25 Apr 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a positive outlook on life, achieve perfection, advantage of light over darkness, anger flares, blaring car horns, buy into Christ's philosophy, christianity, compassion, courage, creativity, curse, faith, favour, fear hath torment, flawless, fulfill God's purpose in our lives, furious voices, god, God loved us, God's love for us, God's ways are higher than ours, great is thy faithfulness, grieved souls, herein is love, his compassions fail not, In Touch Devotional, It is of the Lord's mercies that we're not consumed, Jesus, Jesus brings life and light, Jesus Christ, let my presence bring quietness, LOVE, muscles tense, negative word, new every morning, not that we loved God, offer softness to strangers, peace flowing in my words, perfect love, perfect love casteth out fear, ramp up the love of God, salvation, Satan brings death and darkness, self-discipline, supernatural wisdom, tempers rise, the art of gentleness, the propitiation for our sins, there is no fear in love, Thursday Blessings, we ought also to love one another, wisdom, without blemish, your light warming hearts
1 John 4:18a. There is no fear in LOVE; but perfect LOVE casteth out fear: because fear hath (involves) torment.
Well, unlike yesterday, today, Thursday, our penultimate day of the work week, has opened bright and sunshiny, though somewhat chilly. But that’s okay, for once there is sunshine in the neighbourhood, then many spirits will be uplifted just because of it. That’s the advantage that light has over darkness, specifically, the light that Jesus brings to our lives and our world, over the sinful and ungodly darkness that Satan desires to engulf it in. And to help us see and receive that amazing light of Jesus, let’s turn to God in prayer. It’s this month’s prayer from the In Touch Devotional, Let Us Pray section.
So please pray with me: ‘God, teach me the art of gentleness in a world of blaring car horns, furious voices, and grieved souls. May I offer softness to strangers and to people I know – the same tenderness You’ve shown me. Not harsh, rushed, or callous, You’re filled with compassion and perfect LOVE. When tempers start to rise and muscles begin to tense, when anger flares in people’s eyes, Let my presence bring a quietness – Your light warming hearts, Your peace flowing in my words. In Jesus’ name. Amen’
Oh friends, do we ever need that kind of quiet calming and gentleness that Jesus offers in this harsh, angry and strife-filled world! And the world can only experience it through us, His loyal followers. As the prayer says: ‘Your light warming hearts, Your peace flowing in my words.’ And sadly, that’s the only way the world will ever see light and peace; through us, if we wholeheartedly buy into Christ’s philosophy and seriously and sincerely put it into practice. And all I want to do today is remind us of a few important scriptures that sort of jumped out at me while reading the prayer.
The first one deals with the phrase ‘You’re filled with compassion and perfect LOVE.’ And is our great God ever! And we all know this magnificent, heart-warming and uplifting scripture dealing with God’s wonderful compassion, as Jeremiah so rightly puts it in his Lamentations: ‘It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.’ (Lam.3:22-23) And we’d better say, praise the Lord for those new compassion every day, otherwise we would have long ago been destroyed for our obstinate sinfulness and disobedience.
And as per ‘perfect LOVE’ what’s that you ask? Basically, as this commentary explains: ‘Perfect LOVE is an expression of God’s LOVE for us, and it is only complete (or perfect) when we reflect it back onto Him.’ And the Bible is peppered throughout with the amazing LOVE of God for us. And John in particular deals with what we call perfect LOVE in his epistles. Listen up: ‘Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that He LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4:10-11)
And there is no doubting that logic my fellow believers, for without God’s LOVE we’d all be headed straight for hell fire and damnation, with no option whatsoever to receive salvation and eternal life. So we had better be thankful for God’s LOVE and be wise and reciprocate it as best we can. And as the scholars tell us: ‘No human LOVE is the standard for understanding God’s great compassion, but God’s own action on man’s behalf.’ That brings to mind God’s declaration (yesss!!!) in Isaiah that His thoughts and ways are higher than ours, therefore we cannot understand them. (Is. 55:8-9) But we can definitely understand what He tells us to do.
Then John later continues: ‘Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the LOVE that God hath to us. God is LOVE; and he that dwelleth (abides) in LOVE dwelleth (abides) in God, and God in him. Herein is our LOVE made perfect (LOVE made perfect among us), that we may have boldness in the day of judgement: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in LOVE; but perfect LOVE casteth out fear: because fear hath (involves) torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in LOVE.’ (1 John 4:15-18)
And I believe it’s important to note this commentary on what it means to be made perfect in LOVE. It says: ‘We normally use “perfect” to mean “flawless, without any blemish” (“He got a perfect score on his exam”). But ‘teleios,’ (Greek word translated perfect) primarily means to fulfill one’s purpose. So being “perfected in LOVE” means “having God’s LOVE fulfill its purpose in us.” Remember that though we can try with God’s help to achieve perfection, none of us can be truly perfect in this world, except in the sense that we truly fulfill God’s purpose in our lives.
Ah my fellow saints, there seems to be much more I want to say, (smile) but time and space are not cooperating, so if God spares life, we’ll continue on this topic tomorrow. Now, let’s declare out loud, and thus activate our Thursday Blessings, those undeserved blessings bestowed on us by God to do His earthly work. As one 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 every day! Amen!
And having set those blessings in motion, we are now required to go out and share them with others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him, like we do! Much LOVE!
…until Christians ramp up the LOVE of God in our world…evil will continue to have the upper hand…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
04 Apr 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a name above every other name, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, at the name of Jesus, be of good cheer, beside still waters, bet your bottom dollar, choose life, christianity, come unto me, curse, Easter Sunday, every knee shall bow, every tongue confess, faith, fro glory to glory, fulfillment, god, God also highly exalted him, Good Friday, good vibes, I am meek and lowly in heart, i have overcome the world, I will you rest, in me ye might have peace, in the world ye shall have tribulation, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God, Jesus in our hearts souls bodies and minds, Jesus is our Good Shepherd, Jesus is our Guide and Leader, King of Kings, leads us to green pastures, learn of me, let it rain, let not your heart be troubled, Lord of Lords, LOVE, my burden is light, my peace I give to you, my yoke is easy, negative word, neither let it be afraid, not as the world giveth, paid our sin debt in full, peace, Peace i leave with you, refreshes our weary souls, salvation, self-discipline, set before you life and death, success, supernatural strength, take my yoke upon you, that both thou and thy seed shall live, the awesome power of Christ's resurrection, the Easter season, turbulent times, wisdom
Matthew 11:28. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
And the good vibes of this Easter Season still percolate strongly through our faith on this wet Thursday spring morning in early April. Thankfully, the rain has let up some, and the li’l snow we got has already disappeared. However, the promise of rain is still in the forecast. But as I like to say: ‘Let it rain, let it rain! With Jesus in our hearts, souls, bodies and minds, rain cannot stop us from moving forward with Him!’ No sir! For Jesus is our Guide and Leader, our Good Shepherd, who leads us to green pastures, beside still waters and restores or refreshes our burdened and weary souls.
