30 Oct 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 3 Canal, a brand new day, a fool's wisdom, a positive sign, Achilles heel, almighty god, appreciate the blessing, bland, blessed, blessings, blood, Bruh David, buckler, Calvary, common sense, counsels of old, dangers, deliverance, disappointments, disastrous mess, disobedient, distance ourselves from God, doing God's work, dull, end of sermon, enemies, enjoy the goodness of God, enjoy this earthly life, enriched, faithfulness and truth, feckless, fellow believers, fickle, flowing through our mortal bodies, foolish, forgiveness, friends, further from the truth, glorifying God, glorifying man, Glory Halleujah, God's direction, gospel truth, have heaven right here on earth, have life more abundantly, high tower, horn of my salvation, I will call upon the Lord, I will exalt thee, I will praise thee, Isaiah, Jesus, joy, living beggarly, LOVE, magnificent and magnanimous God, magnify God, mercies, minding other people's business, miserable, Moses, my brethren, my father's God, obedience, obedient servant, obnoxious, our Lord and Saviour, peace of mind, pedestal, praise, psalm 118, put it into practice, redeemed, redeemed people, remove god from our society, shield, simpleton, sinful, singing praises, smile, spewing forth, standing steadfast and strong, talkative age, thanks and praise, thanskgiving, the blessings of God, the breath of life, the cross, the Holy Spirit, the Lord is my fortress, The Lord is my rock, the Lord is my strength and song, the Lord is worthy to be praised, the Lord's salvation, the loving-kindness of God, the One and Only Living God, the spilled blood of christ, this is the day the Lord has made, thou art my God, tragedy, troubles, truth, ungrateful, untrustworthy, up heifer dust creek, we will rejoice and be glad in it, wisdom, worldly foolishness, worthless, writer's block, wrong
Psalm 118:28. Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee.
Oh Friends, it’s a brand new day! Glory Hallelujah! A brand new day filled with new mercies, new blessings, and new forgiveness! Wow! And to make matters even better, we’re alive to enjoy it all! What a most wonderful Deity we serve and worship my people: the ONE and ONLY TRUE LIVING God!
So let’s give Him some thanks and praise, as we loudly and boldly proclaim these wise words of the psalmist in thanksgiving for the Lord’s salvation. Please declare with me: ‘This is the day which the Lord hath made; we WILL rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Ps.118:24)
Yes my people, let’s enjoy the goodness and LOVING-kindness of our magnificent and magnanimous God today and everyday, as long as the breath of life is flowing through our mortal bodies. That is simply wisdom and common sense, for if He grants us all those things, we’d indeed be foolish not to enjoy them.
And believe me, for whatever reason(s), some of us are indeed foolish enough not to enjoy the blessings of God, thinking it wrong and sinful to enjoy what the Lord has provided. Nothing could be further from the truth my people!
Why would the Lord provide all that wonderful stuff if He didn’t intend for us to enjoy it eh? And why would Jesus, our great Lord and Saviour declare that He had come to earth, so that we could have life, and have it more abundantly eh, if He didn’t mean for us to be joyful, even in the rough times? (John 10:10)
So Friends, I implore us to stop having these foolish ideas and thoughts about enjoying life nuh. We’re supposed to have heaven right here on earth; standing steadfast and strong while doing God’s work – and enjoying it too, not living beggarly and miserable.
And believe me again, if we are truly doing God’s work, with the peace of mind that He provides, then we will truly enjoy this earthly life, regardless of the many dangers, disappointments and troubles with which it is fraught. End of sermon! (smile)
Ah mih breddren, it never ceases to amaze and amuse me how the Holy Spirit will give me a starting idea, then let me run with it, or rather, help to let it flow smoothly! I would therefore be wrong, foolish and disobedient, if I didn’t enjoy and appreciate that blessing.
