father made Jesus for His obedience and sacrifice!
And Bruh Paul says it thus to the Ephesians in talking about his praying for them to acquire knowledge and understanding: ‘according to the working of his (God’s) mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set (seated) him at his right hand in the heavenly places,
Far above all principality, and power and might, and dominion, (various classes of angelic beings), and every name that is named, not only in this world (age), but also in that which is to come: and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.’ (Eph.1:19a-23) Wow mih breddren! Jesus couldn’t get any higher than that!
Now hear these explanations from the scholars: ‘1:22. And gave him to be the head over all things to the church means God appointed Him head (ruler) over all things for the benefit of the church. Jesus is the divinely appointed ruler over the entire universe for the church’s benefit.’
‘1:23. Paraphrased, this verse reads, “For the church is His body. It is the fullness belonging to Him who fills the universe with all things.” That is, Jesus, who so wisely and skillfully fills the universe with all material elements necessary for its existence, also wisely and skillfully infuses His people (the church) with His own life and character.’
Yes friends, the church represents the body of Christ, and we are the church, not the buildings, which means that whatever is in Christ is also in us. Therefore we need to work together for His benefit, as one body though with different parts, because that’s the only way we will ever overcome the evil that’s currently ruling the world. And in His utmost wisdom and generosity, He has also given us wonderful blessings to use as tools in our earthly work.
So let’s go home declaring (Steups! wrong again!) them out loud with real gusto and true sincerity. As one 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 two last things to remember (smile); our words have awesome power, so when we speak them, we bring them to pass, and secondly, those blessings are not to be hoarded but to pass around generously as we do Christ’s work. Sermon done! Much LOVE!
…His servants shall see the Lamb’s face…and His name shall be written…on their foreheads… (Rev.22:3 & 4)
06 Jun 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a constant struggle, abundance, as for me an my house, baptizing, Beelzebub, curse, examples of our lives, faithful service, fleshly self, foolish personalities, generously, god, haughty, Joshua, kind, lay not up earthly treasures, lazy, logic, loving, making disciples, meritorious benefits, moth and rust doth corrupt, motives of the heart, negative word, not rich towards God, parable of the rich fool, proud, saints of Christ, self-control, self-discipline, selfishly hoard, selfless, sit on the fence, spiritual being, talent, the devil, the Father, the Holy Spirit, the prince of darkness, the SON, there is your heart, thieves break through and steal, Thursday Blessings, treasures in heaven, two options, we will serve the Lord, where your treasure is, wisdom, worthless baubles of the world, you got to bow to somebody
Matthew 6:19. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves break through and steal.
Well it’s wet and somewhat cloudy…but that’s nothing new! (smile) And it’s certainly not going to stop we saints of Christ from going about His business, witnessing to the unsaved, making disciples of them, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and leading lives that exemplify the glory and LOVING-kindness of Jesus!
Oh friends, that’s what we are called on to do, and do it we must, or the world will just be more strife-filled and sink even deeper into the mire of evil and ungodliness. It’s too bad already! Can you imagine it getting worse? But that’s what will happen if we don’t stand up NOW and be counted!
Just think about your children or grandchildren living in such an ungodly and evil world nuh. Think about them not knowing or even hearing about Jesus and the awesome stuff He’s done for mankind, and the wonderful treasures He has stored up for those who sincerely LOVE and obey Him. What kind of life would they be living eh? A satanic life of greed, selfishness, lust, envy and all the other stuff that will have them heading straight for hell and eternal damnation!
That means you won’t be seeing them in heaven, won’t be congregating with them in better circumstances that this evil earth. Like the rich man and the beggar Lazarus, they’ll be begging you to send a drop of water to cool their burning tongues in the raging fires of Hades and you’ll be unable to help them in the least bit! So let’s think on these things nuh and try to do better in our teaching and the examples our lives portray.
Oh, none of us are perfect, but we can all certainly improve and do better with the help of God. The problem though is that we are either too lazy, or too interested in the fancy but worthless baubles of the world…and asking God for help, well that’s definitely not in some of our proud, haughty and foolish personalities! But please remember people, in this world you got to bow to somebody, and the two main options are God and the devil himself!
You have to choose one. You just can’t sit on the fence, as so many of us try to do, and hope that everything will work out right, because it won’t! The two powerful entities that control things want you all for themselves, don’t want to share one iota of you with the other, so they’ll both try their level best to get you fully into their camp. That means a constant struggle between the devil; your earthly and fleshly self, and the Lord; your heavenly and spiritual being!
So whom are you going to choose eh? Remember Jesus said that no man can serve two masters; you can’t serve God and mammon too. (Matt.6:24) That means you have to make a conscious choice. And hopefully we’ll all declare like Joshua did: ‘But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’ (Josh.24:15d) Yeh friends, that’s the smart thing to do, the wise move to consciously make.
Why? Although Jesus calls on us to be more selfless, generous, LOVING and kind, sentiments that the world consider folly, the things that He has in store for us are way way more useful and important than the things Beelzebub, the prince of darkness has to offer.
And as always, Jesus put’s it so simply and succinctly: ‘Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ (Matt.6:19-21) Now doesn’t that sound like simple, sensible logic and wisdom? It certainly does!
That’s because all the treasures we amass here on earth, time and insects will eventually destroy, or people will steal them. And for sure we can’t carry any with us! Oh, I know some of us will have them place some in the box with us, (smile) but they’ll be no good on the other side, neither in heaven nor in hell. That’s why listening to Jesus, and following Him is the wiser of the two options we have. For if we do that, then we’ll end up in heaven, and will have treasures stored up their for us, that will be even better than those down here on earth.
Unfortunately though, many of us can’t see the forest for the trees, can’t see the bigger picture, always believing that a bird in the hand is better than two or three in the bush. But friends, with Jesus, we have to see it that way. And we can only do so by faith, believing for that which we don’t see. And yes, that’s not easy, especially with the kind of world we’re currently living in.
But as Jesus taught in the parable of the rich fool, (Luke 12:13-21) who, not caring about anybody but himself, kept building bigger and better and storing up treasures here on earth. And what happened when the Lord called him home unexpectedly eh? All his earthly treasure was left behind for others to fight over, and he had none in heaven to go to. ‘So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.’ (Luke 12:21)
And it’s oh so important that we hear this explanation from the scholars. ‘6:19-21. The attention of the believer is directed toward treasures in heaven. The term treasures implies the addition or accumulation of things. The two kinds of treasures are conditioned by their place (either on earth or in heaven). The concept of laying up treasures in heaven is not pictured as one of meritorious benefits but rather of rewards for faithful service, as is illustrated elsewhere in the teaching of Jesus.’ So heavenly rewards depend more on the attitude of our hearts and service, than just what we deserve for doing good.
Now let’s go home declaring (yes!) our Thursday Blessings. In full voice and strong belief: ‘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 please remember, those wonderful blessings haven’t been given to us to selfishly hoard, but to go out and share with the less fortunate…generously…and with the right motive in our hearts! Much LOVE!
…in all that we do…be it good or bad…the Lord looks for the motives in our hearts…
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…
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…
Previous Older Entries