That means, if we are wise, we will quickly take Him up on His Great Invitation. ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble): and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt. 11:28-30) Oh friends, there is absolutely no better invitation in all the world! You can bet your bottom dollar on that!
And Jesus, having died on Good Friday and paid our sin debt in full, then risen on Easter Sunday and proclaimed the awesome power of His resurrection, He now sits at the right hand of the Father interceding on our behalf, highly exalted for His work on the cross. As the Good Library tells it: ‘Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee shall 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 Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil. 2:9-11)
Wow mih bredrin! Jesus, for His stellar, unselfish work here on earth has been proclaimed King of Kings and Lord of Lords and the name that’s above all names! That means, if possible, He is now even more able to offer us the peace and rest that we so desperately need in these tremulous and turbulent times, than when He first offered that invitation while here with us on Mother Earth. So why are many more of us not turning to Him for the comfort, relief and solace He so readily offers eh? Why instead are so many of us leaving His church, turning away from Him and all the wonderful things He offers?
I truly don’t know why, neither can I understand why in this age of turmoil and confusion we would run away from the ONE source of true peace and comfort in this evil and ungodly world. My people, please, I plead with us to remember these most important words of Jesus on the subject of peace in this strife-filled world. He says: ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ (John 14:27)
Right there you have it friends! Jesus’ peace is an entirely different kind of peace from what this ungodly world offers as peace. And furthermore, when you have the peace of Jesus, you don’t have to be worried and anxious about what’s happening in the world, or even in your particular situation, because He will keep you peaceful if you live for Him. And Jesus second quote on peace comes just after He tells the disciples about His upcoming crucifixion, acknowledging that in their fear they would scatter like rats at the presence of a cat. (smile)
Nonetheless, He comforts them with these words. ‘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 yes, we all know that it’s hard to have peace when we’re undergoing trials and tribulations, but if we put our complete trust in Jesus, surrender our all to Him, He will give us the necessary peace to go about our business without too much worry and anxiety. That’s His absolute promise! And I’m here to testify to it.
But unfortunately, it doesn’t happen overnight. However, as you draw closer to Jesus; pray, read and understand more of His Word and put it into action in your own life, you find yourself being less and less worried and anxious, because little by little, you’re experiencing His faithfulness in your life. Your faith grows stronger as He slowly raises you from glory to glory! Now that my fellow believers is the least we can ask of our Saviour. But the truth of the matter is that He has a lot more to offer us, if we will only turn to Him seriously and sincerely!
As He says in His Invitation; you will find rest for your souls, an easy yoke, a light burden, plus stuff like forgiveness of sins, salvation and eternal life with Him wherever He might be. Now what can be better than that eh? Certainly not our only other option; that of sojourning in hell with Satan and his band of evil doers. But it’s all up to the individual. The Lord gave us free choice, hoping that we’d choose Him, over Satan. Thus Moses’ exhortation to the Israelites in the wilderness: ‘I call heaven and earth to record (as witnesses) this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessings and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.’ (Deut. 30:19)
It could not be said any clearer than that my fellow saints. Now the ball is in our court. Please play it wisely. And our God is so wonderful that He even bestows on us undeserved blessings to profitably share His Word on the earth. We call them our Thursday Blessings, but there’s one proviso; a blessing is not a blessing until it’s declared (yesss!!!). So let’s declare (awright!!!) them right now nuh. As one strong and sincere 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 every day! Amen!’
And having made that declaration (yeahhh!!!) we are now duty bound to go out and use those blessings for the benefit of others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us. Much LOVE!
…why choose sorrowful death…when there’s glorious life to be chosen…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
15 Feb 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a physical purge, banal lives, be aware of your presence, be transformed by the renewing of your mind, bring me back to my true self, cataract surgery, ceativity, courage, create in me a clean heart, curse, drifting away from God, easy to lose focus, faith, find your fullness, holy spirit, in small quiet moments, In Touch Devotional, LOVE, man plans but God laughs, mercy, mundane details of life, mundane doings, negative word, only look for God in miraculous moments, prosper, renew a right spirit within me, self-discipline, sinners shall be converted unto thee, spiritual purge, succeed, talnet, the best laid plans of mice and men usually go astray, the good acceptable and perfect will of God, the joy of thy salvation, the renewing of your minds, Thursday Blessings
Psalm 51:10. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right (steadfast) spirit within me.
Ah friends, let me apologize for the lateness of the Bit, but I had to go into Toronto early this morning for some cataract surgery on my right eye. Now, I had planned to do the Bit before I went off, but as they say, ‘the best laid plans of mice and men usually go astray,’ as well as ‘man plans but God laughs.’ Then to make maters worse I had to wait a couple of hours for the surgery, and afterwards wait for the doctor to check it out, so I wouldn’t have to go back tomorrow morning.
What riled me though was having to wait a half an hour to get transportation back, and when it did show up, the snow had begun falling, so you know the drive back was even slower than normal, and we arrived home to find our driveway and area already covered in the white stuff. And does it ever look beautiful from inside. (smile) However, enough idle chatter, let’s get to saying some thing of greater value before my eye shuts down on me. It was fine all along, but now that I’m home, it’s become somewhat swollen, as it loses the effect of the anesthetic they’d put in it.
Today, we’re going to share the monthly prayer from the In Touch Devotional for February. So please pray with me. ‘Lord, it’s easy to lose focus, to drift away from You in the mundane details of my life. I long to be aware of Your presence all my days, to find Your fulness even in small, quiet moments. Bring me back to my true self, and bring me back each moment to You, with each breath, In Jesus’ name, Amen.’
Oh my people, those few words can be ever so important in our lives, especially in these times of much turbulence and uncertainty. For though I’m not drifting away from God, I desperately need to regain my focussing power, as I find myself easily distracted these days. The devil seems to have recently acquired a tad of power over me in that area. But one thing in that prayer at which I’m good at though is finding God’s presence and gracious hand in the small things of life.
Unfortunately, that’s something many unbelievers can’t feel because they only look for God in the big, miraculous, momentous moments. But those are few and far between, while God’s hands are all over and in all of our daily, supposedly mundane doings. And if you seek Him in those small, apparently unimportant things, that’s where you’ll find continual joy, for He delights in being involved in every aspect of our banal lives. They might seem banal to us, but definitely not to Him!