And you know there’s no greater tragedy for a writer than writer’s block! Thankfully, the Lord doesn’t allow me to suffer from it too often and for too long. Then I’d really be up heifer dust creek. (smile)
And Friends, our Bit this morning comes from that same Psalm 118, where the psalmist is giving thanks for the Lord’s salvation. And it’s a rather appropriate Bit too; highlighting what our behaviour ought to be, as it boldly and rightly declares: ‘Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee.’
Oh Friends, what words of joy, LOVE, obedience and truth! If we do that sincerely, on a continuous basis, then our lives will be forever enriched and blessed!
And it’s mostly because we’re not fully and sincerely embracing that bit of gospel truth that our lives and our world are in such a disastrous mess. We are trying desperately to remove God from all aspects of our society, but that’s a fool’s wisdom my people.
We claim to have been redeemed by the spilled blood of Christ, through His sacrificial death on the cross at Calvary, so why aren’t we more thankful and moving closer to Him eh, instead of being obnoxious, ungrateful and trying to distance ourselves from Him?
If we truly believe that we are indisputably redeemed, then we ought to be singing praises like redeemed people; praises like Isaiah’s declaration: ‘O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.’ (Is.25:1)
Yes Friends, those are the kinds of words that ought to be emanating from our hearts, souls and mouths. Not the simpleton, worldly foolishness that we’re now spewing forth in this oh so talkative age, when we really have nothing much to talk about because our lives are dull, bland and miserable.
As 3 Canal would say, we have no real business, so we keep on minding the business of others, glorifying man with his Achilles heel, putting him on a flimsy pedestal instead of Almighty God. Oh my brethren, it’s high time we got some business of our own, by turning to our mighty God for help, and start glorifying Him, rather than mortal, worthless, fickle, feckless, untrustworthy man!
We should be singing the Lord’s praises like His obedient servant Moses did: ‘The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him a habitation (praise Him); my father’s God, and I will exalt him.’ (Ex.15:2)
And we’ll end with more worthy words of praise, this time from Bruh David, another of God’s obedient servants. And just as I was about to write those last few words in my rough draft, the lights flickered out for a couple seconds.
Chuh! It’s a good thing I wasn’t on the computer, then I might have lost some stuff and be sorely disappointed. Consequently, I’ll take it as a positive sign, (smile) and continue in God’s direction. Therefore, please declare with me, my Friends and fellow believers, these words of thanksgiving for deliverance, as Bruh David saw it.
‘I will LOVE thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength (lit. my rock), in whom I will trust; my buckler (shield), and the horn (strength) of my salvation, and my high tower (stronghold). I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.’ (Ps.18:1-3)
Now that’s wisdom from on high, my brethren! So let’s go out today and put it into practice, put it to the test nuh; praise and magnify our most worthy God, and see if our lives don’t improve substantially. Much LOVE!
…a believer’s faith is only as strong as…the sincere thanksgiving in his heart…
03 Oct 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a modicum of circumspection, a wonderful God, abundantly, Amen, arrow that flieth by day, be not afraid, benefits, bring smiles to their faces, Bruh David, buckler, cast down, Creator, Creator of the universe, daily grind and common task, destruction, encouraging, enlighten their spirits, evil, foot of pride, fountain of life., freinds, Friday chant, fulness, fun-fellowship, further God's glorious kingdom, generous help, germinate, go in faith, go in love, go in peace, God is a refuge and fortress, God will be there watching, God's little Acre, gospel truth, grow, hand of the wicked, health, heartwarming, in thy light shall we see light, Jeeves, jehovah god, joyful shouts, lays waste at noonday, long life, losing sight, LOVE, LOVE of God, loving kindness, memories, overwhelming reasons, peace, pestilence, praise the Lord for His goodness, pride, protection, protective wings, provider, refuge, reinvigorating, rejuvenation of spirit, reminisce, renewed and refreshed in soul body and mind, resorative scripture, rest, reverence, righteousness., river of pleasures, rocking chairs, royal treatment, royalty, satisfied, shield, show you believe, sincere emotion, snare of the fowler, steadfast faith, sweet Tobago, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, thanks and praise, the children of men, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the greatest of these is love, the party's over, the terror by night, time of their lives, totem pole, trust, unconditional LOVE, ungodly times, uplifting, upright in heart, walketh in darkness, warmed the cockles of my heart, wealth, wisdom, wisdom of living a christian life, workers of iniquity
Psalm 36:7. How excellent (precious) is thy LOVING-kindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.