That’s why, in this Lenten season, we all need to take time to inspect ourselves, do a spiritual checkup, then turn to God and ask Him to help us improve in whatever way we need to. All of us have good points, but we all also have some bad ones, that need cleansing. We need to say something like Bruh David did in Psalm 51, in the section on a Plea for Cleansing. And we need to mean it too, not let be only lip service., as so many other things we say. In sincere repentance, Bruh David cried out:
‘Purge me with thy hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right (steadfast) spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free (generous) spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.’ (Ps. 51:7-13)
Yes friends, many, if not all of us can use a good purging of our iniquities in this Lenten season, so we can start back from scratch. Remember how as young children growing up in the West Indies, before the start of every school term we’d get a much hated physical purge, with the castor oil, the Epsom salts and what have you? (smile) Well, right now we need a good spiritual purge, and this season of Lent, of fasting, repentance, prayer and soul-searching, is about the best time for it. So let’s get serious about out God and His Holy Will nuh, and allow Him to create that clean heart and right spirit within us.
And while we’re at it, let’s remember these words of Bruh Paul to the church at Rome, which echo those sentiments. ‘And be not conformed to the world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.’ (Rom. 12:2) Now, the Lord has already given us the power to do that, through the gifts of the Spirit, and furthermore, through what we call our Thursday Blessings, He’s also bestowed on us undeserved blessings, to enable us to do His earthly work. So let’s declare (chuh!!!) them, so we can activate them.
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 every day! Amen!’
And having activated those blessings, we need to now go out and use them to do God’s work, sharing them as generously with others as God shared them with us. Much LOVE!
…both our bodies and souls…need a good purge every so often…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
31 Jan 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a positive mental attitude, ahnds on the plough, all was vanity, an open mind on all subjects, earthly riches, endure to the end, engaged in a labour of love, eyes fixed straight ahead, financial security, freedom from fear, glad to be alive, halfway home, harmony in human relationships, hope of future achievement, Jesus Christ, lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, lay up treasures for yourselves in heaven, LOVE, moth and rust doth corrupt, my portion of all my labour, no profit under the sun, not turning back, our improper attitude of enslavement toward wealth, self-discipline, sound physical health, thank God, the breath of life is still flowing through me, the capacity for applied faith, The Twelve Aspects of True wealth, to a glorious future with Jesus, truth, vexation of spirit, Wednesday Wail, willingness to share one's blessings, wisdom, wisdom to understand people, Ye cannot serve God and mammon
Matthew 6:24b. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (earthly riches).
Oh friends, last night as I was sitting at my desk, contemplating what task to commence, and not wanting to do the ones I really desired to do, (smile) I happened to look up at the wall on my right side, a wall filled with pictures, and words of encouragement that I very seldom seem to look at. But as my eyes wandered over all the stuff there, they fell on this particular list written in bold red and black colours titled ‘The Twelve Aspects of True Wealth.’ And it suddenly occurred to me that I didn’t know what those aspects of true wealth were. So I took a few moments to read it, obviously the first time in a long while.
Then, having done so, the truth of it all suddenly came back to me, and I had the inspiration to share them with you today. So here they are. (1) A positive mental attitude. (2) Sound physical health. (3) Harmony in human relationships. (4) Freedom from fear. (5) Hope of future achievement. (6) The capacity for applied faith. (7) Willingness to share one’s blessings with others. (8) To be engaged in a labour of LOVE. (9) An open mind on ALL subjects to ALL people. (10) Complete self-discipline. (11) Wisdom with which to understand people. (12) FINANCIAL SECURITY.’
And there you have them; the Twelve Aspects of True Wealth. Now that last one I have in capital letters with dollar signs ($) all around it. Why it was done like that I can’t remember, but I believe it was put last to show that it was not the most important aspect of wealth, which it isn’t. Yes friends, financial security is nice to have, but it is not the most important aspect of our lives, or of true wealth, as can be observed by the numerous people who are financial secure, but are not truly happy.
And I know that the world touts the accruing of money and other forms of wealth as the search for the Golden Grail, but setting your sights on the accumulation of worldly wealth is only a formula for unhappiness, because it’s a process filled with things like greed, envy, jealously, hardheartedness, endless work, possibly ill health from too much work, poor personal relationships and lack of a good family life. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg. And you know friends, I don’t think that anyone said it better than Cousin Sol as the preacher in Ecclesiastes.
Let’s listen to him as he reminisces. ‘I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards: I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits: I made me pools of water, to water (irrigate) therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees (grove of growing trees): I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle (herds) above all that were in Jerusalem before me: I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar (special) treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me (acquired) men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts.
So I was great, and increased (excelled) more that all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me. and whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy (pleasure), for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of (reward from) all my labour. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured (toiled) to do: and behold, all was vanity (futility) and vexation of spirit (a grasping for the world), and there was no profit under the sun.’ (Eccl. 2:4-11)
Oh my people, if the richest and wisest man ever, did not, or could not find true happiness and lasting joy in all his wealth and wisdom, why are we still trying to attain happiness and joy along those same lines eh? Because the world and the devil have deceived us into thinking that’s the way to joy. But it’s not. The only way to true joy is through acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour and walking faithfully in His will! And I like the way the scholars explain it. ‘Solomon pursued fulfillment through pleasure (vs. 1-2). wine (vs. 3), great works (vs. 4-6), wealth (vs. 7-8) aesthetic and artistic pleasures (vs. 8), and fame (vs. 9). All of these failed to bring lasting satisfaction to the wisest man of all time, yet people three thousand years later are still trying them in search of enduring fulfillment.’
Yes friends, the riches of the world do not automatically bring lasting joy and satisfaction. No. Not unless they are paired with the righteousness of God in our lives. There’s nothing wrong with having worldly wealth, for there are many wealthy Christians, but running down the wealth, just for the wealth’s sake is a waste of time. As Cousin Sol so wisely puts it; ‘it’s all vanity,’ that’s futility and a waste of our efforts. Meanwhile Jesus had this to say on the subject of accumulating earthly wealth for it’s own sake.
‘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 (ruin), and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also… No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and LOVE the other, or else he will hold to (be loyal) to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (earthly riches).’ (Matt. 6:19-21, 24)
And there’s truth galore in Jesus’ statements. In the first place wherever your treasure is stored, your heart will focus on that place. Thus if you are targeting earthly riches, then your heart will be focused on the things of the earth. Likewise, if you are storing up treasures in heaven, then your heart will be focused there. But friends, we cannot store treasures in both places and give proper attention to any of them. As the scholars so wisely remind us: ‘Total loyalty to God cannot be divided between Him and loyalty to one’s material possessions. So therefore Jesus is quite right when He says, ‘Ye cannot serve God and mammon.’ However, He is not condemning money or possessions in and of themselves, but the improper attitude of enslavement toward wealth.’
And with all we’ve said today, let’s hope that we now know what true wealth is, and have the right attitude towards it! (smile) So it’s time to go home declaring (awright!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. Altogether now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And furthermore, if we endure right down to the end with Jesus, it’s promised that that glorious future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine. So, let’s plan on enjoying it together nuh. Much LOVE!
when you die…your earthly treasure stays on earth…while your heavenly treasure awaits you there…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
11 Jan 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, common sense, curse, eternal life, faith, fear hath torment, forgiveness, God is LOVE, he who loveth God love his brother also, holy spirit, Jesus Christ, LOVE, LOVE is of God, love made perfect, Love makes the world go round, made perfect in love, material wealth, negative word, no man hath seen God, perfect love casteth out fear, reconciliation, sacrificed His sinless life, self-control, self-discipline, spread the good news of Christ's gospel, the light of the world, the propitiation for our sins, the salt of the earth, the year of the Love Revolution, Thursday Blessings, wisdom
1 John 4:21. And this commandment have we from him (Jesus), That he who LOVETH God LOVE his brother also.
Ah friends, I can’t believe that it’s already Thursday, and the eleventh day of this new month and year. But it does seem as though time intends to go just as quickly this year as it did in 2023, and we just have to be ready to go along with it as speedily as it does, else we’re going to miss out on a whole lot of important things, times and places. (smile) That means we need to get our acts together as soon as possible; quit all laziness and procrastination, while sincerely petitioning the Lord for wisdom and discernment to know His holy will, and the strength to action it in His perfect timing.
Remember, this is the year of the LOVE Revolution, where we Christians turn things around in a big way; where we truly become the light of the world and the salt of the earth, give up all the foolish dreams of material wealth and power and concentrate on spreading the good news gospel of Christ, who sacrificed His sinless life so that we could have forgiveness, reconciliation and eternal life with Him and the Father! Wow! What a titanic year this 2024 will be in the annals of Christianity! It will be like the awesome beginning of the church on Pentecost Day where the amazing power of the Holy Ghost was displayed and people flocked to become believers in Christ!
Yes, my fellow believers, that’s the kind of heroic year our Lord and Savour expects from us. And there really shouldn’t be any need for Jesus to expect big things from us this year nuh, because common sense alone ought to tell us that if we don’t make a big splash this year, then our world will most likely explode or implode with all the anger, hatred, violence and evildoing that’s currently cycloning in it! So, it’s also in our best interest to ramp up our efforts and make the LOVE Revolution a reality. For you know where true LOVE exists, hatred and violence and all the other negative attributes of the enemy cannot take root.
And as I was just considering where to go from here, I opened the Good Library, and lo and behold it opened on John’s first epistle where he admonishes us to LOVE one another. And I said ‘Yes!’ that’s perfect, because we cannot conduct a LOVE Revolution without having LOVE for ourselves and each other! However when I read it, I found it too long and worthwhile to paraphrase and cut up, so I decided we should simply read the whole thing. (smile) So please read with me.
‘Beloved, let us LOVE one another; for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE, In this was manifested the LOVE of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him. Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4:7-11)
Now friends, there is no refuting that solid logic! God LOVED us first and sent Christ to save us, so the expectation that we would LOVE Him in return, and also LOVE our fellow man, is very reasonable. Then John continues with his logical reasoning. ‘No man hath seen God at any time. If we LOVE one another, God dwelleth in us, and his LOVE is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.’ (1 John 4:12-13) And what a wonderful gift is the power of the Holy Spirit, which leads and guides us in the will of God! Second only to the gift of Jesus himself!
John then testifies: ‘And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.’ (1 John 4:14) Oh my people, John wasn’t talking from hearsay, but from what he had actually seen and experienced. He had actually walked with Christ, the Son of God on this earth. That gives him good reason to expound on the subject. ‘Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the LOVE that God hath to us: God is LOVE; and he that dwelleth in LOVE dwelleth (abides) in God, and God in him. Herein is our LOVE made perfect (is LOVE made perfect among us), that we may have the boldness in the day of judgement: because as he is, so are we in this world.’ (1 John 4:15-17)
Yes friends, LOVE is the greatest attribute there is, and therefore it ought to be a dominant characteristic of believer’s hearts. Then, if God dwells in us, and we in Him, we ought to have total assurance of our positive position, and not fear the upcoming day of judgement. That’s why John could therefore continue: ‘There is no fear in LOVE; but perfect LOVE casteth out fear: because fear hath (involves) torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in LOVE.’ (1 John 4:18)
Now here are some explanations from the scholars on that rather important verse. They say: re ‘fear hath torment: Abject fear of God is based on the dread of punishment. But God’s LOVE for us renders such dread obsolete. Fear is still a part of the Christian walk in the sense of profound reverence, the unwillingness to violate God’s trust in us. Believers need not fear eternal rejection as a result of God’s judgement (John 5:24), but this does not mean a Christian’s approach to God is to be casual and flippant.’ Of course not! But we don’t have to fear what happens in the end times.
John then reasons: ‘We LOVE him, because he first LOVED us. If a man say, I LOVE God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that LOVETH not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he LOVE God whom he hath not seen?’ (1 John 4:19-20) Now that’s a very good question my brethren! And if we follow John’s logic, then there are many liars among the believers. For many of us claim to LOVE God, but don’t have the time of day for our fellow believers, couldn’t give a hoot about them. Now that’s not the LOVE of God.
That’s why John ends with this verse. ‘And this commandment have we from him (Jesus), That he who LOVETH God LOVE his brother also.’ (1 John 4:21) That’s just how it ought to be my fellow saints. And if it isn’t, then we need to go to the Father and ask for help to fix it. Now, let’s go home declaring (yesss!!!) our Thursday Blessings, so that we can activate those undeserved blessings the Lord has so generously bestowed on us to do His earthly work! As one 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 every day! Amen!’
And since we’ve activated those blessings, it’s now our duty to go out and use them to help others come to Christ! Much LOVE!
…LOVE is what makes the world go round…from God to us…and from us to our fellow man…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
08 Sep 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a hard day's work, a heinous crime, a salacious invitation, a Sunday afternoon stroll, brought in a Hebrew to mock us, complain and remain, dead tired, deceitful measures, doing the Lord's will, foolish pride, Friday chant, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, heralding beautiful autmn, his wrath was kindled, how then can I do this great wickedness, indelibly tarnished, judgemental society, leaves losing their green colour, lie with me, loyalty, obedience, omnipotent hrlp, praise and raise, prospering under God's favour, put him in prison, return backsliders to your fold, self-discipline, sin against God, sinful world can wake up, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the error of their ways, the evil one puts a hand in the situation, unexpected storms, ungodly times, wake up and and smell the coffee, what lengths Satan often drives us to
Genesis 39:9b. how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God.