Well Friends, as the old people would say, the party done now, time to get back to the daily grind and common task!
Yes, the party’s over for my brother and his wife. They flew back last night to sweet Tobago, God’s Little Acre – can’t leave that out – lucky them. (smile) They definitely had the time of their lives; coming to Canada for the first time and having so many people treat them so well.
The memories and friends they made here will no doubt enlighten their spirits and bring smiles to their faces when they reminisce in their rocking chairs. (smile) He claims that all the people they came into contact with treated them like royalty, and that royal treatment was certainly heartwarming and reinvigorating, confirming the wisdom of living a Christian life.
And on their behalf, I’d like to thank all you wonderful and godly people who showered them with such unconditional LOVE, even though many of you had never met them before. The unrestrained and lavish affection that I saw, certainly warmed the cockles of my heart. You all are true believers, not only speaking the word, but also living it.
Oh my brethren, if only we could all live that way on a consistent basis! Then Jesus would undoubtedly rank first and foremost in this ungodly world, instead of way down the totem pole, to where He‘s now been relegated.
But yuh know what Friends, today is also Friday! That means the party’s not really over, in fact the party’s just starting, as we’re greeted by joyful shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’
But please remember to be careful my people, for though partying is in order, we need to party with a modicum of circumspection, as Jeeves would say.
And that also involves not losing sight of our Creator and Provider; highlighting Him in ALL our doings, for as the Good Book says, it’s Him who allows us to have health, wealth, long life and LOVE! Give Him much thanks my people, for He is indeed a wonderful God!
And to help us attain to that modicum of circumspection and reverence for our mighty God, let’s chant our Friday Chant with sincere emotion. As One now, in harmony and LOVE! ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Oh Friends, that brings us to our Bit, which comes from Psalm 36 –the steadfast LOVE of God. ‘How excellent (precious) is thy LOVING-kindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth my people! It surely is, as those of us who trust in the Lord and make our refuge under His most protective wings can testify to!
And Bruh David continues to lay out the overwhelming reasons to trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob: ‘They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness (fullness) of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.
O continue thy LOVING-kindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart. Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me (drive me away). There are the workers of iniquity fallen: they are cast down, and shall not be able to rise.’ (Ps.36:8-12)
Oh what beautiful and restorative scripture my fellow believers! If you read that and it doesn’t bring a lift to your heart, body, soul and mind, then something’s wrong. I’ll venture to say that you’re no real believer, for those are truly uplifting and encouraging words, especially in these cruel, evil and ungodly times.
And if you didn’t believe Bruh David there, (smile) then listen to the psalmist from Psalm 91 – God is a refuge and a fortress. ‘I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler (trapper of birds), and from the noisome (perilous or deadly) pestilence.
He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust (take refuge): his truth shall be thy shield and buckler (small shield)
Thou shalt not be afraid for (of) the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth (lays waste) at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.’ (Ps.91:2-7)
Yes Friends, that’s the wonderful protection we’re assured of when we place our complete trust in Jehovah God, Creator of the universe and all therein! Please, let’s plant all those scriptures in our hearts and allow them to germinate and grow there abundantly, so that we can obtain the benefits thereof.
And now let’s close with a prayer I found amongst the papers in my Bible. Don’t know where I got it from, and like I’ve shared it before, because it has a tick on it, but it’s ever so appropriate for today, so we’ll share it again.