And without fail, the exclamation ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! has gone up around the world. But though the day is somewhat bright and shiny, there’s a threatening cloud cover hovering in the background. And the recent heatwave seems to be over, with a return to more normal temps for this time of year.
However, in keeping with the cooler weather, some trees are already beginning to lose the green colour in their leaves, heralding the beautiful, colourful season of autumn, but also a precursor to the cold, dreaded time call winter. (smile) But that’s the way God planned it for these northern climes, and if you don’t like it, then you are free to move somewhere else, where there’s sunshine and hot temps all the year round.
Yes mih bredrin, in this crazy world of ours, we’re always complaining about something, mostly about what we don’t have and believe we deserve to have. But life doesn’t revolve around complaining, but around praise to Almighty God! As the saying goes: ‘Complain and remain; praise and raise!’ And until we start doing much more of the latter, our circumstances will remain the same.
But enough philosophizing, let’s get to the dramatic and most interesting and intriguing story of Bruh Joseph. Yesterday we left him in his master Potiphar’s house prospering under the favour of God. But just as bad things must end sometime, I guess all good things must also end sometime, especially when the evil one inserts a hand into the circumstances. And this he did in Bruh Joseph’s case.
The Bible tells us: ‘And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her (longing) eyes upon Joseph, and she said, Lie with me. But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in this house (he knows not what is in this house except through me), and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand. There is none greater in this house than I, neither hath he kept back anything from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God.’ (Gen. 39:7-9)
Wow! What self-discipline and loyalty to refuse such a salacious invitation! And please notice what Bruh Joseph called the proposition, not only ‘great wickedness’ but more importantly, ‘a sin against God.’ That shows exactly where his mind and spirit were steadfastly focused. But yuh know when Satan gets the bit in his mouth, he relentlessly keeps pulling at it, and thus Potiphar’s wife kept bugging Bruh Joseph to sleep with her.
But he kept refusing, until the Bible tells us: ‘And it came to pass, about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business (work); and there was none of the men of the house there within. And she caught him by his garment (coat), saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment (coat) in her hand, and fled, and got him out.’ (Gen. 39:11-12)
Ah friends, what lengths Satan often drives us to eh! The woman refused to give up her goal of having Bruh Joseph lie with her, possibly because her pride was hurt at his constant refusal, and she was even willing to assault him to have her way. As the scholars put it: ‘Her first approach involved flattery (vs. 7), then the drawn-out enticing (vs. 10), and finally the ambush (vs.12).’ And as they say, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. And it’s often the gospel truth too, like it was in this case.
We read in the Word: ‘And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment (coat) in her hand, and was fled forth (outside), That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock (laugh at) us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice: And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment (coat) with me, and fled, and got him out. And she laid up his garment (coat) by her, until his Lord came home.’(Gen 39:11-16)
Ah Lord eh, the evil games Satan has us play over foolish pride! And as the scholars note, that was the second time Bruh Joseph’s coat was used in deceit about him. Remember how his brothers used his coat of many colours dipped in goat’s blood and torn up, to prove to his father that he was dead. ((cf. 37:31-33). And obviously, when poor Potiphar came home dead tired from a hard day at work, his deceitful wife spun him the same tale.
‘And it came to pass when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me, that his wrath was kindled. And Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison.’ (Gen. 39: 19-20)
And who says being a true believer is easy eh! But what else could Potiphar do, except believe his wife. Doubting her would have created even more strife and deceit in the household. But it’s been said, that deep down Potiphar, knowing Bruh Joseph’s loyalty to him and to his God, did not believe Bruh Joseph would commit such a heinous crime. And that’s possibly why he did not have Bruh Joseph put to death asap, as he most certainly was able to do.
But unfortunately, we see the same deceitful measures being applied on a very large scale today, and whether they are all true is another story. However, it’s having unfortunate consequences for the men, because once the allegations are made, without any questions asked, they are adjudged guilty by our judgemental society. And even if the allegations are later proven to be totally untrue, the men’s reputations and futures are nonetheless indelibly tarnished.
But that’s another story for another place and time. Now let’s go the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, to seek mercy and grace in our desperate time of need. Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times.
We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Now let’s remember that divine help calls for obedience and sincerely doing the Lord’s will. Much LOVE!
…living sincerely for Christ…is very seldom…a Sunday afternoon stroll in the park…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
06 Apr 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: curse, deny me thrice before the cock crows twice, divine protection, do this in remembrance of me, Eucharist, He said drink ye all of it, Holy Communion, If I your Lord and Master have washed your feet, Jesus set certain parameters in our faith, Jesus took the cup of wine, Jesus washed the disciples' feet, Maundy Thursday, negative word, promotion, receive clear direction for my life, self-discipline, selflessness of Christ, shed for many for the remission of sins, take eat this is my body, the Angel of Death, the cup of blessing, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Jewish Passover, the lamb's blood on the lintel of the door, the Last Supper, the perfect example of humility, the sacrificial Lamb, this is my blood of the new testament, Thursday Blessings, ye also to wash one another's feet
Matthew 26:28. For this is my blood of the new testament (covenant), which is shed for many for the remission (forgiveness) of sins.
And then it was Thursday; Maundy Thursday. And we wish you all a Happy Maundy Thursday! It might not have been such a happy day in Jesus’ life, neither in ours right now, as we contemplate the next few days of tragic happenings, but it was indeed a special one, where He set certain parameters in our faith, and left us several examples to follow. Maundy Thursday was the day in Jesus’ life when, as we say, everything came to bump, meaning that He had finally reached the stage when there’s no turning back.
On that Thursday, certain things happened that reminds us of the passionate moments of Jesus’ life. And we are invited to remember and celebrate these four events: the Last Supper, the Washing of the Apostle’s Feet by Jesus, Christ’s agony and prayer in Gethsemane, and the arrest of Jesus. At the Last Supper, He offered Himself as the sacrificial Lamb, with such humility and selflessness that makes Him the perfect example of those attributes.
Now this was a time of the celebration of the Passover Feast in Jerusalem, one of the most sacred days in the Jewish Calendar, reminding them of that time during their slavery in Egypt, when the Angel of Death passed over Egypt and killed every first born son, but spared the Jews, because of the lamb’s blood on the lintel of their doors. (Ex. 12)
On that night Jesus sat with His twelve disciples celebrating. ‘And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord is it I? And He answered and said, he that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had never been born. Then Judas which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He (Jesus) said unto him, Thou hast said (it).’ (Matt. 26:21-24)
Oh my people, can you imagine the consternation, the doubt and grief engendered by Jesus’ comment that one of His closest supplicants would betray Him. And the scholars explain: ‘Jesus’ reply to Judas Thou hast said means “yes.” He that dippeth reveals the personal and intimate nature of the betrayal.’ But that was only the first of several eye-opening occasions on that fateful evening.