‘Go now in Peace – Never be afraid. God will go with you each hour of every day. Go now in faith, steadfast strong and true. Know He will guide you in all you do. Go now in LOVE, and show you believe.
Reach out to others, so all the world can see. God will be there watching from above. Go now in Peace, in Faith and in LOVE. AMEN…AMEN…AMEN…’
And all God’s people exclaimed a joyful and grateful; ‘Praise the Lord for His exceptional goodness to the children of men!’ Much LOVE my brethren!
…and now abideth Faith, Hope, LOVE, these three…but the greatest of these is…LOVE… (1 Cor. 13:13)
21 Aug 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a prayer for solutions, action, apply thine heart to understanding, commandments, commitment, communing with God, commute, confident in god, Cousin Sol, cry after knowledge, cut costs, destiny, devious ways, discerment, discretion, do our part, don't ever give up, downsizing, dr robert h schuller, emotionally, equitable pay, equity, eternal life, exercise the faith, expectation of bosses, faith, fear of the Lord, fearful for jobs, forgiveness, god is good fair and just, God's never-ending faithfulness, God-given plans, grace, have a blessed day, incline thine ear unto wisdom, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, joy, judgements, knowledge, knowledge is plesant unto thy soul, knowledge of God, leadership of my life, life isn't easy, lift up thy voice for understanding, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, make right decisions, meeting of the minds, mentally, mercy, parent's instructions, paths of justice, paths of uprightness, persevere right to the end, perverse things, perversity, physically, poor economic situation, preserves the way of saints, prospector, raise profit margins, refreshing, rejoice to do evil, rejuvenating, reverential awe, right conduct, righteous, righteousness., salvation, shield, silver, solve the problems, stand strong, stress, stressors, summer, take command over my destiny, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the way of the evil man, Thursday, tired Thursday, traffic jams, treasures, understanding, unforgiving world, ungodly world, walk uprightly, ways of darkness, weary, wisdom
Proverbs 2:5. Then shalt thou understand the fear (reverential awe) of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.
And then it was Thursday – tired Thursday – and a misty one in my area this morning. In fact it’s been misty since I was sitting out on my front porch around 1 a.m. this morning, enjoying the quiet and peaceful atmosphere, communing quietly with my Maker.
And I can’t begin to tell you my people, how nice and refreshing and rejuvenating that is. Consequently, I don’t get to my bed very early these days, and thus can’t get up very early either. (smile)
Please don’t begrudge the ole fella that particular joy; because it will soon be over, as the summer floats away and the cold days become the norm. (smile)
However, getting back to the tired Thursday theme. I call it that because by the fourth day of the workweek we’re all weary, physically, emotionally and mentally, from the many stressors of modern workday life. Stressors like getting up early to get the children ready for day care and/or school, when that begins in the next couple of weeks.
Then get ourselves off to work, which necessitates a long, arduous commute for so many, standing idly by in huge traffic jams, morning and evening, and finally having arrived at work tired, needing to put up with the high expectation of bosses, of much work for not always equitable pay.
And then with the strain of the poor economic situation, many of us are fearful of losing our jobs, in a time when everybody’s downsizing, ostensibly to cut costs, but more than likely to raise their profit margin.
Anyway my fellow believers, in spite of all the stress and strain to which we’re currently exposed, followers of Jesus are expected to persevere right to the end; to pursue their God-given plans without fail, for our wonderful God has promised to bring us safely through all that comes against us, though we will also have to do our part and stand strong.
And if there’s one thing we’re ever so confident in our great God for, is His never-ending faithfulness! Whatever he promises, He fulfills. So please hang in there, for life wasn’t meant to be easy, but our God is good and fair and just, and in His own time, He will bring us to a successful meeting of the minds with Him. (smile)
Above all, DON’T EVER GIVE UP! For giving up is not numbered amongst the things believers do. Now here’s an appropriate prayer from Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H Schuller), from his Hour of Power daily devotional, which is appropriately titled; ‘A Prayer for Solutions.’