After that, the Good Book tells: ‘And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat, this is my body. And he took the cup (of wine), and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it (drink from it all of you). For this is my blood of the new testament (covenant), which is shed for many for the remission (forgiveness) of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.’ (Matt. 26:26-29)
Right there we have it friends, the celebration of what we call ‘The Eucharist, or Holy Communion,’ as a memorial of the death and resurrection of Jesus, in response to his words at the final meal he shared with his disciples, ‘Do this in remembrance of me.’ (Luke 22:19 ) Thus, when we receive communion, we remember the sacrifice Jesus made for us, and we grow in LOVE for one another as Jesus commanded us.
And what do the scholars say about Jesus’ actions at the Last Supper. As per ‘Jesus took bread: The head of the Jewish household was accustomed to doing this during the Passover feast. Jesus gave a completely new significance to the action.’ Then, as per ‘This is my body: During the Passover feast the Jewish householder took bread in his hand and said, This is the bread of affliction which our fathers ate in the land of Egypt,’ meaning, of course, that one represented the other. By His words the Lord changed the whole significance and emphasis of the feast from looking back to the typical redemption from Egypt to faith in the redemption from sin accomplished by His death.
The bread and wine were only outward symbols of our Lord’s death. Nothing in the gospels indicates that these were to be viewed as a means of grace, sacraments, or that they were physically necessary for one’s salvation.’ Meanwhile, as per ‘The cup: Three cups were passed around by the Jewish householder during the Passover meal; the third, which is probably the one referred to here, being known as “the cup of blessing.”
And ‘My blood of the new testament taken from the Greek Septuagint version of Exodus 24:8, with allusions to Jeremiah 31:31 and Zechariah 9:11. The covenant in Exodus 24: 8 was sealed with blood. Now, as per ‘Shed for many the remission of sins: Here is a clear statement that the death of Jesus was necessary to enable God to forgive sins. It, in fact, made it right or morally justified for Him to do so.’
Ah friends, so much happened on that penultimate day of Jesus’ life that we don’t have time nor space to recount it all in detail. But we do know that after supper Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, (John 13:2-17) which was another eye-opener for the disciples; their Master doing a slave’s job. And when Peter refused, Jesus simply told him: ‘If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.’ (John 2:8) It was a powerful example as Jesus told them. ‘If I then, your Lord and Master (Teacher), have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.’ (John 2:14) That’s a picture of the humility and selflessness we were talking about earlier.
Then Jesus told them about their being offended by the things that were going to happen to Him, but Peter as usual refused to accept Christ’s words, claiming he would never be offended or leave Jesus. At which point, Jesus told Peter about his denying Him thrice before the cock crowed twice. (Matt. 26:31-35) Then they went into the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus, with heavy heart and sorrowful soul prayed for a reprieve from His Father, but none was forthcoming. (Matt. 26:36-46)
Finally, Jesus was betrayed by Judas and arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, and all the disciples fled the scene. (Matt. 26:47-57) Then while Jesus was being questioned by the high priest Caiaphas, Peter denied knowing him three times before the cock crowed twice, and the Lord just looked at him, with an ‘I told you so’ look. And Peter went outside and wept bitterly. (Matt. 26:69-75) Yes my fellow saints, Maundy Thursday was indeed a busy and important day for our Lord and Saviour. But you’ll notice that though His soul was burdened, He nonetheless stepped up to the plate and batted the most wonderful innings ever played!
Now that is a most worthy example for us to follow, especially since we’ve been generously granted what we call our Thursday Blessings, of which we’re not worthy, but have been bestowed them to help us do Christ’s work here on earth. So, let’s declare (yesss!!!) them so that they can be activated. 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 every day! Amen!’
Now it’s time for us to go out and do the work that we’ve been so generously blessed to do! Much LOVE!
…though also God…in His humanity…Jesus was indeed…a man amongst men…a class act…no doubt about it…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
30 Mar 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: be always prepared, brought down to hell, cast thee to the ground, compassionate heart, courage, creativity, curse, foolish pride caused the fall of Satan, from one extreme to the next, guidance for earthly living, hellfire and damnation, I am the Lord that is my name, LOVE, my glory will I not give to another, negative word, neither my praise to graven images, one truth from the Bible, opposing the will and work of God, prosper, resist the devil by submitting to God, self-discipline, share our blessings generously, son of the morning, success, the dungeons of Hades, the first temptation, the inspired word of God, their just desert, thine heart wast lifted up, Thursday Blessings, wearing the full armour of God, weathering the strains of time, worth more than all the wisdom of man
Isaiah 42:8. I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
Ah mih people, the current weather situation in our world is nothing if not interesting. Take for example, yesterday in my area. It opened bright and sunshiny…that is until the early afternoon, when it began to rain. Then in the midst of the rain, big flakes of wet snow began coming down in showers. Then that stopped, and in the early evening hours the sun came back out bright and sunshiny, the ground was fairly dry with only a bit of snow left there. So, in a few hours we went from one extreme to the next, and then back again! What a life!
Unfortunately, that’s how life seems to be trending nowadays. You can’t take anything for granted any longer. What was once fairly stable is now unstable, and that includes people, as well institutions and as things like the weather. The only thing that seems to be weathering the strains of time is the Word of God. And so it should, although many of us are either trying to change it to our own benefit, or remove it completely from our lives.
But there’s a reason why the Word of God found in the Bible has stood the test of time and will continue doing so. That’s because it is the inerrant, true and godly inspired word of our Creator, filled with His wisdom and guidance for earthly living. And if it is godly direction, then it should last till the end of time, ringing with wisdom for each new generation. You know it’s the most maligned book in the universe, but every year it’s also the best-selling tome. And what’s a tome?
The dictionary gives the definition of a tome as a large, scholarly book. And yuh better believe there’s no larger and more scholarly book than the Bible, or Good Library. Yes, it’s so scholarly, that it’s a library in itself, containing numerous books within it. (smile) And as we said recently, one truth from the Good Library is worth more than all the wisdom of man. Wow! And man does have a lot of wisdom, that’s just to tell you the wisdom to be found in God’s Word.
And since the Lord Himself has said through the prophet Isaiah that His thoughts and ways are ever so much higher than man’s, (Is. 55:8-9) it’s only logical to expect His wisdom to outshine that of His finite and frail creation. And that’s why it’s so illogical and foolish for us to try and live life without God, and even more foolish to try to remove Him completely from our society. That just will never happen, as He said quite clearly also through the prophet Isaiah. ‘I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.’ (Is. 42:8)
Now what’s in that clear and simple sentence that we don’t understand eh? The Lord will NEVER allow a finicky, finite creation of His to unseat Him from His throne of power. So why do we still insist on trying to do it eh? Haven’t we learned from the example of Satan, the once mighty archangel Lucifer, who dared to try and usurp the power of God? And what happened to him eh? He and all of his foolish followers were summarily kicked out of heaven to make their sorry way in the dungeons of Hades, with hellfire and damnation, as their just desert!
And it’s the very same thing that caused Satan to fall that’s causing us to suffer the wrath of God; that’s foolish pride! And if you don’t believe me, then let’s check out the story as told by the prophets. Ezekiel says of Lucifer, the Morning Star. ‘Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; (cherubim: angelic being of the highest order that guard the Lord) and I have set thee so thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
Thou was perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee… Thine heart was lifted up (became proud) because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness (splendour): I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.’ (Ezek. 28:14-15, 17) That’s the same thing that’s happening to us today my fellow believers; because of our great advances in all areas of life, we have become too proud of our achievements, forgetting that it’s with the Lord’s power and help that we have made those advances.
Meanwhile, Isaiah says of Satan: ‘How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer (Morning Star), son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend unto heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides (farthest sides) of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides (the lowest depths) of the pit.’ (Is. 14:12-15)
Yes friends, Satan was a mighty angel until He got too proud and desired to overthrow God. Yuh hear all the ‘I will’s’ He proclaimed. But he never attained any of them. Instead, he was kicked out of heaven with his followers and thus became the originator and chief perpetrator of sin. And I like how the scholars describe His modus operandi. ‘Satan’s subtle nature is reflected in the first temptation (Gen. 3:1) (where he deceived Eve), and in his titles “angel of light,” (2. Cor. 11:24) and “him that deceiveth the whole world.” (Rev. 12:9) His present day activities include opposing the will and work of God, counterfeiting the work of God, and destroying all that is good.
A Christian can overcome Satan when he remembers four basic principles: First, though Jesus is greater than the Devil (1 John 4:4), a Christian must still have a healthy respect for the Enemy; even the archangel Michael did not confront Satan except in the name of the Lord (Jude 9). Second, a wise Christian will evaluate his life and avoid those situations where he is most likely to be tempted (1 Thess. 5:22). Third, he should resist the Devil by submitting to God (James 4:7-10). Finally, the Christian should always be prepared by wearing the whole armour of God (Eph. 6:13-17)’
No my fellow saints, we can’t go wrong if we follow those four basic principles. And thus, having a li’l better knowledge of Satan and his evil self, let’s go home now declaring (chuh!!!) our Thursday Blessings, which the Lord has generously bestowed on us to do His earthly work. As one strong 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 every day! Amen!’
So, with all those marvellous blessings in our possession, it’s time for us to go out and use and share them just as generously as the Lord shared them with us! Much LOVE!
…Satan’s been defeated twice by Jesus…in whom then will you trust…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
20 Oct 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all tongues confess, an everlasting covenant, both thou and thy seed shall live, buy wine and milk without money, choose life, comapssionate heart, come unto me all ye that labour, come ye buy and eat, come ye to the waters, curse, every one that thirsteth, God commendeth his own love toward us, God's free gift of salvation, great invitation, I am meek and lowly in heart, I have set before you life and death, I will give you rest, King of Kings, let your soul delight itself in fatness, Lord of Lords, my yoke is easy and my burden light, negative word, prince of peace, seek ye the Lord while he may be found, self-control, self-discipline, storms of life, take my yoke upon you, that Jesus Christ is Lord, the deceiver of God's people, the name above every other name, the wages of sin is death, this is the day the Lord has made, Thursday Blessings, to the glory of God the Father, to whom all knees must bow, we will rejoice and be glad in it, while we were yet sinners christ died for us, you reap what you sow
Isaiah 55:6. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near.
And the week’s moving along as programmed. Thursday has opened cloudy and windy in my neck of the woods, but it’s still a wonderful day to be alive! It just means being prepared for the weather when we go out; dress for it and be careful walking or driving. However, for true believers in Jesus Christ, every day we open our eyes is a marvellous day, despite the weather, and one we should all greet by declaring (yesss!!!) these awesome words of the psalmist. ‘This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Ps. 118:24)
Yes friends, we ought to be grateful for each day we awaken and don’t see our names listed in the obits, (smile) even when the mighty storms of life, both literally and figuratively are pounding upon us, and we don’t know what to do. But that’s okay too, because we know someone who knows what to do, how to handle both the literal and figurative storms, His name is Jesus Christ; the Saviour of this sinful world, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Prince of Peace, the High Priest in the heavens, the Mighty Advocate for those who believe in Him and sincerely surrender their souls to Him; the name that’s above every other name, the one to whom ALL knees must bow and confess that he is Lord to the glory of God the Father!
Wow! What a powerful and influential person to know! And unlike most powerful and influential persons down here on earth, Jesus Christ doesn’t play favourites, or turn away anybody who desires to come to Him, regardless of their troubles, physical or spiritual status. In fact, He welcomes ALL and sundry through His Great Invitation. But before we get to that new invitation (smile) listen to this other Great Invitation that our Lord God Jehovah offered His people Israel through the prophet Isaiah, long before Jesus offered His.
Isaiah gracefully declared (awright!!!) on the Lord’s behalf: ‘Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness (abundance). Incline your ear and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David… Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near.’ (Is. 55:1-3, 6)
Oh my people, yuh see how our great God was generous from the outset? As the scholars tell us, ‘God’s free gift of salvation is offered to ALL who will receive it. Those who are hungry and thirsty may come and drink without money (freely). He promises an everlasting covenant to the Gentiles (vs. 5) like the one He established with Israel. His invitation to ALL men is clearly stated by the appeal, Seek ye the Lord and call ye upon him.’
Yes my fellow believers, from the very beginning God has been pleading with us to come to Him for succour and nourishment for our souls. But sadly, we have been forestalling Him with excuses, lies and deceptions cast upon us by our enemy Satan, the devourer and deceiver of God’s people. However, as we can see God didn’t give up on us – He NEVER does – and with a heart full of LOVE, sent His Son Jesus Christ to earth to save us, by paying for our sins with His sinless blood that was shed on the cross of Calvary.