Please pray with me. ‘Lord, thanks for assuring me that you’ll solve the problems if I’ll exercise the faith and make the right decisions! Forgive me for waiting for all difficulties, real or fanciful, to be resolved before deciding to make my commitment.
I confess I have too often allowed problems instead of possibilities to take over the leadership of my life – to make my decisions – and take command over my destiny. I know, now, what faith is, Lord! It’s making the right decisions before I see solutions to all the problems! Increase my faith! Amen.’
And now that we’ve prayed those faith raising and releasing words, my brethren let’s go out and faithfully put them into action nuh, for words without action are generally worthless.
And as the passage before our Bit, in the wise words of Cousin Sol tells us, re the reward of heeding wisdom: ‘My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide (treasure) my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
Yea, if thou criest after knowledge (discernment), and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear (reverential awe) of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.’ (Prov.2:1-5)
Yes Friends, in these very crucial and critical times, wisdom and understanding are a MUST, if we’re to navigate this evil, ungodly world successfully. And true wisdom and understanding comes ONLY from Jehovah God my people!
As Cousin Sol continues: ‘For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up (stores up) sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler (shield) to them that walk uprightly.
He keepeth the paths of judgement (guards the paths of justice), and preserveth the way of his saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgement (justice), and equity; yea, every good path.’ (Prov.2:6-9)
Yes my people, without true wisdom and understanding which emanate from our magnificent God, we’d be entirely lost in this unforgiving world of ours.
Now hear some comments from the scholars. 2:1-22. The conditions for obtaining wisdom are given first: one must earnestly seek it, as a prospector would search for gold (vv.1-4). It is not an undirected search, however, since the parent’s instruction is the basis. The consequences of obtaining wisdom are then listed (vv.5-22): knowledge of God (vv.5-8) and right conduct (vv.9-22).’
And we’ll end with a few of those verses on right conduct. ‘When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul: Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward (perverse) things;
Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness: Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness (perversity) of the wicked; Whose ways are crooked, and they froward (are devious) in their paths.’ (Prov.2: 10-15)
There we have it Friends, some benefits of seeking after wisdom and understanding through the ONLY avenue through which they are really obtained and granted; i.e. through the Most High God Jehovah!
Now let’s have a blessed day as we walk in lockstep with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, in wisdom and understanding! Much LOVE!
…oh, our world would be such a much better place…if the inhabitants would only turn to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob…for wisdom and understanding…which would bring them oodles of peace, LOVE, joy, mercy, grace, forgiveness, salvation and eternal life…oh what blessings…
22 Jun 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a city of habitation, a city to dwell in, Amen, Ark of the Covenant, blessed are the righteous, blessed are those who keep justice, distresses, express the mighty acts of the Lord, first day of summer, forgiving, from the hand of the enemy, give thanks to god, gladness, God is good, God's mercy endures for ever, God's wonderful works to men, gospel truth, gratefulness, hope, hungry and thirsty, Jeremiah, joy, Lord god of Israel, LOVE, loving god, magnanimous, merciful God, O Give thanks unto the Lord, praise the Lord for His goodness, praise the Lord of hosts, Psalm 107, reviving of Judah, salvation, shield, shout Hallelujah, show forth all God's praise, song of thanksgiving, strong fortress, the Lord deliverd them, the Lord fills the hungry soul with goodness, the Lord satisfies the longing soul, the redeemed of the Lord, the sacrifice of praise, the voice of gladness, the voice of joy, the voice of the bridegroom, their soul fainted, they cried unto the Lord, triumph, trouble, wandered in the wilderness, wishful thinking
Psalm 107:1. O Give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy (LOVING-kindness) endureth for ever.
Oh Friends, the first day of summer 2014 wasn’t bad at all nuh! It got up to about 24 or 25 degrees Celsius, with bright sunshine and a nice, cool breeze. Only hope that will be the norm for the rest of the season yes.