So I don’t know how we can ever say that God doesn’t care for us. And Bruh Paul declares it (yesss!!!) thus in his missive to the church at Rome. ‘But God commendeth (demonstrates) his (own) LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:8) Please note my people, that the Lord didn’t wait for us to change our evil ways and come to Him, He came to us first, with salvation, through His glorious Son Jesus Christ.
And Jesus, in His turn, also offered us another Great Invitation, where He pleads with mankind: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble): and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt. 11:28-30) I don’t know how else Jesus could plead with us to come to Him nuh. And He did it all through His earthly ministry, but stubborn, unwise, mankind still refuses to believe Him and seek His comfort, peace and salvation that can be found in no one else in God’s great world.
But that li’l matter of free will keeps cropping up and we keep using it to fulfill our own selfish desires for the things of the world, leaving our souls totally open to be ravaged, plundered and then cast off into the fires of hell by the enemy. That’s certainly not wisdom, especially in a time like this when the whole world is in a negative uproar, one filled with strife, poverty, sickness, natural disasters and inequality of enormous proportions.
Oh, but we have free will, so we can do what we want. And what we want right now is to drive God out of our society. Hn! What a laugh! We are even more foolish than we seem, if we believe that God will ever allow Himself to be driven out of His own creation! But as Moses told the children of Israel a long time ago ‘I call heaven and earth to record (as witnesses) this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.’ (Deut. 30:19)
And just for your information my brethren, that declaration (oh yeah!!!) still stands to this day. So it’s up to you to choose spiritual life or death with your free will. But for those of us who have chosen life, the Lord has bestowed upon us a number of tools to do His awesome work. We call them our Thursday Blessings. So let’s declare them (wow! – that’s 5 times straight) so that they can be activated in our lives.
As one strong and sincere 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 every day! Amen!’
And now it’s our bounden duty to go out and put those tools to work in Christ’s name. Much LOVE!
…you reap what you sow…you can’t sow sin and expect to reap eternal life…for the wages of sin is death…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ
22 Aug 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a chokehold on our world, a light unto my path, all these things will be added unto you, avowed purpose, behind the eight ball, bodily exercise profiteth little, forgive us and heal our land, godliness is profitable unto all things, humble servants, I may behold wondrous things out of thy law, in a dither on Mondays, is not life more than meat, Jehovah Rapha, like chickens with our heads cut off, LOVE, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, negative situations, open thou mine eyes, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, self-control, self-discipline, steadfast in prayer, strong faith in Christ, take no thought for your life, the body more than raiment, the God who heals, the promise of life that now is, thy word is a lamp unto my feet, too many divisions amongst believers, wise guidance and direction
Psalm 119:18. Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.
Monday has come around the bend once again my people, like it’s been doing for eons, and will continue doing until Jesus comes back and changes things…that is if He sees fit to change the arrangement of the days of the week. (smile) And if He doesn’t, then we’ll simply be enjoying Mondays till the end of His kingdom…or maybe all through eternity, who knows. That means the sooner we get used to Mondays and preparing properly for a new work week, the sooner any anxiety Monday causes us will disappear.
Yes, if we know what to expect, then we ought to be prepared for it. And we know that Monday will come around every seven days, so why are so many of us always in a dither on a Monday morning eh? Because we lack self-discipline and self-control. Monday should be a piece of cake, just like any other day…or rather, Monday should be our best prepared day, since we have the whole weekend to prepare for it. But hard-headed and prideful human beings that we are, we stubbornly refuse to make suitable plans for the opening day of the work week, and thus end up rushing around on Monday mornings like chickens with our heads cut off.
And I know some of you will refute what I’m saying by quoting Jesus, when He said to the people: ‘Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat (food), and the body more than raiment (clothes)? (Matt. 6:25) Then He went on to discourse how the Father looks after Mother Nature; the birds and the bees etc. and we are more important than they are, so He will look after us too. (Matt. 6:26-32)
But what we forget to quote is verse 33, which says: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.’ And to do that, we need to not only truly believe in Christ Jesus, but to have considerable self-control and self-discipline in our efforts in His name! Jesus was one of the most disciplined and controlled persons who ever lived. He had to be, else His whole ministry and purpose for coming to earth would have fallen apart.
Don’t think for one moment that He wanted to endure all the suffering He endured and be crucified on that horrible wooden cross, but that was His avowed purpose, and He faced up to it like a man. And if we are to be His true disciples, then we also need to have strong self-control and self-discipline and face up to our purpose mano-a- mano. (smile) No organization or individual can ever grow properly without those two things. And have you noticed how the enemy and his evil cronies are very focused and disciplined? Just look around and you will see it.
Unfortunately, our Christian organizations and people don’t seem to be as well focused and disciplined, otherwise we would not be as far behind the eight ball as we currently are, and the evil doers would not have such a chokehold on our world. Oh my people, both physical and spiritual discipline are necessary if we are to be victorious in Christ’s mission, but spiritual discipline is the more important element. As Bruh Paul told Timothy. ‘For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.’ (1 Tim. 4:8)
Yes friends, physical discipline offers some help down here on earth, but the spiritual kind is useful both here on earth as well as in the life to come. So please, I’m pleading with us to get serious about spiritual discipline, for without it, we’re completely lost. And how do we get it? By constantly meditating on God’s Word, being steadfast in prayer and fellowship with other believers. As the Good Book says: ‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’ (Ps. 119:105) But we first have to get into the word and then stay in the word!
Unfortunately though, that’s where too many of us supposed believers are falling down, we don’t stay in the word, we’re somewhat wishy-washy when it comes consistent Bible reading and studying. And until we improve that consistency, things will never get better. Now here’s a good verse to pray at the beginning of our prayer time. Ask the Father to ‘Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. I am a stranger in the earth; hide not thy commandments from me.’ (Ps. 119:18-19) Our wonderful God will never refuse such a request, and He will reveal truths to us as we read and meditate on His word.
Oh my people, it’s all about keeping God first place in our lives, being serious about it and being willing to build the discipline and self-control it needs to make Christ come to life in a dark, evil and ungodly world. And there are enough believers in this world, that if we get really serious about fighting for Jesus, we can take back our world from the enemy. But we must operate as a strong, confident, purposeful body, and with the number of divisions and dissension amongst believers right now, that seems like an impossible task.
But please remember that ALL things are possible with our God, and if He sees us making the effort, He will add whatever is necessary for us to succeed. But it all depends on us. So, let’s begin with first things first nuh, (smile) that’s prayer. As one voice, let’s take our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to the throne of grace. ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems.
Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.
And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
Now friends, if we expect to see positive results to our prayer, it’s up to us to keep our promises and turn from our evil ways. It’s as simple as that. Much LOVE!
…don’t expect the Lord to heal and save us…if we’re not sincere…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
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