Hn, hn! That’s what they call wishful thinking. But if we don’t have hope, what’s the point of living eh?
And this Sunday morning my people, we have a wonderful Bit from Psalm 107, God’s wonderful works to the children of men, which does exactly that; give us lots and lots of hope.
The psalmist opens his prayer of praise with a powerful and indisputably true statement: ‘O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy (LOVING-kindness) endureth for ever.’
With that fact my brethren, there can be no argument whatsoever! And why is that? Listen to the psalmist proclaim his reasons: ‘Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.
They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary (desolate) way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses. And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.’ (Ps.107:2-7)
Yes Friends, those are indeed the actions of a most LOVING and merciful God!
Thus the psalmist logically declares: ‘Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness (LOVING-kindness), and for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.’ (Ps.107:8-9)
Likewise, in Psalm 106, Israel sins against God’s LOVE, a psalm of national lament, the writer wisely advises in his opening verses: ‘Praise ye the Lord (shout Hallelujah). O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Who can utter (express) the mighty acts of the Lord? Who can show forth all his praise? Blessed are they that keep judgement (justice), and he that doeth righteousness at all times.’ (Ps.106:1-3)
And that my Friends, is all gospel truth! So let’s remember it, and put it into practice nuh, for it will only benefit us greatly.
The prophet Jeremiah also, in talking about the reviving of Judah, LOVINGLY proclaims: ‘The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the Lord of hosts: for the Lord is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land (the captives of the land to return), as at the first, saith, the Lord.’ (Jer.33:11)
How can we not LOVE and revere such a magnanimous, forgiving and merciful God eh my people? We’d be extremely foolish not to!
And we’ll close with some similar words and sentiments from Bruh David’s song of thanksgiving after the Ark of the Covenant was brought to Jerusalem. ‘O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.
And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, and glory (triumph) in thy praise. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for ever and ever. And all the people said, Amen, and praised the Lord.’ (1 Chr.17:34-36)
Yes Friends, let’s praise the Lord God, our Creator, Provider, Shield and Strong Fortress, today and everyday nuh, for He is the ONE, who causes us to draw breath and to live lives of comfort, prosperity and security. Much LOVE!
…praise, gratefulness and thanks to Almighty God…should be an integral part of the believer’s lifestyle…
P.S. Wow! Is it ever short today! (smile) So please don’t complain if it’s long tomorrow. Much LOVE!
15 Nov 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Abrahamic Covenant, Abram, act of faith, be on our p's and q's, border line, carried away, childless, confidence in God, count the stars, do nothing, evil, evil doings, evildoers, faith, famine in Canaan, fear not, fellowship, Friday chant, fruit of the womb, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, Gomorrah, good attitude to adopt, great reward, heir, heritage of the lord, in Jesus' name, in soul body and mind, joyfulness, king of Salem, land of Canaan, laze around, Lot, LOVE, matter of belief, Melchizedek, Most High God, obedience, offerings, Pharaoh, possessor of heaven and earth, pray, rejuvenate our spirits, relaxation, relying on God, renewed and refreshed, rest, rest is repair, rewards, righteousness., shield, sin, Sodom, source of confidence, spoils, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, tithes, to listen than the fat of rams, to obey is better than sacrifice, ungodly world, weekend, wisdom
Genesis 15:1. After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
Once more it’s Friday Friends, and we’re all singing, ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ gearing up for a joyous weekend. But let’s all be careful that we don’t get too carried away with the joyfulness and cross the border line, where it turns to sin, for that’s very easy to do when we don’t have a good handle on our thoughts and our behaviour.
So to help us have some moderation and keep our eyes on Jesus, let’s chant our Friday Chant. As one harmonious voice now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yeh mih people, in this evil, ungodly world, we need to be on our p’s and q’s at all times. And interestingly enough, I came across a rather appropriate quote this morning, attributed to one Daniel W. Josselyn, which says: ‘Rest is not a matter of doing absolutely nothing. Rest is repair.’
And that’s a fact Friends! Rest doesn’t just, or always, mean doing nothing, but sometimes simply doing other things that will repair and rejuvenate our spirits and bodies. What’s the saying? ‘A change is as good as a rest,’ or something to that effect. So when we hear the word rest, let’s not always jump to the conclusion that it’s time to laze around and do nothing. (smile)
Now let’s look at our Bit. ‘After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.’
Some of the things the Good Book’s talking about here are: Abram being driven down to Egypt because of famine in Canaan. Of deceiving Pharaoh by saying that Sarai was his sister, and the Lord opening Pharaoh’s eyes to the truth, before he could touch her. Pharaoh sending Abram away, back to Canaan, where he and Lot separate. Lot goes to live in Sodom, and as we saw yesterday, the Lord promises Abram the land as far as he could see. (Gen.13:14-18)
Then certain kings come to fight against Sodom and Gomorrah, and Lot and his people are carried away captive. When Abram hears of this, he and 318 of his fighting men pursue the captors, rescue Lot and return all the spoil to Sodom and Gomorrah.
Then he comes upon Melchizedek, king of Salem, ‘the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.’ (Gen.14:18b-20)
Abram later refused the offerings, rewards of the ungodly king of Sodom, just food for his men. ‘I will not take anything that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich.’ (Gen.14:23b) That’s a good attitude for us to adopt my brethren, when we are approached by evildoers to participate in their evil doings, or the spoils of their evil doings.
So we can see that Abram lived a very full and interesting later period of life. A time when most of us figure we should just retire from active life and do nothing. But the fact is when we completely retire from life, we die, both literally and figuratively.
Anyway, let’s hear these words from the scholars re our Bit, before we move on to some scriptures. ’15:1. Thy shield and thy exceeding great reward: This chapter introduces the Abrahamic covenant by which God promises him an heir and eventual descendants who will one day possess the land of Canaan. The word ‘shield’ is translated in other passages as “believed.”
Thus God is the object of Abram’s faith and thereby the source of his confidence. The promise of reward is especially significant in view of the fact that Abram had just refused a reward from the king of Sodom. God himself would be Abram’s true reward. (c.f. Ps.127:3)’
Oh Friends, I don’t know if I’m spoiling you, (smile) but here’s what that scripture says: ‘Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord: the fruit of the womb is his reward.’ (Ps. 127:3)
It shows the value of relying on God, especially for children, which Abram did, as these passages of scripture show, after God spoke to him in our Bit. ‘And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward (heir) of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one (a servant) born in my house is mine heir. And behold the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
And he brought him forth abroad (outside), and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell (count) the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.’ (Gen. 15:2-6)
Yes my brethren, it’s all a matter of belief! And belief leads to obedience, and obedience to righteousness and rewards. And as the scholars so rightly point out: ‘This was not his (Abram’s) original act of faith, but a further evidence of his confidence in God.’
So please, my fellow believers, let’s listen closely to what God is saying to us today, what He’s promising us, if we believe and obey Him, for that’s wisdom at its highest height. Much LOVE!
…behold…to obey is better than sacrifice…and to hearken (listen) than the fat of rams… (1 Sam.15:22b)
28 Sep 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a relationship with God, afterthought, agnostics, almighty god, bow down, brain, children of Israel, Christ's Church, Creator of the universe, cry out to God, disaster, foolish, foolishness, footnote, freedom of choice, generosity, God's higher plans and purposes, gold, good things flow from God, graven images, heathen, heaven above, heavenly wisdom, help, Hit Parade, idolatrous ways, idolatry, idols, iniquity, jealous god, likeness of any thing, LOVE, mercy, my thoughts are higher than your thoughts, my thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways are higher that your ways, my ways are not your ways, Oh god, one God, programmed from creation, punishing, reason, righteousness., serve God, shield, silver, simple language, spades, Ten Commandments, the Beatles, the body of Christ, the earth beneath, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, things of the world, think, true believers, trust in the Lord, truth, unbelievers, unwise, usurp God's rightful place, work of men's hands, worship
Psalm 135:15. The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
Hear ye, hear ye my people, the Lord our God is ONE God, powerful and mighty, ruling His universe from the beginning of time, even unto eternity! And those who worship Him, must do so in righteousness and truth. And furthermore, He DOESN’T need man, but man NEEDS Him!
Please note that we are the only one of His creations that has a brain, that can think and reason – although sometimes I wonder about that – all else moves by instinct. That means the Lord made us for a higher purpose than the other living, breathing and moving organisms.
He made us to have a relationship with Him; both individually and collectively, in the early days as the children of Israel, His chosen people, and in the latter days, as the body of Christ’s church. So how then can we refuse to serve and worship Him, although in His awesome generosity He’s granted us the freedom of choice?
As we noted yesterday, ALL good things flow from Him. And even the not so good things only happen because He allows them, since they suit His higher plans and purposes.
Remember His words: ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’ (Is.55:8-9)
How then Friends, can we be so rebellious and stupid to even consider other supposed gods, much less bow down and worship them eh? Our Bit states it quite plainly: ‘The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.’
And isn’t it interesting that Psalm 115, Trust in God, not in idols, says the same thing. ‘Their idols (the heathen’s) are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not:
They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them. O Israel, trust thou in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.’ (Ps.115:4-9)
And that’s truth in spades my brethren! Those verses today from Psalm 115 are just a tad more expansive than the ones we read yesterday, 15-18 from Psalm 135. But they surely do contain the same important information; that the work of man’s hands can NEVER be gods to be worshipped!
Oh my people, from the very beginning, our God warned against worshipping other deities. His first commandments to the Israelites, His chosen people, were: ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to (worship) them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting (punishing) the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that LOVE me, and keep my commandments.’ (Ex.20:3-6)
Oh Friends, what’s in those commandments not to understand eh? As always, our God speaks in plain, simple, straightforward language. Therefore, if we consider ourselves true believers in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, how can we in all conscience then justify placing the things of the world before and above Him, as we so obviously do?
Many of us treat God as a footnote, an afterthought, instead of the main frame, the first and most important consideration, which is His rightful place. But when disaster suddenly befalls us – that includes the unbelievers, the agnostics, the don’t care and every other group – the first words to come flying out of our mouths are always: ‘Oh God!’
Now why do we naturally cry out to a God who either doesn’t exist, and/or we don’t believe in eh? That’s because we’ve been programmed from creation, in the depths of our souls that THERE IS A GOD!
Ah Friends, it’s a very unwise and foolish life we live when we don’t put Almighty God and His concerns first and foremost in our lives! There are just no other terms for it. We just have to call a spade, what it is, a spade. No dancing around the subject will change or make it better.
The only way to improve the situation is to turn away from the things that we consider more important than God, and put Him in His rightful spot; NUMBER ONE on the Hit Parade!
It reminds me of back in the heydays of the Beatles. Every week they would have at least four or five songs in the Top Ten. Now our God is much greater than them, that’s why He deserves ALL TEN SPOTS on our Hit Parade, featuring His Ten Commandments! Anything les than that is idolatry, in other words pure foolishness! Nuff said, mih breddren!
Today, I’m therefore asking us all to please consider, seriously ponder our idolatrous ways, and ask the merciful and forgiving God we worship to help us bring them into line with His thinking. That’s heavenly wisdom, my people! Much LOVE!
…simple logic dictates that the Creator of the universe and all therein…is the undisputed Head Honcho of the universe and all things therein…NO ONE can usurp His rightful place…Elementary, my dear Watson… (smile)
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